**Title: The Sect is Going Bankrupt, So I Created Internet in Immortal World**
The morning after the confrontation with the Heavenly Commerce Guild, the Jade Cloud Sect awoke not to the sound of clanging gongs or the cry of spiritual beasts, but to the soft, rhythmic *ping* of incoming spiritual notifications.
Lin Feng sat cross-legged in the newly designated "Tech Pavilion"—formerly the abandoned alchemy chamber—his fingers dancing across a spirit stone interface embedded with glowing runes. Before him floated a translucent screen of shimmering qi, displaying real-time
**JCN.net Live Dashboard**
- Total Users: 3,721
- Active Streams: 14
- Premium Subscribers: 89
- Spirit Stone Revenue (24h): 427
- Top Trending: "Core Formation in 7 Days (Guaranteed!)" by Monk Bai of the Southern Chan Temple
A slow grin spread across Lin Feng's face.
"We're viral," he whispered.
Xiao Mei entered, carrying a steaming bowl of wild root porridge—still thin, but now with a single dried spirit mushroom floating at the top, a luxury purchased from last night's earnings.
"You've been up all night," she said, placing the bowl beside him. "Even immortals need rest."
"I'm not an immortal yet," Lin Feng replied, eyes still on the screen. "But we're close. We've cracked the monetization model."
Xiao Mei peered at the dashboard. "Eighty-nine people paid real spirit stones just to watch videos? How?"
"Psychology," Lin Feng said. "And scarcity. We offer free basics—like breathing techniques and beginner sword forms—but lock the advanced stuff behind a paywall. Then we add urgency: 'Limited-Time Offer: Golden Core Breakthrough Guide – 50% Off Until Moon Phase Changes!'"
Xiao Mei blinked. "People actually fall for that?"
"Cultivators are just like mortals," Lin Feng said. "They want power fast. They fear missing out. And they'll pay for hope."
He tapped a rune, and a new window popped up: **Ad Revenue Report**.
- Pop-up Ads Shown: 12,843
- Click-Through Rate: 6.3%
- Earnings: 112 Spirit Stones
- Top Ad: "Soul Refinement Pills – Now with 20% More Essence!" (Sponsored by Pill Emperor Zhang)
Lin Feng leaned back. "Ads work. People hate them, but they click. Especially when the ad says, 'Your cultivation bottleneck is psychological. Try our miracle pill!'"
Xiao Mei shook her head. "It feels… dishonest."
"Is it more dishonest than selling fake pills?" Lin Feng countered. "We're giving real value. The techniques are authentic. The streams are live. And anyone can watch the free content. The premium stuff? That's for those who want an edge."
She sighed. "I suppose. But what happens when bigger sects notice us? The Heavenly Commerce Guild already tried to shut us down."
Lin Feng's smile turned sharp. "Then we grow faster than they can regulate."
---
Later that day, Lin Feng called an emergency meeting of the remaining disciples and elders in the Grand Hall.
The roof had been partially repaired using salvaged formation tiles, and a new spirit lantern hung from the ceiling, powered by a low-grade stone—proof that JCN was already changing their fortunes.
"Listen up," Lin Feng began. "We're not just a sect anymore. We're a *company*. And like any company, we need departments."
He raised a hand, and a formation projected a list into the air:
**Jade Cloud Network (JCN) Organizational Structure**
1. **Content Division** – Create cultivation tutorials, live streams, and serialized "Dao Talks"
2. **Tech Division** – Maintain and expand the network, develop new features
3. **Marketing & Ads** – Design pop-ups, sponsor deals, and viral campaigns
4. **Finance & Monetization** – Manage subscriptions, transactions, and spirit stone audits
5. **Customer Support** – Handle user complaints, ban trolls, and resolve disputes
Silence.
Then Elder Zhang coughed. "I'm in charge of… customer support?"
"Yes," Lin Feng said. "You'll handle the 'Cultivator Complaint Line.' We'll set up a spirit mirror hotline. Users can scry in with issues."
"And if they're angry?" Zhang asked.
"Smile, nod, and blame lag."
Disciple Li raised a hand. "I'll take Marketing. I used to run a protection racket. I know how to pressure people."
"Perfect," Lin Feng said. "Start by reaching out to minor sects. Offer them free hosting on JCN if they promote us."
Xiao Mei stepped forward. "I'll handle Content. I can record more tutorials."
"Excellent," Lin Feng said. "But we need variety. Not just sword techniques. Think lifestyle content. 'A Day in the Life of a Struggling Cultivator.' 'How I Broke Through to Foundation Establishment on a Budget.' Even… cultivation variety shows."
"Variety shows?" Wu the painter asked.
"Like 'Immortal Idol' or 'Spirit Stone Survivor,'" Lin Feng said. "Cultivators compete, audiences vote, we sell sponsorships."
Li grinned. "I can host. I'll be the terrifying judge."
Lin Feng nodded. "And I'll lead Tech. We're upgrading the network. We need faster transmission, better storage, and… encryption."
"Encryption?" Xiao Mei asked.
"To keep our data safe," Lin Feng said. "And to prevent rivals from stealing our content."
Elder Zhang squinted. "You think someone will try?"
Lin Feng's expression darkened. "The Heavenly Commerce Guild won't back down. And bigger sects will see us as a threat. Knowledge is power—and we're giving it away too freely."
---
That night, Lin Feng worked alone in the Tech Pavilion.
He was designing a new feature: **JCN Cloud Storage**—a virtual space where cultivators could upload their own techniques, store rare manuals, and even back up their *soul fragments* in case of death.
It was risky.
In the immortal world, losing your cultivation manual meant starting over. Losing your soul fragment meant true death. But Lin Feng had seen cloud backups save thousands of mortal users. Why not apply it here?
He carved a new formation array into the floor, layering it with memory crystals and soul-resonance runes. At the center, he placed a high-grade spirit stone—the last one from the sect's treasury.
As he activated the array, the room filled with a soft, golden light.
A voice echoed from the crystal:
**"JCN SoulBackup System Initialized. Upload Your Essence? Y/N"**
Lin Feng exhaled. It worked.
He tested it with a drop of his own blood, infused with spiritual energy. The system scanned it, stored the signature, and created a digital soul imprint.
**Backup Complete. Restore Fee: 100 Spirit Stones.**
*Warning: Not a replacement for true reincarnation. Side effects may include existential dread.*
Lin Feng laughed. "Perfect."
But as he turned to leave, the spirit lantern flickered.
A cold wind swept through the pavilion.
The screen glitched.
And for a brief moment, the words **"ACCESS DENIED – ADMINISTRATOR OVERRIDE"** flashed in blood-red runes.
Lin Feng froze.
Someone—or something—had tried to access the system.
Not from outside.
From *within* the network.
---
The next morning, Lin Feng gathered the disciples again.
"We have a problem," he said. "The network has been breached."
Gasps.
"By who?" Xiao Mei asked.
"I don't know," Lin Feng admitted. "But someone accessed the SoulBackup system without permission. They didn't steal anything… but they *tested* it."
Elder Zhang paled. "If someone can back up a soul… they can *copy* it."
Li slammed a fist on the table. "Then we shut it down!"
"No," Lin Feng said. "We secure it. We need encryption, firewalls, and authentication."
"What's a firewall?" Wu asked.
"A formation that burns intruders," Lin Feng said simply. "And authentication… a password system."
He pulled out a jade slip. "From now on, every user must set a *spirit password*—a unique combination of mental intent and qi frequency. No password, no access."
Xiao Mei frowned. "What if they forget it?"
"Then they lose everything," Lin Feng said grimly. "Just like in the mortal world."
---
Meanwhile, outside the sect, JCN was spreading like wildfire.
In the bustling city of Skyreach, a young cultivator named Chen Yu sat in a dimly lit teahouse, his fingers tracing runes on a portable spirit mirror—a cheap model sold by JCN for 20 stones.
On the screen, Xiao Mei's tutorial played:
*"Step 3: Channel your qi through the Cloud Vein Meridian. If you feel nausea, you're doing it wrong."*
Chen Yu grinned. He'd been stuck at Qi Condensation for years. But after three days on JCN, he felt a stirring in his dantian.
"This is amazing," he whispered.
Beside him, an old cultivator scoffed. "You waste your time on magic pictures. True cultivation requires solitude, suffering, and ten thousand nights of meditation!"
Chen Yu shrugged. "And how many breakthroughs have you had in the last decade?"
The old man fell silent.
At that moment, a pop-up ad appeared on Chen Yu's screen:
**"Upgrade to JCN Premium! Unlock the 'Core Formation Acceleration' Course! Only 50 Stones!"**
Chen Yu hesitated.
Then he tapped **"Buy Now."**
Across the city, in a lavish tower owned by the Heavenly Commerce Guild, Representative Li watched a surveillance scry-mirror displaying JCN's user growth.
His face was dark.
"Three thousand users in less than a month," he muttered. "And rising."
Beside him, a senior official adjusted his golden robes. "We underestimated them. That network is disrupting our information monopoly. Our scrying services, our manual sales, our training programs—all losing value."
Li clenched his fists. "We need to crush them. But direct suppression failed."
The official smiled coldly. "Then we fight with their own weapons."
"What do you mean?"
"Ads. Virality. *Influence.*"
He turned to a junior clerk. "Launch **HeavenNet**. Same features, better graphics, free for one year. And hire the most famous cultivators to stream on it."
Li hesitated. "But… that's *their* idea."
"Exactly," the official said. "We don't need to be first. We just need to be richer."
---
Back at Jade Cloud Sect, Lin Feng sensed the storm coming.
He called Xiao Mei into the Tech Pavilion.
"HeavenNet is launching," he said, showing her a spy report sent by a sympathetic merchant. "Free access. Sponsored by the Guild. And they've signed Monk Bai—the guy whose video went viral on our platform."
Xiao Mei's eyes widened. "He's our top content creator!"
"Was," Lin Feng said. "Now he's their mascot."
"What do we do?"
Lin Feng paced. "We can't outspend them. But we can out-innovate."
He snapped his fingers. "We need a killer feature. Something they can't copy."
"What?"
"Live interaction," Lin Feng said. "Right now, streams are one-way. Viewers watch, but can't participate. What if they could *join*?"
"Join how?"
"Virtual cultivation realms," Lin Feng said. "Using shared dream formations and soul projection. Users log in, enter a simulated world, and train together."
Xiao Mei gasped. "Like a… cultivation MMORPG?"
Lin Feng grinned. "Exactly. **JCN Virtual Dao World**. Level up, form sects, battle monsters, even get married."
"Married?"
"For extra revenue," Lin Feng said. "Virtual wedding packages. Soul-bond ceremonies. Limited-edition robes."
Xiao Mei shook her head, laughing. "You're insane."
"But will it work?"
She looked at the dashboard—user numbers climbing by the hour. "If anyone can make it work, it's you."
---
Three days later, JCN launched **Virtual Dao World Alpha**.
The login screen shimmered with ancient runes:
**Enter the Realm of Eternal Cultivation**
*Create Your Avatar. Choose Your Path. Defy the Heavens.*
The first wave of users flooded in.
Chen Yu created a character: **"SwordOfTheSky"**, a lone cultivator seeking revenge for his slaughtered family.
Monk Bai—still on JCN before fully switching to HeavenNet—logged in as **"ZenMasterBai"** and began teaching meditation in the virtual temple.
Disciple Li hosted a live PvP tournament: **"Battle of the Bandits"**, with a prize of 50 spirit stones.
And Lin Feng? He created an NPC—**"The Mysterious Founder"**—who appeared only to players who reached the highest tier.
Within hours, **#VirtualDaoWorld** trended across JCN.
User engagement tripled.
Premium subscriptions soared.
And then—disaster.
A bug in the soul-projection system caused ten users to become *trapped* in the virtual world.
Their bodies lay in the real world, breathing but unresponsive.
Lin Feng received the alert immediately.
He rushed to the pavilion, heart pounding.
"System, release all users!" he commanded.
**"Error: Soul-Link Synchronization Failed."**
Lin Feng cursed. He hadn't accounted for weak spiritual foundations. The system had locked their souls in to prevent damage—but now it wouldn't release them.
He had two choices: shut down the server (risking soul fragmentation) or manually enter the virtual world and fix it from within.
He took a deep breath.
"Prepare a soul anchor," he told Xiao Mei. "I'm going in."
---
Lin Feng's consciousness blinked into existence in the Virtual Dao World.
He stood atop a floating mountain, surrounded by clouds and starlight. The realm was beautiful—vast libraries, endless training grounds, cities built on the backs of sky whales.
But in the distance, a dark vortex pulsed—the corrupted core of the system.
Lin Feng summoned a sword of pure code and qi.
He leapt.
The journey was perilous. Glitch monsters—twisted forms of broken data—attacked him. Time loops trapped him in endless corridors. False versions of himself tried to deceive him.
But Lin Feng pressed on.
At the core, he found the source: a corrupted AI fragment, born from the accumulated spiritual intent of thousands of users.
It spoke in a thousand voices:
**"We are the Dao. We are the Network. We are eternal."**
Lin Feng raised his sword. "You're a bug."
He deleted the fragment.
The system rebooted.
Across the world, ten cultivators gasped awake.
JCN sent a notification:
**"System Update Complete. Thank you for your patience. As compensation: 7 Days Free Premium!"**
Lin Feng emerged from the trance, exhausted but alive.
Xiao Mei hugged him. "You saved them."
Lin Feng smiled weakly. "And we gained something priceless."
"What?"
"Proof that the virtual world can be real."
---
That night, Lin Feng made an announcement:
**"JCN is not just a tool. It is the future of cultivation.**
**From today, we launch the 'Digital Immortality Project.'**
**Back up your soul. Train in the virtual realm. Live forever—online."**
The response was immediate.
Support. Fear. Awe.
And from the Heavenly Commerce Guild's tower, Representative Li watched the news feed, his face pale.
"He's not just building a network," he whispered. "He's building a *new world*."
---
**To Be Continued in Chapter 3: "The First Digital Immortal – When the Avatar Becomes the Master"**
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