Another of my "How Common Is This" Threads. This time I'm looking for stories where the MC makes a Cult in order to develop power. This can range anywhere from starting an organisation that brainwashes people to worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster to gain followers, money, and soldiers all the way to building up an organisation that has a cultivation method that seems to grow them quickly or powerfully, but ends up giving half their power from cultivation to the MC. I am fine with something like Running Away From The Hero (Remake), where the MC joins organisations and practically rebuilds them into Cults, with their members compensating for the MC's lack of power. On the other hand, I would prefer to avoid stories like To Be A Power In The Shadows, where the MC makes a cult by accident, is ignorant to most of the cult's existence, and, to be perfectly honest, only mildly benefits from the cult's existence. That isn't the MC making a Cult for Power, that's a MC who's ignorant of their power and reach.
Nightmare's Call by author of Way of the Devil MC makes a Holy Light cult getting people to pray to the holy light that he makes, goes on to brainwashing people to believe in holy light as well.
I don't know about any novel which has a cult but I do know novel where mc build his own sect. "Building The Ultimate Fantasy" Synopsis:- A young man sat on a chair and looked out at the ocean. With one wisp of Spirit Qi, he could point anywhere on this vast and expansive world, pointing at any place that didn’t look right. Someone once became the last one to wield a knife that could decapitate huge dragons and bathed in dragons’ blood. Someone once loved treating others to chicken soup, so he kept nine phoenixes in his backyard. Someone once sat lazily on the top of mountains as his words flooded river banks, and his qi could hold a million soldiers back. Someone once moved mountains and shifted hills with just one brush, his paintings so captivating it could enchant immortals and deities. That year, the warmth of spring made the flowers bloom. They were merely an ordinary butcher, a bookworm, a chicken farmer and a poor artist. This is the story of how a Low Level Martial World Continent was transformed into the Ultimate Fantasy Universe.
FFF-Class Trash Hero is a manga and has a cult in one of it’s rounds. Will be following this thread because I like devoted subordinates