This was tantamount to Lu Yang and his party only providing the barbecue grill and the fire starter, leaving the business of running the shop to the Jiuyou Sect, and in return, they would receive sixty percent of the profits.

The Fifth Elder had never expected Lu Yang to pull off such a stunt.

This was far more profitable than when he followed Old Nine in his youth, selling the “Great and Small Wishes (Local Edition)”!

Talents emerge in succession, surpassing the old as the new generation comes forth.

Lu Yang wasn’t worried that the Jiuyou Sect could crack the Fifth Elder’s prohibitions or replicate the fire starter and kick their Heavenly Sect to the curb to go it alone.

He had already hinted to them that the Heavenly Sect had a Sect Master and Dou Tianzun, whose strength far surpassed that of the Jiuyou Sect. The current amicable cooperation with the Jiuyou Sect was out of respect for the ancient Jiuyou; if the Jiuyou Sect did not recognize the Heavenly Sect, they would turn their faces and not recognize the Jiuyou Sect in turn.

It would be suicidal for the Jiuyou Sect to dare such a thing.

Lu Yang had another consideration for letting the Jiuyou Sect open a barbecue chain: to limit the actions of the Jiuyou Sect’s disciples.

The current situation did not allow for the eradication of the Jiuyou Sect, and in the meantime, its disciples might commit arson and murder.

Rather than letting them commit crimes, it was better to give them something to do.

After completing the task assigned by the Sect Master and discussing the cooperation, the petrified Elder Shi was overjoyed.

He believed it wouldn’t be long before he could pay off the one billion debt.

Speaking of the one billion debt, Elder Shi’s gaze fell on the silent Qin Yanyan, and he stood up with a chuckle: “I presume this lady must be the reincarnation of Sect Master Qin that your sect has found?”

Lu Yang also smiled: “Whether she is or isn’t, doesn’t Sect Master Shi already have the answer in his heart?”

Qin Yanyan remained expressionless, not wanting to say a word.

What could she say? Now that the Jiuyou Sect had identified her as the reincarnation of Qin Haoran, even if she claimed that Li Haoran was the true reincarnation of Qin Haoran, the Jiuyou Sect might not believe it.

“Who would have thought that the Sect Master Qin, who once led the Jiuyou Sect, would be reincarnated as a woman? Such is the impermanence of the world.”

Despite saying this, Elder Shi still held considerable admiration for Qin Haoran.

Various signs indicated that the reincarnation had been successful and was possibly connected to the fruits of Samsara.

The fruits of Samsara were what Elder Shi was most concerned about.

The reason why the three Vice Sect Masters were so obsessed with competing for Qin Haoran’s legacy was precisely because they suspected it was related to the fruits of Samsara!

Elder Shi had decided that there was no longer any need for the monk he had pushed forward to pretend to be the reincarnation of Qin Haoran, as the true reincarnation was right before his eyes.

When the time came to compete for the legacy, he would ask Qin Yanyan to take action.

The Jiuyou Sect and the Heavenly Sect had just established a cooperative relationship; now was not the time to discuss these matters.

The Sect Master had instructed him to discuss cooperation with the Heavenly Sect this time, and he would surely need to continue the discussions for subsequent cooperation, so there was no need to rush.

“May I invite Qin Yanyan to return with me to the Jiuyou Sect? Sect Master Qin managed the Jiuyou Sect for nine hundred years, leaving many traces. Presumably, if Qin Yanyan returns to the Jiuyou Sect, the sight of familiar objects will stir emotions and help her recall more of the past?”

Qin Yanyan was somewhat panicked; returning to the Jiuyou Sect alone was like a lamb entering a tiger’s den, where a single misstep could lead to irreversible doom.

Seeing this, Li Haoran stepped forward, half-shielding Qin Yanyan, and spoke calmly: “As far as I know, isn’t there disunity within your sect? Not to mention the new Sect Master’s attitude towards Qin Yanyan, how would those old subordinates view her? Would they support her as the new Sect Master? Wouldn’t that cause great turmoil within your sect?”

“Moreover, the essence of Samsara is to sever ties with the past life, to have no further connection. Pursuing memories of a past life so deliberately is to fall into inferior practice.”

“As a Vice Sect Master, is this the extent of your understanding of Jiuyou and Samsara?”

Of all present, the one who understood the Jiuyou Sect the best was not the earnestly bluffing Lu Yang, but Li Haoran.

With fragments of memories from his past life, Li Haoran could barely piece together Qin Haoran’s understanding of Samsara and Jiuyou.

After Samsara, all karma is extinguished; Jiuyou is the land of reincarnation and the place where karma is cleansed.

Elder Shi did not doubt why Li Haoran had such a profound understanding of Samsara; after all, he was an ancient genius who often dealt with the ancient Jiuyou, so it was normal for him to know these things.

Originally, he just wanted to try to take Qin Yanyan from the hands of the Heavenly Sect, but since it was not possible, he let it go.

He laughed heartily: “All I said just now was in jest, don’t take it seriously, don’t take it seriously.”

Lu Yang was also smiling: “It’s good that it was a joke. I thought your sect wanted to snatch someone from our Heavenly Sect, something even the Heavenly Immortals have never done.”

Elder Shi saw that although Lu Yang’s tone was calm, there was some anger, and he dared not probe further.

“Enough, it’s a good thing that our two sects have reached a cooperation. This barbecue shop is yours to keep. Here’s a jade token for you; if you need to contact me, just crush the token.” Lu Yang said lazily, tossing a jade token to Elder Shi.

Lu Yang and his party couldn’t possibly stay at the barbecue shop forever; it was better to transfer the shop to the Jiuyou Sect.

If they wanted to find the Jiuyou Sect, they could always come here.

Elder Shi knew this was a sign of Lu Yang’s trust and did not dare to neglect it, turning his head to instruct Huo Hua Shen: “You take a few trustworthy ones and manage this barbecue shop well!”

In the future, when the chain stores are up and running, this place will be the flagship store, and it’s not too extravagant to have a Divine Transformation stage expert in charge.”Yes!”

Huo Divine Transformation thought to himself that he must seize this opportunity to earn spirit stones. If one day the billion-spirit-stone debt he brought back was exposed, at least he would have an excuse.

Shi Hua Bone had lifted the appraisal secret technique, which had been a great burden on his spirit when constantly active.

Throughout their conversation, he found that this young sect leader, Lu Yang, had not told a single lie, and he couldn’t help but admire him in secret. This was the demeanor of a future Lord of the Heavenly Court—acting with integrity and disdain for using lies to plug gaps or test others.

In contrast, he had been overly cautious in using the appraisal secret technique, which was an inferior approach.

In fact, at the very beginning, the Immortal Fairy had reminded Lu Yang that Shi Hua Bone could use the secret technique to detect lies and asked if he needed it to be blocked.

Lu Yang had refused, thinking it would be too much trouble for the Immortal Fairy. If he could deceive people with the truth, why would he be afraid of Shi Hua Bone’s appraisal?

…

On the way back to the Nine Nether Sect, Shi Hua Bone suddenly thought of a possibility.

“Could it be that this young sect leader already knew about the billion-spirit-stone debt and intentionally gave the debt note to me?”

“Making me bear a billion in debt, and then showing me the prospects of the barbecue shop, forcing me to agree to a partnership?”

Shi Hua Bone broke out in a cold sweat, feeling that this young sect leader had deep and calculating thoughts!

And this was an overt plot; he had no choice but to comply.

Truly worthy of being a disciple of Bean Celestial Venerable! The future Lord of the Heavenly Court!

…

On the way back to the Seek Tao Sect, the flying shuttle wasn’t as fast as when they had come. The Fifth Elder, curious, asked, “Lu Yang, the analysis of the world situation you just gave, the plan for the Nine Nether Sect, and the chain barbecue shop you mentioned, you’ve never discussed any of these with us, have you?”

In the original plan, there was no solution for the two questions posed by the leader of the Nine Nether Sect.

“Oh, I just thought of all that on the spot.”