Although it’s not great to talk about one’s father visiting prostitutes in front of his daughter,
Li Haoran, tormented by the memories of Qin Haoran, let go of his psychological burden and began to recount Qin Haoran’s dark history.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou secretly observed Qin Yanyan, only to find that she did not show any signs of anger or disappointment.
Qin Yanyan, noticing their subtle actions, retorted, “Why are you two looking at me? Could anyone from the Demon Sect be a good person? Couldn’t I have anticipated this?”
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou thought about it and felt she made sense.
They had never considered that they themselves were from the Demon Sect.
Li Haoran continued, “Back then, before Qin Haoran became the sect leader, he would spend whatever money he had, never saving a penny, living by the creed of ‘drink today if there’s wine today.’”
“So when he was out of money, he often sold his body, which is to say, he sold his blood.”
“Of course, he was also safety-conscious. Before selling his blood, he would erase any traces of himself from it, since there were spells that could curse someone through their blood. Qin Haoran would avoid such situations.”
“After the previous sect leader died of a stroke, Qin Haoran thought the Jiuyou Sect had plenty of people and money. Becoming the sect leader meant he could spend as he wished, right?”
“He overcame a series of obstacles, defeated his competitors, and finally became the sect leader as he desired, only to find that the Jiuyou Sect wasn’t as wealthy as he had imagined.”
“And by then, it was too late to step down.”
Lu Yang could only imagine how desperate Qin Haoran must have felt at that time:
He became the sect leader with great enthusiasm, looking forward to commanding the winds and the rains, indulging in a life of luxury, only to find out that the Jiuyou Sect was so poor they couldn’t even pay their followers’ monthly contributions. The followers were oblivious, and even if he told the truth, saying that the previous sect leader had taken the money for investments, people would only think that Qin Haoran had embezzled it all.
The previous sect leader’s money was swindled? Impossible, it was always their Demon Sect deceiving others, when did it become someone else’s turn to deceive them?
It must be Qin Haoran lying!
For this reason, after becoming the sect leader, Qin Haoran had to change his ways, abandon his old habits, and honestly develop… or rather, maintain the Jiuyou Sect.
Lu Yang suspected that the current sect leader had the same mindset: thinking it was good to be the leader, only to realize upon taking the position that it was purely a burden. Whoever became the sect leader was doomed to bad luck.
The current sect leader couldn’t even tell the truth. People would think, “When Qin Haoran was the sect leader, the Jiuyou Sect operated normally. How come as soon as you take over, you say there’s no money? Where did it go?”
Lu Yang wondered how the current sect leader made money. Did he follow Qin Haoran’s example and take out loans?
Li Haoran’s words interrupted Lu Yang’s thoughts: “Of course, Qin Haoran’s limb regeneration wasn’t just for selling blood; it could also sever karma. But I’ve just formed my Golden Elixir and can’t use this technique yet.”
“How so?” Lu Yang hadn’t expected limb regeneration to be connected with something as profound as “karma.”
Li Haoran explained, “Think about it, if a limb regenerates, can a new arm grow after the old one is severed?”
“Yes,” Lu Yang nodded.
“And a new leg can grow after the old one is severed?”
“Yes,” Meng Jingzhou nodded.
“Can the torso and internal organs also regenerate?”
“Yes,” Qin Yanyan nodded.
“And if the head is cut off, can a new one grow?”
“Yes,” the Fifth Elder nodded.
Li Haoran smiled slightly and asked, “If the head, torso, and limbs are all new, doesn’t that mean I’ve replaced my entire body?”
“Am I still the same person?”
“!!!”
“If I’ve replaced my entire body, am I still the original me? Can karma still find me?”
Lu Yang thought to himself that it was no wonder someone who could become the sect leader of the Jiuyou Sect was such a ruthless character. Who could have thought of this?
“However, this does involve karma, and my realm is not yet stable. Once it is, perhaps I can achieve this step too.”
Li Haoran felt quite satisfied with his Golden Elixir. It was not only helpful in battle but could also dissolve karma, truly living up to the word “rebirth.”
While they were talking, the flying shuttle returned to the Seek Tao Sect. The Fifth Elder took Li Haoran to see the other elders and Yun Zhi to check if there were any issues with his Golden Elixir formation.
“Junior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Meng, Senior Brother Dai Bufan is looking for you,” a fellow disciple said upon seeing Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
The two were surprised: “Looking for us?”
They hadn’t done anything wrong when they went out, had they?
“Great-niece, you stay at the Hundred Refinements Peak. We’ll leave for a bit,” Lu Yang told Qin Yanyan to stay at the Hundred Refinements Peak to cultivate or take a look around and experience the culture of the Seek Tao Sect.
It would be best to visit the dining hall.
…
The two headed to the Mission Hall.
“Senior Brother Dai, you were looking for us?”
“We had the Fifth Elder with us on our trip, and we didn’t do anything out of line!” Lu Yang declared their innocence first.
Dai Bufan breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good. Every time you two go out, you stir up a bunch of trouble. I’m afraid one day you’ll nearly wipe out the Demon Sect, and I won’t even know what you did.”
Dai Bufan, on behalf of the Grand Elder, was in charge of the Seek Tao Sect’s intelligence. The gains from Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s outings always made Dai Bufan reorganize the intelligence.
He was worried that one day the two would excitedly report to him, saying, “Senior Brother Dai, good news! We’ve wiped out all four major Demon Sects.”Without even a process, just handing him a result would mean his role in managing intelligence was a complete failure.
To prevent such incidents, he felt it was necessary to understand what they did every time they went out.
“This time, we convinced the Jiuyou Sect that our Heavenly Court Sect was established by an ancient power. We took this opportunity to form a long-term strategic partnership with them. Together, we opened a barbecue restaurant. We provide the technology, they provide the manpower, and we take sixty percent of the profits while they take forty.”
“I reckon that after some time, once they figure out a set of rules for running the business, they’ll be able to speed up the opening of new stores. I believe it won’t be long before we have a chain of barbecue restaurants across the continent.”
Dai Bufan highly praised Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s plan: “That’s indeed good news. It seems the Jiuyou Sect will be stable for a while. By the way, you invited the Fifth Elder over, what position did you give him?”
Now was a time of many troubles, and one less issue was always welcome.
Meng Jingzhou sincerely replied: “One of the nine guardians of the Heavenly Court Sect, the Multi-Treasure Heavenly King.”
Dai Bufan moved his neck: “Oh, the Multi-Treasure Heavenly King, that’s a decent title. The Fifth Elder will like it… Wait a minute, nine guardians? Where did these nine guardians come from?”
Lu Yang counted on his fingers: “The eight elders, plus Master, makes nine. We also plan to invite the eldest senior sister to be the sect leader. After all, the Heavenly Court Sect claims to be a major force that can cover the sky with one hand. Having such a lineup shouldn’t be too much, right?”
“So you’re planning to involve the entire upper echelon of our sect in your Heavenly Court Sect?!”
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