On their way back to the Dao Seeking Sect, Meng Jingzhou suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, whatever was inside that wooden box belonged to Qin Haoran. Shouldn't Junior Brother Li have kept it?"
Lu Yang fell silent for a moment before replying earnestly, "Trust me, Junior Brother Li definitely wouldn't want that thing."
After the wooden box's seal was broken, Lu Yang had originally wanted to open it and take a peek at what was inside, only to be hastily stopped by the Immortal Fairy.
"Inside that box is a promissory note bound with karmic power. Qin Haoran used the box to isolate the note's karma from his own."
"If whoever opens the wooden box has any connection to Qin Haoran, opening it will forge a karmic link between them and the promissory note, forcing them to repay the debt in Qin Haoran's stead!"
"And that promissory note cannot be destroyed. Otherwise, whoever holds that karmic tie will suffer an attack equivalent to the full-power strike of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator!"
"Qin Haoran clearly couldn't pay his debts, so he hid the note away. Whoever dug up that wooden box thinking it was a treasure was bound to be cursed!" the Immortal Fairy had warned with rare solemnity.
Lu Yang had inhaled sharply at the revelation. Qin Haoran truly lived up to his title as a demonic cult master—his methods were ruthless to the core.
He wondered which unlucky bastard would end up bound to that note by karma.
At the same time, Lu Yang finally understood something. No wonder the box had been secured with a blood essence seal.
Qin Haoran had never intended for his reincarnation to open that seal in the first place.
He was no fool; why would he saddle his next life with a colossal debt?
***
At the headquarters of the Nine Nether Cult, dark clouds hung oppressively low as a once-in-a-century lightning tribulation brewed in the sky.
Suddenly, a thick bolt of purple lightning illuminated the entire expanse in an instant, resembling a gargantuan orb of electricity rupturing and expanding in all directions.
Under its brilliant glare, every detail stood out with unnatural clarity, as though time itself had paused.
Then, another massive bolt of lightning slashed across the heavens, followed by a second, a third...
As time slipped by under the relentless bombardment of lightning bolts, Shi Huagu was battered into a wretched state, charred black as a lump of coal.
Once the thunder and lightning finally subsided, Shi Huagu cracked his eyes open.
*"Cough, cough—"*
A plume of black smoke carrying the aroma of roasted meat drifted from his mouth.
"Damn it all... I really thought I was going to die just now," Shi Huagu cursed under his breath, trembling with lingering dread.
Cultivators of the yin attribute like him feared yang thunder above all else. Had his foundation not been exceptionally solid, he would have perished beyond a doubt.
Strangely enough, amid that lightning assault so dense it had practically turned liquid, while the surrounding area lay in ruins and Shi Huagu's clothes were scorched to cinders, the promissory note remained safe and sound, as though untouched by the heavenly baptism.
Shi Huagu's fury flared the moment he laid eyes on the note; he longed to crush it into dust with a single palm.
Yet he was well aware of its terrifying power. If he dared destroy it, an even stronger blast of thunder would strike.
That would be a situation of certain death.
And if he didn't repay the debt, the note would summon a blast of Fivefold Heavenly Thunder down upon him once every month.
Who could possibly endure that?
He had only two choices now: either break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, or pay up.
One billion spirit stones! His entire life's fortune didn't even amount to that much.
"Transferring debt... Cult Master Qin truly lives up to his reputation of robbing Peter to pay Paul!" Shi Huagu's gaze turned chillingly cold.
He had considered passing the note off to someone else, but unfortunately, it had already established a karmic bond with him. Until that bond was severed, the note could not be transferred.
"The Heavenly Court Cult, is it? Fine, very fine indeed! Giving me a show of force right off the bat, are they?!" Shi Huagu gnashed his teeth. The other party was truly deep and scheming.
Lord Mi and the Soul Formation cultivator returned. Seeing Shi Huagu looking like a burnt cinder, Lord Mi asked tentatively, "Vice Cult Master, are you all right?"
With a face black as soot, Shi Huagu snapped, "Do I look like I'm all right to you?"
Catching his drift, the Soul Formation cultivator cautiously asked, "Vice Cult Master, is something wrong?"
Shi Huagu fought with all his might to suppress the urge to murder him.
"Take me to the Cult Master!" Shi Huagu cast a spell to cleanse his body, changed his clothes, and put on a wig—his hair had been entirely incinerated by the Fivefold Heavenly Thunder and would not grow back anytime soon.
Lord Mi and the Soul Formation cultivator tacitly refrained from uttering a word about what had happened before returning to the cult.
Lord Mi held a neutral position and had originally planned to present the wooden box directly to the Cult Master. However, the Soul Formation cultivator was Shi Huagu's trusted confidant, so how could he have permitted Lord Mi to do that?
Under the Soul Formation cultivator's forceful insistence, the wooden box had ended up in Shi Huagu's hands and was opened by him.
If Shi Huagu ever learned the truth, he would undoubtedly strike the Soul Formation cultivator dead on the spot, and even scattering his ashes wouldn't be enough to quell his wrath.
Lord Mi now held absolute leverage over the Soul Formation cultivator.
***
The current Cult Master of the Nine Nether Cult was a handsome young man, appearing somewhat out of place amid the gloomy, sinister atmosphere of the cult.
"The Heavenly Court?"
The Cult Master lapsed into thought, pondering the matter for a long while before slowly asking, "Tell me... does this Heavenly Court Cult have money? Do you think they could lend us some?"
"What?" Shi Huagu wondered if the lightning strikes had scrambled his brains.
"Ah, no, it's nothing. I was just remarking, so it was the Heavenly Court, after all," the Cult Master hurriedly corrected himself.
Only after taking the seat of Cult Master and reviewing the monthly deficit reports had he realized just how agonizingly difficult life had been for the previous cult master.
He had worked tirelessly for the sake of their faith, learning finance from scratch, carrying out market research, and conducting on-site investigations. Starting from the smallest details, he had scouted out business opportunities and pioneered multiple new ventures, striving to earn money just to keep the Nine Nether Cult afloat.
Unfortunately, when faced with the bottomless pit that was the construction of Fengdu, no amount of spirit stones ever proved sufficient.
This kind of predicament could not be shared with others, as it would easily incite panic.
Enduring the relentless suppression of the righteous path was stressful enough. If the followers discovered the Nine Nether Cult's dire financial straits, they might even be tempted to turn themselves in to the authorities.
Consequently, he held immense admiration for Qin Haoran, who had managed to maintain the cult's daily operations despite bleeding money at such a rate.
Had he known that Qin Haoran had still managed to marry and start a family under those circumstances, his admiration would have known no bounds.
"Qin Haoran's reincarnation..."
Previously, he had always assumed the rumors of Qin Haoran's reincarnation were fabricated by the three vice cult masters in their bid to seize Qin Haoran's legacy. Although Nine Nether Cult doctrine did mention Samsara, and it was theoretically achievable,
in the long history of the cult, no one had ever heard of anyone successfully reincarnating.
Yet now, an ancient Heavenly Court Cult had suddenly emerged, claiming to have found Qin Haoran's reincarnation—and that the reincarnation was a woman.
Bizarre as it sounded, upon closer reflection, it seemed entirely plausible.
"Are you certain this belonged to Qin Haoran?"
Shi Huagu silently produced the promissory note.
Shi Huagu was unaware of the cult's financial deficits; he had assumed the note was a trap Qin Haoran had deliberately left behind to screw someone over.
The instant the Cult Master laid eyes on the promissory note, he understood. This was beyond doubt something Qin Haoran had left behind; it was impossible to forge.
Furthermore, he recalled that Qin Haoran was exceptionally skilled in karma and formations, fully capable of severing and redirecting karmic ties.
"In that case, the credibility of this Heavenly Court Cult and Qin Haoran's reincarnation is quite high."
"Summon the other two vice cult masters. We are holding a meeting."
"Then... can these one billion spirit stones be paid out from the cult's treasury?" Shi Huagu certainly had no desire to be struck by lightning every month.
The Cult Master adopted a stern expression. "Accepting Qin Haoran's legacy is your personal affair. You cannot dip into the public treasury; public and private matters must be kept strictly separate!"
"However, I do have a small suggestion."
"Please speak, Cult Master."
"Next time you get struck by lightning, please do it a bit further from headquarters. Repairing the headquarters costs money."
Chapter 307