This Core Can Sever Karma!

Admittedly, talking about a father frequenting brothels right in front of his daughter was not the best look. Yet the moment he recalled how tormenting Qin Haoran's memories had been, Li Haoran cast all psychological baggage aside and began dishing out Qin Haoran's dirty laundry. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stole glances at Qin Yanyan, only to find no trace of anger or disappointment on her face. Noticing their furtive looks, Qin Yanyan countered, "Why are both of you looking at me? How could anyone in a demonic cult be a good person? Did you really think I wouldn't anticipate something like this?" Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou thought about it and found it made sense. It didn't cross their minds at all that they, too, belonged to a demonic cult. Li Haoran continued, "Back then, before Qin Haoran became cult master, he spent whatever money he had and never saved a copper. His philosophy was 'drink today while there's wine today.' "So whenever he ran out of money, he often sold his body—or rather, sold his blood. "Of course, he had safety awareness. Before selling his blood, he erased any trace of himself from it. After all, there are spells that can place curses through blood, and Qin Haoran made sure to avoid that. "After the second-to-last cult master died of apoplexy from sheer rage and anxiety, Qin Haoran figured that since the Nine Nether Cult had so many people and so much wealth, becoming cult master would mean he could spend money however he pleased. "He cleared a series of obstacles, defeated his rivals, and successfully took the throne as cult master—only to find that the Nine Nether Cult wasn't nearly as rich as he had imagined. "And by then, it was already too late to step down." With just a bit of thought, Lu Yang could picture how desperate Qin Haoran must have felt: He had gleefully assumed the position of cult master, dreaming of summoning winds and calling rains, living in lavish decadence surrounded by pools of wine and forests of meat, only to realize the Nine Nether Cult was so broke it couldn't even pay its cultists' monthly allowances. Yet the rank and file knew nothing about this. Even if he told the truth and explained that the previous cult master had squandered it all on investments, the people below would only assume Qin Haoran had embezzled the funds himself. The former cult master had been scammed out of all the money? How could that be? Demonic cults were always the ones scamming others—since when had anyone scammed *them*? Qin Haoran had to be lying! Because of this, once Qin Haoran became cult master, he had no choice but to change his ways and drop his old habits, dutifully developing... or rather, maintaining the Nine Nether Cult. Lu Yang suspected the current Nine Nether Cult Master shared this exact mindset: thinking being cult master was great, only to realize upon taking the post that it was purely a burden, and whoever became cult master was cursed with eight lifetimes of rotten luck. Worse, the current cult master couldn't tell the truth either. Everyone would think: *The Nine Nether Cult operated normally when Qin Haoran was cult master. Why is it that the moment you took charge, you claim the cult has no money? Where did the money go?* Lu Yang wondered: how was the current cult master making money? Had he followed Qin Haoran's lead and taken out loans? Li Haoran's voice interrupted Lu Yang's train of thought. "Of course, Qin Haoran's limb regeneration wasn't just for selling blood. It could also isolate karma. But since I only just formed my core, I can't pull off that move yet." "How so?" Lu Yang hadn't expected regenerating limbs to be connected to something as profoundly esoteric as "karma." Li Haoran explained, "Think about it. With limb regeneration, if an arm is cut off, can a new one grow back?" "Right," Lu Yang nodded. "If a leg is cut off, can a new one grow back?" "Right," Meng Jingzhou nodded. "If the torso and internal organs are destroyed, can new ones grow back?" "Right," Qin Yanyan nodded. "If the head is chopped off, can a new one grow back?" "Right," Fifth Elder nodded. Li Haoran smiled faintly and asked, "If the head, torso, and all four limbs are replaced with new ones, doesn't that mean I've replaced my entire body from top to bottom? "Am I still the original me?" "!!!" "If every part of my body has been replaced, I'm no longer the original me. Can karma still find me?" Lu Yang thought to himself: *As expected of a ruthless character capable of becoming the Nine Nether Cult Master. Who could have ever thought of that?* "Still, since this involves karma after all, my cultivation isn't stable enough yet. Once my realm settles down, maybe I'll be able to pull it off too." Li Haoran felt his Golden Core was quite wonderful. Not only was it helpful in battle, but it could also neutralize karma—truly worthy of the word "Rebirth." As they spoke, the flying shuttle returned to the Dao Seeking Sect. Fifth Elder hauled Li Haoran off to see the other elders and Yun Zhi so they could check whether there were any issues with Li Haoran's Core Formation. "Junior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Meng, Senior Brother Dai Bufan is looking for you," a senior brother told them upon running into the pair. The two were taken aback. "Looking for us?" They hadn't done anything bad on this trip, had they? "Big Niece, you stay at Hundred Refinements Peak. The two of us need to step out for a bit." Lu Yang told Qin Yanyan to cultivate at Hundred Refinements Peak for now, or stroll around to take in the local customs of the Dao Seeking Sect. Preferably pay a visit to the dining hall. ... The two headed to the Mission Hall. "Senior Brother Dai, you were looking for us?" "Fifth Elder was with us on this trip, and we didn't do anything out of line!" Lu Yang immediately proclaimed their innocence. Dai Bufan let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Every time you two go out, you stir up a mountain of trouble. I was terrified that one day the demonic cults would be on the verge of extinction and I still wouldn't have a clue what you two had done." Dai Bufan managed intelligence for the Dao Seeking Sect on behalf of the Grand Elder. Every time Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou returned from a trip, their exploits forced Dai Bufan to overhaul his intelligence reports. He constantly worried that one day the two would cheerfully report to him: *Senior Brother Dai, great news! We've wrecked all Four Great Demonic Cults.* Giving him the final outcome without even mentioning the process would make him an utter failure as the head of intelligence. To prevent such an occurrence, he felt it necessary to find out what they had done every single time they left the sect. "This time, we simply convinced the Nine Nether Cult that our Heavenly Court Cult was founded by ancient almighty figures. Taking advantage of the opportunity, we established a long-term strategic partnership with them to open barbecue shops together. We provide the technology, they provide the manpower, with a sixty-forty profit split in our favor. "I reckon that in a few days, once they figure out the routines of running the shops, they'll speed up the rollout. I believe we'll soon be opening barbecue chain stores across the entire continent." Dai Bufan gave high praise to their plan. "That really is good news. Looks like the Nine Nether Cult will stay quiet for a while. By the way, when you invited Fifth Elder over, what identity did you give him?" Times were turbulent, and one less problem was always welcome. Meng Jingzhou replied earnestly, "One of the Heavenly Court Cult's Nine Great Protectors, the Heavenly King of Many Treasures." Dai Bufan rolled his neck. "Oh, Heavenly King of Many Treasures. That's a pretty good title. Fifth Elder should like it... Wait, Nine Great Protectors? Where did Nine Great Protectors come from?" Lu Yang counted on his fingers. "Eight elders plus Master makes nine people. We're also planning to invite Eldest Senior Sister to be the Cult Master. Since the Heavenly Court Cult publicly claims to be a colossal faction capable of covering the heavens with one hand, having a lineup like this shouldn't be too excessive, right?" "So you're saying you plan to drag the entire sect leadership into your Heavenly Court Cult?!"