I Found You a Franchisee

Lu Yang felt his master actually had quite good popularity. Even though he was suffering behind bars, there were still so many people concerned about him. Seven senior brothers, one senior sister, and his beloved eldest disciple. In just a few short minutes, his master had gained several Heavenly King titles. Lu Yang truly wished he could share this good news with the old man. The old man would probably be so thrilled that he would smash his cell open just to personally thank his senior brothers and sisters for their heartfelt care. As for thanking Yun Zhi, he wouldn't dare—he couldn't beat her, after all. "I think whatever Heavenly King title Master gets should be left up to him. Eldest Senior Sister, will you be the Cult Master of the Heavenly Court Cult?" Yun Zhi thought for a moment, then looked seriously at Lu Yang. "You said earlier that the Lord of the Heavenly Court is Dou Tianzun. Is that Senior Fairy?" Inside the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy stood with her hands on her hips, puffed up with pride. With the elders present, it wasn't convenient for her to show herself, so she transmitted her voice to Yun Zhi. "That's right! Bet you didn't expect I was the Lord of the Heavenly Court! I am the head of the Five Ancient Celestials; being the Lord of the Heavenly Court is child's play for me!" "I thought you would bestow the title of Yun Tianzun on me and make me the Lord of the Heavenly Court." The Immortal Fairy was so scared she didn't dare make a peep. Originally, Lu Yang had planned to make Eldest Senior Sister the Lord of the Heavenly Court. After all, Eldest Senior Sister was thoroughly reliable. It was only through the Immortal Fairy's relentless wheedling and pestering that Lu Yang had swapped Yun Tianzun for Dou Tianzun. This matter could under no circumstances be revealed to Yun Zhi. "Very well, Cult Master it is," Yun Zhi agreed readily. Lu Yang was overjoyed. This Cult Master was leagues more reliable than the Lord of the Heavenly Court. The Lord of the Ancient Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Court Cult Master, and the Nine Great Protectors were all settled. Lu Yang had reaped an abundant harvest. After the elders dispersed, they were still pondering what Daoist Buyu should be called. "Old Ninth modified Size Manipulation and it sold like hot cakes on the market. How about Growth Heavenly King?" "That's a good name. I vote yes." "I vote yes too." Meanwhile, the Eighth Elder was exuberantly reminiscing about the grand feat of swindling the Nine Nether Cult in the past. "I truly never expected the Nine Nether Cult to be so rich. When I saw it back then, it scared the life out of me." "Tell me about it! With that money, I replaced every single magical treasure on me from head to toe. All top-quality goods! I'm still using that same set today!" "Back then, whenever I went to auctions, I was rolling in cash and exclusively bought the grand finale items. Once, I even bought a mysterious object that not even the chamber of commerce could appraise. By a stroke of luck, I discovered it was a map detailing a treasure trove. Later, I followed the map to the location, and sure enough, I found the treasure!" "I was wondering why everyone got roughly the same share of spirit stones back then, yet you were spending far more lavishly than the rest of us. Turns out you had a windfall!" "Do plenty of good deeds, and good luck follows." Lu Yang remembered he had not yet told the Immortal Cult's upper management about opening chain shops. He gave Eldest Senior Sister a quick heads-up and headed over to the commercial street's barbecue shop. Inside the barbecue shop, he ran into someone who shouldn't have been there—Qin Yanyan, happily munching on grilled skewers. "Hmm, the flavor isn't quite up to what I had in Yanjiang Commandery, but it's decent enough." Master Liu and Master Gao had never faced such a provocation in their professional domain. Hearing Qin Yanyan's critique, they pulled out every trick up their sleeves, determined to grill skewers that would satisfy her! "Niece, why are you here?" Qin Yanyan, her mouth glistening with oil, looked up with a skewer still between her teeth, eating heartily. She chewed a few times, swallowed with some effort, and explained, "A senior sister named Zhou Lulu told me there was a barbecue shop on the commercial street with the exact same name as the one you opened in Yanjiang Commandery. I wondered if this was the main branch and what it tasted like, so I came over to eat." Seeing Lu Yang, Master Liu and Master Gao offered a textbook bow. "Boss Lu!" Lu Yang jumped in surprise. Since when had he become the boss? In truth, Master Liu and Master Gao didn't fully understand why either. The Immortal Celestial had personally instructed them to show Lu Yang the utmost etiquette from now on and treat him exactly as they would treat the celestial himself. After all, Lu Yang was the Second-in-Command of the Immortal Lineage, holding a status even higher than the Immortal Celestial's. Lu Yang had Master Liu contact the Immortal Cult Master, who was still at the slaughterhouse, telling him there was business to discuss. "They call you boss? Did you open this shop too? Who are they?" Qin Yanyan asked curiously. "You could say I opened it. Strictly speaking, the one in Yanjiang Commandery is the main branch, and this is Branch Number One. Master Liu and Master Gao, who are grilling skewers for you, were both former Vice Cult Masters of the Immortal Cult." Qin Yanyan was utterly startled. She never imagined the people grilling skewers for her had such formidable backgrounds. At the Dao Seeking Sect, were former Vice Cult Masters of the Immortal Cult only worthy of grilling skewers? "The one coming in a moment is the former Cult Master of the Immortal Cult. He runs a slaughterhouse at the Dao Seeking Sect and is the barbecue shop's primary meat supplier." Qin Yanyan was even more astounded. Vice cult masters, a cult master... had the Dao Seeking Sect rounded up the entire Immortal Cult and brought them here for reform through labor? She looked at Lu Yang with a peculiar expression. Why were the former vice cult masters so deferential to him? And why could he summon the Immortal Cult Master at a moment's notice? Even if the upper management of the Immortal Cult had ended up as prisoners, they wouldn't treat a Golden Core stage disciple with such friendliness, would they? Could Lu Yang hold an exceptionally high status in the Immortal Cult? Qin Yanyan felt as though she had inadvertently stumbled upon a massive, unspeakable secret. Upon receiving Lu Yang's summons, the Cult Master hurried over, followed by three very familiar female ghosts. "Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, Xiao Qi, shouldn't you be in Guhuai Town?" Xiao Qi stepped forward to explain, "True Monarch Dai was worried the Nine Nether Cult might question us to verify Young Master Lu's background, so he had people bring us back to the Dao Seeking Sect to follow Cult Master Xie." It took Lu Yang a moment to realize who Xiao Qi meant by "True Monarch Dai"—it was Senior Brother Dai Bufan. Senior Brother Dai Bufan possessed Body Integration stage cultivation, which fully entitled him to be addressed as a "True Monarch." Lu Yang didn't think Dai Bufan was particularly remarkable, given how easily he got startled and panicked, but in the eyes of Xiao Qi and the other two ghosts, Dai Bufan was an untouchable, almighty expert who demanded absolute deference. "We usually help Cult Master Xie at the slaughterhouse while absorbing the livestock's yang energy to maintain the stability of our souls." The Cult Master knew Lu Yang was acquainted with the three female ghosts, so he had brought them along specifically to prove to Lu Yang that he was treating them well. "Second-in-Command!" The Immortal Celestial manifested, assuming a respectful posture. Lu Yang's eyelid twitched. Without even guessing, he knew the Immortal Fairy was stirring up mischief behind the scenes. "Boss Lu, what are your instructions?" Just as Lu Yang was about to settle scores with the Immortal Fairy, the Cult Master's words interrupted his train of thought. "I wouldn't call them instructions. I just came over to let you know that your plan to expand the barbecue business was approved by Eldest Senior Sister just now." Back in the Discussion Hall, when he mentioned having the Nine Nether Cult open barbecue shops, Eldest Senior Sister hadn't objected, which basically counted as approval. "That's wonderful!" The Immortal Cult's high-ranking members hadn't expected Lu Yang to move so swiftly. "Not only that, I've already found you a franchisee. They will take full charge of expanding the barbecue shops, and they are absolutely reliable." "A franchisee already? Who is it?" The Cult Master hadn't anticipated Lu Yang taking this matter so much to heart. "The Nine Nether Cult." "Who?!"