Tricking the Netherworld Church Was a Tradition of the Ask Dao Sect

"This Heavenly Court Sect is not well-known, yet its foundation is so rich?" The Fifth Elder gasped, having never heard of the Heavenly Court Sect before.

Seeing that the Fifth Elder was intimidated, Lu Yang continued, "In addition to the aforementioned foundation, the Heavenly Court Sect will soon be recruiting again. There are already two candidates. One is born with an immortal body. The first immortal to achieve immortality in High Antiquity, the Nine-fold Immortal, did so because of his innate immortal body."

"Another one enjoys the fortune of the entire clan, with boundless luck, and cultivates both barbarian and Confucian skills!"

"Fifth Elder, what do you think? Would you like to join us?"

"Originally, our Heavenly Court Sect planned to take a long time to grow so that we could gain the upper hand in the great struggle. However, the despicable Nine Nether Sect has set its sights on us. We need a protector to help us deal with the Nine Nether Sect!"

Lu Yang clasped his hands in a fist salute and solemnly said, "If the Fifth Elder is willing to lend a helping hand to our Heavenly Court Sect this time, our Heavenly Court Sect will surely repay you handsomely in the future!"

The Fifth Elder remained silent for a moment, and just when Lu Yang thought the Fifth Elder was about to agree, he slowly asked:

"Has your Heavenly Court Sect registered with the imperial court?"

Lu Yang was taken aback. "Registration and filing?"

"Yes, the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty stipulate that any organization must register with the local government. Failure to register constitutes illegal operation and is subject to severe penalties."

"Neither the former four major demonic sects nor the current three major demonic sects have been registered."

Lu Yang: "..."

Seeing Lu Yang and the others remain silent, the Fifth Elder burst into laughter. "Alright, alright, just say what you have to say. Stop with the formalities and tell us what's going on."

As one of the renowned Nine Scholars of the Dao, the Fifth Elder was naturally not intimidated by Lu Yang.

What High Antiquity immortal lineage, what powerful Aristocratic Clan assistance—isn't that just talking about you few?

With the destruction of the Immortal Cult, Lu Yang obtained the inheritance of the Immortal Immortal.

As the eldest son of the Meng family, Meng Jingzhou received financial assistance from a prominent Aristocratic Clan.

Li Haoran's previous incarnation, Qin Haoran, was a half-step Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator.

Qin Yanyan's father is Qin Haoran, so he is naturally the first in line to inherit the throne.

Lu Yang had no choice but to honestly recount what had happened, which amazed the Fifth Elder, whose eyes lit up.

"You lot are quite capable, fabricating a fictitious Heavenly Court to deceive the Nine Nether Sect and thus achieve cooperation. If you're lucky, you might even find the Radiant Sun Sect and the Ruthless Sect."

The Fifth Elder looked on with a nostalgic expression. "Back then, the nine of us did something similar to what you all did."

"What's going on?" Lu Yang and the other three looked at the Fifth Elder with curiosity.

The Fifth Elder picked up a stone and casually transformed it into a table and chairs, allowing Lu Yang and the other three to sit down.

The tables and chairs looked thin, but after being refined by the Fifth Elder, a grandmaster of weapon crafting, they became sturdy enough to withstand several blows from Golden Core cultivator.

"It was probably nine hundred years ago. Eighth Junior Brother disguised himself as a low-level cultivator and went out to right wrongs. He accidentally discovered the whereabouts of a member of the Nine Nether Sect. He did not make a fuss, but followed his nature and colluded with the members of the Nine Nether Sect, spending his days and nights in prostitution and gambling. Most of the time, Eighth Junior Brother paid for the entertainment. This behavior quickly gained the trust of the member of the Nine Nether Sect."

The Eighth Elder— Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had little contact with him, but he left a deep impression on them.

After all, the Eighth Elder dared to sell the entrance exam questions from twenty years ago to Meng Jingzhou, and even swore that they were definitely genuine questions.

"And then what?"

"The Nine Nether Sect members asked, 'We're all at the Nascent Soul Realm, where did Eighth Junior Brother get so many Spirit Stones?' Eighth Junior Brother replied that they had discovered a longevity-enhancing Pill Formula. Although the improvement wasn't significant, it was enough to make cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan scramble for it."

"Eighth Junior Brother also said this was inside information from their organization, and that he wouldn't have told you if we weren't such good friends."

"However, the production of longevity-enhancing Pill Formula is too low, and the supply cannot meet the demand. A large amount of Spirit Stone are needed to purchase raw materials in order to expand production."

"My eighth junior brother said their organization is short of money right now. Could we lend them some? It won't be a free loan; we guarantee to return the principal after a year, plus 20% interest."

The followers of the Nine Nether Sect were tempted, but remained skeptical, initially investing only tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. A year later, Eighth Junior Brother returned the principal as promised, plus 20% interest.

"The followers of the Nine Nether Sect have tried it for three years, and it's the same every year."

"Later, this matter was discovered by the superiors of the Nine Nether Sect. The superiors also wanted to invest and asked Eighth Junior Brother if it was feasible. Eighth Junior Brother said he needed to consult his superiors, and then he brought up Ninth Brother, who is your master."

"Your master said it was worth investing, and subsequently, the disciple's superior invested for five years, more than doubling their assets, and they were overjoyed."

"There are no secrets in the world. Eventually, the leader of the Nine Nether Sect found out about this. The leader didn't tell anyone, but cautiously asked to observe the alchemy process. So, the Eighth and Ninth Brothers called us over and asked us to stage an alchemy scene, with the eldest brother pretending to be a participant in the pill-taking."

"After the cult leader visited, he thought the nine of us were quite reliable, so he invested his own Spirit Stone and made a lot of money."

"Although he made a lot of money, the sect leader felt it was still not enough, so he set his sights on the Nine Nether Sect's treasury, investing with the treasury. When he reaps the rewards a year later, all the Spirit Stone in the treasury will be returned to their rightful place, and the interest will belong to him. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

"The cult leader misappropriated a portion of the treasury to make even more money, but he wasn't satisfied, so he simply used most of the treasury for investment."

"Then we ran away with the money."

"Don't tell anyone about this. Even your grandmaster doesn't know about it," the Fifth Elder warned.

Qin Yanyan asked in bewilderment, "Didn't the Spirit Stone you gave to the Nine Nether Sect come from the Ask Dao Sect? How could our Grandmaster not know?"

The Fifth Elder shook his head. "There's absolutely no need for the Ask Dao Sect's money. The only time Eighth Junior Brother used his own Spirit Stone was when he initially deceived the followers."

Qin Yanyan was even more puzzled.

The Fifth Elder was very patient with his grand-disciple. "Think about it, when we give back profits, aren't there other members of the Nine Nether Sect investing in us?"

Qin Yanyan nodded.

"Then why don't we just return the Spirit Stone invested by others to the previous group?"

Qin Yanyan suddenly realized.

"Wait a minute, isn't this a scam?"

"I also asked my eighth junior brother about this, and he said how could this be called fraud? We just failed in our business and lost our investment. It's normal to make and lose money in business."

"If you feel guilty, you can report us to the imperial court. We are upright and have nothing to fear."

"Moreover, if we're talking about guilt, it's the Nine Nether Sect leader's misappropriation of funds that constitutes a crime."

Qin Yanyan: "..."

Lu Yang noticed that Li Haoran's expression was rather strange. "What's wrong?"

Li Haoran looked at his master with a conflicted expression. "The leader who was deceived died of anger after being overwhelmed with grief. Then Qin Haoran took over as leader and discovered that the Nine Nether Sect had serious financial problems."

"The previous leader died without ever knowing who had deceived him."

I'm working late, the second update will be around 11 PM.