Chapter 286: The Painful Li Haoran

At the Refinement Peak’s cafeteria, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou found Senior Sister Zhou Lulu, who was reading a book and making sugar figurines.

“Senior Sister Zhou, is Junior Brother Li on the mountain?” Lu Yang politely asked.

“Oh, Junior Brother Lu and Junior Brother Meng. You’ve formed your Golden Cores? That was quick,” Zhou Lulu said, looking up. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes when she saw Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s cultivation levels.

At their age, she was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

“Are you looking for Junior Brother Li? He’s in his cave dwelling.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou both smiled. They considered Li Haoran a brother, and after forming their Golden Cores, they naturally wanted to show off in front of him.

Otherwise, what was all that hard training for?

“Junior Brother Li is probably sleeping.”

“Sleeping? I don’t recall Junior Brother Li being someone who loves to sleep.”

“He wasn’t before. But ever since he came back from visiting his family last time, he’s become fond of sleeping. Each time he wakes up, he looks gloomy, as if he’s had a nightmare. I asked him if he dreamt of something bad, but he wouldn’t say.”

“I asked my father, and he also told me not to concern myself with it.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance, roughly guessing the situation. It was likely that Li Haoran was dreaming of his past life’s memories.

Qin Haoran was a legitimate leader of a demonic cult who committed many atrocious acts. Coupled with what the sect leader had mentioned about many people coveting Qin Haoran’s position, all of this would naturally make Li Haoran feel uncomfortable.

The two of them put aside their desire to show off and decided to visit Li Haoran.

However, it wouldn’t be good to go empty-handed. Lu Yang saw that Senior Sister Zhou Lulu’s sugar figurines were quite interesting, and was just about to buy one for Li Haoran.

Before Lu Yang could speak, he saw Zhou Lulu gently blow on them. The two sugar figurines seemed to come alive, holding weapons made of syrup in the air and clashing with a clang.

Lu Yang’s eyelids twitched. If he wasn’t mistaken, the combat power of these two sugar figurines was equivalent to that of a Golden Core cultivator.

If he bought them for Li Haoran, these two sugar figurines might just beat Li Haoran up.

Never mind, he’d find a different gift.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou walked around the cafeteria. There were fritters that could expand or shrink to serve as roof beams, steamed buns that could be used as hidden weapons, sesame flatbreads that could serve as heart-protecting mirrors, and stir-fried sesame seeds for practicing Iron Sand Palm. None of them seemed suitable as a gift.

“Your cafeteria’s cooking skills are quite high!” the only immortal chef remarked, giving the Refinement Peak cafeteria a high evaluation.

“I’d rather their skills were lower,” Lu Yang muttered.

“You have no ambition!”

Lu Yang paid him no mind.

In a dark cave dwelling, a figure’s face was contorted in a grimace, their body twitching involuntarily. It was as if they were experiencing pain in a dream but couldn’t wake up, forced to silently endure the agony.

He abruptly opened his eyes. Sweat had soaked his collar and bedding.

Candlelight flickered to life, illuminating the entire cave dwelling and Li Haoran’s face.

Li Haoran stared blankly at the cave dwelling, only then realizing he was awake.

He recalled his dream experiences—the dark aspects of the Nine Nether Sect and Qin Haoran’s unknown pressures. He couldn’t help but shiver, muttering, “Damn these past life memories…”

As for these recurring past life memories, his master, the Fifth Elder who oversaw Refinement Peak, had no good solution.

Li Haoran silently recited an incantation. First, he cast a Cleansing Robe Spell to clean his clothes, then a Cleansing Body Spell to clean his body. This made him feel a bit better.

“Hmm? Senior Brother Lu and Senior Brother Meng are at the entrance?” The array formation within the cave dwelling alerted him, causing Li Haoran to perk up.

He opened the door to his cave dwelling and saw Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, both with cheerful smiles.

“Junior Brother Li, you’re awake?” Lu Yang said with a smile, secretly observing Li Haoran’s condition.

Li Haoran had dark circles under his eyes, his eyelids drooped, and he looked listless. Ruling out the possibility of self-induced yang deficiency, the only explanation was Qin Haoran’s memories.

“Please, come in, both of you,” Li Haoran enthusiastically greeted them.

The two entered Li Haoran’s cave dwelling and saw many refined artifacts displayed within: armor, shields, bronze cauldrons, and more. Any Golden Core stage artifact refiner would undoubtedly praise their extraordinary quality.

Li Haoran slightly crooked his finger, and the teapot on the table began to move on its own. The teapot sprouted two arms and two legs, scurrying across the coffee table with pattering sounds. It filled itself with water, added tea leaves, put on its lid, and then sat on the stove to heat itself.

Before long, it was steaming hot, and the tea began to bubble. The teapot tilted itself, poured tea into the cups, and then pushed them toward Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou subconsciously said “thank you.” Only after speaking did they realize that the teapot was merely an artifact without sentience; saying thanks was unnecessary.

“I heard Junior Brother Li hasn’t been resting well recently?”

At the mention of the topic, Li Haoran slumped and offered a bitter smile. “Senior Brother Lu, you’re right. I can’t tell anyone else that I’m Qin Haoran’s reincarnation, so I can only complain to you two.”

Lu Yang patted Li Haoran’s shoulder, wearing an expression that conveyed understanding. “You must have seen many secrets of the Nine Nether Sect in your dreams, and these secrets are causing you immense pain.”

Li Haoran nodded, quite excited that someone finally understood him. “Yes! Every time I close my eyes, all I see are the Nine Nether Sect’s deficits!”

“The salaries of the cult members, post-incident cleanup costs, travel expenses, expenses for building strongholds… these are all places where money is spent. The Nine Nether Sect has no legitimate way of making money; they only earn a pittance by killing and plundering. It’s like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water. Every day, it’s just losses, losses, losses!”

“The massive Nine Nether Sect requires money for food, clothing, housing, and transportation. But spirit stones don’t just fall from the sky, so where are they supposed to come from?”

“And those below, clueless as they are, whimsically suggest building a Nine Nether City on the surface. Setting aside whether the imperial court would discover it, does the Nine Nether Sect even have the spirit stones to build a city?”

“Can you imagine? Qin Haoran would sit in the sect leader’s position every day, handling various matters, and then all he’d do is try to figure out ways to make money.”

“When I dream, I see from Qin Haoran’s perspective. I’m just sitting there blankly with him, trying to figure out how to make money.”

“Or else, I’m with Qin Haoran, confronting financial reports, trying to find a way out of the red. Now, just seeing numbers gives me a headache!”

“Fortunately, Qin Haoran later met Yi Ren, who gave him a safe haven. Otherwise, I can only imagine how difficult Qin Haoran’s situation must have been.”

Li Haoran painfully rubbed his temples, complaining to the two.

Lu Yang: “…”

Meng Jingzhou: “…”

How was this different from what they had imagined?

Lu Yang recalled the circumstances of Qin Haoran’s meeting with Su Yiren: someone had pursued him, severely injuring him, causing him to break through a barrier and collapse unconscious in front of Su Yiren. That was how their subsequent fate began.

Previously, Lu Yang had theorized that the Nine Nether Sect was in internal chaos, with someone trying to usurp power and ambushing Qin Haoran.

Now, hearing this account, it seemed that wasn’t the case at all.

“So, the people who were chasing Qin Haoran earlier were…”

Li Haoran said expressionlessly:

“Creditors.”