Pay-to-Win Cultivation: I Get 10,000x Returns

Zhang Xian cursed inwardly. What a blockhead.

But on the surface, his expression remained ferocious. “Hmph! Pray you never fall into this seat’s hands in the future!”

He threw down this harsh threat, his figure flickering as he turned into a blur, speeding desperately toward the depths of the forest.

Chase me. Keep your distance, Zhang Xian’s voice transmission rang in Long Zhi’s ears.

She immediately understood. Lightning flashed around her body, transforming her into a streak of white brilliance as she gave chase. Two figures, one fleeing and one pursuing, rapidly vanished into the gloomy horizon.

They arrived like a storm and departed like the wind.

From the moment Long Zhi annihilated the puppets with a single word, to the black-robed man injuring Baoyuan, retrieving his destroyed constructs, and fleeing with a threat, the entire sequence had taken only a few breaths of time.

It wasn’t until the two powerful auras had completely faded from the edge of the sky that Yu Zhiwei and Junior Brother Center-Part seemed to wake from a dream. They scrambled in a fluster, rushing toward the fallen Baoyuan Zhenren.

An unknown amount of time later.

Lu Yao slowly regained consciousness.

She found herself lying in a temporary camp. Everyone else was there, alive and relatively unharmed.

Not far away, Baoyuan Zhenren was lecturing Song Zhang. Both were in rough shape. Baoyuan had thick bandages wrapped around his chest, his aura feeble and withering. Song Zhang, however, was in a league of his own—he was wrapped up so tightly in bandages he looked like a zongzi rice dumpling, revealing only two bewildered eyes.

Despite his heavy injuries, Baoyuan’s spirits seemed surprisingly high. He was currently scolding the mummified Song Zhang with stern authority.

“If not for the Senior Fairy’s timely intervention, we would have long since become puppets for that Qianji Old Demon! Once we return, I will definitely report this to the Sect. You will be punished for the crime of leaving your post without permission!”

Song Zhang listened, utterly bewildered.

He struggled to recall the scene before he lost consciousness. He distinctly remembered being knocked out by a bolt of lightning descending from the heavens. And he was pretty sure that lightning had been summoned by the woman in white.

How did she become a lifesaving benefactor in Senior Brother Baoyuan’s version of events?

“Senior Brother Baoyuan,” Song Zhang mumbled weakly through his bandages. “Why do I remember… that I was struck by that Senior Fairy’s thunder—”

Right at that moment, Zhang Xian’s voice transmission echoed in Lu Yao’s mind.

She immediately understood her cue. Struggling to sit up, she spoke in a weak, breathless voice.

“Senior Brother Song, you’ve misunderstood Fairy Long Zhi.”

Everyone’s gaze instantly focused on her.

Lu Yao took a deep breath, feigning the effort of recollection. She chose her words carefully.

“The situation was critical. The Qianji Old Demon had been lurking near us the entire time. Senior Long Zhi used her thunder technique to force him out of hiding. Senior Brother Song… you were just caught in the blast radius. It was collateral damage.”

She paused for effect, letting them absorb the ‘truth.’

“After that, the Old Demon appeared. He knocked out Sister Zi Xiao and the other Junior Brothers with a single move. I almost fell victim too. It was Senior Fairy Long Zhi who intervened just in time to save me. Then, she engaged in a fierce battle with him.”

“Eventually, the Senior Fairy gained the upper hand. She trapped the Old Demon in a massive net of lightning. She told me her name is Long Zhi, a Senior from the Spirit Ruins Sword Sect in the Southern Region. She came to the Ashen Wild Forest specifically to track him down. She mentioned that the Old Demon once wreaked havoc in the South with cruel methods, and he is likely connected to the spread of the [Hatred] entity.”

Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed.

Lu Yao continued, “The Senior Fairy said that once she resolves matters here, she will immediately head to the Western Front to continue investigating the source of [Hatred]. She also said… she said she felt a connection with me.”

Lu Yao touched her forehead reverently. “She gently tapped my brow, saying she wanted to grant me enlightenment. After that… I don’t remember anything.”

Enlightenment?

Junior Brother Center-Part and the others looked at Lu Yao, their eyes instantly filling with envy and jealousy. This was a tremendous Fated Chance! To receive enlightenment from such a powerhouse meant she might have received a legacy or a sudden, clarity-inducing epiphany. No wonder she looked so much healthier than the rest of them.

Baoyuan Zhenren slapped his thigh, seemingly realizing the truth. He automatically filled in the plot holes with his own imagination.

“So that’s how it is! I understand now. That Qianji Old Demon must have used a secret blood-burning technique to escape Fairy Long Zhi’s lightning net. No wonder his puppet minions didn’t kill us immediately after trapping us—his main body was too busy fighting for his life against the Senior Fairy to pay attention to us!”

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. His gratitude and admiration for Long Zhi soared to new heights.

He secretly resolved: Once my injuries heal, I will immediately apply for transfer to the Western Front. Not just for the Sect’s righteousness or to resist [Hatred], but to see that goddess-like Fairy Long Zhi once again.

Only Song Zhang looked confused. He hesitated, muttering, “Is that really it? I feel like I was struck by lightning… several times…”

Junior Brother Center-Part scoffed disdainfully. “The Senior Fairy was fighting a life-or-death battle with an Old Demon! You were standing right in the center of the kill zone. Being ‘affected’ a few times and keeping your life is already a miracle. If a Senior of her caliber actually targeted you, you’d have died dozens of times over!”

“That… makes sense.” Song Zhang nodded slowly, convinced by the logic.

Over the next few days, the group recuperated while searching the forest.

Coincidentally, Song Zhang—who had been tricked by Lu Yao into going to catch “Spirit Beasts”—stumbled into a hidden cave and found the missing Young Master of the Spirit Origin Tower. The boy was only slightly frightened, unharmed.

Thus, Song Zhang was considered to have atoned for his mistakes through meritorious service, and the group’s mission was declared a complete success.

On the flying ship back to the sect, the atmosphere was relaxed.

Although Baoyuan Zhenren was still heavily injured, his spirits were high. Junior Brother Center-Part and Song Zhang hovered around Lu Yao, inquiring after her well-being with attentive care. Lu Yao handled them with a polite smile. As for Zi Xiao, ever since seeing the true beauty of Long Zhi, she had been listless and uninterested in anything.

Meanwhile, the few pitiful registered disciples were left on the deck, braving the cold wind.

Eventually, Lu Yao assumed the responsibility of a Senior Sister, calling them into the cabin one by one for “instruction.”

When it was finally Yu Yun’s turn, Lu Yao couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

“Senior, didn’t you come out this time to abduct Yu Zhiwei and Zi Xiao? Why didn’t you take action?”

Zhang Xian—currently wearing the face of the simple, honest disciple Yu Yun—let a profound, inscrutable smile curl his lips.

“The plan has changed. No need to ask more.”

His gaze deepened as he looked out at the rolling sea of clouds beyond the flying ship.

He knew exactly what he was doing. In Yang Poxiao’s heart, the combined weight of ten Zi Xiaos and Yu Zhiweis was far less than that of a single Long Zhi.

Knowing that Long Zhi was still alive—and active right on the Central Continent’s Western Front—could Yang Poxiao still sit still?

After returning to the Guiyuan Sect, life settled into a calm rhythm.

The Master of the Golden Zen Palace, Hu Yanqing, remained in secluded cultivation, obsessed with contemplating the fragment of the “Furnace and Cauldron” technique he had unwittingly obtained.

Major and minor affairs within the palace were temporarily managed jointly by Song Zhang and Lu Yao. Leveraging the lingering prestige of her “enlightenment” from Fairy Long Zhi, Lu Yao gradually began to stand out. Her status within the palace rose subtly, giving her far more freedom to act.

Zhang Xian continued to play the part of the blockheaded registered disciple, cultivating step by step. Every month, he would leave the Guiyuan Sect under the pretext of descending the mountain for experiential training.

Although the Central Continent was vast and prosperous, its information network was far less convenient than the Southern Region’s. Here, long-distance communication relied on specially crafted Flying Message Jade Slips. These slips were physically carried by messenger cultivators who traveled between strongholds on flying ships or via their own escape techniques.

It was slow—often taking months—and security was terrible. Messages being intercepted or lost was a common occurrence.

Zhang Xian arrived at a Heavenly Abyss Alliance stronghold located in a hidden valley on the outskirts of the Guiyuan Mountain Range.

The person in charge was a youth at the late Golden Core stage. He was extremely respectful toward Zhang Xian, bowing as he handed over a heavy jade box.

“This contains all the message jade slips received recently, Senior.”