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

Chapter 212: Big Brother, You’ve Been Tricked, This is a Fake!

A silent thunderclap detonated across the deck.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Xian vanished, leaving behind nothing but a fading afterimage of purple electricity crackling in the empty air.

The next second.

BOOM!

50 miles away, deep within the mist-shrouded valley, the earth screamed.

A cataclysmic explosion tore through the silence, followed by an eruption of energy far more violent than the initial blast. A blinding pillar of fire roared into the heavens, blossoming into a massive mushroom cloud that obliterated the gray fog hovering over the valley.

A visible crimson shockwave swept out like a tsunami. It slammed into the surrounding peaks, shaking mountains to their roots and sending landslides of crushed rock tumbling into the abyss. Even the flying boat, hovering dozens of miles away, shuddered under the force of the tremor.

Zhiyin remained perfectly calm.

Zhang Xian had made his move. With his current cultivation base, she knew there was almost nothing in the entire Western Region capable of standing against him.

Moments later, a flash of purple lightning tore through space, reappearing on the deck as if by teleportation.

The light faded to reveal Zhang Xian. His robes were immaculate, his breathing steady. He looked as though he had simply returned from a leisurely stroll, completely unharmed.

The only difference was the burden in his arms.

He was carrying a young girl, perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old. Her tattered rags barely clung to her frame, and her feet were bare, caked in grime. Half her body was soaked in dark, viscous blood—she had clearly suffered catastrophic injuries.

Despite the gore, her features were delicate and striking. Though her face was pale as paper from blood loss and her brows were knit in pain, nothing could hide the fact that she was a beauty in the making.

But the most arresting features were atop her head: a pair of furry, brownish-black ears that drooped pitifully. From beneath her shredded hem, a long, bushy tail hung limp.

A half-beast.

Zhiyin reacted instantly. She flicked her wrist, retrieving several High Grade Spirit Stones from her Storage Ring. With a snap of her fingers, the stones shot forward and embedded themselves around the girl, instantly activating a simple stabilizing formation.

Zhang Xian gently laid the girl in the center of the array. He straightened up, his hands weaving through a complex set of seals.

Hum.

The phantom of a colossal ancient tree materialized behind him, its lush canopy spreading wide. The spectral branches swayed in an unseen breeze, shedding wisps of pure azure light that drifted down like a healing rain, sinking into the girl’s battered body.

The sheer violence of Zhang Xian’s departure had alerted the others. Xia Chengyan and Lin Xiaozhu rushed out of the cabin, eyes wide.

“Whoa!” Xia Chengyan spotted the unconscious girl immediately. “Big Brother, we’ve been in the Western Region for days, and this is the first time you’ve brought someone aboard. And it’s a…”

His gaze swept over her exquisite face and the furry ears. A knowing smirk plastered itself across his face. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Indeed, even heroes find it hard to resist a beauty’s charm. Especially with those ears… Big Brother, I knew you had a type!”

Lin Xiaozhu stood nearby, cradling her snow-white spirit fox, Diu Diu. She watched in awe as the girl’s wounds knitted together at a visible rate. Broken bones snapped back into alignment under the nourishment of the azure light, and a healthy flush began to return to the girl’s pale cheeks.

She recognized the technique—the [Azure Emperor’s Rejuvenation Art]—but the potency was absurd. She glanced up at the ancient tree phantom radiating boundless vitality behind Zhang Xian, her eyes shining with admiration.

Xia Chengyan, however, was still running his mouth. “I say, Big Brother, Sister-in-law is still on the ship. Isn’t it a bit bold to bring a girl home like this?”

Zhang Xian sighed, the sound heavy with exhaustion. “Chengyan, for the last time, Fellow Daoist Long Zhi is not my Dao Companion. Keep calling her that, and you’re going to make things awkward for her.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Xia Chengyan grinned. “I’ve called her ‘Sister-in-law’ to her face plenty of times. She never seems unhappy about it.”

Lin Xiaozhu, stroking her fox, cut in coldly. “That’s because she can’t be bothered to acknowledge your existence.”

Xia Chengyan curled his lip, deciding to drop the subject. He circled the healing formation, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the girl’s brownish-black ears and tail.

Suddenly, he gasped.

“Big Brother! You’ve been tricked! This is a fake!”

Zhang Xian paused, his hands still holding the seal. “What fake?”

“Aiyah!” Xia Chengyan looked genuinely pained, as if he had just witnessed a tragedy. “The girl you saved… she isn’t a fox beast! She’s just a dog beast. You got scammed.”

He pointed an accusing finger at the girl’s ears, analyzing them with the seriousness of a scholar.

“Look, Big Brother. There’s a science to this. Fox beast ears are sharper, more agile, and the tufts at the tip are fluffy and ethereal. But look at hers. Pointed, yes, but rounder. The cartilage is thick, and the fur is short and stiff. Those are textbook dog ears.”

He shook his head, sighing with deep regret. “And the most critical evidence? A real fox beast naturally emits a faint, soul-stirring fragrance that makes the heart flutter. This one? Nothing. She just smells like blood and dirt.”

In Lin Xiaozhu’s arms, Diu Diu let out a soft Wu-mi, as if nodding in agreement.

Zhang Xian looked at him, utterly baffled. “What are you babbling about? I don’t care if she’s a fox or a dog. I’m saving a life.”

“It’s not the same, Big Brother! If she’s not a fox beast, she lacks the essence! That soul-stealing charm, that shy yet seductive glance…” Xia Chengyan looked devastated.

Lin Xiaozhu stared at him, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. “You seem very knowledgeable, Xia Chengyan. Ear shapes, body fragrances, seductive glances… you explain it all so fluently. Experience, is it?”

Xia Chengyan froze. Cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

“Xiaozhu! I read it in books! I swear! Fox beasts are popular characters in cultivation novels! This is purely armchair theory—I have zero practical experience!”

“Oh, really? So you have a fetish for reading about it, then.”

“Absolutely not! I was just worried Big Brother was being deceived!”

While they bickered, the girl in the formation let out a soft groan. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened. They were clear, translucent amber, currently filled with the hazy confusion of waking up in a strange place.

Instantly, clarity returned.

Her body snapped taut like a coiled spring. She flipped over, landing on all fours, and scrambled backward until her back hit the ship’s railing. She arched her spine, baring her teeth, and a low, threatening rumble vibrated in her throat—Wu-luuu. Her amber eyes darted frantically, scanning the giants surrounding her.

“See!” Xia Chengyan pointed triumphantly. “That posture! I told you she was a dog!”

The girl’s head snapped toward him, and she glared with genuine ferocity, the growling in her throat intensifying.

But instinct told her she was outmatched. She was surrounded by powerful entities, but the railing was right behind her.

Escape.

She exploded into motion, her body launching like an arrow from a bow. She vaulted toward the open sky, aiming to jump straight off the flying boat.

She was mid-air when a stream of clear, transparent water materialized from thin air, snapping around her ankle like a whip.

“Aiyo!”

The girl yelped as her momentum was brutally arrested. She swung back like a pendulum and slammed face-first onto the deck with a wet smack, ending up sprawled on all fours in a heap.

Zhang Xian looked at the girl’s wretched, disheveled state and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Little dog beast, I went through a lot of trouble to fish you out of that valley. I didn’t bring you up here just so you could jump off and splatter yourself on the ground.”

The girl struggled to her feet, wiping the dust from her face. She glared at them, her amber eyes burning with indignation.

“I am not a dog!” she shrieked, her voice cracking. “I am a wolf! A WOLF!”