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

Chapter 216: So It’s a Pokémon Master

Long Zhi stood clad in snowy white, her temperament as cool and distant as the high moon. Her aura felt far more condensed and robust than before; having expelled the remnants of the [Hatred] and devoted herself to diligent cultivation, she had made significant strides. She was now mere inches away from the third level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Lin Liuli was seeing Long Zhi for the first time. Stunned by such peerless beauty and icy elegance, the wolf girl’s mouth hung slightly open.

“Wow…”

Long Zhi offered her only a faint, sweeping glance. She showed zero curiosity toward the half-demon girl who had inexplicably appeared on the flying boat, her attention immediately shifting to the ruins below.

It wasn’t just Long Zhi. Xia Chengyan and Lin Xiaozhu also radiated noticeably stronger power. Thanks to the [Zhang’s Grand Gift Package], both had successfully broken through to the second level of the Nascent Soul stage.

The group gathered by the railing, looking down.

Below, the forest was shrouded in black mist, deathly silent. There was no chirping of insects, no cries of birds—only a heart-palpitating oppression that permeated the air.

Xia Chengyan frowned. “Little Wolf Girl, your cultivation is too shallow. You probably can’t withstand the pressure down there. How about you stay on the flying boat?”

Upon hearing this, one of Lin Liuli’s perkily upright wolf ears instantly flopped down. Her eyes filled with disappointment.

This was a ruin left by The Drifting King! As a loyal fan, she was desperate to explore it.

Zhang Xian looked at the drooping ear and found it amusing. Those furry ears were practically a mood barometer.

He smiled. “Little Liuli, do you want to go?”

Lin Liuli’s head snapped up, amber eyes igniting with anticipation. “Yes!”

Then, her voice softened, wavering with insecurity. “But… Benefactor, can I? Will I be a burden?”

“Haha!” Zhang Xian laughed heartily. He reached out and gently rubbed the drooping ear, propping it back up. “Let’s go. I will protect you.”

As the words fell, his figure blurred. He leaped over the railing.

Lin Liuli felt a gentle force wrap around her, lifting her off her feet as she was pulled along in his wake.

“Wow!”

Wind whistled past her ears. Seeing the nauseating black mist rushing toward her face, she squeezed her eyes shut in terror.

But the expected cold corrosion never came.

A warm, thick, earthy-yellow light shield materialized around her, walling off the hostile environment. She cautiously opened one eye to find herself descending steadily. The shield clung to her form, emitting a faint warmth that made her feel incredibly safe.

Only when her bare feet touched the solid ground did she regain her senses. She looked up at the tall, straight back ahead of her, a warm current surging through her heart.

Benefactor looks lazy, but he is actually a very gentle, good person!

[Ding! Lin Liuli’s Favorability towards you +5. Current Favorability: 35.]

Long Zhi and the others landed moments later.

As soon as they touched down, the group felt the dense [Hatred] aura. It was everywhere, seeping into every pore.

Zhang Xian extended a finger. Wisps of extremely faint, purplish-black threads gathered and coiled around his fingertip, their color so light they were almost invisible.

“The concentration of [Hatred] here is critical. Ordinary people would go mad in moments. Even an average Golden Core cultivator wouldn’t last more than a few days.”

Zhiyin didn’t speak. She simply spread her hands.

Countless miniature puppets—tiny versions of herself—detached from her sleeves and scattered in all directions, drilling into the ruins and the mist. Her puppet body was completely immune to the [Hatred].

Lin Xiaozhu summoned her Heavenly Mechanism Disk. The pointer on the surface spun wildly, unable to find a heading.

“The magnetic field is chaotic. The Heavenly Mechanism is being severely jammed,” she said, brows furrowed. “The Animal Crossing Association was once a first-rate force in the Western Region. Their Sect Leader was a third-level Nascent Soul expert. The madman we fought at the border probably wasn’t him… but we must remain cautious.”

Zhang Xian nodded, his gaze sweeping over the dead ruins.

He walked over to a collapsed stone pier. Four ancient characters were carved into the weathered surface: [Animal Crossing Association].

Below the text was a peculiar spherical carving. The upper half was painted red, the lower half white, with a black horizontal line bisecting the center. Although the paint was peeling, the design was unmistakable.

The corner of Zhang Xian’s mouth twitched.

First Animal Crossing, now a Poké Ball… this Senior was a serious gaming otaku.

The group began to sweep the ruins.

Broken bridges, dried-up streams, dilapidated stone houses, and withered spiritual plants lay scattered amidst piles of bones—some human, some demon, some mixed.

The architectural style was rustic and natural, utilizing giant stones and raw timber to blend seamlessly with the forest. It was vastly different from the ornate styles of the Central Continent or the Southern Region. One could imagine that this place was once a vibrant, harmonious paradise for cultivation.

Now, only silence and rot remained.

They searched for over half an hour, covering almost the entire site, but found nothing. As Lin Xiaozhu had predicted, anyone who could have survived had either fled long ago or become a pawn of the [Hatred].

Finally, they arrived at the edge of a massive lake.

Calling it a “lake” was generous. The water was no longer clear; it was a viscous, disgusting slurry resembling congealed blood. Stark white bones and rotting debris bobbed on the surface, releasing a pungent stench that assaulted the senses.

Little Liuli took one look and gagged, covering her nose. Her sense of smell was acute; for her, this odor was magnified ten times over.

Zhang Xian, however, stopped abruptly. His gaze locked onto the nauseating surface.

“What is it?” Xia Chengyan sensed the shift in atmosphere.

“Be on guard,” Zhang Xian said, his voice curt.

He raised his left hand, fingers formed into a sword seal, and pointed at the void above the lake.

Crack.

An extreme wave of frost erupted instantly. The viscous blood-lake flash-froze, turning into a massive, dark red block of ice in the blink of an eye.

Immediately after, his right hand made a grasping motion. A colossal sword composed of pure spiritual light materialized out of thin air.

BOOM!

The light sword plunged viciously into the frozen lake. Zhang Xian twisted his wrist, and the giant blade acted as a lever.

With a deafening grinding sound, the entire frozen lake—thousands of tons of ice—was pried up from the lakebed like a cork. The mountain of ice was flung into the air, crashing down into the distant forest with a thunderous impact that shook the earth.

Xia Chengyan watched, his scalp tingling.

Big Brother’s Five Spiritual Roots are too domineering. He has zero weaknesses. There is no way this is just ‘Golden Core peak’.

With the water gone, the lakebed was exposed.

It was a mess of black sludge, skeletons, and rot. However, in the dead center of the filth, a circular ring of white light glowed softly. The light was faint but exceptionally stable, carving out a tiny, pristine sanctuary amidst the muck.

“A Pocket Dimension?” Lin Xiaozhu exclaimed.

A flash of surprise passed through Long Zhi’s eyes. Even Zhiyin looked at Zhang Xian with scrutiny. “How did you detect that?”

The hidden space was exquisitely concealed, isolating all aura leaks. Everyone present was a top-tier Nascent Soul genius, yet none of them had sensed a thing.

Zhang Xian naturally wouldn’t admit that the System had flagged a “10-point Daughter of Destiny” located right there.

He simply smiled, feigning profundity. “Naturally, it is because my eyes are as sharp as torches.”

Just as the words left his mouth—

The gentle ring of light flared.

A gray figure shot out from the portal with extreme velocity, carrying a sharp, unparalleled sword intent, slashing directly toward Zhang Xian’s skull.