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

This time, the pain was different.

It felt as if billions of burning ice needles were savagely piercing every inch of her flesh, burrowing into every single thought that flickered through her mind. The agony surpassed the limits of the physical body, drilling directly into the origin of her soul, threatening to tear her very consciousness into shreds.

Thud!

Lu Yao collapsed heavily to the ground. She clutched her head with both hands, her fingers digging into her scalp, and let out a shrill, inhuman scream.

“No! No! Senior Lin, I was wrong! I won’t do it again! Spare me! Please, spare me!”

Mucus and tears streamed down her face as she wailed incoherently, her voice cracking with absolute, primal terror.

In that moment of soul-rending torture, she finally understood what “Lin Xuanwei” had meant by “consider the consequences carefully in private.”

This [Ice Needle Poison] wasn’t meant to control her body. It was a shackle for her soul.

Even the slightest thought of betrayal or resistance would trigger this ultimate punishment.

However, her wails were destined to go unanswered in the empty room. Only the soul-flaying torment washed over her, wave after crashing wave.

She didn’t know how long it lasted before the terrifying agony finally, slowly receded.

Lu Yao lay sprawled on the cold floor like a fish thrown onto dry land, gasping for air in great, heaving gulps. Her eyes were vacant, stripped of all light.

trembling violently, she reached out and picked up the communication jade talisman.

Her fingers shook as she carved her message:

[Reporting to Master: Your disciple encountered a remnant of “Hatred” while exploring the cave dwelling. The situation was extremely perilous. Elder Chen attempted to suppress it but was unfortunately corrupted by the “Hatred.” When your disciple awoke, Elder Chen and the other fellow disciples had all disappeared without a trace.]

Send.

The jade talisman slipped from her sweaty grip and clattered to the floor.

Lu Yao’s body trembled uncontrollably. She knew that the moment this message was sent, there was no turning back. Betraying the Sect, deceiving her Master—either crime was enough to condemn her to eternal damnation without hope of reprieve.

But now, she had no choice.

Not long after, the jade talisman vibrated again. The response contained only two cold words:

[Come back.]

Staring at those two characters, Lu Yao felt a chill surge from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.

The image of Hu Yanqing instantly rose in her mind—that face which seemed so gentle and refined on the surface, yet hid a cruel, tyrannical monster beneath.

She remembered the nights tormented by the [Devouring Origin Curse], a fate worse than death. She remembered the pain of being used as a Cultivation Furnace, feeling her hard-earned cultivation being drained away drop by drop. She remembered his perverse, sadistic punishments.

She felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cellar.

Her scalp went numb, and her blood ran cold. But she had to go back. She had to brace herself and walk into the lion’s den.

Her only hope now was that the mysterious and terrifying “Lin Xuanwei” truly possessed superior means and would honor his promise.

Golden Zen Palace, Entrance of the Palace Master’s Hall.

The Guiyuan Sect was divided into thirty-six Palaces, each overseen by a Nascent Soul Grandmaster. Lu Yao and her sister Lu Shu belonged to the Golden Zen Palace, and Hu Yanqing was its Master.

Half a day later, Lu Yao forcibly suppressed the terror clawing at her heart and returned to the Golden Zen Palace. It felt like marching to her own execution.

She knelt before the cold, solemn doors of the main hall, her head bowed low, her body shivering despite her best efforts to control it.

Finally, the hall doors opened silently.

A young man with a refined face and an ethereal, scholarly demeanor walked out slowly.

This was Hu Yanqing—Palace Master of the Golden Zen Palace, and the Young Master of the Central Continent’s renowned Baoqing Workshop.

He walked up to Lu Yao, looking down at her from his elevated position. His voice was flat, devoid of fluctuation, yet it carried a crushing, invisible pressure.

“Speak. Why have you returned alone?”

Lu Yao’s heart pounded against her ribs like a war drum. Forcing herself to remain calm, she kept her head lowered and recited the explanation she had rehearsed a thousand times in her mind.

Her story was consistent with the message, only supplemented with more gruesome details. She described the terror of the [Hatred], the tragic state of Elder Chen as she was corrupted, and emphasized that when she woke up, the cave dwelling was empty.

“Oh?”

Hu Yanqing’s eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly. He neither affirmed nor denied her story.

Suddenly, he leaned down. He extended two long, pale fingers and gently pinched Lu Yao’s chin, forcing her to look up at him.

Their eyes met.

Deep within Hu Yanqing’s seemingly gentle pupils, a sharp, piercing cold light flickered—a gaze that seemed capable of dissecting the human heart.

“My obedient disciple,” his voice remained soft, yet a razor-thin chill laced the edges, “you wouldn’t be lying to this Master, would you?”

Lu Yao’s pupils contracted to pinpricks. She felt her blood freeze in her veins.

Almost instinctively, she let out a shrill cry. “Your disciple wouldn’t dare! Every word is true! Master, please see clearly!”

A faint, almost mocking curve lifted the corner of Hu Yanqing’s mouth. The fingers gripping her chin exerted a slight pressure.

The [Devouring Origin Curse] activated.

“Argh!”

Lu Yao let out a wretched scream. She braced herself for the familiar agony, the sensation of ten thousand ants gnawing at her bone marrow.

However—

It hurt. It truly hurt.

But… it was only about one-tenth of the usual intensity.

Lu Yao realized it instantly—it was the [Ice Needle Poison]!

The poison planted by Senior “Lin Xuanwei” didn’t just punish rebellious thoughts; it actually suppressed the [Devouring Origin Curse]!

But she dared not show the slightest hint of relief.

Immediately, she delivered the performance of her lifetime.

She bit down hard on her lower lip until her gums burst, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Letting out heart-rending screams that echoed through the courtyard, she desperately kowtowed, smashing her forehead against the cold jade tiles again and again.

Thud! Thud!

“Master! Your disciple truly did not deceive you! I beg you! Please stop! Your disciple can’t take it anymore! Master!!”

Her cries were shrill, desperate, and filled with utter despair. It was a flawless performance.

Hu Yanqing watched her wail and beg for mercy with indifferent eyes. His face remained expressionless, as if he were watching a boring play.

Slowly, he stood up, turned his back, and walked toward the hall.

He left only one cold sentence hanging in the air: “Think it over clearly, then speak to this Master.”

The heavy doors groaned and slowly closed, shutting Lu Yao outside.

Lu Yao’s forehead was already split open, fresh blood staining the pristine white jade. But as the doors sealed shut, her heart sank into an icy abyss.

Time passed. Minute by minute. Second by second.

Lu Yao kept acting until she felt numb. Her voice grew hoarse from screaming. Just when she thought he really intended to torture her to death, the hall doors opened silently once more.

Hu Yanqing reappeared.

He flicked a finger, and the [Devouring Origin Curse] roiling within Lu Yao instantly calmed.

“Alright.”

Hu Yanqing’s voice was gentle once more. He stepped forward, reached out, and tenderly wiped the blood and dust from Lu Yao’s forehead. He even patted the dirt from her robes like a caring father.

“Just now, the Sect received news. Traces of Elder Chen, corrupted by [Hatred], have been discovered in a nearby city. The Sect has already dispatched Enforcers to capture her.”

He paused, looking deep into Lu Yao’s terrified eyes. His tone shifted to one of earnest, heavy-hearted admonishment.

“Now that Lu Shu is gone, this Master can only be stricter with you. Although the [Devouring Origin Curse] is painful, it tempers your mind and spirit. You must not resent your Master’s methods. When you achieve the Nascent Soul realm in the future, this curse will naturally dissipate.”

“Your disciple wouldn’t dare…” Lu Yao rasped, her voice ruined. She kept her head bowed, her body trembling, but her heart was filled with nothing but cold, venomous mockery.

“Mn.” Hu Yanqing nodded, seemingly satisfied with her broken demeanor.

At that moment, as if remembering something, Lu Yao struggled to retrieve a weathered, ancient-looking jade slip from her robes.

She held it up respectfully with both hands.

“Master, this is something your disciple obtained by chance in an abandoned cave dwelling before. It seems to be related to… Cultivation Furnace techniques. Your disciple is dull-witted and cannot understand it. I offer it specially to you, Master.”