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

Xia Chengyan paused, chewing on his lip, but eventually shook his head.

“Bro, the situation in the Central Continent is a mess. It’s nothing like the Southern Region. You’ve got the two giants—the Heavenly Abyss Alliance and the Guiyuan Sect—fighting a shadow war. Beneath them, countless smaller factions are constantly stabbing each other in the back. Do you believe me if I say that if you lay a formation foundation in Guiyuan territory today, they’ll tear it down for scrap tomorrow? You can’t maintain a network like that.”

“Then we do it step by step,” Zhang Xian replied calmly. “We start by laying the network in the core territories of the Heavenly Abyss Alliance. We use the key points to drive the surface. If they dismantle it, we replace it. It’s just a few Spirit Stones.”

Xia Chengyan looked at Zhang Xian’s unyielding attitude and swallowed his arguments. He muttered under his breath, “That is definitely not just ‘a few’ Spirit Stones.”

But seeing Zhang Xian’s resolve, he didn’t push further.

“However,” Xia Chengyan asked, puzzled, “what does this have to do with trusting me?”

Zhang Xian smiled slightly. He flipped his hand, producing an ancient-styled Storage Ring, and tossed it to Xia Chengyan.

“I’m handing all the necessary resources over to you. I want you to use the name of the Great Xia Dynasty to push for the construction of this Grand Formation.”

Zhang Xian leaned back, his tone casual. “And it’s not just the formation. I’m also providing a massive shipment of Magical Artifacts, Pills, and Dharma Treasures. Use them to arm the Southern Region cultivators and boost the Heavenly Abyss Alliance’s strength on the Western Front. We need them geared up to fight the [Hatred].”

Xia Chengyan caught the ring reflexively. He injected a thread of Divine Sense inside to check the contents.

BOOM!

His brain short-circuited.

He stood frozen, struck dumb as if hit by lightning. His expression shifted rapidly—confusion, then shock, and finally a slack-jawed, incredulous stupor.

Inside the ring were mountains—literal mountains—of High Grade Spirit Stones. Beside them lay piles of dazzling Dharma Treasures and rare Pills shimmering with dense Spiritual Qi. The sheer value contained in this tiny metal band far exceeded the entire national treasury of the Great Xia Dynasty.

His lips trembled. “B-Big Brother… if I didn’t look exactly like my dad, I’d seriously suspect you were my biological father.”

“Get lost. I don’t have a rebellious son like you,” Zhang Xian laughed. “I’ll send a message to His Majesty Emperor Xia explaining the situation. You and your father can work out the specific logistics.”

Xia Chengyan held the ring with both hands, trembling with a mix of excitement and terror. “Bro, this… this is too much! Is there any point in doing this? Every major power knows exactly how deep Great Xia’s pockets are. If we suddenly pull out this kind of wealth, even a moron would know someone is backing us. They’ll trace it back to you eventually!”

Zhang Xian’s gaze grew profound. “Just do as I say. I have my arrangements.”

Although Xia Chengyan was straightforward, he wasn’t stupid. A spark of realization hit him. His eyes widened in shock.

“Big Brother! You’re guarding against the Heavenly Abyss Alliance? Or rather… you’re guarding against Uncle Lin? You want to hide behind the scenes?”

Zhang Xian didn’t deny it. He merely shrugged. “Just a little bit.”

Xia Chengyan fell silent. A complex expression crossed his face before he reached out and patted Zhang Xian’s shoulder.

“Bro, I get it. You’re a hypocrite. Uh, I mean, a smart person. That’s how all the high-IQ characters think.”

He nodded sagely. “In those web novels, every behind-the-scenes mastermind is paranoid, secretive, and pretends to be righteous. After what happened with your Grandmaster Wangchuan, it’s totally normal for you to have trust issues.”

He paused. “But, Bro, once you spend more time with him, you’ll see. Uncle Lin isn’t that kind of person. He established the council and limited his own power because he truly wants to save this land.”

Zhang Xian smiled faintly. “I hope so.”

Xia Chengyan weighed the Storage Ring in his hand. It felt heavier than a mountain, yet his eyes flashed with determination and excitement.

“Alright. If you’ve made up your mind, then I’ll take the spotlight. I’ll be the face of this operation.”

“Consider it an early wedding gift,” Zhang Xian said. “Spend it however you like. As long as the formation gets built and the frontlines get reinforced, I don’t care how you use it.”

Two days later. Jinyuan City, Flying Boat Launch Platform.

Zhang Xian arrived on time. The team was assembled. To his surprise, besides Xia Chengyan, Lin Xiaozhu, and Long Zhi, another person was waiting for him.

Zhiyin. The Inspector of the Yunmiao Sect’s Heavenly Puppet Peak.

What shocked Zhang Xian was her aura. She had already reached the second level of the Nascent Soul realm.

“Inspector Zhiyin?” Zhang Xian cupped his hands, surprised. “Congratulations. Judging by your cultivation, Inspector Wei must have also successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul stage?”

Zhiyin’s expression was calm as she nodded slightly. “It is all thanks to your blessing. You sponsored the Yunmiao Sect with a massive amount of resources. In return, Sect Leader Wang Ya reciprocated by tilting resource allocation heavily toward Spirit Sword Peak and Heavenly Puppet Peak. My Master had been at the peak of the Golden Core for years; with that support, his breakthrough was as natural as water flowing into a canal.”

Her gaze swept over Long Zhi, who stood silently beside Zhang Xian like a cold, beautiful statue.

Zhiyin’s tone took on a faint, teasing note. “I didn’t expect that after only a few months apart, Elder Zhang Xian would be traveling with Long Zhi. As expected of you.”

Zhang Xian quickly shook his head. “You misunderstand. Fellow Daoist Long Zhi is only interested in exterminating the [Hatred]. She joined us solely to assist in the mission.”

Long Zhi spoke up at that moment, her voice crisp and cold. “Precisely.”

“By the way, why are you here?” Zhang Xian asked, steering the topic back to business.

“My Thousand Puppet Technique is specialized for investigation and tracking,” Zhiyin explained professionally. “It is perfectly suited for delving deep into the Western Region to search for traces of the [Hatred]. Additionally… we suspect that the disaster sweeping the West is related to Daoist Qianji.”

Zhang Xian’s heart skipped a beat. “Qianji? Do you have evidence?”

“No concrete proof yet, only speculation based on clues,” Zhiyin admitted.

“First, Daoist Qianji has deep connections with the Southern Region Demon Nest, and his methods are bizarre. After the battle at the Demon Nest three years ago, he vanished from the world as if he evaporated.”

“Second, we have been secretly investigating the source of the [Hatred] for years. Recently, near the ruins of Yujing City in the Southern Region, we discovered residual auras of [Hatred]. Judging by the decay, it predates the outbreak in the Western Region.”

“You mean the origin of the [Hatred] might be in the Southern Region?” Zhang Xian asked. “And Qianji brought it to the Central Continent, detonating the chaos in the West?”

“We cannot rule out that possibility,” Zhiyin replied. “Perhaps this journey will uncover the truth.”

Zhang Xian felt a strange sense of irony. Back in the Ashen Wild Forest, he had deliberately framed Qianji to divert attention from himself. He never expected that the black pot he threw blindly would land squarely on the head of the actual culprit.

“Alright,” Zhang Xian gestured. “Let’s board.”

The group stepped onto Zhang Xian’s new flying boat.

From the outside, this vessel appeared smaller and more exquisite than his previous one. But the moment they stepped through the hatch, the interior expanded vastly. It utilized advanced space-folding techniques—Sumeru in a Mustard Seed—to stretch the internal dimensions to the limit.

Zhang Xian led the tour.

“Here are the quarters.” He pushed open a door.

It wasn’t just a bedroom. It was a luxury suite divided into several independent spaces: a study, a tea room, a meditation chamber, and a sleeping area. Every amenity was included.

“Damn, this is bougie!” Xia Chengyan’s jaw dropped. “Does a boat cabin really need to be this extravagant?”

Next was the library. The collection of jade slips was vast as a sea of smoke, categorized meticulously into cultivation methods, Formations, Alchemy, and miscellaneous arts. Lin Xiaozhu’s eyes lit up like stars.

Then came the Sword Nurturing Hut, a specialized quiet room filled with rich spiritual pressure for maintaining flying swords.

But the most astonishing feature was the dining hall.

A long table carved from a single piece of warm spirit jade dominated the room. Around it, puppet attendants moved with fluid grace, already serving platters of spirit fruits and steaming delicacies.