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

Chapter 228: This Living Ancestor Arrived at the Worst Possible Time

Sword light and roiling Black Qi collided in a chaotic explosion, forcing Zhang Xian to retreat step after step.

Damn it. This fight is a wash.

He couldn’t fight at full strength while protecting a dying woman. He had to retreat, stabilize Long Zhi, and figure out what disaster had befallen her.

Zhang Xian made a snap decision. He tightened his grip on Long Zhi and surged his Spiritual Qi.

[Shadow Flame]!

Instantly, he transformed into a scorching meteor, streaking away toward the rear with explosive speed.

“You think you can run?!”

Nangong Yao wasn’t about to let this heaven-sent opportunity slip through her fingers. With a shrill scream, the [Hatred] mist in the air boiled, converging on her body like a vortex. Her speed skyrocketed, trailing him like a vengeful ghost.

Zhang Xian fired back volley after volley of sword lights and defensive shields, but the maddened Nangong Yao tore through them with brute force.

In his arms, Long Zhi’s aura was fading rapidly. He couldn’t drag this out any longer.

Zhang Xian sighed inwardly. This living ancestor… of all the times to show up, she had to teleport over right now and ruin my chance for revenge.

He gritted his teeth. He couldn’t afford to hide his skills anymore.

The momentum of the sword in his hand shifted abruptly. The eerie, ruthless assassin style vanished, replaced by a majestic, surging power like a great river. Layers of water-attributed sword intent wove together, rising into resilient barriers that continuously obstructed Nangong Yao’s pursuit.

It was the technique he was most proficient in—or rather, the technique Li Fuxi was most proficient in.

The Yunmiao Sword Scripture.

Finally, a massive, thick wall of glacial ice condensed in the void, sealing the path.

BOOM!

When Nangong Yao finally smashed through the ice barrier, the space beyond was empty. Zhang Xian and Long Zhi were gone. Only the lingering water-attributed Spiritual Qi remained in the air, slowly evaporating into steam.

Nangong Yao stood frozen in place.

She sensed the remnants of that sword intent—familiar, majestic, and utterly detestable.

The Cloud-Water Sword Intent.

Her eyes, filled with writhing threads of Hatred, flickered violently. The chaotic red haze in her mind seemed to be split open by a bolt of clarity.

Diverse methods. Resolute killing intent. Proficiency in the Yunmiao Sect’s secret arts. The ability to fight far above his realm.

All the clues connected instantly. The answer screamed at her.

She jerked her head up, staring in the direction Zhang Xian had vanished, and let out a shriek filled with extreme, venomous resentment.

“ZHANG! XIAN!”

“IT’S YOU!! IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG!!!”

Just then, a golden stream of light approached from the horizon. It flashed once and arrived in an instant, materializing into a handsome young man wearing black and white Daoist robes.

His expression was the picture of arrogance. On the large collar of his robe, the characters “Xuanzhao” were clearly embroidered.

He stood in the air, his gaze landing first on the erratic, half-monster Nangong Yao. He frowned slightly.

“[Hatred]?”

Nangong Yao instantly snapped to attention, her instincts screaming danger.

The stranger’s aura was unfathomable—definitely a late-stage Nascent Soul expert. Then she saw the emblem on his robe, and recognition dawned.

The Guiyuan Sect’s Upper Six Palaces. The Palace Master of Xuanzhao Palace.

Seeing Nangong Yao’s guarded stance, the arrogance on the Palace Master’s face didn’t waver. Instead, he let out a light chuckle.

“Heh. I never thought I’d encounter a finished product like you out here in the wild. No need to be so alarmed. This seat is not your enemy.”

“You know me?” Nangong Yao didn’t relax her guard in the slightest.

The newcomer’s gaze swept over her bizarre, half-human, half-puppet body, his tone becoming heavy with meaning.

“Speaking of which… if not for the help and guidance of my Guiyuan Sect, you would have long since been completely refined by Qianji into a mindless flesh-and-blood puppet.”

He smiled thinly. “You managed to turn the tables, fusing the Hatred with the puppet chassis to reach your current state. Logically speaking… you should be thanking us.”

Somewhere in a temporary cave carved out by Zhang Xian.

Long Zhi lay on a flat stone slab. Her raven hair was disheveled, strands plastered to her stunningly beautiful cheeks by sweat and blood. Her usual aloof, untouchable temperament had been replaced by a rare, heartbreaking fragility.

Her injuries were catastrophic—far worse than anything she had suffered before. Not only were her Meridians shattered, but a domineering strand of Geng Metal Spiritual Qi was rampaging through her body, shredding her vitality from the inside out.

Zhang Xian’s expression was grave.

He carefully fed several high-grade healing Pills into her mouth. Then, he quickly deployed a healing array, enveloping her in a soft, glowing halo.

Only then did he sit cross-legged behind her. He pressed his palms against her back, channeling streams of pure Yi Wood Spiritual Qi like a gentle, warm river into her system.

He operated the Azure Emperor’s Rejuvenation Art at full power. The emerald-green life force wrapped gently around the raging Geng Metal energy, striving to neutralize and dissolve the sharp, destructive force.

Gradually, under the dual effects of the Pills and the Heaven-grade technique, Long Zhi’s tightly furrowed brows began to relax. The violent internal storm was forcibly suppressed, stabilizing at last.

Zhang Xian let out a breath he had been holding. Looking at Long Zhi’s breathtaking face in repose, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

And this is a Daughter of Destiny with a 93 Providence score?

Does her Providence just manifest as being a magnet for assassination attempts by high-level big shots?

He tried to ping the location of the two flying boats with his Divine Sense.

Nothing. Like a stone sinking into the ocean, there was no response.

The flying boats had special protective restrictions he had personally inscribed; outsiders couldn’t refine or claim them. If the connection was severed, the most likely outcome was that they had been completely destroyed.

“I wonder how Zhiyin and Chengyan are doing.” Zhang Xian’s heart sank slightly.

A moment later, Long Zhi’s long eyelashes fluttered. She let out a soft moan and slowly drifted back to consciousness.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Zhang Xian guarding her. She could feel the warm, healing current of Spiritual Qi flowing through her meridians, repairing the damage.

[Ding! Current Favorability: 38.]

Her voice was weak. “Thank you… for saving me again.”

Zhang Xian shook his head. “I was the one who invited you to the Western Region. It was my request that put you in this danger. I implicated you.”

Seeing that her aura had stabilized, he asked the burning question. “What happened? Who injured you like this?”

“You guessed right,” she whispered, her eyes darkening. “Xia Chengyan and Lin Xiaozhu… they indeed have problems.”

As she spoke, she suddenly flipped her hand, forcibly severing the connection to Zhang Xian’s healing Spiritual Qi.

Zhang Xian frowned. “Don’t rush. Speak slowly. It doesn’t interfere with the healing.”

He tried to resume the technique.

But Long Zhi shook her head firmly. She waved her hand, actively dispersing the glowing healing array around them. With a struggle, she sat up straight, her gaze intense.

“Listen to me first.”

Seeing her insistence, Zhang Xian paused, focusing his attention.

“After you left, I remained in Secluded Cultivation within the flying boat’s quiet room. I never took a single step outside.”

She took a shaky breath.

“Suddenly, the restrictions on the quiet room were forcibly shattered without warning. Someone barged in. I… I have never felt such a terrifying aura before.”

“Against him, I had no ability to fight back. In just a few moves, he critically injured me. I exhausted every ounce of my strength just to break out of the room and escape.”

Her voice trembled with suppressed horror.

“When I made it to the deck, I saw… I saw the backup flying boat that was following us. It had already crashed into the ground, burning.”

“Zhiyin’s puppet body had been shattered into pieces. And Xia Chengyan and Lin Xiaozhu… they were standing on the deck of the main ship.”

“They were just standing there. Expressionless. Completely indifferent to my plight.”