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

Chapter 230: Li Fuxi Crosses Tribulation

Half a quarter-hour later, a blinding pillar of purple lightning erupted from the cave mouth, tearing through the gloomy sky and illuminating the desolate wasteland for miles.

Above the ruins of the Animal Crossing Association, a luxurious flying boat floated silently above the cloud layer.

Grandmaster Taichu stood at the bow, hands clasped loosely behind his back. He tilted his head slightly toward the distant flash, a faint, knowing smile touching his lips. It was the look of a man who held the entire board in his mind.

He turned to the two figures standing behind him—Xia Chengyan and Lin Xiaozhu. They stood motionless, eyes glazed and empty, like beautifully crafted wooden puppets.

“Guard the ship,” he said softly.

As the command left his lips, his figure blurred and dissolved into the wind.

Several hours later.

Grandmaster Taichu materialized silently inside the cave where Zhang Xian and Long Zhi had been hiding.

The interior was dim, the air heavy with the metallic scent of blood and the lingering static of violent spiritual energy. Long Zhi sat alone in the center of the chamber, legs crossed in meditation. Her face was paper-white, her aura flickering like a dying candle.

Zhang Xian was nowhere to be seen.

Taichu’s brow furrowed slightly. His sharp gaze dissected every shadow in the cave. “What happened? Where is he?”

Hearing his voice, Long Zhi slowly opened her eyes. She didn’t rise.

“He was healing me,” she rasped, her voice weak and strained. “I waited for the critical moment… and struck. My sneak attack shattered his meridians.”

She paused to cough, pointing a trembling finger at the ground beside her. “I didn’t expect him to be so decisive. He realized he couldn’t escape, so he detonated his own soul. He left nothing behind… but that.”

Taichu looked down. Lying in the dust was a palm-sized black wooden doll, cracked down the middle.

Southern Region. The Yunmiao Sect.

The sky above the sect was gone. In its place roiled a ceiling of endless, pitch-black tribulation clouds, stretching for a thousand miles.

The clouds were thick as spilled ink, heavy with the threat of annihilation. Arcs of terrifying lightning snaked through the darkness, radiating a pressure so immense that every beast and cultivator within hundreds of miles trembled, instinctively bowing their heads to the heavens.

On a distant mountain peak, two figures watched the apocalypse unfold.

One was Wang Ya Zhenren, the Acting Sect Leader of the Yunmiao Sect. The other was Xia Xuanyin, Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Xia Xuanyin gazed up at the churning vortex, feeling the destructive energy prickle against his skin.

“I have lived a long time,” the Emperor muttered, awe coloring his voice. “But a tribulation of this magnitude? It is unprecedented. Unheard of.”

He glanced at Wang Ya. “To think your sect would produce two Nascent Soul cultivators in just three years… The providence of the Yunmiao Sect is truly long and enduring.”

Xia Xuanyin laughed, a self-deprecating sound. “To be honest, if I had to face that lightning right now, I wouldn’t bet a single Spiritual Stone on my survival.”

Wang Ya Zhenren’s eyes shone with pride, though he waved a hand humbly. “Your Majesty is too modest. Though… I admit, if I were the one under that cloud, I would have been reduced to ash long ago.”

The two men exchanged a glance and burst into hearty laughter. There was no fear in their voices.

The cultivation world knew that the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation was a meat grinder—less than one in ten survived it. Yet, these two were relaxed.

Why? Because the person sitting beneath that apocalyptic storm was named Li Fuxi.

Her talent was not merely genius; it was monstrous. A generational anomaly.

Back when she was merely at the peak of the Golden Core realm, she had dared to brawl with mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. Now, her foundation was deeper than the ocean. And before her precious disciple Zhang Xian had departed for the Central Continent, he had armed her to the teeth—countless top-tier defensive artifacts, pills, and arrays.

With a setup like that, failing was statistically impossible.

Mentioning Li Fuxi naturally led their thoughts to her disciple—the young man who had turned the Southern Region upside down before vanishing into the wider world.

“I wonder how that kid Zhang Xian is doing in the Central Continent,” Wang Ya mused, a trace of paternal worry in his tone.

“It’s been almost a year,” Xia Xuanyin sighed. “If not for his medical skills, my son Chengyan would still be crippled. I owe him a debt I haven’t had the chance to repay.”

The Emperor’s expression shifted, becoming a mix of annoyance and amusement. “Speaking of my son… I received a message from Chengyan a few months ago. Complete nonsense. He kept rambling about ‘striking it rich’ and having ‘a heavenly fortune to discuss with Father Emperor.’ Then? Silence. Not a word since. That brat… next time I see him, I’m going to break his legs.”

Wang Ya watched the Emperor curse his son, noting the undeniable pride beneath the gruff words. He shook his head with a smile.

“Soon, the joint expeditionary force from the Southern Region will depart for the Central Continent,” Wang Ya said, his face sobering. “Rumors say the war there is deteriorating.”

Xia Xuanyin nodded gravely. “The ‘Seven Emotions Calamity’ has the momentum to sweep the world. Just a single manifestation of [Desire] threw our region into chaos for years. And I hear [Hatred] has practically hollowed out the Western Region. Who knows when this nightmare will end?”

As they spoke, a streak of light cut through the air, landing on the peak beside them.

It was Zhiyin. But the usually serene cultivator looked disturbed, her face pale.

“Sect Leader. Emperor Xia.” Her voice was low and tight. “My clone, Zhiyin Two… has been destroyed.”

The two leaders stiffened. “What? How?”

Zhiyin shook her head. “I don’t know. The distance to the Central Continent is too great. The connection was severed instantly, before any memories could be transmitted.”

Wang Ya and Xia Xuanyin exchanged a dark look. Zhiyin Two had been assigned to protect the expedition team—Xia Chengyan, Lin Xiaozhu, and the others.

If the clone was instantly destroyed, it meant they had encountered something horrific.

Western Region.

Above the deathly silent ruins of the Animal Crossing Association, the luxurious flying boat hovered like a predatory bird.

Two figures stepped onto the deck. One was the Palace Master of Xuanzhao Palace. The other was a figure cloaked in heavy gray robes—Nangong Yao.

Grandmaster Taichu sat on the main throne of the deck, calm and composed.

The Xuanzhao Palace Master bowed deeply. “Master.”

Taichu nodded slightly, his gaze drifting past his disciple to lock onto the gray-robed figure.

“First time meeting, Fellow Daoist Nangong,” Taichu said. His voice was flat, devoid of judgment or fear.

Nangong Yao’s body tensed beneath the robes. Even though she had fused with the entity [Hatred] and her power had skyrocketed, this unassuming young man with the center-parted hair terrified her.

But her obsession with revenge—and the answers she sought—forced her to board the ship.

Her eyes darted behind Taichu. There, sitting in a row like statues, were three figures.

Xia Chengyan. Lin Xiaozhu.

And… Long Zhi?

All three radiated the power of the Nascent Soul stage, yet their eyes were voids. No spark of life. No recognition.

Long Zhi is here?

Nangong Yao swallowed her shock and suspicion. She turned her gaze back to the “young man.”

“You are Grandmaster Taichu?” she asked, her voice raspy.

Beside her, the Xuanzhao Palace Master bristled. “Insolence! How dare you refer to—”

Taichu raised a hand, silencing him instantly.

“It is I,” Taichu said politely. He studied Nangong Yao with clinical interest. “Fellow Daoist Nangong, to be eroded by [Hatred] to such a degree and yet maintain your sanity… it is no small feat. A little temper is to be expected.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if peeling back the layers of her gray robe to see the horror underneath.

“It seems that stripping away your flesh and blood, replacing the infected tissue with puppet components… was an effective strategy to slow the corruption.”