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

Chapter 247: Sacrificing the Sect Leader for Boundless Power

Hearing Wang Ya’s explanation, a younger Elder asked in confusion, “The Supreme Elder? We have been in the sect for many years and have never seen a trace of the Supreme Elder. Where should we go to request instructions?”

“The Supreme Elder and Elder Su Ling are currently at Penglai Immortal Island,” Wang Ya explained. “A clone of Inspector Zhiyin has already gone to report the situation and respectfully request a decree.”

He paused, his tone growing graver. “However, there is a more immediate priority. We must investigate the true cause of Sect Leader Xing Jie’s death. This matter is absolutely not simple.”

The words had barely left his mouth when a figure flew hastily into the main hall.

It was Wang Yue, an Elder of Heavenly Palace Peak. Her face was pale, her voice urgent and laced with panic.

“Acting Sect Leader! The Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation is being unlocked from the outside! The disciples guarding the gate… they are either dead or critically injured!”

“Unlocked?”

The gathered high-ranking members sprang from their seats in shock.

The Yunmiao Sect’s Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation was profoundly complex. To unlock it via authority credentials, rather than forcibly breaching it, required a status of extreme prominence. In the entire sect, the number of people who knew the protocols and possessed the authority to open the array could be counted on one hand.

An ominous premonition surged in Wang Ya’s heart. He shouted immediately, “Follow me!”

Before his voice faded, he had transformed into a stream of light and shot out of the hall. Realizing the severity of the situation, the other executives followed closely, their expressions grim.

In an instant, the group arrived at the mountain gate.

The scene was devastating.

The outermost layer of the massive light barrier had vanished without a trace. The plaza before the gate was a mess of blood and bodies; over a dozen duty disciples lay dead or dying.

Hovering in mid-air above the carnage was a figure clad in a grey cloak. Their hands moved in a blur, forming seals at a dizzying speed, shooting streaks of spiritual light into the second, sturdier layer of the protective barrier. The light screen fluctuated violently, on the verge of collapsing under the authorized manipulation.

“Stop!”

Wang Ya, at the forefront, roared with a mix of shock and fury. He formed a sword finger, slashing a beam of golden sword light through the air toward the intruder.

The golden light moved with the speed of lightning, but the grey-robed figure swayed, nimbly dodging the attack. The figure ceased their hand seals and slowly turned around, letting out a disdainful, cold laugh.

“Heh. What? Is this Sect Master not allowed to return to her own sect?”

As she spoke, she raised a hand and slowly pulled back her hood.

A cold, beautiful face was revealed.

It was Xing Jie.

“Sect Leader Xing Jie!”

“How is this possible?”

“Didn’t her soul lamp extinguish?”

The Yunmiao Sect elders were thunderstruck, unable to believe their eyes.

Xing Jie’s gaze swept coldly over them, finally landing on Wang Ya. Her tone carried an unquestionable imperiousness. “Well? Seeing this Sect Master return, why do you not bow?”

The Elders looked at each other, momentarily at a loss.

The person before them undoubtedly had Xing Jie’s face, and she possessed the authority to unlock the Grand Formation. Yet, her aura felt incredibly wrong. It was at the Nascent Soul stage, yes, but it was permeated by an indescribable impurity.

Wang Ya frowned deeply, suppressing his shock. “If the Sect Master has returned, we naturally welcome you. But why did you slaughter our disciples? And why forcibly dismantle the Grand Formation?”

“These disciples were disrespectful to me,” Xing Jie said coldly. “A slight punishment, nothing more. My Sect Master’s Token was damaged while I was undergoing Tribulation Crossing abroad, so I had to lower the restrictions manually to enter. Do I really need to explain such trivialities to you in detail?”

Below, a disciple who was less severely injured struggled to lift his head. “Disciple… was only following the rules… asking you to verify your identity… You had no token… and your aura did not match the records in the Grand Formation… Disciple only asked a few questions…”

Liu Qingxuan, standing nearby, immediately shot a beam of vibrant emerald light into the disciple, stabilizing his injuries and saving his life.

Hearing this, Wang Ya’s heart sank to the bottom of the abyss.

The Yunmiao Sect’s formation recognized the bio-signatures of its own disciples. Any registered cultivator could pass through easily, token or not.

The person standing before them…

“She is a Flesh and Blood Puppet.”

Zhiyin, who had been observing silently from the side, spoke calmly, shattering the illusion with a single sentence.

“What? A Flesh and Blood Puppet?”

The Elders turned pale with horror.

Her identity exposed, ‘Xing Jie’ seemed to lose the patience for her act. She clicked her tongue, her tone shifting from imperious to playful and malevolent.

“How boring. What’s the matter, Zhiyin? Did you smell the scent of your own kind?”

As she spoke, the chaotic aura around her erupted. A tide of sinister, filthy, purple-black energy surged out, enveloping her.

“Is this [Desire] making a comeback?” an Elder shouted in terror, recalling the horrors of the past.

“No!” Wang Ya’s face was dark as thunder. “This isn’t Desire. This is the even more terrifying [Hatred]! Who are you? To kill Sect Leader Xing Jie and refine her remains into a puppet—this is an act that enrages both gods and men! What is your goal?”

“Hahahaha!!” ‘Xing Jie’ let out a wild, unhinged laugh. “Kill her? She brought it upon herself! Today, I have come to exterminate the Yunmiao Sect!”

Her words had barely fallen when—

SHING!

A dazzling, brilliant golden sword light plunged from the Ninth Heaven, moving at extreme speed.

The attacker was Li Fuxi!

Traumatized by the [Demon Nest] incident, Li Fuxi harbored a deep, visceral loathing for the evil arts of refining living puppets. Seeing the enemy admit to the atrocity so arrogantly, she didn’t hesitate for a second.

‘Xing Jie’ hadn’t expected Li Fuxi to be so decisive. She instinctively raised her spirit sword to block.

Snap!

With a crisp sound, her sword was sheared in half by the golden light.

The attack didn’t pause. It sliced downward.

Thud!

An arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder, spinning into the air.

Everyone saw it clearly. The severed stump revealed no bone or muscle, but intricate mechanical joints inscribed with dense runes. There was no blood spurting from Xing Jie’s shoulder, nor was there any pain on her face—only twisted, contorted rage.

It confirmed Zhiyin’s judgment beyond a shadow of a doubt. This was merely a manipulated puppet wearing a dead woman’s skin.

Li Fuxi’s eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year-old glacial ice.

“The mastermind behind this… get out here!”

“Bitch, it’s you!”

‘Xing Jie’ recognized Li Fuxi instantly. She knew this woman was Zhang Xian’s master—and his lover. New hatred piled upon old grudges instantly surged in her heart.

She retreated rapidly, shrieking a piercing command.

As if responding to her call, a vast, boundless, and terrifying Pressure descended from the sky like a solid black cloud, instantly suffocating every disciple of the Yunmiao Sect.