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

Chapter 280: Brother Will Soon Achieve a Four-Generation Sweep

Zhang Xian laughed heartily, smoothly pivoting away from the dangerous topic of divination. “Alright, whatever Master says goes.”

He casually tossed the divination disk back into his inventory, stood up, and drew his sword to run a few light sparring drills with Li Fuxi to stretch his limbs.

That night, the familiar, highly physical “verification” of their cultivation methods commenced right on schedule.

In the quiet aftermath, Li Fuxi’s petite frame was curled comfortably against Zhang Xian’s chest. She traced a lazy circle on his collarbone and murmured, “You’ve seemed a bit distracted lately. Your mind has been wandering ever since we started the journey back.”

Zhang Xian pulled her closer. “Where’d you get that idea? I’m incredibly relaxed right now. The grand revenge is complete, Nangong Yao has been permanently deleted from the server, and Taichu’s entire conspiracy got exposed to the world. I was just running some background simulations on what Taichu’s next move might be, that’s all.”

Li Fuxi tilted her head back to look at him. “Don’t overthink it. You’re already incredibly powerful.”

Zhang Xian looked down, a wicked, roguish smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Oh? Tell me, Master. In what aspect, exactly, am I incredibly powerful?”

Li Fuxi’s face instantly burned crimson. She lightly smacked his chest. “You have absolutely no sense of shame!”

Her eyes shimmered with a sudden, sharp glint. “If you’re so distracted, could it be that your mind is wandering over to the neighboring sword chamber? To Long Zhi?”

Zhang Xian’s expression froze. He immediately launched into full denial mode. “Nothing of the sort! Master, please don’t let Yinyin’s paranoid delusions rub off on you.”

Li Fuxi let out a soft, highly skeptical hmph. “Before we left, Yinyin pulled me aside and explicitly warned me to keep you on a tight leash. If she knew you essentially invited Long Zhi to move into our ship for the trip back to the Southern Region, she would definitely throw an absolute fit.”

Zhang Xian threw his hands up in defense. “It was literally on the way! Long Zhi needs to rebuild the Spirit Ruins Sword Sect in the Southern Region. We were heading to the exact same zone. It’s called carpooling, Master.”

Li Fuxi’s tone turned dangerously soft and melancholic. “Is that so? Rebuilding an entire Sect from scratch requires an absolute ocean of resources. You aren’t planning on ‘gifting’ her another massive fortune, are you?”

Zhang Xian adopted an expression of stern, absolute self-righteousness. “Master, how can you call it gifting? This is a high-yield strategic investment! I’m buying early equity in a startup Sect. I’ll secure a comfy, do-nothing Honorary Supreme Elder position in the future. It’s a guaranteed, zero-risk return on investment!”

Li Fuxi let out a soft, breathy hmph, clearly unimpressed by his corporate jargon. “Don’t act like I don’t know exactly how you operate. You’re just a shameless little lecher. You definitely just like looking at her pretty face and that cold, unique aura of hers. But we are setting a boundary right now: she is the absolute last one.”

Zhang Xian cried out as if he had been dealt a mortal injustice. “Master! You’re assassinating my character! There is absolutely nothing going on between us!”

Suddenly, Li Fuxi felt a very distinct, physical reaction pressing against her from beneath the blankets. She punched his shoulder again, caught between acute shyness and intense annoyance. “You liar! The second she gets brought up, you immediately—!”

Zhang Xian didn’t even blink, his face a mask of absolute calm. “Slander! That is a physical reaction to thinking about you, Master!”

Before she could argue, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Come now, Master. The night is still young. I think we need to continue our… deep technical verification.”

“No, mmm—”

The journey across the continent was long. A month later, the luxury flying boat finally crossed into the airspace of the Southern Region.

Zhang Xian strolled over to Long Zhi’s private sword chamber.

As he entered, the violent arcs of purple tribulation lightning surrounding Long Zhi smoothly retracted into her skin, leaving only a fading spark in her eyes. She looked up at Zhang Xian, her voice thick with genuine, profound gratitude. “The updated Purple Firmament Dragon’s Chant True Art you gifted me is truly unfathomable. The deeper I dive into the cultivation method, the more I realize how terrifyingly profound it is.”

Zhang Xian smiled casually and tossed a premium Storage Ring onto the table beside her. “I just dropped by to finalize the last round of seed funding for your startup.”

Long Zhi blinked, slightly taken aback. “You’ve already fronted me an absurd amount of Spirit Stones and top-tier skill manuals. What is this?”

“Just some miscellaneous spirit treasures,” Zhang Xian said, waving a hand dismissively. “There’s a mix of grades in there. A few of the Top Grade ones might be level-locked for you right now, but just keep them in your inventory until you meet the stat requirements. I also threw in a fleet of premium flying boats and a squad of Earth-grade combat puppets. They average out to about the second layer of the Nascent Soul stage. Look, you’re about to be a Sect Master. You need a proper entourage and heavy muscle to flex on the locals.”

Long Zhi picked up the ring, her expression incredibly complex. “Truth be told, I am a terrible administrator. Thankfully, we still have a few Elders and outer disciples scattered around the region who survived the purge. They understand logistics far better than I ever will.”

She offered a rare, stunningly soft smile. “I’ve done nothing but take from you. I honestly don’t know how I’ll ever repay this debt.”

Zhang Xian waved her off, his tone completely open and frank. “Between us? Don’t even sweat it. Seeing you rebuild the Spirit Ruins Sword Sect into a powerhouse is the only return on investment I need.”

[Ding! Gifted Long Zhi: 1x Premium Startup Package]

[Ding! Current Favorability: 48]

Long Zhi wasn’t one for lengthy, emotional goodbyes. After exchanging a few more casual pleasantries, Zhang Xian bid her farewell and left the chamber.

Three days later, the flying boat briefly dropped anchor outside Yujing City. Long Zhi disembarked, stepping off the ramp to begin the long, solitary grind of rebuilding her legacy.

The flying boat immediately spooled up its engines and continued eastward, charting a direct course for Penglai Immortal Island.

Upon touching down at Penglai, Zhang Xian was genuinely surprised by their welcoming committee. It was Zhiyin.

What really caught Zhang Xian off guard was the fact that Zhiyin’s baseline aura had massively spiked—she was currently registering at the fourth layer of the Nascent Soul stage.

Noticing his scan, Zhiyin offered a completely deadpan explanation. “While I was rendering assistance in fabricating your specialized combat puppet, I unilaterally appropriated a fraction of your Star Marrow Iron reserves to permanently upgrade my own central processing core. I assume this does not constitute a breach of contract?”

Zhang Xian burst out laughing. “Breach of contract? Take as much as you want! I have literal mountains of the stuff taking up inventory space, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with it. Speaking of which, what’s the ETA on my new toy?”

“Fabrication requires additional time,” Zhiyin replied. “The specifications of your puppet were so extreme that both Head Seat Su Yuanshen and Inspector Wei of Heavenly Puppet Peak broke protocol. They have both personally entered the forge to oversee the final assembly.”

Zhang Xian nodded, highly impressed.

Both Inspector Wei and Head Seat Su Yuanshen were the absolute zenith of tech geeks within the Yunmiao Sect. Su Yuanshen, in particular, was a legendary shut-in who practically never left the confines of Heavenly Puppet Peak. The fact that this project had dragged both of them out of their caves proved just how absurdly enticing the prospect of fusing Star Marrow Iron with ancient Su-clan puppet schematics really was.

The moment the trio stepped off the gangway and onto the cloud-wreathed immortal island, a petite, hyper-energetic blur launched itself directly at Zhang Xian. It was Lin Yinyin. Trailing gracefully behind her was the white-haired Su Yunmiao—though whether it was her true body or a high-level clone was anyone’s guess.

It had only been a few months, but Lin Yinyin’s spiritual aura had grown incredibly dense and refined. She was currently hard-capped at the ninth layer of the Golden Core stage, just one trigger event away from breaking through.

She locked onto Zhang Xian’s arm like a vice, practically vibrating with joy. “Brother! I missed you so much! Tell me you’re not logging out immediately this time. You’re staying for a while, right?”

“Yeah, I’m staying,” Zhang Xian chuckled, affectionately ruffling her hair.

Su Yunmiao drifted forward, offering a serene nod. “The girl, Lele, has reached the absolute final phase of her Secluded Cultivation. She could awaken at any moment.”

Hearing this, a massive surge of genuine relief and joy washed over Zhang Xian. “That’s fantastic news.”

It had been over 200 years since he had been separated from his little sister. Now, he was a famous, ridiculously wealthy Nascent Soul powerhouse whose name echoed across the continent, and she was finally about to wake up. It felt like every impossible promise he had made back in that dirt-poor mountain village was finally being fulfilled.

Lin Yinyin immediately picked up on the shift in his mood. She dropped his arm and let out a highly exaggerated, dramatic hmph. “Wow! I see how it is! You only rushed back because you wanted to see your other favorite little sister!”

She leaned in close to Li Fuxi, shielding her mouth with her hand and stage-whispering loudly. “Master, you need to stay on high alert! I managed to sneak a peek at her while she was sleeping. His sister is an absolute, Peerless bombshell, and her base stats are terrifyingly high. I’m pretty sure she’s going to instantly out-scale both of us the second she wakes up.”

Li Fuxi lightly karate-chopped the top of Yinyin’s head, scolding her gently. “Stop spouting nonsense. Where are your manners? She belongs to the ‘Star’ generation. In terms of Sect hierarchy, she is technically our grand-martial aunt.”

“Ouch!” Lin Yinyin whined, dramatically rubbing her head. Internally, she was screaming: Master, wake up! Forget about the Sect hierarchy! At the rate Brother is going, he’s going to achieve a complete, four-generation sweep of the entire Yunmiao Sect roster!

After exchanging pleasantries with Su Yunmiao, Zhang Xian followed her deep into the submerged, abyssal secret realm to visit the slumbering Zhang Lele.

She looked exactly as she had centuries ago. She sat perfectly still in the dead center of the grand Formation, her legs crossed, her eyes gently closed.

Massive, rhythmic tides of pure spiritual energy pulsed from her core, causing the very tips of her hair to drift and float in the dense ambient Qi.

Zhang Xian stood at the edge of the array, watching her in silence for a long time. Sensing the terrifyingly vast, refined ocean of power currently condensing within her, he knew her awakening was truly imminent. Not wanting to disrupt the final loading sequence, he turned and quietly followed Su Yunmiao back to the surface of the immortal island.