Chapter 1: Millionfold Return System Activated
Zhao Province, Azure Cloud City, Outer Region
The heavy drizzle of Azure Cloud City did nothing to wash away the stifling gloom that hung over the outer-city courtyard.
Red paper lanterns hung lopsidedly from the eaves of a dilapidated wooden roof, as Lin Yuan stood in the center of the muddy courtyard, wearing a woven red groom’s robe. He looked entirely out of place—and in truth, he was. Just three months ago, he had been an ordinary wage earner on Earth. Now, after transmigrating, he was Lin Yuan, an outer-city cultivator of the lowest rung, drowning in a debt of two hundred Spirit Stones to the ruthless Black Tiger Gang.
If he didn’t pay them back by sunset, they were going to harvest his organs for demonic cultivation.
His salvation, ironically, came in the form of a humiliation that had the entire outer city buzzing like a hornet’s nest.
"Look at him," a scarred merchant whispered over the courtyard wall, cracking roasted melon seeds between his teeth. "A toad lusting after swan meat. To think that Lin trash is actually marrying the Bai Clan’s First Miss."
"Swan meat?" A skinny cultivator beside him reacted. "She’s a plucked chicken now! A tiger falling flat on the plains is bullied by dogs, but Bai Qingyue? She offended someone in the secret realm. Her meridians are completely shattered, and her legs are dead wood. She’s a cripple! The Bai Clan is practically paying this trash to take out their garbage."
"Still, for a dowry of two hundred Spirit Stones... I would marry a corpse," the merchant chuckled darkly.
Lin Yuan ignored them. His gaze remained fixed on the end of the alley, where a beast-drawn carriage was splashing through the mud. There were no gongs, no soaring spiritual beasts, no ten-mile red dowry.
The carriage stopped. A sharp-faced elder of the Bai Clan, wearing opulent silk robes that repelled the rain, stepped out. He looked at Lin Yuan’s rundown home with undisguised disgust, as if stepping in dog feces.
"Lin Yuan," Elder Bai Mo barked, his voice laced with the oppressive pressure of a foundation establishment expert. He tossed a heavy pouch into the mud at Lin Yuan’s feet. "Two hundred Spirit Stones. The dowry. From this day forth, the Bai Clan has no daughter named Bai Qingyue. Her life or death is your burden. If you dare bring her back to our gates to beg, I will break your legs too."
Without waiting for a response, the elder waved his sleeve. Two burly servants hauled a wooden wheelchair out of the back of the carriage and unceremoniously dropped it into the muddy courtyard.
In the chair sat the bride.
Bai Qingyue.
Even clad in a faded red dress, her beauty was enough to suffocate the breath of the onlookers. Her skin was as pale as moonlight on winter snow, her features carved from the finest jade. Yet, there was an unmistakable aura of death around her. Her lips were bloodless, and her hollow eyes stared straight ahead, devoid of any light.
Once the peerless genius of Azure Cloud City, someone destined to walk the Heavenly Dao. Now, an abandoned cripple whose legs hung limply beneath her skirts.
Elder Bai Mo sneered, boarded the carriage, and departed without a single backward glance.
The courtyard fell silent save for the rain. The gossiping neighbors craned their necks, waiting for Lin Yuan to curse his bad luck or perhaps immediately drag the crippled beauty inside to vent his frustrations.
Instead, Lin Yuan calmly bent down, retrieved the heavy pouch of Spirit Stones, and secured it to his belt. His debt was settled.
He walked over to the wheelchair. Bai Qingyue didn’t flinch, though her pale hands gripped the wooden armrests until her knuckles turned white. She braced herself for the sneers, the slaps, the inevitable abuse of a weak man asserting dominance over a fallen dragon.
"The wind is cold, and your body is weak," Lin Yuan said softly, his voice devoid of pity or mockery. "Let’s go inside, Wife."
Bai Qingyue’s long eyelashes trembled. She finally looked up, her dead eyes meeting his calm, clear gaze. She found no lust, no greed, no contempt. Just a serene acceptance.
Lin Yuan gripped the handles of the wheelchair and pushed her over the threshold into the dimly lit main hall. He closed the heavy wooden doors, shutting out the whispers of the world.
There were no guests. There were no parents to bow to.
Lin Yuan poured two cups of cheap tea, and handed one to her.
"The heavens are our witness, and the earth our guest," Lin Yuan said, raising his cup. "From today onward, we share one life."
Bai Qingyue hesitated, her trembling fingers brushing against his as she took the cup. She took a small sip. The bitter tea slid down her throat.
Ding!
A mechanical chime, as clear as a crystal bell, echoed in Lin Yuan’s mind.
[Host has successfully completed the marriage pact with a Dao Companion.] [The Millionfold Return System has successfully bound!]
[Host:] Lin Yuan
[Wife:] Bai Qingyue
[Root Bone:] 20
[Comprehension:] 40
[Lifespan:] 20/80 years
[Realm:]Qi Condensation Realm (Third Level)
[Divine Skills:] None
[System Function:] >Any resource (pills, cultivation techniques, spirit stones, heavenly treasures) the Host willingly invests in his Wife will trigger a critical multiplier return, ranging from 2x to 1,000,000x! (Note: Returns can be in the form of extreme quantity or extreme quality upgrades.)
> In addition, any other form of investment, whether emotional, mental, or otherwise, will also yield up to 1,000,000× return.
Lin Yuan’s heart slammed against his ribs. A system! The legendary golden finger of transmigrators had finally arrived.
He took a deep breath to steady his racing pulse and looked at his new wife. Bai Qingyue was shivering slightly, the cold dampness of the outer city seeping into her body. Without spiritual qi to protect her body, she was weaker than a mortal peasant.
Lin Yuan reached into his inner pocket. He had one last item of value to his name—a single, low-grade Blood Nourishing Pill. It was meant to be his emergency ration in case the Black Tiger Gang beat him half to death.
He knelt beside her wheelchair and held the pill out.
"Eat this," Lin Yuan said gently. "It will help dispel the damp cold from your body."
Bai Qingyue stared at the pill, her eyes widening in disbelief. In the Bai Clan, she used to feed supreme tier pills to her spirit cranes. But she wasn’t stupid. She knew Lin Yuan’s financial state. This single low-grade pill was likely his entire fortune, his very life-saving grace.
"Why?" her voice was hoarse, like crushed glass, speaking for the first time. "I am a cripple. Even a thousand pills won’t fix my meridians. Giving this to me is like throwing meat to dogs. You have your Spirit Stones. You don’t need to pretend."
"You are my wife," Lin Yuan said smoothly, pressing the pill into her palm. "A husband providing for his wife is nothing to think much about."
Tears suddenly pricked the corners of Bai Qingyue’s eyes, though she refused to let them fall. She placed the pill in her mouth and swallowed. A faint, meager warmth began to spread through her chest, fighting back the freezing agony in her body and meridians.
At that exact moment, a sudden mechanical chime echoed in Lin Yuan’s head.
[Ding!]
[Host has invested: 1x Blood Nourishing Pill.]
[Triggering critical multiplier... calculating...]
[Congratulations to the Host! You have triggered the maximum 1,000,000x Return!]
[Quality/Quantity]
Lin Yuan mentally selected Quality.
[Calculating return path... Opting for Quality Upgrade!]
[Reward: 1x Supreme Nine-Heavens Phoenix Marrow Pill!]
Suddenly, a pill appeared in Lin Yuan’s system inventory. Even resting in the void of the system space, it pulsed with a terrifying, tyrannical aura.
And If a low-grade pill was dirt, this pill was the highest peak of Mount Tai. Just taking a whiff of its essence could instantly rebuild shattered meridians and push a mortal straight into the Foundation Establishment realm!
Lin Yuan’s breathing hitched.
One million times return... It’s real. It’s actually real.
He looked up at Bai Qingyue, who was sitting quietly. The world outside mocked him for picking up a broken jade, completely blind to the truth.
To the world, she was a crippled burden. To Lin Yuan, she was the ultimate treasure bowl.
A slow, brilliant smile spread across Lin Yuan’s face.
Enemies in the shadows? Bai Clan’s arrogance? Financial ruin?
He would crush them all. All he had to do was pamper his crippled wife to the heavens.