Fates Parallel is my favourite cultivation fic, though it strays quite a bit from typical Xianxia storyline, since it is about an experimental academy when masters of all three big disciplines - cultivation, martial arts and wizardry try to find out if those schools of knowledge can mix together.
I voted "character" in part because it's the most useful to judge the contents, e.g. you can can identify most trash-tier harem-lit from the near-naked female characters with exaggerated proportions and suggestive poses. It's a helpful warning sign.
Can't speak for anyone else, but I am put off by cheap-looking covers much more than I am attracted by good ones. A poll option just saying "character" is misleading, because a good character illustration means one which is commissioned from a good artist to distinctively show the specific character(s), show something of the atmosphere of the story etc. That's expensive. Most self-published authors don't pay what it costs.
Most also seem underestimate the value of good-looking typography. One thing I am always sad to see is where the author seems to have taken a nice illustration and just slapped some amateur-hour free font over the top instead of paying for some nice typography. For example, compare the text on Fates Parallel to Mother of Learning.
Yesterday, Fates Parallel, the premier handholding cultivation novel, is one year old! To mark the occasion, I am making the Kindle Edition free today until 12:00 AM Jan. 26 (PST). If you or someone you know has been interested in the story, but didn't want to purchase the book, this is the time to get it. Tell your friends, tell your friends to tell their friends, tell people on discord, tell people on reddit and twitter. Free book! Get a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JNBRNQM
Are you looking for a xianxia with a female protagonist? One that focuses on personal growth and characterization? About cultivating friendships as much as it is about cultivating power? Maybe a little bit of hand-holding, if you're good, just as a treat?
No? Well go read Fates Parallel anyway! It's got magic, martial arts, and cultivation all smashed together into one! Come for the face-slapping, stay for the characters. Or the other way around, if you prefer!
The first volume is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited while the rest of the story (nearly 400k words!) can be found for free on Royal Road and Scribble Hub