I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Late at night, the printing factory in the southeast corner of Qingyunfang was brightly lit.

Half a million newspapers, still carrying the strong scent of ink, were automatically cut, packaged, and stacked into neat squares by the array.

Su Tong stood in the spacious loading and unloading area, clutching the roster in his hand.

Above his head, seven superior-grade flying boats, each a hundred feet long, hovered silently in the night sky, like seven lurking giant beasts.

This level of flying boat is engraved with three levels of "Wind Control Formation" and "Earth Shrinking Formation", and can travel five thousand miles in an hour.

Normally, these are strategic-level magical artifacts used by sects to transport elite disciples and support the front-line battlefield.

Now, the storage compartment in the belly of the flying boat is wide open, frantically swallowing and spitting out bundles of cheap spirit wood paper.

"Hurry! Move quickly!"

Su Tong urged loudly, directing the Qi Refining stage disciples to move the supplies: "Seventy thousand portions from the South District, pack them into Flying Boat Number One! Eighty thousand portions from the East District, pack them into Flying Boat Number Two!"

Using a top-grade flying boat to transport newspapers is a complete waste, but when Zheng Yifei approved the note, the sect leader didn't even frown.

"set sail!"

With Su Tong's command, the array patterns on the seven flying boats lit up, transforming into seven streams of light that tore through the night and headed towards the seven major regions of the Qingyun Sect.

South District, Tianshui Market.

Regional Director Lin Feng stood in the market square, his Taoist robe fluttering in the cold wind.

Behind him stood twenty office staff members at the late stage of Qi Refining, along with his own mid-grade flying boat.

A sharp whistling sound came from the sky as a flying boat broke through the clouds and landed steadily.

The hatch opened, and 70,000 newspapers poured out, piling up into a small mountain.

Lin Feng waved his hand: "According to the plan, each person should take three thousand copies and follow me to the small and medium-sized markets below! They must be handed over to the distribution point managers before dawn. Each person should check the quantity, and then the accounts will be tallied and settled!"

"yes!"

Twenty figures quickly collected the newspapers and then boarded the flying boat.

The lowest level of shantytowns, beside muddy streets.

Fifteen-year-old rogue cultivator Shi Tou pulled his tattered clothes tighter around himself, shivering in the cold wind. He was only at the first level of Qi Refining, and his meridians were damaged, making him ineligible even to work as a laborer in the mines.

He was surrounded by hundreds of people, including a veteran with a broken leg, ordinary beggars, and emaciated orphans.

"Here it comes!"

Someone whispered.

As the airship landed, an office clerk appeared, took off the storage bag from his waist, and with a flick of his wrist, threw bundles of newspapers heavily onto the open ground.

The manager picked up the register and struck the gong in his hand: "Listen to the rules! One newspaper costs three spirit coins! No more, no less! Come back and settle accounts after you've sold it all, and you'll get half a spirit coin as commission for each newspaper! Anyone who dares to run away with the newspapers will be made to wish they were dead by the inspectors of the Information Bureau!"

"One hundred stones!"

Shi Tou rushed forward and grabbed the heavy bundle of newspapers. The smell of ink filled his nostrils; it was a scent he had never encountered before.

He held the newspaper, his heart pounding like a drum.

Half a spirit coin! One hundred portions would be fifty spirit coins!

In Tianshui Market, a black steamed bun costs only two spirit coins.

If he could sell all these newspapers, he could not only have a full meal, but also buy a low-grade medicine for his seriously ill sister.

This isn't paper; it's a life-saving elixir!

As dawn broke and the morning bell rang, the protective array around the market slowly opened, and the crowds began to pour in.

Stone took a deep breath, rushed towards the most crowded intersection, and with all his might, roared out the sentence the foreman had taught him the night before:

"Shocking! Random cultivators in the Southern District have gone missing one after another! The News Department exclusively exposes the black market trade in Human Elixir! For only three spirit coins! Come and see!"

The roar was like a thunderclap thrown into a calm lake.

The passing monks all stopped in their tracks.

"What? Trading in 'human pills'?"

"Recently, quite a few independent cultivators have mysteriously disappeared in the Southern District, and even the Enforcement Hall can't find them!"

"Three spirit coins? Give me one!"

A burly man with a thick beard casually tossed out three spirit coins the size of copper coins and snatched a newspaper from Stone's hand.

He unfolded the newspaper, and the huge bold headline instantly caught his eye. Although the accompanying picture was blurry, the eerie cellar and scattered robes struck at the deepest fear in the heart of the rogue cultivator.

"Hiss—it was done by remnants of the Blood Shadow Cult!"

The burly man gasped and stood by the roadside, staring at the scene, completely forgetting his important business of buying medicinal herbs at the morning market.

The surrounding rogue cultivators, seeing this, were completely intrigued.

"Little beggar, give me one too!"

"Don't push! I want some too!"

Three spirit coins are nothing more than a speck of dust to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and for a Qi Refining cultivator, it's just the price of half a cup of inferior spirit tea.

It's totally worth it to exchange this little bit of money for information that concerns your life and fortune!

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all one hundred newspapers in Shi Tou's hands were snapped up.

He clutched the heavy spirit coins in his arms tightly, his eyes red-rimmed. In his fifteen years of life, this was the first time he had earned money with his own hands, standing tall and proud.

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in the seventeen large market clusters and thousands of small market clusters within the jurisdiction of the Qingyun Sect.

Tens of thousands of newsboys roamed the streets and alleys, their childish yet desperate cries of hawking their wares rising and falling.

The Qingyun Daily, like dry tinder igniting a raging fire, instantly set the public opinion of the entire Southern Wilderness region ablaze.

Qingyun Sect, Tingfeng Pavilion.

Zheng Yifei sat in a grand chair, slowly peeling a tangerine.

Su Tong burst into the hall, drenched in sweat, clutching a stack of communication talismans. His voice trembled with excitement: "Director! It's exploded! It's all exploded!"

"Be steady."

Zheng Yifei popped an orange segment into his mouth. "Say the data."

"News has just come back from the seven regions that 500,000 copies of the newspaper were sold out in less than an hour!"

In some markets, there were even cases of independent cultivators fighting each other over the last copy of the newspaper!

Lin Feng sent three consecutive messages, urging headquarters to print more!

Zheng Yifei pulled out a silk handkerchief and wiped his hands, showing no surprise.

This is a game-changer. In the cultivation world, where entertainment is scarce and information is limited, how could these natives possibly withstand such a sensationalist tactic combined with exclusive secrets?

"Has the account been settled?"

Zheng Yifei asked.

Su Tong suppressed his excitement and opened the ledger: "It's all settled! One share is three spirit coins, so 500,000 shares would be 1.5 million spirit coins."

According to your fixed allocation, headquarters will take 10%, which is one spirit coin; the branch offices will take the lion's share, one and a half spirit coins; and the newsboys will take half a spirit coin.

Su Tong swallowed hard. "Director, I never understood why we left so much profit for the branch office while still giving money to those ordinary beggars. Now I understand!"

Tell me about it.

"The issuance costs are too high."

Su Tong analyzed, "The office needs to support editors and reporters, distribution staff, flying boats cost spirit stones, distribution points require rent, and local bullies need to be appeased. One and a half spirit coins are just enough to cover their expenses with a surplus. As for those newsboys..."

A hint of awe flashed in Su Tong's eyes: "Half a spirit coin is enough to make them work for the News Division. Today in the South District, there was a little beggar who, in order to protect the newspaper, had his ribs broken by a few hooligans but he didn't let go."

This group of people are our most loyal and cheapest bodyguards and informants!

Zheng Yifei leaned back in his chair and nodded slightly.

"This is called a binding of interests."

Zheng Yifei tapped his fingers on the table. "Three spirit coins bought up the attention of over a billion rogue cultivators, supported tens of thousands of low-level newspaper boys, and fed the directors of seven major regions."

From today onward, as long as our newspaper continues to publish, no one can tear this net apart.

"Notify Jin Biao, keep the machines running, print 700,000 copies tomorrow, 100,000 copies for each district."

"yes!"

Su Tong accepted the order and withdrew.

Meanwhile, at the Fourth Elder's dojo.

"Bang!"

A priceless white jade teacup was smashed to pieces on the ground.

Hu Jinpeng stood in the center of the hall, his face pale and his whole body trembling.

Fourth Elder Hu Lie sat at the head of the table, holding a crumpled copy of the Qingyun Daily in his hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

The second page of the newspaper did not use sensationalist headlines, but instead used an extremely objective and calm style to write an article entitled "Analysis of Abnormal Fluctuations in the Price of Cold Iron Ore in Qingyunfang City".

The article did not name names, but it listed several sets of detailed inbound and outbound data, as well as the locations of several hidden warehouses.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

These warehouses are the transit points for the Hu family to secretly resell sect-grade cold iron ore!

"idiot!"

Hu Lie slapped Hu Jinpeng across the face from a distance, causing blood to trickle from his mouth: "So this is what you meant by newspapers being useless? He's holding a knife to my throat!"

"Great-grandfather... I didn't know he would actually dare to publish it..."

Hu Jinpeng covered his face, his voice trembling: "How could he have found out so much?"

"The Inspectorate investigated the accounts, and the Information Department exposed it! Xu Tianyang's methods are ruthless!"

Hu Lie abruptly stood up, his eyes flashing with murderous intent: "Immediately send men to those warehouses and burn all the account books! Get rid of everyone who knows anything about it!"

Hu Lie took a deep breath and looked out the window towards Qingyun Market.

"Zheng Yifei...this boy must not be allowed to live!"