I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Qingyun Sect, Tianyuan Hall Rear Garden.

Morning light pierced through the sea of ​​clouds and shone on the white jade table.

Sect Master Xu Tianyang, dressed in a purple robe, did not meditate or practice breathing exercises, but instead held a slightly rough piece of spirit wood paper in his hand.

The ink scent on the paper hadn't yet dissipated; the layout was dense yet orderly.

"What a shocking statement."

Xu Tianyang's gaze swept over the front page headlines, and a long-lost smile appeared on his lips.

His gaze shifted downwards and landed on the second edition of "Analysis of Abnormal Price Fluctuations of Cold Iron Ore in Qingyunfang City".

In just a few hundred words, without a single swear word or name names, the author used extremely precise data and warehouse locations to utterly expose the Hu family's embezzlement of the sect's mineral resources.

"Killing someone doesn't require a sword, it requires a pen."

Xu Tianyang put down the newspaper, picked up the spirit tea and took a sip: "This kid gave me a huge surprise. I thought he was just setting up a spy agency, but I didn't expect him to create a knife that can be held to the necks of the nine major families."

Xu Tianyang was all too aware of the significance of this newspaper.

In the cultivation world, strength is paramount, but the number of low-level rogue cultivators is thousands or even tens of thousands of times greater than that of high-level cultivators. They lack high-level communication talismans and are thus isolated from information.

The nine major families monopolize information and resources, treating independent cultivators like韭菜 (leeks, a metaphor for being exploited).

Now, Zheng Yifei is printing prices and inside stories directly on paper and distributing them to over a billion people.

This is called awakening.

Those old fogies from the nine major families are probably jumping up and down in a panic right now.

"Dad! Where did you get this newspaper?"

A sweet, charming voice broke the tranquility of the backyard.

Xu Tianyang's youngest daughter, Xu Muyao, ran in, lifting her skirt. She was twenty years old and at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. She was usually Xu Tianyang's favorite.

Xu Muyao grabbed the newspaper from the stone table, her eyes shining: "I just went to the outer sect and saw all the disciples go crazy. They almost fought over this piece of trash!"

She didn't look at the front page or the prices; her gaze was fixed on the bottom right corner of the third page.

There was an inconspicuous block of paper with the title "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality (Part 1): A Poor Boy from a Mountain Village Accidentally Obtains a Mysterious Bottle".

"Father, Han Li is so pitiful! He was tricked by Doctor Mo. Will he even be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Xu Muyao skimmed through the book, then stamped her feet in frustration: "Why does it end at the crucial part? It says 'To find out what happens next, please read tomorrow's Qingyun Daily!' Who wrote this book? How awful!"

Seeing his daughter's frantic state, Xu Tianyang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"The person who wrote the book is the same person who produced this newspaper."

Xu Tianyang pointed to the "Information Department" mark on the masthead.

"Zheng Yifei?"

"He not only writes stories, but he also knows how to manipulate people's hearts."

Xu Tianyang stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said with a deep gaze, "Yao'er, when you have time, go to the Information Department more often. He's about to turn the world upside down in the Qingyun Sect."

Xu Muyao looked at the newspaper and bit her lip thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, in Qingyunfang Market.

On Tianshui Street, the entrance to "Jubaoge," the largest magic artifact shop under the Hu family's name, was already surrounded by thousands of independent cultivators.

"This is a rip-off! Give me my money back!"

A rogue cultivator with a face full of scars waved a copy of the *Qingyun Daily* in his hand, pointing at the tightly closed shop door and cursing, "It's clearly written in the newspaper that the cost of a low-grade cold iron sword is less than ten spirit stones, and you're selling it for fifty! The Su Family Market only sells it for twenty-five, and you still claim this is a sect-wide fixed price? Bullshit!"

"Give me my money back! Or I'll ruin your reputation!"

The sentiment is indignant.

The rogue cultivators in the cultivation world are already living on the edge, and are usually exploited by large shops, daring not to speak out because they don't know the bottom price.

Now, the Information Department has revealed all its cards.

The manager of Jubaoge hid behind the door, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, not daring to even activate the store's protective formation.

If the killing formation is truly unleashed, it could incite a popular uprising, and even the Enforcement Hall wouldn't be able to protect him.

"Quickly! Go and inform the head of the family!"

The shopkeeper roared at his employee, "This business is unsustainable!"

The same scene played out repeatedly at the Li family's medicine shop and the Zhang family's talisman shop.

Price transparency is like a heavy blow, directly shattering the information gap that enabled the nine major families to make huge profits.

The Fourth Elder's Dojo, a secret chamber.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Fourth Elder Hu Lie, Seventh Elder Li Zhan, and three other family elders sat in a circle. On the table was a crumpled copy of the Qingyun Daily.

"We can't let him continue printing!"

Li Zhan slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bloodshot: "This morning alone, the Li family's pill sales plummeted by 70%! All those rogue cultivators have gone to the Su family's shop because the Su family lost in the fourth edition, and their prices are 20% lower than ours!"

"How do we stop them?"

Hu Lie gritted his teeth: "This newspaper is running under the banner of the patriarch 'enlightening the people'! You dare to disrupt the Information Department's operations!"

"Then cut off his paper and his ink!"

The Ninth Elder had a gloomy face.

"It's no use."

Hu Lie shook his head: "I've checked. He's using the lowest quality spirit wood paper and the black ink that mortals use. It's not within our monopoly scope at all."

His printing press doesn't require high-grade spiritual materials; it operates entirely on mortal mechanical principles!

The sealed room fell into dead silence.

These powerful Golden Core cultivators, facing this kind of strategy that doesn't rely on cultivation but only on business logic and public opinion for the first time, felt a deep sense of powerlessness and fear.

"If we can't openly target the Information Department, then we'll target him personally."

A glint of malice flashed in Hu Lie's eyes as he looked at Li Zhan: "The sect competition is on the first day of next month."

Li Zhan understood immediately and sneered, "Zheng Yifei is currently at the ninth level of Qi Refining. According to the rules, those at the ninth level of Qi Refining must participate in the outer sect's grand competition. Once they step onto the arena, their fate is left to destiny."

"I've already asked my great-grandson Hu Jinpeng to make the arrangements."

Hu Lie lowered his voice: "Deacon Wang of the Enforcement Hall has accepted 100,000 spirit stones. Zheng Yifei's first match will be against Zhao Kuang, the top disciple of the outer sect."

"Zhao Kuang? That madman who's at the peak of Qi Refining and half a step into Foundation Establishment?"

Li Zhan's eyes lit up.

"That's right. Zhao Kuang's attacks are either fatal or crippling. Zheng Yifei is a useless piece of trash with five spiritual roots. No matter how smart he is, he'll only be smashed into mincemeat in the face of absolute power. Once he's dead, the News Division will be leaderless, and the Sect Master will have nothing to say."

Hu Lie picked up his teacup and drank the remaining tea in one gulp: "This Qingyun Sect is not a place for a peasant in the Qi Refining stage to set the rules."

In the backyard of the General Affairs Office, there is the Listening to the Wind Pavilion.

Zheng Yifei sat behind a large rosewood desk.

On the desk were piles of jade slips and letters that had come from all sides.

Su Tong stood to the side, beaming, his abacus clicking away: "Director! We've struck it rich! This morning, headquarters received over three hundred shopkeepers, all begging to be featured on GG! Tomorrow's front page and bottom section have already been bought by Wanbaolou for five thousand spirit stones!"

In addition, the various regions have received quite a few complaints, and the newspapers don't have enough space.

"Adding a GG edition layout and GG category information to the inner pages will double the price; no bargaining."

Zheng Yifei didn't even look up, toying with a chalk pen in his hand.

"clear!"

Su Tong was so excited that his hands trembled.

"Also, inform the editorial department that tomorrow's front page will continue to follow up on the Cold Iron Ore incident. Don't make it too definitive; leave it open-ended and let the independent cultivators guess."

In addition, the novel "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" that Xu Yao was reading required the author to add a thousand words each day, ending the chapter at the point where Han Li encountered danger.

Zheng Yifei issued the instructions in a calm tone.

"yes!"

Just as Su Tong was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, took out a dark red jade slip from his sleeve, and handed it over: "Director, this is urgent intelligence just delivered by the Dark Web informant under the Young Sect Master."

Zheng Yifei took the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense.

The information within the jade slip was simple: [Hu Jinpeng, the great-grandson of the Fourth Elder, secretly met with Deacon Wang of the Enforcement Hall last night to exchange 100,000 low-grade spirit stones. Deacon Wang has already retrieved the list of participants for the sect's grand competition and has identified Zhao Kuang, an outer disciple.]

Zheng Yifei's fingers stopped turning.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and quickly recalled information about "Zhao Kuang" in his mind.

Zhao Kuang, the number one disciple of the outer sect, possesses superhuman strength and cultivates the low-grade Xuan-level body cultivation technique "Raging Bull Strength". He is bloodthirsty and once tore apart a second-tier demon beast with his bare hands on the arena.

"You want to kill me in the ring with a legitimate reason?"

Zheng Yifei opened his eyes, a cold smile curving his lips.

These old-fashioned families of the nine major families can't compete in the business war, so they can only resort to the most primitive form of violent assassination.