I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The Qingyun Sect, the dojo of the Fourth Elder.

The night was as dark as ink, and the atmosphere in the Hu family's secret meeting room was so oppressive that it seemed as if water could drip from it.

Hu Jinpeng stood at the lower end, his face ashen, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Grandpa, the elders of Danfeng have seen it."

Hu Jinpeng gritted his teeth, his voice revealing undisguised rage, "That piece of trash Zhao Kuang, his lower body is completely shattered, and his meridians are severely damaged. Even if he can be healed, he'll be stuck at the Qi Refining stage for the rest of his life."

"Our Hu family has poured so much resources into him, and it's all gone to waste!"

Hu Lie, sitting in the grand chair at the head of the table, had his eyes half-closed and was holding two jet-black walnuts in his hands.

"Click, click, click."

The sound of walnuts clinking echoed in the sealed room.

"Trash is trash; you can't make a living off it."

Hu Lie didn't even lift his eyelids, his tone flat and devoid of any emotion: "Useless pawns can be thrown away. Does the Hu family need another Qi Refining stage dog?"

"But Grandpa! That brat Zheng Yifei is too arrogant!"

Hu Jinpeng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment and venom. "He not only crippled Zhao Kuang on the stage, slapping our Hu family in the face, but now he has even obtained the top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Not only that, I just received news that the "Qingyun Logistics Passenger Transport Department," which was established under the leadership of Xu Zhengkun, has completely excluded our Hu family!

The Li and Su families both got a share, but our Hu family didn't even get a drop of soup!

Hu Jinpeng became more and more agitated as he spoke, his chest heaving violently: "If this continues, our sect's assets will be gradually squeezed out and swallowed up by the Logistics Department!"

Grandpa, we can't let Zheng Yifei live any longer! Let me take a few Foundation Establishment stage assassins and find an opportunity to kill him outside the market!

Anyway, with one inner disciple at the Qi Refining stage dead, that old bastard Xu Tianyang isn't going to fight the Hu family to the death over a dead man!

"madness!"

"Bang!"

Hu Lie slammed his hand on the table, and the hard tabletop made of ancient, dark wood instantly turned into a pile of dust.

A terrifying pressure belonging to the Golden Core stage suddenly erupted, crashing down on Hu Jinpeng like Mount Tai.

Hu Jinpeng groaned, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

"Kill, kill, kill! What else is on your mind besides fighting and killing?"

Hu Lie slowly stood up, looking down at his most beloved grandson, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"Do you really think our current predicament is because of Zheng Yifei?"

Hu Lie paced back and forth in the secret room with his hands behind his back: "Zheng Yifei is nothing more than a knife in Xu Tianyang's hand! No matter how sharp the knife is, if it breaks, Xu Tianyang can just find another one, like Li Yifei or Wang Yifei."

If you kill Zheng Yifei, will the Tax Inspection Department be disbanded? Will the Information Department close down? Will the Logistics Department cease operations?

Hu Lie's series of rhetorical questions left Hu Jinpeng speechless.

"None of them."

Hu Lie sneered, "The rules have been set, and the table has been laid out. If you kill Zheng Yifei now, you will only anger Xu Tianyang and give him a pretext to criticize you. You will not gain any real benefit."

Hu Lie walked to the wall of the secret room, where a huge geomantic map of the Qingyun Sect's territory was hanging.

"Jinpeng, you only see the immediate gains and losses, but you don't see the real crisis facing the Hu family."

Hu Lie pointed to the red dots on the map representing the Hu family's businesses, his voice deepening: "In the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme. Why has our Hu family been able to stand firm in the Qingyun Sect for three thousand years?"

Because our Hu family has had Golden Core cultivators in our ranks for generations!

Hu Lie turned around and looked at his grandson kneeling on the ground, a trace of fatigue flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"A Golden Core cultivator has a lifespan of eight hundred years. A Foundation Establishment cultivator, on the other hand, has a lifespan of only three hundred years. Apart from me, no one in the Hu family has any hope of breaking through to the Golden Core stage. If I die, the Hu family is finished."

Upon hearing this, Hu Jinpeng was startled, abruptly raising his head with disbelief in his eyes.

"Grandpa, you..."

"I messed up my training and don't have many years left to live."

Hu Lie calmly stated this cruel truth: "If the Hu family cannot produce another Golden Core cultivator before I pass away, then our Hu family will be completely reduced to a Foundation Establishment family."

Hu Lie sat back down in his chair, picked up his teacup, and gently skimmed off the foam.

"Over the past three thousand years, how many people have we, the Hu family, offended and how many deadly enemies have we made in our struggle for resources?"

Do you think those dependent families who rely on us truly respect us? They respect me, a Golden Core elder!

Hu Lie sneered, "Once I pass away, without the Golden Core cultivator to protect the Hu family, do you believe that those families that used to fawn over us will be the first to pounce on us and devour the Hu family, leaving not even a bone fragment!"

Hu Jinpeng's face turned deathly pale.

He finally understood his grandfather's worries.

Cultivating a Golden Core cultivator requires a massive amount of resources. Spiritual veins, elixirs, and rare and precious materials are all indispensable.

Now, Zheng Yifei's logistics company is cutting off the Hu family's source of income. Without the support of massive resources, it's simply a pipe dream for the Hu family to produce another Golden Core cultivator.

"Therefore, our real enemy is not Zheng Yifei, but the Xu family."

A ruthless glint flashed in Hu Lie's eyes: "Xu Tianyang is slowly boiling the frog, trying to gradually weaken the foundation of our nine major families and concentrate power in the hands of his sect leader's lineage. If we continue to focus on Zheng Yifei as a pawn, we will truly fall into his trap."

"Then...Grandpa, what should we do?"

Hu Jinpeng swallowed, his voice a little dry.

Hu Lie did not answer immediately.

He took out a talisman that glowed with a pale golden light from his storage bag.

As soon as the talisman appeared, the spiritual energy in the secret room involuntarily converged towards it. The cinnabar array patterns outlined on the talisman seemed to flow like living things, emitting a heart-palpitating fluctuation.

"A top-grade communication talisman?!"

Hu Jinpeng exclaimed in surprise.

Top-grade communication talismans are extremely expensive to produce, with each one costing 100,000 low-grade spirit stones. Their greatest feature is that they can ignore most array shielding and distance limitations, allowing direct point-to-point communication across hundreds of thousands of miles.

In the Qingyun Sect, talismans of this level are only used when the sect faces a life-or-death crisis.

"Grandpa, who are you trying to contact?"

Hu Jinpeng was puzzled.

Hu Lie offered no explanation. He bit his fingertip, forcing out a drop of blood, which he then dripped onto the talisman.

The talisman instantly shone brightly.

Hu Lie moved his lips slightly, inscribing a piece of divine information into the talisman.

Then, he flicked his finger.

"go."

The golden talisman transformed into a stream of light, instantly piercing through the multiple layers of array defenses in the secret chamber and disappearing into the vast night.

The direction pointed directly out of the Qingyun Sect's territory.

After doing all this, Hu Lie let out a long breath, the gloom on his face vanished, replaced by a coldness of complete control.

"The Xu family lineage is small, with no more than three thousand people at most."

Hu Lie leaned back in his chair and said quietly, "Xu Tianyang only has two sons and one daughter. Although Xu Zhengkun has reached the Core Formation stage, his foundation is still shallow. What is it that allows the Xu family to maintain its position as sect leader?"

"Is it the greater good of the sect? Or is it superior cultivation?"

Hu Jinpeng asked tentatively.

"It's money."

Hu Lie sneered: "The Xu family doesn't have any assets of their own. The expenses of maintaining the sect leader's lineage and the resources for training disciples are all supported by the taxes paid by the various districts under the sect's jurisdiction. Zheng Yifei set up the Tax Inspection Department and implemented the new tax law just to give the Xu family a lifeline."

A sly glint flashed in Hu Lie's eyes: "Since they want money, then we'll cut off their money. As long as there are major problems with tax collection, and the Xu family can't come up with the resources to appease their stewards and disciples, Xu Tianyang's position as sect leader will be in jeopardy!"

"But Grandpa, the Inspectorate is watching so closely now, how can we tamper with the taxes?"

Hu Jinpeng frowned.

"Who said we were going to do anything within the Qingyun Sect?" Hu

Lie glanced at him, a cruel smile curving his lips. "Jinpeng, remember this: the cultivation world is vast, and the Qingyun Sect is but a drop in the ocean. If there are some troubles that we can't handle ourselves, someone else will be willing to take care of them."

Hu Jinpeng looked thoughtfully in the direction where the talisman had disappeared, vaguely guessing what was going on, and suddenly gasped.

"Grandpa, you've made contact..."

"Shut up."

Hu Lie coldly interrupted him, "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. The more you know, the faster you'll die. What you need to do now is to behave yourself, don't provoke Zheng Yifei, and especially don't mess with the Logistics Department."

Go back and cultivate in seclusion. You are not allowed to come out until you reach the late Foundation Establishment stage.

"Yes, Grandpa."

Although Hu Jinpeng was unwilling, he dared not disobey Hu Lie's orders and could only bow his head and agree.

"Go."

Hu Lie waved his hand.

Hu Jinpeng exited the secret room, and the heavy stone door slowly closed.

The sealed room fell silent once more.

Hu Lie sat alone in the armchair and picked up the two black walnuts again.

"Click, click, click."

Amidst the crisp clanging sound, Hu Lie murmured softly, his voice seemingly drifting from the deepest hell.

"Xu Tianyang, since you want to sever the Hu family's lineage, don't blame me for overturning your Xu family's table. Let's see how long you can hold onto Zheng Yifei's knife..."