I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The main hall of the Qingyun Sect's main peak.

The air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood and a sense of spiritual energy.

Unlike the tense atmosphere of the elders arguing heatedly over resource allocation in the past, the main hall today was filled with an extremely rare and joyful atmosphere that could be described as "harmonious and happy".

Xu Tianyang summoned the First Elder, Fifth Elder, and Seventh Elder to report on the operation of the logistics department.

In the center of the hall, a huge illusory mirror floated, its surface densely covered with shimmering golden numbers and charts. This was the "bi-monthly financial report" jointly submitted by the logistics department.

Sect Master Xu Tianyang sat upright on the purple-gold dragon throne, holding a cup of top-grade Snow Mist Spirit Tea in his hand. Although he tried his best to maintain the dignity of a sect leader, the slight upturn of his lips and the smile in his eyes betrayed his excellent mood.

"Elders, please take a look."

Xu Tianyang put down his teacup, pointed to the Water Moon Illusion Mirror in mid-air, and said in a loud and cheerful voice, "This is the summary account of 'Shunfeng Logistics' after half a month of trial operation."

In just half a month, the logistics company's net profit has reached an astonishing 800,000 low-grade spirit stones!

This doesn't even include the extra two million spirit stones in transaction tax collected by the tax office after the market's trading volume surged!

Upon hearing this, a collective gasp filled the hall, followed by barely suppressed excited chatter.

The Seventh Elder, Li Zhan, who was sitting in the third seat on the left, was smiling so hard that the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together, making him look like a blooming daisy.

As the first elder to be "recruited" by Zheng Yifei and to invest heavily in the logistics company, he is now filled with regret—not for investing, but for not investing enough!

"Our lord is wise! Director Zheng is truly a divine being!"

Li Zhan suddenly stood up, his beard trembling with excitement. "If this trend continues, the 20 million spirit stones we scraped together for the initial construction will be used in less than three years!"

"You can recoup your investment, with interest, in ten months at most, maybe even eight! The rest of the time, you can just lie on the spirit stone mine and count your money!"

Fifth Elder Su Chenyuan smiled, stroked his beard, and nodded.

As another major shareholder of the logistics department, the Su family has also made a very substantial profit in the past two weeks.

More importantly, thanks to the convenience of logistics, the resources that were originally stockpiled in the spirit herb gardens and mines in the remote areas under the Su family's jurisdiction due to high transportation costs have now all been turned into white spirit stones.

"Not only that,"

Xu Tianyang's eyes gleamed with ambition. "The rise of logistics has completely revitalized the resources of the entire Qingyun Sect's territory."

With surplus money, cultivators would purchase more elixirs and magical artifacts, accelerating their cultivation and subtly elevating the overall strength of the sect. This is the true foundation for an everlasting dynasty!

Seizing the opportunity, Li Zhan strode to the center of the main hall, cupped his hands, and loudly proclaimed, "Sect Master! I propose that we must immediately increase investment! Our current ten top-grade flying boats are simply not enough, and the 'Shunfeng Post Stations' in various districts are overflowing with goods that cannot be transported out every day."

"I suggest we allocate another 30 million spirit stones from the sect's treasury and various other sources to place large orders for transport flying ships from the Weaponry Peak and external trading companies!"

Li Zhan became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes gleaming with the fervor of a businessman: "We want to spread our logistics network to every corner of the entire Qingyun Sect!"

Not only that, once our internal situation is stable, we also plan to open shipping routes to the neighboring "Hidden Moon Sect" and "Mad Blade Sect"! We'll engage in inter-sect trade! We'll earn spirit stones from other sects!

"Excellent! Seventh Elder's words resonate deeply with me!"

Xu Tianyang slammed his hand on the armrest, exuding an air of grandeur, "This matter is entrusted to you and Xu Zhengkun to oversee. Provide the funds and personnel as needed, and ensure that within three months, Shunfeng Logistics' flying ships will obscure the sky above Qingyun Sect!"

The elders clapped and laughed, as if they could already see countless spirit stones raining down into their pockets.

However, at this very moment when the relationship between the ruler and his ministers was harmonious and the atmosphere reached its peak.

"Buzz—"

The defensive array above the main hall suddenly emitted an extremely piercing buzz. Immediately afterward, the void outside the main hall was forcibly torn apart by an extremely brute force of magic.

A blinding dark golden light, carrying a terrifying pressure that sent shivers down one's spine, crashed directly into the hall like a meteorite falling to earth.

"Who dares to trespass into the main hall of the summit!"

The elders were shocked and immediately unleashed their Golden Core stage cultivation, summoning their magical treasures to prepare for battle.

"Stop it, all of you!"

Xu Tianyang's expression changed drastically, and he abruptly raised his hand to stop everyone.

He stared intently at the dark golden light floating in the center of the hall.

It was a palm-sized talisman, made entirely from the hide of an unknown demonic beast, with extremely complex and ancient array patterns outlined on it using dark red cinnabar.

The pressure emanating from the talisman caused several Golden Core stage elders present to feel a tightness in their chest and shortness of breath, and their spiritual energy circulation became sluggish.

"This is... the divine pressure of a Nascent Soul stage expert!"

Fifth Elder Su Chenyuan took a step back, his face filled with horror.

"It's the 'Nine Heavens Profound Gold Communication Talisman' from the Upper Sect, the Xuantian Sect."

Xu Tianyang's voice became extremely dry, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out from his forehead.

Although the Qingyun Sect reigns supreme within a radius of thousands of miles, it is merely a second-rate sect relegated to a remote corner of the vast landscape of the cultivation world.

Above them lies a colossal entity—the "Xuantian Sect," which boasts a Nascent Soul stage patriarch.

The Qingyun Sect is nominally an affiliated sect of the Xuantian Sect. Every year, it has to pay an extremely large "tribute" in exchange for the protection of the superior sect and a nominal legitimate status.

Xu Tianyang took a deep breath to calm his turbulent blood and qi, and respectfully made a hand seal with both hands, casting it into the dark golden talisman.

The talisman shattered with a crash, turning into specks of golden light that coalesced in mid-air into a phantom image of a majestic old man in white robes.

The old man's illusory figure looked down at the crowd in the hall, offering no pleasantries whatsoever, leaving only a cold, indifferent voice, like a decree from heaven:

"By imperial decree of the Xuan Tian Sect: Demonic forces are rampant, and the sect intends to activate a demon-suppressing array in the northern border, requiring a massive amount of resources. The subordinate Qing Yun Sect is hereby ordered to increase its annual tribute by one billion low-grade spirit stones on top of the existing tribute this year."

"A one-month deadline has been set for the payment of 1.5 billion, including the existing annual tribute. Any delay will be considered treason and will be severely punished!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's illusory figure vanished in a gust of golden wind, leaving behind only a deathly silence in the hall.

1.5 billion low-grade spirit stones!

One month only!

These two words were like two heavy hammers, slamming into everyone's hearts and shattering the joy of earning millions of spirit stones, leaving not even a trace.

"An increase of ten...billion?!"

Seventh Elder Li Zhan's legs went weak, and he collapsed into a chair, his lips trembling. "Has the Upper Sect gone mad? Our Qingyun Sect's total annual tax revenue is only two billion!"

After deducting the 500 million in tribute to the upper sect and various sect expenses, we only have a surplus of 100 to 200 million. They're demanding an extra 1 billion, payable within a month! This is practically pushing us to the brink!

Xu Tianyang's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.

He gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

One billion might not be much to the Xuantian Sect, which has Nascent Soul cultivators, but for the Qingyun Sect, it is an astronomical figure that can cripple the sect or even bankrupt it instantly!