I run a casino in the immortal realm.

From the day it opened, the mirage has completely transformed into a colossal gold-devouring beast lying across Yingxian Lake.

It opened its enormous maw and swallowed hundreds of millions of spirit stones from the Xuantian Sect's territory.

The extravagance and madness here were like a hurricane, sweeping not only righteous cultivators, but even some rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators in the territory of the Heavenly Demon Sect, their mortal enemy, could not resist such temptation.

They risked being exterminated by the righteous path and secretly infiltrated Yingxian Lake, all for the sake of making a fortune in this decadent paradise.

Here, every day, every hour, unfolds a dramatic tapestry of joy and sorrow, more absurd than any opera.

"Open! Three sixes, a triple! The banker wins big!"

As the dealer's crisp, indifferent voice fell, a completely different wave of noise erupted from the gambling table.

A ragged, unaffiliated cultivator, seeing the mountain of chips piled up before him, threw his head back and laughed wildly, tears streaming down his face: "Hahaha! I won! 100,000 spirit stones! Tomorrow I'll buy Foundation Establishment Pills, and I'll never have to put up with those powerful families again!"

He casually grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed them into the arms of the maid next to him, then swaggered towards the VIP dual cultivation area on the upper floors with the female cultivator in his arms.

Beside him, a middle-aged cultivator with early Foundation Establishment cultivation looked ashen-faced.

He stared intently at the spirit tablets that had been taken from the table, his hands trembling. Suddenly, he lunged at the gambling table, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Cheating! You definitely cheated! That was the money I was saving to buy life-saving pills, I even pawned my natal magic weapon! Give it back!"

"Rules are rules. Anyone who dares to cause trouble at the mirage is asking for death."

Two cold-blooded security guards stepped forward instantly. Without even using magic, they dislocated the man's arms, one on each side, and dragged him out of the glass gate like a dead dog, throwing him into the icy Yingxian Lake with a splash.

Getting rich overnight and losing everything are just the most common sights here.

Countless cultivators entered with dreams of getting rich overnight, only to have their last low-grade spirit stone drained from their storage bags.

Meanwhile, in the accounting room at the bottom of the mirage, the spirit stones that were counted and put into storage every day had piled up into small, undulating mountains.

Half a month later, the fourth-order Great Sumeru Nine Palaces Array and Spirit Gathering Array of the Mirage were finally completely stabilized.

Xu Zhenghai and his master Wan Tianxiang retired after achieving their goals and prepared to return to Xuantian Sect.

To thank Wan Tianxiang for his support and hard work over the past two weeks, Xu Zhengkun and Zheng Yifei hosted an extremely luxurious farewell banquet in the VIP lounge on the top floor of the Mirage.

The table was laden with spiritual dishes made from the meat of fourth-tier demon beasts, and the cups were filled with priceless millennium-old jade dew.

"Zhengkun, I have lived for hundreds of years and consider myself to be well-informed, but I have never seen such crazy ways of making money as you have ever seen before."

Wan Tianxiang picked up the white jade wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

His gaze fell on Zheng Yifei, who was pouring wine without making a sound, and a hint of undisguised admiration flashed in his eyes: "How does Zheng Yun's brain work?"

"After throwing down 1.2 billion spirit stones, I originally thought your Xu family would suffer serious damage. But at this rate of daily profits, you'll recoup your investment with interest in less than a year!"

"Elder Wan, you flatter me. I only know a little about business, nothing more than that."

Zheng Yifei, sporting the face of "Xu Zhengyun," smiled slightly, his attitude humble yet not subservient.

"The way of merchants? Hmph, to be able to scheme so thoroughly against these people in the cultivation world, this is no ordinary way of merchants."

Wan Tianxiang shook his head, then put down his wine glass. The smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by an unusual solemnity.

He waved his hand, and a powerful Nascent Soul stage spiritual energy surged out, instantly setting up a soundproof barrier in the private room.

Upon seeing this, Xu Zhengkun and Zheng Yifei immediately put down their chopsticks and straightened their expressions.

They knew that what Wan Tianxiang was about to say was no small matter.

"Zhengkun and Zhenghai are my most prized disciples. I naturally consider your Xu family as my own."

Wan Tianxiang looked at Xu Zhengkun with a deep gaze and lowered his voice: "Your mirage is indeed a treasure trove, but the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind. Is Zeng Feng, that junior, really wandering around down there for gambling?"

You all know who's standing behind him.

Xu Zhengkun frowned: "Elder Wan, are you referring to Grand Elder Qin Cang?"

"good."

Wan Tianxiang sighed, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness and worry: "You are in the Qingyun Sect, unaware of the dangers within the Xuantian Sect. The sect leader has been in seclusion for ten years, all for the sake of breaking through to the elusive Nascent Soul Realm."

Currently, almost all the power within the Xuantian Sect rests in the hands of its Grand Elder, Qin Cang.

Zheng Yifei felt a chill run down his spine. Only then did he realize that even the lofty and powerful Xuantian Sect had such a fierce power struggle within its ranks.

"The Nascent Soul Realm is an insurmountable chasm. If the Sect Master can break through it in one fell swoop, then everything will be fine. Even if Qin Cang has great ambitions, he will have to behave himself."

Wan Tianxiang sneered, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "But what if the sect leader fails to break through? At best, he'll suffer a qi deviation and his cultivation level will plummet; at worst, he'll die! Once the sect leader falls, Qin Cang will definitely launch an attack immediately and rightfully become the new sect leader of the Xuantian Sect!"

Xu Zhengkun gasped, his back instantly soaked in cold sweat: "Elder Wan means..."

"Qin Cang is a greedy and extremely domineering man."

Wan Tianxiang looked directly at Xu Zhengkun: "The reason he is holding back now and only sending Zeng Feng to test the waters is because he is still worried about the sect leader who is in seclusion and dares not go too far."

But once the sect leader fails to break through, he'll have no more scruples. Do you think he'll let go of the Qingyun Sect, such a lucrative prize?

Wan Tianxiang pointed to the floor beneath his feet, his tone chilling: "At that time, let alone this mirage that makes a fortune every day, even the printing factory, newspapers, and logistics business that your Xu family has set up, Qin Cang will find a high-sounding reason like 'handing them over to the sect' and openly send people to forcibly take them over!"

"If your Xu family dares to resist, you will face utter annihilation!"

A deathly silence fell over the private room.

Xu Zhengkun's knuckles turned white as he gripped the wine glass, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

Could it be that the empire he painstakingly built will ultimately only benefit others?

Zheng Yifei sat in the shadows, his face ashen, his mind racing.

He finally realized that he had underestimated the world of cultivation.

Faced with absolute force, any sophisticated business model or any vast wealth empire is as fragile as a sandcastle.

Qin Cang is a powerful being at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. He doesn't need to explain any business logic to you; he only needs to slap you down to wipe out all your achievements.

"Thank you for your guidance, Elder Wan."

Zheng Yifei suddenly stood up, walked to Wan Tianxiang, and bowed deeply.

When he raised his head, the shrewdness of a businessman was gone from his dark eyes; in their place was a chilling madness and ruthlessness.

"Elder Wan, I have a request, and I hope you will grant it."

Zheng Yifei said, emphasizing each word.

"Oh? You go ahead."

Wan Tianxiang looked at the young man whose temperament had suddenly changed, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Zheng Yifei took a deep breath, his voice as cold as ice: "I implore Elder Wan to secretly implant a top-level chain self-destruct formation at the core of the fourth-tier sect-protecting formation and the spirit-gathering formation in the mirage!"