I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Su Wanqing pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing her arms over her chest, her tone certain: "Is there any need to guess? This is Elder Qin Cang's trick."

When Zeng Feng couldn't get the blueprints from the sect leader openly, he resorted to stealing their techniques. He sent three former Qingyun Sect disciples back under the guise of family visits and exchanges, making it seem legitimate.

She turned to look at Xu Zhengkun, her gaze sharp: "Sect Master, these three people absolutely cannot be allowed to live. The printing press is our current foundation. Once they figure out how it works, the Grand Elder will soon monopolize newspaper distribution and logistics."

Xu Zhengkun looked troubled and sighed, "Your analysis is correct. If it were an ordinary disciple, I would have dismissed him with a single sentence."

However, Zhou Ming is the grandson of the Sixth Elder, who is highly respected in the sect and also manages the spirit herb garden.

Moreover, these three people were holding the exchange and transfer order from the Xuan Tian Sect's Artifact Pavilion.

If I forcibly drive them away, not only will the Grand Elder use it as an excuse, but if the Sixth Elder causes a scene, the sect will be thrown into chaos for a while.

Jin Biao stood to the side, rubbing his rough hands: "The sect leader is right. The sixth elder just led a group of people to find me. If I dared to say a word against it, he would have overturned my table on the spot."

Su Wanqing frowned. The cultivation world is not only about fighting and killing, but also about human relationships and worldly wisdom.

Xu Zhengkun has just taken over as sect leader, and his foundation is not yet stable. It is indeed not advisable to break ties with the sect elders at this time.

"Drive them away? Why should we drive them away?"

Zheng Yifei, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

He leaned back in his chair, his right index and middle fingers habitually tapping the table alternately, producing a crisp "tap, tap, tap" sound—two long taps followed by one short tap.

Su Wanqing's heart skipped a beat when she heard that familiar voice, and she rolled her eyes at him.

This is how this man acts when he's scheming against people.

"Zhengyun, you mean, let them into the printing factory?"

Xu Zhengkun was taken aback.

"Of course we should go in. They're top students sent by the upper sect, free labor. Why not take advantage of them?"

Zheng Yifei's lips curled into a cold smile as he looked at Jin Biao: "Manager Jin, how many departments does our printing factory have now?"

Jin Biao immediately straightened his back: "Reporting to the head manager, the printing factory has more than a dozen departments, including purchasing, logistics, production, finance, canteen, transportation, warehousing, and typesetting. The production workshop is further divided into dozens of production groups, such as mechanical maintenance, array control, spirit stone filling, type mold maintenance, paper management, assembly line, quality inspection, and packaging."

There are more than fifty departments and production teams of all sizes.

"very good."

Zheng Yifei stopped tapping the table: "Tomorrow, Zhou Ming will start from the bottom, rotating through each department and production team. Tell them that the printing plant is the core of the sect; if they want to learn core technologies, they must start from the very bottom. That's the rule."

Jin Biao hesitated, "Manager, will this approach work? They are Foundation Establishment cultivators, not doing these menial tasks for lower-level cultivators..."

"Since they're using the guise of learning, they have to follow our rules."

Zheng Yifei interrupted him, "If they want to leave because they find it hard or tiring, that's just what we want. If they grit their teeth and stay, then let them work hard on the assembly line."

Su Wanqing immediately understood Zheng Yifei's intention and her eyes lit up: "This is a good idea. Each person is only responsible for one extremely simple process. Even if they work for a year or two, they still won't be able to piece together the operating logic of the whole machine."

"clever."

Zheng Yifei snapped his fingers: "But that's not enough. They have Ouyang Feng and Qin Cang behind them. We can't just keep it from them. We have to give them something in return."

He stood up, walked to his desk, picked up a vermilion pen, and quickly drew several complex mechanical gear meshing diagrams on a piece of white paper.

"Jin Biao, starting next month, every two months, 'inadvertently' leak a few fragmented parts drawings to them."

Remember, change all the dimensions, gear ratios, and lever stress points on the drawings.

A businessman's cunning gleamed in Zheng Yifei's eyes: "Mechanical transmission requires a perfect fit. If even one piece of data is wrong, the whole machine is just a pile of scrap metal."

The weapon refiners in the cultivation world don't understand specifications or physics; they'll only see these modified blueprints as treasures.

Xu Zhengkun gasped in shock.

Although he didn't understand mechanics, he knew how malicious this trick was.

"Wait until they've served two full years, or until the Grand Elder starts pressuring them, then find another opportunity to have them steal a 'complete' set of blueprints."

Zheng Yifei put down his pen: "This fake blueprint seems logically feasible, but the stress structure of the core drive shaft is a dead end."

Once they take it back to the Xuantian Sect, Ouyang Feng and his group will try to replicate it. Just finding the errors, debugging, furnace explosions, and scrapping will take another year or two.

"What a brilliant deception, a clever substitution!"

Xu Zhengkun slapped his thigh suddenly, and the worry on his face vanished.

Zheng Yifei's smile faded, and his expression turned solemn: "What we lack most right now is time. This elaborate scheme doesn't need to worry about how long it can deceive us, as long as it buys us enough time and space."

He turned to Xu Zhengkun and said, "Brother Kun, the old sect master is in seclusion trying to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. This is our biggest source of confidence. As long as the Grand Elder doesn't immediately overturn the table and delays it for another day, the old sect master's chances of breaking through will increase."

Furthermore, if the Xuan Tian Sect Master were to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and emerge from seclusion during this period, Qin Cang would be completely unable to cause any trouble.

Xu Zhengkun nodded emphatically: "I understand. I will make sure Jin Biao puts on a good show, giving them hope without making them feel like they are being guarded against."

"There's one more thing."

Zheng Yifei emphasized, "Starting next month, 20% of Mirage's net profit will be secretly allocated to Elder Wan Tianxiang."

"Twenty percent?"

Xu Zhengkun and Jin Biao exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Mirages are now making a fortune; a 20% profit is enough to buy a medium-sized market!

"Too much?"

Zheng Yifei snorted coldly: "Money is worthless, you can earn it back after you spend it. Elder Wan helped us set up the Nine Nether Annihilation Array, that's a life-saving favor."

This 20% profit is both a reward and a life-saving measure.

Su Wanqing nodded in agreement: "Zhengyun is right. He who eats another's food is bound to be obliged, and he who takes another's money is bound to be obliged. Elder Wan has taken so many top-tier resources from us, his cultivation must have improved by leaps and bounds."

The more influence he wields in the Xuantian Sect, the more secure our backing will be.

When the day comes that Qin Cang makes his move, Elder Wan will not only have to protect us, but also help us win over the other elders.

This deal is a sure thing, you can't lose money.

Xu Zhengkun no longer hesitated: "Alright! We'll do it your way. Jin Biao, go back immediately and arrange things for Zhou Ming and the other two. Remember, be enthusiastic and give them plenty of work!"

"Sect Master, rest assured, I guarantee I'll take care of these three top students perfectly!"

Jin Biao grinned, accepted the order, and withdrew.

After the business was finished, it was already late at night.

Zheng Yifei and Su Wanqing walked out of the villa side by side, heading towards the mirage along the path by Yingxian Lake.

The lake was shrouded in mist, reflecting the dazzling lights of the mirage.

Su Wanqing walked on the inner side, looking at the shrewd man beside her, and said softly, "You've schemed so deeply that even Elder Wan has become a pawn on your chessboard. Aren't you afraid that one day you'll overplay your hand?"

Zheng Yifei rested his hands behind his head, his steps leisurely: "If I don't play chess, others will treat me as a pawn. Qin Cang is a Nascent Soul stage monster. If I fight him, I can only squeeze every resource I can get my hands on."

He stopped and looked in the direction of Xuantian Sect.

In fact, in Zheng Yifei's eyes, Elder Wan, the Xu family, and even the mirage were all external forces, and external forces are ultimately unreliable.

His true trump card and selfish motives have always been hidden in the Spirit Pill Pavilion of the Xuan Tian Sect.

Zhao Ling.

The alchemy genius he discovered.

Zheng Yifei calculated in his mind: Five years. As long as the mirage can operate stably for five to six years, the enormous resources it earns will be enough to force Zhao Ling to reach the Golden Core stage! As long as Zhao Ling advances to the fourth-level alchemist, he can start refining top-grade Golden Core Pills and top-grade Breakthrough Pills.

He possessed a useless body with five spiritual roots, making it impossible for him to achieve Foundation Establishment through conventional cultivation. Only by forcibly cleansing his marrow and bones with a massive amount of top-grade pills could he break this ironclad rule of the cultivation world and form a Golden Core!

Only by forming one's own Golden Core can one truly possess some means of self-protection in this cruel world of cultivation. Even if one cannot defeat a Nascent Soul stage elder, at least one can lead Su Wanqing and one's own group to safety.

"Five years..."

Zheng Yifei murmured something under his breath.

Su Wanqing turned her head to look at him: "What five years?"

Zheng Yifei withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Su Wanqing's stunningly beautiful face in the moonlight. He suddenly reached out, embraced her slender waist, and pulled her into his arms.

"Within five years, I'll earn enough for the dowry and marry you in a grand and glorious way."

Zheng Yifei lowered his head and chuckled softly in her ear.

Su Wanqing's cheeks instantly flushed red. She struggled for a moment, but couldn't break free, so she simply leaned against his chest and spat, "Stop being so glib. We didn't finish settling accounts in the study earlier."

Zheng Yifei froze, recalling the good time that had just been interrupted, and felt a fire rise up in his abdomen again.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Zheng Yifei swept Su Wanqing up in his arms, spiritual energy surging beneath his feet: "Let's go back and settle the score!"