I run a casino in the immortal realm.

As Zheng Yifei walked out of the main hall of the Heavenly Demon Peak, the strong wind blowing in his face from high altitude made him slightly more awake.

Ye Tianqiong's words just now were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last glimmer of hope that had just risen in his heart.

The demonic path has no gentle, top-grade Golden Core or Barrier-Breaking Pills; it only has methods that involve near-death experiences and extreme madness, a do-or-die approach.

For someone with five spiritual roots like him, using demonic methods to break through to the Golden Core stage is no different from simply smashing his head against a block of tofu; the success rate is infinitely close to zero.

"It seems we can only place our hopes on Zhao Ling."

Zheng Yifei sighed inwardly.

Zhao Ling possesses top-grade fire and wood spiritual roots, and with the support of the Xuan Tian Sect and her own abundant resources, her cultivation will naturally improve rapidly. However, if she wants to break through from the Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the Golden Core stage and become a master alchemist capable of refining fourth-grade top-grade pills, it will take at least four years.

For the next four years, he could only wait patiently.

The only variable now is Qin Cang, the Grand Elder of the Xuantian Sect, who is far away.

As long as Qin Cang doesn't attack the Qingyun Sect prematurely, the Qingyun Sect will be safe.

Fortunately, his plan to fake his death and escape, and to be "forced" to join the Heavenly Demon Sect, had worked. Qin Cang was now hesitant to act against the sect leader and would most likely not make a move against the Qingyun Sect at this critical juncture.

But Zheng Yifei soon realized another fatal problem.

The Heavenly Demon Sect is not an absolute safe haven.

The demonic path operates on the principle of prioritizing profit and the survival of the fittest.

The reason he is now treated as an honored guest by three vice sect leaders in the late Nascent Soul stage, who bestow upon him top-quality resources and even assign two Golden Core stage experts to protect him is entirely because he has irreplaceable "utility value".

Although newspapers and logistics are on track, once the Heavenly Demon Sect has fully figured out these models, his personal importance will plummet.

Currently, his biggest bargaining chip, and the cash cow that the higher-ups of the Heavenly Demon Sect covet most, is the "super casino" that is under construction.

"If the super casino continues at the current pace and is completed and opened for business within a year, once the management system is fully operational, my usefulness to the Heavenly Demon Sect will be completely exhausted."

Zheng Yifei narrowed his eyes and slowed his pace: "By then, if I can't come up with new ways to make money, given the demonic cultivators' tendency to abandon their supporters after they've served their purpose, my fate will probably be extremely tragic."

Never entrust your life and fortune to the kindness of others.

Having made up his mind, Zheng Yifei had a plan: he had to delay the construction of the super gambling den! He absolutely couldn't let it open for business too quickly. As long as this treasure trove wasn't fully completed, he would remain an indispensable source of wealth for the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Time flies, and three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past three months, Zheng Yifei has stayed within the Heavenly Demon Sect, personally training the future casino executives and dealers, claiming that he is building an absolutely professional team.

As for the construction site of the super gambling den 300 miles outside the city, he never went there once, leaving it entirely to his subordinates and formation masters to manage.

Only today, when he estimated that the main structure was nearing completion, did Zheng Yifei decide to go to the construction site for an "inspection".

A streak of light flashed across the sky as Zheng Yifei's private flying boat landed steadily on the huge plaza of the Super Casino.

Two stunningly beautiful female cultivators, Green Snake and White Deer, both at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, followed closely behind like two shadowy figures.

As soon as they stepped off the flying boat, several Foundation Establishment Managers in charge of the project greeted them, their brows covered in sweat.

"Minister Zheng, you've finally arrived!"

The head steward, with a fawning expression, pointed to the two towering, magnificent main buildings in front of him and said, "According to your blueprints, the main structure of the two buildings has been completed, and the framework of the defensive formation has also been erected."

Most of the workers are currently constructing the surrounding amenities, landscaping and water features, and interior decoration. It should be fully ready for handover in about six months!

Zheng Yifei looked up at the two magnificent high-rise buildings that gleamed in the sunlight and was secretly amazed.

The Heavenly Demon Sect's reputation for infrastructure development is truly well-deserved; with 30,000 cultivators working day and night, the speed is simply astonishing.

"Six months? That's too fast."

Zheng Yifei sneered inwardly, but his face remained expressionless.

With his hands behind his back, he strode into the lobby of one of the main buildings, accompanied by the green snake and the white deer.

The lobby is extremely spacious, with dozens of massive iron pillars, each requiring ten people to encircle, supporting the dome, creating an extraordinary atmosphere.

"Wait a minute."

Zheng Yifei suddenly stopped, his brow furrowed, and pointed to a node in the array pattern in the center of the hall. "Who carved this spirit-gathering array pattern?"

The steward paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Reporting to the minister, it was Elder Li from the sect's Array Hall who personally led the team to carve it, completely according to the highest standards..."

"Nonsense!"

Zheng Yifei abruptly flicked his sleeves and shouted sternly, "I clearly marked it on the blueprints: the spirit-gathering array in the main hall must be in the shape of a 'golden toad spitting water'."

Look at the direction of these array patterns now. The spiritual energy is gathering at the dome and not sinking. This is called "wealth leakage"!

"Gambling houses are in business because they're focused on making money! If the three vice sect leaders found out that your negligence caused the gambling house to lose tens of millions of spirit stones in the future, how many of your heads would you have enough to lose?"

Several managers were so frightened by this serious accusation that they turned pale and kept wiping away sweat.

"And the color of this giant iron pillar of stars."

Zheng Yifei, not one to back down, walked to a pillar and knocked on it: "It's too dark! The psychological suggestion for gamblers is too oppressive. Cover it all with pure gold and carve it with a pattern of a hundred beasts paying homage!"

"The gaps between these floor tiles are too large, hindering the flow of spiritual energy. Tear them all up and repave them!"

"The soundproofing array for the VIP area needs to be strong enough to withstand the detection of a Golden Core cultivator's divine sense. Yours can only block a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Who are you trying to fool? Redo it!"

For two whole hours, Zheng Yifei wandered up and down the two main buildings, nitpicking and pointing out seventy or eighty serious problems that "must be rectified".

He could cite classical texts for every question, speaking eloquently from various angles such as feng shui, psychology, and formations, leaving the managers speechless and unable to refute him.

"Scramble everything I just mentioned and start over."

Zheng Yifei finally gave a death order: "I don't care how much manpower and resources you spend, this super gambling den is the face of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and it cannot tolerate the slightest flaw."

If my requirements are not met, work will be suspended indefinitely!

The managers complained bitterly, but faced with Minister Zheng, who was at the height of his power within the sect, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and agree.

Given Zheng Yifei's actions, the project will be delayed by at least half a year.

After inspecting the main building, Zheng Yifei was in a great mood and led the Green Snake and White Deer toward the Black Dragon Lane behind the gambling den.

There is a third-grade high-quality spiritual vein at the bottom of this lake.

Zheng Yifei plans to build a top-tier waterfront VIP villa here, which will also be the core of the entire casino's drainage and spiritual energy circulation system.

On the lakeside, hundreds of strongmen dressed in gray were carrying heavy spirit stone bricks to build a dam.

Most of these strongmen were low-level independent cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, hired to do hard labor.

Zheng Yifei walked to a newly built drainage ditch, bent down, and carefully examined the array markings on the bottom of the ditch.

The moment he bent down, something unexpected happened!

A gray-clad strongman carrying a huge rock, less than ten steps away from Zheng Yifei, suddenly turned extremely cold.

Without warning, the boulder in his hand slipped from his grasp. Then, his body snapped like a fully drawn bow, and he became a gray afterimage, hurtling towards Zheng Yifei along the ground!

There were no magical lights or shadows, no violent fluctuations of spiritual energy, only the purest and most explosive physical power and a suffocating killing intent.

The strongman now held a black dagger stained with a dark green, deadly poison, and aimed it straight at Zheng Yifei's throat.