I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Xuantian Sect, Qingfeng Cliff Main Hall.

Wan Tianxiang put away his flying magic weapon and slowly stepped into the main hall.

The atmosphere inside the main hall was oppressive. Zeng Feng knelt below, his head bowed. The Grand Elder, Qin Cang, sat in his armchair, watching Wan Tianxiang enter with a blank expression.

"Elder, the imperial decree has arrived."

Wan Tianxiang cupped his hands, his tone helpless: "But Xu Tianyang said that he has just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, and his realm is extremely unstable, which has triggered the hidden injuries left by his early battles. He can hardly even get out of bed now, so he really cannot travel a long distance to the main peak to receive the title."

He said that once he had fully recovered, he would personally come to apologize to the Grand Elder.

Qin Cang let out a cold laugh.

Would a Nascent Soul stage cultivator be unable to get out of bed?

Xu Tianyang didn't even bother to put any effort into making such a clumsy excuse.

"What a fine example of an unstable state of mind."

Qin Cang abruptly stood up, his violent spiritual pressure surging through the hall, causing Wan Tianxiang's Taoist robe to flutter wildly: "He's determined to defy the imperial decree and oppose me!"

Zeng Feng suddenly looked up: "Master, the Qingyun Sect has openly defied the imperial decree, which is tantamount to treason. Please give the order, Master. This disciple is willing to lead the elite of the Enforcement Hall to raze the Qingyun Sect to the ground!"

"Take it flat? What will you use to take it flat?"

Qin Cang's gaze turned icy. "Xu Tianyang is at the Nascent Soul stage. Once the sect's protective formation is activated, it's impossible to break through without the combined efforts of three Nascent Soul elders."

The sect leader is currently in seclusion in the back mountains, attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. He is most wary of any unrest within the sect. If we start an internal war at this time, and it alerts the sect leader to emerge from seclusion, we will all die!

Zeng Feng was speechless for a moment, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

Qin Cang paced back and forth in the main hall, his mind racing with calculations.

Xu Tianyang couldn't fight him head-on, and Zheng Yifei was hiding in the Heavenly Demon Sect and couldn't be killed. If he swallowed this insult, his prestige as the Grand Elder would be completely destroyed.

"Issue my decree."

Qin Cang stopped, his tone laced with extreme malice: "Demon cultivators are rampant on the border of the Southern Wilderness. As a model of righteousness, the Qingyun Sect should share the burden for the sect."

Effective immediately, five thousand Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples of the Qingyun Sect will be conscripted into the vanguard battalion and dispatched to the Blood Soul Valley front to defend against the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Wan Tianxiang's eyelids twitched.

Blood Soul Valley is a meat grinder in the clash between good and evil. Sending these five thousand people there would definitely be cannon fodder with no chance of survival.

This is an open scheme, using the sect's righteousness to pressure people. As long as Xu Tianyang still recognizes the Xuan Tian Sect's name, he will absolutely be unable to refuse.

"besides."

Qin Cang looked at Zeng Feng: "Take all 173 members of the Zheng family who were captured from Heishan Market to the Qingfeng Cliff execution ground."

"I hereby proclaim to the entire Southern Wilderness that Zheng Yifei has colluded with the demonic path. If he does not return to the Xuantian Sect to face his death within ten days, I will exterminate the entire Zheng family and extract their souls for purification!"

Zeng Feng loudly accepted the order and turned to leave the main hall.

Wan Tianxiang lowered his head and sighed inwardly.

Qin Cang has completely broken off relations. If he can't control Xu Tianyang, he'll use the lives of the lower classes to make up for it.

Two days later, in the News Department building of Tianmo City.

Zheng Yifei sat behind a large mahogany desk, holding a copy of the Xuantian Sect's official gazette that had just been delivered.

The green snake and the white deer stood in front of the desk, their expressions solemn.

"Minister, the Xuantian Sect's proclamations have been posted all over the border cities."

The Green Snake spoke: "Qin Cang has threatened to kill your entire clan. Our spies in the Xuan Tian Sect have confirmed that 173 members of the Zheng family have been taken to the Dragon Locking Pillar on Qingfeng Cliff."

Bai Lu added, "Qin Cang also forcibly conscripted five thousand disciples of the Qingyun Sect to Blood Soul Valley. He's forcing you to show yourself. As soon as you leave the territory of the Heavenly Demon Sect, assassins from the Shadow Hall will definitely swarm you."

Zheng Yifei put down the official gazette, picked up the spiritual tea on the table, took a sip, and remained calm without the slightest ripple of emotion.

Seeing this, the green snake couldn't help but ask, "Minister, aren't righteous cultivators most concerned with family bloodlines?"

Should I ask Vice Sect Master Yu for permission to send a team of Golden Core assassins to infiltrate the Xuan Tian Sect and break them out of prison?

"A prison break? To throw your life away for a few strangers?"

Zheng Yifei put down his teacup, a mocking smile curving his lips.

He was a transmigrator who felt no sense of belonging to the Zheng family. When he took over this body, he was destitute and only the original owner's parents cared about him.

He had barely met those so-called "clan members" in Heishanfang City more than a few times.

His only concern was the original owner's parents and younger siblings. Xu Zhengkun had already informed him that his immediate family had been safely settled in a completely secluded place in the Southern Wilderness.

As for the 173 collateral relatives?

"Qin Cang is trying to use moral blackmail."

Zheng Yifei leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced: "Unfortunately, as long as I have no morals, he can't hold me hostage."

He can kill whenever he wants. If he really decides to do it, I'll just start a column for him in the *Demon Daily*, serializing his atrocities of indiscriminate killing, and help him become famous throughout the world.

The Green Snake and the White Deer exchanged a glance, a chill rising in their hearts. This Minister Zheng's style of doing things was even more ruthless than theirs, as legitimate demon cultivators.

"but."

Zheng Yifei stood up and straightened his black brocade robe: "I still need to go back to the Qingyun Sect."

Green Snake exclaimed in shock: "Minister, are you crazy? Qin Cang is just waiting for you to walk right into his trap!"

"I'm not going to the Xuantian Sect, I'm only going back to the Qingyun Sect."

Zheng Yifei stepped outside and summoned the flying boat.

The main hall of the Heavenly Demon Peak.

Ye Tianqiong leaned back on his obsidian throne, toying with two top-grade fire spirit stones the size of walnuts in his hands.

After hearing Zheng Yifei's purpose, he stopped what he was doing and raised his eyebrows.

"You want to go back to the Azure Cloud Sect? Do you know that the Golden Core assassins from the Profound Heaven Sect are targeting you? If you step even half a step out of the Heavenly Demon Sect's territory, those assassins will kill you."

Zheng Yifei stood in the hall, looking directly at Ye Tianqiong: "Vice Sect Master, I must go back. There are two reasons."

First, my current cultivation level is stuck at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and I need a large number of top-grade pills to help me break through to perfection. The pills from the Heavenly Demon Sect are too potent, and my five-elemental-root physique cannot withstand them.

"The Qingyun Sect has a secret alchemist I've trained. She possesses the orthodox and gentle pills I need. Without these pills, my cultivation progress will be extremely slow."

Ye Tianqiong nodded slightly.

The demonic cultivation methods emphasize destruction before construction, and Zheng Yifei's physique, which was built up by resources, was indeed unable to withstand the potent and dangerous medicines of the demonic path.

"second."

Zheng Yifei raised his second finger: "The mirage of the Qingyun Sect can generate hundreds of millions of spirit stones every month."

Qin Cang recruited five thousand disciples of the Qingyun Sect, actually intending to use this opportunity to weaken the Qingyun Sect and then annex the Mirage.

I designed the underlying logic of that gambling den, and I can't watch it fall into Qin Cang's hands.

Moreover, the Heavenly Demon Sect's super gambling den is nearing completion, and I need to return to the Azure Cloud Sect to retrieve the core array data of the Mirage for the final debugging of the Heavenly Demon Sect's gambling den.

Upon hearing the words "Super Casino," Ye Tianqiong's expression completely changed.

That's the Heavenly Demon Sect's money bag for the next hundred years; it can't afford to make the slightest mistake.

"If you need the array data, just send someone to retrieve it. Why risk your life yourself?"

The night sky asked.

"Only I can decipher the core data."

Zheng Yifei lies without batting an eye. He actually just wants to slow down the progress of this super casino.

"In that case, I will send someone to escort you back."

"No."

Zheng Yifei stepped forward and looked directly at this late-stage Nascent Soul demonic giant: "This junior would like to request that the Vice Sect Master make the trip in person."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Why would the vice sect leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect be made a bodyguard for a Foundation Establishment stage disciple?

If anyone else had said those words, Ye Tianqiong would have already smashed them into a bloody mist with a single palm strike.

Ye Tianqiong stared at Zheng Yifei for a full ten breaths.

Then, he suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly, the sound causing dust to fall from the dome of the hall.

"What courage! What a shrewd plan!"

Ye Tianqiong stood up and kicked over the long table in front of him. "You brat, you figured out I wouldn't part with that super gambling den. Fine! You were brought here by me, so I'll naturally send you back safely. But I'll only give you five days."

Zheng Yifei smiled and clasped his hands in a deep fist salute: "Thank you, Vice Sect Master!"

Half an hour later.

A fourth-tier peak demonic beast, the Shadow Demon Dragon, with a body length exceeding thirty zhang, let out a roar that shook the heavens and the earth, and soared into the sky from the main peak of the Heavenly Demon.

On the back of the demonic dragon, Ye Tianqiong stood with his hands behind his back, his body surrounded by surging demonic energy.

Zheng Yifei stood beside him, his black robe billowing in the strong wind.

With a flap of its wings, the demonic dragon tore through the clouds, transforming into a black lightning bolt that hurtled towards the Azure Cloud Sect in the north.