I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Two days later.

Three massive Xuan Tian Sect warships, capable of blotting out the sky, finally pierced through the thick, ever-present clouds and slowly landed on the Blood Soul Valley battle line in the northern part of the Southern Wilderness.

The moment the hatch opened, a strong, nauseating stench of blood, accompanied by a biting cold wind, rushed into the bottom of the airship.

Those Qingyun Sect disciples who were originally resting with their eyes closed suddenly changed their expressions. The Qi Refining stage disciples with weaker cultivation even couldn't help but clutch their chests and gag.

Wearing the face of "Xu Zhengyuan," Zheng Yifei followed the flow of people out of the cabin. The moment his feet touched this land, he understood why this place was called the "meat grinder of good and evil."

Looking out, the sky above Blood Soul Valley was a somber, dark red, as if it were soaked in dried blood.

The soil beneath their feet was not the usual muddy brown, but a shocking dark purple, the traces left by the blood of countless cultivators of both the righteous and demonic paths over thousands of years, layer upon layer, soaking and drying.

The air was filled with violent and chaotic spiritual energy fluctuations, and the faint, mournful howls of remnant souls could be heard in one's ears.

The reason why Blood Soul Valley became a strategic location that both the righteous and the demonic forces fought over at any cost was not because the spiritual energy here was so abundant, but because this desolate land, irrigated by blood, was rich in an extremely rare Blood Soul Stone.

This mineral is blood red in color and contains a strange, cold power. It not only has a strong effect of calming the mind and stabilizing the soul, but can also greatly enhance a cultivator's soul power and divine sense. It is also a supreme sacred object for high-level cultivators to break through their realm and prevent them from going astray.

In the world of cultivation, any magical artifact that can defend against attacks on the soul or amplify divine sense is extremely precious, and Blood Soul Stone is the main material for making soul artifacts.

Wealth can move people's hearts, let alone strategic resources that can save lives and advance one's social standing.

Both the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect have opened up multiple large mines in this vast Blood Soul Valley area. In order to compete for more mineral veins, the two sides have stationed tens of thousands of troops here year-round. Large and small battles are fought almost every day, making it the most brutal and deadly battlefield with the highest casualty rate in the entire Southern Wilderness border war line.

The Qingyun Sect's duty is to protect one of its mines.

"All disciples, listen to my command! Form ranks!"

The Fifth Elder Su Chenyuan's majestic voice echoed in the air, and his powerful spiritual energy at the late Golden Core stage instantly suppressed most of the panic in the hearts of the disciples.

Five thousand elite Qingyun Sect members quickly assembled on the dark red wasteland.

Before them stood a massive camp built of huge obsidian blocks, its surface covered with marks of swords and axes and scorch marks from array formations.

The camp gate slowly opened, and a group of ragged cultivators, exuding a strong aura of killing intent and exhaustion, came out to greet them.

These were the previous batch of disciples from affiliated sects stationed here. Originally, there were five thousand of them, but now, there are less than two thousand left, and almost all of them are injured, their eyes numb like those of walking corpses.

Su Chenyuan watched this scene, his eyes twitching slightly, feeling even more grateful for Zheng Yifei's incredible "fake war" plan.

Otherwise, two years later, the fate of the five thousand fine men of the Qingyun Sect behind him would probably be a hundred times more tragic than that of these people.

"Elder Su, you've finally arrived."

The old man in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, who was in charge of the handover, gave a wry smile and handed a jade slip stained with blood to Su Chenyuan: "This is the overall map of the camp's defensive formation, as well as the deployment map of the front line."

"Our sect has suffered over half its casualties and can no longer hold on. We entrust Blood Soul Valley to the fellow Daoists of the Azure Cloud Sect."

"Fellow Daoist, you've worked hard. Leave the rest to us."

Su Chenyuan solemnly accepted the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and quickly figured out the surrounding terrain.

This frontline camp is only twenty miles away from the Heavenly Demon Sect's defense zone.

Twenty li is less than the distance of a bowl of tea in a sword flight for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Between the positions of the righteous and demonic armies lies a Blood Soul River, thirty meters wide.

The river water was not crystal clear, but rather had a strange, viscous, blood-red color. It contained extremely strong corrosiveness and resentment. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would have their protective aura completely corroded away and turn into a pile of bones if they fell into the river.

This River of Blood Souls is the natural boundary between the righteous and the demonic factions.

Fifty miles behind the Qingyun Sect's camp lies a large Blood Soul Stone mine belonging to the Qingyun Sect.

That is the core of this defense zone, continuously providing the Xuantian Sect with enormous wealth.

After the handover was completed, Su Chenyuan immediately ordered that the five thousand disciples be dispersed according to their respective halls, reorganized, and stationed in batches at various defensive nodes of the camp.

Zheng Yifei, as the "captain of the suicide squad," was assigned to an independent fortress at the very front of the camp, the closest to the Blood Soul River.

This is the most dangerous salient in the entire camp. Once the Heavenly Demon Sect launches an attack, this will be the first line of defense and cannon fodder.

But Zheng Yifei was very satisfied with this. This place was the furthest from the main force at the rear, which made it convenient for him to sneak out at night to meet with the Blood Fiend Camp of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

On the first day of their arrival, the entire Qingyun Sect camp was filled with the tense work of setting up defenses and repairing formations.

However, this brief period of calm was abruptly shattered the next morning.

Just as dawn was breaking, three extremely arrogant streaks of light sped from the direction of the mine fifty miles behind, landing directly in front of the commander's tent in the Qingyun Sect's camp without any hesitation.

The newcomers were all dressed in black brocade robes from the Xuantian Sect's Enforcement Hall, with striking silver sword marks embroidered on their chests.

The leader had a sinister face, a hooked nose, and an undisguised arrogance and ferocity in his eyes; he was clearly a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

This man is named Zeng Ming, and he is the younger brother of Zeng Feng, the head of the Enforcement Hall of the Xuantian Sect.

He was appointed by Qin Cang as the captain of the supervisory team in the Blood Soul Valley mining area. Nominally, he was to protect the mining area, but in reality, he was a butcher's knife hanging over the head of the Qingyun Sect.

"Where is Su Chenyuan of the Qingyun Sect? Come out and answer me!"

As soon as Zeng Ming landed, he roared with a voice mixed with the spiritual power of a Golden Core cultivator, which made the patrolling Qingyun Sect disciples around him churn with anger. They glared at him, but dared not speak out.

The curtain of the main tent was lifted, and Su Chenyuan walked out with a somber expression.

Although he was old, his cultivation level at the late stage of Golden Core was undeniable, and an invisible pressure naturally emanated from him, causing the two Foundation Establishment Perfection Law Enforcement Disciples behind Zeng Ming to turn slightly pale.

"Captain Zeng, I am here."

Su Chenyuan bowed respectfully, neither humble nor arrogant: "The supervisory team isn't stationed at the rear mines, but instead comes to the front-line camp at dawn shouting and making a scene. What kind of behavior is this?"

Zeng Ming sneered, completely disregarding Su Chenyuan, who was at the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

In his view, the Qingyun Sect was nothing more than a dog kept by the Xuantian Sect. When the master came, the dog had to wag its tail.

"Su Chenyuan, stop trying to intimidate me with your elder's airs!"

Zeng Ming stepped forward, his gaze aggressive: "I am here to supervise the battle on the orders of the Grand Elder. Your Qingyun Sect has been stationed here for a whole day. Why are you still hiding in the camp?"

"I order you to immediately muster three thousand troops and cross the Blood Soul River before noon today to launch a probing attack on the Heavenly Demon Sect's defensive territory!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Qingyun Sect disciples all gasped in shock, their eyes filled with astonishment and anger.

On the second day after arriving at the front line, before they were fully familiar with the formations and the terrain, they were about to cross the deadly Blood Soul River to attack the Demon Sect's position.

This is no probing attack; it's clearly forcing them to their deaths!

Su Chenyuan's face instantly turned cold. He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Captain Zeng, this is absolutely unacceptable. Our sect's five thousand disciples have traveled a long distance and their spiritual energy has been severely depleted and has not yet fully recovered. Moreover, the front-line formations have been in disrepair for many years, and many of the formation patterns need to be redrawn."

We have no idea about the specific troop deployment of the Heavenly Demon Sect on the opposite bank. To rashly cross the river and launch a strong attack would be tantamount to moths flying into a flame!

"That's your problem!"

Zeng Ming interrupted Su Chenyuan without any politeness, his eyes flashing with a cruel light: "The Grand Elder sent you here not to rest and recuperate! It's to deplete the forces of the Heavenly Demon Sect!"

"What, does your Qingyun Sect intend to defy the imperial decree?"

"Zeng Ming! Don't push your luck."

Su Chenyuan finally lost his temper. He took a step forward and unleashed a terrifying pressure from the late Golden Core stage, like a tangible tsunami crashing down on Zeng Ming.