I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Blood Soul Valley front line, Qingyun Sect camp.

Inside the most advanced independent fortress, a dense vortex of spiritual energy suddenly contracted inward, completely merging into Zheng Yifei's body.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

It's been two years.

With the help of a massive amount of top-grade pills and the consumption of spirit stones regardless of cost, he managed to push his cultivation to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment. At this moment, the spiritual power in his dantian has completely turned into solid crystals. He only needs a top-grade Golden Core Pill and a Breakthrough Pill to break the crystal and form a pill, and then he can step into the Golden Core Path.

Zheng Yifei stood up, changed into a blue robe, and pushed open the heavy stone door of the fortress.

The atmosphere inside the commander's tent was extremely tense.

"Bang!"

Su Chenyuan slammed the table in front of him into dust with one palm, his face turning ashen and his chest heaving violently.

Zheng Yifei lifted the curtain and walked in, casually pulling up a chair to sit down: "Fifth Elder, Zeng Ming is here to cause trouble again?"

"That beast!"

Su Chenyuan gritted his teeth, his voice filled with murderous intent: "Our two-year garrison period is over. I went to him with the list of casualties to negotiate a withdrawal, but not only did he refuse, he also produced Qin Cang's imperial edict, saying that the war was at a stalemate and that troops were scarce, ordering us to continue holding the line!"

Su Chenyuan pointed to the scattered roster on the ground: "Five thousand elite troops, and two thousand eight hundred names have been crossed off the roster! I threw these battle casualties in his face, and guess what he said?"

He said it was an honor for the Xuantian Sect's affiliated sects, and that he had died a worthy death.

Zheng Yifei replied in a calm tone.

You guessed it all.

Su Chenyuan clenched his fists.

Zheng Yifei was not surprised. Qin Cang's goal was to drain the Qingyun Sect of its resources, so how could he easily let them go back?

In the past two years, the casualties suffered by the Qingyun Sect have been devastating.

White banners were hung in the camp every day, and the wounded soldiers' camp was filled with constant wails. Zeng Ming had personally examined the corpses several times and was convinced that the Qingyun Sect had suffered more than half of its casualties.

In reality, apart from the five hundred core disciples who were sent to Xiaoyao Palace as "prisoners of war," the remaining two thousand three hundred "deathly" disciples were all secretly transported back to the forbidden area behind Qingyun Sect in batches by Su Chenyuan using array formations.

The foundation of the Qingyun Sect was not broken; on the contrary, due to the high-pressure training over the past two years, the combat power of those who remained has increased dramatically.

"Zeng Ming felt that we hadn't lost enough people. Yesterday, he even proposed to incorporate the more than one hundred old, weak, sick, and disabled people from the logistics battalion into a suicide squad to wade through the minefield on the other side."

Those hundred-plus people were Zheng Yifei's grandparents and other relatives.

Su Chenyuan sighed: "The Grand Elder is very powerful, we have no choice but to obey."

Just then, a ripple suddenly appeared in the space inside the tent.

A purplish-black communication rune ignored the outer array, appeared out of thin air, and hovered in front of Zheng Yifei.

Zheng Yifei reached out and caught it, probing it with his divine sense.

Ye Tianqiong's deep voice echoed in his mind: "The Xiaoyao Palace will open tomorrow. Come quickly to take charge of the overall situation."

The runes shattered, turning into specks of purple light that dissipated.

"A message from Night Sky?"

Su Chenyuan asked.

Zheng Yifei nodded and stood up: "The Xiaoyao Palace has been completed. Ye Tianqiong asked me to go and attend the opening ceremony. Fifth Elder, I'll be leaving tonight."

"Leave now? Zeng Ming is keeping a close eye on things. If he suddenly needs to muster troops for battle tomorrow and finds you're not there, he'll definitely become suspicious."

"Keep him calm. Tell him that our sect is preparing a desperate attack and needs three days to refine our magical artifacts. The entire army will remain indoors. Just hold him off for three days."

"Alright, be careful when you go to the Heavenly Demon Sect."

"Zeng Ming is the one who should be careful."

Zheng Yifei lifted the curtain and his figure disappeared into the night.

At midnight, on the banks of the Blood Soul River.

Zheng Yifei skimmed across the river and landed skillfully on the rocky beach on the opposite bank.

Tu Gang, accompanied by two trusted confidants, was waiting ahead.

Upon seeing Zheng Yifei land, he jogged forward to greet him, his scarred face plastered with a fawning smile, his back bowed low.

"Minister Zheng! You've finally arrived!"

Tu Gang rubbed his hands together.

In the past two years, Tu Gang's cultivation level has skyrocketed thanks to the continuous supply of spirit stones from Zheng Yifei. He is now at the peak of the Golden Core stage, and the next step will be to become a Nascent Soul expert. Therefore, he treats Zheng Yifei with even more respect than he would his own father.

"Come on, let's talk on the boat."

Zheng Yifei didn't waste any words and strode forward.

A jet-black cloud-piercing boat took off and headed straight for the Heavenly Demon City.

Flying Boat Living Room.

Tu Gang personally poured Zheng Yifei a cup of blood ginseng wine, his face beaming with smiles: "Minister Zheng, you're the main character at this trip to Xiaoyao Palace. Vice Sect Master Ye personally requested your presence—this treatment is unique in the Heavenly Demon Sect!"

Zheng Yifei picked up his wine glass, but instead of drinking, he slammed it down on the table.

"Deacon Tu, you've made quite a bit of money following me these past two years, haven't you?"

"Thanks to you, may your wealth overflow!"

Tu Gang patted his chest.

"Now there's a chance to make big money and achieve great things, are you in?"

Tu Gang's eyes lit up: "Wherever Minister Zheng points, I'll go!"

"Kill Zeng Ming."

Zheng Yifei uttered three words.

Tu Gang's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the wine pot on the ground.

Kill the captain of the Xuantian Sect's supervisory team? That's the younger brother of the Xuantian Sect's Enforcement Hall Master, and he's backed by Elder Qin Cang.

"What? You're afraid?"

Zheng Yifei leaned back in his chair.

"It's not that I'm afraid..."

Tu Gang swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his forehead: "Zeng Ming is hiding behind the Qingyun Sect's main camp, very close to the Yunya Mine. If we want to kill him, we have to cross your Qingyun Sect's defenses. If the Xuantian Sect investigates and drags in the Nascent Soul experts, I won't be able to stop them."

"The matter won't escalate much."

Zheng Yifei interrupted him, his tone icy: "If Zeng Ming doesn't die, the Qingyun Sect can't withdraw its troops, and I can't go back. Vice Sect Master Ye even asked me to establish an intelligence outpost in the Xuantian Sect."

He leaned forward and lowered his voice: "If Zeng Ming is blocking my way, then he is blocking the way of Vice Sect Master Ye."

Upon hearing this, Tu Gang thought the logic made perfect sense.

"How should we do it?"

"Three days later, you will mobilize five thousand elite Blood Fiend Battalion soldiers and launch a large-scale surprise attack."

Zheng Yifei dipped his finger in the wine and drew a route on the table: "The Qingyun Sect's front line will feign a rout and deliberately open a passage. Your team will directly cut through and head straight for the rear commando camp."

Tu Gang stared at the water stains on the table, his brows furrowed.

"Zeng Ming is in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm; you alone might not be able to stop him."

Zheng Yifei raised his head: "We need to arrange at least two more Golden Core cultivators to be more confident. The three of you Golden Core cultivators should attack together and make sure to kill him in one blow. We absolutely cannot let him crush the jade slip for help."

Three Golden Core cultivators surrounded and attacked one enemy.

This is a deadly trap with no chance of survival.

"What happened after Zeng Ming was killed?"

Tu Gang asked.

"Take advantage of the situation and seize the supervisory team's camp, then create the illusion that the Demonic Sect has successfully launched a night raid. The Azure Cloud Sect will immediately launch a 'fight to the death,' resulting in more than half of them being killed or wounded."

Zheng Yifei reached out and wiped the water stains off the table: "Xuantian Sect will only receive battle reports: Demon Sect launched a surprise attack, the supervisory team died in the line of duty, Qingyun Sect fought to the death and forced the enemy to retreat."

Tu Gang felt a chill run down his spine.

They completely absolved themselves of any blame and even conveniently killed the military supervisor.

Minister Zheng's heart is blacker than that of a demonic cultivator.

"Let's do it!"

Tu Gang gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table: "That bastard Zeng Ming is always so arrogant. I've disliked him for a long time. Tomorrow at midnight, I'll personally lead a team to twist his head off!"

"Okay, I'll get you something good later."

Zheng Yifei nodded in satisfaction.

Zeng Ming must die. If he doesn't die, the more than one hundred members of the Zheng family will forever be a sword hanging over their heads.

Qin Cang wanted to use Zeng Ming to stare at Qingyun Sect until it bled to death, so Zheng Yifei would just gouge out those eyes.

Twilight.

The Cloud Piercing Boat slowed down and hovered outside the Heavenly Demon City.

On the shore of Heilong Lake, a colossal structure stands silently.

The towering purple-gold obsidian building, hundreds of feet high, exuded a breathtaking luxury amidst the swirling demonic energy, while nine hundred and ninety-nine blood soul stone lamps illuminated the surrounding area for dozens of miles as if it were daytime.

The pure gold beast statues on both sides of the gate have their blood-red mouths wide open, creating a strong visual impact.

This is the Xiaoyao Palace.

Zheng Yifei stood at the bow of the ship, looking down at his base of operations, his eyes gleaming with ambition.

"Minister Zheng, we've arrived."

Tu Gang stood respectfully to the side.

Zheng Yifei straightened his robes and strode off the flying boat.

In front of the gate of Xiaoyao Palace, Zhao Wenyuan, along with Li Jianfeng, Wang Changsheng, and hundreds of black-clad guards, were already lined up and waiting.

Upon seeing Zheng Yifei appear, everyone bowed deeply, their voices booming.

"Welcome, Minister Zheng!"

Zheng Yifei raised his hand, signaling everyone to stand up.

"Brother Wenyuan, is everything set up?"

"Everything is ready, just waiting for you to cut the ribbon."

Zhao Wenyuan stepped forward, his expression respectful.

Zheng Yifei looked up at the top floor of the Xiaoyao Palace, where several powerful Nascent Soul stage auras emanated faintly, indicating that various demonic giants from the Southern Wilderness Region had already entered the arena.