I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Zheng Yifei looked at Zhao Ling, took out a jade bottle sealed with layers of restrictions from his storage bag, unlocked the restrictions, and gently pulled out the stopper.

In an instant, an extremely rich and pure earth-yellow spiritual energy overflowed from the bottle opening, causing the spiritual energy concentration in the entire secret room to surge instantly. Even a single breath made one feel refreshed, as if all the acupoints in the body had been opened.

As an alchemist, Zhao Ling has an extremely keen sense for rare and precious materials.

She stared at the jade bottle, her eyes widening slightly, and exclaimed, "This is... the Essence of Earth?"

"You know your stuff."

Zheng Yifei pushed the jade bottle in front of her: "This bottle of Earth Essence is yours."

Zhao Ling was startled and waved her hands repeatedly, shrinking back slightly: "No! Brother Yifei, this is too precious! Earth Spirit Marrow is a rare treasure that can cleanse the marrow and directly improve cultivation. You can't buy it even for a billion spirit stones outside."

I can't accept it, you keep it for yourself!

"I have already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, so I don't need this."

Zheng Yifei's tone was calm, but carried an air of undeniable authority: "I need top-grade Golden Core Pills and Breakthrough Pills, but you are only at the late Foundation Establishment stage now. If you cultivate step by step, it will take at least two or three more years to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment."

"I can't wait that long. This bottle of Earth Essence is worth ten years of your hard work. Take it and use it to quickly reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Then ask your master for a Golden Core, and try to break through to the Golden Core stage as soon as possible."

Zhao Ling bit her lip, knowing that Zheng Yifei's plan could not be delayed.

She took a deep breath, solemnly accepted the jade bottle, and her eyes hardened: "Brother Yifei, don't worry. With this bottle of Earth Spirit Essence, I guarantee I'll reach the peak of Foundation Establishment within five days, and I'll definitely break through to the Golden Core stage within three months!"

"Alright, once you break through to the Golden Core stage, you'll be able to refine fourth-tier pills. Give me a list of the materials needed for the Golden Core Formation Pill and the Breakthrough Pill."

Zhao Ling immediately took out a blank jade slip from her storage bag, placed it on her forehead, and quickly inscribed it with her divine sense.

A moment later, she handed the jade slip to Zheng Yifei: "The main ingredients for top-grade Golden Core Pills and Barrier Breaking Pills are extremely rare, especially fourth-tier demon cores and Nascent Soul Grass. Hundreds of auxiliary ingredients are also required. I've written them all down here."

Zheng Yifei took the jade slip, scanned it with his divine sense, and then turned to look at the door: "Tie Feng, come in."

Tie Feng pushed open the door and entered, standing respectfully to one side.

Zheng Yifei tossed the jade slip to Tie Feng: "Go and collect the spiritual materials listed here immediately. Use all our channels in the market, at all costs. If you don't have enough spirit stones, send a message to Chen San and Lin Bao and have them send some over."

I need you to gather these materials as quickly as possible.

"Understood!"

Tie Feng took the jade slip, turned around, and quickly left.

Zheng Yifei turned to Zhao Ling and said, "I'll wait for you in the market during this time. After you return to your sect, immediately go into seclusion and don't worry about anything except breaking through to the Golden Core stage."

Zhao Ling nodded vigorously, carefully put away the jade bottle, then put on a bamboo hat and quietly left the Treasure Pavilion through the secret passage.

Meanwhile, at the Qingyun Sect headquarters.

Su Chenyuan led more than two thousand remnants of his army, traveling day and night by flying boat, and finally returned to Qingyun Sect.

Inside the main hall of the main peak, Sect Master Xu Zhengkun frowned deeply as he looked at Su Chenyuan's pale face and plummeting cultivation level. After listening to Su Chenyuan's report on the changes at the Blood Soul Valley front, Xu Zhengkun's expression darkened completely.

"What a clever scheme to kill someone with a borrowed knife! Zeng Ming, that fool, deserves to die, but Qin Cang is trying to pin the blame for the loss of the Yunya Mine on us, using this opportunity to weaken the foundation of my Qingyun Sect."

Su Chenyuan coughed twice and said weakly, "Sect Master, Yifei sent a message saying that the Xuantian Sect's appetite is growing bigger and bigger. We must make plans as soon as possible. He suggested that we..."

Before he could finish speaking, a deafening roar suddenly came from above the Qingyun Sect.

The protective array's light barrier shook violently, as if it were under immense pressure.

Xu Zhengkun's expression changed, and he flashed to the square outside the main hall, with Su Chenyuan and several other elders following closely behind.

In the sky, a huge flying boat bearing the emblem of the Xuantian Sect's Law Enforcement Hall hovered directly above the main peak of the Qingyun Sect.

Four incredibly powerful pressures descended from the flying boat, like four invisible mountains pressing down on the hearts of all the Qingyun Sect disciples.

Nascent Soul stage! And there are four Nascent Soul stage cultivators!

The person leading the group was Zeng Feng, the head of the Enforcement Hall of the Xuantian Sect. Behind him stood three cold-faced elders of the Xuantian Sect.

Zeng Feng looked down at Xu Zhengkun from his high position, his eyes revealing undisguised murderous intent and contempt.

His younger brother Zeng Ming died in Blood Soul Valley. Although he knew that the Demonic Sect was responsible, he also blamed the Azure Cloud Sect for it.

"Xu Zhengkun, receive the Grand Elder's decree."

Zeng Feng's voice was like thunder, resounding throughout the entire Qingyun Sect.

Xu Zhengkun took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and bowed slightly: "Xu Zhengkun of Qingyun Sect respectfully welcomes the decree."

Zeng Feng snorted coldly, unfurled the golden scroll in his hand, and loudly proclaimed: "The Qingyun Sect's defense of Blood Soul Valley was ineffective, resulting in the loss of Yunya Mine and the collapse of the defense line. Considering their two years of hard-fought battle, they may be spared the death penalty, but they cannot escape punishment."

The Qingyun Sect was ordered to mobilize 3,000 elite troops to reinforce the front lines within half a month, of which no less than 1,000 must be Foundation Establishment cultivators and five Golden Core elders.

Furthermore, two billion low-grade spirit stones must be handed over to the sect's war reserve. Any disobedience will result in the Enforcement Hall immediately taking over the Qingyun Sect!

These words caused an uproar in the Qingyun Sect square.

"Two billion spirit stones? Three thousand elite troops? They're trying to kill us!"

"This is outrageous! So many of us died on the front lines, and not only do they not offer compensation, they're kicking us when we're down!"

The elders of the Qingyun Sect were all filled with righteous indignation. If it weren't for the fact that the other side had four Nascent Soul cultivators in charge, they probably would have already taken action.

Xu Zhengkun clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.

He looked up at Zeng Feng and said in a deep voice, "Sect Leader Zeng, the Qingyun Sect has suffered heavy casualties on the front lines in the past two years. Most of our five thousand elite troops have been lost, and those who survived have been seriously injured. It is really too much to ask of us to send another three thousand people now."

As for two billion spirit stones, that's an astronomical figure. My Qingyun Sect...

"Xu Zhengkun!"

Zeng Feng rudely interrupted him, a dangerous glint in his eyes: "I'm not here to bargain with you. The decree is here, you have only two choices: either hand over the person and the money, or I'll raze your Qingyun Peak to the ground today!"

As Zeng Feng finished speaking, the three Nascent Soul elders behind him simultaneously released their auras, appearing ready to attack at any moment.

Faced with pressure from the four Nascent Soul cultivators, Xu Zhengkun fell silent.

The Qingyun Sect only has his father, who is at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. If a real fight breaks out, the Qingyun Sect will be destroyed today.

Qin Cang sent four Nascent Soul cultivators, clearly intending to leave the Qingyun Sect no room for resistance. He even hoped that Xu Zhengkun would resist so that he could rightfully and completely annex the Qingyun Sect.

Su Chenyuan stepped forward and whispered, "Sect Master, as long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. Yifei once said that if a problem can be solved with spirit stones, we shouldn't risk lives. We can't afford to completely break ties with the Xuantian Sect right now."

Xu Zhengkun closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his eyes were calm again.

"Okay, I accept the punishment."

Xu Zhengkun's voice was deep, yet it reached Zeng Feng's ears clearly.

Zeng Feng's lips curled into a cold smile. He had thought that Xu Zhengkun would fight to the death, or that he wouldn't be able to produce that many spirit stones, so that he could legitimately lead his men to raid the Mirage.

However, Xu Zhengkun's next move took Zeng Feng by surprise.

Xu Zhengkun turned to the Second Elder, who was in charge of finances, and ordered, "Go to the treasury and withdraw two billion low-grade spirit stones."

The second elder was stunned for a moment, then accepted the order and left.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the Second Elder returned to the plaza, carrying five high-level storage rings filled with spirit stones.

Xu Zhengkun took the storage ring and tossed it directly to Zeng Feng, who was in mid-air.

Zeng Feng caught it instinctively, and when he probed it with his divine sense, his expression changed instantly.

The five storage rings were neatly stacked with mountains of low-grade spirit stones, exactly two billion!

Zeng Feng was shocked. Two billion low-grade spirit stones—even the Xuan Tian Sect's war reserve would need several days to allocate that much cash at once.

The Qingyun Sect, however, casually produced it in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!

He had no idea how much wealth the Qingyun Sect's mirage had amassed in the Southern Wilderness over the past two years.

With the addition of the revenue from the Qingyun Daily and the logistics system covering half of the Southern Wilderness, the Qingyun Sect's daily cash flow is an astronomical figure.

Although two billion spirit stones is a lot, it is more than enough for the Qingyun Sect at present, and it will not even damage its foundation.

"Master Zeng, the spirit stones have been handed over in full."

Xu Zhengkun looked at the shocked Zeng Feng and said calmly, "As for the three thousand elite reinforcements to the front line, my Qingyun Sect will definitely deliver them to Blood Soul Valley within half a month."

Zeng Feng's grip on the storage ring tightened slightly. Looking at the composed Xu Zhengkun below, greed and jealousy grew wildly in his heart like poisonous weeds.

The Qingyun Sect is incredibly wealthy!

Zeng Feng originally thought that Qin Cang's asking for 2 billion was already an outrageous demand, but now it seems that the Grand Elder asked for far too little!

The Qingyun Sect is simply a treasure trove, with an incredibly deep foundation.

"Okay, very good."

Zeng Feng put away his storage ring and stared coldly at Xu Zhengkun: "Sect Leader Xu is indeed a man of great principle. I will be waiting for your three thousand elite troops at the front lines. If I don't see them in half a month, consider this twenty billion spirit stones as a deposit for your Qingyun Sect to buy coffins!"

After saying that, Zeng Feng waved his hand, and led the three Nascent Soul elders in a flying boat, turning around and leaving.