I run a casino in the immortal realm.

In the days that followed, Zheng Yifei refined the entire process until it was as smooth as an assembly line.

The VIP area's gambling games mainly involve spirit tablets and dice, with a base bet of one million and a maximum bet of fifty million.

Zheng Yifei only plays three games a day, winning two and losing one, with his net profit fluctuating between 20 million and 30 million.

He was never greedy, never lingered in battle, and would get up and leave once he had won enough. Throughout the game, he maintained perfect control of his expressions, sometimes slapping the table in frustration, sometimes laughing heartily, acting more like a gambler than a real one.

In the ordinary area below, Su Wanqing, Li Jianfeng, Chen San, Lin Bao, and the six henchmen under Tieshan were divided into three shifts of four people each, taking turns to enter with different faces and identities.

A month has passed.

The figures in the ledger jumped from 600 million to 2.3 billion.

One and a half months.

Five and a half billion.

On the night of the forty-fifth day, Zheng Yifei finished counting the last batch of spirit stones in the secret underground room of the inn and reported the number to Ye Tianqiong, who was waiting through a communication jade slip.

"Eight billion exactly."

There was a three-breath silence on the other end of the communication jade slip. Ye Tianqiong's voice trembled noticeably: "The materials and array source reserves for the teleportation array... all of them arrived this afternoon. The old sect master said that the main array can be completed within seven days."

Zheng Yifei leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Eight billion, in a month and a half.

It was eaten bit by bit from the gambling table in the mirage.

"We're still short two billion."

Zheng Yifei rubbed his temples: "After the sect leader goes to the Eastern Divine Continent, the materials for building the sub-array there, the expenses incurred on the way, and the start-up funds for the elites of the Heavenly Demon Sect to settle down there after their relocation all need to be prepared in advance."

"Yifei, the old sect leader asked me to tell you that eight billion has already exceeded expectations, and the rest can be taken slowly..."

"No."

Zheng Yifei interrupted him, "Give me another half month, raise 10 billion, and then we'll leave cleanly and efficiently."

He hung up the jade slip, walked to the window, and looked at the lights of the VIP area on the sixth floor of the mirage across the street.

Another two weeks.

Day 47.

Mirage, accounting office.

His name is Fang Ping. He is the chief accountant of Mirage, and he has been doing the accounting for decades without ever making a mistake.

But today, his brow furrowed even more deeply.

"wrong."

He pulled out the total accounts for the past forty days and checked them day by day. The daily turnover seemed normal, fluctuating between 1.2 billion and 1.5 billion, and the number of gamblers was also within the normal range.

However, when it came time to close the month, the profit margin ran into problems; not only did we not make money, we actually suffered a loss.

Fang Ping initially thought it was the manager below who had embezzled the money. After investigating for three days, he found that the accounts were spotless and every transaction matched up.

The problem isn't with spending, it's with income.

More accurately, the money won by gamblers was far more than the normal proportion.

Fang Ping pulled up the list of all gamblers who won more than 500,000 in a single day and sorted them by frequency.

A densely packed form lay on the table. His finger traced down the names one by one, stopping at the third line.

"Treasure Pavilion, Money from the East".

This name appeared in the VIP area records, entered the game 38 times in 45 days, with a total betting amount of 420 million, a total winnings of 680 million, and a net win of 260 million.

He wins 20 to 30 million every day, but never more than 30 million.

Fang Ping looked down again. There were even more high-frequency winners in the ordinary area, such as "Li Si", "Zhang Fugui", "Zhou Dazhuang", "Zhao Wuji"... more than a dozen names, each of whom controlled their daily winnings between 500,000 and 2 million. Each one was unremarkable on their own.

But what does Fang Ping do?

He spent his whole life keeping accounts.

He pulled out the entry and exit times of these dozen or so people and made a cross-comparison.

As a result, he felt a chill down his spine.

The timing of these people's betting coincided closely with the time when "Qian Donglai" was present in the VIP area.

When Qian Donglai was present, the probability of these people winning money soared to over 70%; on days when Qian Donglai was not present, these people either did not come or had small wins and losses.

"There's a ghost."

Fang Ping stood up, grabbed the list, and ran upstairs.

Day 48.

The office of Liu Tiezhu, the security chief, on the sixth floor of the mirage.

Liu Tiezhu was an old cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He served as an outer sect law enforcement elder in the Xuantian Sect for twenty years in his early years. Later, he was assigned to the Mirage as the security chief, which was considered a semi-retired job.

His face turned ashen after reviewing the data analysis Fang Ping had sent.

"How much did they win in forty-five days?"

Fang Ping swallowed hard: "A conservative estimate... seven or eight billion."

The teacup in Liu Tiezhu's hand shattered with a "crack".

"Say it again?"

"Seven or eight billion."

Fang Ping's voice trembled: "If we include the parts we didn't notice in the early stages, there might be even more."

Liu Tiezhu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Since its opening, Mirage has only earned less than 3 billion in net profit. In other words, it has not only lost all its profits but also lost 5 billion in principal. If it weren't for the large amount of spirit stones deposited by gamblers in its vault, Mirage would have gone bankrupt due to its inability to make ends meet.

If this gets reported, he'll lose his head.

"Is it all clear? Are you sure it was Qian Donglai who was behind it?"

"Sure."

Fang Ping nodded: "I had someone check the Treasure Pavilion, and there is indeed such a person. He has the cultivation level of the late Golden Core stage, and his identity token was obtained through the official channels of the Market Management Office."

But something still feels off. A merchant in the late Golden Core stage won over 200 million in the VIP area. His methods were too clean; our detection array didn't detect any cheating.

"There were no signs of cheating, so how did he do it?"

"I don't know, but it must be related to those people below. I suspect he has some way of knowing the results in advance and then passing them on to his accomplices through coded messages."

Liu Tiezhu stood up and paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back.

Is he still here today?

"Yes. I entered around noon, and I should be in the third private room on the sixth floor now."

"What about the people below?"

"There are four on the second floor."

Liu Tiezhu pondered for a moment: "Pass on my order to send ten late-stage Foundation Establishment guards to stand by outside the gambling den. When he comes out, stop him there. Don't make too much noise, so as not to affect the business inside. At the same time, notify Elder Zhou Hong and Elder Li Chunsheng to wait nearby, just in case."

Fang Ping accepted the order and left.

The hour of You (5-7 PM).

Zheng Yifei came out of the private room on the sixth floor. He had a good day and won exactly 30 million.

He exchanged his chips for spirit stones at the counter, put them in his storage bag, and leisurely walked downstairs.

As he passed through the second-floor lobby, his gaze inadvertently swept around the area.

Su Wanqing sat on the spirit tablet table in the corner, with a small stack of chips piled up in front of her, looking like she had won several hundred thousand.

Li Jianfeng, at the dice table on the other side, was making a hesitant expression.

Zheng Yifei didn't linger; he went straight downstairs and out the door.

The streets outside were as bustling as ever, and the lanterns in the market had just been lit, casting a warm yellow glow on the bluestone pavement.

Zheng Yifei took a dozen steps, then suddenly slowed down.

wrong.

His divine sense spread out within a radius of three hundred feet, detecting several auras that shouldn't be there.

Behind the pillars on both sides of the main entrance of the gambling house, there were three people hiding. They concealed their auras well, but their late Foundation Establishment cultivation could not hide from the divine sense of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Further away, behind the windows on the second floor of the teahouse across the street, there are four more.

All ten people were at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Zheng Yifei continued walking forward without changing his pace. He secretly transmitted a message to Su Wanqing behind him: "When you come out, use the south gate, not the main gate."

But just as he reached the street corner, a figure emerged from the alley beside him and blocked the road.

"Qian Donglai, the shopkeeper?"

The newcomer was a young cultivator in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, dressed in the uniform of the Mirage Security Department, with a formulaic smile on his face. "Our Chief Steward Liu invites you to have a chat with us."

Zheng Yifei stopped and raised an eyebrow: "What are you talking about?"

"It's just some routine transaction confirmations."

The man was still smiling, but there was no warmth in his smile: "It won't take you too long."

Zheng Yifei looked around.

Ten Foundation Establishment guards emerged from their hiding place and slowly formed a semi-encirclement.

He didn't draw his sword or release his spiritual pressure; he probably didn't want to cause too much of a commotion.

"Alright, where is Steward Liu? Lead the way."