I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The night was deep, on the outskirts of the forbidden area behind the Xuantian Sect.

Wang Changsheng lay prone behind a rock, the array plate in his hand emitting a faint glow. Li Jianfeng gripped the hilt of his sword, lurking beside him like a withered log.

"No, we can't get in."

Wang Changsheng put away the array plate, his brows furrowed, and said in a low voice, "Qin Cang has become smarter. The array circuits in this area have been completely rewritten and connected with the Nine Dragons Sealing Heaven Array. As long as a single array pattern is touched, the main peak will immediately sense it."

"Can we force it open?" Li

Jianfeng asked.

"It is possible, but it will take half an incense stick's time."

Wang Changsheng pointed to the faint figures in the valley ahead: "Look over there. Qin Cang has transferred half of the remaining twenty-odd Nascent Soul stage cultivators to guard the spiritual vein's central core. There are also over a thousand elite disciples forming a defensive formation on the outer perimeter."

"Don't even mention half an incense stick's time; the moment we show our faces, we'll be blasted to smithereens within three breaths."

Li Jianfeng was silent for a moment, then slowly loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword: "The plan has failed. Let's retreat."

Without the slightest hesitation, the two quietly withdrew from the back mountain area under the cover of night.

The next morning, a large expanse of black clouds appeared on the horizon.

Those were not clouds, but hundreds of flying magical artifacts and warships from the Heavenly Demon Sect, blotting out the sky and crushing in with billowing demonic energy.

Ye Tianqiong stood on the largest flagship, looking down at the main peak of the Xuantian Sect, which was shrouded in a golden light shield.

"attack!"

Ye Tianqiong coldly issued the order.

Hundreds of magic crystal cannons fired simultaneously, and thick black beams of light slammed into the light screen of the Nine Dragons Sealing the Heavens Formation.

The formation shook violently, and nine golden dragon phantoms roamed the light screen, emitting deafening roars as they withstood the barrage of fire.

For the next three days, the Heavenly Demon Sect bombarded the area day and night, but the defensive power of the Nine Dragons Sealing Heaven Formation exceeded everyone's expectations.

Seeing that the offensive had resulted in heavy losses and was ineffective, Ye Tianqiong decisively ordered a halt to the bombardment.

"Shallow it up."

Ye Tianqiong sneered, "Don't let even a fly in. Let's see how long they can hold out."

The Heavenly Demon Sect army set up camp on the spot, completely surrounding the main peak of the Xuantian Sect.

Time passed day by day.

One month, two months, three months.

The situation within the Xuantian Sect has deteriorated to an extreme degree.

Murong Hao took away half of the sect's resources, and the remaining supplies were exhausted in the first month of maintaining the operation of the great formation.

There are no spirit stones, no elixirs.

The cultivators of the Xuantian Sect can only maintain their cultivation by absorbing the spiritual energy of the main peak's spiritual veins.

Those low-level Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples couldn't even afford the Bigu Pill, and large-scale starvation and escape began to occur. However, without exception, those who escaped were killed by the Heavenly Demon Sect cultivators on the periphery.

The Nascent Soul stage elders were also having a hard time. Every day, their true essence was forcibly drained to maintain the great formation. Without replenishment, many of them began to regress in their cultivation, their faces turned pale, and they became emaciated.

The entire main peak was filled with an atmosphere of despair and death.

The atmosphere inside the council hall was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Qin Cang sat in the main seat, his eyes sunken, his original purple-gold Taoist robe appearing somewhat oversized, and his whole being exuding an undisguised weariness and gloom.

Below sat dozens of high-ranking members of the Xuantian Sect, all dejected and silent.

"Are they all mute?"

Qin Cang swept his cold gaze over everyone: "I called you here to discuss countermeasures, not to attend a funeral. We can't even find a single low-grade spirit stone in the warehouse. The great formation can only last for ten more days at most."

Ten days later, when the Heavenly Demon Sect storms in, we will all be dead.

"Master."

Zeng Feng, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, stood up. He was Qin Cang's eldest disciple and one of the culprits who led the team to destroy the Qingyun Sect back then.

"The Heavenly Demon Sect is clearly trying to wear us down. If we continue to cower here, we'll only face certain death."

A ruthless glint flashed in Zeng Feng's eyes: "Rather than sitting and waiting to die, let's gather all the Nascent Soul cultivators and choose a direction to force our way out! As long as we, the high-end combat force, can break through, we can always fight back. Once we recover, we'll have a day to come back and take revenge!"

"Break through? Easier said than done."

Elder Wan, sitting on the right, snorted coldly.

Elder Wan is a fourth-tier array master. The fact that the Xuan Tian Sect has not been breached to this day is entirely due to the arrays he has created.

"There are over a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Sect surrounding us, with Ye Tianqiong personally overseeing the operation. We're currently exhausted of spiritual energy; how are we going to break through? Even if a few manage to escape, what will happen to the remaining disciples? Are we just going to leave them all to be slaughtered by the Heavenly Demon Sect?"

"What insightful opinion does Elder Wan have?"

Zeng Feng asked through gritted teeth.

"Negotiations."

Elder Wan stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Qin Cang: "Sect Master, the situation is beyond our control. The Heavenly Demon Sect has besieged the area for three months but hasn't fought to the death, which shows that they don't want to pay too high a price."

I suggest we negotiate with Night Sky Dome.

"negotiation?"

Qin Cang narrowed his eyes: "What are you going to talk about?"

"Ceding territory."

Elder Wan calmly said, "Give all thirty spiritual veins south of Xuantian Market, including Falling Star Valley, and seven affiliated cities to the Heavenly Demon Sect."

As long as we can preserve the main peak and the sect's lineage, we can weather this period, accumulate enough strength, and then plan our revenge later.

These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion in the hall.

"Cease half the territory? That's too humiliating!"

"Humiliation is better than the destruction of the sect! Can't you see that our disciples can't even afford to eat?"

"I agree with Elder Wan's suggestion; saving our lives is the most important thing now."

To Zeng Feng's surprise, more than 80% of the elders and deacons in the hall agreed with Elder Wan's proposal.

They had been trapped for three months and had long been tormented by despair, losing all will to fight. As long as they could survive, they would be willing to cede territory or even become vassals of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Qin Cang sat in the main seat, looking at the noisy crowd below, his fingers gripping the armrests of the chair tightly.

For him, the patriarch who had only been on the throne for three months, ceding territory to sue for peace was an utter disgrace.

But Elder Wan is right. Xuantian Sect has reached a dead end. If this drags on any longer, there will be internal turmoil even without the Heavenly Demon Sect attacking.

That's enough.

Qin Cang gave a deep shout, and the hall instantly fell silent.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, only cold rationality remained in his eyes.

"Elder Wan, come with me to the front lines. I will speak with Ye Tianqiong personally."

In front of the main peak gate of Xuantian Sect.

Qin Cang and Elder Wan stood inside the light screen of the Nine Dragons Sealing Heaven Formation. Ten feet outside the light screen, Ye Tianqiong stood in mid-air with his hands behind his back, followed by dozens of Nascent Soul elders from the Heavenly Demon Sect, their auras overwhelming.

"Qin Cang, it's been three months. Have you figured it out?"

Ye Tianqiong looked at the emaciated Qin Cang on the light screen and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"Night Sky Dome, let's not beat around the bush."

Qin Cang said coldly, "You haven't gained any advantage in these three months. What do you want? Name your price."

"happy."

Ye Tianqiong laughed loudly: "My conditions are very simple: open the great formation and surrender the entire sect. Considering our past acquaintance, I can reserve a position as an outer sect elder for you in the Heavenly Demon Sect and spare your life."

Qin Cang's face darkened, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes: "Ye Tianqiong, don't push your luck! Although my Xuantian Sect is currently exhausted of resources, there are still dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators inside the formation! If you really want to force us into a dead end, we'll fight to the death! Dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators will self-destruct at the same time. How many of your Heavenly Demon Sect's 100,000 troops will survive?"

Even if you survive, if even ten Nascent Soul cultivators escape, from this day forward, your Heavenly Demon Sect disciples can forget about living peacefully in the Southern Wilderness!

Ye Tianqiong's smile faded.

He knew that Qin Cang was not bluffing. If a Nascent Soul cultivator was determined to self-destruct, the power would be extremely terrifying. If they really pushed this group to the limit, the Heavenly Demon Sect would definitely pay a heavy price.

"Since we can't reach an agreement, let's just keep dragging this out."

Ye Tianqiong snorted coldly, turned around and flew back to the main ship.