I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Wang Hua stepped out of the cave, his figure hovering directly outside the cliff, ready to smash the five official ships below along with the people on them.

However, just as he raised his right hand, the void in front of him suddenly distorted violently.

A pitch-black spatial rift was torn open without warning, and then a heavy battle halberd, ten feet long and entirely black, carrying a violent force capable of tearing everything apart, slashed fiercely at Wang Hua's face from the rift.

Wang Hua's expression changed drastically; he could clearly sense the destructive laws contained within that halberd.

He disregarded attacking the official ship below, and thrust his right hand forward, raising a tortoise-shell shield formed from pure spiritual energy in front of him.

"boom!"

The halberd struck the tortoise-shell shield, creating a visible spatial ripple.

Wang Hua grunted, his entire body thrown backward several dozen feet by the force before he could barely regain his balance.

In the void, a rugged-looking man wearing heavy black armor slowly walked out, carrying a battle halberd.

"Zhu Biao!"

Wang Hua recognized the person at a glance, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

As the deputy leader of the Canal Gang, he was very familiar with the high-level power structure of Tanzhou Prefecture.

Zhu Biao was the cousin of Prefect Zhu Zhenbang and the commander of the personal guard. He was at the early stage of the Refinement Realm.

Wang Hua knew all too well what Zhu Biao's presence here meant.

"Vice Chief Wang, instead of enjoying the blessings at the Jiangzhou headquarters, you've come to this desolate and treacherous Qingyuzui to catch a whiff of the wind. What a fine hobby you have!"

Zhu Biao carried his halberd and grinned, but there was no smile in his eyes, only a cold killing intent.

"Commander Zhu, is your prefecture determined to go against our canal transport gang?"

Wang Hua's face was grim as he gritted his teeth and asked.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Zhu Biao spat: "You members of the Grand Canal Gang dare to attack government ships on Tanzhou territory, and you ask me if I'm going to mess with you? As long as I'm here today, try making a move!"

Wang Hua's heart sank. If he were to fight Zhu Biao, it would be impossible to determine a winner in a short period of time.

Just then, two deafening roars suddenly came from the upper and lower reaches of the canyon.

Wang Hua turned his head and saw that countless dark shadows had appeared on the surface of the river upstream and downstream.

There were more than two hundred cultivators dressed in the same black outfit, skimming along the river surface like two black torrents, closing in on the Qingyuzui Canyon at an astonishing speed.

The team was led by Ouyang Zhan and Wang Changsheng.

"kill!"

Two hundred Nascent Soul cultivators simultaneously unleashed their spiritual power, and the overwhelming momentum directly dispersed the clouds above the canyon.

Without any hesitation, they soared into the sky and joined the battle in mid-air.

The situation changed dramatically in an instant.

Originally, Li Jianfeng's 100 men and the 100 men of the Cao Gang were still locked in a stalemate. Now, Ouyang Zhan and Wang Changsheng joined with 200 new men, and with Night Owl's 100 men taking off from the lower deck, a total of 400 Nascent Soul cultivators surrounded the more than 100 assassins from the Cao Gang's Dark Hall.

A four-on-one situation is a complete one-sided crushing defeat.

"Puff puff puff—"

In just one encounter, more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators from the Canal Gang were hacked to pieces.

A rain of blood fell from the sky, and mutilated corpses dropped into the Liuhua River like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

"Four hundred Nascent Soul cultivators..."

Wang Hua felt a chill run down his spine as he watched this scene.

He finally realized that this was not a smuggling operation at all, but a carefully planned trap!

Zhu Zhenbang deliberately used 300,000 catties of spirit salt as bait to lure the elite of the canal gang here, and then used this terrifying force that appeared out of nowhere to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

If he were to force his way out now, Zhu Biao would definitely hold him back. Once Zhu Biao had some evidence against him, the charges of the canal gang attacking government ships and plotting rebellion would be completely substantiated.

When the time comes, the imperial court will be furious and a large army will be pressing in. Even the chief gang leader, Han Lie, will not be able to protect him.

"withdraw!"

Wang Hua is a decisive person.

He knew he couldn't get this batch of goods back today. If he dragged it out any longer, not only would all the people in the Dark Hall die, but he himself might also be in danger.

He suddenly flicked his sleeve, and a gentle spiritual force swept up Qian Baichuan, who was still in a daze, and more than a dozen of his trusted Nascent Soul cultivators. Their figures transformed into a streak of light and disappeared directly into the mountains and forests behind the cliff.

"Trying to run away?"

Zhu Biao sneered and was about to give chase with his halberd, but then stopped after thinking for a moment.

Zhu Zhenbang's order to him was not to make a move unless the opponent, who had reached the Void Refinement stage, left. Now that Wang Hua had run away, there was no need for him to chase after him relentlessly.

After all, if you really push a Void Refinement stage cultivator to the brink of despair, he himself might not come out on top.

With Wang Hua gone, the remaining members of the Cao Gang's Hua Shen faction completely collapsed.

"The deputy gang leader has run away!"

"Break through! Break through quickly!"

Without their leader, the assassins from the Dark Hall scattered like headless flies, trying to break through the anti-smuggling team's encirclement.

However, under the tight formation of four hundred equally skilled fighters, such a solo breakout attempt would be tantamount to suicide.

Li Jianfeng, Ye Xiao, Ouyang Zhan, and Wang Changsheng each guarded a side, like four killing gods.

Any Canal Gang monks who attempted to break out from their direction would be mercilessly slaughtered.

The battle lasted for less than half an hour.

In the end, apart from the thirty-odd Nascent Soul cultivators from the Canal Gang who were skilled in escape techniques and managed to escape despite being severely injured and burning their life essence, the remaining sixty-odd elite members of the Dark Hall were all killed on the spot.

Even its soul couldn't escape; it was directly shattered by the anti-smuggling team using a special magical artifact, resulting in the complete annihilation of its soul and spirit.

On the cliff on the right bank, the remaining four hundred archers who were originally on guard duty were now completely terrified. Looking at the four hundred Nascent Soul cultivators in mid-air who looked like demon gods, they didn't even have the courage to run away.

When Li Jianfeng and his men landed on the cliff, the four hundred men immediately threw away their crossbows, knelt on the ground, covered their heads with their hands, and trembled like leaves.

"Tie them all up and put them on the ship."

Li Jianfeng coldly gave the order.

The earth-shattering battle thus ended in a complete victory for the anti-smuggling team.

After the battle, the anti-smuggling team not only preserved 300,000 catties of spirit salt, but also seized a large number of magical treasures and storage bags left behind by Nascent Soul cultivators.

Although more than a dozen of our side suffered minor injuries, none of them died.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching Qingyu Mouth at incredible speed, throughout Tanzhou County, and even as far as the capital, as the battle attracted a large number of cultivators from the surrounding area to watch.

Inside the Tanzhou Prefectural Governor's residence, Zhu Zhenbang was drinking tea when he received the battle report. After reading the urgent jade slip, he couldn't help but burst into laughter, completely unaware that the tea in his hand had spilled onto his robe.

"Excellent! Excellent Zheng Yifei! Excellent Four Hundred Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Zhu Zhenbang paced back and forth in his study, his face glowing.

For many years, the officialdom of Tanzhou County has been controlled by powerful families, and even he, as the prefect, has to be mindful of the old men's opinions when making decisions.

The canal gang, relying on the power behind them, ran rampant in Tanzhou, engaging in rampant smuggling.

Today, Zheng Yifei's move not only severed the roots of the Grand Canal Gang in Tanzhou, but also dealt a heavy blow to those powerful families who were watching from the sidelines.