I run a casino in the immortal realm.

"Brother Zheng, I've bought the pills."

Zhao Ling'er pushed open the door to the side room and handed over an exquisite sandalwood box, her forehead still covered in fine beads of sweat.

Zheng Yifei opened the wooden box, and ten pills the size of longan fruits lay quietly on the velvet cushion, emitting a fragrant aroma, with faint cloud patterns flowing on their surface.

"A top-grade Spirit Gathering Pill is priced at fifty at Wanbaolou, but its internal control is extremely strict."

Zhao Ling'er took a breath: "I used my master's connections to get these from several other alchemists, at a 20% markup, so each one costs sixty low-grade spirit stones. That's a total of six hundred."

"Well done."

Zheng Yifei nodded and pushed two hundred spirit stones to Zhao Ling'er: "These are for you to buy medicinal herbs to practice and improve your alchemy skills. Save the rest for later; I'll need your help next time."

Zhao Ling'er waved her hand repeatedly, but was stopped by Zheng Yifei's unquestionable gaze, and could only accept it with a blush.

The door closed.

Zheng Yifei sat cross-legged on the bed, activated the Spirit Gathering Array, and swallowed a high-grade Spirit Gathering Pill.

As the pill entered his stomach, a vast and pure spiritual energy exploded in his meridians, and his five spiritual roots greedily devoured this torrent.

Five days later.

The wooden box was empty.

Zheng Yifei opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air. The Qi Sea of ​​the sixth level of Qi Refining expanded by a small, visible circle, and his spiritual energy became more condensed.

But he did the math.

Two pills a day, ten pills in five days, and six hundred spirit stones were burned away just like that.

At this pace, it would take at least three months to fill the massive barrier between the sixth and seventh levels of Qi Refining.

That is, two hundred high-grade Spirit Gathering Pills.

That's equivalent to twelve thousand low-grade spirit stones.

This sum of money is an astronomical figure that would leave ordinary, independent cultivators feeling utterly hopeless.

But Zheng Yifei touched his chin, his eyes as calm as a stagnant pool.

"Brother Zhang, change your clothes."

He pushed open the door and called out to the neighbor next door.

Half an hour later, in the central district of Sujiafang City, at the "Fulu Casino".

This is a property directly operated by the Su family, the largest and most luxurious den of iniquity in the entire market.

Four guards at the eighth level of Qi Refining stood at the entrance, and fist-sized luminous pearls were embedded in the dome of the main hall.

Zheng Yifei and Zhang Biao blended into the crowd, inconspicuous at all.

Unlike the smoky, sweaty atmosphere of the Datong Gambling House, this place is frequented mostly by disciples of sects and scions of immortal cultivation families.

"The rules have changed."

Zheng Yifei lowered his voice and said to Zhang Biao behind him, "This is the Su family's territory. We can't just push through like before. We'll only win from individual players and the bookmaker's commission, and we won't touch the big market."

Zhang Biao nodded; he now obeyed Zheng Yifei's every word.

The two walked up to a table where they played a guessing game.

Zheng Yifei closed his eyes, his ears twitching slightly.

"Six, six, five, big."

He didn't place his bet immediately, but waited until the other gamblers had placed their bets before slowly pushing fifty spirit stones onto the "big" side.

When the game started, the leopard won big, but Zheng Yifei bet on the higher number and won forty yuan.

In half an hour, he won over four hundred spirit stones at the dice game. There were no consecutive wins, only wins and losses, but his winning percentage was kept at an extremely precise 60%.

Afterwards, the two moved on to the "guess odd or even" table.

The methods are exactly the same.

Another hour passed, and five hundred spirit stones were earned.

"Walk."

Zheng Yifei turned and left without looking back.

As Zhang Biao walked out of the Fulu Casino, he carried a heavy cloth bag in his hand.

Zheng Yifei counted out two hundred spirit stones and tossed them to Zhang Biao: "This is your reward for your hard work."

Zhang Biao grinned, revealing a ferocious yet honest smile.

Following Zheng Yifei, you can make money faster than robbing, and it's safe too.

Zheng Yifei gave all the remaining eight hundred spirit stones to Zhao Ling'er.

For the next month or so, life was extremely regular.

Every five days, Zheng Yifei would take Zhang Biao to the Fulu Casino, where they would only win about a thousand spirit stones each time, never taking more than that.

The Su family gambling den has a daily turnover of tens of thousands of spirit stones, so this thousand stones mixed in wouldn't attract the manager's attention at all.

Zhao Ling'er transformed into a "purchasing machine," continuously bringing back top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills to Zhao's Restaurant.

Zheng Yifei's cultivation level steadily increased at a terrifying speed, and the spiritual liquid in his Qi Sea accumulated more and more, showing a faint tendency to touch the barrier of the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Until the evening of the fortieth day.

The sky was overcast, with dark clouds looming overhead, and a light drizzle began to fall over Sujiafang Market.

Zheng Yifei and Zhang Biao had just come out of the Fulu Casino and were walking on the bluestone road back to the main street of the East District.

Rain was washing over the streets, and there were few pedestrians.

Zhang Biao walked half a step behind Zheng Yifei on the right. He had his perception fully activated at the eighth level of Qi Refining. This was a habit he had developed over many years of hunting. The quieter the environment, the easier it was for a murderous intent to be hidden.

Turn a corner, and you'll see a narrow alleyway ahead. Pass through this alleyway, and you'll find the back entrance of Zhao's Restaurant.

Something's not right.

Zhang Biao suddenly stopped, and the hunting knife silently slid into his palm.

Zheng Yifei also stopped, his gaze sweeping over the towering blue brick walls on both sides.

The sound of rain masked many subtle noises, but it couldn't conceal the faint, almost imperceptible, sweet, fishy smell.

"retreat."

Zheng Yifei made a decisive decision.

Just as the two turned around, three dark beams of light suddenly shot out from the high walls on both sides.

Three completely black crossbow bolts, their arrowheads gleaming with a ghostly green poisonous light.

They moved extremely fast, forming a triangular shape that blocked all of Zheng Yifei's escape routes.

"court death!"

Zhang Biao roared, unleashing his Qi Refining Level 8 spiritual power without reservation.

He didn't dodge, but instead took a step forward and stood in front of Zheng Yifei, his hunting knife transforming into a streak of light.

"Clang! Clang!"

The two poisoned arrows were precisely cleaved away by the hunting knife, their arrowheads grazing the bluestone slab and instantly corroding a pit that emitted white smoke.

But the third poisoned arrow was shot from an extremely tricky angle, skimming the ground and heading straight for Zheng Yifei's calf.

Before Zhang Biao could swat his knife back, he kicked off with his left leg, forcefully using his calf to meet the poisoned arrow head-on.

"Pfft."

The poisoned arrow pierced his flesh, and Zhang Biao groaned, kneeling on one knee. Black blood instantly flowed from the wound, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.

"Brother Zhang!"

Zheng Yifei's pupils contracted slightly.

"Don't worry about me! I'm up there!"

Zhang Biao gritted his teeth, cut off the exposed arrow shaft with a single stroke, and then pulled out an antidote pill and stuffed it into his mouth.

A gaunt figure slid down from the eaves of a house in front of the alley, holding two poisoned daggers in his hands.

The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes, Zhao the Poisonous Hand.

"Eighth level of Qi Refining? Quite tough bones."

Zhao the Poisoner's voice was hoarse: "However, after being hit by my 'Seven-Step Deadly Powder,' your spiritual power is already stagnant, isn't it?"

He didn't look at Zhang Biao; his gaze was fixed on Zheng Yifei, as if he were looking at a pile of walking spirit stones.

Sun Liang offered 100 spirit stones, but this kid definitely has more than that.

"Did Sun Liang send you?"

Zheng Yifei stood still, his tone eerily calm.

Zhao Dushou paused for a moment, then sneered: "Dead men don't need to know that much."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Dushou sprang up, turning into a blur, and thrust two daggers straight at Zheng Yifei's throat.

At the speed of an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator, there was almost no way to avoid it in the narrow alley.

But he miscalculated one thing.

Although Zhang Biao was poisoned, he was not an ordinary cultivator; he was a hunter who constantly fought on the edge of life and death.

Hunters excel at turning the tide in desperate situations.

"Die!"

Zhang Biao roared and forcefully activated all the remaining spiritual power in his dantian.

Instead of using a knife, he lunged forward, opened his arms, and tightly embraced Zhao Dushou, who was in mid-air.

"You're insane!"

Zhao Dushou was terrified and frantically stabbed Zhang Biao in the back with his dagger.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Blood spurted out, but Zhang Biao's arms remained as still as if cast in iron. He opened his mouth and bit down hard on Zhao Dushou's neck.

Zhao Dushou struggled desperately, his spiritual energy surging, trying to shake off the madman.

At this moment of stalemate between the two.

Zheng Yifei made a move.

Instead of retreating, he charged towards the two men.

He extended his right index finger, frantically compressing his spiritual power, which was at the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining, to his fingertip, without any light leaking out.

Lingxi (灵犀) refers to a type of acupuncture.

"puff!"

Zheng Yifei's fingers precisely pierced through the gap under Zhang Biao's ribs and landed on Zhao Dushou's chest.

The violent spiritual energy exploded within Zhao Dushou's body, shattering his heart.

Zhao Dushou's eyes suddenly bulged, his life force rapidly drained away, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

Zhang Biao collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. His clothes were stained red with blood, and his face was ashen.

Zheng Yifei quickly squatted down, took out three top-grade healing pills and two antidote pills from his storage bag, and stuffed them into Zhang Biao's mouth.

"Brother Zhang, hang in there."

Zheng Yifei's voice was very steady.

Zhang Biao swallowed the pill, grinned, and said, "Brother... I'm giving my life to you... This bastard is really vicious..."

"You won't die."

Zheng Yifei pressed on Zhang Biao's wound, continuously channeling spiritual energy into his body to help him neutralize the toxins.

The rain poured down harder, washing away the bloodstains in the alley.

Zheng Yifei turned his head and looked at Zhao Dushou's corpse on the ground.

He reached out and groped around on the corpse, pulling out a black wooden plaque engraved with the words "Ten Thousand Snakes".

"The Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes"

Zheng Yifei stood up, letting the rain pour down on his face, his eyes as cold as ice.

Sun Liang, Iron Fist School.

He originally wanted to quietly earn enough spirit stones to enter the Qingyun Sect.

But the tree may wish to remain still, but the wind will not cease. The greed of the lower-level gangs is like a leech; they will not let go until they have sucked the last drop of your blood dry.