Forced to become a top influencer, I rely on my tu cao to ruin the cultivation world.

Qingyun Sect, Luoxia Peak.

The once misty, ethereal mountains have been completely transformed. The smoky peaks have been leveled, replaced by towering factories billowing thick smoke. The air is no longer filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees, but with a mixture of engine oil, ozone, and the acrid smell of burning metal.

Jia Zhuang stood in the "Qingyun Heavy Industry Control Room," which had originally been a storage room for miscellaneous items in the sect, but had now been transformed into a command center with a cyberpunk style. A huge holographic projection floated in mid-air, densely covered with red dots—those were the spiritual energy transmission networks connecting the major sects of the cultivation world.

"Chairman Jia! Something terrible has happened!"

Elder Wang Teng stumbled and crawled into the control room, his face devoid of its usual dignified air, replaced by anxiety and pallor.

"What's the panic? Even if the sky falls, I, the 'backbone of industry,' will hold it up!"

Jia Zang, wearing a silk bathrobe with the "Qingyun Heavy Industry" logo printed on it, was holding a cigar rolled with "Mind-Concentrating Grass" in his hand. He was sitting with his legs crossed, looking at the huge, frantically running "psychic money printing machine" in front of him.

This machine was modified overnight by Jia Zang using the newly unlocked "financial leverage technology" of the system.

Its principle is simple: since the total amount of spiritual energy in the cultivation world is limited, I will create more "spiritual energy bricks" to represent this spiritual energy. When there is more "money" than "goods", prices will naturally skyrocket.

"Chairman Jia, it's not that the sky has fallen, it's that the earth has collapsed!"

Wang Teng stamped his feet in frustration, "The 'Spirit Energy Coins' issued by our 'Qingyun Heavy Industry' have already depreciated by 30% on the black market! And... and the local spiritual veins are almost dried up by our 'Spirit Pumps'!"

"Did you suck it dry?"

Jia Zhuang frowned, nearly dropping his cigar. "Elder Wang, what kind of factory manager are you? Didn't I tell you to keep the machine running 24/7?"

"But Mr. Jia, even a skilled cook can't cook without rice!"

Wang Teng cried, "The spiritual veins of our cultivation world have been completely depleted by the 'spiritual energy coins' we issued ourselves. If we keep printing more, our 'spiritual energy bricks' will truly become 'bricks'!"

"Turn into bricks? That's perfect, we can sell them as building materials!"

Jia Zang sneered, stood up, walked to the holographic projection, and quickly slid his finger across the map.

"System, displaying 'Spiritual Energy Reserves in the Cultivation World'."

[Ding! Host requirements detected.]

[Current spiritual energy reserves in the cultivation world: 0.03%.]

[Warning: The spiritual energy inflation rate has reached 997%, and the local spiritual veins are about to dry up.]

Recommendation: Launch a "financial harvesting plan," or seek external energy sources.

"Only 0.03%?"

Looking at the shocking number, Jia Zang's eyes showed not fear, but rather a gleam of almost insane greed.

"Elder Wang, immediately issue a notice stating that Qingyun Heavy Industry, in order to give back to the cultivators, has decided to increase the production of 'Spirit Energy Bricks' tenfold starting tomorrow!"

"Tenfold?!"

Wang Teng was so frightened that he sat down on the ground with a thud. "Chairman Jia, then our 'psychic bricks' will really be worthless! At that point, you won't even be able to buy a single psychic brick with a blade of grass!"

"Worthless? That's because they don't know what they're talking about!"

Jia Zhuang pointed at the frantically jumping numbers on the holographic projection, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"This is called 'inflation'! As long as we control the 'printing press,' even if spiritual energy turns to air, they'll still have to beg us to buy it!"

[Livestream chat]

Holy crap! Chairman Jia is going to ruin the cultivation world!

[The above is called "financial warfare." Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand.]

[Hilarious! Elder Wang's expression is exactly like the first time I saw the boss distribute company shares to the employees.]

[Chairman Jia: Air? That's "high-purity nitrogen"!]

Is this the true face of capitalists? I love it!

Jia Zang didn't care about any "collapse" or not.

His mind is now completely focused on "production capacity".

"Rat-a-tat ...

At Jia Zang's command, the enormous "psychic money printing machine" roared deafeningly once again.

This time, instead of printing psionic bricks, it began frantically printing out "paper money" that emitted a faint spiritual aura—these were "credit certificates" issued by "Qingyun Heavy Industry," or "Qingyun Coins" for short.

"Look! Chairman Jia is handing out money again!"

As the news spread, cultivators from the cultivation world flocked to the exchange window of "Qingyun Heavy Industry".

They used their last remaining spirit stones, magical treasures, and even ancestral secret manuals to exchange for stacks of colorful "Qingyun Coins".

"Sir, your 'superior magic weapon' can only be exchanged for ten 'Qingyun coins'."

"What?! This is my family heirloom!"

"Take it or leave it. There are other people waiting."

Wang Teng, who was in charge of the exchange, had now learned Jia Zang's attitude and waved his hand impatiently.

The cultivators had no choice but to hand over their treasures with tears in their eyes, in exchange for stacks of "waste paper".

Meanwhile, Jia Zang sat in the control room, grinning from ear to ear as he looked at the mountains of magical treasures and spirit stones piled up in the warehouse.

"Cool!"

Looking at the numbers flashing on the dial, Jia Zhuang shouted excitedly, "Wang Teng, look! This is what they call 'getting something for nothing'! We didn't do anything, yet we emptied the entire cultivation world of its wealth!"

"This...this is 'finance'?"

Wang Teng stared in disbelief at the mountain of treasures, "Why...why does this feel a little unreal?"

"Unreal? That's because you haven't seen a real 'harvest'!"

Jia Zang curled his lip in disdain. "Tomorrow, I'll make these cultivators pay for even the air they breathe!"

[System Prompt]

[The system has detected that the host is creating "spiritual energy inflation." A "paid oxygen therapy" plan has been automatically generated and implanted into Wang Teng's mind.]

[Wang Teng's trust level has increased by 100%; he has been successfully brainwashed.]

"Yes, Mr. Jia! I'll go adjust the air filtration system right away!"

Wang Teng's eyes lit up, and he quickly ran to the control panel and began operating it frantically.

Meanwhile, in the world of cultivation.

As Qingyun Heavy Industry's "spiritual energy printing machine" runs at full speed, the concentration of spiritual energy in the cultivation world is decreasing at a visible rate.

The once lush forest began to turn yellow and withered; the once crystal clear spring began to become murky; and the spirit birds that once soared freely in the sky began to fall from the sky due to the thinning spiritual energy.

"Help! I...I can't breathe!"

A Golden Core cultivator collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. The spiritual energy within his body had become chaotic due to the depletion of external spiritual energy.

"Look! There's an 'air refueling station' from 'Qingyun Heavy Industries' over there!"

Someone pointed to a towering iron tower in the distance, which was the "cross-border base station" that Jia Zang built to extract spiritual energy from the earth, but now it had been transformed into a "paid oxygen inhalation" sign.

The monks scrambled towards the iron tower, only to find a huge sign hanging at its base:

"Qingyun Heavy Industry" offers pure spiritual energy; each breath costs 1000 "Qingyun Coins".

"What?! 1000 yuan?! I... I don't have that much money!"

The cultivators looked at the stacks of "Qingyun Coins" in their hands, which had already depreciated in value, and felt like crying.

At this moment, Jia Zang was standing in front of the window of the control room, looking at the cultivators outside who were desperately pleading for a breath of spiritual energy, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Chairman Jia, they...they really seem to be on their last legs."

Wang Teng said with some reluctance.

"They're not good enough? That's because they're too weak!"

Jia Zhuang turned around, looked at Wang Teng, and said coldly, "In this world, only the strong have the right to breathe! The weak are destined to be eliminated!"

"But……"

"No buts!"

Jia Zhuang interrupted Wang Teng, "Go, start the 'Interdimensional Psionic Compressor'! Target: Earth's underground resources."

"Blue Star?"

Wang Teng looked completely bewildered. "Chairman Jia, where is that? I've never heard of it before!"

"That's our new 'chive field'!"

Jia Zhuang pointed at the blue planet on the holographic projection, his eyes gleaming with greed. "Although the spiritual energy there is thin, it's abundant and plentiful! Besides, the creatures there have no cultivation and don't know how to resist!"

[Livestream chat]

Holy crap! Is Jia Yueting planning to take over Earth?!

[Hey, run! The capitalists are coming to harvest us!]

[Hilarious! Elder Wang's expression is exactly like the first time I saw my boss about to sell the company.]

[Jia Dong: A new field of韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting investors)? I think it's more like a "colony"!]

Is this the true face of capitalists? I love it!

Jia Zangcai didn't care about "colonies" or anything like that.

His mind is now filled with "energy".

"Rat-a-tat ...