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

Qingyun Sect, Luoxia Peak.

The leaden-gray haze in the sky has lasted for three whole days.

The cultivation world, which was originally shrouded in ethereal beauty, now seemed to be enveloped in a giant sauna, with the air filled with the pungent smell of sulfur, coke, and some indescribable chemical odor.

However, in stark contrast to this harsh environment was the bustling scene in front of the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate.

Don't miss out! Qingyun Heavy Industry's latest product—the "High-Power Filtering" Gas Mask (Magic Item Edition)!

"Only 998 spirit stones! Get a fresh lung! You won't regret it!"

"The first 100 buyers will receive a free bottle of 'Lung Cleansing Pills'! Limited quantity, first come, first served!"

Wearing a sharp black suit and a large megaphone around his neck, Jia Zang stood on a makeshift sales counter made from a "cross-border drilling platform" tractor, enthusiastically promoting his products.

Behind him, Elder Wang Teng, with a bitter expression, directed a group of disciples to move boxes of newly produced "gas masks" onto the shelves. These masks had a peculiar design, cast entirely from black iron, with two thick, transparent crystals inlaid in the eye mask section, and a huge cylindrical filter connected to the mouth area—made from a mixture of waste spirit ore slag and activated carbon.

Despite its ugly appearance, in today's cultivation world shrouded in "smog," this thing is even more sought after than top-grade magic weapons.

"I want one! I want two!"

"Don't push! I was here first!"

"Chairman Jia, save one for me! I'm Su Meier, the leader of the Joyous Union Sect! My lungs are delicate; I can't stand this smell!"

The crowd was dense, and countless cultivators waved their storage bags, their eyes gleaming with longing for "fresh air".

Jia Zang couldn't stop smiling as he watched the spirit stones pouring into his account.

"Awesome! This is the 'crisis economy'! Elder Wang, write this down, we've made our second fortune from this 'spiritual haze'!"

[Livestream chat]

Holy crap! Mr. Jia's shamelessness is as thick as a city wall!

Is this what capitalists are like? Pollute first, then sell medicine, profiting from both ends!

[Hilarious! Those cultivators are even scrambling to buy it. It's like being sold out and still helping to count the money!]

[Chairman Jia: I'm doing this for your health! (doge emoji)]

This gas mask looks like a gas cylinder that has come to life...

Just as Jia Zang was counting money until his hands cramped, the sky suddenly darkened.

It wasn't the kind of darkness that obscures the sky like smog, but rather a kind of oppressive feeling that was both majestic and sacred, yet also carried a hint of eeriness.

The originally churning lead-gray clouds seemed to have been torn open by an invisible hand.

A golden light descended from the heavens.

"Boom—"

With a muffled thud, the golden light dissipated, and a middle-aged man dressed in a golden official robe, wearing a black gauze hat, and holding a thick account book slowly emerged from the void.

He was expressionless, his eyes indifferent, as if everything in the world was just a number to him.

"The tax collector of Heaven!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

The once bustling scene of frantic buying instantly fell silent. All the cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, instinctively knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

In the world of cultivation, the Heavenly Dao is the supreme law. The Heavenly Dao tax collectors are "imperial envoys" who represent the Heavenly Dao in exercising its power. They are responsible for monitoring the balance of spiritual energy and the flow of fortune in various regions, and... collecting taxes.

"What... what's going on?"

Jia Zang was also startled by the sudden appearance of the formation. He instinctively stepped in front of the pile of spirit stones, watching the golden-robed man warily.

Who are you?

The golden-robed tax official's gaze swept across the entire area like lightning, finally settling on Jia Zhuang. His voice was devoid of any emotion, as harsh as the scraping of metal, "The spiritual energy here is fluctuating abnormally, accompanied by a large amount of 'filthy energy.' I have been sent by the will of Heaven to investigate."

"A foul odor?"

Jia Zang's eyes darted around, and his fear was instantly replaced by greed.

He straightened his suit and tie, put on a fawning smile, and stepped forward: "My lord, you've misunderstood! That's not some 'filthy odor,' it's the 'smell of industrial civilization'! It's a tremendous contribution that Qingyun Heavy Industries has made to the cultivation world!"

"contribute?"

The tax collector frowned slightly, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

"yes!"

Pointing to the chimneys behind him still belching black smoke, Jia Zhuang spoke nonsense with a straight face, "My lord, look, this black smoke is a byproduct of burning 'interdimensional spiritual energy.' Although it doesn't look good and smell bad, it represents progress in productivity! It represents that our cultivation world is transforming from 'manual workshops' to 'mass industrial production'!"

"and……"

Jia Zhuang lowered his voice and mysteriously pulled a crystal-clear, top-grade spirit stone from his pocket, quietly slipping it into the tax collector's hand. "Besides," he said, "this 'industrial waste gas' may have a bit of a smell, but we pay a considerable amount in taxes!"

The tax collector glanced down at the top-grade spirit stone in his hand, a barely perceptible tremor flashing in his originally indifferent eyes.

[System Prompt]

[Target detected: Heavenly Tax Collector (Golden Core Stage)]

[Hidden attribute detected for the target: Extreme greed (a desire for wealth that outweighs the maintenance of the laws).]

[Bribery success rate: 99.9%]

[Suggestion: Increase your bets to trigger the "immunity card" bonus.]

Jia Zang was overjoyed.

Sure enough, these days, whether it's a human or a god, no one doesn't love money!

"Sir, look how cold it is today. It must have been hard for you to make this trip."

Jia Zhuang chuckled, turned around, and patted the tractor that was churning up and down. "To express our respect for Lord Heaven, Qingyun Heavy Industry has specially developed a 'fully automatic merit harvester.' You don't need to lift a finger; just place it there, and it will automatically absorb the surrounding free merit, converting it into pure spiritual energy and storing it. This is... a tribute to you!"

"A fully automatic harvesting machine?"

The tax collector's eyes lit up.

As a tax collector in the Heavenly Realm, his daily work involves running around collecting taxes, which is exhausting. If he had this machine, wouldn't he be able to collect merits while lying down?

"Is this machine... easy to use?"

The tax collector's voice finally had a touch more humanity in it.

"It works! It's absolutely amazing!"

Jia Zhuang patted his chest and guaranteed, "This machine uses the most advanced 'nuclear energy... oh no, spiritual energy' technology in our cultivation world! It's quiet, efficient, and fuel-saving!"

"OK."

The tax collector nodded, put the top-grade spirit stone into his sleeve, and his expression softened considerably. "Since you are so 'sensible,' then I will not pursue this matter of your 'wasteful' behavior. However... next month's tax will be doubled."

"No problem! Double it or nothing!"

Jia Zang was overjoyed.

If a problem can be solved with money, then it's not a problem!

[Livestream chat]

[Holy crap! Even the Heavenly Tax Collectors are taking bribes? This cultivation world is hopeless!]

[Chairman Jia: As long as the money's there, I'll shatter even the glass!]

[Hilarious! This isn't some kind of tax collector, this is clearly a big shot from the tax bureau!]

[Chairman Jia is essentially "brainwashing" the natural order, portraying pollution as civilization and bribery as filial piety.]

Is this the image of a "tyrant"? I love it!

The tax collector patted Jia Zang on the shoulder with satisfaction, then with a flick of his sleeve, a golden light flew out from his sleeve and landed in Jia Zang's hand.

It was a golden token with the words "Heavenly Way" engraved on it, and a menacing black dragon on the back.

"This is a 'get-out-of-jail-free card'."

The tax collector said calmly, "With this token, one can travel freely in the cultivation world, and... it can offset one heavenly tribulation."

"A celestial calamity?!"

Jia Zhuang gasped.

This is something that can save your life!

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

Jia Zang was so excited that he almost kowtowed to the tax collector.

With this gold medal, won't he be able to do whatever he wants in the cultivation world? Forget about absorbing Earth's spiritual energy, even if he blew up the moon, probably no one would dare to stop him!

The tax collector, having received the "fully automatic merit harvester" and a bribe, was in high spirits and, without lingering, vanished into the sky as a beam of golden light.

As the tax collectors left, the opening in the sky slowly closed.

Lead-gray smog once again enveloped the earth.

But this time, when Jia Zang looked at the sky full of black smoke, there was no longer any worry in his eyes. Instead, there was a rampant madness.

"Elder Wang!"

Jia Zhuang turned around and roared at Wang Teng, who was still in a daze.

"Here I am, Chairman Jia!"

Wang Teng rushed over.

"Stop standing there! Get the production lines running at full capacity!"

Waving his "get-out-of-jail-free card," Jia Zang laughed wildly like a nouveau riche, "Even the Heavenly Dao has taken our money, who in the cultivation world dares to control us? Smash them! Smash them hard! Drain all the spiritual energy from Earth! I want the entire cultivation world to be shrouded in the 'industrial civilization' of Qingyun Heavy Industries!"

"Yes, Chairman Jia!"

Although Wang Teng sensed something was amiss, seeing Jia Zhuang's arrogant "I have a get-out-of-jail-free card, who am I afraid of?" attitude, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and carry out the order.

"Rat-a-tat ...

The tractor roared deafeningly again.

This time, its power was set to maximum.

The "interdimensional drill" connecting to Earth began to frantically extract the life essence of that blue planet at an almost greedy pace.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Earth, an even greater catastrophe is quietly brewing.

[Livestream chat]

[That's it, Chairman Jia has completely let loose.]

Earth: What did I do to deserve this?

Is this the price of being a "tyrant"?

[Chairman Jia: The Way of Heaven? It's nothing more than my ATM!]

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

Jia Zang had no idea that his decision today, while temporarily granting him a "get-out-of-jail-free card," had also led him down a path of no return.

He thought that bribing the tax collectors of Heaven was tantamount to bribing Heaven itself.

Little did they know that the true way of Heaven was never that greedy tax collector.

The true Heavenly Way is that Earth, which is being drained little by little and silently accumulating anger...

"Cool!"

Jia Zhuang stood on the front of the tractor, facing the billowing black smoke, arms outstretched, roaring loudly.

"This is the taste of power! This is the power of money!"

The only response he received was the incessant "putt-putt" sound, and a distant, faint lament that seemed to come from another world.