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

The industrial base at Luoxia Peak was now eerily silent.

That kind of deathly silence is not the disappearance of sound, but the collapse of "rules".

The once-roaring psionic production line, the tireless swarm of drones, and even the modified psionic tractor beneath Jia Zang's feet, all completely collapsed in the same second. It wasn't a malfunction, nor a power outage, but rather the "spiritual energy" that kept them running—the most fundamental physical rule of this world—was suddenly drained away.

Just like unplugging the network cable, even the most powerful server is just a pile of scrap metal.

Jia Zhuang stood in the driver's seat, still clutching the alloy wrench he had used to modify the wiring. He was horrified to discover that the spiritual energy within his dantian, which had once surged like a mighty river, was now rapidly drying up like a receding tide. He tried to circulate the "Nine Revolutions Spiritual Energy Technique," only to find that his connection with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had been completely severed by an invisible wall.

"What's going on?!"

Elder Wang Teng stumbled out of the workshop, his face ashen. His cultivation, which had been at the Foundation Establishment stage, had plummeted back to the third level of Qi Refining. "Chairman Jia! The mountain-protecting formation has failed! All the spiritual energy cores have turned into lifeless rocks! My... my cultivation! How can my cultivation be regressing?!"

Not only Elder Wang Teng, but the entire Luoxia Peak, and even the entire cultivation world, were plunged into panic at this moment.

In the sky, the red system pop-up didn't disappear; instead, it grew even larger and more blood-red, dominating the entire vista of the heavens. It shimmered with chilling golden runes, each character seemingly formed from heavenly lightning, exuding an undeniable majesty.

The countdown has now reached zero, and in its place is a chilling "Administrative Penalty Decision".

[Heavenly Dao System - Supreme Judgment]

Punished person: Jia Zhuang

Affiliation: Cultivation World No. 073

Violation Level: Top Grade (S Grade)

Reasons for violations: maliciously altering the laws of the plane, illegal industrialization, disrupting the ecological balance, and stealing the origin from another dimension.

Punishment Decision:

1. Server-wide ban (account suspension): This action strips the violator of all interaction rights with the laws of nature. From this moment forward, the account will be unable to absorb spiritual energy, use spells, or mobilize the power of heaven and earth.

2. Disqualification: Permanently disqualify from "Ascension".

3. Asset freeze: Confiscate all illegal gains (industrial facilities are deemed contraband).

4. Execute the erasure: Initiate the "dimensional reduction attack" procedure to erase the violating entity from three-dimensional space.

Countdown to execution: 00:59

Upon seeing this line of text, Jia Zang's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Account banned? Silenced?!"

He subconsciously looked at the system interface in his mind, trying to find a solution.

"System! System, you son of a bitch! What's going on? Wasn't Heavenly Dao supposed to be a laid-back leader? Wasn't it supposed to be too busy with its accounts to bother with me? Why is it suddenly going to kill me?!"

[System Prompt: Host, please remain calm. High-dimensional privileges have been detected. This is not a function of this system; it is a forced execution by the "Heavenly Dao Administrator."]

"Execute my ass! It's trying to wipe me out! Quick, is there anything I can use to block it? An invincibility shield? A substitute doll? Even a paid resurrection will do!"

[System Prompt: In the face of the "Rules of Heaven," all in-game store functions of this system have been locked. The host's current permission level is too low to resist the administrator's commands.]

"Then am I doomed?!"

Jia Zang looked at the blood-red countdown in the sky: [00:58].

An unprecedented sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart. His proud industrialized cultivation of immortality and the vast business empire he had built were as fragile as a piece of paper in the face of the "title" decree from the Heavenly Dao.

Without his spiritual energy, his workers were just ordinary mortals.

Without magic, his elders couldn't even kill a chicken.

He himself is about to be "defeated by a lower dimension".

"Chairman Jia...are we...are we going to die?" Elder Wang Teng collapsed to the ground, looking at the sky in despair.

The surrounding workers also stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at the countdown, fear spreading through the crowd.

"Is this how it ends?"

Jia Zhuang gritted his teeth, his nails digging deep into his palms.

No, I am not reconciled!

I didn't transmigrate here to be deleted as a bug!

Just then, a thought suddenly flashed through Jia Zang's mind.

Although the system's shop was locked and the spiritual energy was cut off, one function still seemed to be barely functioning.

That's one of the system's core functions—the [Dimensional Live Streaming Room].

This live stream connects to Earth and to those netizens. The Heavenly Dao System's punishment targets violators in the "Cultivation World No. 073." It might sever Jia Zhuang's connection to the local spiritual energy, but it seems... it hasn't yet realized the existence of Earth's netizens? Or perhaps, it hasn't had time to block this cross-dimensional signal?

Jia Zhuang suddenly looked up at the huge [Entire Clan Live Streaming Display] floating in mid-air.

The screen flickered a few times and the picture was a little choppy, but it still stubbornly stayed lit.

The chat room was buzzing with excitement.

[Holy crap! What's going on? Why is the screen red?]

[Mr. Jia! Run! That word in the sky doesn't look good!]

What does that countdown mean? Erasure? Is this an attempt to kill someone?

[The Heavenly Court? This is supposed to be the official government of the cultivation world? That's too domineering!]

[Call the police! Call the police now! Although I don't know where to report it, this is clearly an illegal intrusion!]

Jia Zhuang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the panic in his heart.

He knew that begging for mercy now would be useless. Heaven has no emotions; it is the law.

But he had one last card.

Since physical means have failed, we can only resort to public opinion.

"System," Jia Zhuang asked coldly in his mind, "how much longer can the live stream be used?"

[System notification: Tiandao is investigating the source of the abnormal signal. The live stream is expected to be forcibly disconnected in 30 seconds.]

30 seconds.

Jia Zang looked at the countdown [00:30] in the sky and suddenly smiled.

He straightened his oil-stained work clothes, and gave the still-flickering live-streaming camera a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Family members," Jia Zhuang's hoarse voice carried through the loudspeaker throughout Luoxia Peak and into the live broadcast room, "it seems I'm about to lose my job."

The live stream went silent for a second, then the chat exploded with comments.

[Don't joke around! Think of a way!]

[Chairman Jia, you have high technology, don't you? Blow it up!]

Is this the end? I don't accept it!

Jia Zang ignored the comments. He looked up at the blood-red countdown to "Dimensional Reduction Strike," his eyes filled with not fear, but a kind of madness driven by extreme oppression.

"The Heavenly Court..." he murmured softly, "You think just because my account is banned, I can't play anymore?"

"System, grant me full access to the live stream. I want everyone to see how I 'die'."

[System notification: Full channel broadcasting has been enabled.]

As Jia Zang finished speaking, the countdown in the sky changed to [00:05].

A terrifying pressure descended from the sky, causing the ground of Sunset Peak to crack and space to distort. It was the collapse of dimensions, the crushing of the individual by the rules.

Elder Wang Teng closed his eyes.

The workers knelt on the ground.

Jia Zhuang stared intently at the sky, his hand gripping the cold wrench tightly, as if it were his only weapon.

【00: 03】

【00: 02】

【00: 01】

"bring it on."

Jia Zhuang closed his eyes.

……

However, the expected death did not come.

The terrifying pressure suddenly stopped just three inches above Jia Zang's head.

It felt like something was stuck in my throat.

Jia Zhuang suddenly opened his eyes.

The red pop-up window in the sky began to flash violently, and the originally clear text began to become blurry and distorted.

[System Warning: Unknown high-dimensional data stream intrusion detected...]

[System Warning: The Heavenly Judgment Process has encountered a logical conflict...]

Immediately afterwards, a new line of smaller text, with even more distorted font, appeared below the red pop-up window. It wasn't the golden runes of the Heavenly Dao, but rather... something resembling gibberish.

Error code: 404

Execution failed. The target is protected by causality.

"Protected by the law of causality?" Jia Zhuang was stunned.

What the hell is this thing?

Before he could react, the red pop-up window in the sky suddenly exploded like a screen, with countless tiny cracks covering the entire sky.

Immediately afterwards, a cold, emotionless mechanical voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth:

"Given that although the violator has broken the rules, the resulting 'causal entanglement' is too extensive, and direct erasure could cause dimensional turbulence, the penalty plan has been revised."

"The original 'physical removal' has been changed to 'account ban'."

"During the ban, the violator will lose all supernatural powers and become a mortal. If the causal entanglement cannot be resolved within the ban period, a second erasure will be carried out."

As soon as the words were spoken, the red pop-up window in the sky shattered with a crash, turning into countless points of light that vanished.

But that oppressive pressure did not completely disappear.

Jia Zhuang felt the last trace of spiritual energy within his body completely disappear. He tried jumping and found that he had truly become a mortal with no strength left to even kill a chicken.

He looked down at the system interface.

[System notification: Host, your "Cultivator Privileges" have been revoked by the Heavenly Dao.]

[Current Status: Account suspended (Mortal Mode)]

[System Shop: Locked.]

[Livestream room: Locked (requires payment to unlock).]

"..."

Jia Zhuang looked at the large red "lock" character on the system interface, and the tempting "Recharge to Unlock" button next to it, and his lips twitched.

What is this?

The death penalty may be spared, but punishment is inevitable?

Or is this... a scheme to force players to spend money?

"Chairman Jia..." Wang Teng shakily got to his feet, "We...are we still alive?"

Jia Zhuang threw the wrench on the ground, making a crisp sound.

"To live."

Jia Zang looked at the sun that had reappeared in the sky, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"But we've become mortals."

He turned his head and looked at the group of workers and elders behind him who had also lost their spiritual power, and then at the pile of machines that had turned into scrap metal.

"Moreover, it seems that the Heavenly Court has only given us a 'probation'."

Just then, a tiny, inconspicuous notification popped up on the locked system interface in Jia Zang's mind.

[Hidden Quest Triggered: Public Opinion Counterattack]

[Mission Description: Heaven may seal your power, but it cannot seal the hearts of men. Utilize the remaining gaps in the live stream to ignite the flames of public opinion.]

[Mission Reward: Unlocks basic access to "Bullet Screen Manifestation" (one-time use).]

Jia Zang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He got it.

The Heavenly Court thought that "banning his title" would make him behave.

But they don't understand that for someone who works with the internet, as long as the network cable isn't broken, as long as there's still a computer that can communicate...

The game has only just begun.

"Elder Wang," Jia Zhuang suddenly spoke, his voice eerily calm.

"Yes...yes, Chairman Jia."

"Go, bring out all the backup generators."

"Huh? But the spiritual energy is gone, and the generator won't turn on..."

"Who said we need spiritual energy?" Jia Zang sneered, pulling out a dark object from his pocket—the last piece of high-purity enriched uranium he had previously exchanged for with Honkai Points from the system shop, originally intended for experiments.

"Use manpower, use diesel engines, use anything that can turn."

Jia Zang looked up at the sky, as if he could see the high heavens above through the clouds.

"Since they won't let me cultivate immortality, then I'll use the most primitive method to... recharge this Heavenly Dao."