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

The sky above Luoxia Peak was no longer azure, but rather a sickly leaden gray.

That was an anomaly caused by the friction between the residual "industrial waste gas" in the atmosphere and the laws of heaven and earth after the spiritual energy had been excessively extracted. The air was filled with a suffocating burnt smell, like burnt circuit boards mixed with old incense ash.

Jia Zhuang stood in the driver's seat of the modified [Psionic Tractor], holding a mug made from a monster skull. It didn't contain spiritual tea, but rather a high concentration of [Nuclear Energy Coolant].

He squinted at the eerie purplish-red sunset on the distant horizon and sighed.

"Chairman Jia, this is the third 'spiritual sandstorm' this week." Elder Wang Teng, dressed in oil-stained work clothes and holding a tablet computer (modified jade slip), looked worried. "The spiritual veins around Luoxia Peak have dried up. Now even weeds can't grow. They're all rusty, withered grass."

"What's wrong with withered grass? As long as it can generate electricity, that's fine." Jia Zhuang took a sip of coolant, which tasted like expired mint toothpaste, but he was already used to it. "Pass down the word to increase the power of the 'Spiritual Energy Charging Station' by another 20%. Since the spiritual energy is not enough, we'll just use 'nuclear spiritual energy' to make do."

"But Chairman Jia, the traditional cultivators are about to cause trouble." Wang Teng wiped the sweat from his forehead. "They say that what you're doing is 'electricity repair,' not immortality cultivation, but a heretical path that will incur divine retribution."

"Divine retribution?" Jia Zang sneered. "If Heaven could punish me, it would have struck me down long ago. Right now, it's busy calculating whether it's more worthwhile to collect taxes from me or to strike me dead."

Just then, several streaks of light suddenly appeared in the distant sky.

"They're here." Wang Teng's expression tightened. "It's the Xuanjian Sect's enforcement team."

A dozen or so cultivators dressed in silver robes arrived on their flying swords. Their swords gleamed with a chilling light and were covered with intricate runes, clearly ancient treasures passed down for thousands of years.

The leading law enforcement elder, Li Yedian, hovered in mid-air, looking down at the factory area belching black smoke below Luoxia Peak, his eyes filled with disdain and disgust.

"Jia Zang!" The elder in charge of law enforcement's voice boomed like thunder, causing the windows of the surrounding factory buildings to rattle. "Do you know your crime?!"

Jia Zang picked at his ear, handed the mug to the robotic arm next to him, and slowly climbed off the tractor.

"Oh, isn't this Elder Li? What a rare guest!" Jia Zhuang patted the engine oil off his clothes. "What's wrong? Your Xuanjian Sect's flying swords are out of oil? Want to refuel here?"

"Insolence!" Elder Li Yedian roared, "You have abused your evil arts, damaged the spiritual veins, causing the spiritual energy within a hundred miles to wither and the lives of countless people to be lost! Today, I represent the Heavenly Dao and will act on its behalf to slay this scourge!"

"Acting on behalf of Heaven?" Jia Zang pointed to the leaden-gray sky above. "The sky is so dirty, and you still claim to act on its behalf? Don't your flying swords emit black smoke when they fly?"

"Stubborn to the end!" Elder Li Yedian, the enforcer, stopped wasting words, formed a sword incantation with his hands, and shouted, "Form the formation! Slay the evil!"

More than a dozen disciples drew their swords at the same time, and more than a dozen sword energies converged into a huge light dragon, carrying a world-destroying momentum, and crushed towards Jia Zang.

The live stream chat exploded with comments:

Holy crap! That was a killer move! The special effects were top-notch!

[Run, streamer! That move looks like a full-force attack from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!]

[Oh no, the streamer is going to turn into a roasted sweet potato!]

[Hey, don't underestimate the streamer's tractor; it's equipped with a "nuclear shield"!]

Jia Zang looked at the luminous dragon, but showed no fear on his face. Instead, he revealed a strange smile.

"Elder Li, times have changed."

He snapped his fingers.

"Activate the 'swarm' protocol."

"Buzz—"

A low, dense vibration came from the valley behind Sunset Peak.

Immediately afterwards, countless black dots emerged from the factory's chimneys, windows, and even underground.

Those weren't flocks of birds, nor were they demonic beasts; they were tens of thousands of [psychic drones].

These drones are ugly in appearance, as if they were pieced together from scraps of discarded flying swords, tractor parts, and monster skeletons. They have no fancy lights, only exposed gears, spinning propellers, and blue "nuclear energy" flames spewing from their tails.

"What is that?" Elder Li Yedian's pupils suddenly contracted.

"That is... the fury of industry," Jia Zhuang said calmly.

The next second, the swarm of bees moved.

There were no fancy sword moves, no chanted spells.

It's all about pure, violent, and overwhelming numbers.

"Da da da da da—!!!"

The swarm of drones, like a black tide, instantly engulfed the sword-like dragon of light. Their miniature psionic machine guns fired wildly, not bullets, but highly compressed beams of nuclear energy.

The light dragon lasted less than two seconds under the intense barrage of fire before it shattered.

"How is this possible?!" Elder Li Yedian's expression changed drastically. "What kind of evil formation is this?!"

"It's not an array, it's an assembly line." Jia Zhuang put his hands in his pockets. "Your flying sword is handcrafted by a master craftsman, and it takes ten years to master one. My drones are mass-produced, five hundred come off the assembly line every minute. Broken? Just throw them away and replace them; the cost is less than a spirit stone."

"You...you're practicing unorthodox methods! You have no dignity as a cultivator!" Elder Li was so angry that he trembled all over and was about to rush down on his sword to personally kill Jia Zang.

"Dignity?" Jia Zhuang sneered. "Dignity is worthless in the face of absolute firepower and cost control."

He snapped his fingers again.

"Swarm, lock onto target. Initiate 'saturation attack'."

"Buzz—"

Thousands of drones instantly turned, and countless red laser sights landed on the Elder of Law Enforcement and his disciples.

The scene was so dense it was terrifying.

"You...you dare!" Elder Li stared at the countless dark gun barrels, cold sweat beading on his forehead. His protective sword aura, which he was so proud of, seemed so fragile in front of these machines that looked like flies.

"What wouldn't I dare to do?" Jia Zang shrugged. "I'm not a cultivator, I'm in industry. Industry is all about efficiency. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? To kill a cultivator... a drone is enough."

"Retreat! Retreat now!"

Elder Li Yedian finally broke down, realizing that he was not facing a cultivator, but a cold war machine.

He turned to run away, but the [Psionic Tractor] suddenly roared, its turret spun, and its main cannon charged.

"Trying to leave?" Jia Zhuang's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Did you ask my 'tractor-gun'?"

"boom--!!!"

A thick blue beam of light shot out from the tractor turret and struck Elder Li Yedian's flying sword precisely at the tail.

"Snap!"

The ancient flying sword, passed down for thousands of years, instantly shattered into pieces.

"ah--!!!"

Elder Li Yedian screamed as he plummeted from the sky, landing face-first on the ground in a sorry state.

The other Xuanjian Sect disciples were terrified upon seeing this and fled on their swords.

But the drone swarm was like a persistent, lingering leech, relentlessly pursuing them.

"Da da da da da—"

A "rain of swords" fell from the sky.

It wasn't a flying sword, but the wreckage of a downed drone and fragments of the robes of the Xuanjian Sect disciples that had been knocked off.

The chat room was buzzing with excitement:

Holy crap! Is this the violent aesthetics of industrial cultivation? I'm in love!

[This is hilarious! A Foundation Establishment Elder being chased and attacked by a swarm of drones, completely powerless to fight back.]

This is the power of "electricity repair"! Flying swords? What are those? Can you eat them?

[This streamer has turned the cultivation world into a "wasteland punk" world! It's so cool!]

The battle ended quickly.

The entire enforcement team of the Xuanjian Sect was wiped out. Except for the enforcement elder who was deliberately spared by Jia Zang, the others were either shot down by drones or captured.

Jia Zang walked up to Elder Li, who was covered in dust and dirt, and looked down at him.

"Elder Li, how are you feeling?"

Elder Li looked at the drones still buzzing around him, his eyes filled with fear and despair.

"You...you're a madman..." he said, trembling. "You broke the rules...you'll get your comeuppance..."

"Rules?" Jia Zhuang pointed to the desolate wasteland in the distance. "The depletion of spiritual energy and the deterioration of the environment are the consequences of your so-called 'rules.' I'm just showing you these consequences in advance."

He bent down and patted the elder in charge of law enforcement on the face.

"Go back and tell your sect leader that times have changed. From now on, cultivation will no longer focus on 'qi,' but on 'electricity.' If you want to live, obediently come to me and get a 'nuclear energy charging card.'"

After saying that, Jia Zhuang straightened up and waved to the live stream.

"Family members, that concludes today's 'Industrial Law Education.' In the next episode, we'll discuss 'How to Refine Elixirs Using Industrial Waste Gas,' so stay tuned!"

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with "666".

Jia Zhuang turned off the live stream and turned to look at Wang Teng.

"Elder Wang, send these prisoners to the 'Psionic Brick Factory' for labor reform. Also, notify the R&D department that the drone attrition rate is a bit high. The next batch should be equipped with a 'self-destruct' function so that the wreckage can be recovered and reused after the explosion."

"Yes, Chairman Jia!" Elder Wang Teng replied excitedly.

Jia Zhuang climbed back onto the tractor, looking at the increasingly dark sky above.

He knew that he had won the battle, but lost the future.

The leaden gray in the sky grew heavier and heavier, and even black rain began to fall.

That's acid rain.

The raindrops fell to the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound, and even the steel trembled.

"System, retrieve the environmental assessment report."

[Cultivation World Environmental Daily Report]

*Spiritual energy concentration: -80% (near depletion)

*Environmental pollution index: Severely exceeding standards

*Heavenly Wrath Value: 85% (About to break the threshold)

*Earth's original resources depletion rate: +500% (exacerbated by cross-boundary overdraft)

"85%..." Jia Zang muttered to himself, "Just 15% short, and the Heavenly Dao is about to completely unleash its fury."

He looked at the cup of nuclear coolant in his hand and suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

He thought he was carrying out a revolution, liberating productive forces.

But he never imagined that the price of this industrial revolution would be the loss of the entire world's vitality.

"Chairman Jia, what's wrong?" Elder Wang Teng asked cautiously.

Jia Zang took a deep breath and drank the coolant in one gulp.

"It's nothing." He wiped the blue liquid from the corner of his mouth, his eyes becoming unusually determined. "Elder Wang, pass the word down: all factories are to operate at full speed. We need to build enough 'Arks' before the Heavenly Dao unleashes its fury."

"An Ark?" Elder Wang Teng looked bewildered. "What Ark?"

Jia Zang did not answer. He looked up at the leaden sky, a glint of madness flashing in his eyes.

"If this world can't accommodate us, then we'll find another world."

"Since Heaven wants to format the data, let's take the data backup with us."

"We are not building an ark."

"It's a warship."

"Rat-a-tat ...

The tractor started again, carrying Jia Zang, and headed towards the wasteland shrouded in black rain.

All that remains is ruins and a world on the verge of collapse.