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

Outside the South Heavenly Gate, the atmosphere was tense and ready to fight.

That golden "Heavenly Firewall" still shrouded the Heavenly Gate, like a giant golden bell, separating the inside from the outside into two worlds.

But outside the firewall, Jia Zang's "Ten Thousand Machines Array" was bustling with activity.

The ten thousand ancient iron tractors were not idle. Under Jia Zang's command, they began a bizarre operation called the "South Heavenly Gate Square Beautification Project".

Some tractors were digging holes, some were planting trees (actually, they were inserting discarded psionic exhaust pipes into the ground to disguise them as ornamental trees), and others were using their huge buckets to draw lines on the open ground in front of the South Heavenly Gate.

That's a parking space.

Moreover, these are the kind of parking spaces that only VIPs can park in, painted crookedly and full of provocative intent.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

Jia Zang sat in the bulldozer's cab, holding a megaphone, and shouted towards the direction of Nantianmen:

"Listen up, you inside! Since you won't open the door, we'll start construction right here! According to the supplementary clauses of the 'Universe Illegal Construction Law,' anyone who stays inside a public area is considered to have automatically relinquished their land use rights! I hereby declare that this land belongs to 'Qingyun Heavy Industry'!"

Inside the South Heavenly Gate.

The Heavenly King of Growth, Mo Liqing, was so angry that his face turned green.

He stood on the city wall, watching the mortals below, like ants, digging holes, planting trees, drawing lines on their own land. They even placed a folding table directly below the city wall, on which sat a... strange machine.

The machine was square-shaped, entirely silver-white, and had a sign hanging on its chest with six large characters written on it:

[Fully Automated Bribery Machine]

"What kind of sorcery is that?" Mo Liqing narrowed his eyes, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Just then, Jia Zhuang's voice came through the loudspeaker again, carrying the enthusiasm of a salesman:

"My lords, my heavenly soldiers and generals! I know you work very hard, guarding this dilapidated gate is not easy. You are exposed to the wind and sun all year round, and you don't even get overtime pay. You must have some grievances in your hearts."

"But! Resentment can't feed you; only spirit stones can!"

"To express our Qingyun Heavy Industries' deep concern for the guardians of the Heavenly Court, I have specially developed this 'Fully Automated Bribery Machine'! Just insert spirit stones, and you can obtain a 'Fast Pass Permit,' a 'Traffic Violation Waiver Coupon,' or even a 'Heavenly Law Exemption'!"

"Come on over, don't miss out! First order free, honest and fair!"

Mo Liqing roared in fury: "Outrageous! How dare you engage in such despicable acts in front of the Heavenly Court's gates! Guards, smash that machine!"

"Wait!"

A sharp shout rang out.

Then a heavenly general dressed in golden armor and holding a long spear walked out. He was Zhao Gongming, the deputy commander of the South Heavenly Gate garrison (not the Zhao Gongming of the God of Wealth, just an unlucky guy with the same name).

Zhao Gongming looked at the machine, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, please wait," Zhao Gongming said in a low voice. "Although Jia Zang is arrogant, this machine... seems quite interesting. Our Heavenly Court always adheres to 'rules' in its operations. This machine of his might save us a lot of trouble."

Mo Liqing frowned: "You mean..."

"Let's wait and see." Zhao Gongming's lips curled into a meaningful smile. "If it can really be 'automatic,' that would be a novelty."

Mo Liqing snorted coldly and waved his hand: "Then open a crack and let me see what he's up to!"

With Mo Liqing's command, the golden "Heavenly Firewall" slowly cracked open, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Zhao Gongming swaggered out with two personal guards by his side.

He walked to the folding table and looked down at the "fully automatic bribery machine."

"Hey, mortal." Zhao Gongming tapped the table with his long spear. "This is the 'divine artifact' you were talking about? It doesn't look that impressive."

Jia Zhuang sat atop the bulldozer, smiling as he looked at him: "General, appearances can't judge a book by its cover. This thing is all about 'user experience.' Why don't you try it yourself?"

"Let's give it a try." Zhao Gongming snorted coldly, took out a low-grade spirit stone from his pocket, and casually threw it into the coin slot of the machine.

[Ding! One spirit stone detected.]

The system is currently evaluating...

[Assessment complete. According to Article 32 of the Heavenly Court's "Hidden Rules," this amount can purchase one "turn a blind eye" service.]

The machine suddenly emitted a mechanical sound, the crisp clanging of gears meshing, which sounded particularly jarring.

Immediately afterwards, a crumpled piece of paper was ejected from the ticket dispenser.

Zhao Gongming picked up the note and read:

[Receipt for Heavenly Court's Irregular Operations]

Project: Allow ordinary person Jia Zang to illegally park for one hour in Nantianmen Square.

Person in charge: Zhao Gongming (Automatic stamp)

Note: As long as the money is in place, the heavenly rules don't matter.

Zhao Gongming's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

"Damn it! What kind of bullshit receipt is this!" he roared, about to tear the paper to shreds.

"Hey, hey, General, please calm down!" Jia Zhuang quickly waved his hand. "This is a 'Heavenly Certified' electronic invoice! With this paper, your receipt of money is now a done deal. If the Heavenly Court investigates, this will be evidence!"

Zhao Gongming's hand trembled, and the note almost fell to the ground.

He looked around in horror.

An antenna had appeared on the top of the machine, its tip flashing red as it frantically sent signals into the sky.

"What are you doing?!" Zhao Gongming shouted sternly.

"It's being broadcast live," Jia Zhuang said innocently. "My family is watching. That scene has already been recorded in high definition and uploaded to the pinned post on the 'Heavenly Gossip Forum.' I've even thought of a title—'Shocking! The South Heavenly Gate Guardian Openly Solicits Bribes; One Spirit Stone Can Buy Away Heavenly Laws!'"

Zhao Gongming felt dizzy and disoriented.

He looked up at the sky.

Sure enough, above the golden firewall, a huge holographic projection screen was playing the scene from earlier in real time.

In the video, his greedy face was magnified countless times, and even the action of him reaching out to catch the spirit stone was replayed three times in slow motion.

The chat in the live stream was going crazy:

Holy crap! Is this how Heaven operates? So true!

[You can buy it with just one spirit stone? That's incredibly cheap!]

[Screenshot taken! I'm reporting this to the Heavenly Court's Discipline Inspection Commission right now!]

Is this what they call "the difference between immortals and mortals"? I think it's more like "money can make the devil turn the millstone"!

"You...you framed me!" Zhao Gongming pointed at Jia Zhuang, his fingers trembling.

"I'm innocent, General." Jia Zhuang shrugged. "The machine dispensed the coin by itself. What does it have to do with me? Besides, you inserted the coin yourself. I didn't force you."

"you……"

Zhao Gongming was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

He suddenly raised his long spear, ready to strike the machine.

"Wait!"

A majestic roar echoed from the sky.

A golden light flashed, and the Heavenly King of Growth, Mo Liqing, flew down from the city wall and landed next to Zhao Gongming.

"Your Majesty! This mortal is spreading heresy and misleading the public. I must kill him!" Zhao Gongming said urgently.

"What are you killing! Can't you see we're watching from above!" Mo Liqing said in a low voice, his face ashen.

He looked up at the huge holographic screen.

Although the Jade Emperor's face did not appear on the screen, his invisible pressure was transmitted through the screen.

"Jia Zang!" Mo Liqing turned to look at Jia Zang, gritting his teeth, "What exactly do you want?"

"I don't want to do anything," Jia Zhuang shrugged. "I just want to discuss a business deal with you all."

"Business?"

"Yes." Jia Zang pointed to the machine. "This 'fully automatic bribery machine' is actually a 'smart tax terminal.' Your Heavenly Court's collection of incense money is too slow, too cumbersome, and easily embezzled."

"My machine can help you achieve 'automated tax collection.' Mortals who want to ascend to heaven? Want to get things done? Want to avoid disaster? Just insert coins. The money goes directly into the Heavenly Treasury, with no difference in price or deductions in between."

"Moreover..." Jia Zhuang paused, a devilish smile spreading across his face, "this machine can automatically generate 'merit certificates' based on the number of spirit stones invested. The more you invest, the greater the merit. This is a great way to generate revenue for your Heavenly Court!"

Mo Liqing was stunned.

Although he was a rough man, he could still understand the underlying meaning.

This isn't a bribery machine; it's clearly bringing the Heavenly Court's "unspoken rules" to the forefront and turning them into "explicit rules"!

If we do as Jia Zang says, the Heavenly Court's revenue will indeed skyrocket.

but……

This is so embarrassing!

The Heavenly Court, a dignified place, actually relies on this kind of machine to collect money? Have they no shame?

"This...this is against the rules!" Mo Liqing was still struggling.

"Rules?" Jia Zang laughed. "Heavenly King, rules are made by people. In the past, you made rules to make money for yourselves. Now I'm making rules so that everyone can make money together."

"Look at this South Gate, it's so blocked up. Nobody can get in, and you can't make any money. How about we compromise? You let me in, and I'll install a hundred of these machines for you. We'll split the profits 50/50, how about that?"

Mo Liqing's heart raced.

It's a 50/50 chance!

That's the toll for passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate! How many spirit stones would that amount to in a year?

He glanced at Zhao Gongming.

A greedy glint also flashed in Zhao Gongming's eyes as he nodded frantically.

"This..." Mo Liqing hesitated.

Just then, the Jade Emperor's voice rang out again from the sky, cold and majestic:

"Mo Liqing".

"Your subject... Your subject is here!" Mo Liqing was startled and immediately knelt down.

"I have seen it." The Jade Emperor's voice was devoid of emotion. "Although these mortals are shameless, their idea of ​​'automation' does have some merit."

"Issue my decree."

"The South Heavenly Gate will be temporarily opened a crack, allowing Jia Zang to enter and 'demonstrate'."

"But if there is even the slightest misconduct, I will execute him without mercy!"

"Yes! Your Majesty, I obey!"

Mo Liqing was overjoyed and quickly got up, waving at the firewall.

"Activate the formation!"

The golden light curtain slowly parted, revealing a path leading into the interior of the South Heavenly Gate.

Jia Zhuang sat on the bulldozer, looking at the road, a smug smile on his lips.

"Family members, did you see that?"

He faced the camera and made a "V" sign.

"This is the power of 'capitalism'!"

"If the benefits are big enough, even the Jade Emperor will have to bow down!"

"Guys, turn on the background music!"

"Let's go and teach all the gods in Heaven a good lesson!"

At Jia Zhuang's command, ten thousand tractors sounded their horns simultaneously.

"Beep—!!!"

The sound was deafening, echoing through the sky.

Jia Zang drove the bulldozer ahead and charged into the South Heavenly Gate.

Behind him was the "fully automated bribery machine," suspended in mid-air by a crane, like a huge trophy, swaying as it followed inside.

Inside the South Heavenly Gate.

The immortals looked at the machine with varying expressions.

Some were angry, some were disdainful, and some... were secretly calculating how much benefit this machine could bring them.

Jia Zang looked at their expressions and sneered inwardly.

"First step, success."

"Next, I'll show you what the 'consumerism trap' really is."

He opened the system panel, looked at the "number of online users" that was jumping wildly, and a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

"You old Jade Emperor, do you think you've won?"

Little did you know, you were the biggest sucker...