70: Chapter 70: The Heavenly Dao's Attention Bar Jumps Through Time

The air inside the Law Enforcement Hall seemed to have solidified into lead, heavy enough to suffocate.

Law Enforcement Elder Lu Guhuai's words, "Do you dare to let the Heavenly Dao conduct an Audit?", were like an invisible giant hammer, slamming fiercely into Shen Xingzhou's chest and shattering the superficial calm of Hengchuan Peak.

The whispers of the surrounding Elders and the astonished gazes of the Disciples seemed to fade away at this moment.

In Shen Xingzhou's world, only the System interface in the center of his vision, which was jumping frantically, remained.

The [Heavenly Dao Monitoring Level], which had originally remained stable at [30%], was now writhing frantically like a beast that had been stabbed.

The pale green halo that originally represented "Safety" was being eroded and devoured at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Immediately after, the number representing danger jumped sharply and locked onto a heart-stopping level.

[Heavenly Dao Monitoring Level Real-time Update]

[Status: Connecting to "Heavenly Dao Audit Node"...]

[Original Value: 30% (Concern Level)]

[Revised Value: 45% (High-Risk Level)]

[Warning:]

Monitoring Level has exceeded the 40% threshold.

The area you are in (Hengchuan Peak) has been marked as a [Karma Anomaly Zone].

An orange-red glow instantly occupied the entire top bar of the System, like a striking scar stretched across Shen Xingzhou's field of vision.

That color was no longer a reminder, but a naked warning—

The Heavenly Dao is truly watching you.

...~

Shen Xingzhou felt the cold sweat on his back instantly soak through his clothes.

He forced himself to remain calm, ignoring Law Enforcement Elder Lu Guhuai's provocative gaze, and instead sank his consciousness deep into the System, wanting to see what this sudden 15% increase meant.

However, the feedback provided by the System made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

[Function Risk Alert (Monitoring Level ≥ 40%)]

[Affected Modules:]

[Name List Fine-tuning]:

Status: Listed as a key monitoring target.

Consequence: Every fine-tuning operation will leave an indelible "Karma Trace" on the Heavenly Dao cloud. If "human intervention in life and death" is discovered, it will directly trigger a Lightning Tribulation.

[Resentment Pool]:

Status: Judged as a "Karma Disturbance Source".

Analysis: This function forcibly converts negative Karma, violating the fundamental Heavenly Dao logic of "good and evil being rewarded." If the monitoring level continues to rise, the System will be forced to close this module.

[Performance and Emotion Monitoring]:

Status: Viewed as a potential tool for "manipulating all living beings."

Note: Excessively precise control causes people to lose their "spirituality," which in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao is "strangling the seeds of the Heavenly Dao."

Shen Xingzhou's gaze was fixed intently on that last line of text.

Especially the warning regarding [Name List Fine-tuning].

That was the last trump card in his hand, and the only means he had to save people in this cruel world of cultivation.

Now, this trump card had been placed under the spotlight.

Once used, it would be discovered by the Heavenly Dao.

If not used, Hengchuan Peak could only watch those Disciples die.

And what made him even more desperate was the bolded line of text at the bottom of the interface, which seemed to carry the implication of a countdown:

[Critical Warning]

If Monitoring Level ≥ 60%, a [Sect-level Audit Alert] will be triggered.

[Effect Prediction:]

The Sect will lose jurisdiction over Hengchuan Peak.

Heavenly Dao Enforcers (similar to Lightning Tribulation Incarnations) will descend directly.

To conduct a "Soul liquidation" of the host and all related personnel.

60%.

Only 15% away.

Just this 15%, and Hengchuan Peak would go from an "outlier" to a "sinner."

...~

On the way back to Hengchuan Peak, Shen Xingzhou did not say a word.

Senior Sister Xie Handeng followed behind him, her hand never leaving the hilt of her sword. She keenly sensed the oppressive atmosphere on Shen Xingzhou that was almost about to solidify into substance.

"Is it that serious?" Senior Sister Xie Handeng asked in a low voice, "Isn't it just an Audit?"

Shen Xingzhou stopped, looking up at the gray, hazy sky. The feeling of being watched was stronger than ever. It was as if a giant eye was piercing through the clouds, coldly staring down at this tiny patch of land.

"Senior Sister Xie Handeng, if one day..." Shen Xingzhou's voice was somewhat dry, "If you had to choose, would you rather die in mediocrity, or live desperately, and then be struck by lightning from the heavens?"

"Nonsense." Senior Sister Xie Handeng replied resolutely, "If it wants to strike, it will have to strike first. I'm not dead yet."

Shen Xingzhou smiled bitterly.

"That's good."

He turned around and, in his consciousness, sent that question that made him feel nearly desperate to the System. "System, is there any way to lower the Monitoring Level?"

The System interface was silent for a moment. Then, it popped up a simple, straightforward, yet extremely cruel reply.

[Analysis: Causes of Monitoring Level]

Abnormal data fluctuation: Casualty rate is too low.

Rule modification frequency is too high: Frequent changes to Sect laws.

Use of prohibited functions: [Name List Fine-tuning], [Resentment Pool], etc.

[Pressure Reduction Plan:]

To lower the Monitoring Level, the host must immediately stop the following behaviors:

Stop using "Name List Fine-tuning" to save lives.

Stop modifying the System (restore the old System).

Stop detailed accounting (abandon the [Munitions Line], restore the traditional mode).

[System Summary:]

To avoid being audited, do not save people, do not change the System, and do not do accounting. In a word: be a good child and go with the flow.

Shen Xingzhou looked at this line of text, feeling a chill shoot straight from the soles of his feet to his crown.

The System's logic was perfect. Because the reason Hengchuan Peak was being watched was that it was too "special," too "unruly," and too efficient.

As long as it turned back into the mediocre, chaotic, death-ridden Hengchuan Peak of the past, the Heavenly Dao would naturally no longer pay attention to it.

But this was equivalent to Shen Xingzhou personally strangling the vitality of Hengchuan Peak, watching helplessly as everyone returned to that old era where they were treated as expendable materials.

"Screw being a good child." Shen Xingzhou cursed fiercely, but this time, there was no usual domineering tone in his voice, only a deep sense of powerlessness.

...~

This sense of powerlessness soon spread like a plague throughout the entire Hengchuan Peak. Although Shen Xingzhou did not say it explicitly, the Disciples were all sensitive. Especially those who had experienced the "System reform," they keenly sensed the lingering dark cloud over the mountain peak.

In the evening, in the cafeteria. A few Disciples holding their rice bowls gathered together, their voices kept very low.

"Have you felt it? Recently, the people from the Law Enforcement Hall look at us as if they want to eat us."

"That's natural. I heard our Peak Master had a falling out with Elder Lu at the Law Enforcement Hall, and they are even going to conduct some kind of Heavenly Dao Audit."

"Heavenly Dao... what is that? Is it that thing that strikes with lightning as soon as we make a mistake?"

"Sigh, I told you. Our lives have been going too smoothly. The casualty rate is so low, and we get so much money; it didn't look like proper cultivation to begin with."

A young Disciple sighed and took a mouthful of rice, but found it hard to swallow, "Is it that the better we do, the less the higher-ups like us?"

"Before, we died like dogs, and no one cared. Now that we want to live like human beings, it's become a sin?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Someone nearby stopped them in terror, "Don't talk nonsense. If the Peak Master is implicated because of us..."

"Implicated the Peak Master? Then what else can we do?" Someone asked back in a low voice, "How about... we deliberately let a few people die in the next mission? Raise that casualty rate? See if we can make the higher-ups less angry?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the table fell into instant silence. Although absurd, and although no one wanted to die, this idea of "seeking death in order to survive" had already taken root in their hearts.

Because they were afraid. Afraid that the invisible "Heavenly Dao" would think they were living too luxuriously and thus bring down a calamity to take everyone away.

The [Emotion Panel] on the System interface faithfully recorded all of this.

[Overall Emotion: Internal Turmoil]

Hope: Present (stemming from the food and clothing brought by the new System)

Fear: Significant ↑ (stemming from fear of the unknown "Heavenly Dao")

Dependence on Host: ↑ (viewing him as the only protective umbrella)

Trust in "Heavenly Dao/Sect": ↓ (believed to be a tool of suppression for vested interests)

Shen Xingzhou stood in the distance, watching those whispering Disciples, his heart feeling as if it were being twisted by a knife.

He had desperately established Systems, desperately given them a sense of security. As a result, this sense of security was as fragile as a sheet of paper in front of the Heavenly Dao.

Systems can control people, but they cannot control the heavens.

...~

In the dead of night, Shen Xingzhou sat in his Immortal Cave, staring blankly at the System. The monitoring bar remained stuck firmly at 45%, like a sharp sword hanging over his head.

He knew this was already the limit. Since Law Enforcement Elder Lu Guhuai dared to bring up an Audit, he would not let it go. That "60%" red line would sooner or later be broken.

Once broken, it would be a Sect-level Audit. By then, it wouldn't be as simple as checking accounts; it would be "liquidation." Liquidating all anomalies, all "black technology," all... disloyal hearts.

"System." Shen Xingzhou's voice was low, "How many days are left?"

The interface refreshed, and a countdown table appeared.

[Seven-Day Warning: Situation Simulation]

[Current Status: Monitoring Level 45%]

[Risk Prediction for the Next Seven Days:]

Probability of random spot checks by higher-level Audits: High (any abnormal operation could become a fuse).

Possibility of this Sect being used as a "general pilot object": ↑ (Qingheng Sect might be pushed out to take the blame).

[Major Event Trigger Estimation:]

If no external intervention is performed, the monitoring level will break through the warning line under natural growth.

[Sect-level Audit Alert] trigger estimation: —approximately within 10 – 20 days.

10 to 20 days. This was the time Shen Xingzhou had left.

Either find a way to solve the Monitoring Level problem within these 20 days, or... be prepared to face the Heavenly Thunder.

But how to solve it? Stop saving people? Impossible. Abandon the System? No. Was he really going to just sit and wait for death?

Just as Shen Xingzhou was burning with anxiety, and even contemplating the crazy idea of "should I strike first and rebel?", the System interface suddenly flickered.

That System, which had always been cold and only reported bad news without good news, suddenly gave a meaningful suggestion. This suggestion was not about "defense," but about "offense."

[Strategic Suggestion: Build a "Larger Responsible Entity"]

[Logical Analysis:]

The host's current predicament lies in the fact that [Hengchuan Peak], as an "independent anomaly point," is too conspicuous and lacks any background support.

In the perspective of the Heavenly Dao, you are a "fat sheep" that is strong, disobedient, and waiting to be slaughtered.

[Solution:]

Need to find a "shell" for [Hengchuan Peak] that is big enough, hard enough, and that even the Heavenly Dao would not dare to touch easily.

Transfer all abnormal data (merits, casualties, resources) of Hengchuan Peak into this "shell."

Let this "larger responsible entity" take the heat of the Audit for you.

[Suggested Direction:]

Search for "faction allies" within the Sect? (Risk: Allies will betray)

Seek protection from "powerful beings" in the Upper Realm? (Risk: High cost, becoming a vassal)

Utilize the special properties of the [Yellow Springs] side to create a gray project that "cannot be defined by the Heavenly Dao"?

Shen Xingzhou looked at this last line of text, his pupils dilating sharply. "A gray project that cannot be defined by the Heavenly Dao?"

This sounded like playing with fire. But he had no choice.

[System Note]

Host, to survive the Audit: You cannot just be a "manager." You must become a "dealer."

You must make the gambling table big, so big that even the Heavenly Dao's thunder cannot smash through this tablecloth.

Shen Xingzhou took a deep breath, the confusion in his eyes gradually dissipating, replaced by a crazy determination.

"A dealer..." He looked at the pitch-black night sky outside the window. "Since this game of chess can no longer be played, I will flip the table and start a new game."

"This time, the stakes are the entire world of cultivation."