130: Chapter 130 Here, no statues of gods stand on the hilltops, only monuments for legal education.

The wind deep in the Qinling Mountains carried the moist scent of soil.

A few months ago, this place was a complete mess. To build that so-called "Aotian Sect," Xiao Aotian had almost completely shaved off the vegetation on the entire hillside, leaving the exposed yellow earth looking as jarring as a scar.

But now, looking out, there were already patches of green.

Gu Changan was dressed in casual clothes, wearing a pair of mud-caked hiking boots. He held an ordinary iron shovel in his hands, carefully planting a half-person-tall dove tree sapling into a pit.

This rare tree species, known as the "giant panda of the plant world," had previously been cut down by Xiao Aotian to serve as beams for his great hall, and now they had to be replanted one by one.

"Director Gu, pack the soil down a bit more, and make sure to water it thoroughly," the old expert from the Forestry Bureau instructed from the side.

Gu Changan nodded, his movements light yet serious. He filled in the last of the soil, straightened his back, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

This was not just planting trees; it was healing a wound torn open by selfish desires.

Crisp laughter drifted from not far away.

A group of children wearing little yellow hats were walking up from the foot of the mountain in a line. They carried drawing boards and water bottles, their faces glowing with the innocence that children their age should have.

These were the forty-eight children who had once been imprisoned on the mountain by Xiao Aotian to "cultivate immortality."

After months of psychological counseling and nutritional rehabilitation, they no longer looked like the sallow, listless children they had once been.

"Uncle Gu!" A sharp-eyed child recognized Gu Changan and waved excitedly.

Gu Changan smiled and waved back at them. He saw one of the children—a little boy who had once been the most deeply brainwashed by Xiao Aotian, shouting every day about "shattering the core to form the nascent soul"—now lying on a patch of grass, observing a grasshopper.

This was a real childhood. Not dull mantras, not ethereal immortality, but genuine curiosity about the world.

"Director Gu, look over there." Chen Xiaobei walked over, holding a tablet computer, and pointed to a newly erected stone monument at the foot of the mountain.

It had been polished from the rubble of Xiao Aotian's "Scripture Pavilion."

On the front of the monument, there were no Divine Beast totems, nor any complex cloud patterns. There were only eight vigorous, powerful characters, gleaming in the sunlight: [Before the Law, There Are No Immortals or Buddhas]

Below the inscription, relevant legal clauses were densely engraved, along with the full story of this major illegal assembly and ecological destruction case.

Many parents who had brought their children for an outing stopped in front of the monument, pointing to the text to explain it to them.

"This is the true 'Mountain-Suppressing Monument'." Gu Changan clapped the dirt off his hands. "It's more effective than any Talismanic Incantation."

Chen Xiaobei adjusted his glasses, his expression suddenly turning serious. "Boss, the ecological restoration here is basically on track. But..." Chen Xiaobei swiped open the tablet screen and pulled up a red urgent briefing. "There's a new job."

The smile on Gu Changan's face vanished instantly, and that cold, sharp aura unique to an "Anomalous Entity Buster" returned to him. "Speak."

"It's a request for assistance from Donghai City." Chen Xiaobei spoke quickly and handed over the tablet.

Gu Changan took the tablet and quickly scanned the content. Less than ten seconds later, his brows furrowed.

"Archive it for now and keep monitoring." He returned the tablet to Chen Xiaobei, took a cigarette pack from his pocket, and pulled one out to hang in his mouth without lighting it. "Tell Donghai to maintain surveillance and report any new developments immediately."

"Understood." Chen Xiaobei nodded.

Gu Changan handed the shovel to a staff member, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked up into the distance. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, falling onto his face and casting dappled light and shadows in his sharp eyes.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains of the Northwest.

"Achoo!" Xiao Aotian, who was swinging a shovel with great enthusiasm, suddenly sneezed violently. The huge sound echoed through the tunnel, causing gravel from the ceiling to fall with a rustling sound.

"Who is talking about this Seat?" Xiao Aotian rubbed his nose and muttered. He wiped the black soot from his face, looking at the rock wall he had already chiseled five meters into, and a strange sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

In the past, when he cultivated, even ten years of seclusion might not lead to a Breakthrough in a minor Realm. Now, digging a hole, every shovel strike resulted in a pit; this tangible feedback made him feel a bit addicted.

Just then, the System that had been frozen in his mind for months suddenly beeped without warning. [Beep—]

[Detected that the host is engaged in infrastructure projects beneficial to the country and the people, aligning with the core values of the current plane.]

[Detected that the host's state of mind has undergone a huge transformation, abandoning vanity and becoming grounded.]

[System core program reorganization complete...]

Xiao Aotian froze, and the shovel in his hand clattered to the ground. "System? You're alive? Are you going to help me break out of prison?" he shouted crazily in his mind.

[System upgrade successful.] [Original "Strongest Aotian Cultivation System" uninstalled.] [New System loading... Congratulations to the host for binding to the "Great Nation Craftsman · Infrastructure Maniac Auxiliary System"!]

[Obtained Newbie Gift Pack: Titanium Alloy Kidneys (Never Fatigued), Geological Exploration Eyes (With these eyes, one can see where the minerals are in the mountains), Divine-Grade Excavation Mastery.]

[Current Task: Dig through the three-kilometer tunnel ahead. Reward: Three-month sentence reduction, ten catties of braised pork.]

Xiao Aotian stood there blankly, looking at the new light blue interface appearing on his retina. It no longer showed Spiritual Qi values or Cultivation Technique bars, but had changed to specific earthwork volumes and rock hardness analyses.

This style... it's gone off the rails a bit too much!

But the next second, he saw the "ten catties of braised pork" reward, and his eyes instantly turned red. He grabbed the shovel from the ground and roared to the sky: "What kind of bullshit Cultivation! I'm going to dig through this mountain!"

Outside the tunnel, several armed police guards looked at each other. "Is this prisoner crazy?" "Not crazy, right... Look, he's digging even harder now; that shovel is sparking." "He's a tough guy."