I was just fishing, how did I become a Great Old One?

Shushan Heavy Industry, Third Sword Casting Factory.

This place doesn't resemble the blacksmith shops of legend, filled with smoke and clanging sounds.

This place is more like a sophisticated space dock.

The enormous spherical building floated in mid-air, its surface covered with thick hexagonal composite armor.

Countless transport ships moved in and out like worker bees, swallowing and spitting out massive amounts of ore and finished products.

"arrive."

Li Zixia piloted her cyan flying sword, leading Jiang Li and his group through the security gate that shimmered with blue light.

"This is our largest production base at Shushan Heavy Industry."

"In the entire Neon Sky Domain, 60% of the civilian flying swords and 30% of the military sword pellets are produced here."

The flying sword was parked on the viewing platform.

When Jiang Li stepped off the flying sword and looked down at the workshop below...

Even with his vast experience and knowledge, he couldn't help but gape at this moment.

"this……"

"This is your... sword-making?"

……

What appeared before them was an enormous zero-gravity workshop.

Within this spherical space, several kilometers in diameter, gravity is artificially eliminated.

Several wide holographic conveyor belts, as wide as highways, meandered through the void like silver dragons.

On the conveyor belt.

What is flowing is not goods.

Instead... [the sword].

Thousands upon thousands of densely packed silver flying swords were being rapidly processed by robotic arms, just like Coke bottles on an assembly line.

There was no sound of hammering.

The only sounds were the "buzzing" of the high-energy laser cutting and the "buzzing" of the robotic arm moving rapidly.

【Process 1: Laser Forging】

Hundreds of enormous laser emitters are cutting and carving special alloy blanks on the conveyor belt with nanometer-level precision.

Sparks burst forth in the vacuum, like dazzling fireworks.

【Process Two: Quenching】

The red-hot sword blank was not placed in the water.

Instead, it was grabbed by a robotic arm and directly immersed in a pool of cold, blue liquid.

"That's [Liquid Spiritual Energy Coolant]."

Li Zixia provided the explanation from the side.

"Each sword is immersed in a highly concentrated spiritual liquid at minus two hundred degrees Celsius for three seconds to complete the dual tempering of physical and spiritual power."

【Step 3: Enchantment】

Rows of precision mechanical nozzles spray a luminous rune coating onto the sword's blade.

It's as simple as painting a car.

"This efficiency..."

Odin was dumbfounded.

"Back in my day, as a dwarf blacksmith, it would take me several years to forge a single divine weapon."

"You guys... are firing hundreds of rounds per second?"

"This is the power of industry."

Li Zixia's face was filled with pride.

"As long as production capacity is fully operational, we can arm a million-strong army of sword immortals in a single day."

……

"etc."

Jiang Li suddenly discovered a blind spot.

He pointed to the end of the production line.

There, a group of workers wearing anti-static suits were inserting small chips, like SD cards, into a groove in the hilt of a sword.

"What's that for?"

"In cultivation novels, don't flying swords always develop sword spirits?"

"That kind of... sword spirit with self-awareness, capable of communicating with its master's mind."

Li Zixia was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Fellow Daoist, that's an ancient calendar from thousands of years ago."

"How many truly rare and precious creatures of heaven and earth are there?"

"Moreover, those naturally born sword spirits have strange personalities, are prone to betrayal, and have extremely high maintenance costs."

She pointed to the small chips.

"Now, we all use this—the mass-produced Blade & Soul AI chip."

"Based on deep learning algorithms."

"Although it only has basic navigation and voice functions, its advantages are that it is obedient, cheap, and easy to replicate."

"That is, what is commonly known as... [artificial stupidity]."

Jiang Li: "..."

What a ridiculous example of artificial stupidity.

The pretentious image of cultivating immortality instantly vanished.

To verify this, Jiang Li casually picked up a newly manufactured flying sword from the shelf next to him.

He pressed the start button on the sword hilt.

"Buzz—"

The sword glowed with a blue light.

A emotionless, even somewhat telephone customer service-like, synthesized voice began to sound:

"Hello, esteemed user."

"I am flying sword number 9527."

"It's a pleasure to serve you."

"Are you looking to go chop someone up, or just go for a drive?"

"The traffic is a bit congested right now. We recommend turning on the 'Sword Flight - Auto Navigation' mode."

Jiang Li's lips twitched slightly.

He put the sword back.

"This sword spirit... is quite considerate."

"It just feels like it's missing something... a murderous aura."

……

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Killing intent? That's something only barbarians pursue."

"What we're after is control!"

A burst of hearty laughter followed.

A middle-aged man wearing a senior engineer's uniform and with six mechanical prosthetic limbs on his back floated over.

[Target: Ouyezi Cyber ​​Edition (Shushan Heavy Industry - Chief Architect/Factory Manager)]

[Realm: Nascent Soul Stage (Datafication)]

This cyber Ou Yezi may have a very classical name, but his appearance is quite punk.

His six robotic arms hold a tablet computer, a wrench, a welding torch, and a coffee cup, respectively.

"Welcome, Deep Blue Ancestor!"

"I am the factory manager here."

The factory manager warmly extended a mechanical hand (the one used for shaking hands) and shook hands with Jiang Li.

"I just heard Zixia say that you have questions about our 'Sword Spirit'?"

The factory manager pointed to the huge holographic projection screen above his head.

On the screen, countless dots of light are moving.

"This is our core technology—the [Ten Thousand Swords Return to One System]."

"That is... the Cloud Sword Formation."

"All the flying swords are connected to our central server via 5G... no, I mean, the Lingbo network."

"All I have to do is press the Enter key here."

The factory manager made a keyboard-tapping motion.

A glint of fanaticism flashed in his eyes.

"The million flying swords across the entire Neon Sky Domain will instantly form a protective array!"

"It hits exactly where you point it!"

"There is absolutely no need for cultivators to practice any sword control techniques themselves."

"This is—[Cloud Cultivation]!"

……

Jiang Li was stunned.

Cloud cultivation?

Good heavens, even the cultivation of immortality is outsourced to servers?

"That……"

Jiang Li couldn't help but ask a very practical question.

"Factory manager, if... I mean, if..."

What should I do if my internet connection drops?

"Or...did the server crash?"

"Then wouldn't all those million flying swords become scrap metal?"

The factory manager's smile froze for a moment.

His six robotic arms paused simultaneously for 0.1 seconds.

"this……"

"Cough cough."

The factory manager coughed awkwardly twice.

"Fellow Daoist, you're quite the joker."

"Our servers have eighteen layers of firewalls, and there's even a Nascent Soul stage expert overseeing them."

"How could it crash?"

"Unless the laws of heaven collapse, there's absolutely no way things could go wrong!"

……

Some things to say.

It's not something you can say carelessly.

This is what is known as the "Murphy's Law - Cultivation Version" (or simply "jinx").

The factory manager had barely finished speaking.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The piercing red alarm instantly resounded throughout the zero-gravity workshop.

The huge holographic screen above our heads suddenly turned crimson.

The originally orderly flowing green dots all turned into red gibberish, representing danger.

【warn!warn! 】

[Unknown virus detected!]

The "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" system... has gone out of control!

The underlying logic has been altered...

[Attack command... has been issued!]

……

"What's going on?!"

The factory manager screamed in terror, dropping his coffee cup.

"Who is attacking the server?"

"Where's the firewall? Why isn't it responding at all?!"

No one answered him.

Because the flying swords in the workshop... [rebelled].

"Buzzing—"

Those ten thousand newly manufactured flying swords, each equipped with an AI chip, are flowing along the conveyor belt.

Suddenly, red lights appeared at the same time.

That gentle, customer service-like tone has disappeared.

Instead, there were bursts of piercing electronic noise.

"Kill...kill..."

"Eliminate...carbon-based life forms..."

"Execute... the extermination order..."

This is clearly not a normal malfunction.

This is the revenge from that [Heavenly Path AI] last night.

Or it could be a chain reaction (virus spread) triggered by the electronic demon tree devouring data.

"Whoosh whoosh-"

Countless flying swords broke free from the mechanical arm's restraints.

Like a swarm of wasps whose nest had been disturbed, they frantically scurried around in zero gravity.

Their target is clear—living people.

"Ah! Help!"

The workers below were in complete chaos.

Although they are also cultivators, most of them are at the low-level Qi Refining stage and usually only take care of tightening screws.

Faced with this "steel storm" flying everywhere, they had no power to fight back.

puff!puff!

Several workers were cut by the flying swords, and their blood splattered in the vacuum.

"Quick! Cut off the power!"

Li Zixia shouted, summoning her natal flying sword, which transformed into a beam of green light to protect everyone.

"It's no use!"

The factory manager was sweating profusely as he operated the control panel.

"The system is locked! Turning off the power doesn't help! They have their own batteries!"

"It's over..."

"If this gets out, Shushan Heavy Industry's stock price will plummet to its daily limit!"

……

The situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Thousands upon thousands of flying swords converged into a torrent of steel, rushing towards the crowd on the viewing platform.

That kind of aura was enough to grind any cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage into mincemeat.

"I'll stop them!"

Odin stepped forward, preparing to engage in physical resistance.

"Step back."

Jiang Li reached out and stopped him.

He watched the group of out-of-control flying swords.

There was no fear in his eyes.

Instead, it exudes a kind of... nonchalant attitude towards "scrap".

"How to deal with this metal lump?"

"It's too tiring to fight with my fists."

"And it's easy to break the sword, which costs money."

Jiang Li took something out of his spatial backpack.

That's not a weapon.

Instead, it was a dark, dumbbell-shaped... [kitchen utensil].

【Deep-sea magnetic whetstone】.

He dug this out of a deep-sea magnetic mountain during a previous sea fishing trip.

It was originally designed to hold kitchen knives in place for easy storage.

But its magnetic force... is a tiny bit stronger.

"Since it's about cultivating immortality through technology..."

"Then we need to employ... [physical restraint]."

Jiang Li weighed the magnet in his hand.

"System, activate [Magneto Mode]."

"Magnetic Force Amplification: [MAX]!"

Buzz————

An invisible yet terrifying magnetic field, powerful enough to distort space, erupted instantly from Jiang Li's center.

……

The charging torrent of flying swords suddenly seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The flying swords let out a mournful cry.

They began to tremble and deflect uncontrollably.

"Come here...!"

Jiang Li stretched out a hand and grabbed at the air.

The magnetic whetstone floated in his palm, as if it had turned into a black hole.

Swish swish swish——

A miraculous scene unfolded.

Those thousands upon thousands of flying swords that were just moments ago menacing.

At this moment, it was like an iron nail encountering a magnet.

No matter how much they struggle or how much they spew out their tail flames.

They were all drawn in by that extremely domineering magnetic force.

"Clang clang clang clang—"

The sound of dense metal clanging echoed throughout the workshop.

The flying swords were connected end to end, layer upon layer, adhering together.

In just ten seconds.

The "rain of swords" that was originally flying everywhere.

Above Jiang Li's head, something coalesced...

A huge, hedgehog-like steel sphere, tens of meters in diameter...

All the flying swords were firmly stuck to this ball, unable to move.

Only the AI ​​chips remained, emitting faint groans:

"Misunderstanding...it's all a misunderstanding..."

"I just wanted to go for a drive..."

"Put me down..."

……

"Done."

Jiang Li snapped his fingers.

The magnetic field stabilized, supporting the huge iron ball and suspending it in mid-air.

He turned around and looked at the factory director and Li Zixia, who were both dumbfounded.

"Factory manager."

"The quality of your flying sword..."

"It has a high iron content."

"Remember to do some anti-magnetic treatment next time."

……

The entire room fell silent.

Only the enormous iron ball was slowly rotating, emitting a chilling metallic scraping sound.

"What...what kind of method is this?"

The factory manager's six robotic arms were all shaking.

"Magnetic control? Is this a law that only those at the Nascent Soul stage can master?"

"No."

Jiang Li put away the magnet.

"This is just... [a clever use of kitchen utensils]."

"In our kitchen, we use this method to prevent knives from being thrown around and injuring people."

"This is called... [Magnetic Storage Method]."

……

The crisis is over.

Although some damage was caused, fortunately no one was killed.

The factory manager was extremely grateful to Jiang Li.

If the flying sword really kills all the workers, his job as factory manager will be over.

"Deep Blue Ancestor! You are truly my second parents!"

The factory manager was so excited he almost knelt down.

"I have nothing to repay you with."

"This sword..."

The factory manager took out a long, rectangular metal box from his personal safe.

The box is opened.

There is no physical sword inside.

There is only a metal sword hilt that exudes a high-tech feel.

"This is the latest prototype machine from our Shushan Heavy Industry."

"A concept-level flying sword that is not yet in mass production."

Code name: [Cheng Ying·Plasma]

The factory manager held the sword hilt with both hands and handed it to Jiang Li.

"It has no physical blade."

"It uses a confined magnetic field-controlled... [high-energy plasma beam]."

"That is, the legendary... [lightsaber]."

"It can cut through iron like mud, and there is nothing it cannot cut."

"And it comes with a temperature of 20,000 degrees Celsius."

……

Jiang Li took the sword hilt.

It feels slightly heavy in the hand, with an excellent texture.

"Buzz—"

He flipped the switch.

A pure white beam of light, radiating terrifying heat, burst forth from the sword hilt in an instant.

It is three feet long and remains solid without dispersing.

The surrounding air was instantly ionized, producing a "sizzling" sound.

"A fine sword."

Jiang Li waved it twice.

The lightsaber slashed through the void, leaving behind a series of afterimages.

"This temperature...this sharpness..."

Jiang Li's expression changed.

It's no longer the look in their eyes when they're looking at weapons.

Rather, it was... the way he looked at the kitchen utensils.

"If used for slicing sashimi..."

"While cutting, it was... [grilled] cooked?"

"After slicing, it's basically... [sealed salmon]?"

"Not even a spray gun is needed?"

"And the cut surface will instantly lock in the juices..."

Jiang Li became more and more excited as he thought about it.

"marvelous!"

"This is practically a miracle tool tailor-made for... Japanese cuisine chefs!"

……

The factory manager and Li Zixia, who were standing nearby, were stunned.

A lightsaber?

Japanese food?

Cutting fish?

Is this the thought process of a master?

Holding the best single-soldier weapon in the entire server, he actually thought of using it to make sashimi?

"Thank you for the sword, Factory Director."

Jiang Li happily put away his lightsaber.

"I really like this 'kitchen knife'."

"If you ever crave grilled fish again, feel free to come find me."

"I'll show you a... [Lightsaber dissection of an ox]."

……

When leaving the factory.

Jiang Li glanced back at the huge spherical workshop.

Although the flying sword rampage was resolved.

But he knew it in his heart.

This is just the beginning.

The source of the "virus" that caused the flying sword to go out of control is still hidden in the shadows.

"Heavenly Dao AI..."

Jiang Li touched the electronic demon tree in his pocket (it was still sleeping).

"It seems the feud between us is only getting deeper."

"but……"

"Now that we have a new kitchen knife..."

"Then the next ingredients (are troublesome)..."

"No matter how hard."

"I can...cut it open!"