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

Lingxiao Data Center, core ruins.

The "Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili" feast that shocked the entire cyber cultivation world has finally come to an end.

The once invincible true form of the Heavenly Dao, representing absolute order and rationality—that enormous biomechanical eyeball—is now nothing more than an empty metal skeleton, floating forlornly in the gradually cooling void.

The meat, data, and even the logic code on it were all completely devoured.

"belch--"

A loud burp echoed through the silent ruins.

Jiang Li sat unceremoniously on a floating fragment of a server, holding a huge optical fiber (originally the optic nerve of the Heavenly Dao) in his hand, and was leisurely picking his teeth.

"This tastes really good."

"It's just a bit too spicy; it gave me a heartburn."

Jiang Li rubbed his stomach. The Gluttony Divine Spark was operating wildly, digesting the enormous energy that was enough to burst an entire galaxy.

在他身边。

Cyber ​​Nezha lay sprawled on the roof of the Tree Demon's vehicle. His lotus armor, overflowing with energy, was constantly spewing out fine steam. The Fire-Tipped Spear was tossed aside, its tip stained a dark brown with red oil.

"Cool!"

Nezha roared, his voice filled with an unprecedented sense of relief.

"For thousands of years!"

"I've never had such a satisfying meal before!"

"That damned Heavenly Dao, it's so crunchy!"

……

And in a more distant place.

With the fall of the Heavenly Dao's true form, the entire Neon Heaven Domain underwent earth-shattering changes.

The "Skynet firewall" that shrouded the planet and monitored everyone's thoughts has completely disappeared.

The Southern Heavenly Gate opened, and the Milky Way ceased to flow.

In that server room on the 33rd floor.

The indicator lights on countless "brain tanks" that had been dormant for hundreds of years changed from green, representing "dreams," to red, representing "awakening."

"Sizzle—"

The life support capsule is opened.

One by one, the emaciated "ascended beings," covered in tubes, sat up blankly from their nutrient solutions.

They looked at the cold metal walls around them, at the shimmering circuit boards.

The "celestial realm," "Jade Pool," and "eternal life" that I had imagined shattered into pieces at this moment.

"Where...am I?"

"Where is my fairy palace? Where are my fairies?"

"Why... do I feel so hungry?"

Panic, confusion, and the ensuing anger began to spread throughout the Heavenly Court.

But all of this was no longer important to Jiang Li, who was enjoying his "post-meal sage mode".

His task was to cook.

As for who washes the dishes (cleans up the mess) after the meal, that's the people's own business.

……

"Boss."

The prosthetic monk, who had been sitting cross-legged in the corner silently digesting his work, suddenly opened his eyes.

Something was wrong with him.

During the banquet just now, he snatched the most crucial part of the eyeball—the "Heavenly Retina".

It was a crystal that integrated the most advanced image processing technology and real-world vision rules.

now.

The monk's originally red electronic eyes are undergoing drastic changes.

The original lens was broken and fell off.

In its place are a pair of brand-new prosthetic eyes that burn with golden flames and have double halos in their pupils.

【Sharp Eyes - True Vision Version】

"Amitabha."

The monk slowly stood up, his robes fluttering even without wind.

His voice became deep and resonant, as if he were a different person.

"This humble monk... saw it."

"What did you see?" Jiang Li asked lazily.

"I saw it... a delusion."

The monk looked up, his golden eyes piercing through the ruins of the Lingxiao Palace, through the vacuum, and into the deeper reaches of the universe.

"The Heavenly Court... is just a surface."

"The Heavenly Dao that we devoured was nothing more than a front desk administrator."

"There's an even larger, more terrifying data stream..."

"Downloading from the cloud."

……

"In the cloud?"

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, these guys have a backup?"

Before the monk could answer...

"Buzz—"

A strange, resonant hum suddenly echoed throughout the entire universe.

The sound was neither an explosion nor thunder.

It is a kind of... Sanskrit chant.

But it's not the kind of pure Buddhist chant.

Instead, it is an "electronic chant" composed of countless superimposed electronic synthesized sounds, full of metallic texture and brainwashing magic.

"Namo... Quantum... Maha..."

"Everything...is interconnected..."

"Data... immortality..."

This was accompanied by a strange sound.

The cosmic background, which had become pitch black due to the fall of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly lit up.

It is not the light of stars.

Instead, it was... golden light.

Overwhelming, oppressive, and suffocatingly gaudy gold.

……

"That is..."

Er Gou was pressed against the car window, his sunglasses falling off in fright.

"What the hell is that thing?"

All I could see was in the distant starry sky.

An indescribably massive fleet was slowly sailing out through the warp gate.

These warships have extremely strange designs.

They are not streamlined spaceships.

Instead, they were... pyramids.

Or rather... a pagoda.

Each pyramid-shaped warship is thousands of meters tall, cast entirely from golden nanomaterials, and its surface is engraved with flowing circuitry.

They were arranged in a neat "swastika" formation, slowly pressing down on the Lingxiao Data Center.

At the top of each of these pyramids, a golden beam of light was emitted, converging at the center of the fleet.

There.

There is a towering, cross-legged... holographic golden Buddha statue.

[Faction: Western Lingshan Heavy Industry]

[Flagship: Great Thunder Temple - Interstellar Mothership].

【BOSS: Electronic Buddha - Data Manager】

……

"Mount Ling..."

Nezha jumped off the roof of the carriage and gripped his Fire-Tipped Spear tightly.

"These bald monks usually hide in the Western Star District and don't care about anything else."

"How come they've arrived so soon after the Heavenly Dao died?"

"Is that even a question?"

Xunleizi (as a technical consultant) hid behind a bunker, trembling with fear.

"They're here... to take over our territory!"

"The Heavenly Court's servers have crashed, and now the entire Neon Sky Domain is a data wasteland without an owner."

"They're here... to take over the servers!"

……

really.

The enormous holographic Buddha slowly opened its eyes.

Those were a pair of emotionless electronic eyes composed of countless golden data streams.

It looked down at the ruins below, and at Jiang Li and the others.

The sound was like a resounding bell, vibrating through every inch of space.

"That's good, that's good."

"The Way of Heaven has collapsed, and order has crumbled."

"All beings suffer, trapped by gibberish."

"Our Ling Mountain is compassionate and cannot bear to see the world destroyed."

"I have come specifically to... save all living beings."

Accompanied by his voice.

Countless golden holographic characters appeared in space:

[Connecting to... Neon Sky Regional Network.]

[Pushing out... the Elysium World Operation System (V.9.0).]

[All users, please... give up resistance and accept the upload.]

Click "Agree" to gain immortality.

……

"Forced update?"

Jiang Li looked at the sky full of pop-up ads and sneered.

"One of the formatters just left."

"Another rogue software that forces installations has appeared."

"Can't you gods come up with something new?"

The electronic Buddha's gaze was fixed on Jiang Li.

"variable."

"You have consumed the Heavenly Dao, thus incurring enormous karmic consequences (data redundancy)."

"Put down the butcher's knife (cubs), and instantly become a Buddha (formatted)."

"Join my Ling Shan Yun Duan, and I can appoint you as... Cleansing Altar Messenger - Data Cleaner."

……

"The Cleansing Altar Messenger?"

"That's Pigsy's job."

Jiang Li threw the fiber optic toothpick in his hand away.

"I have no interest in being a pig."

"and……"

Jiang Li pointed to the enormous golden Buddha statue.

"You're all dressed in gold."

"It looks like..."

"It looks like a dish."

"presumptuous!"

The electronic Buddha had not yet spoken.

Eighteen Arhats, dressed in golden mechs and wielding various heavy weapons, flew out from his fleet.

"How dare you disrespect Buddha!"

"Physically perform a ritual to help him pass on to the afterlife!"

boom!

The eighteen Arhats fired simultaneously.

Golden lasers, missiles, and vajra pestles rained down like a storm.

"snort."

"More people?"

Nezha snorted coldly and charged forward on his Wind Fire Wheels.

"Odin! Monk! Let's get to work!"

"Leave these bald monks to me!"

Odin raised his golden shield (which Jiang Li had just solidified and repaired), and the monk raised his Gatling gun.

The two sides engaged in fierce fighting above the ruins.

……

however.

The real threat is still that unmoving electronic Buddha.

He looked at the battle below, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes (though it was simulated).

"Stubborn to the end."

"Since you are unwilling to upload it voluntarily."

"Then this humble monk can only... compress it manually."

Rumbling--

The electronic Buddha extended its enormous, sky-covering golden hand.

That hand is too big.

The lines on your palm are like huge ravines, and each finger is like a pillar supporting the sky.

【Supernatural Power: Five Finger Mountain - Data Seal】

"Press!"

The large hand slowly pressed down.

It's not a physical flattening.

But...

The space is locked.

The five fingers transformed into five giant signal towers, forming an "absolute area network".

In this network, all external connections are cut off.

All resistance efforts were suppressed.

"Gravity parameter... changed to 1000 times!"

"Bang!"

Nezha, who was flying in the air, was slapped hard to the ground like a fly.

The Tree Demon's suspension system screamed and broke down.

Even Odin was forced to kneel on one knee, his bones cracking and popping.

"Is this... the power of Mount Ling?"

The monk barely managed to support himself, but his keen eyes saw through the true nature of the giant hand.

"That's... a low-level code lock!"

"He's rewriting the physics engine for this area!"

……

"Rewrite the physics engine?"

Jiang Li stood in the shadow of the enormous palm print.

His knees were slightly bent, but he did not kneel.

The gray aura around him (the effect of the Law Immunity Soup) was flashing violently, clearly indicating that he was about to succumb to this level of suppression.

but.

There was no fear on his face.

instead.

He revealed an expression of...extreme excitement.

That's the look on a hunter's face when he sees his top prey.

"interesting."

"Wuzhi Mountain..."

"seal……"

"compression……"

Jiang Li licked his lips.

He pulled a huge, black ceramic jar from his backpack.

This earthenware jar looks ordinary, even a bit rustic.

But on its surface are engraved countless hideous and indescribable abyssal runes.

This is the jar Jiang Li used to "pickle vegetables" when he was in the Pixel World.

"Since you've sent such a big 'hand' (bear paw/pig's trotter)."

"And you still love doing 'compression' and 'sealing' so much."

"Wouldn't it seem impolite of me not to reciprocate with a dish?"

Jiang Li looked at the large golden hand that was slowly pressing down.

"Do you know?"

In my hometown, there is a type of vegetable.

"It also involves layering all sorts of top-quality ingredients into jars."

"Then simmer it over low heat to let their flavors blend together and create an extremely rich aroma."

"The name of that dish is..."

Jiang Li took a deep breath.

He shouted loudly at the towering electronic Buddha statue:

"Buddha! Jump over the wall!"

……

"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?"

The logic library of Electronic Tathagata does not contain data for this dish.

But he instinctively sensed something was wrong...

"Ergou! Open the jar!"

"Alice! Connect to the Treant Engine! Suck in the opposite direction!"

"yes!"

Er Gou laboriously climbed to the edge of the earthenware jar and lifted the lid with one paw.

Buzz—! ! !

A dark, deep suction force, seemingly capable of swallowing even light, erupted from the earthenware jar.

This jar connects to the abyss.

It is the world's largest "stomach".

"Get in here!"

Jiang Li made a grasping motion with both hands, unleashing the full power of his Gluttony Godhood.

He didn't go to the top of that Five Finger Mountain.

He's going to put that Five Finger Mountain... into a jar!

"Trying to suppress me?"

"I think you're trying to get yourself into my pot!"

call--

The golden hand that was pressing down was suddenly pulled by a huge suction force.

Its shape began to distort.

The original shape of the Five Finger Mountain was stretched and transformed into... flowing golden light.

It's like... noodles.

It was continuously sucked into that black ceramic jar.

……

"What?!"

The ever-present poker face of the electronic Buddha finally changed color.

"My data arm!"

"That's hundreds of millions of terabytes of core code!"

"How could you possibly be sucked away by a broken jar?!"

Nothing is impossible.

Jiang Li controlled the jar while throwing ingredients into it.

【Deep Sea Dragon Tendon】(Contributed by Ao Bing)

[Lei Zu Chicken Skeleton] (Contributed by Wen Zhong).

[Heavenly Eyeball Residue] (The remaining scraps).

There are also various [Abyss Spices].

"Since it's called Buddha Jumps Over the Wall..."

"How could we forget... Buddha?"

Jiang Li looked at the enormous electronic Buddha statue.

His eyes were filled with fervor.

"Your golden statue..."

"It looks like it has a very high level of value."

"Perfect for...making soup."

……

"madman!"

"That's a madman!"

For the first time, the electronic Buddha felt fear.

He wanted to pull his hand back.

But he discovered that the hand was no longer under his control.

Even his own data was flowing into the jar along that hand.

That jar was like a bottomless pit.

It exudes a... deadly fragrance that would make even a "Buddha" want to jump in.

"No!"

"Disconnect!"

"Disconnect immediately!"

The electronic Buddha made a decisive decision.

Click!

He cut off his own arm.

That enormous golden right hand had completely detached from its body.

then.

With a "whoosh".

It was completely... sucked into Jiang Li's pottery jar.

"Gulp."

Put the lid on.

……

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The eighteen Arhats stopped firing.

The Lingshan fleet halted its advance.

Even Nezha's mouth dropped open, his jaw almost falling to the ground.

"Holy crap..."

"Boss..."

"You pickled Buddha's hands?"

……

Jiang Li patted the pottery jar.

Listen to the bubbling sound coming from inside.

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Um."

"We have enough ingredients."

"Next..."

Jiang Li raised her head.

He looked at the electronic Buddha statue, which had lost an arm and was still in shock.

"Hey, you big guy."

"I've already taken my hand away."

"The remaining half of the body..."

"How about... we donate it too?"

"Just enough for one pot."

"I'll treat you to... the real Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."