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

Two thousand meters below the surface, an absolute realm of darkness.

The water pressure here is enough to crush a main battle tank into a flattened disc. There is no sign of life in the icy seawater, only deathly silence.

However, in the dark depths of the sea, a mesmerizing golden light emanates.

【Boat of Greed】(S-class cursed item/domain-type evil spirit).

This is a colossal sailing ship, hundreds of meters long and entirely golden, forged entirely from cursed Abyssal Ancient Gold. Every deck and mast is engraved with runes meant to tempt and corrupt living beings. It lies moored beside an underwater volcano, resembling a moving golden palace, radiating an aura of endless greed.

In the captain's cabin of the golden ship, the skeleton draped in a magnificent, decaying robe—the Lord of Greed—sat on a jewel-encrusted throne, swirling a crystal goblet filled with the wine of souls.

Two eerie green flames burned in its empty eye sockets as it admired the tormented souls imprisoned within the gold coins around it.

"Hehehe...another guest has arrived."

The Greedy Lord looked up and sensed the fluctuations above.

"Such powerful vitality...such vigorous greed (actually, the desire to make money)...such a soul can surely brew the most delicious wine."

It put down its wine glass, straightened its aristocratic robe from who-knows-when, and prepared to welcome its "new collection".

Just then.

"Boom—!!!"

The seawater overhead suddenly surged violently, as if a meteorite had crashed down.

Before the greedy lord could even strike an elegant pose, he felt a sudden darkness descend upon him.

"Bang!!!"

With a deafening roar, the entire golden ship shuddered violently, as if it had been slammed by a massive hydraulic press.

Immediately afterwards, a tooth-grinding scraping sound came from the top of the ship, and sparks (psychic sparks) flew everywhere.

"What's going on?!"

The crystal goblet in the greedy lord's hand shattered.

It angrily rushed out of the captain's cabin, onto the deck, and looked up.

A pitch-black, menacing fishing boat, exuding a nauseating aura of its "kind" (the remains of Leviathan), suddenly appeared and pressed directly onto its golden bow!

This is what's known as "face-to-face attack"!

The bottom of the black ship was still writhing, and several anchor chains (tentacles) that looked like intestines had tightly wrapped around the mast of the gold ship.

"Outrageous! How dare you desecrate my palace!"

The greedy lord was enraged and was about to unleash his curse.

But then, a young human head emerged from the black ship.

Jiang Li, wearing a waterproof headlamp and holding a large pipe wrench, was peering down from the ship's side with a look of delight on his face.

"Holy crap! Big Yellow! Look! It's made of real gold!"

"The color! The luster! Although it has a bit of an antique finish, it's definitely pure gold! I'm rich! I'm rich!"

Jiang Li was so excited that he slapped his thigh.

He initially thought it was just a shipwreck, maybe with some treasure inside. Little did he know, the entire ship was a treasure trove!

This isn't a boat, it's a mountain of gold!

"Woof!" (Master, this thing is weird, I want to take a bite and taste its saltiness.)

Big Yellow also poked its head out, its saliva dripping onto the golden deck, making a "sizzling" corrosive sound.

"Don't rush, don't rush, everyone who sees it gets a share!"

Jiang Li waved his hand and shouted, "Er Gou! Lao Liu! Take the 'sea monkeys' down there and get to work! Dismantle everything you can! Use acetylene to cut what you can't! Make sure every single grain is harvested!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Although Wang Ergou and Liu Wei were overwhelmed by the aura of the S-class cursed object, they overcame their fear thanks to Jiang Li's even more terrifying "money-making will".

"Brothers! That's gold! It's our retirement money for the rest of our lives! Charge!"

Dozens of deep-sea creatures (sea monkeys) with collars around their necks, carrying various demolition tools (crowbars, hammers, wrenches), jumped off the Black Pearl like locusts, howling, and landed on the deck of the golden ship.

"Clang! Clang! Crash!"

A highly discordant symphony of demolition resounded in the deep sea.

Some deep-sea divers were prying up the floor (gold bricks), some were dismantling the railings (gold bars), and others were trying to remove the jewel-encrusted rudder.

"Insolence! Insolence!!!"

The greedy lord was so angry that his whole body trembled.

It has lived (and died) for thousands of years and has seen greedy people, but it has never seen anyone so greedy!

These aren't seduced souls; they're clearly a band of robbers! A bunch of thugs! A demolition crew utterly devoid of any aesthetic sense!

"You lowly ants! How dare you destroy God's creation!"

The Lord of Greed raised his withered, bony hand and clenched it in the air towards the group of Deep Ones.

"Soul...stripped away!"

An invisible ripple spread outwards.

This is an S-rank instant-death curse! It can instantly extract the soul from the body and seal it into a gold coin!

however.

Those Deepsea divers who were engrossed in their work only paused slightly, shivered, and then... continued working.

"Huh?" (Why did the water suddenly get cold?)

"Gah gah!" (Never mind, this gold brick is a bit heavy, lend a hand!)

Greedy Lord: "???"

It's broken?

Why?

Unbeknownst to it, these Deep Ones were all wearing collars specially made by Jiang Li (a modified version of the Soul-Binding Lock) around their necks. These were C-grade sealed artifacts. Although they were not high-grade, after passing through Jiang Li's hands, even an S-grade curse would only have the effect of "a cold wind blowing" after being filtered by the collar.

Moreover, their souls are now filled with something even more terrifying (fear and worship of Jiang Li), leaving no room for the greedy lord to strip them away.

"Um...sir?"

Just as the greedy lord was questioning his existence, a voice sounded behind him.

It suddenly turned around.

Suddenly, the seemingly harmless young man (Jiang Li) in blue overalls appeared behind it, tapping the gold buttons on its ornate robe with pipe wrenches.

"Are the buttons on your clothes gold too?"

Jiang Li's eyes were sincere. "You look quite thin (like a skeleton), it must be tiring for you to wear such heavy clothes. How about... I help you take off the buttons? Or... you can take your clothes off?"

"..."

The Greed Lord's soul fire flickered violently, almost going out.

Is this even human language?

Stripping clothes off in front of the owner? Or stripping clothes off a dead person?

"Mortal! You're courting death!"

The Lord of Greed roared, and his body instantly swelled up, transforming into a gigantic skeletal demon god ten meters tall, wielding a black scythe formed from countless vengeful spirits.

"Since you like gold so much, then I'll turn you into a golden statue, to kneel at my feet forever!"

"Die, Golden Purgatory!"

As it swung its scythe down, the surrounding seawater instantly turned into scalding gold, surging towards Jiang Li like magma, trying to cast him into a golden body.

This is an S-rank domain skill! Within this domain, all matter will be assimilated into gold!

Liu Wei (Thousand-Faced Ghost) was hiding behind the Black Pearl's gunwale when he saw this scene, and his face turned green with fright.

"Damn it! This is a rule-based attack! Physical defense is ineffective!"

He was even prepared to use Shadow Cloak to escape at any moment.

however.

Faced with the overwhelming golden lava, Jiang Li merely frowned.

"What is this thing? Molten steel? It's so hot!"

He jumped back a step, dodging a splash of golden water.

"Sir, your temper is too short-tempered! You throw boiling water at the drop of a hat? That's uncivilized behavior!"

As Jiang Li spoke, he pulled out the pig-slaughtering knife from his waist.

"I was going to try to reason with you, but since you're not going to be reasonable, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Rhubarb! Go! Bite its leg bone! That bone looks pretty thick; we could make soup from it!"

"Woof!"

Big Yellow couldn't wait any longer. Upon hearing the command, it transformed into a yellow lightning bolt, ignoring the scalding gold around it (its time attribute makes it immune to most elemental damage), and bit into the shinbone of the White Bone Demon.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

That divine leg bone, which was as hard as a diamond, was actually bitten open by Big Yellow!

"ah--!!!"

The greedy lord screamed and staggered.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Jiang Li made his move.

He doesn't have any fancy skills or cool special effects.

He simply gripped the butcher knife with both hands, took a deep breath, and channeled the power of the "Butcher's Skill" into the blade.

"Open it... for me!"

Jiang Li leaped high into the air and slashed down at the enormous skull of the White Bone Demon God!

This strike was unremarkable.

But in the eyes of the Greedy Lord, this slash was like cutting through space, cutting through the rules, carrying an unstoppable causal law—[Ingredient Slicing]!

"No!!!"

The greedy lord raised his scythe to try and block.

"when!"

The demonic scythe, which had gathered countless vengeful spirits, was like rotten wood before the butcher's knife, instantly breaking in two.

Immediately afterwards, the blade fell.

"Snap—"

It's as smooth as slicing a watermelon.

The indestructible head of the White Bone Demon God was cleaved in two!

The soul fire was extinguished instantly.

The massive body collapsed with a crash, scattering back into a pile of dry bones.

The boiling golden magma around them cooled down and turned into irregularly shaped gold nuggets scattered all over the ground.

"Phew... This bone is really hard, it made my hand go numb."

Jiang Li shook his hand, looked at the pile of scattered bones on the ground, and shook his head.

"Why can't you just be a good doorman? Why do you have to resort to violence against me?"

He bent down and picked up the skull that had been split in two.

Inside the skull, a gemstone radiating brilliant golden light rolled out.

【Greed】(S-level core).

This is the control core of the ship, and also the source of the Greedy Lord's power.

"Oh? You got a loot drop?"

Jiang Li picked up the gemstone and wiped away the ashes on it.

"This gemstone is of excellent quality, even brighter than the eye of that lanternfish from last time! It would look beautiful if I made a necklace for the little fish when I got back."

He casually stuffed the priceless S-class core into his pocket, then looked around at the believers who were still in a daze.

"What are you all looking at? Are you watching the boss work? You'll get your wages docked!"

"Hurry up! Dismantle it! That mast is solid gold, saw it off and take it! And that deck, it's studded with diamonds, pry it off!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The believers then seemed to awaken from their daze, and with ten times the enthusiasm they had shown before, they rushed toward the golden ship that had lost its master.

……

Three hours later.

The once magnificent and spectacular "Ship of Greed" has now been reduced to a pitiful skeleton.

All the gold that could be removed was taken, all the gems that could be pried off were pried off, and even the gilded copper plating on the bottom of the ship was scraped off and rolled away.

They really dug three feet into the ground.

"That's about enough, the ship will sink if we dismantle it any further."

Jiang Li looked at the spoils piled up on the Black Pearl's deck, almost sinking the ship, and nodded in satisfaction.

"This trip must have made at least several hundred million, right?"

He was making plans in his mind.

"It's a bit of a waste to leave this ship here... Although it's been mostly dismantled, the keel still looks pretty sturdy."

Jiang Li stroked his chin and looked towards the engine room of the Black Pearl.

"How about... we get an extra meal on our ship?"

He patted the deck. "Hey, that heart, can you eat this thing? It's a bit hard, but it's high in gold and good for calcium."

Black Pearl: "..."

It emitted a burst of excited trembling.

This is the remains of an S-rank cursed artifact! Even though the essence has been removed, the material itself is top-tier abyssal material! Consuming it will definitely boost the ship's strength to another level!

"Thump! Thump!" (Eat! You have to eat!)

"Okay, then I'll take it all with me!"

Jiang Li directed the two ships to be joined together, preparing to tow the wreckage back for slow processing.

Just then.

Liu Wei, who had been working quietly on the sidelines (actually observing), walked over with a strange expression on his face.

"Boss, there's something I need to ask you..."

"What's up, Lao Liu? Need to go to the toilet? Just pee in the sea." Jiang Li joked, in a good mood.

No...no.

Liu Wei pointed to an inconspicuous corner of the pile of gold.

"While I was clearing out the loot just now, I found something in a hidden compartment that looked like... a person."

"people?"

Jiang Li was taken aback. "There are still living people in this godforsaken place? Could one of our brothers have accidentally sealed themselves inside?"

He followed Liu Wei over.

Inside a pried-open gold chest, huddled a ragged, emaciated old man.

The old man was filthy, with a scraggly beard, and looked like a beggar. But he didn't exude any deathly aura; his chest was still rising and falling slightly, indicating that he was still alive.

"This is……"

Jiang Li leaned closer for a look. "This old man is incredibly lucky. He didn't suffocate after being locked in that box?"

Just then, the old man seemed to sense the light, his eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Those were cloudy eyes, but they revealed a shrewdness.

He looked around in confusion, then his gaze fell on Jiang Li.

"Young man... what year is it now?"

The old man's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together.

"Uh... 2024," Jiang Li answered honestly.

"2024..."

The old man's eyes were somewhat dazed. "So... I've been trapped here for thirty years?"

"Thirty years?"

Jiang Li and Liu Wei exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

He survived for thirty years in this confined underwater space without food or water? This old man is ruthless!

"Old man, who are you? Why are you locked up here?" Jiang Li asked curiously.

The old man struggled to sit up, straightened his tattered clothes, and although he looked disheveled, he tried his best to put on an air of profound mystery.

"I... am the first captain of this ship, the Ghost Mary (now known as the Black Pearl)."

"Wang Defa, an admirer of Jack Sparrow, known as the 'Immortal Captain'."

Jiang Li: "..."

Wang Defa? That name sounds like an insult.

"Thirty years ago, I led a fleet to search for the legendary golden ship, but we were cursed and the entire fleet was wiped out. Only I... have managed to survive in this box until now, thanks to my ancestral 'Turtle Breathing Technique'."

The old man sighed, looking at the golden ship that had been dismantled into its skeleton. There was no sadness in his eyes, but rather a hint of schadenfreude.

"I never would have guessed! This ship of greed, which has killed countless people, has actually been dismantled and sold for scrap metal! Karma! Karma indeed! Hahaha!"

He laughed until tears streamed down his face.

"Young man, did you take it apart?" the old man asked Jiang Li.

"Yeah, I saw that nobody wanted this gold, so I just took it back." Jiang Li nodded.

"Good! Well done!"

The old man slapped his thigh. "Young man, I see you have extraordinary talent; you're destined for great things! Since you saved me, I'll bestow upon you a great fortune!"

"Fortune?" Jiang Li became wary. "I don't buy insurance, nor do I learn the Tathagata Palm technique."

"It's not one of those scams!"

The old man mysteriously pulled a yellowed parchment scroll from his pocket (actually, from his crotch).

"This is the [Return to the Void] nautical chart that I deduced over the past thirty years while idly sitting in this box, by observing ocean currents and celestial phenomena!"

"Return to the Void?"

Jiang Li remembered the word that Lao Wang had mentioned before.

That is the end of all forbidden zones of the ocean, the legendary final resting place of all seawater, and... the true core area where the Great Old Ones slumber.

"Yes! Return to the Void!"

The old man's eyes gleamed with fanaticism. "That's the real treasure trove! It's said that the legendary 'Dragon King' (ancient god) lives there! If we can just go there and make a quick buck, forget tens of millions, even hundreds of billions will be nothing!"

"Hundreds of billions?!"

Jiang Li's breathing quickened instantly.

He snatched the parchment scroll as if he had obtained the key to a vault.

"Sir! I've decided to be your friend! From now on, you'll be the honorary consultant of Deep Blue Aquaculture! We'll provide room and board, and even take care of you in your old age!"

"Let's go home! Let's figure out how to get to the Ruins of Return... and fish for the Dragon King!"

Liu Wei stood aside, watching the two money-grubbers, one old and one young, his lips twitching wildly.

One dared to provide the map, and the other actually dared to go.

Is this guy tired of living?

Guixu! That's a forbidden land that even S-rank experts dare not easily set foot in!

But watching Jiang Li's excited back, Liu Wei suddenly felt...

If it were this man, perhaps... he could actually catch that so-called Dragon King and make him into sashimi?

"I'm going crazy... I'm going crazy too..."

Liu Wei sighed, resignedly picked up a bag of gold coins, and caught up with the group.

Come back home!

This time, we returned with a full load!