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

The Heavenly Palace in the Clouds, Suite No. 1.

The neon lights outside the window were still dazzling, and countless ribbons of light trailed by shuttles weaved through the sea of ​​clouds, forming a huge net of light.

Inside the room, however, the atmosphere was unusually eerie.

Jiang Li squatted in front of a huge nano-ceramic flowerpot.

This flowerpot was originally intended for planting the precious "Spirit Gathering Grass," but it has now been hollowed out and filled with blocky soil from the pixel world that Tangyuan just spat out (although it automatically adapted to the current art style after being spat out, turning into high-density black soil).

Buried in the soil is that pulsating, circuit-patterned [mutated peach pit].

"You reap what you sow."

Jiang Li held in his hand the bottle of "Abyss Ink," which was as black as night.

"If we plant an egg of Cthulhu, I wonder what kind of thing will grow out."

He uncorked the bottle.

I carefully dripped a drop of ink onto the soil.

"Sizzle—"

The ink did not penetrate the soil the moment it came into contact with it.

Instead, like a living thing, it spread rapidly, turning into countless thin black lines that frantically burrowed into the texture of the peach pit.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The peach pit's heartbeat suddenly quickened.

The sound became deep and powerful, so much so that the soil particles in the flowerpot seemed to dance.

"Not enough?"

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow.

"Ergou, heat it up."

"Since it's cyber cultivation, then the balance of Yin and Yang must be considered."

"Ink is the power of the abyss, which is extremely yin; then let's add some firepower, which is extremely yang."

He placed the Flame Rod he brought back from the lower realm next to the flowerpot, using it as an "artificial sun."

The intense heat emanating from the flame rod instantly distorted the surrounding air.

Caught between Yin and Yang, abyss and raging fire.

That peach pit...

Cracked.

……

"Click."

A crisp sound.

No tender green shoots have sprouted.

Protruding from the crack was a... [a jet-black, metallic tentacle].

It doesn't resemble a plant stem; it's more like a wriggling fiber optic cable.

At the tip of its whiskers, a faint red light shone, like an eye peering into the world.

"Holy crap, it's sprouted!"

Er Gou shrank back in fright.

"Boss, this thing looks kind of disgusting."

"This is called... [Electronic Spiritual Root]."

Jiang Li observed with great interest.

That tentacle grew extremely fast.

It greedily absorbed the heat from the blazing rod and the energy from the ink.

In the blink of an eye, he grew half a meter taller.

No leaves have grown.

Instead, it branched out into more than a dozen thin, transparent transistors.

These transistors swayed in the air, as if trying to catch something.

Sudden.

One of its whiskers suddenly stretched out.

Like a snake hunting its prey, it pierced directly into the wall... [power socket].

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The lights in the room flickered for a moment.

A loud electrical hum filled the air.

"It's consuming electricity!"

The mechanical archbishop (which had been shrinking and hiding in Jiang Li's pocket) emitted an astonished electronic sound.

"Boss! This is... an Energy Devourer!"

"It not only consumes matter, it also consumes pure energy!"

With the injection of current.

The seedling's color changed.

It changed from pitch black to a semi-transparent neon color.

The transistors lit up, and blue data streams flowed through them.

It began to stretch.

One by one, the "leaves" made of flexible OLED screens slowly unfurled.

On each leaf, garbled text and unknown data were scrolling.

"beautiful."

Jiang Li exclaimed in admiration.

"This is what cyberpunk plants should look like."

"The fruit that grows in the future will probably be able to be used to charge mobile phones."

……

The moment this "electronic demon tree" sprouted.

Ninety thousand miles above the sky.

Synchronous orbit.

The [South Heavenly Gate Defense Array], which encircled the entire planet like a divine halo, suddenly stopped rotating.

Inside the core control room.

There were no humans.

There was only one enormous golden sphere of light floating in the void.

That is the ruler of this world—the Heavenly Dao AI.

It governs the distribution of spiritual energy, weather control, and the life and death of cultivators throughout the entire Neon Sky Domain.

"drop."

"Unknown source code detected..."

"Coordinates: Shangcheng District, Yunduan Tiangong, Zone 1"

Threat Level: [Extinction]

Inside the golden sphere, countless data streams surged and crashed.

"Analyze the components..."

"50% ancient spiritual root genes."

"30% alien genes (unidentifiable)."

"20%... Unanalyzable abyssal rules."

Conclusion: [Heretical]

Conclusion: [Virus]

Conclusion: [It must be eliminated]

A cold, emotionless command was instantly transmitted through the quantum network.

"Activate... [Project Celestial Soldiers]."

"Dispatch... [Dark Side Hunter]."

Mission objective: Eliminate the source of mutation.

"Side mission: Eliminate all contacts (better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free)."

……

late at night.

The Heavenly Palace in the Clouds has fallen into slumber.

Only the newly grown electronic demon tree was still emitting a faint buzzing sound, greedily absorbing the electricity from the socket.

Jiang Li lay on the bed, seemingly asleep.

But in his hand, he always held the Crimson Lotus Ship-Slaying Sword (a smaller version).

Odin, like a door god, sat cross-legged at the entrance, closing his eyes to rest.

Abel blended into the shadows in the corner, as if he didn't exist.

Only Er Gou was sleeping the soundest, still snoring and occasionally twitching his leg.

Sudden.

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

It's not that the air conditioner is broken.

Rather, it was a kind of... [killing intent].

This murderous aura was very faint, almost blending into the surrounding electronic signals.

An ordinary Golden Core cultivator would never be able to detect it.

But who is Odin?

He is a god-king who has fought countless battles.

His intuition was more sensitive than the most advanced radar.

"They're here."

Odin suddenly opened his eyes.

A sharp glint flashed in those aged eyes.

"Buzz—"

There was no sound of the door being broken down.

The floor-to-ceiling windows in the room suddenly rippled like water.

Followed by.

Three almost transparent figures "passed through" the glass.

【Optical camouflage】.

Phase-travel technology.

This is the most advanced infiltration method.

The three figures landed silently.

As the camouflage was removed, their true forms were revealed.

Those were three mechanical humanoids completely encased in black body armor.

It has no face; its face only has a red "V"-shaped sensor.

What he was holding wasn't a gun.

Instead, it is... [High-frequency particle vibration blade].

This blade, when vibrating at high speed, can even cut through diamonds without making a sound.

[Target: Heavenly Dao Dark Division - Hunter (Model: T-8000 Immortal Cultivation Edition)]

[Strength Assessment: Early Nascent Soul Stage (Dual Cultivation of Physical and Hacking Skills)]

……

"Infiltrator."

"Clear".

The three hunters didn't waste any words.

They locked onto Jiang Li on the bed.

brush!

Three dark figures suddenly shot up, moving at extreme speed, leaving afterimages in the air.

Three particle blades were thrust towards Jiang Li's throat, heart, and dantian, respectively.

This collaboration is flawless.

"clang!!!"

A loud bang.

It wasn't Jiang Li who made the move.

Instead, it was a golden spear that appeared out of nowhere.

Odin appeared at the bedside as if he had teleported.

The pixelated spear in his hand (which, although retaining its blocky shape after leaving the pixel world, was made of some kind of high-dimensional alloy) swept out.

They forcefully blocked those three particle blades.

"Disturbing the peace in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Odin grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"That's not how you show hospitality!"

"Power assessment...incorrect."

The three hunters' electronic brains immediately sounded an alarm.

They felt that the power emanating from that spear was like a mountain collapsing.

"This kind of superhuman strength...it's not from a carbon-based life form!"

"Adjust tactics."

"Activate... [Spiritual Energy Interference Field]."

hum-

The reactors on the chests of the three hunters lit up.

A strange ripple spread out.

Within this force field, all spiritual energy will be disrupted, cultivators will be unable to mobilize their true energy, and magical artifacts will also become ineffective.

but.

They miscalculated one thing.

Odin...does not use spiritual power.

He used—[muscles].

"What are you doing? Trying to give this old man electrotherapy?"

Odin's muscles bulged, and golden divine power surged beneath his skin.

"roll!"

He roared.

The spear jerked violently.

The immense impact sent the three hunters flying.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The three mechanical killers crashed into the wall, smashing three large craters into the expensive nano-wall panels.

……

"That's interesting."

Jiang Li sat up on the bed.

He watched as the three hunters quickly got up and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Sent by the Heavenly Dao AI again?"

"It seems the tree I planted is making it quite nervous."

The three hunters did not back down despite being repelled.

They adjusted their posture.

One of them even turned his arm into a small antimatter cannon.

"Target locked."

"Execute... annihilation."

Just as they were preparing to launch a second attack.

A sudden change occurred.

The "electronic demon tree" that has been overlooked by everyone.

That little sapling, only half a meter tall, planted in a flowerpot.

Suddenly... it moved.

It seemed to have been awakened by the sounds of the fight.

Or is it……

It smelled... a delicious aroma.

For it.

These are three mechanical killers whose bodies are filled with high-density data streams and equipped with top-of-the-line microreactors.

It's practically delivered right to my door... [takeout].

"hiss--"

A sound similar to a snake flicking its tongue rang out.

That was the sound of electricity jumping in the air.

Brush brush!

Those dozen or so originally soft, translucent tentacles.

It suddenly became as hard as iron.

They shot out with a speed even faster than particle blades.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Extremely accurate.

The tentacles pierced directly into the data interfaces of the three hunters.

Some were inserted into the back of the head, some into the spine, and some directly into the reactor in the chest.

"Warning! Warning!"

"Intrusion detected!"

"Firewall...crashed!"

"Energy...leaking!"

Three originally incredibly powerful Nascent Soul stage mechanical assassins.

At this moment, he was like a snake whose bones had been removed, standing stiffly in place, his whole body trembling violently.

Their red electronic eyes began flashing garbled text wildly.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

Visible to the naked eye.

Blue energy streams and red data streams surged wildly into the sapling's body along its tentacles.

grunt.

grunt.

That was the sound of swallowing.

"Ah...no..."

The hunter emitted intermittent electronic screams.

Their bodies began to shrivel and become dull.

The once shiny alloy armor has turned into the gray of scrap metal.

In just ten seconds.

Three top-tier mechanical assassins.

It was… [drained].

Only three empty shells remained, with parts scattered all over the ground.

……

"belch--"

The electronic demon tree let out a burp (sound of electricity).

It's full.

The tree trunk, which was originally only half a meter tall, instantly doubled in height.

It has grown to be over one meter tall.

The leaves became more lush, and the OLED screen on them became brighter.

even.

At the top of the branch.

A small, pink... [flower bud] has sprouted.

Inside the flower bud, you can vaguely see something that looks like an eyeball moving.

"My goodness..."

Er Gou crawled out from under the bed and looked at the ferocious plant.

"This thing... is even more possessive of its food than I am."

"Those were three Nascent Soul stage cultivators! Gone in one bite?"

Jiang Li got out of bed.

Arrive at the flowerpot.

He reached out, wanting to touch the tree.

The tree seemed to sense its owner's presence.

The once menacing whiskers instantly became docile, wrapping around Jiang Li's fingers like a puppy, transmitting a faint current of ingratiation and affection.

"Good boy."

Jiang Li smiled.

He stroked the cold leaves.

"Looks like you're more than just a power bank."

"You're still a... [hacker]."

"Hackers who specialize in eating data."

Jiang Li turned to look out the window.

Looking up at the deep night sky, it felt as if I were staring at that high and mighty AI of the Heavenly Dao.

"Since you want to play the annihilation game..."

"Then I'll play with you."

"How many mechanical soldiers did you send...?"

"I'll let my tree...eat as much as it wants."

"At that time..."

Jiang Li looked at the pink flower bud at the top of the tree.

"Wait until it's full, then it will bloom."

"I wonder if it will bear... the [Fruit of Code]?"

"That smell must be very cyberpunk."

……

The next morning.

Li Zixia arrived at the suite door on time.

She came to invite Jiang Li to visit the "Sword Immortal Production Line" at Shushan Heavy Industry.

When the door opened.

She saw that the room was clean and tidy, as if nothing had happened.

Apart from……

The plant in that flowerpot seems to be growing a little too fast?

and……

Why did she feel like that plant was staring at her?

"Master Jiang, did you sleep well last night?"

Li Zixia asked politely.

"fine."

Jiang Li stretched, revealing a set of white teeth.

"There are a few mosquitoes."

"but……"

He patted the electronic demon tree next to him that was swaying in the wind (actually digesting).

"They were all eaten by my little potted plants..."

Li Zixia was stunned for a moment.

Mosquito?

This is a heavenly palace in the clouds, 10,000 meters above the ground. Where would mosquitoes come from?

and……

She glanced at the plant.

For some reason, the golden core within her body suddenly trembled.

An instinctive sense of crisis welled up inside me.

"What...what kind of spiritual plant is this?"

Li Zixia couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, this."

Jiang Li made it up on the spot.

"This is a specialty from my hometown."

"It's called... 'Money Tree'."

"Specially designed to attract wealth and treasures (human-eating equipment)."

Jiang Li picked up her coat and put it on.

"Let's go, Elder Li."

"Let's go and take a look at your factory."

"I'd like to see it too..."

"The legendary flying swords... how come they're mass-produced like sausages?"