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

The central square of Jianghai City, an open-air venue large enough to accommodate 100,000 people, was completely silent at this moment.

All eyes were on the man wearing shorts and flip-flops, holding a rusty saw (actually a spare tool from the Black Pearl).

Before him, the ten-meter-long, golden-yellow [Immortal Shinbone], exuding an aura of sacred inviolability, lay across the two benches like an ordinary piece of rotten wood.

"Um... is nobody helping?"

Jiang Li looked around with some disappointment. "These young people nowadays, they don't care about the work at all. Forget it, I'll just have my own employees do it."

He waved to the audience.

"Old Lei! Old Liu! Stop eating sunflower seeds! Bring your tools upstairs! We need to do some renovations... no, I mean, some preliminary work!"

"The boss is here!"

Lei Meng and Liu Wei were already prepared.

The two men, one carrying a large black pot on his back and the other carrying a toolbox, jumped onto the ring under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

"Boss, should we use this?"

Liu Wei pulled a futuristic-looking handheld device out of his toolbox.

【Mi-Go High-Frequency Particle Cutting Knife】(Industrial Version)

This was salvaged from the crashed fortress, which was originally used for cutting asteroids for mining.

"Yes! Use this! Cut it into sections! Twenty centimeters each, just right for stewing!"

Jiang Li instructed, "Old Lei, you're in charge of holding this bone down and preventing it from moving around. This thing seems to still be a bit active; it kicked me just now."

"Okay!"

Lei Meng's muscles bulged, and he clung tightly to the enormous divine bone as if he were hugging a pillar.

"Zzzzzzz—!!!"

Liu Wei started the cutting blade.

The blinding blue plasma beam struck the golden bone, unleashing a teeth-grinding shriek. Sparks flew, as dazzling as fireworks.

Tao Tie on the other side watched with twitching eyelids.

"Particle cutting? What kind of cooking style is that? Molecular gastronomy?"

Although he was very knowledgeable, he had never seen anyone use such industrial equipment to process food.

"Hmph, just trying to attract attention!"

Tao Tie snorted coldly and quickened his movements.

He formed hand seals, and streams of dark green runes were injected into the [Gluttony Cauldron].

The A-rank magical beast [Sphinx] inside the cauldron had turned into a pool of blood, which was merging with the green venom, emitting a hallucinogenic sweet aroma.

"That's... the [All-Spirit Blood Fusion Soup]!"

On the judging panel, an elderly member of the culinary association exclaimed, "That's Chairman Tao's signature technique! It's said to be able to refine the soul of the ingredients into the soup, and one sip can transport you to a blissful state, even enhancing your mental strength!"

"It seems the outcome is already decided."

Another judge shook his head. "Although Jiang Li used unusual ingredients, his preparation was too rough; it was practically a waste. Such good bones, and he actually sawed them? All the spiritual energy inside has already escaped!"

However, just as they were discussing it...

"Snap!"

A crisp snapping sound rang out.

On Jiang Li's side, the first piece of bone was finally cut off.

"boom--!!!"

The instant the bone broke, a golden beam of light shot into the sky!

That is the divine essence sealed deep within the marrow, belonging to the former incarnation of the [King in Yellow]!

A dense, almost tangible golden mist instantly enveloped the entire square.

That's not just any ordinary meaty aroma.

It was a flavor that couldn't be described in words... the taste of the "Great Way".

It's as if just one whiff of it can grant you immortality and allow you to comprehend the truths of the universe!

"Holy crap! It smells amazing!"

The audience, who had been drowsy from the sweet aroma of the pottery, were instantly energized, their eyes wide as they greedily inhaled the golden mist.

"My chronically cold legs... they're actually warm now?"

"I feel like I can do it again! I'm going to take on ten!"

The old men on the judging panel were so excited that their beards trembled.

"What...what is this smell? Why do I smell...Mom's scent?"

"No! This is the taste of first love!"

"Bullshit! This smells like money!"

Everyone smells it differently, but this scent has the same effect—it makes people feel incredibly happy and satisfied.

"How is that possible?!"

Tao Tie's hand froze, and his face turned extremely ugly.

His "Myriad Spirits Blood Soup" is made from countless vengeful spirits and demonic beasts, and its main focus is on "plunder" and "excitement".

But Jiang Li's thing...

That was purely "giving"! It was a "gift"!

Like the sun's rays, it shines selflessly upon the world.

Faced with this overwhelming masculine energy, his sinister poisonous soup was like dirty water from the sewer, instantly suppressed so that even its smell could not be emitted.

"It's chopped! Time to cook!"

Jiang Li didn't care what others thought; all he wanted to do right now was cook.

Pieces of golden bones were thrown into the large iron pot, which was two meters in diameter.

"Add water!"

Wang Ergou was carrying two large buckets filled with the life-giving spring water that had been transported back from the Black Isle of the Forest.

"Add more ingredients!"

Lei Meng brought over a basket of freshly picked "human-faced pumpkins" and "screaming carrots" from the farm.

"Ah—don't eat me—"

"Hehehe—it's so hot—"

The vegetables made eerie noises as they were chopped up and thrown into the pot.

But as Jiang Li sprinkled a handful of [Abyss Sea Salt] down, all the cries stopped abruptly, turning into a delicious soup base.

"Final step! Ignition!"

Jiang Li kicked the makeshift stove under the pot.

"boom!"

Although the several-ton [Nine Nether Soul Refining Furnace] was not brought over, the furnace was filled with black powder (high-energy fuel) scraped off from the [Pillar of Stars].

Purple flames shot into the air and enveloped the large iron pot.

"Glug glug..."

In less than five minutes, the water in the pot boiled.

The broth quickly turned an enticing milky white, then gradually turned golden yellow, and finally became as viscous as liquid gold.

The marrow inside the bones slowly melts, blending perfectly with the sweet aroma of pumpkin and the refreshing taste of carrot.

"Delicious soup!"

Jiang Li stirred it with a large spoon, then scooped up a spoonful and tasted it.

"Hmm... it's a bit bland."

He then pulled out a handful of deep-sea clams (a type of bioluminescent mollusk) that he had brought back from R'lyeh and threw them in.

"Now we have everything!"

……

An hour later.

The match time is up.

"Please present your works!" the host shouted, swallowing hard.

Tao Tie was the first to lift the lid of the cauldron.

"Hmph, let me show you what true divine cuisine is!"

A bowl of dark green soup, steaming in the shape of a skull, was served to the judges.

The faint silhouette of a lion could be seen roaring in the soup, radiating a chilling aura of power.

"This...this is the Lion King's Soup?"

The judges took a sip with trepidation.

"boom!"

Their eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and their muscles swelled up as if they had been injected with stimulants.

"Power! I feel boundless power!"

"I want to tear everything apart! I want to eat meat!"

The judges went berserk, tearing at their clothes and even trying to bite the table.

This is a side effect!

While Tao Tie's cooking can enhance strength, it also curses people with gluttony and rage!

"Hahaha! This is the power of binge eating!"

Tao Tie laughed wildly, "Only the strongest can master this delicacy!"

The audience was so frightened that they all backed away.

This isn't food; it's clearly a berserker potion!

Just when the situation was about to get out of control.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Watch out, it's hot!"

Jiang Li walked over carrying a huge stainless steel basin.

In the basin is a golden, shimmering, and still steaming bowl of "Supreme Golden Immortal Soup".

The soup was calm as water, without any skull smoke or monster roars.

There was only one kind of warmth... that made you want to cry.

"Here, have some soup to sober up."

Jiang Li served a bowl to each of the out-of-control judges.

"I don't want to drink! I want to eat meat! Roar—"

One of the judges lunged at Jiang Li with bared teeth and claws.

"Snapped!"

Jiang Li smacked him on the forehead with a spoon, and then, as he opened his mouth, poured a spoonful of golden soup into his mouth.

"Gulp."

The broth went down my throat.

A miracle happened.

The bloodshot look in the judge's eyes vanished instantly, and his swollen muscles returned to normal.

He slumped limply in the chair, as if all his bones had been removed, a peaceful, baby-like smile on his face.

"Mom...I want to go home..."

Two lines of clear tears streamed down his face.

"It's so delicious...it's like...the warm sun in winter...like the bone broth my mom makes..."

The other judges were also forcibly given the soup, and one by one they recovered from their berserk state and then collectively entered a kind of "enlightened" sage time.

"I saw it... I saw heaven!"

"I feel like my soul has been elevated!"

"This soup...not only tastes delicious, but it can also heal inner demons?!"

The entire audience was shocked.

Sit down!

Tao Tie's soup turns people into demons, while Jiang Li's soup turns people into immortals (in both a physical and spiritual sense).

"No...it's impossible..."

Tao Tie looked at the judges who all looked blissful, and his face turned ashen.

"My binge-eating rule... was actually neutralized by something so lukewarm?!"

"This isn't science! This isn't magic!"

He rushed toward the pot of golden soup, trying to find evidence of cheating.

"Let me try it! I don't believe it!"

He grabbed the spoon and took a big gulp.

"Gurgle!"

The soup was swallowed.

Tao Tie's body suddenly stiffened.

The insatiable hunger within him, the gluttony curse that had tormented him for decades, actually... vanished at this moment?

Instead, there was an unprecedented feeling of fullness.

It's not that my stomach is full, but that my soul is satisfied.

"I'm full... I'm actually... full?"

Tao Tie stared blankly at his stomach, tears streaming down his face.

For a gluttonous believer, the greatest punishment is perpetual hunger, while the greatest salvation... is to be full.

"Waaaah...it tastes so good..."

This arrogant president of the food association actually hugged that stainless steel basin and cried like a 200-pound child in front of the whole city.

"I lost... I accept my defeat wholeheartedly!"

"Boss Jiang... no, Master Jiang! Please accept my utmost respect!"

……

competition is over.

Jiang Li won the championship without any suspense.

He not only won the title of "God of Cookery," but also obtained the coveted "Gluttony Cauldron."

"Hehe, now I don't have to worry about the pot not being big enough when I'm making soup."

Jiang Li played with the shrunken cauldron, unable to put it down.

As for that pottery gluttony...

Because he drank too much of the "immortal soup," the gluttonous power within him was completely purified, turning him into... anorexic.

Now he feels nauseous at the sight of meat and can only eat vegetables.

So he proudly joined Deep Blue Farm and became the gardener in charge of growing carrots.

"Farming is good; it cultivates one's character and temperament."

Tao Tie, carrying a hoe, looked at the garden full of demonized vegetables and a Zen-like smile appeared on his face.

……

into the night.

The carnival in Jianghai City continues.

Jiang Li distributed the remaining half pot of golden soup to all the people in the city.

That night, the emergency rooms of all the hospitals in Jianghai City were completely empty. Everyone was in excellent health; even their chronic leg pain, which had lasted for years, was cured.

Villa No. 13, Yulong Bay.

Jiang Li sat on the sofa, watching the news report on TV about "mysterious soup curing the whole city," and yawned.

"Being famous is a troublesome thing too."

"However... this time the harvest was indeed quite good."

He took out the [Dragon King's Eye] from his pocket.

For the past few days, he'd felt something was off about the bead. The starry sky inside it was spinning faster and faster, seemingly pointing in a certain direction.

"Rhubarb, do you think this bead is broken?"

Jiang Li tossed the bead to Da Huang.

Big Yellow caught it, examined it carefully, and then let out a few low barks.

"Woof! Woof woof!" (Master, this bead seems to be sending a signal! Someone is talking on the other end!)

"Speak? Who?"

"Woof..." (It sounds like... another dragon? It's saying... help?)

"Help?"

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment.

"Could this be a distress call?"

He took the bead back and listened to it by putting it to his ear.

Sure enough, amidst the cacophony of electrical activity (psychic noise), he heard a faint but anxious voice:

"Whoever it is... as long as they possess my token... come to Kunlun... the seal has loosened... those things are about to be released..."

"Kunlun?"

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

Kunlun Mountain, the ancestor of all mountains, is the source of Chinese mythology.

"Will there be anything good to eat there?"

That was the first thought in his mind.

"Definitely! I've heard they have the Queen Mother of the West's peaches of immortality there? And the elixir of immortality too?"

Jiang Li's foodie spirit was reignited.

"Perfect timing! We're tired of seafood, time to head to the mountains for some wild game!"

"Big Yellow! Tell everyone! Get ready!"

"Our next stop—Kunlun Mountain!"

……

Just as Jiang Li was preparing to march into the inland.

In a castle far to the west.

A group of people dressed in black robes and wearing silver masks are surrounding a crystal coffin.

A desiccated corpse lay in the coffin.

"Grand Duke... that chef from the East... killed our ally (Tao Tie)."

"And... he also stole the Cauldron of Gluttony."

"Unforgivable."

The corpse in the coffin suddenly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of blood-red pupils.

"Send the order to the [Vampire Council]..."

"Initiate the 'Blood Moon Project'!"

"I want to go to that Eastern country myself... and taste that chef's blood!"