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

In the far north, the wind and snow were gloomy.

The golden beam of light that shot out from the Dragon King's Eye (now a bowl) in Jiang Li's arms, like a lighthouse guiding the way home, pierced straight through the flying snow and landed on the mountainside of the towering Kadas peak in the distance.

There, shrouded in mist, a huge black cave, seemingly carved out by some sharp tool, was faintly visible.

"See that? That's the back door!"

Jiang Li stood at the bow of the Black Pearl, one foot on the railing, the other holding binoculars, looking as excited as a bandit leader about to raid a village.

"Generally speaking, the main gate is for tourists and pilgrims. There's definitely an entrance fee, long queues, and you have to listen to those mystical guys preaching. But the back gate is different. It's for chefs, delivery workers, and... cough cough, and 'insiders' like us."

"Boss, are you sure that's a back door? And not a monster's mouth?"

Wang Ergou, wrapped in two layers of cobweb-covered cotton-padded coats, huddled in a corner, shivering. The temperature here had dropped so low that it could freeze even the soul; if it weren't for that human furnace (Wovardaus) diligently heating up, they would have turned into ice sculptures long ago.

"Don't worry, my intuition is right. Look at the shape of that hole, it's round, doesn't it look like a plate?"

Jiang Li offered a forced explanation, then waved his hand.

"Full speed ahead! Destination—the plate-shaped cave halfway up the mountain!"

The tracks at the bottom of the Black Pearl roared, crushing millennia-old ice, and charged toward that indescribable sacred mountain.

……

However, the road to culinary delights is never smooth.

Just as the Black Pearl was about to reach the foot of the mountain, a solitary stone platform suddenly appeared on the snowfield ahead, standing out conspicuously at that moment.

The stone platform was made of some kind of unidentified yellow stone, and was covered with twisted spiral patterns.

On the stone platform, a figure stood quietly.

He wore a magnificent and elaborate yellow silk robe, and his face was covered by a pale mask devoid of any color or features. He held no weapon, simply standing there silently, yet he seemed to blend into the majestic Kadas, exuding a suffocating eeriness and sublimity.

【The Faceless One, the Other Side of the Black Pharaoh, the Gatekeeper Priest of Khadath】.

As the Black Pearl approached, the figure did not move, but the surrounding snowstorm suddenly stopped.

An absolutely static force field originating from a higher dimension instantly enveloped the entire ship.

"Squeak—"

The Black Pearl, which was moving at full speed, let out a groan of exhaustion. Its tracks spun on the ice, sparks flying, but it could not move forward an inch.

"Why did it stop? Did it break down?"

Jiang Li frowned and looked at the control panel.

"Boss...it didn't break down, it's been...frozen in place."

Liu Wei, sweating profusely, operated the lever. "The density of the space in front of me suddenly increased tens of thousands of times, it's like... I crashed into an invisible wall."

"wall?"

Jiang Li looked up at the yellow figure standing on the stone platform.

"Another roadblock? The security here is pretty good, with guards every three steps and sentries every five."

He pushed open the car door and jumped out.

"Big Yellow, Old Wo, come down with me to take a look. Er Gou, you stay in the car and watch the pot, don't let the soup get cold."

Jiang Li, accompanied by a dog and a firecracker, swaggered to the stone platform.

"Hey! You in the yellow shirt!"

Jiang Li called out, "Are you a security guard here? Or a greeter? We need to go in to deliver goods, could you please raise the barrier?"

The figure on the stone platform lowered its head slightly, and the pale mask "looked" at Jiang Li.

A sound devoid of any emotion, as if made by two blocks of ice rubbing together, resonated directly in everyone's minds:

"Halt, mortal."

"This is the realm of the gods, the ultimate dream. Those without permission may not..."

"Okay, okay, stop it."

Jiang Li waved his hand impatiently, "I'm sick of hearing that line. Last time in that Upside-Down City, an old Taoist priest said the same thing, and now it's become my dog ​​Dahuang's chew toy."

He pointed to the Mad Hatter (former Yellow Priest) dancing on the boat behind him.

"And that one, dressed similarly to you, also all in yellow, is now our store's lead dancer."

"You're dressed quite well, and you don't seem like someone who lacks common sense. What, are you forcing me to take action?"

Faceless Priest: "..."

It seemed to glance at the "Mad Hatter" who was wildly twisting his waist at the bow of the ship and singing "Little Apple".

In that instant, Jiang Li keenly sensed an extremely violent fluctuation in the aura surrounding the priest.

Was it embarrassment? Angry? Or... a speechless sob at seeing one's former fervent followers reduced to this state?

"Blasphemy..."

The faceless priest's voice turned icy and chilling.

"You have not only trampled on the rules of dreams, but also insulted the believers of our Lord."

"Since you want to go in, then... stay here forever."

He slowly raised his hand.

There was no earth-shattering energy burst.

It was just a simple finger pointing.

"deprivation."

hum-

Jiang Li suddenly felt a lightness in his body.

He looked down and realized that his priceless Spider Silk Thermal Suit... was gone?

Not only his clothes, but also the [pig-slaughtering knife] in his hand, the [silver key] in his pocket, the [Dragon King's Eye] in his arms, even the gold chain around the big yellow dog's neck, and the cloak on Vovados's body...

They're all gone!

As if they had never existed, they were erased from this point in time by some kind of rule.

"Holy crap?!"

Jiang Li was left with only a pair of shorts (luckily, these were system-bound beginner equipment and hadn't been erased). Standing in the icy snow, a cold wind blew by, making him feel chilly.

"My knife! My spoon! My bowl!"

Jiang Li panicked.

"You old bastard, you have no sportsmanship! If you're going to fight, then fight! Why are you tearing people's clothes and stealing their equipment?!"

This is even worse than a thief! This is directly altering reality!

The faceless priest ignored Jiang Li's clamor.

"In dreams, reality is illusory, and matter is malleable."

Without those external things, you... are just a fragile mortal.

"Now, in this realm of absolute zero, feel the embrace of death."

The priest clasped his hands together.

The surrounding temperature instantly dropped to absolute zero.

The flames on Vovados's body were almost frozen out, and he huddled up, shivering. Big Yellow was also shivering and sneezing, his fur covered in frost.

however.

Just when the priest thought victory was in the bag.

The man, who was only wearing his underwear, suddenly... laughed out loud.

"Hehe...hehehe..."

Jiang Li lowered his head, his shoulders shrugging.

"Fragile mortals?"

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes showing no fear, but rather burning with a hunger even more intense than the divine fire of Vovados.

"You think I make a living off equipment?"

"You think I can't cook without a knife?"

"You underestimate... a cook who's starving!"

Jiang Li took a step forward.

"boom!"

The solid ice beneath their feet shattered instantly.

An immense power of blood and qi, so great that it changed the color of the heavens and earth, erupted from his seemingly weak body.

That's the physical strength that has been accumulated over a long period of time by consuming the flesh and blood of various ancient gods and Great Old Ones, a strength that has long surpassed the limits of biology!

[The Glutton's Instinct: Complete Liberation!]

At this moment, Jiang Li was no longer human.

He is a devourer, a being that wears human skin and stands at the top of the food chain.

The surrounding chill evaporated instantly in the face of his scalding blood and qi, like snowflakes encountering lava.

"What?!"

Although the faceless priest's blank mask showed no expression, his body visibly stiffened for a moment.

It sensed it.

The aura emanating from that man... was even more chaotic and thirsty than that of its master (Nyarlathotep)!

"Since you've confiscated my cutlery..."

Jiang Li clenched his fist, making a crackling sound as his bones popped.

"Then I'll just have to... eat it with my hands!"

"Tearing apart Japanese soldiers with bare hands... no, tearing apart priests with bare hands!"

Jiang Li vanished into thin air in a flash.

The next second, he appeared on the stone platform, standing face to face with the priest.

There are no fancy techniques involved.

It's just a simple punch.

"Give it back to me!"

"Bang!!!"

The punch landed squarely on the priest's stomach (if there was a stomach inside).

The priest's magical shield, strong enough to withstand a nuclear explosion, shattered instantly like cling film in the face of this punch.

The immense force pierced through its body, blasting the stone platform behind it into dust.

"cough……"

The priest bent over like a shrimp, and although it had no mouth, it still let out a painful groan.

It tried to fight back, and countless tentacles emerged from under its robe.

But Jiang Li is faster than it.

"This texture... is soft and fluffy, like dough?"

Jiang Li grabbed the tentacles that were reaching out.

"Perfect timing! I wasn't full yet! I think your body is some kind of high-energy composite, isn't it?"

"Since we don't have a knife, then... ramen!"

Jiang Li pulled with both hands.

"Get out of here!"

He treated those tentacles like dough, pulling and slamming them wildly in the air.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Jiang Li treated the faceless priest like a dough ball in a ramen chef's hand, making it fly, stretch, fold, and stretch again in the air.

"Ahhhhhh!!!" (Psychic scream)

The priest is going crazy.

This is not only physical torture, but also a trampling of its divinity!

"Give me back my equipment!"

Jiang Li shouted as he made noodles.

"Not returning it? Then we'll turn it into dragon beard noodles!"

"Give it to me! I'll give it to you!"

The priest finally broke down.

With a wave of its hand, the equipment that had been stripped away fell out with a clatter and piled up on the ground.

Jiang Li then released his grip.

The priest lay sprawled on the ground like a lump of mud, unable to recover for a long time. Its body had been stretched several times its original length, looking like a... yellow rubber band.

"Why didn't you do this earlier? You had to force me to do manual labor."

Jiang Li picked up the clothes from the ground and put them on, then tucked the butcher knife back into his waistband, and finally picked up the three magical artifacts.

"Behave yourself this time?"

He patted the priest's mask, which was still faceless.

"Considering you're also a 'pastry chef' (to be turned into noodles), I'll spare you today. Reflect on your actions here, and if you dare block my way again, I'll turn you into 'knife-cut noodles'!"

After saying that, Jiang Li, along with Da Huang and Wowados, swaggered away.

The faceless priest was left alone in the wind and snow, bewildered, pondering the meaning of divine life.

……

Having overcome the obstacle, Jiang Li and the others finally arrived at the "Plate Cave" halfway up the mountain.

This is a huge, dry cave with no guards at the entrance, only two tightly closed stone doors.

There is no keyhole on the stone door, only three grooves.

One is round, one is long and narrow, and one is spoon-shaped.

"See! I told you it was tableware!"

Jiang Li proudly took out the [Dragon King's Eye], the [Key of White Bones], and the [Silver Key].

"Big bowl! Knife! Spoon! Put them back in their places!"

He placed the three artifacts into the grooves respectively.

"Click—Buzz—"

Perfectly fitted.

The stone gate emitted a muffled rumble and slowly opened to both sides.

An old, dry aroma, mixed with some... strange spice scent, wafted over me.

There were no magnificent palaces or mountains of treasure inside.

There was only one enormous... warehouse?

This is a huge space that seems to stretch as far as the eye can see, with rows of shelves, some tens of meters high, neatly arranged and leading straight to the ceiling.

The shelves were filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, huge wooden barrels, and ingredients sealed in amber or ice...?

There were hams bigger than elephants, giant eyeballs in crystal jars (bigger than the one on Titan), mountains of cheese, and dragon wings drying on hooks...

This is no temple.

This is clearly the royal kitchen warehouse of the Earth's gods!

"Oh My God……"

Wang Ergou, who arrived later, saw all of this and his jaw dislocated.

"Boss... have we wandered into a giant's supermarket?"

Jiang Li stood at the door, took a deep breath of the air filled with the smell of food preservatives (divine power), and wore a pilgrimage-like expression.

"No, Er Gou."

"This is... Heaven."

He pointed to the nearest shelf with a label that read "Cold Plains Mammoth - Premium Air-Dried".

"Look at that! Mammoth jerky! They're said to have been extinct for tens of thousands of years!"

He then pointed to a large bucket next to him.

"That's... [Divine Honey Wine]? Made with pollen from the World Tree?"

Jiang Li felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest.

"We're rich! We've really struck it rich this time!"

"This isn't some secret of the gods; it's their secret stash of culinary treasure!"

"Brothers! Don't be shy!"

Jiang Li shouted and took out the [Gluttony Cauldron], which could hold an entire ocean.

"Move it! Move it all out!"

"From today onwards, all these things belong to the Jiang family!"

……

Just as Jiang Li and his employees were frantically stuffing things into the Gluttony Cauldron like locusts.

The deepest part of the warehouse.

A huge, sleeping figure seemed to have been awakened by the commotion.

It has the body of a giant, but a face without features, only a vertical slit (mouth). Its eyes are in the palm of its hand.

【Gug - Leader】(Gug).

It is the guardian of this "royal kitchen" and also the head chef of the gods...

It slowly stood up from behind a pile of huge flour sacks, blinked its eyes in its palms, and looked at the group of little insects that were stealing the flour.

"Huh—?" (Who... touched my ingredients?)

"And...why is there also a...competitive vibe?"

Jiang Li was engrossed in gnawing on a mammoth leg when he heard the sound and turned around.

"Oh? There's someone guarding the place here?"

He looked at the strangely shaped giant with a vertically elongated mouth.

"This design... is quite unique. Won't it leak when you eat?"

Jiang Li threw the bone away.

"Hey! Big guy! Are you the chef?"

"Perfect timing! I'm short a chopping board guy. I see you have big hands; you can grab a lot of vegetables at once. Interested in switching jobs?"

Guge Giant: "..."

It looked at its carefully guarded warehouse, now ransacked, and then at the little guy who dared to undermine it.

It got angry.

"Roar—!!!" (I'm going to turn you into a meat pie!)

It raised a kitchen knife as big as a door panel and charged at it.

"A knife skills competition?"

Jiang Li smiled and pulled out the small pig-slaughtering knife.

"Then let's have a competition to see who can slice it thinner!"

A showdown of culinary geniuses erupted in the gods' warehouse.