28: Internet

Back in the deep Water Mansion, Gao De couldn't wait to start studying the tianji mirror.

He slowly injected his Demonic Power, and his consciousness sank into it.

A strange sensation of detachment came over him, as if his Soul had been split in two.

One part clearly perceived the coldness of the Water Mansion and the flow of the Spiritual Vein, while the other part was cast into a vast, indescribable sea of information—the Heavenly Secret Realm!

There was no up, down, left, or right here, no concept of time or space, only countless streams of information, brilliant and varied, surging, colliding, and intertwining.

Some were clear Divine Thought text, some were blurry image fragments, and some were even directly transmitted emotions and insights into the Dao.

The massive amount of information was enough to make any Cultivator with an insufficiently strong Spiritual Sense instantly lose their way, their consciousness assimilated and scattered.

Fortunately, due to his Dragon Fish Bloodline, Gao De's Spiritual Sense far exceeded that of other Yao Race of the same rank, and even rivaled some Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Human Race.

He steadied his mind, like a small boat maneuvering through rough waves, and carefully explored.

Soon, he sensed the "public domain" mentioned by the Tianji Sect deacon.

These "domains" were like relatively stable "vortices" or "floating islands" in the sea of information, emitting unique fluctuations.

He chose a public domain with the most active and chaotic fluctuations and "drilled" his consciousness into it.

Indeed, as soon as he entered this small realm, the violent and disorderly information flow around him subsided significantly. Although it was still complex, like being in a noisy marketplace, at least he didn't have to worry about being swept away by the torrent of information.

He could clearly "see" streams of Divine Thought information flying past like bullet comments:

"Spells change destiny! Victory builds confidence! Overcoming ranks to forge dreams! Qian River Spell tutoring class! The source of your dreams!"

"A real man should sublimate himself in steel and fire! Sword Sect Casting Hall! Focusing on Artifact Refining for eight thousand years!"

"Which Cultivator training center is the best? Yu City Education assists with all kinds of professional skill training! Alchemy assessment, three thousand Spirit Stones, Artifact Refining assessment, four thousand Spirit Stones, Talisman assessment two thousand five hundred Spirit Stones, Formation skills not included!"

"Forming a team to explore the 'Black Wind Cave', missing one powerful shield-Cultivator, Foundation Establishment Late Stage or higher required, those with strong Physical Body preferred, reward negotiable!"

"Help! The 'Golden Ear Rice' in my Immortal Cave suddenly turned yellow, what is the reason? Waiting online, quite urgent!"

"Shocking! Ancient Secret Realm appears in the north of the Shu Kingdom, suspected to have a Nascent Soul Legacy! (Attached: blurry relic map)"

Gao De: "..."

He looked at the information automatically translated by the tianji mirror and was speechless for a moment.

This wave of déjà vu... advertisement posts, recruitment posts, help posts, clickbait... it was literally an otherworldly version of an online forum!

"Heavenly Secret Realm... public domain... isn't this just an open chat room or a bulletin board?" Gao De's inner Soul of snark burned brightly.

After turning into a fish, although Cultivating for longevity took up most of his energy, the instinct of an internet surfer from his past life had never been extinguished.

In this world where power belongs to oneself and is often accompanied by bitter Cultivation and slaughter, suddenly discovering such a place where one could "go online" was simply a clear stream... no, a source of joy in a mudslide!

He knew it was a mixed bag, with truths and falsehoods hard to distinguish, but wasn't that what made it more interesting?

"Need to vent, need to decompress..." A mischievous smile curled up on the corner of Gao De's mouth, "It's time to let this Cultivation world's network experience the baptism of trolling from another world!"

He pondered for a moment and began to edit information using the tianji mirror.

Considering this was the world of Cultivation, he decided to make it slightly more "localized."

First, he found the advertisement post for the "Qian River Spell tutoring class" and followed it with a Divine Thought reply:

"Fellow Daoist, that is incorrect! Spells change destiny? Wrong! It's Spirit Stones that change destiny! Without Spirit Stones, you can't even get through the door of the tutoring class! Personal experience, topping up VIP unlocks 'one-on-one mentor guidance', the effect is significant, learn Fireball Spell in three days, it just costs a lot of Spirit Stones."

Next, he aimed at the advertisement for the "Sword Sect Casting Hall":

"Sublimating in steel and fire? Fellow Daoist, are you sure it's not your eyebrows and hair that are being sublimated? Last time I ordered a Flying Sword from your hall, the sword wasn't refined, and the Artifact Refiner almost refined himself! Bad review! Refund!" (Attached: a simulated scorched smell Divine Thought)

Then, he saw the clickbait post about the "Ancient Secret Realm" and retorted without hesitation:

"Another 'shocking' post? Can you change the trick next time? The picture is so blurry that even its mother wouldn't recognize it, and you dare to say it's a Nascent Soul Legacy? I think it's a Legacy of 'suspected' water in your brain? Dispersed, dispersed, the thread starter is just fishing for replies."

Finally, still unsatisfied, he simply posted a new topic himself, with the title condensed into an enlarged and bolded style using Divine Thought:

【Water Post】 On the one hundred ways to cook Dragon Fish! Waiting online, quite urgent! 】

Content: "As the title says, I recently caught a Dragon Fish, with an extraordinary Bloodline and tender meat, I don't know if it's better steamed or braised? Or do any Fellow Daoists recommend other ways to eat it? It's best to attach detailed steps and required seasonings, preferably Spirit Medicine spices, rewards for those adopted!"

After posting, Gao De watched with satisfaction as his masterpiece began to scroll in this public domain, attracting the attention and responses of many Divine Thoughts.

Some scolded him for causing trouble: "Where did this ignorant junior come from, talking nonsense here!"

Some were amused by him: "Hahaha, Fellow Daoist is very interesting! I've also seen that Casting Hall ad, I almost believed it!"

Some seriously discussed cooking: "Dragon Fish? Is it a fish containing dragon blood? Such a spiritual object, what a waste! It should be stewed with Spirit Medicine to absorb its essence to the greatest extent!"

There were also those who were tricked by his title and were angry to find it was a water post: "Bah! Clickbait! Wasting this old man's emotions!"

For a time, the few posts Gao De sent actually became a small hot spot in this public domain, with a high level of discussion.

Feeling the long-lost pleasure of "stirring up trouble" on the internet, Gao De felt refreshed, and the tense nerves from days of Cultivating and hunting relaxed quite a bit.

"Not bad, not bad, from now on this will be my source of joy." Gao De thought happily.

He decided that in the future, not only would he frequently come to "water post", but he would also explore more useful "domains", such as trading domains, intelligence domains, Cultivation Technique exchange domains, etc.

Of course, he knew that the internet was not a place outside the law, especially in this world of Cultivation.

The Divine Thoughts he used were blurred by the tianji mirror, and he did not expose any information about his own location and true identity, focusing on "safely spectating, happily playing with memes."

His consciousness withdrew from the tianji mirror and returned to his original body.

Gao De opened his cold vertical pupils, feeling his thoughts clear, and even the operation of the Dragon Transformation Merit became a little smoother.

"Combining work and rest is indeed important." He flicked his tail fin and refocused his attention on Cultivating and the mysterious dark red stone.

But in his heart, he had already decided to use "surfing the internet" as an important way of obtaining information and... entertainment in the future.

The path to dragon transformation is long, and having a "Heavenly Secret Realm" where he could vent and decompress seemed to have become less boring.

And what Gao De didn't know was that his "meme playing" behavior might have already planted some unexpected seeds in some obscure public domain...