Chapter 560: Abyss Walker

After some thought, he recalled that he’d never had to lift a finger in his daily life. He had servants to wait on him, so as long as he stayed out of the kitchen, it wasn’t a problem. What concerned Zheng Xiu more was the [Dark Cooking Skill] Talent’s description: “a relatively high probability of cooking something strange.” He wondered just how strange that could be.

The [Dark Cooking Skill] could be explained by the “Miracle Technique” theory Zheng Xiu had formulated. The rule was “cooking,” the restriction was “absolute failure,” and the end result was cooking “something strange.” The Talent that had burst forth from the Inner Rulebook was strangely Fitting for the [Prisoner] Path: both were all about randomness and surprises.

He looked at the card again. It was semi-transparent, with a texture like crystal or jade, clearly no ordinary item. When Zheng Xiu reached out to take it in hand for a closer look, the card shattered like glass at his touch. It dissolved into countless motes of light, which then gathered in a corner, suffused with a vibrant green.

Zheng Xiu stared wide-eyed, watching as a new piece of furniture materialized in his spartan Heart Prison—a Large Cauldron glowing with green light. The Large Cauldron was big enough for three people to link arms around, and its placement in the corner made the already narrow Heart Prison feel even more crowded. The cauldron’s surface was covered in dark red rust stains. Zheng Xiu squinted for a closer look and, for some reason, felt that from a distance the pattern of the rust resembled a very punchable smiley face, filling him with a sudden, inexplicable rage.

There was clearly no fire beneath the pot, yet visible steam—if one could call the suspicious green gas “steam”—rose from within.

Instead of rashly approaching the suspicious-looking cauldron, Zheng Xiu summoned the Sheepskin Scroll for a look. ‘Good. I haven’t gone down a divergent path, like the [Chef] branch of [Skillful Hands]. I can’t afford to go astray.’

‘Might as well accept it.’ Zheng Xiu approached the cauldron and gave its surface a vigorous rub, but he couldn’t scrub off the rust.

As he drew closer to the cauldron, green bubbles roiled within, surging up only to burst. More green bubbles floated above the cauldron, and this strange reaction put Zheng Xiu on guard once more. Before he could figure out what the bubbles were, the suspicious liquid began to boil again, forming a whirlpool. From the center of the vortex, a red spoon floated to the surface.

Zheng Xiu instinctively grabbed the large, dark-red spoon. Instead of being hot, it was icy to the touch. A chill shot up the handle, making him shiver. In that moment, he understood. The use of the Large Cauldron was simple. As the name suggested, it was still a pot, and its purpose could be summed up in a single word: cook.

But the “Large Cauldron” was a *little* bit different from a normal pot. The Large Cauldron could cook anything.

“Dark Cooking Skill, a Large Cauldron… You can’t tell me this isn’t intentional. I just won’t believe it.”

Zheng Xiu sighed, walked over to the table, and grabbed the “Incarnation prototype”—an unformed, mist-like mass that was barely tangible—before tossing it into the Large Cauldron.

Next came the Broken Foot.

The Broken Foot thrashed violently in its chains, as if it knew the tragic fate of being cooked that awaited it.

With a cold smile, Zheng Xiu grabbed the Broken Foot and shoved it into the pot.

PLOP!

The cauldron let out a small splash and then fell silent.

Zheng Xiu quickly reached with both hands for the bubbles floating in the air.

When he caught them, the bubbles didn’t pop like normal. Instead, they could be kneaded and molded into various shapes.

With each bubble he caught, Zheng Xiu would close his eyes and think for a moment. Soon, lines of fine, dense text would appear within the bubble.

‘I can add some seasoning…’

‘Ideas can be cooked…’

‘A Deceitful Object will work.’

‘Maybe I can go in too? …No, better not.’

Zheng Xiu quickly dismissed the suicidal thought.

‘Add some Rules, toss in a Restriction, then a spoonful of [No merchant is honest] to round out the flavor…’

At that moment, inspiration struck Zheng Xiu. He felt as if he had transformed into a Negative Star Level Chef, adding his “ideas” to the pot one by one.

He had a vague idea of what was about to be “cooked” in the Large Cauldron.

This would be an Incarnation unlike any other, one that he couldn’t just casually take out for a spin.

It was a pure weapon.

A pure monster.

The main ingredient was the Incarnation prototype, the side dish was the Wandering Deceitful Object, and the seasonings were various Restrictions.

‘Appearance can be discarded.’

‘Age is irrelevant.’

‘Discard the Ability to speak. A pure weapon doesn’t need to waste words.’

‘It can only run, not walk. When it moves, it must be like the wind.’

‘The Rulebook is right. Why does my next Incarnation have to be Human? I can discard its human characteristics, too.’

He tossed a chaotic jumble of bubbles into the pot, and a black-and-red glow gradually began to emanate from within. As Zheng Xiu added more and more “seasonings,” the crimson-black light intensified, illuminating the Heart Prison.

Finally, Zheng Xiu gritted his teeth. ‘No gender either!’

‘Women only get in the way of drawing your sword.’

Zheng Xiu gripped the large spoon with both hands and began stirring frantically inside the Large Cauldron.

VWOOSH!

A beam of black light shot out of the pot.

An ominous figure emerged from within the black Pillar of light.

The black figure’s build was somewhat similar to the Crow Fosterer’s—tall and slender, with long limbs. Rusty shackles and chains trailed from its wrists and ankles. It was draped in a hazy, smoke-like black gauze robe that was riddled with holes. What shocked Zheng Xiu most was the Incarnation’s head. It was encased in a blood-soaked iron helm, leaving only its eyes and lower face exposed. Its mouth had been crudely stitched shut with a rope as thick as a chopstick. Through the eyeholes of the iron helm, its blood-red eyeballs gleamed with a terrifying, vicious light—the epitome of absolute Madness.

[You have successfully created a new Incarnation!]

[[Dark Cooking Skill] triggered.]

[[No merchant is honest] multiple checks passed.]

[[Will] has been reverse-upgraded into [Madness].]

[[Step Technique] has been upgraded into [Rapid Walk].]

[Warning: The Deceitful Object and the Incarnation are deeply fused and cannot be separated.]

[Upon the Incarnation’s death, the Deceitful Object will be dropped.]

[Once the Deceitful Object is dropped, this Incarnation cannot be revived.]

[Special Character Unlocked—Abyss Walker!]