Chapter 80: Cannot Be Held Down

His stepmother visibly sighed in relief when she saw him return safely.

Xu Yuan gave her the two pieces of jewelry he had chosen: a gold hairpin and a silver bracelet.

His stepmother was pleased—this boy had good taste; the designs were all lovely.

Xu Yuan dared not say these two pieces were modeled after the ornaments worn by the sister ghosts of Plum Blossom Pond.

“Tomorrow I’m going with the Purification Office to Qihetai…”

As soon as Xu Yuan opened his mouth while his stepmother was in a good mood, Lin Wan’s dark eyebrows shot up—but she held back and sighed: “Fine, I can’t stop you anyway.”

She went into her room and brought out a toy-like little cart.

Half a foot long, two wheels, but no horse—just the cart.

“Take it.”

Xu Yuan grinned and reached for it—but the instant his hand touched it, he felt an unbearable weight.

Thud!

The toy cart dropped straight down, pulling Xu Yuan to the ground, his hand pinned beneath it.

They stared at each other. Xu Yuan forced a awkward smile. “Lin Wan, if you didn’t want me to go, you didn’t have to nail me to the ground like this.”

His stepmother quickly picked up the cart. Xu Yuan brushed the dust off himself and stood. She said: “Take out all your craftsman-made objects.”

Xu Yuan laid them all out.

Umbrella, three-eyed firelock, dagger, divine mechanism crossbow, redwood-brass earpiece, bamboo cage, shoulder gun.

The shoulder gun had been refined into a craftsman pill; the bamboo cage was badly damaged.

His stepmother glanced at them, refusing to admit she’d forgotten the divine mechanism crossbow and the shoulder gun.

“Too many items. You can’t hold them.”

His stepmother took out the bamboo cage and the divine mechanism crossbow, then unfolded the umbrella—sure enough, there were several holes in the canopy, so she took that too.

“That’s enough.” His stepmother handed the cart back to Xu Yuan.

This time, holding it posed no problem.

His stepmother said: “Your life-weight is likely at its limit. Don’t go collecting random unorthodox craftsman objects outside. Watch out—they might eat you!”

Every “craftsman object” has its own “weight.”

If the combined weight of craftsman objects exceeds a cultivator’s “life-weight,” they become unmanageable.

Like Xu Yuan just now—if you can’t hold them, you can’t lift them.

In fact, if the combined weight exceeds half your life-weight, you’re already “unstable.”

When using craftsman objects, some will secretly “feed on their master.”

They quietly bite off a piece—whether flesh or soul!

If the total weight nearly matches your life-weight, you might be devoured whole in one go.

Even craftsman cultivators can’t use craftsman objects endlessly; they always pay some price.

Most cultivators have only a vague sense of their own life-weight.

Only life-cultivators can weigh it accurately.

But Xu Yuan can’t yet—he needs at least Seventh Flow to do so.

Most cultivators lack the connections to hire a Seventh Flow life-cultivator to weigh them, so they test by trial: if they can’t lift it, they can’t hold it.

And most cultivators don’t even worry about life-weight—they simply don’t own enough craftsman objects.

To increase your “life-weight,” there are two ways: raise your own level, or… serve in the imperial government.

Once you become an official, your destiny grows noble—and thus heavier.

But Xu Yuan wondered: “My total craftsman object weight should’ve long surpassed half my life-weight—why have I never been fed on?”

Then he remembered: when he last used the redwood-brass earpiece, it refused to be removed… as if it wanted to bite his ear?

Xu Yuan suddenly understood: “It’s because of Ba Wu Jin Ji.”

This was one of the traits of his destiny: even if the craftsman objects’ weight far exceeded half his life-weight, they’d drool but dare not steal a bite.

His stepmother added: “Be careful in everything! If things go wrong, just run back—this alley will always protect you.”

…

That night, Xu Yuan refined the cart into an external pill.

Convenient to carry, surprising to deploy—but still counted toward “weight.”

Pill cultivators can seal and refine yin soldiers, craftsman objects, spells, and more into external pills.

The premise is that you must have it.

To seal spells or Wu Xiu strikes, you need the caster’s full cooperation.

This newly refined “craftsman pill” was murky and dull, clearly containing something—but impossible to discern what.

Xu Yuan’s previous yin pills and Wu Haishan’s evil spider pill looked the same.

Those yin pills were even stranger: if someone stared hard to see what was inside, they’d see horrifying visions—zombies lunging, vengeful ghosts hunting—and they themselves would be the targets.

Xu Yuan had heard his father say that only at Seventh Flow or higher could one forge a crystal-clear external pill.

Before that, only golden pills glowed brightly—even many internal pills were dull and gray.

Xu Yuan focused his mind—the pill shattered, and the cart appeared before him.

He familiarized himself with it, smiling to himself: “This thing embodies all of her wild imagination!”

In an instant, the cart split apart!

A pair of wheels rolled to his feet; he spurred them with his abdominal fire—the wheels spun, flames swirling!

It was like stepping onto a pair of wind-and-fire wheels.

Xu Yuan had used up the “Soaring Cloud” and “Riding Wind” calligraphy scrolls he’d stolen from Elder Qiao—the wheels filled the gap perfectly.

Pulling out the shaft revealed a long spear.

He shook it twice in his hands—weight and length were perfect. And hidden inside the shaft was something else.

The remaining carriage functioned like the old bamboo cage—but even better!

The improvement lay in this: when reassembled into a cart, the carriage became unbreakable.

Sitting inside the carriage, Xu Yuan spurred the wheels with his abdominal fire—now he had a war cart capable of smashing through anything!

One becomes three; three become one.

After integration, the total weight of this craftsman object should have decreased.

His stepmother had truly put thought into this.

Satisfied, he stored the new craftsman pill and practiced the “Five Cauldrons Boiling” for another hour—his abdominal skin had half-converted—then he slept.

…

In the morning, Xu Yuan glanced at the almanac: today’s prohibitions:

Linhe, night travel, burial, mountain shouting.

His stepmother had already prepared breakfast. After eating, she handed him a cloth bag: “I packed you some rations…”

“You don’t need to,” Xu Yuan said. “I’m going with the Purification Office—do you think I’ll go hungry?”

His stepmother nagged: “A child travels a thousand miles, and the mother worries…”

Xu Yuan quickly slung it over his shoulder: “Shut up already.”

“Ah Yuan.” Wang Shen’s voice came from the courtyard. Xu Yuan stepped out—Shen Daye and Mao Sishu were there too.

Wang Shen reached into her own belly and pulled out an object: “Take this with you.”

Xu Yuan looked—it was Wang Shen’s spleen. He gasped: “Is this really necessary…?”

“Take it,” Wang Shen insisted. Xu Yuan had no choice but to accept.

The relatives had dinner that night and returned late.





(End of Chapter)