Pak. Pak. Pak.

  Bubai dusted off his hands, completely satisfied with the deed he just did.

  What deed? Serious business, of course!

  There’s nada time to waste on tasting eye candy, so he just got physical from the get-go. Now…

  “Not bad, not bad at all...”

  Bubai admired the work of art all tied up.

  Chains and everything was in place. For extra safety, even a precious treasure was bussed out.

  His eyes strayed up.

  Tying a muffler mask to the goddess’s face and binding her hands together above her head was a web-thin wire that was almost invisible to the naked eye.

  This translucent wire looked as if it would easily get snapped with just a little bit of strength, but any owning decent insight will recognize this to be Spirit Silkworm Thread!

  This was a precious Qi-conductive magical thread that is strong enough to shame most hard metals!

  It was a treasure among treasures, with value far exceeding its unassuming appearance.

  Know that a little spindle alone almost matches the price of a low-grade storage pouch!

  Yet it was still a hot commodity that has no supply on the market.

  After all, there were many use cases for both mortals and cultivators alike.

  The most popular being the filthy rich elite’s inclination to fashion garments out of them.

  Legend has it that those garments were impervious to fire and water as well as impenetrable by mortal weapons like swords and spears!

  Too bad such vests were but a dream for poor Bubai. How can he have that much thread?

  He’s already super lucky to get his hands on a partially-used spindle... thanks to that Long Batian’s generous contribution. Good man!

  Alas, luck only goes so far. There was barely enough thread to do the loops on the critical limbs of this doll.

  “Well, that’s good enough. Now, even she wakes up, she ain’t breaking free or doing any biting anytime soon.”

  But this is only a temporary stopgap measure.

  That seal was not going to last forever.

  Since he doesn’t have another Essence Core Sealing talisman...

  Once that seal runs out of gas, the awakened doll will thrash around day and night until she runs out of energy, becoming an empty shell.

  Even if he recharged her, it won’t change her ending.

  “I didn’t invest so much just to get a useless vase…”

  Bubai licked his lips. It’ll be a crime to not refine this goddess into his toilet—ahem, worker.

  For the sake of another full-time employee for his Doll Corps Inc…

  Bubai’s eyes glowed green. “First, check if it’s feasible.”

  His divine sense flowed out, seeping through everything and scanning the goddess inside out.

  Standing out like light bulbs were three energy sources...

  The essence bank – a trademark of every Shadow Sun Doll.

  An ice-attribute spiritual root attached to a dantian - obvious remnants of a cultivator’s history.

  Finally, the common power source for any higher tier artifacts: a spirit stone digestor.

  Completing this set was a full-fledged meridian system.

  All the keys of a cultivator were in place. Since Qi never ceases flowing...

  From all sources, energy flowed out, cycling along the meridians and eventually passing through the nape of the doll’s neck.

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  All energy passing through here was like little waves crashing against the translucent barrier glowing with golden runic characters that pulsed faintly like a beating heart.

  Encased within was the core of all Shadow Sun dolls – the diamond-shaped sunstone.

  Here, something immediately caught Bubai’s interest.

  Growing on the frosty blue gemstone like a parasite was a ghostly weed-like seed...

  “Is this the foundation seed that sore loser was going on about? It kinda looks like... another version of the Seed of Pleasure?”

  Merlin’s beard! What’s up with him and seeds?

  He still hasn’t figured out the secrets of the last one.

  Yet now, another was added to his exploration logs!

  “Now, how does this work?”

  Bubai’s divine sense inspected the seed and gemstone from all angles.

  Rhythmic pulses of energy were siphoned from the gemstone by this parasitic core, which then funneled them to the spectral roots that overlapped with the nerves system attached to the gem.

  “Interesting… it’s like an extra artificial gateway imposed on the doll core to control passageways of signals and energy. Huh. Whoever designed this must’ve been a real sadist… and a genius.”

  Bubai easily filled in the rest of logic.

  It’s pretty clear these human puppets were unlike normal magic tools.

  They were versatile, almost equivalent to a loyal human servant.

  Except for being exorbitantly expensive to create, they really were a super cheat.

  But mystery aside, cultivation was a game of balance.

  If there were no other restrictions on the dolls except price, the Shadow Sun Clan would’ve long been ransacked by packs of greedy wolves!

  After all, how can such a good thing not be shared?

  But the foresight of the forefathers can never be underestimated.

  Generation after generation of inheritances was enough to birth a safe design to guard against thieves.

  Nowadays, low-grade dolls can be passed out for training and academic purposes, but anything higher?

  Even if the doll can be refined and activated, it’ll be an indiscriminate slaughter machine that didn’t distinguish ally from foe!

  Then, how does the doll users circumvent this?

  That’s probably where the Shadow Sun Doll Art seed comes into play.

  It was like the steering wheels to a car.

  Not only did this keep control in the driver’s hands, it also doubled as a clever trick for Qi refiners to bypass the refinement requirement.

  Now, as long as they had a key, they didn’t have to own the car to drive it!

  As for other abilities?

  Bubai shrugged. "That’s a plot device to be determined. Haha. Not that it matters.”

  All that matters now is whether he can clinch the win in this mini-boss fight!

  There were obviously three stages to consider.

  At the innermost core was the main boss.

  Based on his data gathered from his experience with the low-grade An Jali doll, that sunstone will definitely be a tough tug-o-war.

  But it wasn’t so easy to skip directly to the final boss battle this time.

  To get to that layer, he had to first deal with the outer defensive shell and the extra gate guardian running interference!

  Now, these were the troublesome parts…

  That seal was great and all, but now it was an obstacle.

  Bubai sent a drop of dew to probe it...

  Alas… it was like throwing an egg against a boulder. Not even a little yolk seeped through.

  “As expected of a seal designed to barricade foundation-realm cultivators. It’s even more watertight than the security on storage bags... ugh, is there a way to get past it?”

  If not, then he got two choices.

  First option was to wait for the seal to naturally fade away.

  Thanks to this goddess’s naturally cycling energy, this can happen anytime within the next few hours.

  Patience normally wins in his books, but this choice will actually put him at risk of losing access to a storage bag during battle.

  On the flip side, he can spend a wave of his own Qi to expedite the process.

  No matter how watertight that barrier is, that sealing rune was a rootless duckweed. Its energy will eventually run out under constant erosion.

  But does he have time to do this now? Even if he did...

  Once Bubai went down this rabbit hole, another question arose: what happens after the seal is gone?

  He wasn’t worried that the goddess will make any waves now that bondage was in play, but…

  What of that parasitic seed camping on the core?

  If it’s similar to the Seed of Pleasure, his Qi will once again prove useless except to help it grow.

  These sinister parasites bred by the cultivation arts of others were really the most annoying to deal with. But…

  “Why play by the rules? There’s always a side road I can take.”

  If normal routes were closed, then look to another ace under his belt: his cheat!

  Bubai’s consciousness dove into his storage space.

  He quickly located one of his “plot armors”: the row of tribulation seeds that had almost been forgotten on a shelf.

  Three experiments done. Six seeds left.

  After all the daily nourishment from his dew, these remaining seeds have lost their dull brown color and grown vibrant green veins, with some even showing signs of crystallizing into an emerald jewel.

  These were the fruits of ambition that received his painstaking investment, all in hopes of achieving great things!

  Now, it was time to sacrifice another for an impromptu experiment.

  Bubai picked out a seed that showed the strongest signs of crystallization.

  “This one should be the strongest? Well, that’s it.”

  After his finest soldier was selected, it was time to map the battle route for his champion’s march.

  Consciousness focused back to the real world and the captured swan was let down.

  Placing the goddess face-down across his lap, Bubai smoothly slid his finger up the arched back, pausing at the nape of her neck.

  “Do I need an incision to get it in there?”

  Bubai didn’t know if it was worth damaging this flawless skin to experiment with something that might not even work, but…

  Rare chances like this are hard to come by.

  If he waits till the coma goes away, the experimental subject’s struggles will make it hard for any incision without breaking her neck!

  It was now or never!

  The scientist pulled out a sharp knife and smiled.

  “Everything has its first. Try it. All in the name of science.”

  Just how far can this cheat of his go?

  Can his tribulation seed get past the sealing barrier?

  How will it react to that parasitic seed of the Shadow Sun Doll Art?

  Will there be no issues in assimilating a mid-tier sunstone core, or are there limits to what his tribulation seed can absorb?

  All these interesting questions were waiting for an answer.