To eat or not to eat? The dilemma didn’t stump Bubai for long.

  “This beast core routine… isn’t it a little too familiar?”

  A cliché plot armor that came along just to give the protagonist a timely power buff to tide through the next stage.

  All the signs were too obvious!

  Since fate was handing out a charity meal, how can Bubai not want to give it a taste?!

  Yet, his rationality screamed at him to think twice. Why? Well...

  Beasts are actually split into two main categories, spiritual and demonic.

  If this was a spirit beast’s magic core, then aside from some precautions that were common sense, there shouldn’t be any other particular issues during consumption—at least, none that Bubai had heard of.

  But a demonic beast core? That was a different beast altogether.

  There were many records, all giving a similar warning: devour at your own risk.

  The lucky fools might get blessed with some powerful demonic skill, but…

  There were far more records of the reckless giving it a try, only to have their dantian and meridians explode, many even dying without an intact corpse!

  That’s just how fierce a little pill can be!

  Hence, most experienced cultivators don’t indiscriminately eat stuff, unless they’re educated enough to weigh their risks versus benefits.

  Can he, Grandpa Fang, be considered a part of the educated faction? Sure. But...

  Bubai closely inspected the glowing-red marble rolling between his fingers. Fire attribute, obviously.

  Yet trying to discern more only knitted Bubai’s brows together.

  “As expected... with my garbage appraisal skills, I can’t tell left from right. Putting this in my mouth…”

  Merlin above, isn’t that just like playing roulette with his life on the line?!

  And with his luck...

  Bubai felt a bit queasy inside. Don’t eat the sesame seed just to find out its a bomb!

  That was a dumb gamble to take at this critical juncture where an extra straw could break the camel’s back.

  Bubai didn’t want all those plans revolving around him to end in a game over just because he got greedy for a protagonist’s treatment that was totally unnecessary.

  “Better safe than sorry. I should check with the granny and the fairy first. If I get the green light, then I can eat it after everything is over. For now, put it away first…”

  Bubai set the magic beast core back onto its cushion in the treasure box.

  The lid clicked shut. The latch snapped back into place.

  But when Bubai was about to put the box back into his high-grade pouch, he hesitated.

  “Wait. Placing something so valuable in here… is it really safe?”

  The price of magic beast cores might fluctuate depending its origins and how it’s auctioned.

  Regardless, a treasure of this caliber can easily be worth more than all the other loot he got today combined!

  Not counting his new Leng Meng doll, of course.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  But even keeping that valuable goddess in his bag would actually be safer than holding this magic beast core.

  After all, except for those cultivating the Shadow Sun Doll Art, that uncontrollable doll was just a ticking time bomb.

  On the other hand, this magic beast core was a universal treasure any cultivator can use!

  Carrying it around in a bag that was practically open to the public? That was just begging to be robbed!

  Previously, he had a team of ravens to escort him everywhere and there were no robbers stupid enough to seek death, but now that his crime became water under the bridge...

  Goodbye personal escort. Hello freedom and all the responsibilities that came with it.

  One such responsibility was protecting his own wealth.

  There’s a saying: without powerful strength or status, owning a treasure will only invite trouble!

  Sure, the sect has those tigresses regularly patrolling the Inner Sect, but...

  If even he, Grandpa Fang, can find loopholes in their patrol routes, then what about those other powerful individuals?

  Who was to say that some shameless golden core elder wouldn’t slip on a mask and come take back the “leek” for their junior?

  Even if it’s not them, there were the late-stage core disciples and other shady fellas in the sect.

  Since most disciples of the sect saw him pocket this, there’s no denying the target was already painted on his back..

  If others don’t see the rabbit, none will openly make a move.

  But if he really dared to carry this everywhere… there’s no saying when he’ll accidentally invite a big Buddha while out for a walk!

  Easy wealth—who wouldn’t be tempted?

  Even he, Grandpa Fang, didn’t mind padding his own coffers when possible, let alone the other unscrupulous fellas in this demonic sect.

  That’s why he did well to disguise himself as a poor beggar up till now.

  Now that the spotlight was on him, he had no choice but to watch out for highway robbery!

  Alas, he can keep his guard up once or twice, but can he stay vigilant forever? To be safe...

  The hand, putting the treasure box into the pouch, turned around and the box was stuffed into the opened bridge to his personal vault.

  Bubai smirked. "Thief-proof. Now, I’m worry-free."

  That worry-free state only lasted for a single breath before a light tremor sent his consciousness into high-alert mode.

  “Merlin above! Really can’t let me relax!”

  Bubai’s face changed and his consciousness quickly dived into his storage warehouse.

  There, he easily spotted the problem on the shelf.

  Flowing out from the treasure box that just got shelved were pinworm-sized streams of fiery energy carrying tiny mysterious glyphs!

  Like always, that mysterious energy was sucked out from the storage space...

  At the final destination of that mysterious energy, rune glyphs, new and old, were rearranging themselves to expand the outer shell.

  This all-too-familiar yet profound dantian expansion phenomenon left Bubai both happy and utterly baffled.

  “Merlin’s socks, just what is going on? Why is this gluttonous seed making trouble again?!”

  As far as Bubai knew, this wasn’t the first beast core he obtained.

  That Long Batian’s loot pouch also had some, but none of those lower-tier beast cores had any reaction when he stored them!

  So... why is this one different?

  Does it have something to do with the grade of the beast core?

  Or is there something special about this particular magic beast core?

  More importantly, what does this beast core have in common with those skin and bone inheritances to trigger this dantian expansion phenomenon?

  Bubai sighed inside. “Just when I thought I figured the pattern out, things just got more confusing...”

  Lots of speculations turned Bubai’s mind into a pot of porridge, but he still didn’t take any action to stop the process.

  After all, why should he?

  If there was one thing he had learned, it was that once his gluttonous seed took action, even if there was any danger, his cheating golden finger will snuff them out!

  So why worry? He simply had to sit back and wait for the benefits to roll in!

  “Is this it? Will I finally gain some OP new plot armor?”

  Watching the source of the fiery energy getting sucked so hard, Bubai felt his excitement throbbing more and more.

  One minute. Two… Five…

  Then, Bubai heard the faint, seemingly-distant wailing of an unknown beast ringing in his consciousness space, soon melting into nothingness like the last wisps of fiery energy.

  Silence followed.

  No flood of memories. No sudden burst of enlightenment. No hidden martial skills imprinted in his soul. Nothing.

  “Finished?” Bubai looked around, a bit confused. “How come there’s nothing?”

  A thought later, his consciousness hopped over to his mysterious dantian space.

  A single glance and Bubai noticed the visible expansion in its size.

  “Huh. Now this should be able to store about... 5% more Qi than the original capacity? But…”

  Bubai saw no other changes no matter how hard he searched around and couldn’t help but cry inside. “Bruh! That’s it?!”

  Where is his new OP skill?! Where is his protagonist-tier treatment?!

  All that build-up… just for this underwhelming ending?!

  Bubai really wanted to flip a table, and the anger almost could no longer be suppressed!

  For real?! Him and his trashy luck!

  It’s almost as if there was something sucking away all his luck, leaving him to live a life playing in the mud…

  What could be the sneaky culprit behind all of this? Could it be…

  Bubai gazed down at the little celebrity sucking his… lucky brother and felt his dark emotions boiling over.

  So, the problem is here, the problem is here!

  Grasping the problem, Bubai’s eyes burned with righteous fury and he didn’t hesitate to ruthlessly stuff it down the hole of no return.

  “Evil spirit, how dare you suck away my luck! See how I punish you!”