A pair of doors opened up on their own soon afterward.

Jiang Luofu brought Zu An inside and said, “By the way, let me warn you ahead of time. Fourth senior’s temperament is a bit strange. It would be hard even for me to get a pill furnace if I ask him.” Jiang Luofu seemed like she was scared of Shen Xuzi finding out, so she spoke through ki transmission. “If he’s not willing to give you one, then I’ll try to get one for you through the academy. Even though it won’t be as good as one of fourth senior’s furnaces, it should be good enough.”

Zu An said with a smile, “Big sis really is thorough. Don’t worry, my luck has always been quite good. Together with big sis’ charm, I don’t think we’ll return empty-handed.”

Jiang Luofu shot him a look. “Do you slather honey over that mouth every day or something? No wonder you have so many girls around you. Don’t try that stuff on me.”

Zu An chuckled and quickly changed the topic. He pointed at the giant golem behind him and asked, “Did your senior brother make that?”

“Yup. Fourth senior is a genius who can make dead things come to life.” Jiang Luofu’s voice was full of admiration.

“How does that thing move? What’s its energy source?” Zu An asked.

“I believe he uses ki stones.” Jiang Luofu added hesitantly, “But I don’t know the exact details either. You can ask fourth senior about it later.”

Zu An couldn't help but asked, “But aren’t the expenses crazy high if they use ki stones?”

“Of course.” Jiang Luofu had a weird expression on her face. “Fourth senior has always been rather… hard pressed financially.”

“Haha, eighth senior still speaks so nicely for my sake. Hard-pressed? I’m completely broke!” A long sigh sounded from deep within. Then, the sound of wheels rolling could be heard. Zu An followed the source of the sound. What was slowly coming out of the forest was a… wheelchair?

A skinny elder was sitting in it. Calling him an elder wasn’t quite right though; it was only his hair that was a bit white. He didn’t care about his appearance at all either, so he looked a bit older than he really was.

Zu An was frightened. This elder was too skinny! His somewhat stooped figure made him look a bit like a monkey. It really was hard to imagine that the massive thing outside was his work. His eyes shifted to the man’s legs. Even though he was wearing pants, he could vaguely tell that they were more shriveled up than a normal person’s.

Jiang Luofu told Zu An through ki transmission, “Don’t stare at fourth senior’s legs. He doesn’t like it when others look at him like that.”

Zu An jumped in fright and quickly shifted his gaze. It wasn’t that he was scared of the other party getting angry; he just thought it was quite rude. He asked, “What happened to his legs?”

Jiang Luofu said quietly, “Fourth senior was born a cripple, and that was why he used alchemy to compensate for his body’s deficiencies. He’s actually already succeeded. Don’t think that he can’t move freely because of this wheelchair. As long as he’s in that wheelchair, he’s actually much more nimble than most cultivators. To a certain degree, this wheelchair is his treasure… No, it’s already a part of his body.”

Zu An felt more and more admiration when he heard those words. This was a great example of someone changing their own fate!

The shriveled elder chuckled and asked, “What are you two whispering over there about? You’re probably talking badly about me.”

Jiang Luofu said, “Fourth senior has misunderstood. I was merely introducing your glorious achievement to him.”

Zu An also used this chance to say, “Just now, that mech… That golem outside was just too shocking. I truly admire senior.”

The skinny elder was naturally the fourth senior Shen Xuzi, whom Jiang Luofu had spoken of. He began to stroke his beard proudly when he heard Zu An’s praise. “It’s nothing more than some insignificant toy.” Despite his humble words, the pride in his eyes gave him away.

Zu An asked out of curiosity, “May I ask what kind of energy source is used to power those golems?”

Shen Xuzi was most proud of his own work. When he saw someone asking about them, he immediately replied excitedly, “They use ki stones, of course. It took me decades of work to figure out how to use ki stones as a stable energy source…”

Zu An continued to ask, “How long can a single ordinary ki stone keep that golem running for?”

Shen Xuzi shook his head. “An ordinary ki stone isn’t enough. You need at least eighty-one earth grade ki stones, and they need to be replaced after each battle. Of course, if it’s just guarding this courtyard, they don’t need to be replaced that often. Let me tell you, in order to make use of eighty-one earth grade ki stones, I had to…”

But who could have thought that Zu An would instead sigh? “What a pity.”

This was Shen Xuzi’s proud work. He had been waiting for the other party to praise him, yet this was what he had ended up hearing as a result! He erupted in rage. “Damn brat, what did you say?”

You have successfully trolled Shen Xuzi for +777 +777 +777…

Jiang Luofu was shocked. She tugged on Zu An’s sleeves, implying for him to be careful. Zu An gave her a look telling her not to worry. Then, he cupped his hands toward Shen Xuzi and said, “Fourth senior, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not questioning your work. On the contrary, I have great admiration.”

Jiang Luofu had a strange expression. This fella even called him fourth senior? Why do I feel like he’s taking advantage of me?

Shen Xuzi’s expression eased a bit. “Then what did you mean by saying that just now?”

Zu An explained, “I just feel that if ki stones are used as the energy source, and such a large amount at that, then it’ll only be something the wealthy can use. It’s not just any level of wealth either; unfortunately, it can’t change the lives of commoners at all.”

“This type of thing was never meant to be used for the common people.” Shen Xuzi couldn't help but feel a bit pained. Forget about ordinary people, even he himself had used up a ton of money! He had to use up eighty-one earth grade ki stones whenever the golem was used for battle.

Normally, alchemy was a profession that shouldn’t have had any shortage of money. Yet for the sake of these golems, he had ended up dirt poor.

He coughed and then continued, “I’ve always been researching how to improve their energy efficiency. I hope that one day, they can operate with just sixty-four stones.”

Zu An couldn't help but say, “It’ll be hard to improve the energy efficiency rate, and sixty-four earth grade ki stones still aren’t something most people can afford.”

“Damn kid, are you here to pick faults or something?” Shen Xuzi’s eyes almost popped out. He stared furiously at Zu An.

You have successfully trolled Shen Xuzi for +404 +404 +404…

Zu An said with a bitter smile, “The main reason for my train of thought is because I just met seventh brother, and he has always tried to improve the lives of the common people, so I was affected by his dream. That was why I subconsciously thought about whether or not this could help the common people. If fourth senior can produce an energy source that even the common people can use, then your name will definitely be remembered throughout the ages.”

The man had changed his name to Shen Xuzi to leave behind his legacy as a renowned alchemist. That was why Zu An deliberately said those words.

Sure enough, a flash of excitement passed through Shen Xuzi’s eyes. Even his breathing became rushed, as if he were completely sucked in by that future. However, he quickly said in disappointment, “It’s hopeless. These things aren’t suitable for common people’s use to begin with.”

“That may not be the case,” Zu An said. “Ki stones might be too expensive for ordinary people, but what about other energy sources?”

“What other energy sources are there?” Shen Xuzi harrumphed. “I’ve already tried almost everything, and only ki stones are steady, and the power they provide is the greatest.”

Zu An said, “Then have you tried coal or crude oil, and things like that?”

“Coal? Crude oil?” Shen Xuzi had been wondering what kind of enlightening idea this kid had, but he quickly grew disappointed and remarked, “Those things might be good enough for lighting a fire and keeping warm, but the amount of energy they can provide is far too little.” He had already lost interest. “Go, go, go, I have things to research. I don’t have the time to waste on you.”

Jiang Luofu immediately became worried. She had originally been quite confident about getting a pill furnace from her fourth senior, yet Zu An had just had to offend him. Did this kid let things get to his head? Just because he managed to subdue Yin Shi, Hei Baizi and the others, did he think that he really was omnipotent? But you didn’t know that these brothers of mine were all at the very top of their respective fields, did you?

Even so, experiencing a setback was fine as well. It wasn’t a good thing for youngsters to have everything go their way. I’ll give him a proper talk later, Jiang Luofu thought.

Just then, Zu An spoke up again. “Has fourth senior considered a steam engine?”