In the living room on the first floor of Wutong Road No. 66, four Irenes sat neatly in a row atop the tea table. Irene Pro max 66.6cm occupied the edge closest to the table’s border, staring wide-eyed at Yu Sheng and Xuan Che on the sofa opposite.

Nearby, Foxy leisurely combed through her tails, watching with the relaxed air of someone anticipating a good show.

“Let me first confirm,” Xuan Che finally broke the awkward silence, lifting a finger toward the little doll, “you said these young ladies are dolls from ‘Alice Little House’?”

“Yes,” Yu Sheng nodded earnestly. “There’s a complicated story behind why she ended up this way… The bodies you’re seeing now are temporary vessels I crafted for her. Her original body went missing a long time ago.”

“Ah!” Xuan Che exclaimed, visibly relieved. He nodded rapidly. “I was genuinely confused earlier—I assumed perhaps she’d shattered, and something had gone terribly wrong during reconstruction, accidentally splitting her into four pieces…”

Yu Sheng and Irene froze simultaneously, and even Foxy, busy grooming, jolted upright. Three people, six eyes, snapped toward the polite young cultivator on the sofa. A heartbeat later, Pro Irene shot up into the air, unleashing a floral burst of curses: “Your XX was shattered into four pieces!”

Yu Sheng immediately grabbed her back down, hastily turning toward Xuan Che. “Don’t mind her, really! She’s a bit viol—Hey! Stop biting!”

“My apologies! Deepest apologies!” Xuan Che quickly bowed with cupped hands, realizing his misstep. “I’ve just been so curious why the young ladies are so… small. I’ve met Alice Dolls before, and none were quite like this. After much thought, that was my only guess… Forgive my tactlessness.”

“Don’t be so polite with her; she’ll only push harder,” Yu Sheng sighed, holding the still-struggling Pro Irene down. He turned back to the overly courteous young man beside him. “Let’s focus on business first—Due to certain circumstances, one of Irene’s bodies now needs spiritual energy to move. But her normal energy recovery rate is… terrible. I was wondering if your Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain might have some solutions.”

Xuan Che listened earnestly, yet couldn’t help but frown slightly. “But living dolls belong to an Ancient Holy Spirit-blessed race. Their methods and our Grand Void Spiritual Axis cultivation path differ greatly. Mixing them carelessly could cause severe issues. In the first place, how did Irene’s body end up needing ‘spiritual energy’?”

“That relates to this Nine-Tailed Fox here,” Yu Sheng admitted awkwardly, gesturing toward Foxy, who had moved onto combing her second tail. “Plus, I added a bit of my own… research enthusiasm.”

He briefly explained Pro Irene’s current situation, mentioning the Spirit Fox Dark Iron as he went.

Throughout Yu Sheng’s explanation, Xuan Che wore an expression clearly communicating confusion: “What are you even saying? What did you say now? What was that earlier?” By the end, the look on his face fully matched his name—pure and thoroughly baffled.

This Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain disciple, considered a top talent among the young cultivators of the entire Grand Void Spiritual Axis, who had diligently cultivated for a hundred years, had never even heard of anyone this reckless!

Unfamiliar metal of unknown principles and uncertain origins from another world, ancient alchemical rituals borrowed who knows where, rocks and soil from some Otherworld, plus blood from the suspiciously unclassifiable Eminent One in front of him—these mad geniuses simply mashed it all together, shaped it into human form, dared to mold it into a golden body, and sent a soul into it!?

Yet, unbelievably, these supremely wis—err, clever Eminent Ones actually succeeded. And from the line-up of dolls on the tea table, it appeared they had pulled off such outrageous feats at least four separate times!

For a moment, Xuan Che’s mind was spinning. [If it were truly this easy to create a physical vessel, then the scoldings I’ve received over the last century for misremembering pill recipes, the punishments for miscalculating the celestial hour, the beatings for mishandling pill fires… What were they even for?]

Yet, feelings aside, Xuan Che quickly refocused himself. After carefully considering Yu Sheng’s words, he spoke cautiously, “Could I perhaps inspect this ‘Spirit Fox Dark Iron’ first? That way, I can judge whether it conflicts with our Grand Void Spiritual Axis cultivation methods.”

“No problem,” Yu Sheng readily agreed, patting one of Foxy’s tails. “Fetch a small piece and show it to him.”

“Happily!” Foxy chirped, enthusiastically nodding as she rummaged through her tail. She soon pulled out a small leftover chunk of the iron used to form Irene’s skeleton, placing it gently on the tea table. “Here it is.”

Xuan Che visibly paused when he saw Foxy withdraw the item from her tail, but his attention quickly shifted entirely to the unassuming lump of metal on the table.

“This thing…” Eyes wide with curiosity, he hesitantly reached out, lifting the piece of Dark Iron carefully. He examined it closely for several long moments before gently tapping its surface with a fingertip.

In the very next instant, a faint yet melodious hum resonated from within the metal, sending translucent ripples cascading through the air, layer upon layer, long and lingering.

Yu Sheng didn’t understand, but he found it rather fascinating.

“Marvelous! Truly marvelous! Unrefined and unawakened—just a rough piece, yet it’s incredibly clear and resonant? I’ve never seen such a thing. Clearly ordinary, but what is its fine inner structure?”

Xuan Che suddenly raised his head, eyes shining with excitement as he looked at Foxy and Yu Sheng.

“Its main component is iron. As for why it has these strange properties, even the Special Affairs Bureau hasn’t figured it out,” Yu Sheng shook his head. “Foxy herself doesn’t know either.”

He paused, seeing the eager look on Xuan Che’s face, then added, “If you want this small leftover piece, you can have it—if Foxy doesn’t mind. But if you want a larger chunk, you’ll have to get in line. The Special Affairs Bureau has already placed orders.”

Xuan Che immediately looked embarrassed and quickly placed the iron lump back onto the table. “You’re too kind. It would be improper of me to ask for more. Let’s focus on Irene Young Lady first.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a small jade token from his robe and handed it to the little doll sitting at the edge of the tea table. He explained, “From what I’ve tested just now, this ‘Black Iron’ doesn’t conflict with our Grand Void Spiritual Axis cultivation. It even seems quite suitable. But whether this doll Young Lady can actually cultivate our methods… that depends on her personally. This jade token is a basic spirit treasure; it can stir spiritual energy and nourish the mind. Hold it first.”

The little doll took the jade token in confusion. In a normal person’s hand, it would fit nicely in the palm, but Irene had to grab it with both tiny hands. “Um, and then?”

“You should feel a gentle warmth spreading from your palm toward your heart…”

Irene blinked. “But I don’t have a heart.”

Xuan Che paused. “Then toward your body core. The warmth will follow your mind’s intention, so try to guide it—”

Irene stared blankly. “I don’t feel any warmth at all.”

Xuan Che froze instantly.

He looked even more shocked than when Yu Sheng had described the bizarre methods used to create Irene’s current body.

“This feeling can be very subtle,” he said after a moment, with a slightly peculiar expression. “Try again, carefully. It must be there.”

“It isn’t!” Irene declared confidently. “My senses are very sharp! There’s absolutely nothing!”

“Really, not even a tiny bit?”

“No! You’re being so slow-witted about this!”

Yu Sheng noticed the expression on Xuan Che’s face.

“Could it be that Irene has poor talent for this?” Yu Sheng asked gently. “Meaning she can’t use your cultivation method?”

Xuan Che hesitated, almost looking troubled. “No, it’s not that her talent is poor.”

“So, she has absolutely no talent at all?”

“No, no. It isn’t a matter of talent anymore,” Xuan Che suddenly took a small breath, retrieved the jade token from Irene’s hands, and carefully chose his words before speaking again. “Even someone with no talent should feel something. Talent only affects how strongly or weakly you feel it and how easily you can guide it. Even in the worst case, it shouldn’t be like this.”

Yu Sheng opened his mouth slightly, uncertain. “Could it be because she’s a doll? Special physique?”

“Theoretically… that shouldn’t matter,” Xuan Che shook his head slowly. “Dolls are also living beings, and all living beings have some spiritual affinity. This token isn’t limited to flesh and blood.”

Yu Sheng frowned.

“Let me try.”

He reached out, took the jade token from Xuan Che, and carefully felt it according to instructions.

After a moment, he tossed the jade token to Foxy. “You give it a try too.”

Several minutes later, Xuan Che faced three blank, confused looks.

Irene was the first to break the silence. “Maybe your token is broken?”

“It shouldn’t be!” This time even Xuan Che began to doubt himself. He took back the jade token, holding it tightly for several moments, examining it closely, tapping it a few times. “It seems fine.”

“It’s definitely broken; none of us felt anything,” Foxy stated confidently. “I also know immortal techniques. Whether this can work or not, I would know instantly…”

Yu Sheng glanced at Foxy, unsure where this Nine-tailed Fox from another world got her confidence, given her entirely different cultivation system.

Still, he was inclined to agree with Foxy that Xuan Che’s token was indeed faulty.

Seeing the situation was hopeless, Xuan Che reluctantly put away the jade token and took out a paper talisman. “Then use this one. Ignite it, and its smoke will linger. Breathing it in stimulates blood, allowing you to control energy and connect to heaven and earth—”

Before he could finish, Irene interrupted again. “I don’t have blood either.”

“Then use this Spirit Infusion Pill, directly—”

Irene sighed dramatically, “I don’t have a digestive system.”

“Then there’s this golden hairpin; it’s a shortcut but directly stimulates the brain—”

“I don’t have a brain either.”

“…Do you not have any internal organs at all?”

“Nope. An Alice doll doesn’t have those things, don’t you know?”

“I… am ashamed.”