Though Xinzi guaranteed that this plan wouldn't affect the world at large, reluctance still flickered in Xue Yuanshao's eyes. In ancient times, the eccentric-alchemist turned crazed-emperor would have welcomed such plans, but after going through the Great Desolation war and escaping death by a hair's breath, his appetite for mayhem had shrunken to virtually nothing. And as he recalled that it was only thanks to an artifact bestowed by Qiu Meng that he managed to survive, Xue Yuanshao's reluctance turned into defiance.