Chapter 97  : Chapter 097: Two Oddballs

“Cool it, cool it, just wait until that pot explodes. Consider it a show, a brutal lesson for this little rascal. It will keep him from having wild fantasies that making instruments and refining pills are child’s play.”

Old Man Gu took perverse pleasure in comforting Elder Ci. He saw Elder Ci puffing out his beard angrily and chuckled mischievously, but he kept his eyes glued to Yang Zhen’s pressure cooker intently.

Elder Ci snorted coldly, “The terrifying pressure of concocting a five-star elixir combined with the power of the exploding furnace material could almost kill this kid. I can’t wait to see the look on his face after his failure.”

Time ticked away and both the old guys grew impatient.

Yang Zhen seemed uncaring. After all, when the Supreme Elder worked on his refining, it lasted forever. Where was he in comparison, an outsider to alchemy, someone who relied solely on chance?

Only after consuming countless heavenly treasures did Yang Zhen finally stop and added a little more firewood.

“It’s going to explode!” The two old men looked at each other and exclaimed in unison. They simultaneously covered their ears, widened their eyes, one fuming with anger and the other gleefully anticipating disaster while they eagerly watched the expression on Yang Zhen’s face.

A similarly solemn look appeared on Yang Zhen’s face. He even paused his handling of the Jade Ganoderma Lucidum, his gaze nervously fixed on the pressure cooker.

Hisss!

A faint noise echoed out as the gas release valve was pushed open. A series of hot steam gushed out, carrying a refreshing fragrance.

Yang Zhen quickly opened the gas release valve, and the hissing sound persisted.

“Wonderful!”

Both old men stood up at the same time, staggering and then tumbling down from the tree simultaneously.

The two looked at each other, muttering to themselves. A flash of insight appeared in Old Man Gu’s eyes, “So you could also do it this way. That gas release valve seems to be designed quite ingeniously. It will only open once a certain pressure is reached. Also, it can keep the pressure in the pot stable. Who… Who exactly is this kid?”

“This pressure… It is even more accurate than the control of True Essence, and it doesn’t distract attention. It’s almost… It’s practically a divine tool for beginner alchemists!” Elder Ci was equally excited. The more he saw of Yang Zhen, the more satisfied he was. After sneaking a glance at Old Man Gu and finding him doing the same, his face suddenly darkened.

“Don’t even think about him!” Both of them said in unison, almost simultaneously rushing toward Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen had just put the last two herbs into the pot when he saw the two tattered old men running toward him. Quickly, he flung a bunch of unstable rune boards at them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of explosions echoed continuously. The whole ground shook, and dust filled the air. The horrifying explosions directly engulfed the two strange old men.

Not that Yang Zhen was always so quick to resort to violence, but the looks in these two old men’s eyes were just too frightening. One wanted to eat him while the other looked like he wanted to eat the pressure cooker too.

Oh hell, was this even alright?

Yang Zhen hurriedly shoved all the five-star Gu Landan pills from the pressure cooker into his mouth, munching away loudly.

Cough, cough…

Two severe coughs sounded from the dust. In no time, the two grey-faced old men crawled out of the debris, startling Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen looked vigilant and was about to speak when he suddenly found that he couldn’t move or make a sound. He was instantly filled with apprehension, silently concentrating his spirit soul strength.

The two strange old men one picked up the pressure cooker and the other was sniffing around with eyes closed. They almost got to his mouth.

“That’s impossible!”

Old Man Gu and Elder Ci exclaimed in unison and turned to look at Yang Zhen, “How did you do it?”

Yang Zhen rolled his eyes. For fuck’s sake, I can’t move or talk, how do I answer you?

What the hell is going on? He just felt like refining some pills, and it ended up luring two bizarre old men here. Are these people usually this carefree? Like hanging out in deserted areas and wandering around?

“This this this, it’s ingenious. Can instrument refining really be done this way?” Old Man Gu’s mouth opened in an uncontrollable grin. He then sat down sternly, studying the pressure cooker with all his might, just like a two or three-year-old child, scratching his head and ears.

Elder Ci was shaking his head and wagging his tail. “The color is good, the fragrance is refreshing. These are top-quality five-star elixirs. He was able to refine such high-purity five-star elixirs in such a short period. Kid, you’re an alchemy prodigy. You must become an alchemist in this life.”

Yang Zhen wanted to speak, but found that his mouth was completely out of control. He didn’t understand what tricks these two old guys had played on him.

Old Man Gu suddenly jumped up, pointing at Elder Ci, “Elder Ci, don’t you shamelessly claim that he’s an alchemy prodigy just for refining a mere five-star elixir? Haven’t you seen a real prodigy?”

Elder Ci’s eyes widened as he tried to speak up but was rudely interrupted by Old Man Gu, who raised the pressure cooker and said, “Do you know what this is? I’ve never heard of such a method of refining instruments. This young man is going to change the entire refining industry. How could he waste time with your alchemy? This is simply extravagance and a waste of talent!”

On hearing these words, Elder Ci became indignant. He swatted Old Man Gu’s hand away and glared, “You old thing, are you picking a fight? Changing the refining industry, so what? This kid could probably even surpass the Alchemist Refining Grandmaster and become a Spirit Soul alchemist!”

“A Spirit Soul alchemist?” Old Man Gu scoffed, “You’re dreaming!”

“You lack vision!”

“You are being unreasonable!”

“You… I’ll smash your old face!”

“Ouch, you dare hit me? I’ll kill you, you old thing!”

Yang Zhen watched in astonishment as the two old men rolled around on the ground, wrestling. With a wave of his spirit soul, he shattered the constraints they placed on him, picked up his pressure cooker, and set off.

“Stop!”

Two voices resounded in unison from behind him. Yang Zhen shrank his neck and promptly turned around.

A staggering aura suddenly erupted from the two old men, overwhelming him. Yang Zhen looked at them, astonished, his mind filled with bewilderment.

What… what kind of freaks are these?

The two Old Men faced each other, they each glared at the other, then turned to look at Yang Zhen, yelling in unison, “Do you know who I am?”

“Black Whirlwind Li Kui?” Yang Zhen blinked.

“No!”

Yang Zhen nearly stumbled. These two were odd.

Both were absurdly stupid, and Yang Zhen didn’t want to be infected by this stupidity. He promptly turned around and prepared to leave again.

“Kid, how about learning to refine tools with me?”

“Kid, don’t listen to this old guy. Learn alchemy with me. I can make you the most respected alchemist in the Nether State.”

“Bah! Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Kid, learn instrument refining with me. I can help you refine the most powerful magical treasure!”

Yang Zhen looked at them and asked with a smile, “Can you make divine instruments?”

Old Man Gu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, “No!”

Yang Zhen’s voice echoed again, “Can you make a Nine-Turn Star Elixir?”

“No… I can’t!” Elder Ci’s eye twitched.

“Then what am I going to learn with you, how to roll around fighting like two old geezers on the ground?”

Yang Zhen turned around and left, not giving them an ounce of face..