The most shameless alchemist in history

"Alright, alright, one set it is fine. Grandpa Laka, may I ask you a question?" Du Lei asked cautiously.

"Spit it out!" the old man snapped impatiently.

"Which material and magic core here are the most precious and valuable?" Du Lei asked somewhat guiltily.

"Fuck off!"

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364 Refining Taboos

Despite his grumbling, the old man still took out several boxes and placed them in front of Du Lei for him to choose from. He wasn't really stingy; otherwise, he wouldn't have given away these valuable items to Du Lei for free. It was just that he was too lonely and had no one to talk to.

Du Lei, the person involved, was completely unaware of this, but anyone who knew the old man knew that he hadn't spoken this much in a month in recent years. The old man also gave Du Lei a detailed explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of these alchemical materials, specifically analyzing their properties and which one was more suitable for him.

"This is the claw of the Berserker Monkey. Although it's only rated 'Excellent,' it can perfectly fuse with the magic core of this Thorn Giant Elephant, forming a complementary advantage. This combination is more suitable than the Venomous Spider and Snowfield Ghost Wolf, which have higher ratings on their own," the old man offered his opinion.

"So it turns out that magic-powered weapons are divided into two parts: materials and cores. Both of these parts are composed of the magic cores and body parts of different magical beasts." Although Du Lei had learned a lot about magic-powered weapons from books before, as the saying goes, seeing is believing.

Now, seeing the magical weapons in person, Dure realized his previous shallowness, which made him sigh with regret.

"That's natural. Those mathematicians are always arguing about the problem of one plus one. If it's a combination of materials with conflicting attributes and a magic core, then the result will definitely be less than two. That's the most foolish thing to do. But if it's a combination with compatible attributes, then it can be greater than two."

The old man explained in detail. Although he kept grumbling and two out of every three sentences were directed at Du Lei, he was very clear in his explanations. He was not a patient person, a fact that left a deep impression on those who came to visit him. But now, however, he was unusually patient.

"What if it's a combination of materials and crystal cores from the same magical beast? Would it be greater than one or equal to two?" Dure asked.

"One plus one equals two, of course. Even I, an old man who doesn't do math, know that. Kid, did you not learn math well?" The old man gave Du Lei a disdainful look, which made the latter a little embarrassed. It was only because he was thick-skinned that he would have blushed.

"Well... hehe, one plus one definitely equals two." Du Lei said somewhat awkwardly.

"Alright, kid, I feel I need to remind you that there's a taboo surrounding the forging of magical weapons." The old man waved his hand, abandoning his earlier joking demeanor and speaking seriously. This made Du Lei uncomfortable, and he immediately became alert.

"Taboo? What taboo? I'm listening." Du Lei immediately pricked up his ears to listen; he knew the old man was about to say something important.

"You absolutely cannot use the same magical beast's materials and core for refining." The old man's expression was very serious, not at all like he was joking.

"Can't we use the same monster? Why is that? Isn't it supposed to be equal to two?" Dure was puzzled by this.

"What you just said about greater than two or less than two refers to different magical beasts' materials and magic cores. But for the same magical beast, using its materials and magic core to forge the same item, the result, in terms of power alone, could definitely be greater than two, greater than three, or even greater than four."

The old man felt it was necessary to explain things clearly to Du Lei, as he didn't want the young man in front of him to go down the wrong path one day.

"If that's the case, then why can't..." Dure became increasingly confused. When it came to creating magical weapons, no one wanted to be less than two; everyone aimed for more than two. Even if it was only 2.1, that would be quite good. But the result was three, or even four.

This was exactly the ideal situation he could have hoped for; he couldn't understand why he could refuse such a good thing.

“Because if you do that, it could lead to very serious consequences,” the old man warned Dure.

"Serious consequences? What consequences? How serious could they be?" This made Du Lei even more curious.

"You should know what a gecko is, right?" The old man didn't answer Du Lei's question directly, but asked another one.

"Gecko? What does this have to do with geckos?" Du Lei frowned, not understanding why the old man would ask about geckos out of the blue.

"Tell me about the characteristics of geckos first," the old man asked, deliberately keeping the question a secret.

"If we have to talk about the characteristics of geckos... it is well known that geckos can regenerate their tails after they are cut off... wait, regenerate?" While Du Lei was thinking, the keyword "regenerate" suddenly popped into his mind, which made him exclaim and look at the old man with an incredulous expression.

“That’s right, it’s rebirth.” The old man confirmed Du Lei’s guess. Although it wasn’t entirely accurate, the direction was correct.

"Grandpa Raka, do you mean that if you use the same magical beast's materials and magic core for alchemy, it can actually... can actually be reborn?" Dure thought this was simply too unbelievable.

"Rebirth is something that magical beasts can't do, except for a very few with extremely strong vitality. Like humans, once they die, they're dead." The old man shook his head.

“But you just said…” Du Lei breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the old man say that, but he still thought that the old man would not bring up geckos and rebirth for no reason, and must have a good purpose.

"If it is made using the same magical beast's materials and magic core, it will indeed not be resurrected, but it will be reborn in another way, namely, by affecting the user's mind. In severe cases, it can cause the user to completely lose themselves and become a complete killing machine," the old man warned, emphasizing his words.

"Could it really be like this?" Du Lei was taken aback. He carefully considered the old man's words and imagined the terrible scene.

"That's right, so this is one of the taboos in the crafting of magical weapons, so you must remember it well." The old man repeatedly instructed.

"Understood, I will keep that in mind." Du Lei nodded heavily.

"So, have you made your choice? What kind of materials and magic core combination do you want? It seems that the Berserk Monkey and Thorn Giant Elephant combination that I recommended is more suitable for you, isn't it? This combination is both offensive and defensive, enough to make you more than capable in battle. I believe they will become your reliable and loyal companions for a long time to come." The old man still strongly recommended the combination of the Monkey and the Giant Elephant.

"Well... since Grandpa Laka has said so, then I..." Dure had carefully considered this beforehand. He valued Laka's opinion highly, and after weighing it up, it was indeed a very reliable combination.

He immediately reached out his hand, and it seemed the matter was about to be settled!

This website's address is [website address].

365 has been selected

Dure respected the old man Laka's opinion and agreed with his recommendation of the combination of the Berserker Monkey and the Thorn Giant Mammoth. He was about to make a decision on it, but at this crucial moment, he changed his mind. His hand was fickle, much like a gambler at a gambling table who hadn't yet placed his bet.

This went on for quite some time before Dure finally stopped in front of the boxes and picked out two boxes from the stacks of cabinets that were as high as a small mountain. The two boxes contained magical beast materials and magical cores, and the two sets were just enough to forge a complete magical weapon.

"Hey, kid, are you sure you're not mistaken? You're giving up the combination of the Berserker Monkey and the Thorn Giant Mammoth and choosing these two instead?" The old man was surprised by Du Lei's choice. Originally, judging from Du Lei's expression, he thought it was a done deal, but in the end, it turned out to be something else.

"Well... yes, these are the two. What's wrong, Grandpa Laka? Is there a problem?" Dure's expression was a little stiff, and his words became vague. He was completely different from the man who had made up his mind just now. It was as if he was being coerced by something.

"This isn't just problematic, it's a huge problem. First, let's talk about the materials. Of all the things you could have chosen, you chose the tendons of a Blackwater Python. The Blackwater Python is just a high-level magical beast, not that powerful. Its materials are only rated 'excellent.' It's not even comparable to the claws of a Berserker Monkey, let alone the Gold-Eating Rat." The old man simply couldn't understand Du Lei's thinking. He was basically throwing away the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed!

"Actually, I like this one more... so let's choose this one. And what about this magic core? What's so special about it?" Du Lei chuckled dryly, forcing a smile to hide his embarrassment. He could tell the old man was very dissatisfied with his choice, but he also had his own unavoidable difficulties.

"You ask me how I am? I can't answer that question either." The old man waved his hand, looking quite indignant.

"Grandpa Laka, please don't be angry with me. Just tell me what this magic core is." Du Lei opened the closed box, inside which was a crystal core about the size of half an egg. Du Lei had seen quite a few magic beast crystal cores tonight.

The old man's collection consisted almost entirely of fine items; any one of them was crystal clear and radiant, clearly not ordinary. But the crystal lying in the box was different. It looked plain and unremarkable, without any luster, just like an ordinary stone.

"I won't get angry with a clueless brat like you. The reason I won't tell you is because I don't know either." The old man sighed and shook his head. He really couldn't help Du Lei with this question.

"What? You don't know? But isn't it your trophy, Grandpa Raka?" Dure found this rather novel, as this was the first time tonight he had heard Raka say "I don't know," whereas before he had been beaming with pride when talking about his trophy.

"Well... I didn't get this from fighting a monster. I picked it up outside. I don't know what it is. It just looks like a monster's crystal core. I studied it for a while a long time ago and even had it appraised, but no one could tell what kind of monster's crystal core it was." The old man thought for a moment, then held the crystal core in his palm and examined it carefully, frowning as he spoke.

"Found it? Is that even possible?" Du Lei was stunned, not expecting such an answer.

"Don't think there are so many treasures to find in this world. To tell you the truth, including myself and several authoritative experts, we can all be sure that this magic core is ordinary and not the magic core of some high-level magical beast. You can rest assured about that." The old man saw through Du Lei's thoughts.

After all, he was like that when he was young, always dreaming of getting rich overnight and finding treasures in random stones. But after decades of experience, he has become more and more rational and knows that such ideas are very naive and extremely unreliable.

"What makes you so sure?" Du Lei seemed unwilling to give up and continued to press.

"The reason why a magic core is a magic core is that it is the heart of a magical beast and the source of its magical energy. It must contain a large amount of magical energy. If you compare it with other magic cores, even if the magical beast has been dead for decades, the magical energy inside it has not completely dissipated."

The old man seemed to have known that Dure would ask this question. He opened several other boxes and took out several magic cores for comparison.

Just as the old man had said, these magic cores emitted a crystal-clear light, and Dure could clearly feel the magical energy fluctuations within them.

“It seems that’s true…” Du Lei carefully compared them. The other magic cores contained abundant magic energy, but the one he had chosen was unremarkable. He couldn’t sense any magic energy at all. It was no different from a stone he picked up on the roadside.

"I remember I should have thrown this away before, why is it still here? That's really strange. Well, kid, you should listen to my advice and choose the claws of the berserk demon monkey and the magic core of the thorny giant elephant. That's the most suitable for you."

The old man reassured Dure once again that his experience was infallible.

“Grandpa Laka, what you said makes a lot of sense…” Dure nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"So you're finally getting it, kid..." The old man breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the kid had finally come to his senses and wasn't so stubborn after all.

"So I'll still choose the Blackwater Python's tendon, and this unknown...stone." Du Lei pointed to the two boxes again.

"What? I've been trying to persuade you for so long, and it turns out it was all for nothing?" The old man was shocked by Du Lei's answer.

"I've decided on these two, Grandpa Laka, just these two, please have mercy on me." Dure knew that his request left the old man speechless, and it wasn't what the old man wanted to see. Moreover, the old man was genuinely thinking of him, so he could only force a smile and say it.

"You... should I say you're blind or what? Such a good opportunity is right in front of you, and you actually chose these two things. Fine, fine, take them if you like them. But don't come crying to me later if you can't make anything good from them."

The old man originally wanted to give Du Lei a good scolding, but seeing his smiling face, he had no choice but to hold back. He waved his hand, and although he did not approve of Du Lei's choice, since Du Lei had made his decision, he could not force him to continue.

This website's address is [website address].

366 I believe your lies

Even its owner, the old man Laka, didn't know about that unremarkable magic core, let alone Dure, who was a complete novice in the field of confiscating materials and crystal cores. The reason he would give up the combination of the berserk magic monkey, which was a perfect match for him, was because of this.

This wasn't because he had exceptional insight, but because he had received instructions that there was no one else in the room besides him and the old man Laka. Although the old man Laka felt that Dure's expression was a bit strange when he faced the choice earlier, his fingers fidgeting and hesitating.

The old man could only attribute it to the boy being a bit dim-witted and not good at recognizing value, but Du Lei himself knew that the reason he had that expression was because his brain was about to explode, because a voice kept nagging him to immediately choose that unknown magic core.

"Hey Blackie, what's wrong with you? Is a rock really going to blow my head off? What good will it do you if I die? And what is this rock anyway?" Dure only asked the voice in his head after he left Laka's shop.

There weren't many factors that could influence his judgment, but the Void creature he called "Little Black" was one of them. It was this creature that, when faced with a choice, excitedly and incoherently instructed Dure to make the choice that the old man Raka found utterly distasteful.

"Hehehehe, kid, I have my reasons for letting you do this. This isn't just some ordinary rotten rock; it's a very powerful magic energy crystal core. Finding it is like you've struck gold!" Xiao Hei's voice was filled with excitement, almost drooling with anticipation.

"A very powerful magic energy core? Then tell me what it is and what makes it so powerful?" Dure touched the warmth on his chest, where he kept the egg. He had asked the egg about it before making his choice, and the egg answered him in their customary way of communicating.

"Well... it's been too long, and I can't remember many things, but it's definitely powerful." After a long pause, Xiao Hei gave a vague answer, which was not the answer Du Lei wanted. This immediately made the latter feel like he had been tricked, and he flew into a rage.

"I can't believe you! You made me abandon a perfectly good combination and choose this piece of junk instead. You just keep saying how great it is, but you don't explain why. Why don't you let it perform to its full potential?" Du Lei's words were full of resentment.

"Hey kid, how can you be so impatient? You need to be patient and not rush things. Although it doesn't have any magic power right now, and I can't even remember what it is, I'm sure my judgment is right. Given time, I'll definitely discover its uses."

While excited, Xiao Hei realized that he really couldn't explain it, so he began to comfort Du Lei with kind words.

"Give me time? Are you kidding me? Do you think I have a long lifespan like you? Besides, I need that magic weapon right now, right now! I don't have that much time to wait with you!" Dure roared almost hysterically.

His current predicament is like finding a hundred silver coins on the street, and someone next to him tells him, "Don't pick up the silver coins, I'll give you a brick instead. It will soon turn into a gold brick, which is worth much more than a hundred silver coins." He happily accepts the brick and doesn't ask for the silver coins back.

Then he excitedly asked others how long "soon" meant, and they told him that "soon" would be one or two hundred years. He just wanted to laugh.

"Well... kid, don't be angry. Maybe it won't take a hundred or two hundred years, maybe just a couple of decades to get it done. As for the current situation... don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll help you!" Xiao Hei said confidently and with great pride.

"I don't want to go through what happened in the magic energy simulation space again. I advise you to reflect on your actions now. And you, stop pretending to be stupid and stay silent. Tell me, what's the point of me choosing this Black Water Python tendon? It's just a high-level magical beast material, what good is it?"

After criticizing Xiao Hei, Du Lei casually took the egg out of his pocket and began to scold the guy he called Xiao Bai.

"Little Black made me choose the magic core, and you made me choose the materials. Don't think you can get away with this by not saying anything. What kind of magical weapon can be made from the materials of a high-level magical beast and an unknown egg? I must be crazy to believe you two."

Dure was devastated and began to regret why he hadn't stood up for his own opinions and had chosen to believe them instead.

"Hehe, kid, although I haven't figured out what the magic core is used for yet, it will come in very handy sooner or later. As for the material, it's just the tendon of an ordinary stinky snake, nothing special. You've definitely been fooled by it." Xiao Hei gloated.

One of its greatest pleasures is arguing with the eggs. The way it argues is quite peculiar because it can talk while the eggs cannot. So the argument is one-sided and overwhelming. But this is only limited to language; it is different in action.

When put into practice, the egg emits intense heat, scorching Little Black with blazing flames. Du Lei is alright, as he only feels the temperature, but for Little Black, it's like being burned in flames, which must be unbearable.

It's been grilled several times already because of its foul mouth, but it never learns its lesson, and this time is no different.