Marvel: The Alchemist Just Wants a Peaceful Life...

"Young friend, why make such an expression? We are not standing still; naturally, we must move forward with the tide of the times. The so-called alchemy furnace is nothing more than an external manifestation."

The pressure cooker in your hand can be the alchemy furnace, and the pots and pans in ordinary people's homes can also become the alchemy furnace for immortal pills. There are only two things that are truly important in alchemy: the first is the material, and the second is the technique.

Since you can create life like this little fellow, it proves your crafting skills are quite good. Why bother with external conditions and end up buying the box and returning the pearl?

Hearing Laozi's words, Sherlock understood Laozi's meaning and realized that to truly complete the alchemy, he should focus more on his own abilities that originated from alchemy.

If the essence of alchemy is equivalent exchange, then the essence of elixir making is the balance of yin and yang, but the methods of "refining" in both are actually the same.

In other words, if Sherlock wanted, he could completely abandon the alchemy furnace and directly refine the pills.

However, for Sherlock, such behavior ultimately made him feel that something was missing. Looking at the pressure cooker in his hand, Sherlock still had an expression of disapproval.

In the end, Sherlock used alchemy to forcibly transform Laozi's pressure cooker into the shape of a pill furnace, although in essence it was still just a pressure cooker.

In Sherlock's words, the proper sense of ritual should still be maintained.

Lao Jun didn't care about this. After all, in Lao Jun's opinion, Sherlock's 'refining' method had its advantages and disadvantages. It was indeed convenient and fast.

However, such abilities can only be limited to the 'ordinary' level. If Sherlock wants to truly embark on the path of alchemy, there is still too much for him to learn.

As for whether Sherlock can truly embark on this path, that depends on Sherlock's own destiny and how much of the contents of the nameless ancient book given by Laozi he can comprehend.

When Sherlock understood Laozi's meaning, the first batch of pills he prepared and refined on his own surprised Laozi quite a bit, even making him feel like he was falling behind the times.

The reason is quite simple: the first batch of pills that Sherlock refined was entirely the result of Sherlock's own improvisation.

Sherlock named this pill "Limited-Time Gender Experience Pill"!

The effect is simple: a total of 47 pills, 47 different genders, including Walmart plastic bags and armed helicopters. Once you take them, you can temporarily experience that gender for 3 days, although these 47 pills are basically a messy gender blind box.

Laozi was not surprised by the effects of the elixir, but by the number of gender-specific blind boxes.

Gender? 47 types? And they even have Walmart plastic bags and armed helicopters?

For the first time, Lao Jun felt that after living for so long, he really couldn't understand what those foreign devils were thinking.

Even if Laozi racked his brains, he could only come up with four genders: male, female, hermaphrodite, and asexual.

What exactly are those 47 kinds?

Chapter 153 The Calm Before the Storm

Regardless of the circumstances, once Sherlock's first batch of pills was successfully refined, it meant that Sherlock had truly embarked on the path of alchemy, and at the very least, he had truly mastered the art of alchemy.

That's why Lao Jun handed over the main business of his pharmacy to Sherlock, while he himself spent his days seeing patients and taking care of children.

It was at this moment that Sherlock realized that Lao Jun's pharmacy was not as simple as it appeared to be, merely a pharmacy that provided medical care and medicine to ordinary people.

The truth is that Laozi's pharmacy was a place where humans, gods, ghosts, and demons gathered, and they lived in a strange state of not disturbing each other.

And apart from humans, who have the simplest requirements, none of the other gods, ghosts, and demons have simple requirements.

Most people come to the pharmacy because they are sick and want to get treatment, but the requests from gods, ghosts and demons are much more numerous. Even setting aside these strange and unusual requests, and even with Sherlock's current skill level, it would be difficult to refine pills, just the request for illness alone is enough to make Sherlock scratch his head.

Unlike humans, gods and demons rarely get sick, but once they do, they are extremely difficult to cure. Otherwise, they wouldn't come to Laozi's pharmacy for medicine. Gods are better off; they only need to follow Laozi's diagnosis to prepare medicine and refine pills to cure them.

The real trouble comes from ghosts and demons. After all, demons need to be considered in terms of their original form, and many medicinal herbs that are highly nutritious for humans are deadly poisonous to demons.

The situation with ghosts is a bit more special. After all, they are spiritual beings and are inherently yin. The balance of yin and yang is already broken, so extra care must be taken.

It's no exaggeration to say that Sherlock was so overwhelmed by this bizarre and complicated situation that he almost collapsed in the apothecary. But he also had to admit that in just seven days, his alchemy skills had improved dramatically.

Even after those seven days, which Sherlock initially called hell, had passed, Sherlock, whose skills had improved by leaps and bounds, still had the mind to use Laozi's apothecary to study his elixirs.

However, Laozi's evaluation of these elixirs was only four words.

Not doing business properly!

Perhaps due to his personality, most of the pills Sherlock concocted, aside from a few that were genuinely meant to save lives, were prank pills like the first batch of gender-experience pills.

Even Laozi couldn't stand Sherlock's "waste" of his "natural treasures" and created a whole process for applying for medicinal materials, even though most of the prank pills Sherlock made were just "auxiliary ingredients" of elixirs.

In Sherlock's words, since he didn't want to live forever, and this thing was so interesting, who could refuse it?

Of course, aside from the troubles of being a medicine boy for Laozi, what probably annoys Sherlock the most is Doro being held in Laozi's arms.

In Sherlock's eyes, this little pink-haired ball of fur was already somewhat 'unruly'.

Fortunately, the Laozi in front of him was only an avatar. If it were the real Laozi, the old green ox who loved oranges would not be able to eat a single orange, and even the Vajra Bracelet, which was a nose ring, would have to be worn on Doro's hand as a bracelet.

Sherlock absolutely refuses to admit that he was jealous of Doro's treatment of receiving Laozi's elixirs like candy! Absolutely not!

The most ridiculous thing is that Laozi, this unscrupulous elder, actually managed to make a pill for Doro that looks and tastes like an orange.

While Sherlock was busy working as a medicine boy in Laozi's apothecary, the world was eerily quiet, as if none of the major events that had occurred in the past had happened.

The world was as calm as the calm before a storm, which made people feel uneasy.

At home, Tony pressed the new element left by his father to his chest, remarked on its coconut flavor, and then began to redesign his armor according to the new element's power.

Meanwhile, in New York, Tony's old friend Rhodes, with the help of Hammer Technologies, has transformed into the 'Iron Patriot' and is constantly testing his armor.

Even though Rhode already knew that Tony had already decided to make him the user of the armor when he gave it to him.

And if we're talking about the busiest person, it would probably be the brilliant Justin Hammer.

This guy first spent a lot of money to redeem Ivan Vanko, this 'genius,' from the rabbit. But just after he smuggled Ivan Vanko to the eagle's side, the military came to him with the Mark II brought back by Rhodes to cooperate.

This was like a windfall for Justin Hammer, a brilliant shrewd man.

Using the prototype brought back by Rhodes, Justin Hammer had Ivan Vanko analyze the technology on the Mark 2 while simultaneously modifying it using the extracted technology in conjunction with Hammer Technology's weapons.

The real core technology was mostly used by Ivan Vanko on his Iron Warriors at Justin Hammer's command.

It has to be said that Justin Hammer's ulterior motives are the most typical example of the ruthless business thinking on the American side.

When modifying the Mark 2 to transform it into the 'Iron Patriot', Justin Hammer mostly used conventional kinetic weapons, which looked impressive with their guns and cannons.

However, these things are practically useless against Tony's armor.

The real big bet, however, was placed by Justin Hammer on his unmanned land, sea, and air combat drones. This was also the main reason why Justin Hammer spent a lot of money to redeem Ivan Vanko from the Chinese side.

After all, Hammer Technologies is an arms company, and in the arms industry, unmanned equipment will always outsell manned equipment, especially when the performance is roughly the same!

It can be said that Justin Hammer's brilliant idea was to target military sales from the very beginning.

What could have been a technology licensing deal with Tony turned into a complicated situation due to this brilliant maneuver, even allowing Tony to stage a comeback at the hearing.

After acquiring Ivan Vanko, a "genius comparable to Tony," they became so arrogant that they wanted to showcase their latest Iron Soldier at Stark Industries' industrial exhibition!

Justin Hammer, despite his great intelligence, made a grave mistake by appointing Ivan Vanko, a 'genius,' as the project's designer, even though he knew he was just an ordinary person.

So much so that Ivan Vanko, with a toothpick in his mouth and playing with birds, easily acquired the technical skills to arm wrestle with Tony. And because of Justin Hammer's jealousy, even a stage was set up for Ivan Vanko.

Most importantly, everything seemed flawless to Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer, unaware that it was all being done under the watchful eyes of others.

Chapter 154 The Great Battle Is About to Begin

As it turns out, never underestimate S.H.I.E.L.D. during its Snake and Shield era; their intelligence capabilities were truly phenomenal.

From the moment Justin Hammer smuggled Ivan Vanko, it was all under the watchful eye of S.H.I.E.L.D., including when Rhodes took the armor from Tony and when the military requested Hammer Technologies to analyze it; S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about it from beginning to end.

However, SHIELD did not stop it from happening; instead, they chose to acquiesce.

The reason is simple: a black-boiled egg, which is black inside and out, certainly wouldn't put all its eggs in one basket. While investing in Tony, it was also observing whether Tony's armor was replicable.

The moment Tony finished creating the new element and resolved the damage from palladium, S.H.I.E.L.D. abandoned Hammer Technologies.

Coulson, with a smile, revealed Justin Hammer's secrets to Tony under the pretext of "receiving intelligence."

The implication is that there's a risk with Pepper Potts, so you need to speed up the production of the new armor. Also, although you officially fired Black Widow, she's still protecting Pepper Potts; that's a favor from S.H.I.E.L.D.

After listening to Coulson's words, Tony almost immediately took out his phone and called Sherlock.

Sherlock was still in Laozi's apothecary, refining his elixirs with an evil grin on his face, when Tony's call came in.

"Hey, what do you want with your dad?"

Sherlock opened the call, maintaining the alchemy furnace while yelling irritably at Tony on the other end of the line.

"Get out! You unfilial son, I am your father!"

Tony almost instinctively retorted, and only after saying that did he realize what he had said. Just as he was about to explain, Sherlock's voice came through the phone receiver.

"Come on, with your body that's been partying every night, you're practically a kidney deficiency prince, and you still want to be a father?"

"You're talking nonsense! I don't have kidney deficiency! Besides, even if I did, that damned big fish cured me a long time ago!"

When it comes to a man's dignity, Tony had to put everything else aside for a while. However, Sherlock's next words made Tony slide to his knees.

"Unfortunately, the Meat Drop is only a temporary cure, not a cure. Let me tell you a secret, I got a prescription from a big shot on the Rabbit's side that can cure both the symptoms and the root cause!"

"Dad, I was wrong, please give me the prescription!"

Hearing Tony's lightning-fast sliding kneel on the other end of the phone, Sherlock looked at the newly refined pills in front of him, which he had deliberately preserved with side effects, and the smile on Sherlock's face became even brighter.

"Don't worry, I'll give it to you when we get back. I've already refined it, and I guarantee that one pill will replenish your energy within a month! Alright, my dear son, tell me, what exactly do you want to see your father about?"

After Sherlock had set a trap for Tony, he began to discuss serious matters with him. After all, Sherlock knew Tony quite well, as he was engrossed in his research. Unless something major happened, Tony would never be able to extricate himself from his research.

As for calling himself, that's even more impossible, unless it's something very important.

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Tony initially wanted to retort, but after remembering the important matter at hand, he forcefully suppressed the urge to argue.

"Remember Ivan Vanko who showed up on the rabbit's side back then? He's the old Russian who cracked the whip on the F1 track."

"Hmm, what's wrong? You've appeared in the US, inside Hammer Corporation, planning to make a move against you?"

Sherlock's answer was perfectly natural, but it made Tony on the other end of the phone quite uncomfortable. Tony looked at the phone in his hand with a surprised expression and asked Sherlock.

"you know?"

"Of course! After you took down that Russian, I saw Justin Hammer sneaking around and following him. It's not hard to understand why that Russian would appear at the Hammer Group."

Sherlock's answer remained calm, but it silenced Tony. Tony wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was smarter than most people. He could often guess the whole story as long as he knew the general idea.

Although there was no evidence, Tony was somewhat angry about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s two-pronged approach, which left him to clean up the mess. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. had just boasted to him that they had protected Pepper Potts.

Fortunately, despite his anger, Tony still retained basic rationality.

"Alright, since you already know, I won't explain anymore. Do you have time now? I want you to go protect Pepper. You know, even if S.H.I.E.L.D. is strong, it's still a bit too much for a mech suit."

"no problem!"

Sherlock agreed without hesitation. After all, he had missed out on all the fun before, and he didn't want to miss out on the fun to come.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Sherlock's agreement, and then spoke to Sherlock.

"Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up."

Hearing Tony's words, Sherlock was still a little embarrassed. Recalling his embarrassing experience of stealing a child from Pepper Potts and getting caught, he could only stammer to Tony.

"Never mind, I'll go back by myself. I'm not in the country right now."

After saying that, Sherlock decisively hung up the phone and put away the pills he had just made for Tony during the call. Then he walked towards Lao Jun, preparing to take Doro back to the United States.

After Sherlock explained the situation to Laozi, Sherlock finally saw just how exaggerated the affection between grandparents and grandchildren could be.

After learning that Sherlock was taking Doro back to the United States, Lao Jun held Doro, who was beginning to emit a faint golden light, with great reluctance, just like grandparents who were about to say goodbye to their granddaughter.

That means they stuff all the good stuff into Doro's tiny four-dimensional pocket.

Rare and precious materials, elixirs, magical artifacts—if Laozi possessed it, Doro's tiny four-dimensional pocket would surely contain it all. Some of these items even made Sherlock incredibly envious.

However, it seems that Lao Jun already knew that Sherlock might trick you out of your New Year's money like your parents did when you were a child, under the pretense of "Mom and Dad are saving it for you." To prevent such a thing from happening, after stuffing countless treasures into Doro's four-dimensional pocket, Lao Jun, with great foresight, also refined the four-dimensional pocket again.

A forbidden barrier was forcibly added to Doro's four-dimensional pocket. Apart from Doro himself, even a great immortal would not be able to open Doro's four-dimensional pocket!

And all of this was done in front of Sherlock! It seemed as if it was a demonstration for Sherlock.

Sherlock's lips twitched uncontrollably as he watched this scene, his face filled with utter speechlessness.

Well, looking at Doro, who was already radiating a faint golden light and whose mini four-dimensional pocket was full of treasures, Sherlock really felt that one day he would put Doro on the altar, offer him three sticks of incense, and then devoutly pray that Doro would bestow some treasures upon him.

Chapter 155 Giving Little Chili a Little Eastern Shock

After saying goodbye to Lao Jun, Sherlock greeted Doro, Da Sheng Jiu Yue, and the others, then prepared to return to the US using the Anywhere Door. Thanks to Tony's request, Sherlock didn't want to go through the trouble and simply opened the Anywhere Door in Pepper Potts' office.

Chili wasn't surprised by the pink door that suddenly appeared in her office, since she and Sherlock were the only two people in the world who owned such a thing.

The appearance of the Anywhere Door now naturally signifies that Sherlock has returned from the rabbit's side.