Chapter 8: Lifting Heavy as Light, Lifting Light as Heavy

This *shui gang* weighed at least two hundred *jin*! No matter how much Lu Yang enjoyed playing in the mountains as a child—climbing trees, swimming in rivers, hunting birds, or catching fish—he couldn't lift a *shui gang* of such immense weight.

Yun Zhi casually drew a *fu* on the *shui gang*, and its weight instantly plummeted to a degree Lu Yang could lift with a single hand.

She produced a *kui lei* to supervise Lu Yang.

“Try lifting it for a day and see the results.”

With that understated remark, Yun Zhi vanished into the clouds. Lu Yang and the *kui lei* stared at each other. He sighed, tied his top around his waist, and began his arduous life of *shui gang* lifting.

The *kui lei* supervised from the side, immediately making Lu Yang resume lifting after a brief rest, squeezing every ounce of his strength.

When his arms were utterly exhausted, the *kui lei* would feed him two *da bu dan*. When his arms were too sore to move, the *kui lei* would feed him two *da bu dan*. When Lu Yang was so tired he wanted to sleep, the *kui lei* would feed him two *da bu dan*...

After a full day, Lu Yang's legs trembled, his arms hung limply, and he could no longer feel their presence. If his body swayed left, his left arm would swing like a pendulum; if it swayed right, his right arm would also swing, and then he’d collapse to the ground with a thud.

As usual, the *kui lei* administered two *da bu dan*. Seeing no reaction from Lu Yang, it had no choice but to end the day's training. It found a small cart, pushed Lu Yang back on it, and even covered him with a straw mat.

Smelling the aroma of food, Lu Yang's body reacted by salivating, and his consciousness gradually returned.

Finally able to eat, Lu Yang breathed a sigh of relief. If not for the food, he would have thought he hadn't joined an *xian jia men pai* but had committed an unforgivable crime and was being tortured in a water dungeon.

Having apprenticed under the sect master, there was no need to worry about food. He didn't have to take *pi gu dan* daily, and various unfamiliar, rare ingredients were transformed into delicious dishes, silently improving Lu Yang's physique.

Lu Yang still couldn't lift his arms, so the *kui lei* fed him the entire meal.

After the meal, Yun Zhi brewed a large pot of *cui ti yao ji* and instructed Lu Yang to bathe in it. The pervasive scent of spiritual herbs in the air almost made Lu Yang fall over from the fumes.

“Take this,” Yun Zhi said, handing Lu Yang a hollow reed pipe.

“What is this?”

“When soaking in the *cui ti yao ji*, you need to immerse your entire body. Your head would definitely be outside when you bathe. Later, bite onto this reed pipe, immerse your head, and breathe through it.”

Lu Yang thought, as expected of the *da shi jie*, she was truly considerate. Even though she was putting him through torture, it was for his own good.

After Yun Zhi left, Lu Yang stripped naked, bit onto the reed pipe, and plunged into the wooden tub with a splash. Then, a heart-rending scream, like that of a slaughtered pig, erupted.

“*Da shi jie*, are you using boiling water for a bath?!”

...

Yun Zhi arrived in the small courtyard. A gentle breeze swept through, dispersing the scent of the medicinal bath that lingered on her. She began to ponder what else she might have overlooked.

She had grown up in an *xian jia dong tian*, interacting only with cultivators. Later, she joined the Wen Dao Zong and focused solely on cultivation, rarely getting involved in mortal affairs, thus knowing very little about mortals.

To instruct Lu Yang, she had specifically sought out many books describing mortals. While Lu Yang learned common cultivation knowledge, she was also learning common mortal knowledge.

However, it was quite clear that the books describing mortals did not mention the temperature of bathwater for them.

Hearing Lu Yang's hoarse shouts, Yun Zhi mused that it was too late to cool the water down now. In that case, the only thing to do was...

Yun Zhi took a bottle of burn ointment from her sleeve, placed it by the door, and knocked.

“*Xiao shi di*, I’ve left the burn ointment by the door. Remember to use it.”

...

Some time passed. With the threefold assistance of forced, tireless cultivation, spiritual beast meat, and special medicinal baths, Lu Yang finally transformed from an unremarkable mortal, with skin peeled from burns, into an excellent folk artist skilled in *shui gang* acrobatics.

Three *shui gang*, each weighing two hundred *jin*, were tossed around by Lu Yang like sandbags, forming arcs in the air.

At the same time, Lu Yang could walk the *ba gua bu* in circles on the edge of the *shui gang*, as if on flat ground.

He could even tip the *shui gang* onto its side and stand on the rolling vat as steadily as Mount Tai, still having enough energy to manipulate three other *shui gang*!

This skill alone would draw waves of applause on the streets!

“Excellent. Your *lian ti* progress is even faster than I estimated,” Yun Zhi said, clapping softly and giving Lu Yang great confidence.

Although Yun Zhi rarely appeared, she had always been observing Lu Yang's progress.

“Can I *xiu xian* now?” Lu Yang asked excitedly, setting the *shui gang* down and waiting quietly for the answer, not even daring to breathe loudly.

During this period of *lian ti*, Meng Jingzhou had sought him out but was driven away by the *kui lei* after only a few words.

He heard that Meng Jingzhou, Man Gu, and others who joined at the same time as him had already achieved *yin qi ru ti* and become true *xiu xian* practitioners, meditating and cultivating daily, detached from worldly affairs. Only he himself was still toiling away at *lian ti*, which made him somewhat anxious, feeling he had been left too far behind and experiencing a significant psychological gap.

Yun Zhi did not answer. She took a piece of tofu from her storage space. The tofu was incredibly soft, trembling precariously in her fair palm like a water balloon.

“Palm down, grasp it.”

Lu Yang thought this was easy and obediently did as told, grasping the tofu. But with a slight movement of his fingers, the tofu was crushed, scattering across the ground.

Yun Zhi handed Lu Yang another piece of tofu, gesturing for him to continue.

Lu Yang, refusing to believe in bad luck, thought the first time was an accident and the second attempt would surely be fine.

The tofu was crushed again; he couldn't hold it at all.

After the third failure, Lu Yang knew what the problem was. His hand strength was now too immense and inherently difficult to control. All the items around him were used by cultivators; if they were ordinary objects, he would have to eat very carefully to avoid accidentally snapping chopsticks or crushing bowls.

Furthermore, his strength had grown so rapidly that his mind hadn't kept pace with his body's speed, which was why his fingers occasionally twitched.

Given this, how easy would it be to grasp a piece of tofu as soft as water?

Yun Zhi stopped handing Lu Yang tofu. With one hand, she held a piece downwards, swaying it casually. The tofu wobbled but remained intact.

Suddenly, Yun Zhi released her grip, the tofu dropped, and she caught it again at lightning speed!

Lu Yang's eyes widened. How easy could it be to catch falling tofu?

Under *da shi jie*'s control, the soft tofu was no different from a piece of iron, allowing her to manipulate it at will.

“You have achieved *ju zhong ruo qing*, but you are still far from achieving *ju qing ruo zhong*.”

Lu Yang remained silent. He knew he was still far from completing his *lian ti*. Cultivation could not be rushed. Meng Jingzhou and others had been trained by their families since childhood, which was why they could directly engage in *xiu xian*.

How easy would it be to catch up with them?

In his childhood, he had no guidance. Now, to receive personal instruction from *da shi jie* and have the aid of *tian cai di bao*, his growth rate was already astonishing. What reason did he have to be discontent?

Lu Yang also recalled what *da shi jie* had said: that *xiu xian* was a lifelong endeavor, and temporary advantages or disadvantages weren't important; what mattered was who could laugh last.

Lu Yang took two deep breaths, realizing his previous mindset was wrong. He promptly adjusted his attitude, no longer chasing cultivation progress.

Then he saw *da shi jie* have the *kui lei* push over a cart full of tofu.