A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 11: Crushing Stone into Powder

In Sanchazi Town, Master Li the Half-Immortal sat behind his fortune-telling stall, his eyes observing the passing pedestrians.

In his line of work, one had to be good at observing and reading people, collecting details from subtle cues, identifying potential customers, and then luring them in.

Sometimes, catching a single fat sheep could keep you fed for years—or even for life.

The only problem was that Sanchazi Town was too poor. Most people here wished they could split a single copper coin in two to spend it.

Even if they caught a mosquito, they’d be thinking about shaving off some tender meat from its legs.

Trying to earn money from them was painfully difficult.

As a result, after so many years, Master Li was still alternating between hunger and fullness.

Outsiders who didn’t know the truth said he had a lean, immortal-like appearance. In reality, he dreamed every night of stuffing himself with fatty meat until he was bloated.

Until this year, when his fortunes finally turned—he met a naïve kid who knew nothing about the world.

Just as he was scanning the crowd, he saw a young man walking toward him from the end of the street.

He wore a coarse hemp shirt, straw sandals, and carried a chunk of fatty pork in his hand.

The fat sheep had arrived.

Master Li immediately straightened his robe, sat upright, and looked solemn and sage-like, full of immortal aura.

Meanwhile, his mind raced with dozens of schemes, calculating how to hustle this cheap disciple today.

That so-called supreme martial art—he had practiced it for years himself, and it was utterly useless. A complete scam.

Anyway, he had taught it already. If the kid failed to achieve anything, it’d be because he didn’t work hard enough or wasn’t gifted—not Master Li’s fault.

“Master!”

Ergouzi called out from afar. Master Li stroked his beard with reserved dignity.

“Hmm! You’re here!”

“How’s your cultivation progressing lately?”

He still remembered Ergouzi coming to ask him for help last time—some kind of difficulty. He had sweet-talked the boy for a long time to send him back.

Today, he figured, he’d have to double down on the bluffing.

“Mm, it’s going well. I finally entered the path!”

Ergouzi nodded firmly. He was very satisfied with his progress.

Of course, aside from his own efforts, he was grateful for his master’s guidance.

That’s why he didn’t hesitate to spend big this time—bringing Master Li a fine piece of fatty pork.

“Entered the path?”

Master Li didn’t buy it. He figured the boy was just saving face—bragging and exaggerating whatever little he had achieved.

He’d practiced that martial art himself; it was completely useless.

Time to knock him down a notch.

He casually picked up a small stone from the ground and placed it on the table.

“Pick up this stone and crush it into powder for me.”

Ergouzi quickly shook his head. While he was much stronger now, crushing a rock with bare hands was still impossible.

“You can’t even do something this simple, and you dare to talk about ‘entering the path’?!”

Master Li shook his head in mock disappointment, putting on an expression of righteous frustration.

Then he tossed the small stone aside and picked up a bigger one.

With a single hand, he squeezed—crack! The stone turned to powder.

Seeing the astonishment and admiration on Ergouzi’s face, Master Li felt extremely pleased.

He casually brushed the powder off his hand with a calm expression, as if he had just done something completely ordinary.

“A martial artist must guard against arrogance. Never get cocky. Always remember—there’s always someone stronger, a sky beyond the sky…”

“Master, I was wrong!”

Under Master Li’s stern scolding, Ergouzi was overwhelmed with shame. His dark brown face flushed red to the ears.

“To admit one’s mistake and correct it—that is the greatest virtue!”

“When the day comes that you can crush stones and leap ten feet with ease, then you’ll have truly entered the path.”

Master Li understood well the art of ‘stick, then carrot.’ Now he stroked his beard and comforted Ergouzi with a warm tone.

At the same time, he pulled out that tattered old book from his robe.

“Don’t lose heart. As long as you persist, you’ll one day step onto the path and pass the martial exam.”

“For now, continue copying and recognizing characters. Learn all the words in this book first.”

The two chatted for a long while before Ergouzi finally took his leave.

After being humbled by his master this time, Ergouzi deeply understood that there was always someone better—he must stay grounded and not get arrogant.

Back on the mountain, he resumed his daily cultivation with steady focus.

From then on, except for the days he went to town to study and copy characters with his master, Ergouzi no longer bragged about his progress.

Such a measly level of skill was instantly seen through by someone like Master Li, who was like an immortal.

He had only learned a little, not even enough to truly begin, yet he had already felt smug.

But Master Li, with his immense ability, never showed off.

That was what a true master looked like. Ergouzi still had a long way to go.

But he firmly believed that one day, he too would become strong—strong enough to casually crush stone into powder like his master.

After that accidental breakthrough that birthed a wisp of yuanqi in his meridians, cultivation became much easier.

As long as he practiced on schedule, that yuanqi steadily grew stronger—he improved a little every day.

Wherever the yuanqi flowed, it brought a warm, soothing sensation.

Maybe because of that yuanqi, his strength had increased rapidly. Now he could lift stones over 100 jin effortlessly.

This strength couldn’t go to waste. There were still many barren rock hollows on Shekou Mountain—just right for land reclamation.

Every time his arms got too tired to lift, he would guide yuanqi into them. After a while, the fatigue would vanish.

But he also noticed one problem—his appetite had drastically increased since starting this martial art.

He used to eat three big bowls of rice per meal. Now five bowls didn’t fill him, and he got hungry quickly.

Previously, he only needed two meals a day—morning and evening.

Now three meals weren’t enough—most days he had to eat four.

If he missed even a few bowls, his cultivation would slow noticeably.

Luckily, he wasn’t short on food right now, or he wouldn’t be able to continue training at all.

He also found that rice stored in the gourd not only tasted better—it boosted his yuanqi.

Ordinary rice had almost none of this effect.

The rice stored in the gourd was vastly different. Just one bite, and you could tell.

This brought up a problem: for convenience, all his harvested rice had been stored in the gourd. How could he sell it now?

If people asked where the rice came from, how would he explain?

Sanchazi Town wasn’t far from Shexi Village. If anyone became curious, they could trace it back to Shekou Mountain.

Until he figured out a solution, he decided not to sell any gourd-stored rice.

One day, Ergouzi remembered how he had spent several years feeding pigs, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

If he cooked the food into a mush, like pig slop—who could recognize what it originally was?

Of course, he couldn’t just sell it as pig slop—that wouldn’t fetch a good price, and probably wouldn’t sell at all. Not many people enjoyed eating pig food.

Maybe he could sell it as a kind of medicine.

He remembered that traveling performers in town had once sold something called “Great Strength Pills.”

Maybe… he could give that a try.