With this thought in mind, Lu Li hurriedly sank his Divine Sense into the Spirit Item Hall.
Upon looking inside, Lu Li’s heart began to pound wildly.
He saw red light flowing across the three-chi-tall stalks and branches. The originally emerald leaves had turned completely crimson, and the ten unripe fruits were now a blazing red. Each one was the size of a baby’s fist, and their shapes even closely resembled tightly clenched infant fists.
“What kind of fruit is this? Can it really be eaten?”
“It shouldn’t be poisonous, right? It looks so beautiful.”
“…”
Lu Li hesitated for a long while before his expression suddenly hardened. “I’ll risk it! If I win this bet, I’ll attain the Dao and become an immortal. If I lose, I’ll just pretend I never came to this world!”
With a shift of his thoughts, a fruit appeared in his hand.
Instantly, a refreshing fragrance assailed his nose.
Lu Li’s expression lifted. He immediately felt his entire body become much clearer and more refreshed. He couldn’t help but exclaim in delight, “It really is an immortal fruit!”
He eagerly took a bite.
There was no pit inside; it practically melted in his mouth.
As the spirit fruit slid down into his stomach, an extremely violent power suddenly surged through his body like a tidal wave. The scorching heat made him feel as if he had been cast into raging flames.
“Ah——!”
Lu Li screamed in agony. He turned and threw himself into the nearby water pool with a heavy splash.
Gurgle, gurgle…
The pool water immediately began to bubble, yet Lu Li could not feel the slightest hint of coolness. The burning sensation felt as if countless small knives were endlessly carving into his flesh and bones.
“Ugh!”
Lu Li’s eyes turned bloodshot as he thrashed about in the pool. He clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug deep into his palms, his contorted face reflecting pure, excruciating torment.
Around his body, a dark gray, viscous substance frantically oozed out of his pores. Waves of a foul, fishy stench rapidly spread across the surface of the pool.
Who knew how much time had passed.
Lu Li was suddenly jolted awake by the glaring sunlight. The moment he opened his eyes, a foul stench assaulted his nostrils. He instinctively tried to cover his nose and mouth but nearly sank. Only then did he realize he was floating in the center of the pool.
A nine-chi radius of water around him was now completely covered in a thick layer of filth.
Lu Li hurriedly swam to the edge, rolled onto the bank, and collapsed on his back, panting heavily. “What kind of fruit was that? The pain nearly killed me.”
A long while later, Lu Li finally climbed to his feet. Looking at the blazing sun overhead, he thought to himself that he was in trouble—he had actually passed out until noon. He immediately prepared to shoulder his water buckets and head down the mountain to resume his chores.
But after taking just two steps, Lu Li stopped.
Something felt wrong. Had he become much sturdier?
Lu Li raised a hand to look, his pupils shrinking. He discovered that his arms, which used to be as thin as hemp stalks, had actually filled out. His skin was exceptionally tight and firm. Glancing at the rest of his body, he found the same was true.
Furthermore, he felt his physical strength had increased considerably.
Overjoyed, Lu Li shouldered the buckets and sprinted wildly down the mountain.
This pair of wooden buckets weighed at least twenty or thirty jin, but right now, Lu Li couldn’t feel their weight at all. Sprinting all the way to Boshui River, he filled both large buckets to the brim.
Giving them a slight test heft, he never expected that the two buckets of water, weighing roughly four to five hundred jin, would be hoisted with ease. “Holy shit, they really are immortal fruits!”
Too thrilled to contain himself, Lu Li carried the heavy load and dashed all the way back up to the summit of Cuiyun Peak.
After searching the grass near the pool, he finally found the half-eaten immortal fruit. He steeled himself and swallowed the rest of it in one gulp.
Sure enough, the sensation of falling into a volcano struck him once again.
Lu Li didn’t hesitate to leap directly into the pool. This time, he was prepared. The moment he hit the water, he bit down hard on a dead branch. He could clearly feel his flesh and bones continuously growing and tempering.
During this tempering process, countless impurities drifted out from his pores. Gradually, he grew numb; this level of pain was no longer enough to make him pass out.
A little less than an hour later, Lu Li could no longer feel any changes in his body. Only then did he climb out of the pool, feeling as though he still hadn’t had enough. His physical strength had grown even greater.
His body had also grown taller, and his previously gaunt frame had filled out, making him look much more normal.
He checked the first-floor space of the pagoda. There were still nine spirit fruits left. After a moment of thought, he took out another one and devoured it completely.
This time, the pain was more than halved. He could endure it without jumping into the water or biting down on a stick. The expelled impurities were no longer so thick and sticky, and the foul stench had nearly vanished. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
He had a feeling that he could now easily lift five or six hundred jin with a single hand. If he used his shoulders to carry a yoke, a thousand jin would be completely effortless.
However, he wasn’t satisfied with just this. He ate another immortal fruit. To his disappointment, he only felt his flesh and bones squirming slightly right after swallowing it. That sensation soon faded away completely.
Furthermore, no more impurities were expelled. Looking inward, he was astonished to discover that his bones had become as smooth and flawless as jade. The cells in his flesh were packed tightly together, leaving no gaps.
“The feeling of strength is truly wonderful!”
Lu Li stood tall and straight at the edge of the pool, gazing into the distance. A faint, dark gleam flickered in his eyes. His entire temperament had elevated, making him seem as if he had completely shed his mortal shell.
“Time to work!”
He shouldered the empty buckets once more and darted down the mountain.
After one round trip, he felt this pace was still too slow. He found another set of buckets and carried four at once. With a weight of roughly a thousand jin, he still handled it with ease. However, maintaining his balance was difficult; walking too fast caused quite a bit of water to spill over.
Night fell.
Chen Zhong was still chopping wood, and Qin Shouren still hadn’t returned.
Lu Li didn’t stop either. He had progressed from four buckets to eight, each one filled to the brim. This required the strength to bear two thousand jin. Only now did he start feeling somewhat strained when trekking uphill.
Maintaining balance was also extremely difficult; the slightest slip in focus would cause him to sway and stagger.
Lu Li didn’t dare add any more weight. He continuously practiced his carrying technique to keep all the buckets balanced. It was grueling at first, but the more he practiced, the more proficient he became. By midnight, Lu Li could already manage to walk without using his hands to steady the buckets, and they wouldn’t slip.
He had developed his own water-carrying method: using his Divine Sense to perceive which bucket was tilting, then adjusting his muscle tension to compensate.
By the end of the night, he could even finely control the physical strength in most of his muscle groups.
What Lu Li didn’t know was that with his current level of bodily control, if he were to learn fist techniques, he would absolutely achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Early the next morning.
Lu Li finally stopped. Looking at the six completely filled pools of water before him, he revealed a satisfied look. Then, brimming with joy, he headed down the mountain. Under normal circumstances, this extra pool of water would last about five days.
In other words, he didn’t need to fetch water for the next five days.
He arrived halfway down the mountain and heard the rhythmic thwack of an axe still ringing out from the nearby dense forest. Pausing briefly, he walked into the trees. With a light sigh, he spoke to Chen Zhong’s back. “Fatty, take a break. I have something good for you.”