192: Chapter 189 Massage and Tuina are also forms of cultivation

Acupuncture here is quite expensive—compared to back home, of course.

But it's actually considered cheap here; forty-five minutes of Acupuncture is only eighty dollars.

Cupping for sixty minutes is eighty dollars, and as for massage, an hour and a half is a hundred and twenty dollars.

One can only say that people at the bottom definitely can't enjoy this, but it's absolutely no problem for the middle class to come occasionally.

Coupled with the fact that business here is really good, Li Changsheng felt that the shop's monthly turnover was at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Before long, two middle-aged men walked in, both with Xia Country Faces; they both nodded and smiled at Zhou Guoli, clearly long-time acquaintances.

"Mr. Zhou, are you planning on Acupuncture, Massage, or Cupping and massage?"

"Give this Mr. Li the full works first; I'll just have a Massage."

Zhou Guoli pointed at Li Changsheng with a chuckle.

"By the way, Mr. Li, is your pain threshold sensitive? Oh, I mean, can you endure pain?"

Facing Zhou Guoli's strange words, Li Changsheng nodded suspiciously.

"No problem."

"That's good. Enjoy yourself, and I hope you don't cry out. By the way, do you want a towel?" As he spoke, Zhou Guoli held a dry towel with a weird grin.

The meaning was obvious: if you can't take it, kid, bite on this.

Li Changsheng frowned and didn't take it. No joke, he knew a bit about this himself, and it wasn't like he hadn't massaged himself before.

"By the way, Uncle, what is your surname?"

Seeing the uncle beside him preparing to start the massage, Li Changsheng inquired.

"Turn over!"

The uncle spoke indifferently. Just as Li Changsheng was about to move, the man suddenly gripped his shoulder and with a pull, flipped him over.

At that moment, Li Changsheng felt like a quilt, easily flipped over by the uncle.

He saw the uncle press his thumb and index finger onto the lower side of his abdomen, three inches below the navel, and press down hard.

Li Changsheng's eyes widened instantly. For a moment, it felt as if he had been hit by a bullet—one that had spiraled in, spinning and churning wildly inside him.

And that wasn't all; it began to split, causing even greater destruction.

Grit, grit, grit!

Li Changsheng's teeth were clenched tight. He almost let out a long howl and even wanted to knock the old TCM doctor down with a punch.

But he held back, his whole body turning red from the effort. His mind raced as he hurriedly followed the Second Level Martial Fire Qi Circulation of the Twelve Forms of Tendon Transformation and Marrow Cleansing in his head.

He began the Qi Circulation through the Twelve Meridians. Soon, the pain started to dissipate rapidly, naturally generating a strong rebound.

Not only that, but Li Changsheng also simultaneously operated the Tendon Transformation and Bone Soaring Qi Distribution of the Taiji Stake Training's Transformative Stance.

The periosteum was fully activated, gradually creating air sacs shaped like hollow drums. A bulge of Qi quickly rose in that area.

Sure enough, with the two combined, the pain vanished instantly.

"Eh?!"

The uncle was stunned for a moment, then, as if thinking of something, he nodded with a solemn expression.

Hard Qigong, huh? That kid surnamed Zhou knows it too. Then let's turn up the intensity.

Suddenly, his technique changed abruptly. He flipped Li Changsheng over again and then gave a sharp poke and press under the ribs.

Li Changsheng once again wore a mask of pain. His teeth were clenched so hard they made a creaking sound, nearly shattering them.

He suddenly realized how this massage and Massage could be so painful; it was hardly any easier than being hit by a bullet.

But then he paused—wasn't this an excellent way to train Hard Qigong?

So-called Hard Qigong is also a type of Hard Qigong, and the principle of Hard Qigong is to constantly use External forces to stimulate the skin and muscles.

By training the nerves' states of relaxation and tension, after repeated practice, one gradually achieves the ability to loosen and tighten at will—muscles are relaxed when soft and like steel when hard.

Some of Shaolin's Hard Qigong is like this, with Paida Gong being a classic example.

For a time, Li Changsheng stopped fixating on the pain and instead began to constantly feel this External stimulus, using it to continuously train his Hard Qigong.

To make Hard Qigong effective enough to respond quickly when others strike requires extremely high reaction capabilities.

If one can reach the level where, as soon as the enemy moves and before they even touch you, you can surge Qi to the corresponding area, it forms a perfect defense.

Of course, there are also stories of those whose Hard Qigong was not up to par, who challenged others and were killed by a master in a single move.

It is said that during the late Qing Dynasty, there was a master of External Hard Qigong who had large joints, immense strength, and was extremely good at taking hits.

He wanted to challenge Yang Luchan, who ignored him for a long time. Finally, Yang Luchan's son reached the limit of his patience and fought him; as soon as he moved, a single kick killed the man.

For example, not long ago, a combat coach insisted on challenging a Daoist priest from Yuntai Mountain. Relying on his knotted muscles and frequent training in impact resistance and modern combat, he thought that even if he wasn't a match, he would be fine.

In the end, the priest slapped him, and the combat coach spat out three liters of blood on the spot, eventually being taken away by an ambulance.

There was also the battle between the Daoist Disciple, Priest Qingfeng, and Monk Yihu. Monk Yihu, coming from Shaolin, had some foundation in Golden Bell Shield and Iron Shirt.

In that fight, Monk Yihu was directly knocked out. It shows that if your Hard Qigong is not up to par, it's easy to fail miserably.

Li Changsheng's requirements weren't that high; after all, being a punching bag wasn't his style.

"Relax, tighten... relax again, I'll tighten again!"

Li Changsheng closed his eyes and simply focused his mind, fully feeling the other person's pressure while simultaneously surging Qi to the relevant area at the moment of impact.

This was a way to train the reaction speed of his Qi Circulation. Once he could achieve instantaneous circulation upon contact, his impact resistance would be greatly enhanced.

Performances like the spear-tip-to-the-throat are possible because they know exactly where the strike will land, so they circulate Qi in advance.

Li Changsheng had been able to do this for a long time; it was nothing special.

But with his eyes closed, not knowing where the other person would press—if he could still circulate Qi in time to resist the pressure, that would be true skill.

Gradually, without Li Changsheng knowing, the massage uncle's expression became increasingly surprised.

Zhou Guoli, who was waiting nearby to see the joke, was also stunned.

He had experienced it himself; the first time was like a pig being slaughtered, and it was often like that afterward.

Even now, he wouldn't dare say he could endure it 100%, because the masters here were very skilled at manipulating Acupoints, pressing with absolute precision.

Often, with many Acupoints, the more precise you are, the greater the pain, but as long as you can endure it, you'll feel completely comfortable afterward.

"Is Elder Peng taking it easy on him? Holding back his strength? That shouldn't be right; Elder Peng doesn't give Face to anyone, and he values his profession more than his own life!"

Zhou Guoli scratched his head, a bit confused, but then— "Ahhhh!!!"

A shrill scream echoed through the private room. Startled by this sudden, pig-slaughtering-like scream, Li Changsheng subconsciously forgot to circulate his Qi.

Then Elder Peng pressed down hard, and he too experienced extreme pain, though he still gritted his teeth and endured it.

Zhou Guoli, this man of iron, now had mist in his eyes.

"I was careless! Laughing at this kid, I forgot I have one over here too."