Ti is known for his healing ability and is often pictured carrying a gourd of magic potions.  He is the patron saint and protector of the poor and ill.  This explains the ancient custom of hanging a replica of his iron crutch outside pharmacies.  In many stories, Ti is also an irascible trickster.

Each of the Eight Immortals is depicted on a panel of this celadon vase of the lung ch'uan variety.

In one tradition, he is given his immortality, his iron crutch, and his curing powers by the goddess of the Western Paradise, who cured him when he was wandering, sick, in the mountains.  The following, more common, story explains how Ti Kuai Li became an immortal through the gift of Lao Tzu.

The beggar’s body. One day, after many years of study and helping the poor and infirm, Ti Kuai Li informed his disciple that he was going to the mountains to see Lao Tzu.  “If I am not back within seven days, you may burn my body,” he said.  “I will have achieved immortality and will need it no longer.”

Li Ching, his disciple, was a pious student of the Tao.  As the sixth day came, Li Ching learned that his mother was near death and wanted to see him.  He was in a quandary.  His love and devotion to his mother made him want to rush to her side, but his duty to his master was of equal importance.  As the seventh day was nearly at a close, Li Ching burned his master’s body and rushed off to see his mother.  On his way he found a dying beggar.  He tried to help but immediately recognized that there was nothing he could do.  Reluctantly, Li Ching left the poor man by the roadside, without even a burial.  He knew that if he was late, he would not see his mother alive.

The twisted beggar's body that Ti Kuai Li inhabits is depicted in a contemporary figurine (right) and a traditional Chinese woodcut (left).

Just as the seventh day ended, Ti Kuai Li returned, but he could not find his body.  Searching everywhere, he came upon the misshapen body of the poor beggar and entered the corpse.  As he got to his feet in this new, deformed body, he heard a laugh behind him.  He turned, saw an old man with a long white beard, and recognized Lao Tzu.

“Do you know who I am?” asked Ti Kuai Li.