105: Chapter 105 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Fifty-Three)

Under the lights of the practice room, the dark blue, hundred-times-refined iron ingots gleamed with a cold metallic luster. They were heavy, each one having been forged and purified over a hundred times, containing not a shred of impurity.

The core of the Iron Skin Realm lies in that single word, "Iron."

Cultivation in this realm is not merely about simply absorbing Metal Qi and condensing True Qi.

More importantly, it involves using one's own True Qi to refine elemental iron, bit by bit transforming the skin of a mortal body from a purely carbon-based structure into an ordered metal-carbon composite structure.

This is the true essence of the Iron Skin Realm, and the only path to survival that the sages of the human race carved out for future generations amidst the chaotic erosion of Metal Qi.

Chu Shi took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, and first adjusted his breathing for a full quarter of an hour to bring his state to its peak.

Afterward, he picked up the jade bottle of Iron Flame Pills and poured out a single pill.

The pill was crimson red, its surface shimmering with a fine metallic luster.

It felt heavy in his hand, and as soon as it was taken out of the jade bottle, a warm, fire-attribute aura rushed toward his face.

Chu Shi opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.

The moment the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into a warm torrent that dispersed along his meridians. Every pore on his body opened at this instant, and his perception of the surrounding Metal Qi instantly became several times sharper.

Chu Shi closed his eyes and sank completely into his consciousness.

The moment his sea of consciousness expanded, the world before his eyes completely changed.

Countless colorful specks of light floated and danced in his field of vision, and the vast majority were golden-red and platinum-colored specks.

This was the Metal Qi unique to the Great Sun Holy Land, imbued with fire and light attributes.

Every tiny speck of light carried a visible sharpness and scorching heat; that was the essence of Metal Qi, which could nourish the physical body, but could also tear it to shreds.

"Blazing Sun Body Casting Method, activate!"

Chu Shi silently recited the mantra in his heart, and his Blazing Sun Body was instantly activated. In coordination with the circulation path of the Earth-tier cultivation technique, an invisible vortex formed around his body.

The golden-red specks of light floating nearby seemed to have found their home, instantly swarming toward him.

They flowed madly into his body through his pores, mouth, and nose.

First came an intense warmth, as if he were soaking in the light of the rising sun, and his entire body's muscles and bones felt stretched and relaxed.

But immediately afterward, a dense, tingling pain swept through his entire body, as if countless golden needles as fine as ox hair were slowly piercing into his meridians and his skin.

Accompanied by the scorching heat brought by the pill, the pain and warmth were intertwined, incredibly clear.

This is the norm for Metal-based martial arts cultivation.

On this path, cultivation was never a comfortable affair.

The Metal Qi, carrying metallic sharpness, would inherently tear at the cultivator's body during the absorption process.

And the core of the Iron Skin Realm cultivation in the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method lies in constant remodeling amidst this tearing, refining mortal flesh and blood bit by bit into indestructible Blazing Sun Iron Skin.

Chu Shi's consciousness remained unmoved, allowing the tingling pain and burning sensation to spread through his body, while he firmly controlled the circulation path of the cultivation technique.

He refined the Metal Qi that surged into his body bit by bit, removing the impurities that would cause disorderly metalization, and converted it into pure, Blazing Sun-attributed True Qi, which slowly flowed into his Dantian sea of energy.

Time passed bit by bit.

Outside the window, the sun rose to noon, then slowly slanted westward, and finally completely sank below the mountaintop as the starry sky climbed into the night.

Inside the practice room, Chu Shi was already enveloped by dense golden-red mist, and a faint crimson-gold metallic luster appeared on his skin; he was motionless, like a statue cast in red gold.

It was not until six hours had passed, and his Dantian felt a sense of fullness, that his physical body reached its limit of endurance, and Chu Shi slowly stopped the operation of his cultivation technique.

He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. That turbid air carried a thick metallic scent, and as it landed on the bluestone floor, it instantly corroded a pin-sized hole.

Chu Shi retracted his focus and inspected his Dantian internally.

He saw a wisp of crimson-gold True Qi quietly hovering within the empty sea of energy.

It was like ethereal clouds, with Blazing Sun patterns flowing on its surface, emitting a scorching and majestic aura.

Even just a single wisp felt more powerful to him than all the Qi and blood in his entire body combined during his Body Tempering Realm days.

Yet as Chu Shi looked at this True Qi, he sighed slightly, a flash of helplessness crossing his brow.

Blazing Sun Body, an Earth-tier high-grade cultivation technique, a Profound-tier mid-grade Qi Gathering Array, plus the amplification of the Iron Flame Pill.

He had cultivated with all his might for six hours, reaching the limit of his physical body's endurance, and had only barely managed to condense a single wisp of True Qi.

And the mid-stage of the Iron Skin Realm required a full thirty-six strands of True Qi, which meant three hundred and sixty wisps, before one could even attempt a breakthrough.

And that was just accumulating True Qi, without even beginning to absorb elemental iron for evolution.

How arduous the martial path is!

He sighed slightly; this was already the cultivation speed of a genius.

If it were a disciple with high-grade aptitude, they could cultivate for at most three hours before their meridians would be torn by the Metal Qi, forcing them to stop and adjust their breathing.

If they had mid-grade aptitude, they probably wouldn't be able to last even an hour.

A slight carelessness would lead to erosion by Metal Qi; in light cases, it would tear their meridians, requiring great costs to heal or leaving behind sequelae.

In severe cases, it would directly affect their mind, causing them to fall into disorderly metalization and become a monster that is neither human nor ghost.

But the martial path is always about fighting for one's life against the heavens; there has never been such a thing as "easy."

The helplessness in Chu Shi's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a resolve as firm as a rock.

In this strange land, he lacked any sense of security and had no other choice.

Only by stepping to the pinnacle of the martial path, or even the apex of this world, could he complete his own incomplete true spirit.

Only then would he have the qualifications to touch the truth of this world, and have the opportunity to find the way back, to return to that homeland without Metal Qi and without slaughter.

Ahem, of course, if he could avoid eating beef after going back, that would also be fine.

It's all a trivial matter; if not me, then who!

Chu Shi steadied his mind, operated his cultivation technique again, and began to adjust his breathing.

This was to smooth out the True Qi within his body and repair the minute tearing damage in his meridians.

Afterward, he slowly stood up, and as his joints moved, they emitted a series of crisp sounds like metal clashing.

Chu Shi clenched his fist slightly and could clearly feel the surging physical power beneath his skin.

As well as the confidence brought by that wisp of True Qi in his Dantian, allowing him to project True Qi and kill at will.

This was power he could never have imagined during the Body Tempering Realm.

Afterward, he walked to the open space in the center of the practice room, stood firm, took a deep breath, and began to practice his killing martial arts techniques.

In his mind, the scene of Master Lieyang teaching the 《Blazing Sun Fist Seal》 instantly appeared.

Every move and style, that vast and majestic Blazing Sun Dao rhyme, was clearly imprinted in his sea of consciousness.