102: Chapter 102 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (50) - Three-in-One

"Emm, because the pacing was slow, I ran out of time, couldn't split the chapters, so I have to release one big chapter at once."

Chu Shi walked down the mountain path towards Zhengyang Peak and soon returned to the front of the Chaoyang Bridge.

After thinking for a moment, he did not return to Lieyang Peak, but instead headed towards the main peak at the center of the Holy Land.

The Great Sun Holy Land used the Nine Suns Grand Array to secure its foundation. Lieyang Peak, Qingyang Peak, Luoxia Peak, Chiyang Peak, Yaoyang Peak, Zhengyang Peak, Danyang Peak, Xuanyang Peak, and Zhaoyang Peak together guarded the main peak in the center, forming a formation known as the Ten Suns Descending Upon the Sky.

Each of the nine peaks had its own duties—some forged weapons, some refined pills, some handled discipline, and some passed on techniques. The gates of each peak were guarded by disciples, with golden energy surging and an imposing pressure.

Disciples came and went in an endless stream, and everywhere one looked, there was an atmosphere of prosperity typical of a great sect. Yet, the main peak at the core of the Holy Land was completely different.

When Chu Shi stepped onto the territory of the main peak, the first thing he felt was the word "Silence."

It was not the deathly silence of an uninhabited place, but a silence that had seeped into the marrow, a product of thousands of years of accumulated martial heritage.

The road beneath his feet was not like the towering, distinct mountains of the nine inner peaks; rather, it resembled an inconspicuous little hill.

There were no imposing archways at the mountain gate, nor were there any disciples on guard.

The mountain path was paved with the simplest bluestone slabs, worn smooth and warm by the passage of time, without a single rune carved into them.

If Chu Shi had not repeatedly confirmed that this was indeed the center of the Holy Land, and seen the occasional disciple passing by, all wearing the uniform purple robes of Core Disciples, he would have thought he had come to the wrong place.

However, these senior brothers and sisters with their profound auras all wore indifferent expressions; when they encountered each other, they merely nodded in acknowledgement before hurrying away.

This left him feeling quite puzzled.

However, this was also fine. After all, the path of martial arts was like sailing against the current; if one did not advance, one would retreat.

In this Great Sun Holy Land, there was never a shortage of talent, resources, or opportunities; what was lacking was time and the determination to settle one's heart and focus on martial arts.

It was better to have no meaningless social interactions, so he could spend more time in seclusion, cultivating and comprehending techniques.

He imagined these senior brothers and sisters understood this well.

Afterward, he cast these doubts aside and, following the layout map of the main peak his master had given him earlier, walked toward the Scripture Pavilion.

Soon, in less time than it took to burn half an incense stick, he found the Scripture Pavilion deep within a bamboo forest on the west side of the main peak.

However, the scene before him was completely different from what the seven words "Scripture Pavilion of the Main Peak of the Holy Land" had led him to imagine.

There were no magnificent halls as imagined, no carved beams or painted pillars, no golden tiles or red walls; it lacked even a shred of the grandeur that the core of a Holy Land should possess.

What appeared before Chu Shi was merely a dilapidated little Taoist temple.

The grayish-blue brick walls were mottled and crumbling, with large patches of plaster peeling off to reveal a faint golden foundation beneath.

He supposed this was the true body of the temple, merely covered by a thick layer of dust from the passage of time.

The two wooden doors at the entrance had long since been eroded by time, changing color, and the copper rings on them were covered in dark green rust.

The plaque above the lintel had long since lost its legibility, leaving only a blackened board hanging crookedly there.

Several corners of the roof tiles were missing, and a few withered weeds had even grown in the gaps, swaying gently in the wind, adding to the sense of desolation and decay.

Not to mention comparing it to the grand hall in the center of the main peak that pierced the clouds, even the residences of the Outer Sect Disciples in the Canglan Courtyard were more imposing than this temple.

What was even more surprising was that there was not a single guard at the entrance of this Scripture Pavilion.

Not to mention a guarding elder, there wasn't even a gatekeeping disciple.

Only the bamboo forest surrounding the temple made a rustling sound as the wind blew through the bamboo leaves; other than that, there was no movement at all.

Chu Shi stood at the entrance of the temple, but he did not feel the slightest contempt; instead, his expression grew even more respectful.

Having been reincarnated several times, he knew clearly that since he had not found the wrong place, this Scripture Pavilion was likely another supreme treasure that had returned to simplicity.

The reason there were no guards arranged was likely because none were needed.

Do not be fooled by its plain, even somewhat dilapidated, appearance.

In reality, it was highly likely that once it erupted, it would be earth-shattering, easily crushing all invading enemies.

Of course, the reason he made this inference was partly due to his own experience from several reincarnations.

The other reason was that Peak Master Lieyang had previously hinted to him that the founding ancestor of the Holy Land had personally refined several legacy spirit treasures.

A place as important as the Scripture Pavilion having no guards was likely one of them.

It was not hard to guess.

Chu Shi took a deep breath, suppressing the waves in his heart, and raised his hand to take out the reddish-gold identity token from his sleeve.

He stepped forward and gently placed the token against the mottled wooden door.

The moment the token touched the wooden door, the previously motionless door suddenly lit up with faint golden runes that spread along the grain of the wood.

In an instant, an unquestionable majesty swept over all the marks on the token and also swept over Chu Shi's entire body.

After only a breath of time, the runes completely faded away.

"Creeak..."

With a soft sound, the two wooden doors slowly opened inward.

There was no resistance at all, as if it had been waiting for the person to push the door open for these thousands of years.

Chu Shi withdrew the token, smoothed his robes, bowed respectfully toward the inside, and then stepped inside.

The moment his front foot crossed the threshold, Chu Shi felt the scene before him instantly spin around.

When he stood firm again, the scene before him was no longer the dilapidated little Taoist temple from before.

This was a vast, boundless cave heaven.

Beneath his feet was a floor paved with warm white jade, extending as far as the eye could see.

Densely packed runes were carved into the ground, and wisps of pure golden energy drifted out, converging into a faint golden mist that floated in mid-air.

Above his head was a vast starry sky, with hundreds and thousands of dense stars embedded in the dark firmament, emitting a faint purple light.

At this moment, they were like meteors, weaving and darting wantonly through the void.

Each purple light cluster emitted a majestic and heavy pressure; that was the unique artistic conception atmosphere of an Earth-grade legacy.

Contained within the light clusters were the life-long martial arts insights of the founders, containing the true essence of the legacy that would drive any martial artist in the world crazy.

Chu Shi stood where he was and could clearly feel that his Iron Skin Realm body was trembling slightly under the pressure of these light clusters—not out of fear, but from a resonance originating from the source of martial arts.

His soul, the true spirit polished through several lifetimes of reincarnation, also trembled slightly at this moment, as if it had sensed the martial arts torch left behind by countless sages.

Externally, it looked like a dilapidated little Taoist temple, but internally, it was actually such a small cave heaven capable of containing eternal legacies.

Chu Shi stood where he was, took a deep breath, and calmed the shock in his heart.

Immediately, he raised his head, looked at the purple light clusters weaving across the sky, and spoke in a clear voice:

"Disciple Chu Shi, direct disciple of Peak Master Lieyang, has come to claim the legacy rewards for the entry trial."

"They are the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method, Great Sun Vajra Body, and Mind-Focusing Technique."

As his voice fell, the entire cave heaven fell into a brief silence.

The purple light clusters weaving across the sky seemed to stop their movements at this moment; in the entire cave heaven, only the faint sound of golden energy flowing slowly remained.

A moment later, a gender-neutral voice without the slightest emotional fluctuation sounded from all directions of the cave heaven.

It was neither loud nor soft, yet it seemed to ring directly in the depths of Chu Shi's soul. It was the artifact spirit of the Scripture Pavilion, the will of this legacy spirit treasure.

[Identity verification passed.]

[Direct disciple of Peak Master Lieyang, Core Disciple Chu Shi, top of the sect competition, enjoys the authority to claim Earth-grade legacies three times, authority valid.]

[Legacy light clusters locked. Reminder: Earth-grade legacies contain a vast amount of predecessors' martial arts insights, and the volume of information is immense.]

[It is recommended for those below the Silver Marrow Realm to accept them sequentially to avoid soul overload, which would affect one's own will.]

[If the recommendation is not accepted and one forcibly accepts them simultaneously, it may cause fainting or damage to the soul, leading to an incomplete inheritance; consequences are at one's own risk.]

The moment the artifact spirit's voice fell, among the purple meteors filling the sky, three light clusters suddenly lit up.

They broke free from their original trajectories and, like three falling meteors, sped toward Chu Shi's direction.

In the blink of an eye, they stopped steadily in front of Chu Shi, hovering in mid-air.

Chu Shi took a deep breath; he did not rush to look at the light clusters but bowed solemnly toward the sky:

"Thank you, Lord Artifact Spirit."

Afterward, Chu Shi raised his eyes and began to carefully examine the three light clusters before him.

The one on the far left was not purely purple; instead, it was wrapped in rich, reddish-gold flames within the purple light.

The light cluster pulsed slightly, like a ball of eternal blazing sun fire.

Chu Shi stared intently and could clearly see a phantom of a sturdy man covered in flames deep within the light cluster.

The man was burly, with molten gold boiling on the ground beneath his feet; he was tempering his physical body amidst the flames that burned the heavens and boiled the seas.

His muscles turned to ash in the flames, only to be rapidly reorganized under the tempering of the golden fire.

His bones were also repeatedly calcined by the Blazing Sun Golden Fire, gradually turning into a reddish-gold color.

At the end of the scene, the man looked up to the sky and roared, standing beneath the Great Sun, and the flames all over his body suddenly converged.

He threw a punch, and the golden energy between heaven and earth was ignited, and the void trembled slightly under this punch.

This was the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method, the technique most compatible with Chu Shi's own Blazing Sun Body, and it was also one of the foundational techniques of Lieyang Peak.

This technique used the Blazing Sun Golden Fire as a guide, using one's own body as a furnace and the golden energy of heaven and earth as material to reshape the physical body, refine the muscles and bones, and finally forge the body into a supreme precious body that perfectly integrated with the Blazing Sun golden energy.

The light cluster in the middle was pure, heavy gold, with the purple light wrapped within the golden radiance, like an immortal golden mountain submerged in the void.

Just looking at it, a pressure that was indestructible and impervious to all techniques washed over him.

Deep within the light cluster was a phantom of a barefoot martial artist with a golden body.

He walked step by step over a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, letting the thunder of the nine heavens strike his body, letting the indestructible sword energy slash against him, and letting the magma and sea of fire burn his entire body; his physical body remained unmoved, not even leaving a single mark.

With every step he took, the golden radiance on his body grew brighter; from skin to flesh, from bones to internal organs, and even every single hair, all became increasingly hard and increasingly immortal under the repeated tempering of the Great Sun golden energy.

Finally, the golden radiance all over the martial artist's body surged, like an invincible Vajra walking in the world.

He smashed a punch out, and the void was forcibly smashed into a pitch-black crack; the heaven and earth origin energy for miles around was shattered by this punch.

This was the Great Sun Vajra Body, one of the top Earth-grade external cultivation techniques of the Holy Land.

Unlike the reshaping of the physical body in the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method, this technique followed the path of extreme external cultivation, tempering every detail of the physical body with Great Sun golden energy, pursuing the realm of "My body is Vajra, impervious to all techniques."

One was to reshape the structure, increasing fire-element affinity and nirvana ability, while the other was to strengthen physical toughness.

The two techniques complemented each other, and neither could be dispensed with.

The light orb on the far right was a pale, milky white, with purple light enveloped within the serene white glow, resembling a nine-petaled lotus floating quietly in the void.

It emitted neither pressure nor any hint of sharpness, only a sense of serenity that calmed the mind.

Chu Shi focused his gaze, and deep within the orb, he saw the phantom of a Daoist in white robes.

The Daoist sat cross-legged in the void, with a pellucid, nine-petaled lotus floating before him; his eyes were tightly shut as he focused on his visualization.

Outside, the winds and clouds shifted, and inner demons proliferated; countless distracting thoughts surged toward him like a tide. Yet, his state of mind remained like a pool of still water without a ripple, remaining pellucid and clear regardless of the wind and rain.

Every petal of that lotus emitted a faint, clear light, purifying and dissolving all the incoming distractions, inner demons, and malevolent energy.

Finally, the Daoist slowly opened his eyes; there was not a trace of impurity in them, only a clarity that seemed capable of seeing through the cycles of eternity and all the phenomena of the world.

This was the "Mind-Focusing Technique," the only soul-cultivation technique chosen for Chu Shi by his master.

Having experienced several cycles of reincarnation, his soul and will were several times stronger than those of martial artists at the same realm.

However, the memories and obsessions of these lifetimes were like invisible shackles hidden deep within his true spirit.

This "Mind-Focusing Technique" was perfectly suited to stabilize his soul and purify his Dao heart.

After examining the three inheritance orbs before him, Chu Shi quickly decided on the order of inheritance.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand and gently touched the milky-white orb on the far right: the "Mind-Focusing Technique."

As the saying goes, "To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools."

To inherit the vast information of the two body-tempering techniques, he first had to stabilize his soul and purify his Dao heart.

The moment his fingertip touched it, the orb flowed like water, instantly surging along his finger and into the sea of consciousness at the center of his brow.

"Boom..." A soft sound seemed to explode deep within his soul.

Chu Shi felt the scene before him shift abruptly, and his entire consciousness was instantly dragged into a boundless, pellucid world.

This was the inheritance illusion, a microcosm of the life left behind by the creator of the technique using their own martial will.

Only by fully walking through the creator's life and experiencing every step of their mental journey and every realization in creating the technique could one truly inherit the entire essence of this legacy.

This was also the reason the artifact spirit had mentioned earlier, that the inheritances should be separated to avoid being influenced.

Subsequently, Chu Shi's consciousness attached itself to the Daoist in white, and he began to experience the entirety of his life.

He was a youth of mediocre aptitude, born into an ordinary small family, who entered the martial path at twelve and only barely broke through the Body Tempering Realm at thirty to enter the Iron Skin Realm.

In the Great Sun Holy Land, where geniuses were everywhere, he was merely the most inconspicuous Outer Sect Disciple, enduring cold stares and mockery.

In the first half of his life, he had seen too many talented fellow disciples who, in their haste for success, succumbed to cultivation deviation and exploded to death.

He had also seen sect elders whose foundations were destroyed because they were too deeply obsessed, allowing inner demons to grow.

He had also seen martial artists across the world who, throughout their lives, were trapped by greed, anger, and ignorance, ultimately falling on the martial path.

Thus, he made a great vow to create a technique that would guard one's original heart and purify inner demons, so that martial artists would not lose themselves on the martial path.

He traveled across all the famous mountains and great rivers of the world, witnessed the joys and sorrows of the human world, and experienced countless life-and-death perils.

Time and again, he was backlashed by inner demons; time and again, he walked on the edge of his soul collapsing.

Finally, beneath the great sun, he saw a nine-petaled lotus in a pond.

Emerging from the mud without being stained, washed by clear ripples without being seductive, it stood quietly in the water, unmoved and unswayed, regardless of the wind and rain.

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

Thus, he sat cross-legged by the lotus pond, visualizing the lotus, and sat for thirty years.

For thirty years, regardless of the shifting winds and clouds outside, and regardless of how the inner demons raged in his sea of consciousness, he always guarded that single point of pellucid, original heart.

Using the intent of the lotus, he purified every trace of distraction and every wisp of malevolent energy within his soul.

Ultimately, he created this "Mind-Focusing Technique" and, from an inconspicuous Outer Sect Disciple, stepped by step, became an elder of the Holy Land in the Silver Marrow Realm.

Even when his lifespan was about to end, his soul remained pellucid and clear.

In the end, he passed away by a lotus pond in the Holy Land, leaving behind this inheritance.

He left behind a bright lamp for later generations of martial artists to illuminate their original hearts.

Who knows how much time passed; it felt like an instant, yet also like a millennium.

When Chu Shi opened his eyes again, it was as if a nine-petaled lotus was slowly blooming within his sea of consciousness.

A faint sense of serenity flowed into every corner of his soul.

His gaze became increasingly pellucid and clear, without a trace of impurity.

The vicissitudes and weight brought by several lifetimes of reincarnation were still hidden in the depths of his eyes, but the hidden malevolent energy and obsessions were gone, leaving only a pure and firm martial heart.

"Mind-Focusing Technique," inheritance complete.

After slightly stabilizing his soul, Chu Shi did not pause. He immediately raised his hand and touched the second light orb; this time, it was the "Blazing Sun Body Casting Method."

The red-gold orb instantly surged into his entire body; this time, it was not a stirring of the soul, but a resonance of the physical body.

The scene before him shifted again, and he found himself on a land of boiling molten gold.

Above him hung the great sun in the nine heavens, and endless Blazing Sun Golden Fire poured down like a waterfall from the nine heavens, landing upon him.

He became the burly, red-skinned man who created the "Blazing Sun Body Casting Method."

This was a prodigy born with extreme affinity for Blazing Sun Golden Qi; he possessed a divine body by nature, and his cultivation progressed a thousand miles a day.

However, when he was breaking through the Iron Skin Realm and wishing to step into a higher realm, he encountered the greatest obstacle of his life.

His physical body could not contain his overly vast Blazing Sun Golden Qi; if he forced a breakthrough, the only outcome would be his body being burned by the golden qi, leading to him exploding to death.

Thus, he gave up the realm that was within his reach and abandoned the endless resources provided by the sect, stepping alone into a forbidden land of flames.

In the forbidden land, he used himself as a furnace, the Blazing Sun Golden Fire as charcoal, and the purest golden essence of heaven and earth as raw material, tempering his physical body punch by punch, over and over again.

Every tempering was accompanied by heart-wrenching, lung-splitting agony.

Muscles tore, bones shattered, meridians snapped, and even his internal organs were scorched black by the golden fire.

Yet, relying on an unyielding ruthlessness, he reconstructed his body time and again while on the verge of death, adjusting the details of the technique and perfecting the body-casting method.

He spent a full eighty years, burning and reconstructing his body three hundred and sixty times, finally creating the prototype of this "Blazing Sun Body Casting Method."

From then on, relying on this technique, he broke through all the way and ultimately became a renowned powerhouse of the Holy Land.

Before passing away, he sealed his life's realizations into an inheritance orb, leaving it for the later disciples of Lieyang Peak.

When Chu Shi came back to his senses, faint red-gold patterns were already flowing beneath his skin.

These were the body-casting runes of the "Blazing Sun Body Casting Method."

Although physical inheritance was not as immediate as soul inheritance, it still helped him lay a solid foundation for entry.

"Blazing Sun Body Casting Method," inheritance complete.

Subsequently, Chu Shi used the "Mind-Focusing Technique" to steady his mind and raised his hand to touch the final light orb.

Instantly, the thick, golden orb of the "Great Sun Vajra Body" merged into his body.

This time, there were no scorching flames, no pellucid illusions, only a boundless force that crushed everything, enveloping his entire body.

The scene before him shifted abruptly, and he found himself in a boundless sea of suffering.

Beneath his feet were mountains of blades, before him was a sea of fire, above him were thunderbolts striking down from the nine heavens, and behind him was endless sword energy that shattered the void.

He became the Vajra martial artist who created the "Great Sun Vajra Body."

This was an orphan with no parents, born into a humble background.

Fortunately, during his childhood, while begging, he was picked up and brought back to the sect by an Outer Sect Disciple elder of the Holy Land.

Unfortunately, he was of mediocre aptitude and ordinary comprehension.

In the Holy Land, where geniuses were everywhere, he was the lowest of the low.

However, although he lacked extraordinary talent and a powerful background, his childhood experiences had forged in him a ruthlessness that feared no death and a resilience that far exceeded that of ordinary people.

While others went to practice exquisite techniques and powerful martial arts, he stubbornly chose the dumbest, hardest, and most difficult path of external training.

Countless people mocked him for being stupid, saying he was asking for trouble, and saying he would never amount to anything in this life.

Yet he never cared; he simply, day after day, year after year, used the dumbest methods to polish his physical body.

He had been scorched black by thunderbolts, bitten into a bloody mess by demonic beasts, and had his internal organs incinerated by magma, with black ash in his every breath.

In these processes, he was on the verge of death countless times.

Yet every time, relying on that unyielding resilience, he stubbornly endured it.

Every time he escaped death, his physical body became stronger and harder.

Just like that, he spent a full hundred years, stubbornly relying on this "dumb" effort, to create the "Great Sun Vajra Body."

When he stood once again before those geniuses who had mocked him, no matter how exquisite their martial arts or how sharp their sword energy, they could not break through his physical defense.

With a single punch, he shattered all techniques, and relying solely on this body-tempering divine skill, he fought his way from the lowest Outer Sect Disciple into the ranks of the true disciples.

He became a prodigy who dominated an era.

When the illusion dissipated, Chu Shi opened his eyes again.

The three Earth-grade inheritances were all successfully received.

Chu Shi lifted his head and bowed solemnly toward the void once more.

This bow was to pay respects to the three sages who had left behind this spark of martial arts with their life's blood and sweat.

It was to pay respects to the founding patriarch who created this grotto-heaven to protect the inheritances.

And it was also to pay respects to the artifact spirit of the Scripture Pavilion, which had guarded the inheritances for ten thousand years without change.

"Disciple Chu Shi thanks the sages for the grace of leaving behind these techniques."

As the words fell, a faint consciousness seemed to sweep gently across his soul within the grotto-heaven, like a response and also like an expectation.

Chu Shi straightened up, turned around, and walked toward the path he had come from.

Pushing open the mottled wooden door, the scene outside came into view once again.

It was still the dilapidated little Daoist temple, still the quiet bamboo forest, but a bright, clear moon already hung in the sky.

The stars filling the sky were dyed with a faint golden glow by the Great Sun Holy Land's Nine Suns Grand Array, and the night breeze blew from the bamboo forest, carrying the fragrance of bamboo leaves and the cool golden qi of the night.

It turned out that while he was in the grotto-heaven of the Scripture Pavilion receiving the three inheritances, the time outside had already passed from the afternoon to the deep night.

Chu Shi stood at the entrance, looked back one last time at the dilapidated Daoist temple that had closed once again, his eyes flickering slightly, before he turned and walked along the bluestone path he had come from, heading in the direction of Lieyang Peak.