104: Chapter 104 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (52)

"Cousin, you don't know about this, do you?" Chu Ming chuckled, a look of pride on his face as if he were waiting for praise.

He leaned forward and whispered:

"Once your cultivation realm goes up, your sect benefits naturally increase as well.

For a Core Disciple in the Iron Skin Realm, the monthly allowance triples directly to nine thousand contribution points! After all, at this realm, the resources consumed for cultivation are incomparable to those of the Body Tempering Realm. Without this level of benefits, one simply couldn't sustain it."

He paused, scratched his head, and smiled even more happily:

"According to the rules, disciples who break through to a new realm this month can only receive the allowance for the new realm starting next month.

However, I have some authority here in the Internal Affairs Hall, so I've directly updated your realm information. You'll be paid according to the Iron Skin Realm standard starting this month. The six thousand from the previous two months, plus the nine thousand for this month, makes exactly fifteen thousand."

Chu Shi understood upon hearing this.

In his previous lives, he had also reached the Iron Skin Realm, so he naturally knew how terrifying the consumption at this realm was compared to the Body Tempering Realm.

Three thousand contribution points during the Body Tempering Realm seemed like plenty, more than enough.

But once one reaches the Iron Skin Realm, a single bottle of cultivation pills costs several hundred contribution points.

If it were still issued according to the Body Tempering Realm standard, this allowance would be nothing but a drop in the bucket.

He bowed solemnly to Chu Ming and said in a deep voice: "Thank you for your trouble, cousin."

"Hey! Cousin, what are you doing!" Chu Ming quickly reached out to support him, his face turning red, and returned the salute without hesitation.

"We are family; what is such a small matter? If you are so polite with me, you are treating me like an outsider!"

Although Chu Ming said he was being polite, he was already overjoyed inside.

Chu Shi was now a personal disciple of Peak Master Lieyang, a top-tier prodigy in the entire Great Sun Holy Land, and even more so, the hope of the Chu family's future.

Although the two were cousins, they had only recently recognized each other, and their time together was still short.

Being able to do more for Chu Shi and solidifying this family bond was naturally a good thing.

In the future, when his father wanted to attempt the Silver Marrow Realm, asking him to pull strings and find someone to provide guidance would be easier.

Thinking of this, the smile on Chu Ming's face became even warmer.

He turned around, took a thin booklet with dark iron patterns engraved on the cover from the counter, and handed it to Chu Shi:

"Cousin, I remember you are planning to go into seclusion to polish your cultivation, right?

Exactly, this is the exchange list for Iron Skin Realm cultivation resources from our Internal Affairs Hall. Take a look and see if there is anything you need; I will get you the best quality."

Chu Shi nodded and reached out to take the booklet and open it.

The first line that caught his eye was the Profound-grade low-tier Yuan Gathering Formation, marked as capable of increasing Metal Qi concentration by forty percent, with an exchange price of a full one hundred thousand contribution points.

Chu Shi's mouth twitched, he clicked his tongue in secret, and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

One hundred thousand contribution points—even with his current monthly allowance as a Core Disciple in the Iron Skin Realm, he would have to save for nearly a year without eating or drinking to afford it.

Fortunately, the Tingyang Courtyard he currently lived in was specially arranged for him by Elder Zhang.

It was inscribed with a Profound-grade mid-tier Yuan Gathering Formation, which could increase Metal Qi concentration by a full sixty percent, far better than anything in this booklet.

Thinking about it now, Elder Zhang had indeed put a lot of thought into arranging this courtyard for him.

He casually flipped through the first few pages, which were all filled with Profound-grade weapons, armor, and formations costing tens of thousands of contribution points. He lost interest after a few glances and flipped back a few pages, finally finding the section for cultivation resources.

The prices here were much more reasonable. Aside from the few breakthrough pills at the very beginning that cost tens of thousands of contribution points, most other cultivation resources were between a few hundred and a few thousand contribution points.

Chu Shi's fingertips slowly slid across the list, his eyes sweeping over the labels:

[Flame Iron Pill, Profound-grade low-tier, Iron Skin Realm cultivation enhancement pill, made primarily from Flame Iron Essence Flower, can increase the absorption speed of Fire-attribute Metal Qi by twenty percent, gently tempers skin and membranes, 300 contribution points/bottle (10 pills).]

[Yellow-grade Bigu Pill, exclusive to Iron Skin Realm, contains pure essence, satisfies life needs without eating, and can slowly nourish the body, 50 contribution points/bottle (30 pills).]

[Red Iron Marrow, a supreme treasure associated with underground fire veins, can speed up the condensation of True Qi in the Dantian when fused with True Qi, 1200 contribution points/tael.]

[Molten Iron Grass, grows in volcanic rock crevices, rich in Fire-attribute Metal Qi, can neutralize the sharp tearing nature of Metal Qi, reducing cultivation damage, 80 contribution points/plant.]

[Cold Iron Spirit Flower, dual-born of ice and fire, can balance the violent energy of the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method, preventing disorderly metallization during cultivation, 200 contribution points/flower.]

[Hundred-Refined Refined Iron, iron essence purified after a thousand forgings, can greatly strengthen skin and membrane iron properties after refining, enhancing physical defense, 500 contribution points/block.]

[Gold Iron Qi Gathering Powder, burned during cultivation, can gather surrounding Metal Qi, slightly improving cultivation efficiency, 150 contribution points/box.]

[Blazing Sun Iron Crystal, a specialty of the Great Sun Holy Land, contains Blazing Sun fire properties and pure iron properties, perfectly compatible with the 'Blazing Sun Body Casting Method', 2000 contribution points/piece.]

[Soft Iron Spirit Glue, can quickly repair meridians and skin membranes torn by Metal Qi, shortening cultivation recovery time, 300 contribution points/tube.]

[Iron Thread Lotus Dew, can clear the mind and steady the spirit, resisting the erosion of Metal Qi on the sea of consciousness, 100 contribution points/bottle.]

Looking down the list, Chu Shi felt the token in his hand become heavy; the phrase 'short of money' truly struck his heart.

Contribution points that felt endless during the Body Tempering Realm were so easily spent in the Iron Skin Realm.

But he only had twenty-four days of seclusion time in total, and he couldn't spare the time to do sect missions to earn contribution points, so he had to prioritize his current cultivation needs.

After pondering for a moment, Chu Shi looked up at Chu Ming and reported the items he wanted:

"Six bottles of Flame Iron Pill, one bottle of Yellow-grade Bigu Pill, one tube of Soft Iron Spirit Glue, three boxes of Gold Iron Qi Gathering Powder, ten plants of Molten Iron Grass, two bottles of Iron Thread Lotus Dew. Also, ten blocks of Hundred-Refined Refined Iron, two pieces of Blazing Sun Iron Crystal, and three taels of Red Iron Marrow."

"Got it!" Chu Ming replied, deftly helping him calculate and prepare the goods.

A moment later, the contribution points that were barely warm in Chu Shi's hand were deducted; fifteen thousand contribution points were almost entirely spent.

Chu Ming also stuffed a small bag of Molten Iron Grass seeds into Chu Shi's hand and said with a smile:

"Cousin, the spiritual soil in your Tingyang Courtyard should be able to grow these. You can pick them whenever you need them in the future; no need to always come over to buy them."

Chu Shi took the packed resources, thanked him again, said goodbye to Chu Ming, and returned to Tingyang Courtyard.

The moment the courtyard gate closed, Chu Shi raised his hand and hung an iron plaque engraved with "Seclusion: Do Not Disturb" on the door knocker.

As he injected a trace of True Qi, the defensive formations and the Yuan Gathering Formation around the courtyard activated simultaneously.

A pale golden light shield enveloped the entire courtyard, isolating all the noise from the outside world.

The golden-red Metal Qi in the air gathered into the courtyard at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the concentration climbed by sixty percent in an instant.

He carried the resources into the cultivation room, placed them one by one on the bluestone table, and prepared for seclusion.