129: Chapter 129 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Seventy-Seven)

Chu Shi smiled and returned the salute, gesturing towards Li Hao beside him.

"Master has summoned me. I am bringing this friend to pay his respects."

"Understood."

The deacon hurriedly stepped aside to clear the path, not daring to ask any further questions.

He was well aware of Chu Shi's current status and position, so how could he dare to be even slightly negligent?

Chu Shi nodded, brought Li Hao through the entrance, and walked up along the winding stone steps.

The wind at the peak was stronger, whipping their robes and making them rustle loudly.

From afar, one could see the Peak Master's great hall standing at the very top of the peak, ancient and imposing, gleaming with a cold, hard luster under the sunlight.

Soon, the two arrived before the hall's entrance.

Chu Shi straightened his robes, bowed towards the inside of the hall, and said in a clear voice:

"Disciple Chu Shi, greets Master. I have brought Li Hao."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two tightly closed red copper doors slid open silently.

There was no intense light as expected; only a dim, orange-red firelight spilled out from within the hall, stretching their shadows long and thin.

Deep inside the hall, a furnace fire was burning fiercely, illuminating a tall, upright figure standing with his back to them before the furnace.

"Li Hao, come in."

Peak Master Lieyang's voice came from beside the furnace, still devoid of any emotion.

Immediately after, he added another sentence, his tone brooking no argument:

"Shi'er, you go back first.

Still, as we discussed before, handle your own trivial matters these next few days, and come see me in three days."

"Yes, Disciple understands." Chu Shi replied respectfully.

Li Hao waved at Chu Shi, took a deep breath, and stepped into the great hall.

As soon as his figure disappeared into the hall, the two red copper doors slammed shut with a "clang," isolating all sound from inside and out.

Chu Shi stood on the spot, staring at the closed doors, rubbed his brow, and shrugged helplessly.

"This old geezer, acting so mysterious. What would it hurt to let me go in and listen to the gossip?"

He muttered to himself, not daring to linger, and turned to walk down the steps.

Passing by the peak entrance again, the group of guard disciples was still standing there.

Seeing Chu Shi return alone so quickly without Li Hao, a look of confusion appeared on everyone's faces, but no one dared to ask.

The sect's rules were strict; the Peak Master's affairs were not something for guards like them to inquire about.

Chu Shi took the initiative to smile and greet them, then continued walking towards Tingyang Courtyard on the mountainside.

When he returned to Tingyang Courtyard, two empty teacups remained on the stone table in the courtyard, with faint tea stains on the rims, still holding a trace of warmth.

Chu Shi casually picked up the teapot, poured the leftover tea into the nearby bluestone sink, then carefully wiped the stone table and teacups clean with a cloth, putting them away one by one.

After tidying up the tea set, he brushed the dust off his hands and turned towards the cultivation room.

He had gotten up early this morning to attend the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony, then went on stage to spar, fought a battle with Zhou Xuan, and then spent half the day chatting with Li Hao. It was nearly evening, and he still hadn't done his daily cultivation.

The cultivation room was not large, with four walls built from heat-insulating obsidian, and a cold jade meditation cushion placed in the center.

Chu Shi closed the stone door behind him, isolating all the noise of the outside world.

He sat cross-legged on the cold jade meditation cushion and slowly closed his eyes.

The mental cultivation method of the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method flowed slowly in his mind, and the true energy within his body circulated methodically along the twelve main meridians like a raging fire dragon.

The omnipresent fire-attribute metal energy between heaven and earth was drawn in, like weary birds returning to their nests, rushing into his body from all directions.

After being refined by his meridians, it turned into pure crimson true energy, slowly flowing into his dantian's energy sea.

After a month of cultivation, the technique had gradually become proficient, and his speed in absorbing the heaven and earth origin energy was more than several times faster than before.

The perfect foundation polished by the experience of several lifetimes of reincarnation was displayed to the fullest at this moment.

There were no bottlenecks, nor was there the slightest stagnation; the true energy flowed like mercury pouring onto the ground, and with every complete cycle, his dantian's energy sea became a bit more substantial.

The sunlight outside the window gradually slanted westward, changing from gold to orange-red, then to deep purple, and finally disappearing completely.

Night fell, and the stars twinkled.

The silvery-white moonlight cast a cold radiance from the firmament.

The cultivation room was not lit; only the faint golden light surrounding Chu Shi flickered in the darkness.

Time passed slowly in silent cultivation.

The night passed without incident.

When the first ray of dawn shone through the window lattice into the cultivation room, casting a thin, long spot of light on the floor, Chu Shi slowly opened his eyes.

A golden light flashed in his eyes, vanishing as quickly as an illusion.

He let out a long breath of stale air, and a faint smell of rust suddenly permeated the air.

After a night of cultivation, he felt refreshed. The true energy in his body had become much more substantial, and he was one step closer to the middle stage of the Iron Skin Realm.

He stood up and stretched his muscles and bones, which emitted a series of crisp cracking sounds.

Pushing open the stone door of the cultivation room, the morning sunlight rushed to greet him, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees and a faint smell of sulfur.

A new day had begun.

After a simple wash, Chu Shi rubbed the lingering trace of true energy from last night between his fingertips, pondered for a moment, and then pushed open the wooden door of Tingyang Courtyard.

The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the mountain air carried a unique mixture of grass, trees, and metal.

He walked down along the stone steps, and before long, arrived in front of the Internal Affairs Hall at the foot of the mountain.

The vermilion doors were wide open, and inside, it was still the same bustling, slightly noisy scene, just like yesterday.

Chu Shi stepped inside. His gaze swept over the counters, but he did not see the figure of his cousin, Chu Ming.

It was likely that yesterday's ceremony was too busy, so he didn't come to work today.

Chu Shi didn't mind and walked straight to the innermost counter, which was only manned by a white-haired deacon.

The white-haired deacon was bowing his head, writing something in a thick ledger with a wolf-hair brush. The tip of the brush scratched across the paper, making a rustling sound.

Chu Shi walked up to the counter, tapped on it lightly, and then placed the golden token engraved with "Lieyang First" on the counter.

The white-haired deacon looked up, a flash of surprise in his cloudy eyes. He put down his brush, picked up the golden token, and examined it carefully for a moment.

"First place in the ceremony sparring?" The white-haired deacon's voice sounded a bit aged.

"Yes." Chu Shi nodded indifferently, "I've come to collect the rewards."

The white-haired deacon said nothing more, took the token, and walked to a small formation on the side of the counter. He placed the token in the center of the formation, formed a hand seal with his fingertips, and a pale golden light was injected into the formation.

"Hum..." The formation lit up instantly. A light screen appeared out of thin air before the two, clearly displaying the rewards: [First place reward for ceremony sparring: One thousand low-grade Origin Stones, permanent access to the second floor of the sect's Scripture Pavilion, and one Profound-grade high-tier precious artifact.]