158: Chapter 158 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (106)

However, Chu Shi's expression remained steady, with not a hint of distortion in his brows or eyes.

Countless life-or-death battles across multiple lifetimes and a century of enduring ups and downs had long since honed his willpower to be as firm as a rock.

He sat motionless, allowing the excruciating pain to sweep through his entire body. The faint, soothing aroma of incense lingering at his nose stabilized his soul, while his mental cultivation technique firmly locked his consciousness, preventing even the slightest trace of hesitation or distracting thoughts from arising.

However, the consumption required for the breakthrough was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

In less than half a day, the blood and qi within his body began to deplete rapidly, and the circulation speed of his true qi slowed down significantly.

Chu Shi's expression remained unchanged. He raised his hand to take the blood ginseng beside him, which melted the moment it entered his mouth. A massive, warm surge of medicinal energy exploded instantly, replenishing his depleted blood and qi and supporting the continued tempering process.

Time flowed slowly—one day, two days, three days...

After three full days of pure copper tempering, Chu Shi's entire spine had shed the grayish-white luster of ordinary bone and was now covered in a hazy, warm, crimson hue.

As a luster flowed across it, a faint metallic sheen emerged, filled with a sense of solidity.

Only at this moment was the infiltration of copper qi completely perfected.

Chu Shi closed his eyes to regulate his breathing for a moment, refining the remaining medicinal power in his body to recover his exhausted spirit. Once his state had slightly recovered, he activated the secret technique once more.

This time, the life force field on his body surface intensified its tremors, beginning to draw in the metal qi from the refined tin and the blue-veined ore.

The tin metal qi was cold and sharp, while the ore metal qi was heavy and dense. These two completely different types of metal qi merged into his crimson spine, instantly shattering the original balance.

A faint, crisp creaking sound resonated from within his bones. The two types of metal qi frantically merged, collided, and reorganized with the existing Copper Bone qi, causing the pain to double instantly.

It was no longer a pulling of the surface muscles, but a tearing and reshaping at the origin of the bones and deep within the bone marrow, as if thousands of steel needles were drilling into his bones, or as if raging flames were calcining his bone and blood.

The most dangerous moment had finally arrived.

The transformation of ordinary Copper Bone involves a singular, gentle, and controllable qi, but the merging and rejection of alloy bone casting is a torture that ordinary people simply cannot endure.

Fine cold sweat seeped from Chu Shi's temples, sliding down his jaw and soaking his clothes. The aura around him fluctuated violently, yet his sitting posture remained upright, and his eyes remained clear and resolute.

He continued to consume blood and qi treasures, each rare medicinal herb turning into a torrent of medicinal power, continuously nourishing his flesh and stabilizing his bone and blood.

At the same time, the spiritual light of the low-grade spirit stones beside him faded rapidly as a massive amount of heaven and earth metal qi was frantically absorbed, rushing into his body to harmonize the chaotic metal qi.

Four days, five days, six days...

The crimson of his spine gradually faded as the three types of metal qi—copper, tin, and ore—gradually merged, and the color of his bones shifted bit by bit toward a dull metallic hue.

Late on the sixth night, Chu Shi finally triggered the final core material: 100% pure gold.

A warm and pure golden qi flowed out slowly, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, instantly enveloping the restless and chaotic alloy metal qi.

The violent tempering aura was neutralized and integrated by the extremely gentle pure gold qi. The intense tearing sensation in his bones suddenly eased, replaced by a heavy, majestic, and settling power of reshaping.

The moment the metal qi merged, crimson, silver-white, blue-gray, and brilliant golden light intertwined, finally overlapping layer by layer and becoming one completely.

His spinal bones, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, completely transformed into a unified, condensed, and heavy dark gold!

The metallic texture was cold and heavy, and every inch of bone was solid and flawless, as if divinely forged, immortal and indestructible.

Only in the deepest part of the bone marrow did a negligible trace of crimson linger, becoming the final shackle that needed to be obliterated.

At this moment, the breakthrough entered its most agonizing tug-of-war.

Chu Shi poured all his focus into it, mobilizing all his true qi and life force to repeatedly flush his bone marrow with the pure gold qi, stripping away the last of the mundane bone aura bit by bit.

Spirit stones dimmed and became useless in batches, and medicinal treasures were exhausted one after another. His blood and qi, true qi, and spirit were constantly maintained in a state of extreme consumption and extreme replenishment.

Outside, the area within a hundred zhang of Tingyang Courtyard on Lieyang Peak had been completely shrouded by an intangible and formless, vast divine will since the moment Chu Shi began his breakthrough.

It was the protective divine will of Peak Master Lieyang, Master Li Er.

The metal qi in the entire region stagnated and became heavy; the air seemed to turn into viscous molten iron, pressing down on people, making their breathing labored and their spirits filled with awe.

The disciples in the courtyards around Tingyang Courtyard and the past Core Disciples passing by to cultivate all felt a heavy weight in their hearts, inexplicably giving rise to a sense of bowing in awe and a majestic pressure that made them dare not approach.

Seven days, seven whole days.

This terrifying pressure originating from the Peak Master continued to shroud the area without dissipating, ensuring that for seven days, no one dared to approach or make noise in the entire hillside area.

Everyone knew deep down that a heaven-shaking transformation must be taking place inside Tingyang Courtyard.

On the seventh day, the dawn light once again spilled over Lieyang Peak.

Just as the first ray of the morning sun pierced through the window lattice and landed on Chu Shi's shoulder.

"Crack!" a sound rang out.

The last trace of the crimson mundane aura deep within his bone marrow was completely obliterated and dissipated!

His entire spine was now dark gold, the alloy qi perfectly flawless!

"Hum!"

A vast and majestic life pressure, crushing the mundane, erupted from the cultivation room, bursting through the door, sweeping across the courtyard, and scouring the four directions!

The ultimate leap in his life level was completely completed at this moment!

In an instant, the life force field hovering around Chu Shi first shed its pale red, turned into pure silver-white, then rapidly condensed and sublimated, finally settling into a layer of heavy, brilliant pale gold.

Copper Bone Realm, achieved!

As the realm was established, the long-dormant inheritance of the Blazing Sun Body Casting Method in Chu Shi's mind suddenly unlocked a brand new chapter.

Wisps of higher-level martial arts profound meanings poured into his consciousness, nourishing his flesh and tempering his bone and blood.

His special constitution, the Blazing Sun Body, also advanced layer by layer; the hardness of his muscles and bones, his capacity to contain metal qi, and his life vitality all surged by more than several times!

At the same time, outside the cultivation room, the vast divine will that had shrouded the area for seven days slowly retracted and dissipated.

On the peak, Master Li Er, dressed in simple robes, looked toward the direction of the Tingyang Courtyard on the hillside, a faint, gratified smile curling the corners of his lips, his eyes full of approval.

Outside Tingyang Courtyard, the group of Lieyang Peak disciples, who had been unable to catch their breath under the seven-day pressure, instantly felt the heaviness around them dissipate entirely.

The air became light and transparent again. Everyone let out a long sigh of relief, their faces full of shock and astonishment.

In just a few breaths, several figures walked out from various courtyards and gathered outside the gate of Tingyang Courtyard simultaneously.

There were five of them in total, all past Core Disciples under the various elders of Lieyang Peak. They all possessed superior aptitude, solid foundations, and were top-tier existences among the hillside disciples.

The leading youth was named Shen Yan, a personal disciple of Elder Zhang. He had a gentle and steady personality, and his cultivation had been stuck at the peak of the Iron Skin Realm for three years, yet he always felt something was missing.

Beside him, the young girl in tight-fitting martial attire was Su Lingyue, a disciple under the Enforcement Elder. She was decisive in killing, but her true qi refinement still had slight flaws, and she had long hesitated to rashly attempt a breakthrough to the Copper Bone Realm;

The third youth, Zhao Kuo, had a proud and reserved personality. He had always been obsessed with tempering the secret-tradition bronze bone and had been bitterly preparing resources, never daring to attempt a breakthrough.

The fourth disciple, Lin Zhou, had a slightly weaker foundation and insufficient blood and qi, so he could only plan to first cultivate the ordinary pure Copper Bone and slowly infiltrate and advance later.

The last person, Tang He, had a weaker soul, and his breakthrough state of mind was always incomplete, keeping him stuck at the peak of the Iron Skin Realm for years.