175: Chapter 175 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (123)

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

Chu Shi slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the four people still keeping their eyes closed.

Ling Chen had fallen asleep at some point; he was sleeping soundly, a trace of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

Chen Lingxi's brows were slightly furrowed, as if she had encountered some Bottleneck while Cultivating.

Princess Xiao Yunyao was also sleeping very peacefully, a sweet smile on her face.

Xiao Weizhao remained in her usual calm state, her breathing even and steady.

Chu Shi did not disturb them.

He walked on tiptoe to the pile of metal at the edge of the platform and collected enough red copper ingots, tin ingots, and lead ingots to last until the Late Stage of the Copper Bone Realm, storing them all in his Storage Pouch.

Afterward, he turned around, took one last look at the four figures on the Temporal Platform, and glanced at this Temporal Platform that had accompanied him for half a year.

Chu Shi took a deep breath, turned, and strode into the boundless Green Blood Grassland.

The morning sun rose from the mountain peaks in the east, casting golden sunlight upon his back and stretching his shadow long and far.

...

The wind in the Green Blood Grassland carried the astringent scent of green grass, brushing against the tips of Chu Shi's hair.

Chu Shi moved extremely fast, like a cheetah skimming across the ground. The waist-high Green Blood Grass parted on both sides of him, leaving a straight trail behind.

After his Breakthrough to the Middle Stage of the Copper Bone Realm, both his Physical Body strength and speed had improved by more than one level; he only needed half the time to traverse the vast grassland that had previously taken two hours to cross.

Crossing the boundary line between the grassland and the hills, the temperature in the air rose abruptly.

The crimson rocks shimmered with scorching light under the sun, white steam rose from geothermal vents in the distance, and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur.

This was the Red Flame Hills.

Half a year ago, one could still see vast forests of Red Flame fruit trees and tall Iron Bone trees here.

But now, looking out, only bare tree stumps and trampled, ruined shrubbery remained.

Occasionally, one could see one or two stray Spirit-Concentrating Flowers in the rock crevices, but their flowers had long since been plucked, leaving only withered stems and leaves.

Chu Shi did not stop.

He knew that there was nothing left here worth wasting his time on.

He followed the small paths between the hills, heading west without stopping, and soon crossed over a hundred kilometers of the Red Flame Hills, arriving at the entrance of the Golden Ear Valley.

The entrance to the Golden Ear Valley was a narrow gorge.

On both sides of the gorge were steep cliffs, hundreds of meters high, covered in dark green vines.

A wave of moist water vapor rushed from the depths of the gorge, carrying the fresh fragrance of rice and the scent of earth, forming a sharp contrast with the dry heat of the Red Flame Hills.

Chu Shi stood at the mouth of the gorge, squinted slightly, and drew the Dark Iron Saber from his back with a backhand motion.

This was an ordinary top-grade magical artifact combat saber; other than being sturdy and sharp, it had no other advantages. It was a practice piece he had made in the past.

His strongest Legacy in this life was the Blazing Sun Fist Imprint; his saber technique was merely a rudimentary skill left over from his previous Reincarnations and could not be considered top-tier.

But when dealing with thick-skinned Yao Beasts, a saber was much more useful than fists.

He could feel that the concentration of Gold Qi here had increased by another level, significantly higher than even the highest point of the Red Flame Hills.

Faint golden particles floated in the air; inhaling them into his lungs made him feel refreshed throughout his entire body, and even the small amount of True Essence consumed during his journey was slowly recovering.

"It really is a good place."

Chu Shi whispered to himself, tightened his grip on the saber handle, and cautiously walked into the gorge.

The light inside the gorge was dim, with only scattered sunlight falling through the gaps in the cliffs, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.

The path underfoot became increasingly muddy. Occasionally, he could see huge footprints deeply embedded in the mud; each footprint was the size of a washbasin, with sharp claw marks at the edges.

They were the footprints of a Dark Iron Crocodile.

Chu Shi slowed his pace even further, his focus highly concentrated.

He knew that the Dark Iron Crocodile was one of the most dangerous Yao Beasts in the Golden Ear Valley.

Their scales were as hard as iron, and they were particularly adept at lurking in the water to ambush.

If one were not careful, even Geniuses like them could fall into their hands.

Passing through the gorge, the view suddenly opened up.

A vast river valley plain appeared before Chu Shi.

In the distance were layers of terraced fields, planted with golden-yellow Golden Ear Rice, undulating in the breeze like golden waves.

Scattered across the plain were over a dozen lakes of varying sizes; the lake water was crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.

This was the core area of the Golden Ear Valley.

Chu Shi did not immediately look at those tempting Golden Ear Rice, but first observed the surrounding environment.

He chose a higher earthen slope, leaped onto it, and scanned the entire valley from a commanding position.

Most of the Golden Ear Rice fields had already been harvested, leaving only bare rice stubble.

Beside several larger lakes, one could also see clear traces of fighting and bloodstains; clearly, someone had already been here and had battled the Dark Iron Crocodile guarding the area.

"It seems the predecessors were faster than I imagined."

Chu Shi frowned and his gaze fell on a relatively remote small lake deep in the valley.

The area around that lake was covered with dense reeds and looked secluded.

He decided to go there first to take a look.

Chu Shi approached silently along the reeds by the lake.

The lake water was very still, with a few lotus leaves floating on the surface. Occasionally, a few small fish leaped out of the water, creating ripples.

Chu Shi's gaze swept across the lake surface, and he soon discovered several pure white lotus flowers blooming quietly in the center of the lake.

It was a bone-cleansing lotus!

There were seven of them!

Chu Shi felt a surge of joy, but he did not immediately enter the water.

He held his breath and carefully observed the movement of the lake water. Where a bone-cleansing lotus grew, a Dark Iron Crocodile was bound to be guarding it.

Sure enough, just after he had observed for about half a minute, a lotus leaf in the middle of the lake suddenly moved.

A head covered in black scales slowly surfaced, and two cold yellow eyes stared fixedly in Chu Shi's direction.

A Dark Iron Crocodile!

This Dark Iron Crocodile was about five meters long, its scales shimmering with a cold, eerie light under the sun. Its mouth was slightly open, revealing sharp fangs, and a fierce, malevolent aura rushed toward him.

Chu Shi did not retreat.

He took a deep breath, kicked off the ground violently, and shot forward like an arrow from a bow. His toes lightly tapped the water surface as he dashed toward the bone-cleansing lotus in the center of the lake.

"Roar!"

The Dark Iron Crocodile let out a low roar, its huge tail slamming into the water surface, splashing water several zhang high.

It opened its bloody maw and bit fiercely toward Chu Shi's lower leg, with astonishing speed.

However, Chu Shi was well prepared.