88: Chapter 88 The Fifth Life, The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Thirty-Six)

Time passed bit by bit. The fire-attribute metal qi in the cultivation room was so dense it had almost condensed into a solid form.

Chu Shi's body was wrapped in a layer of faint red-gold light, and his skin also shimmered with a faint, silvery-iron luster.

A surge of immense vitality, far exceeding what he had felt before, was crazily sprouting and spreading from within his body!

This was a leap in the essence of life!

I do not know how much time had passed, but when the last trace of blood qi and metal qi completely merged, it instantly transformed into a torrent with a metallic texture, surging endlessly within his body.

"Boom!"

Chu Shi suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of red-gold brilliance darting through them.

A layer of gentle, silvery-iron luster instantly lit up across his skin.

An invisible yet extremely tough life force field spread out from him, enveloping the entire cultivation room.

It's done!

Iron Skin Realm, breakthrough successful!

Chu Shi slowly stood up, feeling the unprecedented, immense power within his body and his completely transformed physical form, a wanton smile curling at the corners of his lips.

He could clearly perceive that his life essence had undergone an earth-shaking change.

His lifespan had directly broken through to three sixty-year cycles, a full one hundred and eighty years!

As long as he did not fall midway, he would have twice as much time as an ordinary person to witness more of life's scenery and to climb to higher peaks of the martial path.

He raised his hand to stroke his arm; his skin was smooth and firm, yet possessed the hardness and toughness of refined iron.

When he stimulated his blood qi, a faint iron luster appeared, and that layer of invisible life force field increased his defense by more than several dozen times.

Chu Shi casually picked up the refined steel sword issued by the sect; the blade was sharp and could easily cut through ordinary steel.

He took a deep breath, stimulated his blood qi, and the iron luster on his skin grew even brighter. Gripping the sword tightly, he slashed down fiercely at his own arm!

"Clang...!"

A deafening sound of metal clashing exploded in the cultivation room!

The blade struck his arm and instantly rolled, with several notches appearing on the edge.

Yet his arm remained unscathed, without even a white mark left behind.

A flash of brilliance darted through Chu Shi's eyes. He swung the sword again, using all his strength to slash fiercely at his chest.

Another loud noise rang out; the refined steel sword was bent into an arc by the impact, yet his chest still had not sustained the slightest damage.

This is the power of the Iron Skin Realm!

With skin like refined iron tempered a thousand times, plus a layer of tough life force field, ordinary blades simply could not harm him in the slightest!

He put down the ruined sword, feeling his blood qi surging endlessly within him, faintly echoing with the metal qi of heaven and earth, and felt that his whole body was filled with power.

After three months of steady progress, with this one breakthrough, he had finally officially stepped into the extraordinary realm.

He was finally qualified to become a rightful personal disciple of Peak Master Lieyang.

After a brief moment of reflection, Chu Shi pushed open the stone door of the cultivation room.

The moment the stone door was pushed open, a mountain breeze carrying faint warmth instantly surged in.

It struck the invisible life force field around him, rippling out a circle of faint red-gold waves.

The blazing sunlight spread across the ground, shattering into specks of golden light.

As it fell on him, it faintly resonated with the surging Flaming Sun blood qi within his body, and a warm current flowed through his limbs and bones, an indescribable feeling of comfort.

He did not delay and returned to his bedroom immediately, taking out Elder Zhang's communication talisman.

After inputting a trace of blood qi to activate it, he informed him of his successful breakthrough and thanked the elder for his constant care.

Afterward, he washed up briefly, tidied his appearance, deactivated the formation of Tingyang Courtyard, and strolled toward the peak.

The further he walked toward the peak, the denser the surrounding heaven and earth origin energy became.

Even with Chu Shi's current extraordinary perception, he could clearly see countless fine, red-gold specks of light floating in the clouds above.

That was fire-attribute metal qi so dense it was almost atomized.

The higher he went, the denser the light specks became; in the end, the clouds covering the entire peak had turned a semi-transparent red-gold.

With every breath, pure metal qi automatically surged into his body through his pores, easily absorbed and refined by his blood qi.

"Halt." A cold, crisp shout came from ahead.

Chu Shi looked up and saw two Inner Sect Disciples dressed in sky-blue attire standing at the entrance of the peak, holding long halberds, standing solemnly on both sides, with a silver-robed deacon standing behind them.

They were clearly the guard disciples for this entrance.

Chu Shi bowed slightly to the three of them and said in a calm tone, "Greetings, Senior Brothers. This junior brother is a newly admitted Core Disciple of this year. During the entrance trial, I was fortunate enough to be noticed by Peak Master Lieyang and taken in as a named disciple. Now that I have successfully broken through to the Iron Skin Realm, I have come to pay my respects to my master. This is my identity token; please let me pass, Senior Brothers."

After speaking, Chu Shi took out his identity token from his robes and handed it to the silver-robed deacon.

"Iron Skin Realm?" The silver-robed deacon blurted out, his face full of disbelief.

He remembered clearly that the recruitment had only taken place three months ago.

And the Holy Land's recruitment only accepted "clean" individuals.

This meant that the youth before him had only used a little over three months to complete the entire Body Tempering Realm and successfully break through.

He did not dare to be negligent and quickly took the token, carefully verifying it. After confirming it was correct, his face instantly filled with a respectful smile, "So it is Junior Brother Chu, my apologies, my apologies. The Peak Master has given orders that if you were to come, there is no need to hinder you. I will arrange for a disciple to take you to the main hall immediately."

After speaking, he immediately gave a look to an Inner Sect Disciple behind him.

The disciple's face, which had originally carried a bit of arrogance, had now completely restrained it. He bowed to Chu Shi and said, "Senior Brother Chu, please follow me."

Chu Shi nodded slightly, thanked him, and then followed the disciple deeper toward the peak.

At this moment, the red stone steps underfoot had already changed to warm white jade.

Each piece was engraved with fine Great Sun patterns, with faint metal qi flowing through them. When stepping on them, the blood qi in his body would heat up slightly, resonating with them.

The ancient pines on both sides grew increasingly vigorous; their trunks shimmered with a faint red-gold, clearly having become spirit wood after growing for years in this pure metal-fire aura.

As the two continued deeper, passing by various magnificent elder courtyards, they saw a red bronze archway engraved with the 'Two Crows Chasing the Sun' image.

Behind the archway was the main hall of Lieyang Peak.

Chu Shi looked up; this main hall was not as luxurious as he had imagined, but it exuded a solemnity and majesty accumulated over the years in every detail.

The hall was cast from an unknown red alloy, with no seams visible anywhere.

The roof was covered in gilded glazed tiles; when the sunlight fell, the entire hall shimmered with a faint red-gold halo, like a small sun standing on the peak.

The hall doors were cast from ten-thousand-year red bronze, engraved with a complete Great Sun Celestial Cycle diagram, with each pattern flowing with an immense aura.

As he approached, Chu Shi could even feel his own life force field trembling slightly; it was pressure from a higher level, yet it was gentle and restrained, causing no harm whatsoever.

The disciple leading the way stopped outside the hall doors, turned around, and bowed, saying, "Senior Brother Chu, this is the main hall of Lieyang Peak. The Peak Master is inside; this junior brother can only take you to this point."