Twenty-Four Solar Terms (I)

Decision made, he acted like the wind.

Lie Shan Shi was truly a born sage. From then on, he no longer focused only on the land before him, but instead turned his gaze toward the vast Starry Sky.

After observing carefully for a long time, Lie Shan Shi found an open area. He erected a long marker and laid a long stone bar horizontally on the ground, creating something much like the ancient Gnomon.

Once this was done, Lie Shan Shi began faithfully recording the Sun Star's path day after day, year after year.

Every noon, he personally measured the length of the sun's shadow and meticulously carved it onto specially prepared stone slabs.

Long shadows represented the chill of winter, while short shadows foretold the scorching heat of summer.

To his astonishment, he discovered that the shadow was shortest at a certain point in midsummer, and longest when winter was ending and the weather was beginning to warm. The cycle repeated endlessly, like the silent breathing of the Heavenly Dao.

Thus, Lie Shan Shi named these two periods "Summer Solstice" and "Winter Solstice."

These were the first two solar terms he determined during the daytime.

At night, the stars filled the sky. Relying on his cultivation, he stayed awake all night, lying on mountain peaks or in the wilderness, letting cold dew soak his lapels as he stared intently at the Starry Sky, trying to find its patterns.

Although the stars of the Great Wilderness had been replaced by Zi Wei, their positions and trajectories remained exactly as they had been before, so this did not affect Lie Shan Shi's observations.

While cultivating in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Zi Wei sensed Lie Shan Shi's actions. With a thought, he suspended the Chaos Bell above Lie Shan Shi's head.

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