In his private cave within the outer sect, Liu Xing sat cross-legged, his focus unwavering on the strange weapon before him.

"A gun," he murmured.

Indeed, it was a gun. Although he had seen such weapons in his past life as William, it had never occurred to him that he might find one here, in this cultivation world.

He picked it up, feeling its solid weight in his hands. Two years had passed since he had awakened in this body as an outer disciple of the Purple Moon Sect. Despite his limited talent, he had diligently completed enough missions to acquire the pills necessary to finally reach the fifth stage of the Lock Opening realm.

Initially, his plan had been simple: steady progress through the sect rank. The heights of the cultivation seemed unattainable for him. Instead, he had hoped to settle somewhere on the fringes of the Dark Forest Continent when he achieved the Core Splitting realm. Maybe he could establish his own small sect or work as a bodyguard for a minor noble. Within the Purple Moon Sect, he was considered average, but in a remote, less developed region, he could be exceptional.

"This is my cheat item." A grin spread across his face. "And with this gun… maybe I can achieve more."

The gun, a tangible link to his past life and a piece of Earth in this alien world, felt like the key to unlocking possibilities he had never dared to imagine. He held it with reverence, tracing a finger along its cool metal surface. It had materialized after he touched a mote of light in his consciousness, suggesting that this gun was bonded to his soul. He knew a conventional gun would be useless against powerful cultivators or spirit beasts, but he instinctively felt this weapon was anything but ordinary.

Standing, Liu Xing adjusted his stance and aimed the gun at the cave wall, holding it as he had seen police officers do in his former life on Earth. He took a steadying breath and pulled the trigger. Silence. No flash, no recoil, no bullet emerged. He tried repeatedly, but the gun remained inert. He frowned, "is it empty?"

Just as he was pondering about ammunition for the gun, a dark mist suddenly clouded his vision, and a familiar voice echoed in his mind.

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"Will, I need your help."

The words disappeared as abruptly as they'd come, leaving a strange ache in his head and temples, like the aftermath of a sleepless night. Before he could fully comprehend what had happened, he noticed that both of his hands were empty. There's no gun nestled in his hands. Fear shot through him as he frantically scanned his surroundings.

"Where is it? Where's the gun?"

For a fleeting moment, he wondered if it had all been an illusion. But he quickly dismissed the notion. The experience had been too vivid. Ignoring the persistent ache in his head, Liu Xing sat back down and began to meditate. In this world, a cultivator could access a mental space within their own consciousness. After a few moments of focused meditation, he opened his eyes and found himself in a boundless, white space stretching endlessly to the horizon. He had once tried to walk to the edge of this space out of sheer curiosity, only to find no end, even after hours of walking.

Before him hovered a small, crackling electric ball, secured by a silver chain with seven red locks. Five locks were already unlocked, representing his current cultivation stage. With two more unlocked, he would ascend to the Core Splitting realm. He disregarded the electric ball and scanned his surroundings. He remembered seeing the mote of light behind the electric ball during his previous visit, drifting like a firefly. He looked for it, and after searching for a while, he found it was lingering behind the electric ball as if patiently waiting for him. Relief washed over him. The gun was not a figment of his imagination. He doesn't know what just happened, but it must have returned to his consciousness.

Liu Xing extended his hand and touched the mote light. A sudden chill shot through his fingertips, and his vision erupted in blinding white. When his sight returned, he was back in his cave, the familiar, cool weight of the gun nestled firmly in his hand once more.

"It's real," he muttered. "I really do have a gun."

Looking more closely, he noticed six green stripes now lining the gun's side. Had they been there before? He was certain they had not. Intrigued, he brushed his finger over one of the stripes, and ink of darkness instantly engulfed him. The cave floor vanished beneath his feet, replaced by a black void as if he were plummeting endlessly into an abyss. His heart raced as the darkness around him shifted and swirled, coalescing into a mist that began to take shape. Initially, it resembled a nebula, but then it sharpened into a silhouette of a person with flowing black hair that seemed like shadows held together by a soft, white outline. A face gradually emerged, followed by a torso, and finally, feet touched down onto the unseen floor of the void. It was an ethereal form, as if someone had painted a figure using only light and darkness itself.

Liu Xing's breath hitched, not from fear or even awe, but from sudden, stark recognition.

"Nui? Is that really you?"

The figure's pale face softened into a warm smile. "Long time no see, Will."

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