The gap between realms was vast, like that between heaven and earth, and most cultivators could not cross it. Yet, under the right conditions, some managed this feat, typically when they were at their most powerful and their enemy was at their weakest. Currently, Liu Xing was at his peak. His mind was sharp, his qi was full, and he had a real chance to defeat the third army. The only problem was killing the first abomination. If he could overcome that obstacle, the rest would be easy, and he had the means to do so. He had saved a single bullet after killing the last general.

Liu Xing arrived at a deep trench carved into the earth, a mark left by the giant wind blades the general had unleashed. The memory of breaking that blade, tall as the city walls, felt surreal. He knew he had managed it, yet the scale of that fight made it seem like a dream. He crossed the trench, landing as soft as a feather on the other side. Walking between charred corpses, he carefully avoided stepping in blood that would surely leave footprints. His invisibility would mean nothing if he exposed his position before the attack even began.

As he carefully moved between the remains of abominations strewn across the ground, Liu Xing focused his mind to sense the qi around him. Being a Core Splitting cultivator had granted him several upgrades, but one of the most important was his ability to expel qi while maintaining control over it, a defining quality of the Core Splitting realm. He suspected this ability could vastly improve his fighting prowess.

Jumping toward a surprisingly intact building, Liu Xing released qi through his breath and every pore of his skin. He landed inside a miraculously intact room—albeit the inside was full of rubble and chaos—and realized that while the building stood, it sloped to one side. Still, it was high enough to scout the surrounding area and close enough to the third army that he could hear their footsteps clearly. Above, the humming of the worms had subsided; most of the winged ones had already reached the giant castle.

Liu Xing inhaled deeply.

The plan was simple. Five groups would move separately. He alone formed the first group. The prince wanted him to lure out the abominations, allowing the second, third, fourth, and fifth groups to enter. The fifth group consisted of Yang clan members with movement techniques, charged with scouting the entrance to the Emperor's Tomb in the lowest level, while the others would check the castle's treasure rooms.

To do that, he needed to create a significant commotion, but timing was crucial. In his inner robe lay a communication orb no larger than a giant pearl. When it vibrated, the operation would begin.

His heart pounded steadily in his chest. Anxiety churned his stomach, a pessimistic voice insisting he could not survive this fight and that it was better to wait for reinforcements to come. His logical side dismissed these doubts as well as that logic. To wait for reinforcements meant waiting for death. There was no way he would do nothing. He was now a Core Splitting cultivator with a bullet from a peak Core Splitting abomination. If he used this bullet to kill one of the snake-limbed abominations, victory was possible.

This anxiety stemmed from his experience in the forest of white bones, where he had nearly died fighting an abomination that had killed and absorbed Elder Xia Juetian's bloodlines. As the memory surfaced, his eyes darted left and right, searching for abominations with black skin, golden snake limbs, and coconut ears. He saw many with green ears and golden limbs, but that specific one was not nearby.

"Calm yourself," Liu Xing whispered, taking several deep breaths.

He decided to explore his new abilities while waiting. Crouching inside at a safe distance from the third army, he expelled more and more of his qi and guided it to swirl around him like an eel made purely of energy. He guided the qi in measured circles around himself, testing his control. While his qi proved obedient, it felt slightly more sluggish than the potent qi. Still, this ability to control qi outside his body held promise. Many Lock Opening realm cultivators could manipulate external qi to some degree, like Yan Yu, who could materialize ice arrows and control their trajectory during their fight. But comparing Lock Opening and Core Splitting qi control was like comparing a pebble to a mountain. If Yan Yu had broken through to the Core Splitting realm, she could probably have controlled her arrows from kilometers away.

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Liu Xing lacked techniques specifically designed to exploit this Core Splitting ability, but he saw potential applications. As a Lock Opening cultivator, he could only summon his shield nearby, but the Core Splitting realm would extend that range significantly. Though he was unsure how a distant shield might prove useful, he trusted it would serve some purpose.

For now, his focus turned to his gun. Liu Xing extended his left hand, aiming skyward. He wrapped the qi around his hand and the gun, encasing his palm in his own qi. Though both gun and qi were invisible, if the energy could have been seen, it would have appeared as a soft blue ball glowing around his left hand.

Liu Xing slowly released his fingers from the gun one by one, until his left hand finally let go completely. His invisibility came undone, but the gun remained suspended in the air, held aloft by his qi alone.

A wide grin spread across his face as childish excitement filled his heart. He had a flying gun! How could it get any cooler than that? Stifling a giggle and trying to stifle his presence manually, Liu Xing began experimenting with control. He made the weapon float before him, drift behind his back, soar several meters into the air, then return to hover half a meter above his head.

This was not just impressive; it was practical. With his left hand now free, he could deal more damage in combat. Though Liu Xing did not dare test whether he could pull the trigger with qi alone, as he had not yet received the signal to attack, he suspected it was possible.

But there was more. The qi then holding his gun was just his normal qi. If he used the potent qi, he suspected its movements would become so fluid and swift that the weapon would seem to possess its own mind.

Unwilling to rely on mere speculation, Liu Xing channeled qi from his body toward the gun. When he commanded the weapon to absorb his qi, it did so greedily, nearly destabilizing the sphere keeping it afloat. Once it finished consuming qi, Liu Xing attempted to draw the energy back into his body. The gun resisted at first, refusing to release the bullets. For a moment, he feared his experiment would end prematurely, but then he identified the problem. The potent qi needed a connection to him for proper reabsorption. So, he extended a thread of qi from the top of his head to the gun, linking it to the sphere of qi encasing the weapon.

As soon as the thread connected, the potent qi practically leaped from the gun into his body. The energy cycled through him several times before he commanded it to flow outward again.

Unlike his normal qi, the potent qi's exit sent a chill through him, like a ghost passing through his body. But the discomfort lasted only a moment, forgotten as he watched the potent qi swirl around him like a miniature tornado. It moved with the enthusiasm of an excited child, yet responded to his commands with the eagerness of a well-trained hound.

He replaced the normal qi encasing the gun with the potent qi. When he tested the weapon's movement again, it felt effortless, as though the gun could teleport wherever he wished. He settled on positioning it above his head, maintaining the qi thread connecting him to the weapon for easier qi transfer.

"It was amazing," Liu Xing muttered. It felt like having three hands instead of two.

His mind wandered to other possible experiments. Could he control the bullets after firing them? Make them curve through the air like Yan Yu's arrows? It seemed possible, though he suspected full bullet control would require new techniques, perhaps something like lightning arrows. Surely techniques like that existed somewhere in the Purple Moon Sect's library. He could only imagine what kinds of bullets such techniques might produce.

Liu Xing caught himself grinning foolishly. The possibilities seemed endless!

For now, though, he focused on exploring this newfound power, searching for creative ways to enhance his fighting style. Perhaps he could develop a new application of the Lightning Palm Technique that did not require physical contact?

As he contemplated this, the small orb in his inner robe began to vibrate. Liu Xing's eyes snapped into focus, his lips pressing into a thin line. His mind centered, his heart hammered, pumping adrenaline through his body as his qi churned like a stormy ocean.

It was time.

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