After running for half a day, Liu Xing finally found a perfect place to cultivate. After washing himself, he sat in a large tree half-submerged in water. This tree had so many hanging roots that it almost looked like it was made of thousands of green snakes. He cut some roots, made a hole high up in the tree, and sat down. From his position, Liu Xing could see a wetland in front of him. The place was serene. Dragonflies flitted around, birds tweeted, frogs croaked as if they were in paradise, and crocodiles and hippopotamuses swam with obvious happiness.

Many fallen trees looked like a horde of bulldozers had run through the swamp, creating paths like highways. These paths led to Skull Hill, and it was clear the spirit beasts that lived in the swamp were rushing there, leaving a mess in their wake. At first, he stared anxiously at the path the spirit beasts had left. What if all the Purple Tailed Lizards were gone? After all, the swamp was now peaceful. Not a single spirit beast showed its head. But then, he just sighed. After all, there was nothing he could do. If no Purple Tailed Lizards remained, then so be it. His points would still be in the negative, but at least he would return as a sixth stage cultivator.

Thinking of advancing his cultivation, Liu Xing grinned, "Alright, let's breakthrough!"

He closed his eyes, and not long after, he woke in his consciousness.

Seeing the white around him, he suddenly remembered that pitch-black place where he had met Nui. The feeling of loneliness crept into his heart, but he crushed that feeling and tried to calm his mind.

After calming down, he observed the ball of lightning that floated in front of him. This ball of lightning was tied with a silver chain, and seven locks dangled from the chain. Five were already opened, and the last two were still locked. He willed his ball of lightning to rotate and stopped it when the sixth lock was right in front of him. He knew that this lock was almost full. If he absorbed the energy from his bullets, then he would have the energy to open the sixth lock.

To open his lock, he needed to fill it to the brink with qi, and then fight a mental battle to open it. Hopefully, this sixth lock would be easier than the fifth. Opening the fifth lock had been the most agonizing experience in his life; it felt like pulling a boulder with his teeth, but that was partially because he had swallowed so many pills to finally fill the fifth lock with qi. Cultivation with pills, while faster, could lead to a bottleneck.

"I hope that my new way of cultivation will not lead me into an agonizing bottleneck," he thought.

Liu Xing cleared his mind and started to feel the qi around him. The swamp had a higher density of qi compared to Skull Hill but not as dense as in the Purple Moon Sect. Ignoring the qi around him, he focused on the gun in his lap. The gun felt like an ordinary object, just metal shaped into a specific form. It did not emit an aura that felt dangerous, but he knew better. After a moment, he sensed the six bullets inside the gun. Each bullet emitted light in his perception, almost like stars.

He pulled the energy from a bullet into his body. Instantly, his muscles tensed with energy, and he felt an urge to run around the world. He resisted the temptation and absorbed all this energy into his consciousness. When the energy entered his white space, it looked like glittering water being poured in.

Normally, this glittering qi would be converted by the lightning ball first, but it flowed straight into the keyhole, filling the qi inside the lock. The qi settled within the lock without vibration or rejection, as though it didn't realize the qi was trying to fill it to the brim and open it. Before obtaining the gun, he had had to stabilize the qi he inserted into the lock. Some qi would pour out, rejected by the lock, and he would have to force it inside. Now, with the qi from his gun, filling it was effortless.

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After the energy from the first bullet fully settled inside the lock, he repeated the process four more times. Now, the lock vibrated slightly, emitting a ripple of energy. He inhaled deeply, both in reality and within his consciousness. He knew this lock only needed a little more push, and he had one last bullet to guarantee his advancement. His heart was pounding with excitement, anticipation, and fear. He was confident that he could advance, but he couldn't help but fear complications. He had never progressed smoothly before.

"Don't think too much, just do it," he muttered to himself.

He absorbed the last bullet into his body, then into his consciousness. The qi poured into his consciousness, eager to reach the sixth lock. He allowed them to fly toward the keyhole and braced himself for what would happen next.

As the last drop of qi entered the keyhole, he heard a faint click.

"No way," Liu Xing muttered, surprised.

He decided to test his conjecture and reached for the lock. The lock was red, like a padlock made of solidified blood. Its surface felt cool yet hot, solid yet ethereal, as if his hand might pass through it. He held the lock with both hands and pulled the shackle. It came undone easily. Instantly, the silver chain around the lock loosened, and the ball of electricity vibrated happily. He felt the qi inside his body suddenly increase greatly, filling him with energy like when he absorbed the bullets. He smiled, opened his eyes in the real world, and stood up.

"I'm finally a sixth stage Lock Opening realm cultivator!" he exclaimed.

He had expected his progress to be more groundbreaking, or full of hardships. Instead, he advanced so easily that if it were not for the large amount of qi in his body, he would think he was still at the fifth stage. Still, this meant that his gun was really, really great. Smooth advancement meant that his foundation was stable, and a stable foundation meant that it would be easier for him to advance to the next realm!

He grinned. Only one lock remained. Once he opened this lock and released the orb of electricity from the silver chain, he would have a single core and could officially be called a cultivator of the Core Splitting realm! In the Purple Moon Sect, the Lock Opening stage was considered the beginning. One could only become a true cultivator when he reached the Core Splitting realm. That was why only Core Splitting cultivators could be accepted as inner disciples. He doubted that he could achieve the Core Splitting realm before his twentieth birthday. However, his prospects were good. Sooner or later, he would advance, and with his gun, he was confident that an elder would notice him.

He observed his surroundings, eager to hunt more and reach the seventh stage faster. The Dragon Skull Forest was now a haven for ordinary animals. He had already slaughtered most of the spirit beasts here. Those that remained were either hiding or weak. Since he was at the sixth stage, he needed to kill spirit beasts with at least the same stage as himself.

Jumping from the tree, he landed on the shallow water, his feet submerged. He started to walk around, checking his surroundings. Since he had already reached the sixth stage, it was time to complete the mission, go home, and get another mission. With his sect point as low as it was now, he could not afford another technique, but he wanted to have several techniques and cultivation methods later.

Jumping onto a crocodile's back, he let the crocodile carry him and thought about what technique he would get when he had enough sect points.

First, he wanted a technique that allowed him to maneuver in the air. The fight with Ji Dongyang had made him realize that even though he could move so fast, he needed something to launch himself. He could not do that in the air, and that made him vulnerable. The second thing he wanted was a way to cultivate while moving.

He had heard of this method before, and if he was not mistaken, this method was considered a joke. He had heard that this cultivation method was a hundred times slower than normal cultivation methods. Why would anyone want to move while cultivating when normal cultivation was hundreds of times more effective?

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