Liu Xing closed the interface and placed it in his spatial bag, walking a little faster than before. He was in a hurry, yet he also wanted to slow down, to digest the last three battles and savor the verdant scenery surrounding him.

Liu Xing decided to summon his gun and observe it. This weapon had changed his life. Without it, he would still be a nobody among the outer sect disciples. Yet, the gun also brought responsibility. He would never forget the day Nui's fragment had visited him. The image of Mamat, Joni, and Nui fighting something that looked like an overwhelmingly strong spirit beast remained fresh in his mind.

Liu Xing filled the gun with qi, and it converted his qi into normal variant bullets. He threw the gun into the air for no particular reason. It spun in the sky, light gleaming from its surface, and he wondered if he would die if he attempted this race without his gun.

Catching the gun with his left hand, Liu Xing checked the green stripes along its side. There was no glow since he had already absorbed the beast core from the moss, but even these normal variants would be useful in most situations. Once again, he pondered the true nature of this gun. Was it truly crafted from the darkness he was meant to defeat?

Absorbing the bullets, Liu Xing felt the reabsorbed qi coursing through his hand and settling in his chest. Usually, he would channel this qi into his necklace or gauntlets, but with no enemies in sight, there was no immediate need.

As he jumped from a small waterfall and landed in a creek below, Liu Xing played with this qi. He directed it to his feet, hands, ears, and all over his body. A small smile touched his lips as he felt the qi move around like an excited puppy.

As he played with this qi, he also mused about its nature. What exactly was this qi? Unconsciously, Liu Xing had called it pure qi, but that description didn't quite fit. Pure qi was merely a type of qi unrefined by other sources, and some cultivators specialized in using it.

"Potent qi is a better term than pure qi," Liu Xing thought to himself.

He nodded in agreement. The qi from converted bullets was potent; it could activate his treasures with less energy and strengthen his techniques, making them easier to control.

"What if I used this potent qi for cultivation?" Liu Xing wondered, pinching his chin in thought.

Normally, cultivators couldn't fill their locks with self-produced qi; it was akin to attempting to fill a well using water from the same well. But this situation felt different since he had converted the qi and enhanced its potency.

As he contemplated this, Liu Xing's heart suddenly beat faster. What if he could do it? What if he could cultivate using potent qi? Could this mean he could advance indefinitely without any other effort? What an oversight! He should have considered this from the beginning!

Taking a deep breath, Liu Xing tried to temper his excitement. It seemed too good to be true, but given the gun's overpowered nature, he wouldn't know for sure unless he tried.

Sitting on a rock in the center of the creek, Liu Xing drew the potent qi settled in his chest into his consciousness. In his mind, this qi poured in like a small waterfall. Then, with anticipation surging through him, he directed this waterfall toward the last lock. Liu Xing pushed the qi into his lock, attempting to settle it and fill the space. But as he tried, he felt strong resistance from the lock, as if he were attempting to drive a blunt nail into the strongest wall imaginable. When he realized he could not cultivate using the converted qi, disappointment washed over him, and Liu Xing withdrew the qi from the lock. It appeared that this shortcut to immortality was not available to him.

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Opening his eyes back to the real world, he sighed. While the result was disappointing, it had clarified the nature of his gun and this potent qi. The resistance he felt, like pushing a blunt nail against a wall, mirrored the sensation when someone tried to push their own qi into a lock. This confirmed that the converted qi, despite its potency and extraordinary qualities, was still fundamentally his own qi. Otherwise, he might have indeed cultivated infinitely with it.

This conclusion led him to marvel at the true strength of Nui. Even though the gun didn't offer a free path to immortality, it remained an exceptionally powerful weapon. For Nui to send a fragment of himself to other worlds and bestow such a weapon, he must be unimaginably strong, perhaps even god-like in power.

Thinking about this made Liu Xing wonder who the strongest person in this world was. Then, he considered whether even the most powerful being in this world could replicate what Nui had done.

As he delved deeper into thoughts about the capabilities of the strongest individuals in this world, he was actually trying to recall information about higher realms. After all, the world of xianxia was known for its layered structure, with mountains beyond mountains, skies beyond skies, and higher realms beyond normal realms. He believed that a higher world beyond this one must exist, yet surprisingly, there was no mention of ascension. As far as he knew, the pinnacle of power was reaching the highest realm and becoming an immortal, not ascending to even greater realms.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Xing shook his head and resumed walking. While contemplating higher realms was intriguing, he suspected it was far beyond his current reach. He was merely a bird trying to soar higher into the sky, while higher realms were like a distant sun in the depths of space.

As he walked, Liu Xing also considered the frog, the moss and the fox duo, and their abnormal strength. He wondered about the mummy in the deep lake and why that inverted pyramid could bend space around it and completely conceal its qi.

As Liu Xing jumped over a fallen tree obstructing his path, he finally arrived at the edge of the giant river. The water was brown, as if someone had stirred up the river bottom and made it muddy. He knew he was further downstream from where he had destroyed the pyramid, so the brown color must be due to the water carrying earth and mud from the large hole he had created.

Turning his head to the left, he considered heading to Second Gray Cloud City to find clothes. He was currently bare-chested and only wearing pants. While the cold air didn't bother him, he preferred to be presentable if he encountered anyone. However, he imagined the people there were still in an uproar about him, and he wanted to avoid another commotion.

Liu Xing aimed his gun toward the city's direction and willed himself to become invisible, thinking it would be best if no one saw him. But the invisibility didn't activate, and he dismissed his gun with a sigh. He didn't feel threatened by the city, and therefore, couldn't turn invisible.

"I'll just buy clothes in the next city," he decided.

As he tried to recall the location of Whirling Cloud City, Liu Xing heard heavy footsteps and the sound of a galloping horse. He checked his surroundings and saw a group emerge from the foliage across the river. The group consisted of ten people. Leading them was a giant black horse, carrying a tan man clad in ornate silver armor. The man's face was stern, his eyes focused, and a silver spear, its tip gleaming, was strapped to his back. Around him were nine men, also in silver armor, though plainer and less shiny. Each wore a helmet and carried a spear, eyeing Liu Xing with a mix of nervousness and determination, as if they were preparing to subdue a dangerous beast.

But Liu Xing knew their true leader was not the man on horseback. While that man was at the sixth stage of the Lock Opening realm, Liu Xing sensed another, stronger qi approaching. He looked upward and soon saw a man riding a giant silver sword. He stood regally, like an emperor surveying his domain, with his hands clasped behind his back.

This man possessed pale skin, long golden hair, and a relatively handsome face framed by sharp eyebrows. Yet, his face was contorted in an ugly, angry expression, veins pulsing around his bloodshot eyes, which were red as if he were consumed by both anger and sorrow.

The man leaped from the sword and landed in front of the group. As he landed, the man on horseback dismounted and stood behind him.

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