IMMORTALITY STARTS WITH A GUN

The explosion unleashed a powerful shockwave that made his ears ring. Mushrooms, trees, and boulders shattered and scattered. A thick cloud of dust billowed around the turtle.

As the dust settled, he saw the turtle's lower jaw was obliterated. Blood surged from the wound, creating a small, crimson waterfall. The turtle's red eyes locked onto him, and all the worms turned their heads in his direction with each worm conjured a blue flame before its mouth and launched it at him.

He leaped from behind the rock and landed on a mushroom. The rock he had just used for cover exploded into smithereens, leaving a scorched black mark in its place. Witnessing the attack, he realized that if all twenty fireballs struck him at once, he would be incinerated. He re-aimed his gun at the turtle's head and saw the wound he had inflicted bubbling with worms writhing and solidifying into a new jaw.

"So, this turtle can regenerate," he muttered.

Liu Xing fired again, blasting away its newly formed jaw. The worms retaliated, firing at his previous position, but he had already leaped and taken cover behind a giant tree.

Observing the turtle regenerate again, he felt confident he held the advantage. The turtle couldn't pinpoint his location, making its attacks purely reactive. As long as he kept dodging, which he found relatively easy, he knew victory would eventually be his.

He then targeted the mushroom on its back, channeled Exploding Fist and fired. When the bullet struck, the mushroom erupted in a shower of fragments, and when the smoke cleared, the worms within the mushroom were exposed fully. Thousands of worms writhed from the turtle's back. The sight of the slimy, disgusting creatures made his stomach churn. If he hadn't known the turtle regenerated using these worms, he would have assumed they were parasites.

He fired another shot and then leaped to a higher branch. As the bullet detonated, the turtle unleashed a blue fireball towards his previous hiding spot. It seemed this turtle-worm hybrid wasn't particularly intelligent. Against him, it was essentially a sitting duck!

He continued to bombard the spirit beast, and with the next Exploding Fist Bullet, the turtle's head finally exploded. Red blood gushed from its neck like a crimson waterfall. The turtle's back, once teeming with worms, now caved in, revealing its innards, bones, and digestive system.

Hidden within a bush, he waited, and when no regeneration occurred, he realized the turtle was dead.

"Hell yeah!" he couldn't suppress a grin.

He examined his gun. Six faintly glowing green stripes appeared on its side, indicating the beast core's successful absorption. Seeing this, his confidence surged. If he could defeat a giant turtle with a higher cultivation than him, he felt capable of facing any spirit beast in this forest!

"Time to cultivate!"

He found a secluded hollow, settled into a cross-legged position, and began to absorb the energy. This energy wouldn't instantly propel him to a breakthrough, but the gains were still significant. He chuckled, eager to fully absorb the energy from his gun, resume his hunt, and break through to the sixth stage.

***

Far on the outskirts of Dragon Skull Forest, as Pu He lamented his fate. He had been a member of the Illustrious Peaks Sect, a minor sect affiliated with the Purple Moon Sect. Most nights, Pu He dwelled on his past choices. If he hadn't been so greedy, hadn't schemed against an elder, and hadn't slept with the elder's daughter, perhaps he wouldn't have become a loose cultivator with no prospects. He wouldn't have ended up as an accomplice to Mo Yan and Han Zong as a robber.

Seeing his two friends still unconscious on the ground, he sighed. His vow to the Purple Moon Sect disciple had been merely a desperate attempt to save his life, but as he fled, he actually began to consider it seriously.

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With his cultivation at the fourth stage of the Lock Opening realm, he had limited options if he wanted to live honorably. The most viable paths were to become a bodyguard, work in a small auction house, or start a modest business. None of these options would lead to power or great wealth. The idea of simply settling down was something the ambitious Pu He had always rejected. After all, he had been the most talented cultivator from his village. He harbored dreams of becoming an Immortal, yet, looking at his current predicament, settling down might be his best option. He was, after all, a robber, and he had never heard of a robber who lived a long, prosperous, and happy life.

"Perhaps living an honorable life is the better path. Maybe I can alter my appearance, travel to another country, and begin anew." He didn't yet know the specifics, but it felt like he was turning a new page in his life. Perhaps his near-death experience at the hands of the Purple Moon Sect disciple was a blessing in disguise.

"Alright, I, Pu He, will uphold my vow to you!" He hoped he would find happiness in this new chapter of his life.

Glancing at his still unconscious friends, he sighed again. Mo Yan and Han Zong wouldn't be pleased with his decision, but Pu He believed they would ultimately understand and let him go.

He sat beneath a tree and attempted to cultivate while waiting for his friends to awaken. After about an hour, Mo Yan and Han Zong finally stirred.

"What happened?" Mo Yan, his leader, asked groggily.

"We were beaten," Pu He replied. "Luckily, the person we tried to rob was merciful. He let us go."

"Hmph, what a naive fool!" Mo Yan scoffed. "If it were me, I would have killed the robbers and taken everything they possessed!"

"Well, we're fortunate that he wasn't you," Han Zong quipped.

Mo Yan glared at Han Zong as if he had uttered a grave offense. Indeed, if a weak cultivator dared to rob Mo Yan, he would undoubtedly kill them and loot their corpse.

"Mo Yan, Han Zong," Pu He began, his voice hesitant, "I think I want to stop robbing people."

"What are you talking about?" Mo Yan demanded. "Are you planning to betray us? What about our vow to always be brothers, to support each other?"

Han Zong nodded in agreement with Mo Yan's outburst.

Pu He then poured out his heart. He spoke of leaving his village with cheers and pride, of his regret over scheming against an elder and deceiving the elder's daughter, of his despair regarding his current situation, and of the hollowness he felt even after successful robberies. He described waking up at night, drinking foul liquor, and questioning the ultimate purpose of his life. Mo Yan and Han Zong listened in silence. Their expressions revealed they shared similar thoughts. After all, no one truly aspired to become a robber. After a long silence, nearly half an hour, Mo Yan finally nodded.

"You're right," Mo Yan conceded. "You deserve to find peace and happiness. I respect your decision. I won't stop you. What about you, Han Zong?"

"Well, you're my friend, Pu He," Han Zong replied. "What kind of friend would I be if I stood in the way of your happiness?" Han Zong offered a genuine smile.

Seeing his two friends accept his decision, Pu He couldn't help but smile in relief. They came from vastly different backgrounds, yet their friendship had grown so deep that Pu He felt as if he had known them since childhood.

"Although," Mo Yan interjected, "could you postpone your retirement? Just for one more robbery? We still have some debts to settle, after all."

"Yeah!" Han Zong chimed in. "Let's celebrate your retirement with one last, successful haul!"

Pu He hesitated for a moment. He had already vowed to live an honorable life, but perhaps, just one more robbery wouldn't compromise his newfound resolve. "Alright," he agreed, "this will be my last. Successful or not, I'm leaving after this."

"Excellent, it's settled then! Let's rob!"

After their discussion, the trio moved towards another entrance to Dragon Skull Forest. They concealed themselves behind a massive tree near a rope bridge. The bridge spanned a dizzying chasm between two cliffs, hundreds of meters above the river below. While a fall from such a height wouldn't be fatal for a cultivator, the experience would be highly undesirable.

They waited for hours, and as the sun began to set, a figure in tattered rags appeared on the bridge. His skin was so pale he resembled a walking corpse, and he was so gaunt he looked almost skeletal. He walked with a slow, pronounced limp, dragging a visibly rotten right foot.

"There's a man crossing the bridge. Should we rob him?" Pu He whispered.

Han Zong scoffed, "That guy looks like a dying beggar. What could we possibly get from robbing him?"

"Should we just let him pass then?" Pu He questioned.

"No," Mo Yan stated firmly, "he may look like a dying beggar, but he's still a cultivator. Perhaps he cultivates some unique method that causes him to appear that way. There's a chance he's concealing his wealth. Let's rob him."

Pu He and Han Zong nodded. They trusted Mo Yan's instincts. While he had misjudged the Purple Moon Sect disciple, his hunches were usually accurate. The three of them tried to appear nonchalant, and when the man finally reached the end of the bridge, they blocked his path. Mo Yan, as was his custom, greeted the man and attempted to extort a toll from this emaciated and pale figure. After Mo Yan finished speaking, the man smirked.