IMMORTALITY STARTS WITH A GUN

To the Qing clansmen, the sight in the sky was unfathomable. A crescent of purple qi had been so strong they had thought it was their enemy's ultimate technique, but then, as if the first attack had been nothing, another purple crescent descended. This one was also large—though a bit shorter and wider than the last—and its speed was not as swift. Every member of the Qing clan understood the reason. It wasn't because the attack was weaker, though some chose to deceive themselves with that lie, but because it had been deliberately altered to match the attacks from the dragon and the hand mirror. Not only that, but the purple crescent descended with another attack in the form of a pillar of light so bright and large it could have swallowed half the blue dome.

The Smoke Dragon roared in defiance. Its green eyes shone brightly before it unleashed another massive beam of qi out of its mouth. It was larger than before, seemingly trying to match the descending pillar of white lightning.

The hand mirror also shone brightly, its silver light illuminating the world. But instead of condensed green qi, it now projected a white beam crackling with blue lightning. The patriarch, who controlled the two treasures, gritted his teeth as his mind struggled to control both assaults. The dragon's breath attack was wide and strong, but he felt it was a fraction weaker than the descending pillar of light. The hand mirror successfully replicated the white pillar, but the copy was obviously imperfect. The arcs of lightning surrounding it were not supposed to be there; they were proof that it was wasting energy. The patriarch roared, pushing his qi into the treasures and bracing for the impact.

When the four attacks collided, an explosion of white, purple, and green light erupted, illuminating White Tower City as if it were a giant firework. The explosion was so loud that it made the world rumble as if a giant buried deep beneath the ground were stirring in its sleep. Some nearby roofs were blown away like specks of dust. The loud crash that followed their landing created a cacophony, accompanied by shouts of fear from mortals and cultivators alike. The attacks were so loud and powerful that most people thought the world was ending.

The Qing clan cultivators looked up, their eyes trembling. Some pointed, while others swallowed hard, overcome with intense fear. They didn't dare make a sound, afraid that the slightest noise would distract the dragon and the mirror.

As the purple crescent and Liu Xing's white lightning pillar descended, the attacks from the dragon and the hand mirror tried to push them upward. For a moment, neither side gained an advantage. The people of the Qing clan thought it might be a tie, that the attacks would disperse with neither side winning. But a laugh reverberated through the air, and they saw it was Liu Xing. However, the eyes of the patriarch, his brother, his father, and all the Qing clan members were not on Liu Xing, who held his position sending the white lightning pillar toward them. Instead, they were fixed on the stone blade floating at his side, which was once again shining with purple light.

"Here's another one!" Liu Xing said, his voice reverberating, and the stone blade at his side swung downward. Instantly, another purple crescent, its presence as heavy as before, began descending, aiming for the head of the Smoke Dragon. The dragon glanced toward this new attack, but it could not redirect its attack, lest Liu Xing's white pillar of lightning would swallow it whole.

To the horror of the entire Qing clan, however, Liu Xing didn't stop. He repeatedly slashed the stone blade, shooting down crescents of purple qi, albeit weaker and smaller than before. At the same time, six blue bolts suddenly emerged from his other side. They resembled lightning condensed into small bolts and rained down on the hand mirror.

"No way! This must be a dream!"

"What the hell is this?!"

The patriarch roared, his brother gritted his teeth, and even the grand elder's eyes widened. They realized there was no way for the two treasures to handle all of these attacks.

True to their prediction, several purple crescents slashed the Smoke Dragon's head. The creature's smoky body offered no resistance. The attacks entered on one side and exited on the other, decapitating the dragon instantly. At the same time, several smaller crescents arrived and diced the dragon's head into little chunks of smoke. Its breath attack suddenly lost stability and exploded into a brilliant green light. Simultaneously, six blue bolts struck the hand mirror. When all six bolts hit their target, a series of explosions erupted, causing the mirror to lose control. Its counterattack ceased, and it unleashed a deafening explosion of its own.

After a while, Liu Xing's attacks from his Thunderstrike Gauntlets finally receded. From his point of view, he could see the smoke dragon that had been coiling around the blue dome begin to disperse, losing its cohesion, some of it carried away by the wind. The hand mirror was thrown to the side, leaving a trail of smoke behind it before it landed on the pavement not far from the main gate to the Qing clan estate. It bounced several times before it finally stopped, its surface cracked into a thousand little fragments.

For a moment, the world fell silent. The smoke continued to disperse and the humming sound from the dome filled the air. He looked through the blue dome and saw the Qing clansmen with wide, dilated eyes. The patriarch of the Qing clan was kneeling behind a table, blood pouring from his mouth and his eyes bloodshot. He coughed while the grand elder knelt beside him with a hand on his back, as if to ease his pain. When the patriarch and Liu Xing's eyes met, Liu Xing smiled. The only thing between them was the dome.

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The Qing clansmen were now filled with despair. Their three prized treasures were defeated, and their claim that no one could shatter this defense had been mercilessly broken by Liu Xing. Some of them glanced behind them, toward the patriarch who was coughing up blood like a waterfall. If the patriarch was reduced to that state, what would happen to them?

One of the Qing clansmen shouted. "Don't despair! What protects us is the Starlight Dome Formation! I know this formation. There were several instances where this dome was erected in history, and in each instance, the dome was always left standing, while the enemy was always decimated!"

"Yeah!" shouted a man who had recently taunted Liu Xing by telling him he was his ancestor. "Not only that, but we cannot forget that our sect now has three pillars: the Patriarch, the Second Master, and the Grand Elder!"

At that, people snapped their attention to the three men they hoped could turn the situation around. The patriarch began to stand, the Second Master looked up and glowered, and the grand elder surprisingly laughed softly, as if what happened was amusing. Then, the grand elder threw something to the patriarch, which he caught deftly. It was a pill, and from the aroma that wafted through the air, it was a potent one. The patriarch popped it into his mouth. Blue energy began swirling around him, and he stood straighter, as if his internal injuries had suddenly healed. Seeing the three pillars of the Qing clan standing firm filled them with hope.

There were indeed three instances in history when the Starlight Dome Formation had been erected, and it stood firm every time. It was a defensive formation that was impossible to break through. Not only that, but the fact that the people inside could come out as they wished gave them an immense advantage. When the time was right, these three pillars would emerge and kill Liu Xing.

Suddenly, hope and courage began to flood the Qing clan.

"Yeah, we will win!" someone shouted.

"At the end of the day, Liu Xing is alone, but we're together. These are not impossible odds!"

"I believe that we will win. Tomorrow, not only White Tower City, but the whole Wild Tide Region will know of our feat!"

"Victory!"

"Victory! Victory!"

People began chanting "victory" with full vigor, as if they were experiencing mass hysteria. Their expressions were intense, their smiles unhinged, and their eyes were dilated, making them look as if they were possessed. While they proclaimed they would win this conflict, they knew deep down that their chance was as slim as a bamboo stalk. However, they knew that despairing was not an option. They were the Qing clan. Mortals revered them as gods. They were used to victory. Despair was a foreign word in their dictionary.

The three men in the middle of the cheering were likewise trying to emit a calm and formidable aura.

The grand elder opened his mouth as if he wanted to address the crowd. However, before any sound came out, a loud, thundering sound suddenly rocked the world. It was so sudden and so loud that some of them jumped in surprise. Some mortals inside their buildings even fainted because of how loud and terrifying the sound was. The chatter, the ruckus, and the chants of "victory" were suddenly silenced. People began to look up, and when they saw what caused the thunderous rumble, their eyes opened wide and their mouths hung open.

Atop the blue dome, a gigantic thing was floating in the air. It was so vast that the people inside the dome could not see anything but it.

"Is that... a tortoise?" someone commented.

Indeed, once people heard that, it was as if a connection formed in their minds, and they suddenly recognized that it was a turtle. Its body looked as if it were made from stone. Its eyes were green gems that shone with intensity. They also realized that the turtle was upside down. Its four gigantic feet pointed toward the sky, while its shell pointed at the dome.

"What the fuck!" someone exclaimed.

Some people remembered the stories about Liu Xing, and there was indeed a part where it said he rode a flying turtle. They had assumed it was perhaps as big as a horse, or even a house. But this... this turtle was eclipsing the estate itself!

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is the tortoise getting bigger each passing second?"

He was correct. Aside from growing bigger, it was also flying higher and higher, distancing itself from the dome. Several moments passed where people just looked up, stunned, unable to comprehend what they saw. How could they have missed this gigantic stone tortoise? It was as if it had appeared out of thin air. But then some of them instantly remembered that Liu Xing, too, had suddenly appeared, so it made sense that this turtle had as well.

The turtle rose higher and higher into the sky until the distance between it and the dome was tens of meters apart. Then, it suddenly stopped and began to descend, creating a huge rumbling in the air that made even the ground tremble.

"Take cover!" someone shouted, as if he had just realized the implication. That shout freed the people who were frozen, though they were still too stunned to move.

Before even a single person could flee, the shell of the stone turtle met the blue dome. When they collided, the ground trembled as if an earthquake were raging, accompanied by a thunderous sound so loud it made their ears ring. The blue dome shone brightly, as if it were trying to hold against the turtle's attempt to break through.

Someone pointed a hand upward. "Is that... a crack?"

People focused their eyes on the highest point of the dome, where a crack several meters long had indeed appeared.