In the shallow cave below, a tiger with orange and black stripes slept. Liu Xing hid in a bush, gun aimed at the tiger's head.

Now, he blended into his surroundings like a chameleon. Normal animals wouldn't see or sense his presence, let alone a sleeping tiger. He pulled the trigger, and a bullet flew toward the target. When it landed, it created a small hole in the creature's forehead. Blood gushed, but the animal slept soundly until eternity.

Inhaling deeply, Liu Xing finished his latest experiment, and now he knew the full capability of his invisibility.

This ability was useful but had a few drawbacks.

First, this ability was slow. He needed several breaths to go from visible to completely invisible.

Second, this ability only activated when he aimed at a creature he deemed dangerous. Liu Xing was pretty sure he could kill that tiger easily. He was a cultivator at Lock Opening fifth stage. Yet, as a human from Earth, Liu Xing had an instinctual fear of dangerous animals like tigers, snakes, or bears. He saw a wild goat not long ago, but when he aimed at the goat and willed himself to go invisible, he fully recognized that the goat was not dangerous and can't go invisible.

The third drawback was that he could only be invisible while holding the gun. If he let go of the gun or called it back to his consciousness, the invisibility would undo abruptly.

Thankfully, his invisibility would not be undone even when he moved, making all the drawbacks not too severe.

Charging the gun with his qi, Liu Xing started to move again. Since his experiment with normal animals is done, now it's time to try to find spirit beasts.

Jumping to a branch and climbing higher, Liu Xing realized that soon the day would turn to night, and more dangerous beasts would roam the forest.

Not deterred, Liu Xing sensed the qi around him. The qi in the air felt like a mist. When it touched his skin, it felt cold and wet, but Liu Xing knew his skin was not in contact with water. It was just the feeling of it.

Liu Xing tried to follow the dense qi around him, guiding him deeper into the forest. Spirit beasts liked to live in rich qi environments, and since Liu Xing wanted to find a spirit beast, he followed the thread of dense qi.

After the darkness fully arrived, Liu Xing arrived at a part of the forest where the trees stood far apart. Each tree felt like an introvert, not wanting to touch or have contact with other trees. This environment allowed the grass below to grow tall, almost to his waist.

Feeling the qi around him, Liu Xing realized that this place was full of qi. Above, he saw the moon hanging in the sky, shining like a lone blind eye, illuminating this part of the forest. Despite the limited light, Liu Xing felt that he could see almost everything around him.

"There must be a spirit beast here," he thought.

Hopefully not a strong one, but Liu Xing felt ready.

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Jumping to a high branch, Liu Xing tried to sense the qi around him. In his past missions, Liu Xing had slain several spirit beasts.

In those missions, Liu Xing had memorized how the spirit beast qi felt. Their qi was different from that of human cultivators, they felt more raw and powerful.

Closing his eyes, Liu Xing sensed such an aura moving quickly toward his direction. He wasn't surprised. Some spirit beasts were as dumb as rocks, but others were smart and could sense other qi. There was no doubt in his mind that his qi had already attracted a spirit beast.

Liu Xing opened his eyes and focused on the base of a tree a hundred meters away. A mantis-like creature stood there, with yellow eyes as big as palms, sickle-like arms, and a body coated in red, as if bathed in blood. Its antennae swung wildly, and its body twitched like a spring before launching.

Liu Xing summoned his gun and took his stance. He felt danger crawling up his spine, cold sweat pouring down his back. He realized this beast was as strong as him.

While the cultivation of spirit beasts and humans differed, Liu Xing sensed that this giant red mantis was at the Lock Opening fourth stage, a realm lower than him, yet its strength was comparable to his.

The wind blew gently, the grass swaying like a dancer hearing music Liu Xing couldn't hear nor comprehend. He focused his eyes on his foe, feeling like he stood on a tightrope, ready to fall at any moment.

When the mantis creature jumped, it shot forward like a cannonball. Liu Xing pulled the trigger, and the bullet struck the beast's head. Its head snapped back as if hit by a strong punch, but there was no hole. He couldn't one-shot the creature.

The mantis landed in front of him, swinging its sickles, aiming to split his body in half. Liu Xing focused his qi in his feet and jumped backward. In mid-air, he fired again and again. A "ping ping" sound echoed as the bullets hit the creature's body, but they didn't penetrate its tough exoskeleton.

Liu Xing jumped back several times, zigzagging through the grass. The mantis followed, swinging its arms.

Liu Xing activated the invisibility feature of his gun while continuing to zigzag.

After several more moments, the invisibility began to spread.

Realizing Liu Xing was vanishing, the spirit beast intensified its efforts to catch him, slashing repeatedly.

In the dead of night, under the lone moon, a deadly dance unfolded. The mantis moved with crazy speed, its reach long, every swing can end his life.

Liu Xing focused his whole body while keeping an eye on his surroundings to evade its attacks. He ran here and there, sometimes trying to hide behind a tree, hoping it would obstruct his foe for a second, but all of the trees fell, their sound reverberating in the cold night.

Liu Xing leaped to a branch. As he stepped on it, the spirit beast jumped to follow him, slashing its arms and cutting the branch. Liu Xing fell with the branch, and the mantis used another tree as a stepping stone to jump toward him with its arms closing like scissors.

Liu Xing saw the glint in the spirit beast's eye and understood that it thought it had won. In mid-air, Liu Xing couldn't evade.

He gritted his teeth and fired one more time. The bullet struck its forehead, making its head snap back, but its arms still tried to slash him.

Liu Xing released his right hand from the gun, making only his left hand holding the gun, and summoned electricity to his palm. Up close, he knew his Lightning Palm strike would be more effective than a bullet. But when Liu Xing channeled his technique, no electricity came to his hands. Instead, he felt like a bullet in his gun was suddenly made from electricity.

Adrenaline pumped through every fiber, making the world slow down. He didn't understand what just happened, but he knew what he needed to do.

To his left and right, the scythes glinted under moonlight, reflecting an imperfect image of himself. With superhuman speed, Liu Xing aimed his gun at the mantis's face and pulled the trigger with only his left hand.

There was no recoil, just a whisper of a gunshot. A lightning bullet shot from his gun toward the mantis.