As the bright light faded, Xiao Chen staggered to his feet and found himself in a dark stone chamber. At the end of the chamber, two paths diverged.

Like two long spears lying horizontally, they exuded completely different spear intents.

This was the first time he had felt such a rich and pure aura of gunplay since entering the forbidden area.

He composed himself, walked to the fork in the road, and carefully examined the differences between the two paths:

The road to the left was pitch black, with a pale blue spear glow lingering at the entrance. The spear's intent was unstoppable, carrying a sharp, unyielding spirit of "burning the boats and breaking the bridge."

The closer Xiao Chen got, the more he felt an icy pressure.

The intent of the spear was like countless invisible spears, subtly piercing towards him, as if warning him, driving him away, and advising him to "know when to back down" and choose another path.

The road to the right was the complete opposite; the gunfire at the entrance was as gentle as water, offering no resistance whatsoever, and even carrying a hint of "seduction."

It seemed that simply stepping inside would allow one to easily comprehend the way of the spear and have a smooth journey. However, after staring at the gentle spear intent for a moment, Xiao Chen felt a strong sense of unease rising within him.

This spear intent is too "perfect," so perfect that it has lost the sharpness that the way of the spear should have. If he goes down this path, his spear will probably become "dull" without him even realizing it, or even break completely!

"From a small place in the Cangxuan Realm to where I am now, my master taught me the way of the spear, not to let me choose an easy path."

Xiao Chen gripped the rusty iron spear tightly, his knuckles turning white, as the image of Lin Zhou teaching him to shoot with a tree branch flashed through his mind.

At that time, his master only said, "A gun is a weapon for killing. One must be firm in heart and pure in intention." He seemed to understand at the time, but now, standing at the crossroads, he suddenly had a bit of enlightenment.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and stepped onto the difficult road to the left.

The moment he took his first step, the surrounding gun intent surged instantly!

Countless invisible spears rained down on him like a storm, stinging his skin.

Xiao Chen dared not be careless and immediately activated the spear intent within his body, condensing a layer of light blue shield around his body in an attempt to resist the pressure.

However, the spear intent in the road was too domineering. As soon as the shield was formed, it was pierced and made to buzz. Countless spear beams pierced through the shield and stabbed into his body like fine needles, causing him to clench his teeth in pain.

"What's a little pain?"

Xiao Chen gritted his teeth and continued forward. The further he went, the greater the pressure from the spear intent became, as if an invisible hand was pushing him backward, and every step required tremendous effort.

Cracks gradually appeared on his shield, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and a dull pain throbbed in his chest, yet his eyes grew ever brighter.

He could clearly feel that the gun intent within his body was being "polished" by this external gun intent, becoming more and more refined, and even showing faint signs of a breakthrough.

"It'll be soon...it'll be soon!"

Xiao Chen shouted in his heart and suddenly made a bold decision: he abruptly withdrew the shield around his body!

Without the shield to block it, the gun intent from the outside world surged into his body like a tide. Countless invisible spears pierced his body, causing him excruciating pain. Blood dripped down his robes, staining the stone slabs beneath his feet red.

But he ignored it all, focusing all his spear intent on the rusty iron spear, pointing the spear tip at the spear intent in front of him, and letting out a long roar: "Come on! Continue! My spear, Xiao Chen's spear, has never been afraid of anyone!"

The azure spear light on the rusty iron spear surged, colliding fiercely with the spear intent from the outside world! "Clang clang clang!"

Countless invisible impacts echoed in the stone chamber. Xiao Chen's hand, gripping the gun, trembled slightly, yet he did not retreat an inch.

He was "practicing" with the intent of the gun on this path, feeling the essence of the gun way through the collision.

“My master taught me spear techniques using a tree branch… The tree branch had no spear tip or shaft, yet its spear intent was sharper than any long spear.”

While fighting off the gun's intent, Xiao Chen recalled the past, "Back then he said, 'The heart must be firm, the will must be pure'... Pure? What does pure mean?"

He looked at the rusty iron spear in his hand, at the pure blue light emanating from its tip, and suddenly it dawned on him.

The essence of gunplay is never about fancy moves or complicated techniques, but about "purity"!

Pure killing intent, pure belief, pure "unwavering determination"!

He used to think about making up for the lack of spear intent with techniques, but he forgot the most fundamental word "pure"!

"Hahahaha! Master! I understand! I finally understand!"

Xiao Chen burst into laughter, his laughter filled with the exhilaration of sudden enlightenment. "What you need to teach me is 'purity'!"

The moment he finished speaking, the intent to use the gun within him erupted like a volcano!

The already condensed spear light became even purer, without any impurities, like the sharpest blade, instantly breaking through the obstruction of the external spear intent!

The gun intent in the road seemed to be intimidated by this pure gun intent, gradually dissipating and ceasing to resist.

Xiao Chen walked forward step by step, and with each step, the spear intent within his body grew stronger, and his cultivation level also rapidly increased.

The bottleneck of the middle stage of the Dao attainment was broken instantly, and he soared all the way to the late stage of the Dao attainment, finally stopping steadily at the peak of the Dao attainment!

More importantly, his spear intent underwent a complete transformation, entering a completely new realm.

With a sharp edge of "pure innocence and unwavering determination," even a casual swing can exude a chilling killing intent.

Reaching the end of the road, Xiao Chen stopped, gripped the rusty iron spear in his hand, and felt the surging power and pure spear intent within his body. A relieved smile appeared on his lips.

He chose the right path, despite the difficulties. And this is just the beginning of a new chapter in his journey as a marksman.

Under the old locust tree outside the main hall of the Qingyun Sect, Lin Zhou lay sprawled on a recliner, holding half a spirit fruit in his hand. The water mirror in front of him reflected the scene of Xiao Chen breaking through the spear intent.

When Lin Zhou saw Xiao Chen shout, "What Master taught me was purity," he choked on a mouthful of spiritual juice and hurriedly wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.

He muttered to himself, "Pure? When did I ever use that word... I just picked up a broken twig and made a few gestures to get by, how did this kid suddenly understand?"

He rolled over, looked at Xiao Chen's reflection in the water mirror—his appearance after breaking through to the peak of the Dao Proving Realm—and couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"However... he actually grasped the concept quite well. Oh well, let's just say that I deliberately guided him. I can't exactly say that I didn't understand anything back then."

As he spoke, he took a bite of the spiritual fruit, his gaze shifting to another part of the water mirror.

The stone's reflection was right there, and a playful smile appeared on his lips. "This test for the little stone is quite suitable for him."

On the other side, where the stone was teleported, was an endless gray plain.

The plains were barren of vegetation, only thick, swirling soul mist rolled across the ground, and from within the mist, enormous demonic beasts were slowly emerging.

These demonic beasts were all formed from souls; some resembled fierce tigers, others giant bears, and their bodies were surrounded by black soul energy.

Although it has no physical form, its physical body is several times stronger than that of other demonic beasts of the same level, and each step it takes causes the ground to tremble slightly.