Chapter 867: Observing the Winds and Clouds for 1000 Years, Heaven Locking Intent Surges

Chapter 867 -865: Observing the Winds and Clouds for 1000 Years, Heaven Locking Intent Surges

Three days for one cycle of withering and flourishing. A leaf of a thousand years undergoes a cycle once every century, completing ten cycles in total.

Through each cycle of decay and revival of his aura and even his soul, Xu Yang appeared unchanged on the outside. However, his soul and Primordial Spirit were undergoing an astonishing metamorphosis.

Thirty days later.

Xu Yang abruptly awakened. He stared in a daze at the three ancient pines by the cliff and the boundless, shifting clouds, which looked just as they had at the very beginning.

“Did I… have a dream?” Xu Yang muttered to himself.

“No, it wasn’t a dream.

“It was the ancient pine leaf.

“Ten cycles of withering and flourishing—it was like ten cycles of nirvana.”

He trembled slightly as all his memories finally returned.

The blurred fragments rapidly sharpened in his mind, vividly displaying every detail. Even though his consciousness had fallen dormant during the cycles of withering and flourishing, he felt as if he had transformed into an ancient pine. Rooted to this very spot, he had sat and watched the winds and clouds shift across the mountains and the world.

He had sat there for a thousand years.

Exactly. Although only thirty days had passed in reality, Xu Yang felt as though he had sat in quiet meditation for a millennium. Enduring a cycle of withering and flourishing every century, he had weathered ten cycles in total, as if surviving a long tribulation. Each cycle brought him indescribable gains.

Xu Yang slowly looked inward to inspect his Primordial Spirit.

It was more solidified than ever before. The miniature figure, resembling himself, looked incredibly lifelike, faintly radiating twelve-colored immortal light from within.

Startled, Xu Yang thought, “Twelve-colored immortal light… a twelfth-grade immortal foundation. My Primordial Spirit…”

With a single stirring thought, a change occurred.

WHOOSH!

Winds and clouds suddenly surged above the cliff, transforming the world around him. In his perception, everything from all directions rapidly zoomed in, becoming microscopically clear. Not only could he discern the fine textures of every blade of grass and leaf, but he could also clearly see their internal structures. Controlling his Primordial Spirit, Xu Yang extended his perception endlessly.

At a certain moment, he slowly closed his eyes.

SWISH!

The swirling winds and clouds over the cliff intertwined to form a flash of saber light. As the wind rose, the saber swept forward. It was none other than the Wind Meteor Immortal Wilderness. However, he was practicing it from the very beginning—starting from the initial, obscure entry level and working his way up from scratch.

Forgetting all his previous comprehensions of the technique, Xu Yang executed strike after strike, the saber lights morphing and interweaving in the air. From scratching the surface to basic mastery, from basic mastery to minor completion, and from minor completion to major completion… he re-cultivated it all over again.

WHOOSH!

BOOM!

Storms raged, boundless saber edges flashed, and a murderous aura filled the air. He had achieved absolute perfection.

Immediately after came the Immortal Slaying Rain, the Wind Tribulation Tiger Slaughter Saber, the Three Seals of Heaven Locking, and the Heaven Locking Intent…

An unknown amount of time passed. Xu Yang abruptly snapped back to reality, and all the turbulent phenomena in midair vanished without a trace.

“Ten cycles of withering and flourishing; ten cycles of nirvana. I’ve re-cultivated all my Immortal Techniques from scratch. The Wind Meteor Immortal Wilderness is now perfect, the Immortal Slaying Rain has reached major completion, the Wind Tribulation Tiger Fiend is perfect, and even the Heaven Locking Intent has seen tremendous improvement,” Xu Yang murmured in realization. “Although the realm of my Primordial Spirit hasn’t dramatically advanced, it has become over ten times more condensed.”

The most direct resulting change was that whenever he unleashed an Immortal Technique, the lethal power of his saber intent was far more astonishing. This was especially true for the Heaven Locking Intent. With a single thought, Xu Yang triggered it.

CLANK CLANK CLANK!

Ten Thousand Locking Heaven Divine Chains coiled through the void. Each chain was significantly stronger than before, encompassing half the sky. The sheer binding force caused the surrounding space to warp and convulse, while the ambient immortal spiritual energy completely stagnated.

The next moment, Xu Yang’s consciousness projected outside the Minor Immortal Realm, shaking its spatial barrier with a mere thought. The countless Heaven-Locking Divine Chains clinging to the barrier materialized, trembling violently.

“Come out!” Xu Yang shouted in a low voice, forcefully extracting the Ten Thousand Locking Heaven Divine Chains.

CLANK CLANK!!

In an instant, twenty thousand Heaven-Locking Divine Chains erupted. The space above the platform completely solidified at this moment. The winds died down, the air stilled, and the immortal energy was entirely sealed, leaving not the slightest ripple.

“What a powerful upgrade.” A look of shock appeared on Xu Yang’s face. The might of his Heaven Locking Intent had increased by at least three times compared to before. This essentially meant the power of all his other Divine Techniques had also roughly tripled. Furthermore, his mastery over several major Divine Techniques had deepened. This was a massive leap in strength—all from a single leaf.

Thrilled, Xu Yang glanced at the ancient pine, then stood up and bowed deeply in a solemn gesture of respect.

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE!!

The ancient pine swayed, producing soft rustling sounds as if in response.

Afterward, Xu Yang scanned his surroundings but saw no sign of Cang Feng. He pondered for a moment before leaping into the air, flying toward the depths of the mountain range and steering clear of any visible architecture.

Half a quarter-hour later, he arrived at a deserted area deep in the mountains. Traces and auras of numerous immortal beasts lingered in the vicinity.

“Too weak. They’re only at the Middle Stage of Golden Immortal,” Xu Yang muttered.

Concealing his aura, he darted through the mountains in search of a suitable target.

After a long while, his eyes lit up. “Found one.”

The ferocious aura of a beast at the Late Stage of Golden Immortal entered his perception. With a flicker of his body, Xu Yang rapidly closed the distance.

Soon, he spotted a massive Purple Crystal Immortal Lion, as large as a small hill, lying beside a towering mountain, partially hidden by dense vegetation. With every breath it took, streams of purple fire shot out of its nostrils, scorching the air and causing the space around it to warp continuously. The terrifying, berserk might radiating from its body permeated the surroundings, ensuring no other beast dared to approach within a radius of several thousand feet. This was clearly its territory.

Seeing the giant beast, Xu Yang’s eyes shone brightly. The next moment, he stepped right out into the open without bothering to hide himself.

BOOM!

The ground trembled, and a nearby boulder shattered. The Purple Crystal Immortal Lion abruptly opened its eyes and stood up, its massive frame towering as its berserk aura skyrocketed. The sheer pressure it exuded was several degrees stronger than the oppressive aura Lo Peng and Zhong Wanshang had emitted when they broke through to the Late Stage of Golden Immortal. Its strength was self-evident.

Purple flames ignited in its eyes, making it look exceptionally hideous and ferocious. It locked its deadly gaze on Xu Yang and let out a low growl.

“You’re exactly what I’m looking for.” Xu Yang strode forward.

ROAR!

Feeling provoked, the Purple Crystal Immortal Lion roared. Without a second’s hesitation, it shattered the ground beneath its paws and leaped into the air, unleashing a sky-high wave of purple fire that instantly engulfed an area of several hundred feet.

“Heaven Locking Intent!” Xu Yang did not stop walking; he merely let out a cold, thunderous shout.

CLANK!

Twenty thousand Heaven-Locking Divine Chains materialized out of thin air, blotting out the sky and covering the earth as they instantly enveloped the Purple Crystal Immortal Lion.

Its roar was abruptly cut short! The space in all directions trembled wildly, but this only lasted for a few seconds before completely stagnating.

The Purple Crystal Immortal Lion glared with fiery eyes, its massive body forcefully locked in midair, completely immobilized. Even the waves of fire energy drifting in the air were solidified—as if frozen by an intense chill—maintaining the exact forms they held at the moment they were sealed.

“This feels so effortless,” Xu Yang thought. “Even the struggles of an immortal beast at the Late Stage of Golden Immortal can’t shake the chains in the slightest, and I haven’t even reached my limit yet.”

The key to unleashing the Heaven Locking Intent lay in one’s Primordial Spirit. Yet now, while restraining the Purple Crystal Immortal Lion, he felt almost no pressure.

Xu Yang walked up to the Purple Crystal Immortal Lion step by step until he was merely a few feet away. He could clearly feel the intense heat and violent energy radiating from its body.

Five breaths, ten breaths, twenty breaths…

Gradually, Xu Yang finally began to feel the strain as the consumption of his Primordial Spirit accelerated. The Purple Crystal Immortal Lion’s eyes quivered slightly. As it stared fixedly at the tiny figure standing so close, a deep sense of fear and awe welled up in its gaze.

Finally, at the fortieth breath, Xu Yang’s face turned pale; he had reached his limit. He took a step back and withdrew the Heaven-Locking Divine Chains.

SWISH!!

Massive waves of fire crashed down to the ground.

Suddenly freed, the Purple Crystal Immortal Lion lost its balance and tumbled to the ground in a sorry state, letting out a terrified whimper. It cast a glance at Xu Yang but surprisingly made no move to attack. Instead, it slowly prostrated itself on the ground and lowered its head in submission.

Seeing this, Xu Yang raised an eyebrow. After being locked down for forty breaths, this Purple Crystal Immortal Lion was so terrified that it had submitted to him directly.

Recovering from his surprise, Xu Yang smiled faintly, feeling exceptionally satisfied. “To be able to lock down a beast at the Late Stage of Golden Immortal for forty breaths before hitting my limit… in an actual battle, just two or three breaths of immobilization would be enough to deliver a fatal blow.”

Such a serendipitous encounter was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could be stumbled upon but never actively sought. There were only three such trees in the entire Black and White Starry Sky, each producing a leaf only once a millennium. One could imagine that they were even more precious and rare than the Ten Thousand Medicines Cyan Lotus Milk.

At this moment, sensing something, Xu Yang turned around. He saw a streak of light flash across the horizon, arriving in the blink of an eye.