Chapter 873 - Practicing the Movement Technique

As the power of the words fused into Liu Wuxie's body, his physique became even more compact and resilient. It was like a vast, indestructible net woven tightly together around him.

When the barrier began to crack, Liu Wuxie mobilized more true essence and continued to attempt his breakthrough.

The gateway shattered with a loud crack, unleashing a tidal wave that surged through his limbs. Each of his acupoints burst open, greedily absorbing the energy.

Liu Wuxie's aura also changed, soaring from the second level to the third level of the True Profound Realm, and his cultivation stabilized at the intermediate phase in the blink of an eye.

The ocean of spiritual energy around him vanished, devoured by the Sky Devouring Divine cauldron. It converged into a spiritual river in the cauldron before flowing into the desolate world.

After receiving the nourishment of liquid spiritual energy, Liu Wuxie finally consolidated his cultivation. The next phase was to temper it, but this couldn't be achieved just by going into seclusion. Since he needed tempering, he had to constantly push himself to the limits.

In addition to absorbing the ocean of spiritual energy, Liu Wuxie consumed five million spirit stones before the desolate world showed signs of saturation.

He spent several hours before rising from his meditation, preparing to practice the dragon clan's movement technique. He streaked out like a shooting star and arrived at the Heavenly Gate Platform.

The wind howled violently around Liu Wuxie, and the weather was terrible that day. This made cultivating his movement technique more difficult, but it worked in his favor, as it would be more rewarding in harsher conditions.

There was no perfect environment in an ideal battle; raging gales, torrential rain, or even flashing thunder could occur.

Liu Wuxie had to adapt to harsh environments, and the Heavenly Gate Platform was undoubtedly the perfect place.

He landed on the Heavenly Gate Platform's center with a leap, but he wasn't in a hurry to cultivate and closed his eyes to sense the Divine Dragon Phantom technique.

There were six forms in total, each more potent than the previous. What made it fearsome was that the movement technique could be combined with martial techniques. Rather than being a movement technique, it was a fusion of movement and martial techniques, combining the advantages of both.

The six forms were Soaring Dragon, Dragon and Phoenix Dance, Coiling Dragon, Riding Dragon Cloud, Four Dragon Phase, and Graceful Dragon.

Each form had unique traits. For instance, the first form, Soaring Dragon, depicted a scene of a dragon soaring to the sky, performing countless aerial maneuvers.

The second form, Dragon and Phoenix Dance, summoned two streams of divine dragon power, intertwining like yin and yang, ever-changing and unpredictable.

The third form, Coiling Dragon, radiated with a ferocious aura and incorporated offensive martial techniques into the movement techniques. When unleashed, it would resemble a massive grinding mill that crushed everything in its path.

Each form was profound and formidable, requiring divine dragon power for execution, as ordinary true essence wasn't enough. It was no surprise that no one in the academy had managed to master it over the years.

The creator of this technique probably possessed the divine dragon's bloodline.

Liu Wuxie opened his eyes and let out a low whistle that resembled a dragon's roar.

He soared to the sky and appeared mid-air, his true essence manifesting into the phantom of the divine dragon, soaring to the sky like an actual dragon.

The wind howled, and clouds churned. When the divine dragon was formed, the surrounding gale grew even fiercer.

Elder Madman watched everything from the distance with sharp and glowing eyes.

"This is interesting...he succeeded in cultivating that abandoned technique!" Elder Madman muttered as he ran his dry fingers through his hair, and his eyes shone brightly.

Many people knew there was an abandoned movement technique on Martial Pavilion's third floor, but many had forgotten about it.

Being from that generation, Elder Madman naturally knew about that movement technique. Many people had previously attempted to cultivate it, but they had failed. As a result, they concluded that no one could cultivate it. Thus, the manual was left in one corner to catch dust.

A golden divine dragon appeared in the sky and made various movements. It wasn't Liu Wuxie turning into a dragon, but it was the manifestation of his true essence.

The true essence carried Liu Wuxie into the air and performed various maneuvers such as soaring and diving.

However, Liu Wuxie soon returned to the Heavenly Gate Platform. The Divine Dragon Phantom consumed too much divine dragon power, and his desolate world was already on the verge of exhaustion after half a move.

"The consumption rate of true essence is too terrifying!" Liu Wuxie murmured after landing on the platform.

His true essence contained divine dragon power, so when the divine dragon power was drained, it drained his true essence as well.

He quickly circulated the Desolate Devouring Art to draw spiritual energy from the surroundings to replenish the desolate world.

After his breakthrough, the Desolate Devouring Art evolved. It allowed him to draw laws from his surroundings and refine them further in the desolate world.

After fifteen minutes of rest, Liu Wuxie performed the movement technique again and soared to the sky.

The divine dragon manifested again, his true essence constantly morphing with him as the dragon's head. This time, he lasted three breaths longer than before.

When he returned to the platform, it was another rinse and repeat to devour the surrounding spiritual energy.

The Myriad Phase Cavern was behind the Heavenly Gate Peak, so Liu Wuxie wasn't worried about running out of spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the Heavenly Gate Peak remained abundant no matter how much of it he devoured.

The disturbance finally alarmed the Myriad Phase Cavern's disciples.

"What's going on? Why is the spiritual energy of our Myriad Phase Cavern flowing toward the Heavenly Gate Peak?" Many disciples were in the middle of cultivation when they noticed the sudden thinning of spiritual energy.

"Let's go and check it out!" The crowd was curious, so everyone left their rooms and rushed toward Heavenly Gate Peak, eager to uncover the truth.

Liu Wuxie was completely immersed in his cultivation, unaware of anything else. As he refined his techniques, he soon noticed a remarkable change—the purity of his true essence had significantly increased every time it was replenished.

Moreover, the rate at which spiritual energy gathered within the desolate world was accelerating. What once lasted only half a breath could now sustain him for half a day.

Yet, despite this progress, he faced a critical challenge. Executing even the first form of the movement technique drained his true essence too quickly. He would be left vulnerable if he couldn't maintain a stable reserve after using it. Refining his true essence further was the only solution.

Determined, he leaped into the sky, his body gliding through the clouds like a golden dragon, weaving through the air with fluid precision.

He was exploring a better way to execute this movement technique and experimenting with whether he could perform it while absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.

After all, it wasn't sustainable for him to keep burning through his spirit stones as he would eventually run out of them.

As time passed, Liu Wuxie gradually found a way. The Desolate Devouring Art could function independently, but the devouring force wasn't very powerful. Even so, it could accelerate the production of a new true essence in his desolate world.

Returning to the Heavenly Gate Platform, he remained steady and unmoving under the violent gale.

"It's a success! I still have thirty percent of my true essence left!" Liu Wuxie smiled.

He was satisfied with this discovery. He didn't need to perform the complete Soaring Dragon in an actual fight—just half the move might be enough.

The clouds began to churn while he devoured all the spiritual energy in the surroundings. The spiritual energy atop the Heavenly Gate Peak had thinned significantly, and he had ceased to absorb it.

He knew that if he continued, all the profound beasts would flee Heavenly Gate Peak, and there was no need to destroy nature's balance.

Now that he had mastered the Divine Dragon Phantom's first form, his next focus was on the Golden Flame Strike.

Meanwhile, five figures had silently crept up the other side of the mountain, which was barely visited by anyone.

The Heavenly Gate Platform's back mountain was a smooth stone wall, and climbing it was challenging.

"All the spiritual energy is gathering over there!" They saw how spiritual energy spiraled around Liu Wuxie like a vortex.

"So it's his doing! The spiritual energy at our Myriad Phase Cavern has thinned so much because of him!" The five were furious as they had become Myriad Phase Cavern disciples with great difficulty, and they were naturally furious that their spiritual energy was drained.

"Let's confront him and demand compensation for our losses!" The other two disciples were new to the academy, and they were familiar with Liu Wuxie. Moreover, they were already at the high levels of the True Profound Realm.

They had been in seclusion during the past few days, likely unaware that Liu Wuxie had killed Ning Hai.

Liu Wuxie was about to resume his cultivation when his ears twitched. When his gaze shifted toward a distant cliff, he saw five figures approaching the platform.

"You're courting death!" Liu Wuxie was enraged.

These people hadn't climbed the mountain from the front, likely because of Elder Madman, but their decision to sneak around the back was highly suspicious.

Still, Liu Wuxie didn't act immediately. Instead, he calmly gripped the Heretic Blade, a cold smile playing on his lips. He waited.

Fifteen minutes passed before the five figures finally reached the summit.

"Liu Wuxie, it's been a while since we last met," said Zuo Wen from the Scarlet Dragon Cult.

Liu Wuxie naturally recognized him. He had ranked in the top ten on the recruitment test. He was only inferior to Ning Hai and had earned his place in the Myriad Phase Cavern.

"This is the Heavenly Gate Peak, and what are you people doing here? You have three breaths to get lost, or don't blame me for being ruthless," Liu Wuxie said. He didn't resort to force right away but gave them a chance to leave.

However, the five ignored Liu Wuxie's warning and landed on the Heavenly Gate Platform, staring Liu Wuxie in the eyes.

The Heavenly Gate Peak was only a few dozen meters in diameter. It was shaped like an oval platform supported by a mountain.

The mountain was astonishingly slender—no thicker than an adult's arm—yet it single-handedly supported the massive Heavenly Gate Platform. A true wonder of creation.

Liu Wuxie hadn't expected these people to come up on the Heavenly Gate Platform instead of leaving after his warning.

"You're courting death!" he roared, his murderous intent surging like a violent storm. The force alone sent shockwaves through the air, causing the five to stagger where they stood.

"Liu Wuxie, you may have taken the first place during the recruitment test, but I will seize your fortune by killing you today!" Zuo Wen said. He wasn't intimidated by Liu Wuxie's words and sneered instead.

Liu Wuxie let out a mocking laugh, his gaze filled with scorn. "I'm afraid you don't have the skill to back up your arrogance." These fools had stepped onto Heavenly Gate Peak—his domain.

"Don't waste time with him. Let's just kill him and take his treasures!" The other four grew impatient and moved as one, with the simple goal of killing Liu Wuxie.

They were all at the high levels of the True Profound Realm and weren't afraid of him.