chapter 24 The acquired eightfold ===

Everyone was puzzled. The Pill Treasure cockloft held a supreme position, and it seemed improbable for it to interfere in the conflicts between the families. For a family's long-term development, a steady supply of elixirs was essential. The four major families purchased large quantities of elixirs from the Pill Treasure cockloft each year, effectively granting the pavilion a virtual monopoly over the alchemy industry in Canglan City. This was the true foundation of the Pill Treasure cockloft. However, only Verdantius Liu understood the whole picture. If he died, it meant that Master Huo would also die. " One prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer.; it's not that Master Huo values talents. On the contrary, he wishes for me to die sooner. If the prescription for the Spirit Elixir falls into his hands, it will be his alone." With a lingering illness yet to be completely eradicated, Master Huo would do whatever it took to keep Verdantius Liu alive. "Master Huo, give me an explanation!" Pinarius Wan took a deep breath. In front of everyone, Verdantius Liu killed twelve Wan family disciples, one of whom was his nephew. This enmity was beyond reconciliation. Master Huo's face showed a hint of difficulty. There were some things he couldn't say outright. He couldn't tell them that he had a hidden ailment that required Verdantius Liu's treatment. However, he had to step forward, making the situation awkward for him. "Wan Master, I can't disclose the specific details. Do not touch him for a month. After a month, whether your two families live or die, I won't intervene." A trace of cunning flashed in Master Huo's eyes. Verdantius Liu swore to exterminate the Wan family within a month, regardless of the truth. After a month, the matter would naturally be revealed. With the evil illness inside his body, a month was sufficient for recovery. As for Verdantius Liu's life or death, it no longer mattered. He had not completely offended the Wan family, and by saving Verdantius Liu, the Xu family would also feel grateful, achieving three objectives with one action. What he needed to do was ensure Verdantius Liu's safety for a month. The method for refining the Spirit Elixir would be disclosed to him after a month. Pinarius Wan took a deep breath, suppressing the killing intent in his heart. Offending the Pill Treasure cockloft would bring no benefits to the Wan family. If the supply from the Pill Treasure cockloft was cut off, the family would decline within a few years. "Fine, I'll give Master Huo a face today. After a month, I'll personally come and twist his head off." Truly a hero of the generation, willing to let Verdantius Liu live for another month. Under the gaze of countless people, Verdantius Liu and Valerrie Xu left the Beast Arena, disappearing into the streets. It wasn't until they were ten miles away from the Beast Arena that the tension on Valerrie Xu's face slowly faded. Her right hand had been pressing on the hilt of her sword the entire time. "How much are you still hiding from me?" Sitting in the carriage, Valerrie Xu was the first to speak. The awe-inspiring slash from earlier, even she couldn't achieve it. In the eighth stage of acquired Realm experts were slaughtered as easily as pigs and dogs. "What do you want to know?" Verdantius Liu took out spirit stones and placed them in his hand. The pure spiritual energy poured into his body, and his cultivation level gradually rose, showing signs of breaking through to the seventh stage of the acquired Realm. "Why did Master Huo help us?" Valerrie Xu didn't ask about the sudden increase in his cultivation realm. The Pill Treasure cockloft was lofty, and its appearance was like a resounding slap to the Tian and Wan families. Master Huo even came forward to protect them. It all seemed inconceivable. "It's a secret!" Some things couldn't be revealed intentionally. Some information still needed to be kept confidential temporarily. After a month, the mystery would be revealed. "What's going on with your cultivation level?" Having no choice, Verdantius Liu changed the topic. Just a few days ago, he was still considered a waste. In a short span, he had elevated his cultivation level so rapidly. "It's a secret!" He answered with the same words, infuriating Valerrie Xu. She clenched her fists, and if she could, she would have loved to give him a good beating. The carriage fell into a brief silence. After an hour, they safely returned to the Xu family. The Wan family did not ambush them on the way. After they left, Master Huo warned the Wan family severely. If anything happened to Verdantius Liu in the next month, he would cut off the Wan family's supply of elixirs. Silvianus Xu had not returned yet. In addition to the Tian family targeting one weapon shop, the other weapon shops encountered similar situations reminiscent of the Scarred Tiger incident. Fortunately, the Xu family had made preparations in advance, and their conspiracy did not succeed. Instead, the Xu family counterattacked fiercely, killing dozens of troublemakers. In just one day, Canglan City was in turmoil. When Silvianus Xu rushed back to the family, news of the Beast Arena had already spread. He immediately sought out Verdantius Liu and Valerrie Xu to inquire about the situation. The only option was to reveal everything, and Wan and Tian's families had colluded, attempting to kill his daughter and son-in-law. Silvianus Xu slammed the table forcefully. "This is unacceptable. Both families are too audacious, thinking they can bully our Xu family." A dense killing intent filled the entire hall. All the Xu family stewards returned, and the matter had reached a critical juncture. The events at the Beast Arena during the day had already become widely known throughout the Xu family. Everyone knew about it. Especially that astonishing slash, it had been described as a skill beyond imagination. "We have one month to prepare well." Silvianus Xu calmed the anger in his heart. After a month, the Wan and Tian families would undoubtedly join forces to sweep through the Xu family. Using this month to enhance the family's combat power was crucial. In the silence of the night! Verdantius Liu returned to his courtyard, immediately taking out spirit stones. He handed fifty to Valerrie Xu, and fifty to his father-in-law, hoping to accelerate their breakthrough to the half-pulp washing realm. Only with the appearance of a Pulp-washing realm expert could the Xu family ensure its long-term stability. With a hundred spirit stones left, he took out thirty to set up a Gathering Spirit Array. Time waits for no one. Before refining the Prolonging Elixir, he needed to reach the peak of the ninth stage of acquired. After an hour of arrangement, a simple version of the Gathering Spirit Array was established, sufficient for his current needs. When the array was activated, the air experienced intense fluctuations. Abundant spiritual energy surged from all directions, converging into his courtyard. The dense spiritual energy, like liquid, entered his body through his pores, nourishing him. The flowers and plants in the courtyard grew rapidly under the nourishment of the spiritual energy. With the nourishment of spiritual energy, even the ordinary leaves emitted a faint green luster. A small tree, as thick as a bowl, grew over a meter tall in just half an hour. There were still many medicinal herbs sent by the Pill Treasure cockloft. He continued to refine the Tempering Body Liquid. Without resting for a moment, the steward personally delivered three meals a day. Eating, drinking, excreting, and sleeping all happened in the courtyard. After concocting a basin of Tempering Body Liquid, he poured it into a tub and sat in it with his naked body. The Primordial Swallowing Sky Technique operated, and the spiritual energy in the courtyard entered his body through his pores, allowing the Swallowing Sky Divine Cauldron to absorb frantically. "Comfortable!" With the increased purity of spiritual energy, droplets of liquid appeared in the Swallowing Sky Divine Cauldron. The speed of condensation was much slower than before. The color of the liquid is changing, showing a deep brown hue and emitting a strong aura. The spiritual energy above the Xu family is being depleted, gradually spreading to other areas. The spiritual energy resembles a thin mist, diffusing over the courtyard of Verdantius Liu. Fortunately, it is late at night; otherwise, the phenomenon would surely startle many people. "What's going on? It seems like the spiritual energy is thinning?" A disciple from the Song family opens his eyes, expressing confusion. This confusion is not limited to the Song family; similar sentiments are echoed elsewhere. The spiritual energy in Canglan City seems mysteriously diminished. The nourishment from the tempered body liquid strengthens the physical body more and more. A spirit stone appears in his hand. Using the energy within the spirit stone, he widens the meridians. Verdantius Liu not only hones the strength of his physical body but also broadens his dantian. With extensive knowledge of cultivation, he has avoided many detours. Utilizing the pure spiritual energy within the spirit stone, he refines the meridians, making them more resilient. After six hours, the meridians are widened by more than double. The capacity for storing true qi is twice that of daytime, even though his realm has not changed, the combat power has increased several times. Pouring out three Spirit Elixirs, he breaks through to the seventh stage of the innate realm. The liquid from the God Swallow tripod flows out. Each drop feels as heavy as ten thousand pounds. At that moment, Verdantius Liu is filled with shock. "These liquids contain primordial spirit." He is not completely familiar with the mysteries of the God Swallow tripod, still in the exploration stage. The stronger the primordial spirit, the higher the probability of breaking through the acquired realm. Only six drops; the quantity is not large. The dantian comes into contact with the mysterious liquid, causing intense vibrations. The entire body feels like an earthquake as the six drops collide. Each impact resonates painfully in Verdantius Liu's eardrums. This continues for a brief duration until the six drops finally settle down. His spiritual sense enters the internal part of his body. "This... Hiss..." A breath of cool air is inhaled through his nostrils. When the spiritual sense enters the dantian, the body feels like it has been struck by lightning. "It actually reconstructed my dantian, making it more ancient and huger, filled with a sense of primordial aura." For an individual, the size of the dantian is generally fixed unless they possess exceptional talent. The dantian of Verdantius Liu is different from ordinary people. There are few methods to widen the dantian, usually occurring as one's cultivation base increases. The dantian will grow along with the increase in cultivation base, allowing it to store more true qi. The ancient and solemn dantian, resembling a massive mountain range on the ground, is permeated with the aura of primordial spirit. "This true qi is so formidable, surpassing ordinary true qi by more than ten times." After a simple calculation, the quality of the Tai Huang True Qi far exceeds ordinary true Qi. At this moment! The momentum continues to rise, and he swallows three Spirit Elixirs in one go, transforming them into true spirits to impact his acupoints. To utilize all available forces to break through the realm, the dantian suddenly stirs up a fierce wind, and the God Swallow tripod moves abruptly. The spiritual energy in the courtyard is entirely absorbed. Breakthrough to the seventh stage of the acquired realm! Only a breath's time was spent, and the impact continued. The physical strength was equivalent to that of the first stage of the innate realm. Three more Spirit Elixirs appeared, swallowed down. Verdantius Liu took out two spiritual stones, holding them in his palms. The aura above the courtyard dried up, and he could only rely on spiritual stones to sustain cultivation. His dantian roared like a dragon's cry, the God Swallow tripod had long fused with the dantian, becoming an inseparable part of his body. The Tai Huang True Qi surged through his meridians like a rushing river, leaving a thick layer of Tai Huang power wherever it passed. Directly pressing towards the Eighth Stage of the Innate realm, in these few days, he had accumulated enough foundation, ready to unleash it. For ordinary people, refining a Spirit Elixir would take several days or even more than ten days. He swallowed three at once, relying on his understanding of pills and his robust physique. "Breakthrough!" Without hesitation, he continued to break through. The six droplets of liquid disappeared completely, transformed into Tai Huang power, merged into his body, remodeled his dantian, and the acquired Spirit entered his limbs, exuding a faint spirituality that permeated his whole body. The Eighth Stage of the Innate realm is achieved!