chapter 40 Triple innate===

"Thunder Flash Meteor!" An oppressive Innate Spirit paralyzed the two, rendering them unable to move. Within ten meters, the assailant closed in, almost in the blink of an eye. "It's you, it's really you!" As the black figure approached, Petalian Tian recognized the person. Fear and astonishment flickered in his eyes. Elder Wan also saw, his mouth wide open, frozen in place, bewildered. "Yes, it's me!" A short blade unsheathed, a cold light tearing through the air. Appearing in front of Elder Wan, who attempted to raise his sword to block, was still a beat too slow. The cold light swept across his neck, and his body gradually withered, turning into a piece of human skin before Petalian Tian's eyes. Petalian Tian was terrified, letting out a scream. Elder Wan was at the Seventh stage of Innate, and it was inconceivable that he could be killed by a single strike. The remaining seven disciples in the acquired Realm could only watch helplessly as Elder Wan died. "It's... it's Verdantius Liu!" Using the faint light, the youthful face appeared in front of each person. An innocent smile hung on his lips, betraying no hint of the fact that this seemingly sunny youth had killed dozens of them overnight. "It's impossible. He's just a waste. How could he kill so many of us?" Two disciples from both families who ran over shouted angrily, unable to accept the psychological shock. "A waste?" Petalian Tian let out a bitter laugh. The slash just now, unless one was in the Soul washing Realm, no one could have withstood it. "If he's a waste, what does that make us?" A bitter taste lingered on his lips. They had rushed into the Sunset Mountains so hard, only to meet such an ending. It felt like falling from heaven to hell. The person they had always looked down upon had become a giant overnight, without even having the qualification to look up to him. No one could accept it; they were all going mad. "He concealed himself so well. What is he after?" Perplexed, and doubtful, these feelings filled their chests. Verdantius Liu looked at them with disdain, raising the short blade in his hand. With light steps, like a mysterious shadow, he disappeared, rushing into the crowd. "No, you disperse and escape. Spread the news back to your families." Petalian Tian shouted, asking them to scatter and run, offering a slim chance. As long as one person could escape and spread the news to Canglan City, both the Tian and Wan families could prepare. The remaining seven disciples dispersed in seven directions, and Petalian Tian suddenly rushed out, intercepting Verdantius Liu, buying time for the others to escape. "Tonight, no one will escape!" The afterimages gradually changed, and three Verdantius Lius appeared on the field, heading towards the seven directions. The short blade swept, and the shadows of the blade formed a sharp blade dragon crossing the surroundings. The seven fleeing individuals, one by one, fell down, their bodies withering. Petalian Tian stopped, his eyeballs almost popping out. A single slash simultaneously killed seven people, forming a blade dragon. To achieve this, one had to cultivate for at least fifty years. Was he still human? "Now, it's your turn!" Step by step, Verdantius Liu walked towards Petalian Tian. The killing intent on him grew stronger. With the news from the Song family, the Xu family had long changed ownership, divided between the Tian and Wan families. Even his father-in-law had likely been imprisoned. "You... don't come over!" Petalian Tian was frightened. He didn't want to die yet. Having lived for most of his life, he hadn't enjoyed his old age and was about to die here. Stepping on dry branches, Verdantius Liu approached step by step. Petalian Tian continued to retreat until he reached the edge of the cliff. With no way to retreat, his face turned pale, and his body trembled. "Tell me, what are the next plans of your Tian family." Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy could lead to a hundred victories in a hundred battles. To understand the Tian family's next moves, to be prepared, and to make some counterattacks. Standing still, a cold smile appeared, and he demanded an answer. "You... don't expect to get a word from me, you little bastard." Petalian Tian gritted his teeth, and a terrifying Innate Spirit rose to the sky, his tied-up hair exploding. He looked like a ferocious demon, and the long sword in his hand stabbed towards Verdantius Liu, intending to perish together. "Ignorant and stubborn!" Sidestepping, Verdantius Liu avoided the attack. Petalian Tian's sword missed, and realizing the danger, he sprinted forward, trying to escape. "Hmph!" With a cold snort, the short blade descended from the air, and a burst of air explosion resounded. The blade energy flew along the ground, and in the blink of an eye, a miserable scream echoed from the dense forest. "Ah, my legs!" Petalian Tian's two legs disappeared, severed by the blade energy, and blood gushed out like pillars. Deprived of his lower limbs, he could only lie on the ground, howling in agony. Unhurriedly, step by step, Verdantius Liu walked towards Petalian Tian, whose facial expression twisted in pain and resentment as he looked at him. "You little beast, you won't die a good death. The Xu family is not far from ruin." Various malicious words spewed from Petalian Tian's mouth, and the blood formed a stream, staining the surrounding grass, emitting a strong scent of blood that attracted several powerful demonic beasts, lurking around without daring to approach. "What is the Tian family's next plan!" The short blade rested on Petalian Tian's right arm. Without pressure, it seemed like two old friends having a conversation. Verdantius Liu's tone showed no fluctuation, instilling fear in Petalian Tian. After killing more than thirty people consecutively, emotions should have changed, such as nervousness, excitement, fear, and so on. However, Verdantius Liu remained calm, as if he had done an inconspicuous little thing. "Don't waste... ah..." Before Petalian Tian could say the words "cunning" and "stubborn," his right arm suddenly disappeared. The short blade came down, and blood sprayed wildly. Putting away the short blade, Verdantius Liu leaned it on his left arm. A harmless smile hung on his lips, and Petalian Tian was truly frightened. Verdantius Liu was like a demon. "My patience is limited. If you don't want to die too painfully, hurry up and speak." Petalian Tian was scared. His body seemed to be sifting through ashes, either fearful or completely desperate. He lay on the ground, powerless, allowing the blood to flow. "Tell me, give me a quick death." This was his final plea. He just wanted to die painlessly, without undergoing inhuman torture. His will was completely crushed by Verdantius Liu. "Speak!" Sitting on a clean spot in the distance, Verdantius Liu put away the short blade, listening quietly as Petalian Tian recounted the information he knew. "We joined forces with Tone-Breaking Army to deal with your Xu family. Taking advantage of Silvianus Xu entering the Sunset Mountains, we planned to seize the Xu family's assets. Using Tone-Breaking Army's hands, we intended to eliminate Silvianus Xu..." It was similar to Verdantius Liu's speculation. Thornex Zhou had already revealed this information to him. "What else?" This information was already known. To take the initiative, Verdantius Liu needed to know what the Tian family planned to do next. "We've dispatched a secret team to enter the Purple Gold Mine. Even if we can't occupy it, we plan to destroy it. If your Xu family loses the Purple Gold Mine, the weapon workshop will close down. Without us taking action, the Xu family will automatically collapse within three months." This news was crucial for Verdantius Liu. Losing the Purple Gold Mine meant the Weapon workshop losing its raw material supply. Closing down was only a matter of time unless they found new refining materials. "When will this team reach the Purple Gold Mine?" He hoped to arrive at the mine in time to prevent the Tian family from taking advantage of it. "In one or two days!" Petalian Tian's breath became weaker. He could hardly pronounce words clearly, and blood continued to flow from his severed legs and right arm. The short blade unsheathed again, and Petalian Tian's head flew off. His essence, swallowed by the God Swallow tripod, turned into a droplet of liquid, merging into Verdantius Liu's dantian. "Boom, boom, boom..." A violent shock emanated from his dantian, a sign of a breakthrough. Verdantius Liu had accumulated enough liquid after killing so many people, finally reaching the opportunity for a breakthrough. The battlefield was cleaned up, and Verdantius Liu's body disappeared from the spot. He found a secluded place and broke through to the early stage of the Third stage of the innate realm. In a concealed cave, Verdantius Liu entered and opened Thornex Zhou's storage bag. Inside were over fifty spirit stones and a hundred thousand gold coins. Taking out ten spirit stones, he placed them around, forming a Gathering Spirit Array. The Sunset Mountains were rich in spiritual energy. When the Gathering Spirit Array formed, the spiritual energy within a radius of tens of thousands of meters quickly gathered, forming a spirit cloud hovering outside the cave. The energy within the spirit clouds was absorbed by more than a dozen spirit stones, converging around Verdantius Liu. The God Swallow formula of Tai Huang operated, like a gluttonous beast, opening its blood basin, devouring all the surrounding spiritual energy. The dantian continued to expand, and the ancient giant trees within the mountains released pure wood-element spiritual energy. In the rocks, the power of metal gathered, creating lakes and seas with blue waves, depicting a blue scroll that reflected the entire Tai Huang world. Various elements intertwined, and after God Swallow tripod devoured a large amount of spiritual energy, compressing it into dozens of drops of brown liquid, which Verdantius Liu poured into his dantian. Terrifying power swept through the cave. "Boom!" The cave echoed with thunderous roars, as if the world was trembling. Verdantius Liu's qi sprayed out like needles, penetrating the stone walls and creating countless cracks. This was the might of the breakthrough. With the boundary steadily fixed at the early stage of the Third stage of the innate realm, Verdantius Liu opened his eyes slowly. Like two sharp swords, they rushed towards the entrance of the cave. "Sizzle!" Outside the cave, two trees left behind two sword marks, resembling scars from a sword slashing. Each small realm was divided into early, middle, late, and peak stages. With so much spiritual energy absorbed, an ordinary person would have already broken through to the Innate Fourth or even Fifth Realm. The Tai Huang dan tian in the body is incredibly vast, just barely reaching the initial stage. In the future, with each breakthrough, the required spiritual energy and resources will be ten times more than an ordinary person. Thinking about it gave him a headache. The God Swallow tripod continued to expand his dantian, devouring spiritual energy at all times. The liquid produced was becoming slower and slower. Canglan City was, after all, located in an isolated place, and the spiritual energy was scarce. Standing up, a series of roars and tiger roars echoed from within his body, resembling war drums and rushing rivers, the sound of the sea roaring... A fist struck out, and the air suddenly burst open like firecrackers, emitting a series of cracking sounds.