Chapter 97

According to legend, there is a massive divine tree that roots in the void and grows upside down: the Canopy Tree.

The laws of the universe are the soil from which it draws nourishment, and the essence of all things is the fertilizer that nurtures its fruit.

The Canopy Tree blooms once every ninety thousand years and bears fruit once every ninety thousand years.

When the fruit cracks open, the seeds fall and can transform into a blazing sun.

When Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes again, he found himself in a vast, crimson lava world, boundless and scorching.

Beneath him, molten lava flowed, evoking awe and fear.

In the sky, the ancient tree's roots were entangled, hanging downward!

"The Canopy Tree?"

Xu Xiaoshou was shocked. This thing, which only existed in legends, actually appeared before him.

In the blink of an eye, the divine tree bloomed, then bore fruit, the fruit withered, and the seeds appeared.

With a rustling sound, a white sun suddenly appeared, then turned transparent and plummeted, merging into Xu Xiaoshou's body.

"Ah—"

The scorching energy converged in his qi sea, drying his blood, and he let out a painful scream.

Why?

Even a mere illusion can cause such pain?

It shouldn't be like this; it wasn't like this last time!

Before he could think more, countless insights flooded his mind. Xu Xiaoshou closed and opened his eyes, and when he looked at the world again, he saw countless red light points floating in the void.

"Fire elements?"

He clenched his fists, thinking...

Did his dream come true?

Fire mastery?

Suddenly, a soft and solemn chant sounded, like a deity whispering in his ear, as loud as thunder, enlightening his mind.

Xu Xiaoshou listened intently, but his mind went blank. He struggled for a while and then gave up.

However, as his mind cleared, the voice became clear.

"... And the heaven and earth are a furnace, and the creation is the craftsman; yin and yang are the charcoal, and all things are the copper..."

Boom!

Hearing just one sentence, Xu Xiaoshou felt as if struck by lightning and could no longer hear anything else.

The concept of this divine language directly viewed the world as a crucible, where everything could be refined?

How terrifying!

Suddenly, a beam of divine light shot out from the lava, and a divine herb emerged.

Xu Xiaoshou had never seen this thing before, but he instantly understood all its information:

"Nine-Return Divine Mustard, an ancient divine herb, can revive the dead and regrow flesh and bones, extremely spicy, removes fishy smell, and can be used as a meat seasoning."

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

What is this?

A massive black bird, blocking the sky, flew over. Xu Xiaoshou had never seen it before, but he instantly understood all about it:

"Black Divine Pheasant, an ancient fierce creature, highly divine, with fresh and elastic meat."

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

What the heck?

Why does the introduction of these two things seem to veer off course at the end?

The previous illusion was so grand and majestic, why did the style change so abruptly when these two appeared?

At this moment, the Black Divine Pheasant dove towards the Nine-Return Divine Mustard, and Xu Xiaoshou inexplicably extended his hand...

He didn't know why he extended his hand, but he felt he should at this moment...

Boom!

When the Black Divine Pheasant bit the Nine-Return Divine Mustard, a无形的烬照天炎从天而降，神光破碎，一股奇异的肉香四溢，未等看清，幻境便分崩离析。

"到底发生了什么？" 徐小受懵了。

上次进入幻境时，那无尽的剑道感悟让他及时了解一二，知道是与剑术有关的被动技，但这次……

徐小受一开始猜测与火焰有关，现在不敢确定了。

那脑海中的“极辣”、“肉质鲜美”……

如梦魇缠身，挥之不去。

他二话不说望向了信息栏：

“获得精通被动技：厨艺精通！”

？？？

徐小受额头清晰地冒出几个问号。

厨、厨艺？

他瞪大了眼睛，满是不可置信，下巴都差点脱臼开来。

你特么给了我这么一个恢弘壮阔的岩浆世界，连苍穹之树、烈阳都出来了，我以为这回欧皇真的附体，来了个“火焰精通”……

结果……

厨艺？

你咋不上天？！

咚一声响，徐小受双膝跪地，目光涣散，失神地砸坐在地板上。

好不容易欧了那么一回，结果来了这么一个水货？

“厨艺精通，呵呵……”

嗯？

不对？

地板怎么有点烫？

徐小受神魄回归，腾一下起身，却看到大浴缸不知何时已被掀翻出去。

四下顾盼，只见屋中一片狼藉，连两个窗户也像是被风暴扫过一般，早已轰碎。

什么情况？

徐小受瞳孔一缩，他忽然想到自己在幻境中的抬手唤烈阳……

该不会自己在现实中也炸了那么一回吧？

“扑扑！”

熟悉的声音响起，徐小受“感知”大开，这才微微瞧见了附着在四处的无形火焰。

卧槽？

我把灵藏阁烧了？

徐小受连忙运用“呼吸之法”，将周围的火焰吸了个精光，这才拍拍胸膛缓了口气。

“还好，问题不大……”

“扑扑！”

细微的声响再次传来，徐小受只觉头皮发麻，如坐针毡。

他猛地立起，低头看向了地板。

该不会，一层、二层也着火了？

“我日啊！”

徐小受想都不想，连忙冲了下去。

这个不能烧啊！

这里面都是灵技啊！

我还不想死！

救命！

……

灵藏阁外。

一个黑衣人蹲坐在草丛中。

他是赵西东留下的暗哨，唯一的任务就是盯着此地，一旦看到绑匪出现，立即通知所有人。

“哈~”

执法人员打了个哈欠，他其实并不相信绑匪能闯入灵藏阁，但不怕一万，就怕万一。

这个任务虽然不靠谱，但他一直留神着。

忽然间，他感觉周围温度有些升高。

“怎么回事？”

抬头望了下天边的彩霞，太阳已经不再，温度应该逐渐下降才是，怎么会……

没等多想，不远处的灵藏阁忽然一阵剧烈颤抖，保护结界瞬间浮现，继而快速波动起来。

“轰隆！”

一声比之前更夸张的爆破炸响，执法人员脸都绿了。

他看到灵藏阁三层左右两个窗户眨眼间被摧毁，木屑飞肆，恐怖的焦灼能量蔓延开来。

执法人员愣住了，真有绑匪？

他在炸灵藏阁？

他在断天桑灵宫的根基？

“扑扑！”

四周响起轻微声响，杂草瞬间燃烧不见，他只觉身体一痛，灵念覆盖，顿时发现四周裹上了一层无形的火焰。

“敌袭！”

一声撕心裂肺的吼声响彻四方。

这一刻，他才明白为什么赵西东内院一毕业就是领头，他在灵法阁干了这么多年却依旧只是个暗哨。

格局不同啊！

看！

人家从方才的只言片语中就推断出了一切，自己竟然要等到灵藏阁被炸了才真的相信。

还好，方才赵西东已经去叫人了。

就在这时，他惊恐地发现灵藏阁的保护结界也升腾起了无形之火，整个人都惊了。

再是一声撕心裂肺的咆哮：

“灵藏阁失火了！”

“救火！”