Chapter 97: Ling Cang Pavilion Caught Fire

Legend speaks of a colossal divine tree, the Sky Canopy Tree, rooted in the void and growing inverted. The laws of the heavens serve as the soil from which it draws sustenance, and the divine essence of all creation acts as the fertilizer for its fruits. The Sky Canopy Tree blooms once every ninety thousand years and bears fruit once every ninety thousand years. When the fruit cracks open, its seeds detach and can transform into blazing suns.

When Xu Xiaoshou next opened his eyes, he found himself in a crimson world of magma, vast and intensely hot. Lava flowed beneath him, an awe-inspiring sight. In the sky, ancient trees with gnarled roots hung suspended, growing downwards!

"The Sky Canopy Tree?" Xu Xiaoshou was astonished; something that only existed in legends had actually appeared before him.

Time flew by. The divine tree bloomed, then bore fruit. The fruit withered, and seeds instantly appeared. With a soft thud, a white blazing sun suddenly appeared, then faded into transparency before swiftly plummeting and merging into Xu Xiaoshou's body.

"Ah—" As the scorching energy gathered in his Qi Sea, Xu Xiaoshou's blood seemed to dry up, and he let out a painful roar.

Why? How could an illusion cause such agony? It shouldn't be like this; it wasn't like this last time!

Without time to think further, endless insights flooded his mind in an instant. Xu Xiaoshou closed and opened his eyes; when he gazed at this world again, he saw countless red light points floating in the void.

"Fire elements?" He clenched his fist. Could it be... his dream had come true? Flame mastery?

Suddenly, a soft, ethereal chant resonated, like an immortal whispering in his ear, yet sounding like a clap of thunder, profoundly enlightening him. Xu Xiaoshou tilted his head to listen, but felt his mind go blank. He persisted for a while, then gave up struggling. However, as his mind cleared, the meaning of the voice became clear.

"...Heaven and Earth are the furnace; creation, the craftsman; yin and yang, the charcoal; myriad things, the copper..."

Boom!

Hearing just one line, Xu Xiaoshou felt as if struck by lightning and could no longer hear anything else. The concept behind this immortal language directly regarded the world as a grand cauldron where all things could be refined? How terrifyingly profound!

All at once, a stream of precious light burst forth from the magma, and a divine medicine emerged. Xu Xiaoshou had never seen this before, but he instantly understood all its information:

"Nine Reversion Divine Mustard, an ancient divine medicine. Revives the dead and regrows flesh and bones. Extremely spicy, removes gamey odors, and is excellent with meat."

Xu Xiaoshou: ??? What on earth is that?

From the horizon, a colossal black bird, dark enough to obscure the sky, flew in. Xu Xiaoshou had never seen it before, but he instantly knew everything about it:

"Black Divine Owl, an ancient fearsome beast. Possesses immense divinity, with succulent and highly elastic meat."

Xu Xiaoshou: ??? What the heck? How come the initial descriptions of both were fine, but the last few lines seemed to go completely off the rails? The illusion was so grand and majestic earlier, so why did the art style suddenly change the moment you two things appeared?

Just then, the Black Divine Owl plunged towards the Nine Reversion Divine Mustard, and Xu Xiaoshou inexplicably stretched out his hand... He didn't know why he was reaching out, but he felt he should at that moment...

Boom!

As the Black Divine Owl bit into the Nine Reversion Divine Mustard, a mass of invisible, glowing Heavenly Flame descended from the sky, shattering the divine light. A strangely fragrant aroma of cooked meat spread, and before he could clearly perceive it, the illusion disintegrated.

"What exactly happened?" Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. The last time he entered an illusion, the endless insights into swordsmanship had allowed him to quickly understand that it was a passive skill related to swordsmanship, but this time... Xu Xiaoshou had initially guessed it was related to flames, but now he wasn't so sure. Those thoughts of "extremely spicy" and "delicious meat" in his mind... They lingered like a haunting nightmare.

Without a word, he looked at his info panel:

"Acquired Mastery Passive Skill: Culinary Mastery!"

???

Cu-culinary? He widened his eyes, filled with disbelief, his jaw almost dislocating. You gave me such a grand and magnificent magma world, with even the Sky Canopy Tree and blazing suns appearing! I thought the "European Emperor" of luck had truly possessed me this time, and I'd get "Flame Mastery"... But instead... Culinary? Are you serious?!

With a thud, Xu Xiaoshou fell to his knees, his gaze unfocused, collapsing onto the floor in a daze. He finally got lucky for once, and this is what he ended up with? A dud skill?

"Culinary Mastery, heh..."

Hmm? Wait, something's not right? Why is the floor a bit hot?

Xu Xiaoshou snapped out of his daze and quickly stood up, only to see that the large bathtub had been overturned at some point. He looked around, only to find the room in utter disarray. Even the two windows looked as if swept by a storm, shattered long ago.

What's going on? Xu Xiaoshou's pupils constricted. He suddenly remembered raising his hand to summon a blazing sun in the illusion... Could it be that he had caused an explosion in reality too?

"Puff, puff!" A familiar sound echoed. Xu Xiaoshou's "Perception" greatly expanded, and only then did he faintly see the invisible flames clinging everywhere. Holy crap? Did I burn down the Spirit Repository?

Xu Xiaoshou quickly employed the "Breathing Technique," absorbing all the surrounding flames. Only then did he pat his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"Good thing, it's not a big problem..."

"Puff, puff!" A faint sound came again, and Xu Xiaoshou's scalp tingled as if he were sitting on pins and needles. He suddenly stood up and looked down at the floor. Could it be that the first and second floors were also on fire?

"Oh, hell no!" Xu Xiaoshou didn't even think; he quickly rushed downstairs. This can't burn! These are all spirit techniques inside! I don't want to die yet! Help!

...

Outside the Spirit Repository.

A man in black squatted in the grass. He was a scout left by Zhao Xidong, whose sole task was to watch the area and immediately notify everyone if kidnappers appeared.

"Haa~" The law enforcement officer yawned. He didn't actually believe kidnappers could break into the Spirit Repository, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Although the task seemed unreliable, he still kept a close watch.

Suddenly, he felt the surrounding temperature rise. "What's going on?" He looked up at the colorful clouds in the sky. The sun had already set, and the temperature should have been dropping. So how could it be...

Without time to think further, the nearby Spirit Repository suddenly trembled violently. Its protective barrier instantly appeared, then quickly fluctuated.

"Boom!" An even louder explosion than before made the law enforcement officer's face turn green. He saw the two windows on either side of the Spirit Repository's third floor instantly destroyed, wood splinters flying everywhere, and terrifying scorching energy spreading out.

The law enforcement officer froze. There really were kidnappers? He's bombing the Spirit Repository? He's destroying the foundation of the Heavenly Sang Spirit Palace?

"Puff, puff!" Faint sounds echoed around him, and weeds instantly burned away. He felt a sharp pain in his body, and as his spiritual sense covered the area, he immediately discovered that he was surrounded by a layer of invisible flames.

"Enemy attack!" A heart-wrenching roar echoed in all directions.

At this moment, he finally understood why Zhao Xidong became a leader right after graduating from the inner court, while he himself had worked in the Spirit Law Pavilion for so many years and was still just a scout. Their perspectives were simply different! See! The other person had deduced everything from just a few words earlier, while he himself had to wait until the Spirit Repository was blown up to truly believe it. Fortunately, Zhao Xidong had already gone to call for reinforcements.

Just then, he was horrified to discover that the Spirit Repository's protective barrier was also engulfed in invisible flames, leaving him utterly stunned. With another heart-wrenching roar:

"The Spirit Repository is on fire!" "Fire! Help!"