To be on the safe side, Su Ze cut a fingernail-sized piece from the block of charcoal.
After stowing the rest away, he placed the small piece of Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal next to the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone.
Then, he lit the small piece of charcoal.
Once lit, the black charcoal surprisingly began to emit a colorful smoke. It was only a thin wisp, but it moved with a life of its own, burrowing entirely into the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone.
Inside the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone, Mu Wang’s consciousness was suddenly jolted. He could feel a power nourishing his Consciousness Body. The remnant soul he depended on for survival was slowly growing stronger, and with it, so was the power he commanded.
But he wasn’t happy at all.
He and the Sun God’s consciousness shared this single remnant soul. When one prospered, so did the other; when one withered, so did the other.
Now that the remnant soul was slowly being repaired, he was benefiting, yes, but so was the Sun God’s consciousness. It might even be awakened ahead of schedule!
The moment the Sun God Consciousness awakened, Mu Wang’s own consciousness would surely be devoured.
"What on earth is happening!
"Where is this damn energy coming from?"
He roared and raged within the jade stone, but no one paid him any mind.
He was sealed tightly within the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone. His Spiritual Power couldn’t even extend a single millimeter beyond it, leaving him completely oblivious to the outside world.
It is the unknown that breeds the deepest fear. Because he didn’t know what was happening outside, where this soul-repairing energy was coming from, or when it would stop, Mu Wang grew even more terrified.
He screamed, repeatedly slamming his Spiritual Power against the seal in an attempt to get Su Ze’s attention.
Outside the stone, Su Ze watched with detached amusement as the spectral form of the Nian Race Divine Spirit repeatedly slammed against the inside, trying to break the seal.
’In Mu Wang’s current state, breaking the seal is impossible,’ Su Ze knew. ’He’s just trying to make a racket to get my attention.’
However, he deliberately ignored Mu Wang. He knew the spirit wouldn’t die anytime soon, and such a tiny piece of Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal wouldn’t be enough to awaken the Sun God’s consciousness even if it burned to ash.
He waited until the small piece of charcoal had nearly burned out completely. Only then did he pick up the Soul Nourishing Jade Stone, extend his Spiritual Power into it, and demand with feigned ignorance:
"What do you think you’re doing! Are you trying to escape by attacking the seal?!"
"Escape? What escape?! If you hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead!" Mu Wang was fuming, his tone tinged with a sense of injustice. "What in the world is going on out there? Cut off that damn energy! Stop it from getting into the stone!"
"Energy? You mean the Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal? Hold on a second."
After speaking, Su Ze waited quietly until the last speck of Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal had burned away and the colorful smoke ceased to rise. Only then did he say to Mu Wang, "There. It’s gone now."
Mu Wang asked, puzzled, "Did you just say Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal? How can something like that be on Blue Star!"
He knew what Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal did, and he knew it was more than capable of quickly awakening the dormant Sun God Consciousness.
Su Ze didn’t hide the truth. "I got it from the Miracle Oasis Mother Tree," he answered honestly.
’My knowledge is nothing compared to Mu Wang’s. If I try to make something up, he’ll see right through it. It’s better to just tell him the truth.’
"Why would you use this stuff? Were you deliberately targeting me?" Mu Wang asked, his voice laced with suspicion.
Su Ze sneered, beating him to the punch. "You have the nerve to ask me that? If your old compatriots hadn’t ganged up on me, would my soul have been injured? Would I have needed to use this Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal in the first place?"
"Ganged up on you? That’s impossible. Have you and our Nian Race already come to blows?"
"We gathered a massive amount of criminal evidence against the Evolution Divine Teachings. We used it to force the Alien Party, led by Jiang Pingle, to make a move against them. This completely escalated the conflict. The Blue Star Party has now officially declared war on the Alien Party, which is led by your Nian Race."
"But even so, they wouldn’t have attacked you. With your level of talent, you have a high chance of ascending to godhood. You’re worth cultivating to them."
"Is that right? I seem to recall the Pope trying to parasitize me on several occasions. Was that his idea of ’cultivating’ me?" Su Ze retorted.
Mu Wang fell silent. He’d heard about the Pope making a move on Su Ze. The Pope had simply coveted Su Ze’s potential and wanted to control him.
Still, Mu Wang was only half-convinced by Su Ze’s words. He still suspected that Su Ze had lit the Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal specifically to threaten him.
’Not that I expected Mu Wang to completely believe me anyway. So what if he doesn’t? A threat is still a threat.’
Mu Wang took the initiative. "Have you made any progress collecting the materials I asked for? By using the Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal, you’ve moved up the Sun God’s awakening."
The Sun God’s consciousness might have taken over half a year to awaken, but thanks to that Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal, the timeframe had been shortened to about three or four months.
Su Ze sneered. "You’re still asking for materials? Since you’re so afraid of Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal, why don’t I light some more for you? Like incense for the dead."
Mu Wang’s voice was grave. "Su Ze, whatever happened to you, they are them, and I am me. I had no part in attacking you. You don’t need to take your anger out on me.
"Just think about it. If I die, you’ll have to face the Sun God. And believe me, he is nowhere near as reasonable as I am. You won’t get a single shred of useful information out of him."
"What’s the difference? You’re not willing to give up any more information either," Su Ze shot back.
"I knew it... so this is all just to force my hand? You want me to tell you more?" Mu Wang realized.
"Think what you will. I just feel that a Consciousness Body that refuses to cooperate and create value has no reason to exist. If you can’t prove your worth, I’d rather take my chances with the Sun God’s remnant soul." Su Ze made a show of preparing to light another piece of the Soul Awakening Wood Charcoal.
Mu Wang hastily cried out, "Wait! What do you want to know!"
Although he had a strong feeling Su Ze was just bluffing, Mu Wang chose to compromise. He was in Su Ze’s hands, after all, and the man had plenty of ways to make him suffer.
"I want to know if there are any unusual phenomena when you use the Divine Dice to contact your homeworld," Su Ze asked.
Mu Wang answered immediately. "There are no obvious signs. However, transmitting information across planets and Star Realms consumes a great deal of the Divine Dice’s energy. The disturbance it creates is never small. If you have someone keep a close eye on the Divine Dice’s condition, you’ll be able to tell."
"Then how long after the experts on your homeworld receive the message would it take for them to get to Earth?"
"That depends on the power of the one who comes. A slow one might take ten days to half a month. A fast one... could arrive in the blink of an eye!"
’In the blink of an eye?’
Su Ze’s heart skipped a beat. If that was true, then the moment the Nian Race sent a message back to their homeworld, he wouldn’t even have time to run.