It was a bit hard on Mr. Ya, but they were certainly fast.

Now experienced, Su Ze and Mr. Ya swaggered right into the inner circle of the Miracle Oasis upon their return, making a beeline for the Mother Tree in the core area.

Halfway there, a small beast with flapping, petal-like wings came to greet them, escorting them the rest of the way to the foot of the Mother Tree.

Su Ze glanced around first. He didn’t see the emerald spaceship and figured the Mother Tree must have put it away.

Ju Han had been keeping watch here. Seeing the two of them, she gave a slight nod and said to Su Ze, "The Mother Tree is waiting for you."

Carrying the lead box with the Bloodline Crystal, Su Ze walked straight toward the Mother Tree. This time, the two great trees guarding her parted to let him pass. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Reaching the base of the Mother Tree, Su Ze held up the lead box. "Mama," he asked, "what exactly is the problem with this Bloodline Crystal? Could you please help me get rid of it?"

Mr. Ya hadn’t followed Su Ze; he stood with Ju Han a short distance away. Hearing what Su Ze called the Mother Tree, he couldn’t help but remark with a sigh, "The boss really is the boss. That’s the gap between him and me."

The corner of Ju Han’s mouth twitched. Last time, Su Ze had been calling her ’Mother.’ This time, he’d gone straight to ’Mama.’ He was getting bolder with his terms of endearment.

Su Ze, for his part, didn’t think anything of it. ’So what if I call her Mama!’

’Sometimes you don’t have to be so rigid about species. Why can’t a human and a plant be mother and son?’

’Where did the gourd-babies in the legends come from, then?’

Shortly after Su Ze finished speaking, a tangible wave of Spiritual Power descended upon him—heavy, sacred, gentle, and loving, like the care of an elder.

It was the spiritual will of the Mother Tree. Su Ze instantly felt the scene around him shift. The lead box in his hand vanished, and he found himself once again in a place resembling a private garden.

He knew the Mother Tree had pulled his consciousness here.

"You have progressed very quickly," the Mother Tree’s voice rang out, tinged with gratification.

"That’s because I have a good mama who helped me a lot." At this moment, Su Ze had completely forgotten about his other "adopted" mother, Mrs. Yun.

"You mentioned..." Su Ze hesitated. "I’m getting close to Saint-rank now. Could you tell me those things you were planning to wait to tell me until after I reached it?"

The Mother Tree considered this for a moment before replying, "Let’s take things one at a time. First, I will honor my promise to help you remove the hidden danger within the Bloodline Crystal."

"What is the hidden danger in the Bloodline Crystal, exactly?" Su Ze asked, not one to miss an opportunity for more information.

"A Divine Residual Soul lies dormant within it."

Su Ze’s heart jolted, and his eyes widened involuntarily. He had long suspected as much, but having it confirmed was still a shock.

’A Divine Residual Soul?’

’In other words, an incomplete soul from a God-rank being.’

’The implications of this were enormous, connecting to so many other things.’

Su Ze reined in his racing thoughts. ’Why speculate wildly when I have an expert right here to ask?’

"Mama, what would happen if someone absorbed a Bloodline Crystal like this? Would they be possessed by the Divine Residual Soul?"

"That’s right. The Spiritual Power of a Saint-rank lifeform cannot possibly resist the corrosion of God-rank Spiritual Power. Their spirit—their very soul—would be devoured by the Divine Residual Soul, and their body would fall under its control."

’It really is possession!’

’Everyone who absorbed a Bloodline Crystal has been possessed by Alien Divine Spirits!’

’That would even include the two legendary figures—the ruler of the Lin Hua Continent and the Pope of the Evolution Divine Teachings!’

’The trials of the Divine Dice were all just a way to select talented bodies for the Alien Divine Spirits.’

Su Ze suppressed the horror in his heart and asked, "Who exactly are these Alien Divine Spirits, and what is their purpose? Do you know?"