The pattern-formed mouth instantly swallowed, and the hard stone disappeared into the dark gaping maw without making a sound.
The mouth closed, and the patterns returned to normal.
Only then did the large book open, allowing Rod to see its pale, tender insides.
Rod felt a mix of amusement and helplessness, and reluctantly asked it a question.
"How do I add Soul Firewood into the star?"
The pages of the book fluttered, seemingly impatient.
[Communicate deeply with the soul side of the Obelisk.]
Rod knew that meant he had to touch the Obelisk with his forehead.
Is the front side of the Obelisk called the soul side?
While pondering this, he stood up with the Soul Firewood in hand and walked towards the Obelisk.
The large book shut with a bang, seeming a bit huffy.
Rod came before the Obelisk and lightly touched its surface with his forehead.
In an instant, the whole world flipped over, the black sky inverted above him, and he stood on an endless black plain.
Rod was startled, but quickly realized that this was probably the so-called inner world of the soul side.
He looked down at his hand, holding the Soul Firewood.
Looking up, darkness stretched infinitely. There was nothing on the plain, and the sky was pitch-black, without a speck of light.
Void, silence, despair, oppression, terror.
That was the feeling this place gave to Rod.
He took a few steps forward and soon noticed a black lump. Crouching down for a closer look, it resembled a pile of extinguished bonfires, the ashes left by travelers in the wilderness.
Rod continued to walk and soon found more such bonfire ashes.
They were scattered across the plains, countless, all composed of black residue and gray embers.
Just as Rod was unsure what to do, he suddenly saw two groups of flames.
He hurried over, one a dark red color. The flame wasn’t strong but very steady, and the dark red light illuminated the surroundings.
Text appeared above the flame.
[State: Constant Burning]
[Star Energy: Soul Erosion]
[Inject: Unavailable]
[Quantification: Dark Abyss, Eternal Fog, Ancient Russia Blood]
[Position: Eternal Fire]
Is this what stars look like up close?
Are those ashes extinguished stars?
With a guess in his heart, Rod moved towards the right front of it and soon found a cluster of blue flames.
The fire was weaker and very unstable, its pale blue light illuminating only a small area.
[State: Weak Burning]
[Star Energy: Spirit Revival]
[Inject: Soul Without Spirit]
[Quantification: Unavailable]
[Position: Dull Fire]
As expected, so I just need to put the Soul Firewood into it?
Rod carefully extended his hand, the pale blue flame touched his skin gently, licking it without any burning sensation.
He opened his hand, and the Soul Firewood fell in.
Immediately, the whole bonfire changed; it contracted sharply inward then slowly expanded out, not only stabilizing a lot but also reaching a certain higher state.
The Soul Firewood landed right at the heart of the bonfire, becoming the core of the whole blaze.
Rod knew that at this moment, by elevating the state of [Frost Blue] from Weak Burning to Limit Burning, its position would be elevated.
This task was simple; he just needed to inject [Soul Without Spirit] into it.
The thought came to mind and another line of text appeared before his eyes.
Soul Without Spirit: 241
The Obelisk was connected to his psyche; many things he could achieve just by thinking about them.
Rod focused his gaze on Soul Without Spirit.
It was the part of the soul that he had separated when sacrificing at the Soul Altar, absorbed by the Obelisk and stored within it.
The next moment his thoughts concentrated, indeed, many black and white solids appeared in his hand.
He scattered these solids into the bonfire, and the flames surged violently.
The state of the Soul Bonfire quickly changed from [Weak Burning] to [Continuous Burning], and its strength rose from seven to eight.
Notably, his Soul Strength also rose from 37 to 38, which was the exact sum of the strength of two stars.
Rod nodded lightly, noting another point in his knowledge.
As Soul Without Spirit was added, the bonfire grew fiercer, evolving from [Continuous Burning] to [Blazing Burning], then to [Overburning], and finally to [Limit Burning].
When its state reached [Limit Burning], the whole flame fiercely expanded in size, its rising blue light even overshadowing the other dark red bonfire.
Rod looked up, the blue fire now stood over two persons tall, and the text above changed to:
[State: Limit Burning]
[Position: Fiery Fire]
[Strength: Seventy-Seven]
And his Soul Strength had become 107.
Rod smiled with satisfaction.
I’ve finally become stronger.