"Shadow." Accompanied by Char's call, shadows wriggled on the ground in the small greenhouse. A shadow emerged from it. As soon as it appeared, it wrapped itself around him affectionately. Even the shadows on the ground were dancing happily, as if to express the joy in its heart. After all, he hadn't used it for a long time. A smile also appeared on his face. He didn't care at all about the spikes covering the shadow. He stroked it gently and comforted it. "Don't worry. It's true that I haven't used you for a long time, so you must be a little bored. But that's also because you're one of my trump cards. How can you just let people see your trump card so casually? They are all to be used at critical moments."
These words seemed to finally dispel the dissatisfaction in the shadow's heart. The shadows on the ground swayed more and more happily. Char watched this scene, his eyes flickering slightly. He had once tried to master ancient shadow magic through the magical changes displayed by the Shadow Thorns. But his magic perception and strength at that time were incomparable to what they were now. He hadn't even scratched the surface of this complex magical transformation, not to mention the true mysteries of ancient magic: runes and the will of nature. At that time, he had never touched upon these aspects at all. Although some benefits of the transformation were obtained, now it seemed so immature.
But now, he was no longer what he once was. A change in magical power that was previously incomprehensible now seemed much clearer. Looking at these creeping shadows on the ground, he could feel that a kind of shadow-like magic particle was constantly contracting and expanding, causing this strange phenomenon. "A magical movement that combines the properties of Tolman's Transfiguration with those of Gamp's Transfiguration—wonderful." His eyes lit up. From the movement and change of these shadow magics, he got a lot of inspiration. Especially since he had experienced the immeasurable magic power with countless strange properties during the destruction ceremony of the Philosopher's Stone, his vision and perspective of Transfiguration had therefore been expanded to an unknown extent. And now, the secrets of transfiguration contained in shadow magic were confirmed by his previous experience. The transformation skills that had been improved previously were now settling down bit by bit. The sheen on the words "Transfiguration" became more and more substantial.
For a while, he was not in a hurry to let the shadow take him into the world filled with shadow magic. Instead, he concentrated on immersing himself in the various changes of shadow magic. His senses gradually deepened, delving into every vibration of those magical particles that had a shadowy nature. Gradually, a familiar feeling emerged in his heart. He had experienced it when using ancient runes and ancient weather magic. It was a rune. The deeper core that drove these magical actions was a rune. Ancient shadow magic was born based on this. He became more and more focused. The trajectory of the magic slowly formed a vague outline in his mind.
When he realized this, his eyes lit up with excitement. Although he had only realized which rune the ancient shadow magic was rooted in, he was not able to fully comprehend the basic structure of the magic runes that constituted it. But compared to himself, who had known nothing about such advanced magic and could only grope like a blind man in the dark, this was undoubtedly a huge improvement. The magic that he had once tried hard to understand but was always out of reach was suddenly so close to him. On his system panel, at this moment, he even realized the source of ancient shadow magic. And faint, blurry handwriting emerged: [Ancient Shadow Magic]. It meant that he had truly begun to come into contact with this ancient magic.
After taking a deep breath, he waved his wand. "Perthro!" Along with the name of the magic rune being recited by him, the changes in magic power that he had previously sensed were actually used by him at this moment. Magical power collided within his body, constantly changing its nature, until it gushed out from the tip of his wand, already as black as ink. A thin shadow extended from the tip of his wand and danced on the ground. Although it was still far from comparable to the strength of the ancient shadow magic displayed by his shadow, it was enough to prove that he had the ability to reverse engineer some of it. If he was given plenty of time, he was confident that he could slowly deduce the magic nodes involved, and even the most basic magic configuration. By then, it would mean a true introduction to ancient shadow magic.
He took a deep breath. It took a long time before he calmed down from the joy of witnessing his own growth. He had not forgotten his purpose of calling out the shadow. It was to explore that shadow world again, to see if there was a possibility of growing the Shadow Flower there. Although now, he had vaguely touched the boundaries of ancient shadow magic, with his current level of accomplishment, he could only use it as an acrobatic trick at best. Expecting to enter the shadow world by this was pure wishful thinking. He still had to rely on his shadow.
And after he stated his request, the shadow was also excited. It seemed as if it was recalling the hard training time with him. Immediately following, accompanied by the gathering of shadow magic, a shadow vortex suddenly appeared on the ground. Seeing this familiar scene, he also took a deep breath, then took a step and walked in. Then came a dizzying feeling. Suddenly, in his senses, the original real world disappeared into the distance. Instead, there was a vast and endless darkness. Everything around was shrouded in shadows. Although this was not the first time he had been here, this time, his feelings were undoubtedly much stronger than any previous time, because even his magical perception was completely filled with shadow magic. In this place, there really was not even a trace of other magic, only shadow magic. And even though he tried hard to spread his magical perception, all he could perceive was seemingly endless shadow magic. This really seemed to be a world made up of shadows.
For a while, countless emotions and doubts surged in his heart. The legend of the World Tree mentioned by Nicolas Flamel... could it be true? Was this shadow world that he saw before his eyes once the fruit hanging on the branches of the world's tree, now scattered around the real world, still providing shadow-like magic? But soon, he shook his head. Don't think about it anymore. He was just looking for a place to grow the Shadow Flower. He was not here to seek answers to the root problems of the world. His attention quickly focused on his surroundings. Some of the properties of this shadow world gradually became clear in his mind. "There's no concept of east, west, south, north, or even up, down, left, or right here. The only thing you can use to determine your location is shadow magic. Although the entire world is filled with shadow magic, its distribution is uneven. Some areas are lighter, and some areas have darker shadow magic. The world is therefore divided into light shadow and dark shadow."
The location where he was located was exactly where the concentration of shadow magic was relatively low. But according to his previous experience, even here, it would be eroded by shadow magic at all times. For flesh and blood, it was like the pain of being tortured to death. In the past, he had suffered a lot in order to improve his transformation skills. But now, not to mention the legendary life sublimation, coupled with the super-fast recovery ability of the regeneration of severed limbs, just the resistance to dark magic that he had gained from the Guardian Tree reward created a layer of protection on his body that could resist dark magic. Shadows didn't fall into the category of dark magic in the conventional sense, but their nature was still more inclined to darkness. Therefore, although his resistance to dark magic could not be fully utilized, in the current shallow area, it was enough to resist the erosion of shadow magic.
He looked around with a relaxed look, wanting to see where it was possible to grow shadow flowers. But soon, he gave up the idea of searching in this area. "The concentration of shadow magic here is too low. The magic power that makes up the Shadow Flower is as real as a substance, and its concentration is incredibly high. If I plant it here, I'm afraid it will still inevitably dissipate. At best, it will only last a little longer. I need to find a place with a higher concentration of shadow magic."
A moment later, he sensed the direction in which the shadow magic flowed. He let the shadow lead him forward along a stream of it. Gradually, the darkness around him grew deeper and deeper. Thick shadows covered everything. Although it was still a relatively shallow area, the concentration of shadow magic had begun to rise rapidly compared to before. Soon, the resistance to dark magic that had previously been at ease could no longer withstand the erosion of shadow magic at this concentration. Strands of it began to penetrate his defenses and began to erode his flesh and blood. However, the damage had just been done, and it was healed by his powerful vitality in the next instant. The feeling left behind could not even be described as painful. It was just a tingling sensation, like ants crawling. It couldn't even make his expression change. "Shadow, keep going deeper."
Accompanied by his repeated requests, time passed by every second. The shadow had taken him far deeper into areas that had never been reached before. The tingling sensation that had originally come from his skin had now turned into a pain like countless needles pricking him. His skin began to look as if it had been corroded, and large areas of it began to turn red. He remained unmoved. After all, he had been eroded so badly in this world that even his bones were exposed. He had looked like he had been tortured to death. It had been a horrible sight. The current situation was just the beginning. Of course, it was only his strong vitality and recovery ability that had allowed them to get here. No other wizard, unless they had a corresponding protective spell, would have their flesh and blood corroded by the pervasive shadow magic in an instant. They wouldn't even think about leaving any bones behind.
He, however, was still going deeper into the world of shadows. As he went deeper, every minute and every second counted. The magic concentration of the surrounding shadows was increasing rapidly. It even got to the point where even his shadow, who controlled the ancient shadow magic, was having a hard time. His flesh began to erode and peel away. The pain began to intensify rapidly. His expression finally showed some movement. It wasn't that he couldn't bear the pain, but he and his shadow had already penetrated into the shadow world to a certain extent. This was close to the gap between the shallow and deep layers. The concentration of shadow magic was orders of magnitude higher, but there was still no sign of something close to the Shadow Flower, and it felt like the shadow magic was almost condensed into a substance.
His magical perception spread forward. He could notice that there seemed to be a shadow in the distance that suddenly became darker. It was like the cliff-like dividing line from shallow sea to deep sea in the ocean. That was the deep region of the shadow world; it was from there that the gorge began. The shadow magic gradually began to feel substantial. Staying here, he looked at the deeper areas of the shadow world and hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to go deeper. The spiritual pupil between his eyebrows, however, seemed as if it had been stimulated. There were bursts of stinging pain. His sixth sense also conveyed a sense of danger and unease. His heart skipped a beat. Although he didn't know what would happen if he went deeper, he still chose to trust his sixth sense. He still had many opportunities to explore the shadow world. He must not take risks and force himself to succeed. "Shadow, let's go."
Hearing his instructions, the shadow also felt relieved. It quickly took him and rushed to the shallow layer of the shadow world. Right at this moment, he suddenly felt something in his heart. He turned his head and took another look at the deep area he had just seen. Then, his pupils suddenly contracted. Just when he and his shadow had chosen to leave and not continue deeper, in that deep area, a huge shadow of some kind had flashed by. "That's... a living thing?!"
He clenched his palms suddenly, a chill on his forehead. He discovered that he had misunderstood what Nicolas Flamel had said. He had said that the legendary world tree hung above his head and created a world that was completely different from the real world, but he had never said that those worlds made of fire, ice, or even worse, completely of shadow or light, were dead silent. If that was true, the Shadow Flower he had obtained... where had it come from? That is to say, deep in the shadow world, there might be some living creatures similar to the Shadow Flower, which were also made up of shadow magic. In this environment filled with rich shadow magic, apart from magic in the spiritual realm, he was basically unable to use any other magic. Even his trump card of ancient weather magic was the same. Even his legendary life and power were suppressed by the strong because of the ubiquitous erosion. And if the life in the shadow world was full of hostility towards him, under this kind of situation, it would be a big trouble.
Thinking of this, he felt quite relieved. The enhanced sixth sense and the spiritual eyes stimulated by his Occlumency, he usually didn't have too much feeling for, but it was indeed very useful when encountering such danger. After the sudden sound, he and his shadow finally returned to reality from the vortex of shadows. This feeling of being grounded finally made him breathe a sigh of relief. It also made him give up the idea of continuing to explore the shadow world in the short term. It was too dangerous. The ubiquitous erosion of shadow magic alone had made his and his shadow's movements very difficult, not to mention those shadowy lives whose true appearance had not yet been seen. "At least, until the shadow is fully mature. In that case, the strength of its ancient shadow magic will be greatly improved. At the same time, I can also reap rewards. With my understanding of ancient shadow magic, I should be able to thoroughly master it. At that time, operations in the shadow world will be safer."
But to accelerate the maturity of the shadow, time was certainly not enough, because what it lacked was nutrients containing ancient magic. If he simply relied on the passage of time to draw water, he didn't know how much money it would cost, and it might even take more than ten years to cover this distance. He did not have any means to promote its maturity, for example, the ritual magic of Demeter. However, Demeter's silver cup was badly damaged. The ancient magic generated by a ritual was probably far from mature enough for the shadow. Fortunately, he had another plan. His gaze fell on the large amount of Quintaped blood that he had previously collected from the Forbidden Forest trial. Using this, he could induce mutant human-faced glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. By utilizing the will of nature and the temple curse contained therein, he could create ancient ash that also had the effect of ripening. Based on the amount of blood he had on hand, the ancient ash that could be obtained this time would be enough for the shadow to reach maturity easily. There might even be a lot left over to be used to cultivate a third ancient plant.
Looking at the blood, a fiery look appeared in his eyes. He subconsciously held his wand, wanting to start inducing the mutant mushrooms. But at the same time, his Occlumency wavered slightly. His mind immediately became clear, and he immediately became alert. "Was it the magical power that bewitched the mind that just came from the Quintaped's blood?" His face turned grim. Yes. The being in the temple on the island of Delia... last time, he had stolen a lot of power from it. Not to mention this mysterious existence, even if it was himself, after suffering a loss once, he would definitely be on guard against it a second time. If he really treated this kind of existence as a fool, the one who suffered the loss would definitely be himself. This suspected mythical existence could not be taken lightly.
He collected the blood again. The air in the greenhouse was heavy. It was also like a dark cloud pressing down on his head. It was the season for the most disagreeable weather in the northern Scottish Highlands. He was already feeling annoyed because of the setbacks in his two operations, and he shook his head. The blood of the Quintapeds could not be used easily, so the maturity of the shadow became a distant thing. There was no way to explore the shadow world. As for the reward of the Shadow Flower, he could only watch and had no chance of getting it at all. That was fine. The key was whether he had any plans to cultivate ancient plants in the future. This would be delayed because of it. There was no change, which made him frown. His mood became quite depressed.
And at this time, he shook his head suddenly. Based on past life experience, if there was no unexpected change, sitting in the lab and thinking hard about something often only made things worse. It was better to go to a more spacious place. He patted his cheek gently, muttering to himself, "Summer vacation has just begun. There's still a long time to resolve the issue. As long as you want to avoid slipping, there are always more solutions than difficulties." At the same time, he took a third step, leaving the greenhouse, and strolled towards the higher hill near the Forbidden Forest, breathing in the cool breeze blowing from the hills, clearing away the dullness in his heart. Throughout the whole process, he remained relaxed, not thinking about anything, completely putting all previous matters out of his mind. That's all.
When he opened his eyes again, although the air was getting more and more depressing, his mood had calmed down instead. "Try to solve it first. If it can't be solved, the worst that can happen is that it can be changed and not marked. There aren't many smooth-sailing things in the world. Unless one is omniscient and omnipotent, who can come up with a perfect plan from the beginning? The main purpose of making a plan is to be revised."
Feeling relieved, he turned away, ready to go down the mountain. Or if he had some money, he would go to the Quidditch field and fly a Nimbus 2000. And it was at this moment that the dull air suddenly seemed to be broken. Raindrops began to fall from the dark clouds. In the blink of an eye, the raindrops became bigger than soybeans and splashed in the forest. In the sky, there was dazzling lightning, passing through the clouds like a snake. In a moment of fog, the dark sky was illuminated by it. The rumbling thunder also shook the whole area. It turned out to be a thunderstorm with accumulated force.
He was bathed in the rain. The boundless power from nature was also reflected in his eyes. The next moment, he suddenly thought of something. He raised his head, staring intently at the light that kept flickering in the sky. A bold idea gradually became clear in his mind.
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