"Hah—"
Only after a long while did Theodore finish absorbing the spiritual energy fed back from the bronze essence.
Delight flickered in his eyes.
The increase in cultivation brought by this single piece of bronze essence was comparable to the entire furnace of Demon-Refining Golden Pills he had taken earlier.
"Under normal circumstances, refining bronze essence is a very common step in artifact-forging in the primordial world."
"Even with the talent of Proving the Dao Through Artifacts, it shouldn't be able to return this much spiritual energy."
"So the most likely reason is that the method for refining a Grand Celestial Constellation Formation flag is fundamentally different from ordinary techniques."
"And the real key is that I fused merit into it, turning the bronze essence into a thing of merit. That's why the feedback was this large."
"And bronze essence is only one of the most inconspicuous materials in the whole process of refining the flag."
"As I continue preparing the rest of the materials, I should receive even more spiritual feedback."
Theodore drew in a deep breath.
Looked at that way, although refining a Grand Celestial Constellation Formation flag would consume a great deal of merit, it was not truly a loss.
After all, this was not the primordial world, where even a single trace of merit would be fought over by countless beings, and no one would ever dream of spending it so lavishly to raise cultivation.
The magical world might be impoverished in most kinds of resources, but when it came to opportunities to obtain merit, it actually had quite a few.
For Theodore, trading merit for immediate combat strength was definitely worth it.
With those thoughts settled, he put the merit-infused bronze essence away and then turned toward the Restricted Section of the library once more.
"During this period, Proving the Dao Through Artifacts can steadily push my cultivation higher, but I can't neglect the alchemical side either."
"If I can bring my relationship with Madam Pince to the point of life-and-death friendship, then I'll obtain the formula for the Myriad-Demon Golden Pill."
A bright light moved through Theodore's eyes.
Although he had once refined Demon-Refining Golden Pills before, that was only because his alchemical mastery and Heavenly Demon Fire had raised the quality of the pills to an extraordinary level. Strictly speaking, they were Demon-Refining Pills at the level of golden pills.
They could not truly compare to the genuine article worthy of the title Golden Pill.
A true Golden Pill was the sort of treasure that even immortals and gods craved—something many of them could go ten thousand years without ever seeing even one of.
If Theodore managed to refine such a pill, his cultivation would immediately soar to an astonishing level.
For that reason, in Theodore's eyes, the Myriad-Demon Golden Pill formula was absolutely something he had to obtain.
The sooner he got it, the sooner he could begin assembling the necessary ingredients.
The "daily task" of cleaning the Restricted Section was not something he could afford to miss.
At that hour it was already deep into the night.
Yet outside the Restricted Section, candlelight was still burning.
Madam Pince was leaning over a pile of ancient books, searching through them with complete concentration. Then she heard the now-familiar footsteps approaching.
She turned, delighted.
"Theodore? You've come again?"
At the same time, words appeared across Theodore's System screen.
[After a perilous journey outside, you have returned once more to the Jade Void Palace.]
[Without resting even for a moment, you head straight again toward the Cavern of Demons. Though the path ahead is uncertain and danger lies everywhere, you remain convinced that the sword in your hand can carve through every obstruction. Your tempering in the Cavern of Demons cannot be neglected for even half a breath.]
[Seeing this, the immortal who guards the Cavern of Demons smiles faintly and nods. With a wave of his hand—]
[Take up the Demon-Slaying Sword!]
Already used to the process, Theodore picked up the feather duster and was just about to step into the Restricted Section to begin cleaning when Madam Pince stopped him.
"Wait a moment first."
Theodore turned back in confusion, only to find Madam Pince looking him up and down for quite a while with an odd expression.
For the briefest instant, he even thought he saw a faint flush appear on her cheeks.
Suspicion stirred in Theodore's heart, and he immediately thought of a possibility.
The Dao of Enchantment?
He had only just gained a shallow understanding of it. It was entirely possible that traces of its aura were now leaking from him unconsciously in his every movement.
True, it would not be as forceful as when he had deliberately used it on the Slytherin girl under Voldemort's control. But even so, it could still cause others to feel a growing sense of favor and closeness without ever noticing why.
At that very moment, fresh lines appeared across the System screen.
[Just as you take up the Demon-Slaying Sword and are about to step into the Cavern of Demons for another slaughter, the guarding immortal stops you for the first time.]
[From childhood onward he cultivated the Dao, never married, and long ago severed mortal attachments. One could say that his entire life has been spent in the work of slaying demons and suppressing evil.]
[And yet, seeing you today, though there is no blood relation whatsoever, he feels a remarkable closeness. In his heart, a thought arises unbidden—if only you truly were his junior, what a good thing that would be.]
Theodore let out a quiet breath of relief.
So the Dao of Enchantment was indeed powerful, but his understanding of it was still too shallow for the traces escaping unconsciously from him to be that overbearing. He had not yet become one of those low and universally despised "enchantment cultivators" who drew curses from all sides in the primordial world.
Then, in the very next instant, Theodore saw another line that made him go still.
[Because the guarding immortal feels increasing closeness toward you, the requirement for reaching life-and-death friendship with him has been greatly reduced.]
[The condition has dropped from slaying ten thousand demons to slaying six thousand demons.]
[A relationship deeper even than life-and-death friendship has now been unlocked—My Dao Is Not Lonely.]
[If you slay a single demon-immortal, you may establish the My Dao Is Not Lonely relationship with the guarding immortal. Reward: Demon-Slaying Sword Art.]
[Demon-Slaying Sword Art: A killing sword art created by the guarding immortal through his endless slaughter of demons. It was once praised by many immortals and golden immortals of the Chan lineage as the greatest sword for slaying demons and exterminating evil. Unfortunately, it is too focused on killing intent. Unless one has comprehended the Sword of Slaughter and stepped onto the road of proving the Dao through killing, it is difficult for this art to reach the Great Dao.]
Theodore's breathing suddenly quickened.
This Dao of Enchantment had brought him an unexpected treasure.
It could actually reduce the difficulty of establishing life-and-death friendship—and not only that, it had even unlocked a relationship beyond life-and-death friendship altogether: My Dao Is Not Lonely.
The reduced requirement for life-and-death friendship alone would save Theodore an enormous amount of time.
By his estimate, if he continued cleaning the Restricted Section for a while every day, he would likely obtain the Myriad-Demon Golden Pill formula around Christmas—nearly a full month earlier than expected.
And beyond that, if he could bring his relationship with Madam Pince to the level of My Dao Is Not Lonely, he would also receive the Demon-Slaying Sword Art.
When Theodore saw the description of that art, brilliant light burst from his eyes.
At present, he wielded the Abi Hellscape Sword, and swordsmanship was already the most devastating of all his methods of attack.
The only pity was that what he currently used did not really count as a true sword art. It was only sword technique born from martial skill.
Though it was already wondrous enough, compared to a true immortal sword art, it fell short by a distance as vast as heaven and earth—let alone a sword art praised by immortals and golden immortals alike as the number one blade for slaying demons and destroying evil.
If he could obtain that sword art, then the power of the Abi Hellscape Sword in his hands would soar still further.
As for the flaw in the Demon-Slaying Sword Art—its excess of killing intent—that was something Theodore's own comprehension of the Sword of Slaughter would perfectly cover.
For him, this sword art was practically tailor-made.
At that moment Theodore's emotions were in turmoil.
Who had dared say earlier that enchantment cultivators were a low path?
What was wrong with enchantment cultivators?
Apologize.
"It seems I hadn't intended to study the Dao of Enchantment too deeply…"
"But now it appears that looking into it from time to time might not be a bad thing at all."
From that day on, Theodore's life became extraordinarily regular.
By day, he attended classes and continued maintaining good relationships with the professors.
After all, thanks to the Five-Element Reversal Origin Sea, he absorbed spiritual energy for cultivation every second of the day on his own. It made no difference where he happened to be.
At night, Theodore would lead Hermione and the others through the challenge-game to continue tempering them. Once they had been worn half to death, he would then bring them into the Room of Requirement to continue studying the fundamentals of cultivation.
Compared with the dense and exhausting foundations of cultivation, the challenge-game, which Harry and the others had once feared like a tiger, now seemed almost adorable.
Ron and Harry would rather wrestle their wits against giant spiders crawling out of Devil's Snare—or be chased across the castle by a three-headed dog with no escape in sight—than sit there looking at complicated charts of meridians, acupoints, yin and yang, and the five elements.
Fortunately, after hearing Theodore speak of the far greater danger still to come, a fierce sense of urgency had risen in all of them.
No matter how hard or exhausting it became, none of them complained.
As for Theodore, every night he happily accepted the endless resources Voldemort kept delivering to his door. The refinement of the Grand Celestial Constellation Formation flag advanced step by step, and his cultivation changed with every passing day.
Time passed like flowing water.
Only when Theodore noticed reindeer, bells, and glittering Christmas decorations beginning to appear throughout the castle did he suddenly come back to himself.
"Without realizing it, more than a month has passed already."
"So Christmas is almost here?"
In the next instant, divine light flickered in Theodore's eyes as he lifted his gaze toward the heavens, as though he could see the endless stars themselves.
He drew in a deep breath.
Then a sudden brilliance, bright as the sun, flashed through his eyes for the briefest instant.
"The Grand Celestial Constellation Formation flag… is almost finished."
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