At this moment, Theodore took a deep breath and calmed his mind.
On the system interface, lines of blood-red text appeared.
[At the moment when the calamity is about to erupt, Saints have repeatedly acted from afar, finally stirring the calamity aura.]
[The Investiture Calamity has officially begun!]
[Host, please take note: the incarnation of Daoist Duobao intends to lay down the Ten Absolute Formations. These formations are extraordinarily powerful. Anyone below the Great Principle Golden Immortal realm who enters will die. Even Great Principle Golden Immortals, if they lack the method to break the formations, will lose a layer of skin upon entering.]
[During the calamity, the power of the Ten Absolute Formations will multiply. Host, please be extremely careful!]
Theodore's pupils contracted slightly.
In the system's judgment, the Investiture Calamity had fully erupted?!
In the original story, the magical world remained safe and sound more than twenty years later.
In other words, because of his influence, the ancient return of the magical world had begun decades ahead of schedule?
In the Primordial World, the Investiture Calamity lasted around fifteen years.
At first, existences at the Saint level still restrained themselves. Only some Great Principle Golden Immortals were fighting.
But the further it progressed, the more Great Principle Golden Immortals appeared, and even many quasi-saints were drawn in by the calamity aura.
By the end, even Saints could act without restraint, nearly reshaping earth, fire, water, and wind in the Primordial World.
According to this timeline, the ancient return judged by the system as the Investiture Calamity might see the true bodies of the Old Ones descend within a little over ten years at most.
Compared with that, the "Ten Absolute Formations" Voldemort and Quirrell were messing with did not seem worth worrying about to Theodore.
After a moment, Theodore's solemn expression returned to normal.
A little over ten years?
He had obtained the system less than a year ago, and yet his current methods already made it difficult to find an opponent in the modern magical world.
Unless existences from the age of myth appeared, no one could contend with him.
Even the projection of the Old One Dagon had once been destroyed by him.
Give him another ten years, and he might already stand among immortals and gods.
The Old Ones were strong, yes, but only from the perspective of the magical world.
In the Primordial World?
They were merely a few rare demons and monsters. Perhaps some great being would even capture them as mounts.
Although he thought this, Theodore did not become careless.
After all, the only Old One he had truly faced so far was Dagon.
Among the other Old Ones, some were clearly much stronger than Dagon.
For example, the source of the Dumbledore family's bloodline was absolutely at a level that crushed Dagon.
And then there was the "Pangu-like" existence that even many Old Ones seemed to fear. Theodore still did not dare recall its true name in his mind.
If, at the very end of the ancient return, even this "Pangu" awakened, that would truly be troublesome.
Thinking of this, Theodore exhaled softly.
"I still have to race against time."
"The Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array is essential, both for gathering spiritual energy and for preventing Old Ones from influencing Hogwarts in the future."
"But after all, this is an array created by Zhen Yuanzi. Its complexity is unimaginable. Even if my goal is only to create the most simplified version and activate its basic functions, it will still take considerable time, even with the help of my Insightful Heavenly Eye."
"During that period, I probably won't have much energy to pay attention to the chaos outside. If Voldemort and Quirrell really stir up trouble, I won't care much, but my friends might get dragged into it."
At this thought, Theodore's heart moved, and his gaze fell upon the divine mountain within his Origin Sea.
There, the fire crab, the Whomping Willow branch, the Chomping Cabbages, and many ancient plants had stayed for quite some time and gained tremendous benefits.
For example, the fire crab Huhu.
This magical creature had originally been popular among noble wizards as a pet simply because its shell was covered in gemstones and looked beautiful.
But now, after Theodore fed it a formula suitable for the growth of fire crab bloodlines and after it stayed on the Origin Sea Divine Mountain for so long, the fire crab Huhu's strength was no longer what it used to be.
The flames it spat were now even hotter than dragon fire.
Its shell, which had originally grown gorgeous gemstones, now possessed not only decorative value but also a sense of depth and mystery. It could reflect most magic below a certain intensity.
In other words, although the current fire crab Huhu was still only a pet to Theodore, in the magical world, calling it a 5X-level dangerous magical creature would not be an exaggeration.
Ordinary wizards would not be able to deal with it without dozens or even a hundred people.
If even an ordinary fire crab had grown to this level, then there was no need to mention the Whomping Willow branch.
Although it was still small now, it already had traces of Willow Immortal's bearing.
It even seemed to have some connection with the Avici Hellscape Sword floating in Theodore's Origin Sea, often drawing close to it.
Because of that, when its branches swept through the air, not only did they create sharp sonic booms, they also carried a hint of slaughter sword energy.
If it truly fought, even the fiercest Hungarian Horntail would be sliced into dragon meat before it.
As for the Chomping Cabbages and ancient plants, every one of them was also extraordinary.
It was no exaggeration to say that if Theodore released the things raised on his Origin Sea Divine Mountain, they would be more than enough to fight a war.
A war?
It would only take a thought from Theodore.
During his closed-door comprehension of the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array, releasing them to protect Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the others should be foolproof.
As for the issue of their size and portability, Transfiguration might not solve it, but the Eight-Nine Mystical Art made such transformations effortless.
A moment later, Theodore willed it, and several lifelike little things appeared in his hand.
The fire crab, the Whomping Willow branch, the Chomping Cabbages, and several others had all been shrunk many times over, looking like miniature figurines.
But their strength had not been reduced in the slightest.
To harm Harry, Hermione, Ron, or anyone in Hogwarts who had a friendly relationship with Theodore while under their protection—even Voldemort would have to suffer badly.
After arranging everything, Theodore returned to the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts.
With a casual wave of his hand, the blessed grotto-heaven he had previously transformed into Mount Ling Tai and the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars now became a Daoist temple filled with Dao rhythm.
At the temple entrance hung a pair of couplets.
A mansion of immortals who never grow old;
A home of Daoists who live as long as heaven.
This was none other than Zhen Yuanzi's Daoist temple in the Primordial World—
Wuzhuang Temple!
At this moment, Theodore's Origin Sea power surged out of his body and transformed into five-elemental vital energy.
In an instant, earth rolled, hills rose, streams surged…
Not only Wuzhuang Temple itself, but even the surrounding earth veins and water veins recorded in the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array were recreated by Theodore in miniature within the Room of Requirement.
For no other reason than to create the best possible conditions for comprehending the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array.
This array mattered too much.
The earlier it could be arranged in Hogwarts, even by a single day, the more Theodore's odds would grow through long accumulation.
After everything was arranged, Theodore cast a restriction and sealed the Room of Requirement.
His mind slowly sank into the formation method of the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array, comprehending this guardian array created by a quasi-saint mighty being.
And while Theodore entered seclusion to comprehend the array, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Filch all received gifts from him.
Hermione looked at the crystal-clear fire crab in her palm, as though it were carved from gemstone, and her eyes lit up.
"So pretty!"
"Theodore said he has something very important to focus on for a while, and during that time this little crab will protect me?"
Hermione teased the fire crab in her hand.
"You're called Huhu, right?"
"You're so cute!"
The fire crab Huhu let out two low cries, its eyes filled with helplessness.
Compared with staying here with Hermione, it wanted to return to the Origin Sea Divine Mountain.
Even the air there was filled with a sweet fragrance.
But since this was the task its master had given it, there was no choice.
This little witch was important to its master, so it had to take the job seriously.
Thus, the fire crab Huhu used its pincers to clip itself onto a pendant string. This way, Hermione could wear it directly around her neck as a pendant and carry it wherever she went.
At the same time, Harry looked at the tiny yet proud Whomping Willow branch in his hand, interest appearing in his eyes.
"It's obviously just a willow branch, but why does it feel like it's swinging a sword when it moves?"
"Little guy, Theodore gave you to me, so you definitely aren't ordinary. Do you know swordsmanship?"
"My movements are pretty agile too. Sometimes I feel like if I had a sword instead of a wand, I might be able to create miracles."
After teasing the Whomping Willow branch for a while, Harry found himself troubled about where to hide it.
After a moment, he tucked the Whomping Willow branch into the hem of his witch's robe and tied it around his waist like a belt.
As for Ron, the gift he received was not that special.
After all, Theodore had given Hermione the fire crab Huhu because Huhu looked exquisite and beautiful, suitable for a girl.
As for Harry, in the original story, he had killed a thousand-year-old basilisk with a sword in his second year. Placed in the Primordial World, that was basically a newly initiated young cultivator killing a thousand-year-old demon with only a bit of physical skill and no spells. It was honestly rather outrageous.
Perhaps Harry had talent in the sword path. After spending some time with the Whomping Willow branch, his swordsmanship might advance rapidly.
Ron, on the other hand, had clear talent in the path of chess. For now, he should continue studying chess.
Theodore's arrangement for him was simply to ensure his safety.
After all, such a seed of cultivation was very precious.
Theodore's arrangement was not much.
Just a necklace made from Chomping Cabbages.
Ron looked at the necklace full of miniature Chomping Cabbages and immediately remembered being bitten half to death in the trial game. His scalp tingled.
But after seeing Theodore's letter, which guaranteed that these Chomping Cabbages would not hurt him and would only protect him, Ron's mouth split into a grin.
"Harry."
"I'm invincible!"
…
At the same time,
while Theodore was in seclusion to comprehend the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array, Voldemort was also making arrangements.
"Quirrell, for this next period of time, I will use the days before the Quidditch friendly match to race against every second and study a way to temporarily disable Hogwarts' protective magic."
"To reduce the consumption of my power as much as possible, I will enter a state of deep slumber."
"During this period, you must act carefully."
Hearing that Voldemort would be unreliable for the time being and that he would have to rely on himself, Quirrell felt deeply uneasy.
It was not that he was too cowardly.
A man who dared to enter the Albanian forest alone to search for Voldemort's remnant soul and even attempted to control Voldemort—although Voldemort had instantly defeated him upon meeting—could never be called timid.
It was simply that Hogwarts had become far too unfamiliar after Theodore enrolled.
If Quirrell only had to stay hidden and wait for Voldemort to awaken, he could do that.
But Voldemort had also given him a task.
"Theodore may be popular, but there are still differences in closeness."
"Those companions of his—Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter—are far closer to him than others."
"If something happens to them, that will be the best way to restrain Theodore."
"During this period, you had best place some methods on them. Curses, the Imperius Curse, anything. Make them activate when we move. That will buy us even more time."
Quirrell's expression turned bitter.
"Master, it's not that I'm unwilling. It's just that Theodore is too strange."
"What if… what if his companions have also been contaminated by some of that strangeness?"
Hearing this, Voldemort frowned.
But after thinking about everything they had encountered recently, he unusually did not scold Quirrell.
Instead, unlike his rather stingy style in the original Harry Potter story, he told Quirrell several concrete methods to strengthen himself.
Among them was even Dark Magic Transformation.
Back then, aside from Horcruxes, Voldemort had relied on repeated Dark Magic Transformations to push his power to a limit unimaginable to wizards.
In the original Harry Potter story, Voldemort had never taught this technique to anyone.
Even Peter Pettigrew, who had rendered great service, merely received a silver hand from Voldemort to make up for the hand he lost resurrecting him.
As for others, Snape had learned a single flying technique from Voldemort, and the rest got nothing.
Otherwise, with Bellatrix Lestrange's madness, if she had learned several stronger dark spells from Voldemort, even if Molly Weasley erupted with unprecedented conviction to protect her children after Fred's death, it would have been very difficult for her to kill Bellatrix alone.
But now, Voldemort had even given Quirrell Dark Magic Transformation. It was clear he had truly invested heavily.
"Quirrell, accept my reward."
"If you still cannot complete the task I have given you, then you will disappoint me far too much."
With that, Voldemort fell into slumber.
Quirrell, meanwhile, sensed the several spells Voldemort had transmitted into his mind and revealed an expression of wild joy.
Heaven had finally opened its eyes!
This master, who had always taken without giving, had finally dropped some gold!
Why had he followed Voldemort?
Wasn't it for greater power and the status and glory that came with it?
Now, he had finally gained something.
Ambition flickered in his eyes.
In the original story, Quirrell already had the ability to silently and wandlessly cast Transfiguration. With one snap of his fingers, he could conjure ropes. His strength was truly not to be underestimated.
When he cursed Harry's broomstick with a malicious curse, Snape had also tried to counter it, but still failed to suppress Quirrell's curse.
Although breaking a curse was harder than casting one, if one also considered Quirrell's courage in seeking Voldemort, his strength might not have been much weaker than Snape's.
And now, after experiencing so many setbacks at Theodore's hands, especially after being diagnosed by St. Mungo's as suffering from "Quirrell Curse Syndrome" and having little time left, his mind and soul had already become far more extreme than in the original timeline.
In other words, the power he could unleash through dark magic would also reach a level the original Quirrell could hardly achieve.
Under such conditions, with Voldemort now giving him several powerful dark spells, only one thought remained in Quirrell's mind.
"I'm invincible!"
He took a deep breath, and his expression abruptly turned ferocious.
"Once I learn these spells, I'll leave Theodore with a memory he'll never forget."
"That little witch named Hermione Granger… tsk, tsk. The way she looks at Theodore is full of admiration."
"Then I'll start with her first!"
"I may not be able to beat Theodore, but can I really not beat one little witch?!"
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