After Professor McGonagall brought the news, Quirrell's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and his whole body trembled.
She looked at him with concern.
"Professor Quirrell?"
"Don't get too emotional. Your body is still very weak. Everything will get better."
"Headmaster Dumbledore and all of Hogwarts stand with you!"
Then, afraid of disturbing Quirrell's rest, Professor McGonagall quickly left the ward.
Only then did Voldemort's cold, mocking laugh ring out in Quirrell's mind.
"Professor Quirrell? You truly gave me a surprise."
"I was only asleep for such a short time, and now you already stand with Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"No wonder that with your strength, plus the dark magic you learned from me, you still couldn't deal with a few first-year brats and even got yourself sent to St. Mungo's."
"Good. Very good. So you're planning to wag your tail and beg Dumbledore for mercy?"
His voice was thick with killing intent. He had already begun considering something.
Should he erase Quirrell's consciousness and take complete control of this body?
Although that would greatly consume his power, and he could only maintain it for a short time at most, if he moved quickly enough, there was still hope of obtaining the Philosopher's Stone.
That would be better than keeping this traitorous fool around!
Quirrell's heart chilled as he sensed a tremendous crisis.
Why was he so unlucky?
Why was he hated by both sides?
He wailed inwardly.
"Master!"
"I truly have no intention of betraying you. Please listen to my explanation!"
Voldemort's voice was icy.
"Explanation?"
"Fine. Explain to me exactly what stopped you from completing your task this time."
At this, Quirrell's voice was full of grievance and misery.
"Master, I suffered. I really suffered!"
"Those young wizards each carried gifts from Theodore. They were too abnormal. They were simply inhuman!"
"First there was a fire crab. Yes, Master, you know fire crabs, right? Those shiny, jewel-covered pets that spit fire. But this one was terrifying. It wasn't an ordinary fire crab."
"That fire was stronger than dragon fire. One breath wiped out my Fiendfyre!"
"And then there was a Chomping Cabbage bracelet. Huge Chomping Cabbages jumped out one by one from the bracelet. Even a dragon would probably be bitten to death by them!"
"Oh, right, there was something even scarier and more inhuman. A Whomping Willow. Harry had a Whomping Willow hidden under his skirt. It went whoosh, and I was stabbed with more than a dozen holes. I nearly died right there."
Before he could finish, Voldemort's voice became even colder and angrier.
"Quirrell, do you think I'm ignorant and easy to deceive, so you can fool me with such lies?"
"I'm telling you, no one can lie in front of me. The price is something no one can endure!"
Quirrell froze, his voice stuttering.
"Master, it's true. Everything I said is true."
"There really was a fire crab, there really were Chomping Cabbages, and there really was a Whomping Willow. Really!"
Voldemort frowned.
Reading minds and detecting lies were almost innate abilities for him.
Even now, with no body and only a remnant soul left, this ability still existed.
But in his eyes, Quirrell did not seem to be lying. He actually sounded serious.
But a fire crab breathing fire stronger than a dragon, a group of Chomping Cabbages dropping from a bracelet, and a Whomping Willow coming out from beneath Harry Potter's skirt…
These were true?
How was that possible?!
It seemed that while he was asleep, Quirrell had quietly advanced his Occlumency to a higher level. That was the only reason he could deceive Voldemort in his weakened state.
But verifying this would be simple. Voldemort only needed to cast Legilimency. With his skill, he could experience the scene as if he had been there himself.
Even if memories could be forged, hastily fabricated memories would be full of flaws before him.
Voldemort said coldly,
"Quirrell, if what you say is true, then open your mind."
"Whether it is true or false, I will see for myself."
Quirrell hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, Master."
Then he opened his mental defenses.
Voldemort was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Quirrell to truly dare let him inspect his memories.
What gave Quirrell this courage?
Did he think Voldemort would not notice?
Voldemort's gaze grew colder.
With his pride, what he hated most was being fooled by self-important subordinates.
In the past, some stupid Death Eaters had dared to flaunt their so-called intelligence in front of him. They had all been dealt with by a Killing Curse.
If he found even the smallest trace of forgery in Quirrell's memories, he would immediately erase Quirrell's consciousness!
Then Voldemort cast Legilimency.
While Quirrell's mind went blank, Voldemort directly read his memories.
The scene of Quirrell fighting Hermione appeared before his eyes.
Looking at the methods Hermione used, Voldemort's eyes revealed a trace of surprise.
"What… magic is this?"
He frowned deeply.
Even with his understanding of magic, and despite believing he had mastered magic beyond Dumbledore's imagination, he still did not know the origin of Hermione's methods.
But after a moment, Voldemort stopped caring about that.
A mere little witch. Although her methods were unusual, her strength was still too weak. She had been forced back step by step by Quirrell when he showed his true ability, let alone Voldemort himself.
At his level, encountering one or two obscure types of magic was not too strange.
Compared with that, Quirrell's betrayal and lies angered Voldemort more.
"Didn't he say there was a fire crab stronger than a dragon?"
"Where is it?"
"He isn't even pretending now, is he? Quirrell, and you still say you haven't betrayed me?!"
The furious Voldemort was already prepared to erase Quirrell's consciousness.
But at that moment, he saw the fire crab pendant around Hermione's neck light up.
Then a spiraling torrent of flame roared over, drowning his vision.
By the time Voldemort reacted, a wave of scorching pain had already reached his consciousness.
Voldemort froze.
The Legilimency he used allowed him to feel everything in the target's memory almost as if he were there.
This naturally allowed him to probe thoughts to the extreme, but correspondingly, the pain was also faithfully transmitted.
For example, the pain of Quirrell being burned by the flames.
Of course, this was still trivial to Voldemort.
Among the dark magical transformations he had experienced, there were processes more painful than being sliced apart. Mere burning did not count for much.
What truly shocked him was that Quirrell had not lied.
There really was a fire crab stronger than a dragon?!
After recovering, Voldemort was still full of suspicion.
Then what about the Chomping Cabbages?
What about the Whomping Willow?
Could those also be real?
A moment later, after continuing to read the memories, Voldemort groaned several times in succession and directly withdrew from the Legilimency state. His emotions churned for a long time.
Even with his experience, he had never seen Chomping Cabbages turned into a bracelet, nor that incredible Whomping Willow branch.
Thinking back to the branch wrapped in ringing sword energy, Voldemort could not help shivering. The intense pain of having his body pierced seemed to surge up again.
Only then did Quirrell's consciousness finally recover. He said pitifully,
"Master, you saw it. I wasn't lying…"
But the next moment, piercing pain exploded from his soul, making Quirrell's face turn deathly pale.
"Master?!"
Voldemort snorted coldly.
"You used my magic and still couldn't beat a fire crab. Quirrell, do you not deserve punishment?"
"If I were not merciful enough, Quirrell, the punishment you suffered would be far more than this."
Quirrell cursed inwardly, regretting more and more that he had ever gone looking for Voldemort.
Once on this pirate ship, there was no getting off.
And this idiot was completely insane. He only knew how to rule through terror and punishment.
Even if he had not been defeated by Harry Potter back then, he would eventually have been abandoned by everyone. It was only a matter of time!
Even Quirrell would have stopped working for Voldemort long ago if he did not still need the Philosopher's Stone to rebuild himself a curse-free body and if he could find a way to expel Voldemort.
But now, he could only swallow his broken teeth.
After the soul-deep pain gradually subsided, Quirrell carefully asked,
"Master, have you found a way to suppress Hogwarts' protective magic?"
Voldemort sneered.
"Do you think I'm like you, useless and always ruining things?"
Then, arrogance appeared in his eyes.
"Merely Hogwarts' protective magic. Even if it was created by the Four Founders, more than a thousand years have passed since then."
"Even if it has been repaired many times over the years, how could such an old thing have no flaws?"
"I have already seen through the weakness of the protective magic. As long as we set up alchemical arrays in several specific locations, once activated, Hogwarts' protective magic will be temporarily suppressed and disappear."
At this, Voldemort's mood finally improved.
Cracking Hogwarts' protective magic had truly been the smoothest thing he had done recently.
He had originally estimated that it might take him much longer to find a clue, but while sleeping, it was as if something in the unseen world had guided his thoughts. One problem after another had been solved as if divinely aided.
Now, an extremely complex alchemical array diagram floated in Voldemort's mind.
Looking at this array diagram, even Voldemort felt a sense of pride.
Aside from suppressing Hogwarts' protective magic, once this alchemical array was completed and activated, it would also seal Apparition, ban flight, suppress enemy magic, strengthen his own magic, and produce many other effects.
Within it, Voldemort even dared say he would not fear Dumbledore!
Such a complex diagram—if an alchemy master were asked to create it, even a lifetime of painstaking effort might not be enough.
But he had done it in such a short time.
Even Voldemort himself felt it was somewhat dreamlike.
"Perhaps this is my magical foundation."
"Would a little wizard like Theodore Snow understand? He wouldn't!"
"Once this alchemical array is completed, everything will be under my control!"
…
At the same time, inside the Room of Requirement,
Theodore sat cross-legged, his aura clearly in a state of enlightenment.
This enlightenment had begun from the moment he started secluding himself to study the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array, and it had continued until now without ending.
It could be said that this was Theodore's longest enlightenment since transmigrating.
The reason he could enter enlightenment was simple.
First, the Profound Grotto Heavenly Eye was far too strong when it came to comprehending the Dao.
When other cultivators comprehended the Dao, they had to seek that faint flash of inspiration in the unseen and capture obscure traces of the Dao.
But for Theodore, who possessed the Profound Grotto Heavenly Eye, the traces of the Dao were far clearer. Comprehending the Dao was more than a hundred times easier for him than for others.
Second was the uniqueness of the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array.
As everyone knew, Zhen Yuanzi was the Ancestor of Earth Immortals. He had wide friendships and good relations with many great powers in the Primordial World.
Today he might attend a banquet at Jade Pool; tomorrow he might go to Kunlun to discuss the Dao. It was common for him to leave for hundreds or even thousands of years.
He also disliked accepting too many disciples. In Wuzhuang Temple, there were only the two Dao attendants Qingfeng and Mingyue.
When he was absent, Qingfeng and Mingyue looked after the temple and presided over the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array.
If the array diagram of the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array were too obscure and difficult, then with Qingfeng and Mingyue's cultivation and Dao realm, they would never be able to operate it.
Because of this, Zhen Yuanzi had explained the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array in the array diagram with extraordinary detail, almost breaking it apart and feeding it directly to them. Only then could Qingfeng and Mingyue preside over the formation.
And for Theodore, this was practically the same as personally listening to a sermon from Zhen Yuanzi, a Quasi-Sage great power!
Countless profound principles of Heaven and Earth appeared extremely clearly in his heart the moment he began studying the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array.
Entering enlightenment was only natural.
His Dao realm also rose rapidly during this enlightenment, every minute and every second.
At this moment, all kinds of spiritual energy were being stirred around Theodore.
At times, flames surged. At times, waves rolled. At times, wind and clouds gathered. At times, thunder and lightning flashed.
The Origin Sea within his body became deeper and more unfathomable under Theodore's continuously rising Dao realm.
Even the Dao of Space, which was extremely obscure in the Primordial World, was explained clearly within the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array.
Within Theodore's Origin Sea, the Invisibility Cloak he had obtained from Harry floated up and down. The material used to make it seemed to be some kind of evil creature possessing spatial power.
Now, the faint spatial mysteries within the Invisibility Cloak resonated with the explanations in the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array, making Theodore feel as if a new door had opened before him.
The Dao of Space was right before his eyes!
This was also an extremely critical part of the refining methods for the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Barrier and the Pure Glass Bottle that he had obtained!
Finally, several more days passed before Theodore's state of enlightenment slowly faded.
He let out a long breath. His eyes carried the fatigue of having fully concentrated on comprehending the Dao for a long time, but immediately afterward, overwhelming joy burst out.
This enlightenment had benefited Theodore no less than gaining another Quasi-Sage-level talent similar to Five-Element Reversal Origin Sea or Everlasting Evergreen Immortal!
In terms of Dao realm, among his peers in the Primordial World, he could already be considered outstanding.
As for the Wuzhuang Temple Grand Array, although he could not claim to have fully understood it, at least setting up a simplified version would not be a problem.
At the same time, a strange light appeared in Theodore's eyes. He slowly stretched out his hand.
A power different from the Five Elements spiritual energy slowly gathered in his palm.
Up, down, left, right, front, and back seemed to reverse within Theodore's hand.
This was precisely the subtle use of the Dao of Space!
If an enemy fell within the area covered by Theodore's palm, they would instantly lose control of space, like Sun Wukong falling into the palm of the Buddha—no matter how they struggled, they would not escape!
This was already a true inheritance of the spatial Dao within Wuzhuang Temple. If it continued to evolve and rise further, it might one day reproduce Zhen Yuanzi's powerful spatial divine ability—
Universe in the Sleeve, gathering the sun, moon, and cosmos into one sleeve!
Of course, Theodore's current understanding of the Dao of Space could only be considered a glimpse of its mysteries. It was still far, far away from Universe in the Sleeve.
But that did not stop him from loving this newly acquired method.
Playing with space was something he had never imagined his Dao realm would reach!
"Although this move is not a divine ability, it can still be considered an exquisite spell I created myself."
"Since the space in my palm is like a world under my control, then I'll call it—"
"Heaven and Earth in My Palm!"
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