Line after line appeared on the system screen, leaving Theodore momentarily stunned.
Why had so many "Medicinal Dao wandering immortals" suddenly become connected to him?
A moment later, realization struck.
They had to be the herbology masters Professor Sprout had borrowed seeds from.
Because he had successfully germinated those seeds, those masters had taken notice of him. That was why the system had judged that he had reached a "casual acquaintance" relationship with them.
Theodore's eyes brightened.
Good.
Excellent!
Not only had they lent him seeds, allowing him to cultivate a herb garden that would have been extraordinary even in the Primordial World, they had also delivered high-level talents straight to his door.
What wonderful people.
At Theodore's current level, ordinary talents no longer caught his eye. Even talents that had once been tremendously useful, such as Perfect Fire Control, were now close to useless.
A single Five Elements Reversal Origin Sea could already contain countless lower-level talents of that type. Its unique effects were far beyond anything those minor talents could compare to.
But this time was different.
The people who had reached casual acquaintance with Theodore had been judged by the system as Medicinal Dao wandering immortals.
That level was not ordinary at all.
In the Primordial World, "wandering immortal" did not refer to failed cultivators who had survived tribulation by abandoning their bodies. It referred to immortals who roamed freely between heaven and earth, unbound by sect or obligation.
During the Investiture of the Gods, many of those invited to join the great calamity were wandering immortals. Among them were even Great Luo Golden Immortals and quasi-sages.
Since these people were Professor Sprout's peers, their system equivalents likely would not be much weaker than Jade Cauldron Zhenren of the Chan Sect.
Even if he had only reached casual acquaintance with them, the talents they offered were still frighteningly high in quality.
More importantly, because they were all judged as Medicinal Dao wandering immortals, the talents they provided were extremely similar.
Almost all of them were wood-related.
Theodore's gaze sharpened.
"Based on my previous experience, the more similar the talents placed into the system's talent furnace are, the more likely it is to fuse them into a stronger talent of the same type."
"With this many high-level wood talents, plus my current fortune and merit… if I fuse them now, I might obtain something truly remarkable again."
Excitement welled up in his eyes.
At the same time, his gaze swept across the final lines on the system screen, and his brows drew together.
Zhen Yuanzi?
The Great Immortal Zhen Yuan?
There was actually such an extraordinary existence mixed among this group of Medicinal Dao wandering immortals?
Zhen Yuanzi was the ancestor of Earth Immortals, a terrifyingly powerful quasi-sage. It was said that he possessed the Earth Book, a supreme treasure.
Of course, what he was most famous for was the Ginseng Fruit Tree in his garden.
That was one of the rarest spiritual roots in the Primordial World. Even among quasi-sages, very few were fortunate enough to possess such a treasure.
For the system to judge someone in the wizarding world as an equivalent of Zhen Yuanzi meant that this wizard was anything but simple.
What Theodore found strange was the system's warning.
Be careful of Zhen Yuanzi.
The Daoist child Qingfeng under Zhen Yuanzi was also a known figure, so he probably corresponded to one of the herbology masters.
Then Zhen Yuanzi should correspond to that master's teacher.
Was it because Theodore had germinated seeds that should have been extinct, making them jealous?
But that did not seem serious enough to warrant a specific warning from the system.
He had not even offended the "Zhen Yuanzi" behind that herbology master.
Was there something else?
A thought suddenly surfaced in Theodore's mind.
"Zhen Yuanzi's Ginseng Fruit Tree is a spiritual root of heaven and earth in the Primordial World."
"If a wizard in the magical world can be judged as Zhen Yuanzi, and he also happens to be a grandmaster in herbology, perhaps he has a plant that the system can judge as an equivalent of the Ginseng Fruit Tree?"
A chill passed through Theodore's heart.
This was not the Primordial World.
This was the wizarding world, where the so-called Heavenly Dao, Hongjun, and even Pangu were abnormal.
A "spiritual root of heaven and earth" in a place like this might not be anything good.
Now Theodore understood why the system had warned him.
However, his mind soon calmed down.
It was not as if this was the true Zhen Yuanzi who had left even the Great Sage helpless in Journey to the West.
In this wizarding world, Theodore had already fought "saint" incarnations more than once. Why would he fear a "Zhen Yuanzi" who had not even reached that level?
The Primordial World fighting the wizarding world.
The advantage was mine.
Of course, carelessness was still unwise.
His strength needed another push.
Theodore's gaze fell upon the talent furnace on the system screen. Without hesitation, he threw in all the talents he had just received from the Medicinal Dao wandering immortals.
"Fuse them."
"Fuse them all."
One high-level wood talent after another—Yi Wood Immortality, Withered Wood Rebirth, and several others—fell into the furnace.
Above him, his fortune surged like a rainbow, while golden lotus flowers condensed from merit light.
The next moment, chaotic radiance burst from within the talent furnace.
Theodore's eyes lit up.
This glow was similar to the one that had appeared when Five Elements Reversal Origin Sea was born.
No mistake.
This had to be a unique talent that only a quasi-sage or above could possess.
A talent of that level would be immensely useful even to Theodore now.
He set aside all distractions and quietly waited for the talent furnace to complete its fusion.
…
At the same time, after suffering the psychological blow of "Dao hearts collapsing," the British herbology masters all developed the same idea.
They had to go to Hogwarts.
They had to see those supposedly revived ancient plants with their own eyes.
Only then could they truly believe it.
After all, this matter was nearly world-shaking for the field of herbology. It had to be treated with absolute caution.
Letters requesting academic exchange flew toward Hogwarts like snowflakes.
Meanwhile, in a gloomy castle covered in thorns and creeping vines, a woman dressed entirely in black wore a vicious expression.
Flynna descended into an underground chamber beneath the castle.
The sight inside was horrifying.
White bones lay everywhere. Some had clearly been there for many years, while others still had scraps of flesh clinging to them.
Above those bones, thorny vines writhed like venomous snakes.
Wherever the vines passed, every last trace of flesh was devoured.
Flynna seemed long used to the sight. She walked calmly through the thorns until she reached a blood-red vine at the center of the chamber—the source of everything.
She pulled back the sleeve of her black robe, exposing an arm covered in old scars.
Then she cut herself again.
Several drops of blood fell onto the crimson vine.
The vine stirred at once, growing wildly. For a moment, it even burrowed into the wound on Flynna's arm.
Flynna's face filled with intoxicated reverence.
She murmured as though speaking to someone far away.
"Teacher, I want to go to Hogwarts."
"Please don't be angry, Teacher. Something major has happened in the herbology world. Sprout and a student of hers named Theodore Snow are said to have successfully cultivated several ancient plants."
"As far as I know, there are more than ten varieties."
"Either they're committing academic fraud, or they truly possess some method for cultivating ancient plants."
"If I can obtain that method, this cluster of ancient thorns might awaken much faster…"
A moment later, the crimson vine withdrew from her body.
Joy appeared on Flynna's face.
Excellent.
Her teacher had agreed to let her go to Hogwarts.
When she thought of meeting Sprout there, anticipation filled her eyes.
She refused to believe Sprout had truly cultivated ancient plants.
With her teacher's level of herbology, he had spent so many years trying and had still failed.
How could a mere Sprout succeed?
Flynna remembered the critical moment when she and Sprout had competed for the position of Herbology professor at Hogwarts.
Several of her key papers had suddenly been exposed for fatal flaws. Some had even been accused of falsified data.
That had forced her to withdraw from the competition entirely.
Even now, Flynna still believed Sprout had been behind it.
That seemingly honest, gentle woman had actually been ruthless enough to report her over a tiny bit of data adjustment.
How shameless.
But now, she had a teacher behind her. Over the years, she had produced results one after another.
It was time for Sprout to taste what she had suffered back then.
Soon, Flynna also sent a request for academic exchange to Hogwarts.
When Professor Sprout received those letters, she was not surprised.
This matter was too important. Naturally, those masters would come to confirm it personally.
A high-level academic exchange would also benefit Hogwarts.
Even students serving as attendants during the event might receive a few words of guidance from one of the masters. That alone could lead to a breakthrough in their studies.
Professor Sprout had already prepared to introduce Theodore, this unprecedented herbology genius, to the assembled masters.
…
Theodore's gaze remained fixed on the talent furnace.
Chaotic light rose and fell within it, as if something extraordinary was being born.
The fusion was much slower than when Five Elements Reversal Origin Sea had been created.
Theodore was not in a hurry.
A heaven-defying quasi-sage-level talent was not something that could be born casually.
Such things were Dao fruits refined across countless ages.
The fusion still took time.
The herb garden on Origin Sea Divine Peak had only just sprouted. It was still far from maturity, so using it to develop new pill formulas was not yet possible.
As for cultivating the Fuxi Divine Heavenly Melody, that required a proper divine zither. Theodore already had an idea for the body of the instrument, but that too needed time.
For once, he had nothing urgent to do.
So he sat cross-legged and used the Subtle Insight Heavenly Eye to refine and review his current abilities.
The Subtle Insight Heavenly Eye was born from the fusion of Seven-Orifices Exquisite Heart and many other talents. It was said to observe everything beneath heaven and above earth, and to trace the principles of all laws. Even in the Primordial World, it would be considered rare.
Previously, Theodore's strength had advanced too quickly. Before he had time to polish one ability, another had already arrived.
Now that he was free, he used the Subtle Insight Heavenly Eye to observe himself and organize his mana, divine abilities, and treasures.
The foundation of his strength was Five Elements Reversal Origin Sea.
It provided the driving force for his many talents, divine abilities, and magical treasures.
Origin Sea power was unimaginably pure. It surpassed ordinary cultivated mana entirely. Even the power produced by a rare Primordial technique like the Eight-Nine Arcane Art could not compare to it.
Because of that, any magical treasure or divine ability powered by Origin Sea energy would be stronger and easier to control.
No matter how many techniques he possessed, Origin Sea remained the foundation.
But the body was also the vessel that carried one across the world. It could not be neglected.
During the Investiture of the Gods, many quasi-sages and Great Luo Golden Immortals possessed astonishingly powerful bodies. Close combat was not uncommon among them.
In that regard, Theodore had the Golden Body Untarnished talent, a Dao fruit of bodily sanctification, along with the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, which perfectly suited the path of sanctifying the flesh.
If he claimed to be some ancient Primordial species who had attained the Dao, many people in the Primordial World would probably believe him.
With his body alone, Theodore could already fight many cultivators.
And that was without counting his many divine abilities.
His Slaughter Sword Dao worked together with Transparent Sword Heart, Sword-Light Swan Flash, and the Avici Hellscape Sword.
His powerful body worked together with Staff Sovereign, allowing him to flatten mountains with a single strike.
Once Three Heads and Eight Arms were activated, all aspects of his combat strength increased further.
There was also his mysterious Pangu Patronus, tied to the wizarding world, from which he had derived the Lotus Sacred Road: Heaven-Opening Light.
Even now, Theodore could not say for certain whether that was magic or a spell. Its power was still growing, and it was already one of his strongest methods.
Then there were the Wu Earth Divine Light and the Heavenly Cycle Star Array Flag.
Theodore's eyes glimmered with profound light as he slowly sorted through his strength, polishing every divine ability and treasure.
This would not increase his strength dramatically in the short term, but it was the daily work of cultivation.
Over time, the benefits would be substantial.
He sank into it, forgetting the passing of time.
Only when the talent furnace suddenly stirred did Theodore open his eyes.
"The third talent fusion is complete?"
The chaotic light inside the furnace erupted, then gradually transformed into a soft, emerald glow.
Just looking at it made Theodore feel his body overflow with life. His physical strength and vitality seemed to rise again.
Then a line of chaotic text appeared in his talent list.
It was ranked beneath Five Elements Reversal Origin Sea.
The Golden Body Untarnished talent was pushed down another place.
Theodore stared at that line of chaotic text for a moment before reading it aloud, word by word.
"Eternal Verdure Immortal?"
[Eternal Verdure Immortal: A Dao that only quasi-sages who walk the Great Dao of Wood can comprehend.]
[Those who possess this Dao share longevity with heaven, remain verdant through eternity, and are truly untouched by calamity. Its level far surpasses Golden Body Untarnished. Even the qi of great calamities struggles to draw them in, and disasters such as the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, feared by Great Luo Golden Immortals and ordinary quasi-sages alike, cannot easily fall upon them.]
[However, because the host's Dao cultivation remains shallow, the full power of this Dao cannot yet be displayed. At present, the host gains a lifespan as enduring as the sun and moon, an almost undying body, and recovery comparable to the third revolution of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art.]
[If faced with the Three Disasters, Five Calamities, the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, or similar tribulations, the host will still suffer their effects and cannot yet dissolve them like a true Eternal Verdure Immortal.]
[In addition, one who obtains Eternal Verdure Immortal must also obtain a supreme wood-type divine ability.]
[One of the Five Divine Lights: Yi Wood Divine Light—endless vitality, unmatched healing, and the power to awaken all growth.]
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