Chapter 150: Miraculous Effect, Maturation, and Harvest!

Ciel looked at the rapidly expanding reward orbs above Shadow with delighted eyes. As a Shadow Thorn that mastered ancient shadow magic, Shadow's value to him wasn't just reflected in planting rewards. It was itself an extremely powerful combat force. But previously, due to lack of nutrients, its growth speed had been too slow. After all this time, he hadn't seen any visible growth in Shadow. With further depletion of special nutrients in the greenhouse soil, Shadow's maturation time would probably need to be calculated in decades! But now, after casting Demeter's ritual magic on the little silver bucket, the special soil from the bucket could actually accelerate Shadow's maturation? In just moments, Shadow had undergone earth-shaking changes compared to before. The thorny spikes on its main body were sharper and harder than before. Each spike gleamed with profound colors that made one shudder just looking at them. More obviously, the shadow area it controlled had nearly doubled compared to before! At this time, Shadow, as if overstuffed, left a line of text. "Burp. So full. Father, I need to digest for a while." Then it returned to the field again. The writhing shadows gradually returned to normal. He looked at the reward orbs that had grown a size larger above it with satisfaction. Conservatively estimated, the nutrients Shadow obtained from the little silver bucket this time could advance its maturation progress by three years compared to before! If this could happen three or four more times, Shadow should be able to fully enter maturity. Unfortunately, when he tried striking the little silver bucket with his wand again, it no longer produced the previous pleasant ringing sound. Only dead silence. Clearly, the little silver bucket probably couldn't be activated with Demeter's ritual magic again in the short term. His expression showed some regret. But according to the legend of Demeter's silver cup that Dumbledore had mentioned before, supposedly in ancient Greek times, Demeter's ritual ceremonies were held four times a year, corresponding to prayers for harvest in all four seasons. He formed a hypothesis. "Perhaps this is also the usage rule for the silver cup. Four times a year, averaging once every three months? If so..." His eyes flickered with joy. "By second year at the latest, Shadow will definitely enter maturity. Then I can get that ancient shadow magic reward. If I can accumulate enough before then, perhaps I can master ancient shadow magic in one go. This is much faster than originally estimated. And if I can repair the little silver bucket more, the speed might be even faster." Silently noting the matter of repairing the little silver bucket in his heart, he then looked at the remaining soil in the little silver bucket. Most of the soil, after being absorbed by Shadow, no longer had that special ancient magic power. But a small portion of soil still retained traces of such power. Based on his earlier observations, this magic power from the little silver bucket had the effect of accelerating magical plant maturation. This also made his eyes light up. "There's still some of this magic power left, which means it can still accelerate some magical plants' maturation. Who should get it?" He began pondering. With only this little special soil left, the maturation acceleration effect would probably be quite limited. He needed to convert it into visible benefits as much as possible. The Patronus Trees and remaining Shadow Thorns still had a long time to mature. Investing in them, even accelerating by half a month or even a month, wouldn't allow immediate harvest. As for Devil's Snare, it still needed third-level node processing. It wasn't suitable for forced ripening either. The most suitable remaining options were Piranha Algae and the newly transformed Blood Jade. Both had maturation times basically within one to one and a half months. But Piranha Algae were aquatic plants. He had tried before... the little silver bucket had no effect on them whatsoever. Therefore, after a moment, he made his decision. He carefully mixed the remaining portion of soil into the land where Blood Jade was planted. The next moment, Blood Jade seemed to have taken some great tonic. Whether bright red or emerald green, both colors began becoming increasingly rich, as if blood were truly flowing within them. The reward orbs above also began expanding at visible speed, like heavy fruits hanging from branches! His eyes were full of anticipation. From the looks of it, perhaps today these Blood Jade could reach maturity through the little silver bucket's power! But according to previous research, Blood Jade's growth also required blood with extremely vigorous vitality. His face showed a resolute expression. Just some blood. For his Legendary Vitality, it was nothing. If it could increase Blood Jade's maturation probability, it would all be worth it. Then he waved his wand, cutting a wound on his arm and squeezing out a spray of blood mist. Soon, the blood mist enveloped all the Blood Jade. Nourished by the life force in the blood, Blood Jade's maturation speed became noticeably faster. The reward orbs floating above accelerated their expansion again. He continuously squeezed blood from his body, his face full of anticipation as he stared intently at the reward orbs above Blood Jade, waiting for the moment they would bear fruit. At the same time, in the Forbidden Forest, a mournful wail echoed. Another unicorn fell to the ground, body rigid, eyes full of terror. A figure in a black hood eagerly tore open the unicorn's throat, gulping down its blood. Until the unicorn's body became withered, he was still greedily sucking, trying to extract a few more drops of blood from the blood vessels. Finally, he wouldn't even spare the blood that had fallen to the ground, greedily licking it all up. But feeling the power surging within his body, a cold voice still came from under the hood. "Not enough. Still not enough. This little recovered power still might not be enough to break through those damned obstacles. I need to reserve some power to leave Hogwarts... current reserves are still far from sufficient!" After the cold voice came Quirrell's trembling voice. "M-Master... Unicorn blood is becoming less and less effective. But the unicorn curse's power is strengthening. If we continue hunting unicorns, my body will probably collapse from the curse before recovering enough power." The next moment, Voldemort's cold, furious voice rang out again. "Then go find blood with more vitality. Blood that can restore more of my power!" Quirrell trembled like a cicada in winter, nodding repeatedly. Then Voldemort's tone softened slightly. He could only rely on Quirrell now. He couldn't suppress him too much. He needed to offer some incentives. So Voldemort said, "Quirrell, you need to have no concerns. Whether curses or anything else. After I obtain the Philosopher's Stone, all hidden dangers will cease to exist. I will also create a body for you that's much younger, more handsome, and more powerful than now." Hearing this, Quirrell's breathing suddenly became rapid, his eyes flickering with ambition and desire. "Master. I will do everything in my power!" Sensing the greed easily stirred in Quirrell's heart, Voldemort was also satisfied. Then he thought of something else. "By the way. It's been several days since Ciel's detention ended. When those little brats made such a commotion before, I knew that suspicious old fool Dumbledore would definitely be watching. Now the attention has mostly died down. It's time to extract the method for getting through the variant Devil's Snare from him." Quirrell nodded respectfully. "Yes. Master. That little brat is definitely still busy in the greenhouse. I'll go find him right away." Then Quirrell carefully licked clean the unicorn blood still hanging from his mouth. Feeling the increasingly full power within his body, his eyes were full of confidence as he walked quickly toward the greenhouse. Just at this moment, in the little greenhouse, his gaze was fixed intently on the reward orbs above Blood Jade. Time passed minute by minute. These reward orbs were already so full they seemed ready to burst. But now, the soil processed by the little silver bucket had been completely depleted of its effects. The reward orbs' growth speed became slower and slower. His expression was calm, but his eyes revealed absolute determination. Strike while the iron is hot. The little silver bucket's effect had disappeared. Then he'd make up for it with more blood. The next moment, he bit his tongue tip and forcefully sprayed out a mouthful of particularly bright red blood mist. The moment this blood mist enveloped Blood Jade, the nearly stagnant reward orbs suddenly grew just a tiny bit more. Just this tiny bit. Lines of prompts suddenly appeared on his system panel. [You have cultivated Blood Jade to maturity] [You may receive rewards: Slight Hematopoietic Enhancement (Silver Tier), Extremely Weak Bloodline Purification (Black Iron Tier), Dragon Fire (Black Iron Tier)] [You have cultivated the Blood Jade Variant Form to maturity] [You may receive rewards: Slight Hematopoietic Enhancement (Silver Tier), Extremely Weak Bloodline Purification (Black Iron Tier), Toxin (Black Iron Tier)] His eyes instantly burst with brilliant light. Matured! Then he looked at the heavy orbs floating above Blood Jade and reached out his hand. The orbs flowed like an ocean into his body. His eyes also suddenly widened at this moment. The text [Hematopoietic Enhancement] suddenly appeared on the system panel, gleaming with silver luster. Then within the silver gleam, golden radiance bloomed. Then every minute, every second, as the orbs poured in, the golden radiance became increasingly rich. His bone marrow itched and burned, creating new blood that rushed into his blood vessels. The blood lost from watering Blood Jade was instantly completely replenished. Blood surged through his body. Until on the [Hematopoietic Enhancement] text, golden radiance completely occupied everything. [Hematopoietic Enhancement (Gold Tier)] advanced! He suddenly heard rushing sounds from within his blood vessels, like flowing rivers! (TL NOTE: Unfortunately, my LOTR: Playing Minecraft in Middle-earth book was mistakenly flagged as spam on Webnovel and removed. I'll re-upload it under a different title by tomorrow at the latest. Thank you for your patience!)