Crack. Crack.
The moment the nine pills entered his stomach, an unprecedented torrent of pure spiritual energy exploded through Theodore's body.
Crackling sounds rang out nonstop across his bones.
The golden light flowing over his skin became dazzling—illuminating the Forbidden Forest around him.
The Five-Element Reversal Origin Sea, manifesting as a five-element millstone, rotated without pause—grinding the pills' energy into Origin Sea power.
The slightly lesser portion that wasn't ground down became nourishment for his physical body.
Strong.
Theodore had never felt this strong before.
Every second, every moment—both Origin Sea power and flesh strength surged upward.
Even a small overflow of the pills' potency began strengthening his magical power as well.
Theodore's magical power had already surpassed adult wizards by a wide margin—
yet under the pill infusion, it still climbed rapidly.
He had sensed the magical power of McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape—
Strong, yes, but still within the bounds of comprehension.
As for Dumbledore and Voldemort, their magical power had long since reached an unimaginable level.
It was hard to even picture how someone could reach that level through normal means.
But now Theodore's magical power was rising without any visible ceiling—
approaching that same tier.
Still, a faint intuition surfaced:
Magical power had a limit.
If he continued, he would soon reach its endpoint.
Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Voldemort, and the legendary great wizards of the last thousand years—
they differed in strength, but all of them were pressing up against that same boundary.
Once reached, no method could push beyond it.
It was like a natural chasm—like a law—standing before every wizard in the magical world.
And that gave Theodore a new question.
"Peeves told me before… that chasing ancient magic and surpassing the wizard's limits might not lead to beautiful scenery."
"It might lead to terrifying things."
"Could it be that the Four Founders actually crossed this limit…"
"And because of that, they encountered the horrors?"
"What does this limit mean?"
"Why would crossing it lead to something so dreadful?"
While Theodore continued absorbing the pills and thinking, a sudden warning pulse struck his heart.
"Mm?!"
He opened his eyes sharply.
The Microscopic Heavenly Eye flared—gold light reflected in his pupils.
Then he realized—
Everything around him was unnaturally quiet.
The thick grey mist he had encountered before had silently breached Hogwarts' boundary protections and now filled this region of the Forbidden Forest.
Theodore's expression turned instantly grave.
At his current level, most dangers in the wizarding world were trivial.
Unless it was Voldemort at full strength—or Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Nicolas Flamel—there was little worth serious caution.
But anything tied to the deepest secrets of the wizarding world…
he would not underestimate for even a second.
"When did this mist arrive?"
"It's far denser than last time."
"Is it because my magical power just kept rising… nearing the limit?"
"Yes."
"The last time I saw this mist, I was using the Three Heads, Eight Arms Divine Form while fighting Voldemort."
"That transformation massively boosted me—probably pushed my magical power close to the limit too."
Then, on the system interface, trembling and chaotic messages appeared.
After a bloody battle, you pass through tribulation and achieve sudden enlightenment.
Hongjun Ancestor in seclusion within the Purple Heaven Palace senses you again and casts his gaze upon you.
You are fated with the Purple Heaven Palace. Its gates open to you. Faint heavenly sounds descend.
Hongjun Ancestor extends an invitation—an opportunity never seen since time immemorial.
In those years, three thousand guests gathered at Purple Heaven Palace—who among them was not a renowned existence of the Primordial World?
Which Saint did not hear the Dao from the front rows?
This chance must not be missed. Host, accept at once and go to Purple Heaven Palace to hear the Dao!
Theodore's pupils contracted slightly.
The previous times he sensed this madness, the system only said he had "glimpsed" Purple Heaven Palace and Hongjun.
But this time, the system explicitly said Hongjun was inviting him, the gates were open.
If this were truly the Primordial World and the inviter truly Hongjun, refusing would be impossible.
Purple Heaven Palace was the dream of countless great immortals.
But this wasn't the Primordial World.
This was the wizarding world.
And whatever the system labeled "Hongjun" didn't feel like the cold, lofty Heavenly Dao—
It felt like something twisted.
He'd already seen what became of the Founders.
He wanted no part of that invitation.
From within the grey mist came meaningless murmuring—distant, as if from an impossibly far place.
Just hearing it made Theodore frown.
He had never heard this language.
Even the Microscopic Heavenly Eye couldn't identify it.
Only one feeling remained:
This was wicked.
The golden light boiling around Theodore proved it—his Adamantine Undying Body was resisting something deeply unnatural.
Then the murmuring came again, slightly closer.
Theodore's expression stayed grave.
Normally, he would retreat first.
But now his strength had grown, and the pill power still surged within him.
He wanted to use this moment to see what truly hid inside the mist—what lurked beneath the wizarding world's surface, and what had cursed the Founders with misfortune.
So Theodore gripped his staff in both hands and struck upward into the air.
The thirty-six-petaled lotus manifested again.
And this time—
The missing portion of the lotus, once incomplete, slowly filled in with the outline of a humanoid figure—shrouded in chaos.
A towering silhouette stood upon the lotus, as though holding a colossal axe.
Theodore's eyes lit up.
"This is…"
"Pangu?!"
He hadn't expected that after his magical power surged, even his Patronus spell would break through again.
Upon the Thirty-Six Petaled Azure Lotus, though only a faint chaotic outline existed—
it was unmistakably the towering figure of Pangu, standing in majesty.
In an instant, Theodore's heart steadied.
Pangu had appeared in his Patronus—standing on a thirty-six-petaled lotus, wielding the Heaven-Splitting Axe.
What was there to fear?
Whatever this "Hongjun" was in the wizarding world—
Even if it were the real Hongjun of the Primordial World, before Pangu it would still have to retreat.
Did it understand the Heaven-Splitting Axe?
Did it understand the Dao of Strength?
But clearly, the grey mist didn't.
Instead, it seemed to remember the anger of being blasted apart by Theodore's Lotus Radiance spell before.
Far denser mist surged forth, driven by that murmuring, roaring straight toward Theodore.
Theodore gave a cold laugh and formed seals.
Heavenly Demon fire surged out and gathered onto the Patronus.
On the lotus, the outline of Pangu—
moved.
The Heaven-Splitting Axe lifted slowly.
Surging firelight and vast silver radiance compressed into a single thin line—
like the gleam along the axe's edge.
Then—
One axe.
Heaven split.
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