The two distinct reward notifications materialized in Char's vision, and his breath caught in his throat.
[Cultivate the Blood Jade to maturity and receive rewards: a slight increase in hematopoietic capacity (Silver), extremely weak blood purification (Black Iron), and Dragon Fire (Black Iron).
[Cultivate the Blood Jade's variant form to maturity to receive rewards: a slight increase in hematopoietic capacity (Silver Level), extremely weak blood purification (Black Iron Level), and toxins (Black Iron Level)]
The rewards were even more generous than he had dared to imagine. The original Blood Jade was supposed to provide only the Silver-level blood-forming ability and the Black Iron-level blood purification. But now, the two distinct versions cultivated with dragon blood and Acromantula blood each offered an additional, unique reward: a Black Iron-level Dragon Fire ability and a Black Iron-level Toxin ability.
A thrilling theory began to form in Char's mind. "Dragon fire and poison," he murmured. "These are the specialties of the Hungarian Horntail and the Acromantula, respectively. Could it be that by using blood from different magical creatures, the Blood Jade can grant abilities related to the source of that blood?"
If his guess was correct, the implications were staggering. By cultivating Blood Jade with the blood of various creatures, he could potentially acquire a vast array of different abilities.
Furthermore, the base rewards from the Blood Jade were themselves incredibly rare and valuable. The improvement to his hematopoietic capacity was likely linked to the advancement of his Legendary Power and Legendary Life abilities. And the blood purification, even at the Black Iron level, was priceless. A wizard's magical talent was intrinsically tied to their bloodline. Purifying his blood was, in a sense, a direct way to improve his own innate magical talent. Even a slight improvement would be enough to reduce the diminishing returns from his reward orbs. An ability that might have previously required harvesting five rounds of rewards could now be upgraded in just three. The time and resources he would save were incalculable.
These two rewards alone made the steep requirement of 5X-rated magical beast blood feel like a bargain. And now, there were additional, unique abilities on top of that. Considering the Blood Jade only took about a month to mature, a single, exhilarating thought echoed in his mind: Jackpot!
After a moment, Char managed to calm his racing heart. His eyes fell on the third plot of glowing mushrooms, the one where he had used the mixed blood. The first two groups had successfully transformed into their respective Blood Jade forms, but this one showed no signs of change. In fact, the mycelium itself seemed to be deteriorating, losing its cheerful glow and taking on a muddy, unhealthy appearance at the edges.
Char felt a pang of regret. It seemed the third experiment had been a failure. Fortunately, he hadn't had high hopes for the spur-of-the-moment test in the first place, so the failure was understandable. Still, he decided not to remove the mycelium just yet. He had used two types of precious blood on it; he would observe it for a while longer.
He took a deep breath, his attention shifting from the future harvest of his Blood Jade to the small silver bucket sitting on his workbench. Previously, he had used it by simply placing seeds and plants directly inside it, a crude but effective method of stimulating their vitality. But after his conversation with Dumbledore, he now understood its true purpose. Demeter's Silver Cup was meant to enrich the soil itself, to make the very earth fertile. The legendary cup was said to make the land fertile for miles around. The Hufflepuff Cup, its closest replica, could brew a nectar that enriched the soil, making Hogwarts' greenhouses the envy of the wizarding world.
Whether the bucket in his hand was the true, historical Demeter's Silver Cup or not, the way he had been using it was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It was effective, but clumsy and inefficient. If Dumbledore hadn't revealed its true purpose, the bucket might have sat on his bench for years, its true potential untapped.
Char picked up the small silver bucket and filled it with soil from the greenhouse. He then took out his wand and began to perform the Demeter Ritual Magic he had learned from Dumbledore. He tapped the wand against the rim of the bucket.
The next moment, an unexpectedly pleasant, clear, ringing sound echoed through the small greenhouse. Char chanted the ancient words.
"Proscindite glaciem, vomere fulgente!" (Break the ice with a shining plowshare!)
The moment the incantation left his lips, Char felt a new and different fluctuation of power from the silver bucket, a feeling distinct from any he had felt before. It felt as if the ancient artifact were reawakening. His heartbeat quickened. He firmly tapped his wand against the rim a second time.
As the pleasant, ringing sound grew stronger, the ancient spell echoed again.
"Spargite grana auri, paleasque territe!" (Sow the golden grain and thresh the chaff!)
This time, he could see with his own eyes a strange, soft glow beginning to emanate from the silver bucket. It was faint, as the bucket was so badly damaged; the glow only came from the few small sections where the ancient lines and words remained intact.
Taking a deep, expectant breath, Char struck the bucket a third time. The sound was like the ringing of an ancient bell, solemn and dignified, echoing through the greenhouse. For a fleeting moment, Char thought he saw a vision of countless people singing and dancing, celebrating a bountiful harvest.
The glow on the small silver bucket reached its peak, a shimmering, liquid light that flowed over the soil, seeping into it before completely dimming.
Char impatiently peered into the bucket. The soil looked the same—a rich, fertile black—but he could feel something different radiating from it, a palpable sense of ancient, life-giving magic. Before he could fully analyze this new energy, the Shadow plant, which had been quietly absorbing the sparse nutrients deep within the greenhouse soil, suddenly became agitated.
Countless shadowy tendrils crawled across the ground, weaving themselves into urgent, written words.
"FATHER. HUNGRY. SO HUNGRY."
Char looked on, a hopeful and uncertain expression on his face. The Shadow, having mastered ancient shadow magic, was different from ordinary Shadowthorns. The existing soil in the greenhouse lacked the specific nutrients it needed, causing its growth to stagnate. But now, it was reacting with an eagerness he had never seen before. Could the soil, now enhanced by the ritual, provide what it needed to grow?
A moment later, Char nodded. He sprinkled the bucket of enchanted soil onto the ground. "Eat," he commanded.
The Shadow, which had been waiting with barely contained impatience, immediately surged forward, its roots burrowing into the new soil. And in Char's vision, the reward orb floating above the Shadow, which had been weak and stagnant for a long time, suddenly began to expand at a speed visible to the naked eye.
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