Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

The high-ranking nobles all stayed indoors, while the lower-ranking nobles quietly began to move about.

Just one day later, several families sent their elite wizards to bypass Hogwarts and sneak into the Forbidden Forest from other directions through various clandestine channels.

The Forbidden Forest is vast, but only a portion of it belongs to Hogwarts.

Many other areas are the domain of magical creatures, filled with various rare herbs, waiting to be explored by human wizards.

Even Hogwarts only has control over a small area of ​​the Forbidden Forest, where it can establish production and planting bases.

Only in that place are human wizards unlikely to encounter danger.

Once you cross the line, you are likely to be attacked by magical creatures.

The lesser nobles bypassed the safest routes to enter the Forbidden Forest, instead using various secluded paths.

Because there were so many people coming, they could see people sent by other nobles at many entrances.

Some teams didn't want to travel with the others, so they quickened their pace and soon disappeared into a thick fog.

Some teams agreed to fight side by side, but shortly after entering, a thick fog suddenly rolled in, causing these teams to separate.

Moreover, the team members were all scattered.

"Charlie, come quick! I've seen a valuable material!"

One of the wizards discovered that the trees ahead were a rare magical plant. His eyes lit up with excitement, and he was about to turn around and tell his companions the good news.

During the period when the awareness of the ban on forests was active, there were indeed many treasures. He had never seen this treasure before when he walked this road!

But when he turned around, he found that there was no one behind him.

"Charlie? Charlie? Charlie!"

The wizard frowned, and quietly moved forward, his expression extremely wary.

There were five people following him; it was impossible for them all to have disappeared at the same time.

However, when he reached a certain place, he lost his footing, and a thick tree branch wrapped around him, quickly enveloping him and rendering him unable to make a sound.

In an instant, he was dragged underground.

The next second, the thick fog in front of them dissipated slightly, and five other people emerged from it.

They were also watching the road ahead with great vigilance.

One of them asked, "I think I heard Asenfa calling me, but I can't find him."

Another wizard said, "We lost contact with him shortly after we came in. He doesn't respond no matter how we call him. Could something have happened to him?"

“No, only Asenfa knows this path. Without him to lead the way, it will be difficult for us to continue forward.”

"We still need to find Asenfa as soon as possible!"

They cautiously made their way forward, and before they knew it, another person in the group had become entangled in the vines.

Just like Asenfa, he was dragged underground without making a sound.

Gradually, the number of wizards dwindled until they were all wiped out.

This scene took place in many places in the Forbidden Forest.

Before the awareness of the ban on forests was awakened, the forests were in a dormant state and were not so active during the day.

The forbidden forest is only particularly dangerous at night.

But now, the Forbidden Forest consciousness has awakened, and even during the day, the Forbidden Forest has become extremely dangerous.

The thick fog obscured the wizards' vision, and the unprepared wizards were attacked by all sorts of magical creatures and plants, causing their numbers to dwindle rapidly.

The news of this casualty quickly reached the ears of the minor nobles.

The people they send out can sense whether someone is alive or dead using special methods.

One of the minor nobles said, "Fifty men were sent out, but only ten survived, and they were barely alive."

"Only half a day has passed, and we've already suffered such severe damage. The other families must be in the same situation. The Forbidden Forest during its active season is terrifying!"

Such a huge number of casualties also began to arouse suspicion among the minor nobles.

This rumor could be a smokescreen, or a conspiracy by the powerful nobles to eliminate them.

But upon closer reflection, those who managed to explore the Forbidden Forest all said that there were many treasures inside.

If there were no treasures, that would be one thing, but the people inside did bring out some valuable items that can be passed down through generations.

So the nobles continued to send many people in one after another.

Barbling is controlling Mikel's body and is merging with the awakened consciousness of the Forbidden Forest.

She sensed the recent commotion in the Forbidden Forest, slightly opened her eyes, and couldn't help but let out a soft scoff.

"A bunch of stupid people."

She didn't spread this rumor either.

To be precise, it wasn't released by a wizard, but rather by the gradually awakening consciousness of the Forbidden Forest.

The awakening of the Forbidden Forest requires a great deal of energy, unless it intends to harm the magical creatures and plants living in the Forbidden Forest to replenish its energy.

Therefore, it must lure people from the outside world to come and explore.

same moment.

Lin Xia diverted some of her attention to the fluctuations emanating from a spatial node at Hogwarts while reading the forbidden book.

It wasn't the scheduled time yet, but Lin Xia noticed that the aura emanating from the spatial node was becoming increasingly weak.

It seems the school implemented some isolation measures, stabilizing the space that was on the verge of collapse.

This is not good news for Lin Xia, as it means that she is receiving increasingly weaker fluctuations and needs to be more sensitive to detect them.

However, Hogwarts has been located around the Forbidden Forest for over a thousand years, and must have experienced several awakenings of consciousness, so it must have long had ways to deal with them.

Lin Xia was considering whether she should find some time to go out and return to Hogwarts, so that she could more truly feel the fluctuations in the Forbidden Forest.

But she quickly dismissed the idea.

Firstly, if she can use the power of the Forbidden Forest to advance her cultivation technique, she will cause quite a stir.

If she were to advance in Hogwarts, she would definitely be unable to prevent energy fluctuations from appearing on her body.

The energy attributes of the Nine Heavens Profound Yang Secret Record are very special, different from those of the magic world.

She didn't want to attract the attention of high-ranking wizards.

Secondly, even if she could resolve the issue of fluctuating promotions, she would still have to endure a four- or five-day period of isolation once she returned to Hogwarts from the Forbidden Forest.

During this period, they cannot leave Hogwarts. If they do, they will be considered to have been corrupted by the whispers of an evil god and have their bodies controlled.

If you were identified as an infected person, that would be even more troublesome.

Lin Xia pondered for a while, and then a flash of inspiration struck her.

Since the energy aura detected from the spatial nodes is weak, why not create a direct spatial passage from the Forbidden Book Space to the Forbidden Forest? Ideally, we should head to the Forbidden Forest at the moment when the energy fluctuations are at their strongest.

After all, the energy in the Forbidden Forest was most chaotic at that time, and she could take advantage of the chaos.

After stealing enough advancement energy, it returned to the forbidden book space and completed its advancement.

This is the best way.

Lin Xia glanced around, but this would create entirely new problems.

That means the restricted book space is too fragile.

She used many magic runes to repair it, but she wasn't sure how long it would last.

It would be extremely difficult to carve out a passage to the Forbidden Forest in such a fragile space.

Although it is difficult, it does not mean that this path is completely impassable.

Lin Xia began to consciously search this star system, and all the books related to spatial magic were shining brightly, waiting for a destined person to read them.

On the other side, at Hogwarts...

McGonagall further strengthened the school's defenses.

This time, she took out many defensive artifacts from the school's treasury, as well as artifacts related to tracking.

She worried that during the period of awareness of the Forbidden Forest, some unscrupulous wizards might take advantage of the situation to attack the school.

As for the school's security system, she wasn't worried about problems; placing some tracking artifacts was to better track wizards.

The recent fluctuations in the Forbidden Forest have been very frequent, causing some hidden spaces in the school to tremble, which has caused concern among many wizards.

During a meeting, some wizards specifically suggested, "Should we temporarily seal some of the more dangerous and precious hidden spatial nodes to prevent them from being damaged during this impact?"

The other wizards nodded in agreement.

During certain special periods, Hogwarts often closes some spatial nodes, reopening them only after the fluctuations have stabilized.

McGonagall agreed to the blocking of most spatial nodes, but she opposed it in the most valuable restricted book space.

"Lin Xia hasn't come out of the Forbidden Book Space yet. We not only can't seal off this spatial node, but we also have to protect it to prevent any damage to the Forbidden Book Space caused by energy fluctuations in the Forbidden Forest, which could affect Lin Xia's return."

When she mentioned Lin Xia, the other professors remembered that Lin Xia was still reading banned books and hadn't come out.

Many professors knew about her when she went in.

Although some time has passed and Lin Xia has not yet come out of the forbidden book space, no one has noticed anything wrong.

Because in the forbidden book space, time and space are disordered.

Perhaps she entered a slower, forbidden book space, where one day was equivalent to a week or half a month outside.

It is common for students to apply to read banned books, and it often takes one or two months to get them released, and in some cases, it takes even several years. Such cases have occurred before.

Some professors suggested, "We can ask the Ministry of Magic for help, and we also need to recall the professors who are on vacation."

“No, Hogwarts is completely locked down. Each time it is unlocked, it takes a lot of energy. We can take out some artifacts from the school’s vault and use them to resist.”

McGonagall then spoke up: "The Ministry of Magic can't provide us with any more assistance because the Forbidden Forest has experienced violent fluctuations, which have also affected the outside world. The Ministry of Magic is dealing with those effects."

This time, we can only rely on ourselves. After the meeting ends, we'll seal off most of the spatial nodes to maintain the spatial balance of Hogwarts.

After the meeting, all the wizards took action, including Snape and Professor Flitwick.

Their task was arduous, as the spatial nodes they needed to seal were all very precious. However, the most valuable forbidden book space area was open, which worried Snape.

He believed that the energy fluctuations generated by the Forbidden Forest were too intense, and the passage to the Forbidden Book Space was very fragile. Even with the protection of rare artifacts, it would be difficult to remain unaffected.

So he planned to talk to McGonagall again, suggesting that most of the spatial nodes in the forbidden book area be sealed off, leaving only a small portion of them.

This way, Lin Xia wouldn't be without a passage if she came out at that time, and it would also stabilize the balance of the space.

As the professors gradually waved their wands, closing off the hidden spaces within the school.

The ghosts at school are also being discussed.

"I had a bad feeling, and this time it was very strong, as if the school was facing a major decision."

“But we can’t leave. We can’t leave unless Hogwarts finds its true master.”

"It does not recognize a master; it has developed its own thoughts, and cultivating more and more outstanding students is its instinct."

"The atmosphere at the school was very serious, and the atmosphere among the professors was also very serious. There was an unusual fluctuation coming from outside."

I have a premonition that we will soon disappear, and the day of liberation will soon arrive.

The ghosts were discussing it, and so were the portraits at the school.

These portraits all contain a wisp of the wizard's consciousness from his heyday.

Although the wizards are dead, their spirit lives on; only their time is forever stuck in the past.

It looks alive, but it's actually dead and will never move forward.

The fat lady found the meeting place of all the portraits and began to complain incessantly.

"That influence that affects our consciousness has begun to awaken again, and we don't know how long it will stay this time."

Each time that consciousness awakens, I can feel its spirituality being absorbed. Why must it develop consciousness at all? Wouldn't it be better to just remain a silent forest?

The other portraits began to speak:
"That's the Forbidden Forest, not an ordinary magic forest. Have you ever seen a magic forest that can nurture so many magical creatures and plants?"

"Once it regains consciousness, we'll have to start accumulating spirituality all over again."

Hogwarts has become part of the Forbidden Forest, and we'll probably become part of that forest too—it's a little terrifying to think about.”

Hogwarts has a special environment where every ghost and every painting has come to possess a spirit, making them more vibrant than ordinary paintings.

However, each time Forbidden Forest awakens its consciousness, it's like a sweeping process, absorbing all their spirituality, rendering the ghosts and images unable to think for themselves.

These spiritual qualities are not easy to accumulate.

Therefore, to them, the awakening consciousness in the Forbidden Forest is more like a cleaner, periodically clearing out a batch of items that are very likely to get out of control.

Time flies, and soon it was the third day.

Lin Xia finished outlining the last golden rune, withdrew her hand, and lightly flicked it.

The complex runes merged into another set of equally complex runes, flashing with a brilliant golden light.

The previously stable forbidden book space began to show signs of collapse again as these strings of golden magic runes were activated.

Lin Xia quickly drew several magic runes in the air to stabilize the space.

She had to stabilize both the drawn-out spacetime passage and the forbidden book space, operating her cultivation technique at full power to keep her mind clear and handle any situation efficiently.

The magic rune-semi-immortal physique also greatly helped her; she didn't feel much discomfort during this extreme load.

Suddenly, Lin Xia raised her head and looked at the spatial passage that had already taken shape in the air, her eyes filled with a deep gaze.

The consciousness of the Forbidden Forest has fully awakened; it's coming! (End of Chapter)