I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 455 Diana's Sacred Tree

The group moved forward step by step, each person gripping their wand tightly, remaining vigilant and scanning their surroundings, ready to deal with any potential dangers at any time.

The journey was far from peaceful. They frequently encountered attacks from tangled vines and sharp thorns, but such attacks were only effective against fourth or fifth-grade wizards. They were completely useless against adult wizards, especially a group of Aurors.

As time went by, the surrounding air became increasingly humid, and a rich plant scent permeated the passageway.

Small white flowers grow from the gaps in the vines, releasing golden pollen.

The wizards had to put up armor spells to shut out everything outside, including the air.

The pollen was so thick that they soon lost sight of the road ahead.

Fortunately, there is only one road here, with no side roads, so you can just keep going.

About five or six minutes later, the corridor in front of us finally came to an end.

Sirius peered out from the tunnel formed by vines, feeling as if he were standing at the edge of the world.

A deep rift valley stretched into the earth, with scattered fireflies and the openings of dozens of other tunnels around it. Clearly, there was more than one entrance leading to this place.

Based on the color and thickness of the vines, he could roughly guess that the tunnels must have been dug out in chronological order, like a row of trees, from dead wood to seedlings, which was very easy to identify.

He raised his wand and uttered, "Ultimate Glow."

Three blinding beams of light shot out from the tip of his wand.

It floated above the canyon like a light bulb.

The fluorescent lights, distributed in different locations, illuminate the entire canyon.

His vision suddenly cleared.

He saw it—a huge tree canopy?

Looking down in the direction of the light, he estimated that the canyon was at least a hundred feet deep.

Suddenly a gust of cold wind swept in, and Sirius couldn't help but shiver.

A sound like howling came from the wind, as if countless ghostly spirits were gathering around them, watching them intently.

He steadied himself—his gaze was level and forward.

There is a bridge leading to the giant tree.

The bridge was covered with greedy weeds, thorns, thick fallen leaves, and withered bodies.

They sat on the ground, hugging their legs, facing the direction of the giant tree.

What delighted everyone was that the magnificent platform before them, including the bridge, was made of stone.

This is much more comfortable than stepping on vines.

The bridge before us is made up of endless piers, each stone as large as a pyramid, extending deep into the canyon, supporting this dilapidated bridge that seems to collapse at the slightest step.

Apart from the stone bridge in front of him, all the dozen or so tunnel openings were connected by bridges.

The ornate and painted style may have originated from a great medieval architect. At the end of a dozen stone bridges is a circular platform that connects all the roads.

Sirius Black exchanged glances with the people behind him.

Miss Zhang Xiaolin, Mr. Basil, Mr. Winston, and Craig Yaxley, among others—these are the strongest forces the Federation can muster besides legendary wizards.

This is why the rules set by the Federation can be followed by other countries; it is these geniuses who support them.

Sirius, relieved of his burdens, stepped onto the bridge and gazed around warily and in amazement. The wind was strong on the bridge—although the area was surrounded by vines, he was certain that behind them were not rock walls, but rather open mountains, or perhaps the sea. Someone had hidden this place with vines to protect something.

The giant tree in front of me became slightly clearer.

Its trunk is thick and sturdy, with a diameter of at least several tens of feet, and its bark is covered with grooves and cracks left by the years.

The dense foliage formed a vast canopy, the leaves broad and thick, a deep green that shimmered with a faint light—a light so subtle it wasn't dazzling, barely enough to illuminate the huge, empty cave. Like a crescent moon, it cast a faint glow around the cave.

It's hard to believe that such a huge tree could grow in such a dark and gloomy place. It's even more astonishing than the fact that Harry is actually a girl in disguise.

Sirius Black held his wand tightly the whole time.

He knew that the more eerie the place, the more likely an unexpected attack was to occur.

Perhaps the monster heard his deepest fears, or perhaps it was to confirm his thoughts; in any case, they heard a terrifying scream.

It came from the left.

Instinctively, Sirius almost instantly cast a spell upon hearing the sound. The red spell struck something before he turned around.

Another strange cry rang out, and a ferocious monster crawled up from under the bridge. This monster had a smooth, rounded body, a huge jaw that revealed transparent, needle-like teeth that protruded menacingly. Its sides expanded and contracted continuously, as if it were breathing.

It had no eyes, and its face above its lower jaw was a smooth, one-piece design. At this moment, the monster was crouching on all fours on the dilapidated stone piers of the bridge railing, its protruding lower jaw seemingly trying to shoot something out—a tongue? Or teeth?

Sirius Black was confused, but his Explosion spell had already left his wand.

The spell struck the monster's body, and then with a 'bang,' it exploded into a pile of minced meat.

This is a signal.

Immediately afterwards, countless strange cries rang out, as if they had startled bats in the cave.

Hundreds and thousands of monsters emerged, all with their mouths open, their tongues flashing in the air, frantically climbing up from under the bridge.

"call--"

"What the hell?" Zhang Xiaolin frowned, her face full of disgust and loathing. This monster was really too ugly. Although she didn't know much about magical creatures, all the magical creatures in the Ming Dynasty were cute and lovable. This was the first time she had ever seen such an ugly and ferocious creature.

"Emperor Yan—"

With a wave of his folding fan, a fiery tornado twisted and rushed toward the group of ugly monsters, instantly burning a large number of them to ashes.

"Really good!" Ms. Zhang commented.

Although the monsters' attack methods were limited, consisting only of simple biting, which did not have much effect on them, their numbers were simply too numerous, seemingly endless. They climbed up from under the bridge one after another, and their sheer number was truly frightening.

Other wizards also joined in.

A dazzling spell splashed paint across the pale sky, blood and screams mingled in the wind, and on the dilapidated bridge, an epic war, destined to remain unknown to outsiders, broke out.

The feeling of the spell striking the monster was like crushing garlic in a mortar and pestle. It was a pity Owen wasn't there, otherwise he would definitely have wondered if this monster was even edible.

The battle lasted for about ten minutes.

The monster's blood had almost completely dyed the bridge a bright green.

Eventually, their offensive momentum waned.

Instead of approaching the wizard, they frantically climbed up the surrounding vine walls, then stared menacingly at the prey that was about to be devoured.

Sirius wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although he hadn't used any powerful spells from beginning to end, just using these dark magic defense spells so frequently was still very taxing on his mind.

He watched the monsters warily.

Among the densely packed, ant-like creatures, there were some other kinds of monsters. They were slender bipedal beasts with four claws that could open their mouths. Their skin was a dark brown, like tree bark, and was full of wrinkles. Obviously, such skin should be able to resist some low-level spells.

The monsters have become even more troublesome.

Sirius's face grew increasingly grim.

It's just a truce now—a truce for some reason.

The stone bridge fell silent.

The wizards all stared warily at their surroundings, their wands never falling from their hands.

Suddenly, the bishop, who had been swept along, squeezed out of the crowd.

Everyone's attention was focused on their surroundings, and they neglected to keep an eye on him.

He suddenly ran to the end of the stone bridge.

Then he knelt down on the ground with a thud and began chanting some strange prayers.

Sirius quickly followed, his steps swift, his boots treading on the monster's blood, and he reached the end of the stone bridge in just a few steps.

At the end of the bridge, on the platform, stands a pavilion in the Gothic style, with a soaring spire, graceful flying buttresses, and several marble pillars carved with exquisite patterns. Upon closer inspection, one can recognize them as the Blooming Spirit Flower.

Around the pavilion, white fungal cocoons were piled up, and an unknown dark red liquid gathered in the center of the pavilion. There was a sculpture there, with a base carved with intricate tree roots. On the steps, a woman dressed in coarse linen clothes held a blooming flower.

Unfortunately, they couldn't smell the fragrance of the Spirit Blossom. Even though the sculpture was surrounded by thick vines, fallen leaves, and some kind of reeds, all they could smell was a strong, rotten odor.

These plants were completely unable to mask the strong stench of decay.

Sirius ignored the bishop kneeling before the sculpture and walked straight past him.

He held onto the stone railing with both hands.

The lush foliage of the large tree in front of him blocked his view.

Just as he was about to cast a spell to clear away the branches, before he could even move, the reddish leaves seemed to slowly retract on their own, as if welcoming guests.

Finally, nothing stood in Sirius's way anymore.

He finally saw the trunk of the giant tree clearly.

"this--"

As they approached, Ms. Zhang Xiaolin and Mr. Basil stared in astonishment, their eyes wide with surprise.

On the other side of the stone bridge, they could only see it from afar and could not make out the details.

Upon closer inspection, everyone discovered that the shape of the giant tree trunk—a cylindrical trunk with its inner side seemingly hollowed out—revealed a huge woman, as if carved by a carpenter, lying quietly inside the trunk in the posture of an infant curled up in its mother's womb.

But on the belly of that wooden carving, on the woman's belly, there really was a person.

a woman.

She was also lying inside in a curled-up position.

Half of her body and arms had merged into the tree. She had no hair, or perhaps her hair had become part of the tree trunk. A wooden crescent crown was worn on her head.

The woman was emaciated, resembling a female ghost. Her exposed skin above her chest was as aged as the grooves and cracks on tree bark. Her face was covered in moss. She was missing one eye, and the other was cloudy, as if a stone had been stuffed in its socket. When everyone looked at her, this monster, who had lived for an unknown amount of time, was also "looking" at them.

She was laughing

Everyone noticed. It was as if she had anticipated their arrival and had been waiting for them all along.

"Who is she?" Sirius immediately asked the kneeling bishop.

"This is Diana's sacred tree," the bishop replied, as if he were a puppet. "Our Lord is the sole ruler of this illusory realm."

"Diana's Tree?" Sirius frowned. As a wizard, don't expect him to know much about Muggle mythology.

At this point, Winston explained, "In Roman mythology, Diana was a sacred goddess of the moon, hunting and childbirth, animals, and plants, and had the power to make animals speak. She originated in the Italian region of Nemesis and later absorbed goddesses such as Artemis and Hecate from Greek mythology, as well as Ceresta, the Carthaginian goddess of the sky."

According to mythology, Diana was originally a forest goddess in the Latin region, and the oak tree was her sacred tree. Legend has it that Diana's priests lived in the oak forest, and whenever someone cut off a branch of an oak tree, the priests would feel great fear. This was because, according to custom, the way for Diana's priests to succeed each other was to kill the previous priest, and the breaking of an oak branch meant that the person who broke the branch could kill the previous priest.

Because she absorbed many other gods from mythology, her duties were quite chaotic, and among her many divine roles was the ability to bring plague, disease, and sudden death to people.

"So we're facing a god?" Mr. Basil exclaimed in disbelief.

"Maybe—perhaps—I don't know either." Mr. Winston's face was also full of disbelief, and he even spoke intermittently.

"Tch—it's just a god—make her let us out right now, or I'll burn this so-called sacred tree to the ground!" While the surrounding wizards were still in shock, Miss Zhang showed absolutely no reverence for deities. She tilted her head back, staring disdainfully at the bishop, a slight smirk playing on her lips, and said with an arrogance that was hard for ordinary people to comprehend: "A tree has scared you all like this? The phoenix trees and misty clouds of my Chang'an Imperial Academy are infinitely more magnificent than this!"

"The smoke and clouds over the parasol trees?" Mr. Basil asked instinctively.

"That was a sacred tree with a canopy large enough to cover an entire mountain range. It was several hundred feet tall, and many phoenixes perched on its branches. Whenever a phoenix was reborn from the ashes, a fiery illusion would ignite the entire sacred tree. Of course, it was just an illusion, but it looked spectacular. The canopy was like a fiery cloud that dominated the entire sky. Everyone who saw it would never forget it, and this spectacle was called the Wutong Smoke Cloud."

Zhang Xiaolin explained lightly, her tone full of pride.

"In addition to these, the Imperial Academy has seven other scenic spots: Wanlin Valley, Forest Market, Baiguang Canyon, Sage Road, and Glazed Phoenix, etc. In short, the students of Chang'an are like gentlemen, and the Imperial Academy of Chang'an shines like the rising sun."

"."

(End of this chapter)