Unfortunately, the jar was only so big, and it didn't take long for it to be filled with black mist.
With nowhere to run, the jar's spider was soon eaten away by the black mist, and when everything returned to normal, the jar was nothing but a dried husk…
Ivan watched the proceedings in silence, his left hand gently twisting the ring that released the Fire of Malice, his right hand gripping his wand, ready for any unexpected event.
He imagined that the life force of a spider would not restore much of Tom's strength, and that Tom, who had absorbed Ginny's life force back in time, would not even be able to perform magic.
It was for this reason that Ivan took the risk and made the necessary preparations.
After sucking a spider into an empty husk, more black mist appeared from the diary, and Tom Riddle reappeared in the illusory space.
"Tom, are you all right?" Ivan asked, looking at Tom in his Slytherin robes.
"Thank you for your trust, Hales. I've managed to regain some of my energy, which is why I was able to see you again… although it will only last for about an hour." Tom Riddle smiled, then paused before speaking again.
"Well? Did you get the book? The magic I left behind didn't give you any trouble, did it?"
"An obfuscation spell and an unknown spell to hide something, right? It did take me a while," Ivan said resentfully.
He couldn't help but think back to his first year of school, when he was instructed by the system to search for The Origin of Blood, and how long he would have had to search for it if he hadn't been so lucky as to stumble across a Dark Book and break Tom's Confunding Charm.
"You're faster than I thought. I thought it would take you at least two or three days to break my spell." Tom was surprised. He had set up the Confunding Charm very cleverly.
Most people would have stood there with their eyes wide open, looking for it, but they would not have found anything amiss. Tom even considered the possibility that Ivan would not be able to crack the spell and would come back for help.
To Tom's surprise, Ivan managed to crack it in less than a day, which made him even more wary of the young wizard in front of him.
"I've already read that book. The most crucial part of it, like you said, was torn out, and it turned out to be a boring history book…" Ivan shook his head regretfully.
"As I said before, it was the doing of your Headmaster, Dumbledore." Tom's lips curled up slightly, then he continued to reassure her.
"But you don't have to worry. When I was at school, I spent a lot of time trying to fill in most of the gaps and put this information in a secret room! I just needed the language of the snakes to open it…"
'Are you that kind?'
Ivan rolled his eyes. He didn't trust Tom to be kind.
Trying to lure him to the Chamber of Secrets was more like it.
He knew very well that there was only one Basilisk in that secret room, and if he entered recklessly with a Horcrux, he would not end up well.
Even as Ivan thought this, he noticed that the mission progress for the Bloodline Mystery had increased to thirty percent when Tom Riddle mentioned the Chamber of Secrets.
Ivan was stunned. This meant that the Chamber of Secrets most likely contained a way to fuse multiple bloodlines, or at the very least, some clue as to how to do so.
"What is it, Harls?" Tom Riddle asked suspiciously.
"Nothing? I'm just wondering why there's a Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts that needs to be opened in Parseltongue. Did you do this on purpose, Tom?" Ivan asked, changing the subject.
"Of course I didn't do it. I don't have the skill to open a Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts!" Tom explained, shaking his head.
"That's Salazar Slytherin, a place that was created to experiment and study the merging of bloodlines."
Yvonne automatically assumed that Tom was trying to fool her, but she soon realised the possibility.
If The Origin of Blood was really written by Salazar Slytherin, then Slytherin must have been well-versed in the subject and most likely studied it.
It is not unusual for a research facility to be set up, and it is possible that the basilisk that was placed in the Chamber of Secrets was either the guardian of the facility or an object of study.
The Forbidden Forest was home to countless rare and magical creatures. Could they be kept there for research purposes?
Various conjectures passed through Ivan's mind… and, if he remembered correctly, the symbol of Slytherin House was a snake.
Lord Voldemort, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, was born with the ability to speak the serpent's tongue.
Yvonne was thinking about this when Tom Riddle continued.
"Anyway, I put everything in the Chamber of Secrets. It's perfectly safe, and even Dumbledore can't find it. All he has to do is use the language of snakes to open it!"
"Then you'll teach me the language, won't you? Tom, we're best friends!" Yvonne exclaimed hopefully.
"Of course I'm willing to teach you, but not everyone can master the language of snakes…" Tom Riddle replied haughtily.
Tom Riddle was about to say that taking him inside would solve this problem, but Ivan interrupted.
"Is snake language really that hard? I might be able to learn it… I only need a short time to master a lot of advanced magic."
"Snake is different." Tom Riddle frowned, and seeing Ivan's determination, he knew that Ivan would not give up until he tried. He had to be patient and teach her a few times.
Ssss ~
As Tom spoke the language, Ivan decisively entered the Learning Acceleration Mode of the Experience Card, vaguely aware that the language seemed to contain magic, vibrating at a strange frequency that affected the entire Black Fog Space.
Ivan had an idea and understood why the language was so difficult to learn. He tried to remember what he had just sensed and tried to imitate it. The system prompt in his mind sounded…
"Well? Do you need me to teach you again?" Tom Riddle asked impatiently, not wanting to waste his time on such nonsense.
However, Tom Riddle's expression soon changed.
This is because the strange snake language is once again heard in the Black Mist Dimension… although it is still rusty, Tom Riddle is pretty sure that it is the language of the snake…