Chapter 177: Absorbing Spiritual Power Worm

Pan Yun peeked out, carefully noting the corpse's features, then said, "Maybe we should just burn it—what if there are still worms inside?"

"Sister's Exorcism Thunder was massive and precise—it targeted the worms directly. Surely nothing's left?"

Pan Yun sighed softly, "I'm not even sure myself~"

Her words made the other senior brothers uncertain too.

So they gritted their teeth and turned over the rotting corpse, examining its facial features, hands, feet, clothing, and wounds.

By the time they finished, it was as if they'd stripped the man bare.

Zhang Zixiang raised his sword, cut off a scrap of the corpse's robe, forced himself to wrap it up, then tossed a flame onto the body.

To ensure no worms remained inside, the best way was to burn the entire corpse to ash.

Talisman fire wasn't strong enough—it only smoldered slowly over the wounds; burning the body to ash would take ages.

Chen Ziwu stepped forward and whispered, "Should we find some firewood to help?"

One senior brother frowned, "Are we really just burning it? I think we should take it back for Lin Tangzhu and Zhang Yuanzhu to examine."

"Yes, without seeing the corpse, they won't grasp how vile this is."

Pan Yun stepped back. "I have no objection."

The senior brothers exchanged glances, sizing each other up—who would carry the corpse up the mountain?

Just as they hesitated, other senior brothers who'd come rushing from the thunder arrived.

Seeing them, the five present instantly perked up, waving frantically, "Come here, come here!"

Soon, the fireballs on the corpse's wounds were extinguished; the brothers who'd wrapped their hands in robe scraps lifted the corpse and the unconscious young Daoist onto a crude stretcher, then trudged out, stepping unevenly.

Pan Yun and Chen Ziwu followed behind, holding torches, occasionally glancing down at the ground.

The other senior brothers did the same—they had to make sure no worms had escaped.

Everything inside the cave was collected: the jar, charred and chipped from the lightning strike, along with the worm-shaped lumps of charred flesh inside.

These were all evidence.

The Academy's Criminal Law Hall had a strict case procedure, much like a government office—all cases relied on evidence.

Especially Lin Jingle—he was rigid and meticulous; not a single detail could be missing.

As they gathered the items, they noticed many trails of worms crawling across the ground.

Indeed, they found several worms that had survived, hiding under grass and rocks.

A group of grown men screamed in terror at a few plump worms, stabbing them furiously with swords, then carefully placing the dead worms into bottles as evidence.

Pan Yun stood trembling atop a large rock, muttering, "So terrifying, so terrifying."

The white-bearded Daoist stood silently to the side—he thought Pan Yun was faking, but her expression seemed genuine.

She hadn't been like this earlier.

Zhang Zixiang and the other four also thought she was faking, but the four new arrivals believed her—they were scared too.

They hadn't seen her kick the corpse away or strike it with Exorcism Thunder.

Because of her youth, the four new senior brothers treated her kindly, and one scolded Zhang Zixiang for resenting her standing on the rock: "Brother Zhang, when did you become so petty? We're all here—why pick on Sister?"

"Yes, yes—it's just finding worms. We can handle it ourselves."

Zhang Zixiang: "... ou're not shaking when you say that."

"I'm not afraid—I'm just nauseated."

Seeing they were content, Zhang Zixiang said nothing about her earlier rampage and let her stay on the rock.

After collecting all evidence and turning over every rock and patch of grass nearby—killing over a dozen worms—the other senior brothers tied two crude stretchers from branches.

They tossed the corpse and the man onto them and carried them away.

Before leaving the mountain, wind carried voices; tree shadows swayed. Everyone tensed, looking up—Zhang Ziwang and others stood atop the branches.

Zhang Zixiang exhaled, clasped fists, and said, "Brother, we found the man. We've captured a heretic."

Zhang Ziwang's gaze slid from Pan Yun to the white-bearded Daoist, then to the stretcher bearing one corpse and one man. He frowned slightly, then nodded. "Take them all back to the Academy."

Zhang Ziming glanced at Zhang Zixiang's body. "Injured?"

Zhang Zixiang replied, "Minor wounds—not worth mentioning."

Since he said so, Zhang Ziming let it go.

The group carried the corpse and man back to Da Shangqing Palace. The palace had two sections: one handled Academy affairs, the other served common worshippers—a bridge between the Academy and the public.

Dangerous things like worm corpses couldn't stay at Da Shangqing Palace—too many ordinary people came and went.

So the man and corpse were taken directly to the Academy's Criminal Law Hall.

The white-bearded Daoist, as one of the victims, was naturally brought in too and temporarily detained in the Hall.

Chen Ziwu: "... his is what you meant by being protected inside the Academy?"

Pan Yun: "Just tell me—did you get to live inside the Academy? Were you heavily guarded?"

Chen Ziwu: "Thanks a lot—I'm the victim, why am I locked in the Criminal Law Hall?"

"How's that locking?" Pan Yun said. "Look—private room, door wide open, free to come and go. Is that locking?"

Chen Ziwu shook the barred gate, its hinges creaking. "You call that a door?"

He pointed to the wooden plank bed and straw mat. "You call that a room?"

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Pan Yun: "You nearly got parasitized. Who knows if he has accomplices? Who knows what's special about you that made him risk coming to Long Hushan just to capture you? So this is safest—guards patrol at night, every entrance and exit is watched. How secure is that?"

Chen Ziwu frowned. "You think he came for me? But he also captured one of your students."

Pan Yun: "No proof yet, but the corpse targeted your Academy students brutally—like it didn't care if they lived or died. But you? Aside from my kick, did you get hurt?"

Chen Ziwu paused, then his face paled. "No."

Pan Yun patted his shoulder. "Take it hard—if he hadn't targeted you, he could've grabbed any student. Why go through the trouble for you? Your cultivation base far exceeds theirs—he must've struggled to catch you."

Chen Ziwu shook off her hand and stepped back. "How do you know my cultivation base is high?"

Pan Yun glanced at him, said nothing, and replied, "It's late. Rest now."

Chen Ziwu followed her closely. "If he came for me, I must be involved in this—I'm coming with you."

Pan Yun: "How do you know I'm going to observe the investigation?"

Chen Ziwu smiled at her, but didn't answer.

The two reached a stone chamber where Zhang Ziwang and others stood around the corpse. Zhang Ziming's hand hovered above it, his spiritual power spreading like a veil, drifting over the corpse's body.

It crept slowly upward from his toes, finally pausing at his heart. Pan Yun saw a thread of spiritual power seep into the corpse.

She raised an eyebrow—impressive control.

She glanced at Zhang Zixiang—far superior to him.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when Zhang Ziming lifted his hand; his spiritual power solidified into threads, pulling something from the corpse's body—a worm's head popped out of the heart with a soft pop…

Pan Yun jumped back half a step in shock.

Zhang Zixiang's eyes widened. "It's still alive?"

The worm ignored them, chasing the spiritual threads, its entire body wriggling out of the corpse's heart, half-raising to pursue them.

Zhang Ziwang grimaced and handed over a bottle. After Zhang Ziming sealed the worm inside, he said, "Tomorrow, all fifth-year students descend to purge demons—eliminate every corpse worm. Long Hushan will not tolerate such filth."

Everyone responded in unison.

Pan Yun asked, "Master Zhang, is this truly a corpse worm? How does it control the body?"

She turned to Chen Ziwu. "Did he capture you and Wenjie to create corpses?"

Zhang Ziming said, "This isn't a corpse worm—or rather, it's more than just one. I've examined the worm corpses and the jar you brought back…"

He paused, expression strained. "You shouldn't have killed every worm in the jar. At least one should've been left for identification. All dead bodies—luckily their spiritual power hadn't fully dissipated, or I'd have thought these two worms were identical."

Zhang Ziming shook the bottle. "This spirit worm is far inferior to those in the jar—it's degenerated and aged. The worms in the jar are called Spirit-Draining Worms—they drain a person's spiritual power and transfer it to the mother worm. If I'm right, the mother worm is on the heretic."

Pan Yun stared, dumbfounded. "Absorbing Star Technique?"

Everyone turned to her.

Pan Yun: "Oh—I read it in a novel. This should be called Absorbing Spiritual Power Technique."

Zhang Ziwang frowned. "Wang Feiyin teaches you like this? How old are you, reading novels?"

Pan Yun didn't care. She urged Zhang Ziming on. "Then the mother worm gives him spiritual power? He grows stronger?"

Zhang Ziming paused, then said, "Spiritual power transfers slowly—larvae pass it to the mother, and the mother passes it to him. When the larvae give their last drop, they degenerate, age, and can no longer absorb power—only feed on flesh. I suspect these corpse worms are degenerated Spirit-Draining Worms."

"He captured this Daoist for his spiritual power. He captured your Academy students to create enforcers. After releasing spiritual power, Spirit-Draining Worms must feed on flesh to breed the next generation. But…"

He studied the white-bearded Daoist.

(End of Chapter)