Chapter 177

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

"Sister, your Thunder of Exorcism was huge and precise—it targeted the worms directly. There shouldn't be any left, right?"

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

With that, the senior brothers grew uncertain too.

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

By the time they were done, they'd practically stripped the man bare.

Zhang Zixiang raised his sword, sliced off a corner of the corpse's robe, forced himself to wrap the scrap in cloth, then tossed a flame onto the body.

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

The talisman fire wasn't strong enough—it only smoldered slowly over the wounds; it would take ages to reduce a body to ash.

Chen Ziwu stepped forward and whispered a suggestion, "Should we gather some firewood to help it burn?"

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

"Yes, without seeing the corpse, they won't realize how grave this is."

Pan Yun stepped back and said, "I have no objections."

The senior brothers exchanged glances, each reluctant to volunteer to carry the corpse up the mountain.

Just as they hesitated, other senior brothers arrived, drawn by the thunderclap.

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 had wrapped their hands in robe scraps lifted the corpse and the unconscious Daoist Priest onto a makeshift stretcher, then trudged out, stumbling with uneven steps.

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.

They also collected everything inside the cave: the charred, chipped jar and the worm-shaped lumps of charred flesh inside were gathered too.

These were all evidence.

The Academy's Criminal Law Hall had a strict case-review system, much like a magistrate's court—every case required 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 actually found a few worms that had escaped death, hiding under grass and rocks.

A group of grown men screamed "Aaah!" in terror, stabbing the plump worms furiously with their swords, then carefully scooping up the dead worms into bottles as evidence.

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

The white-bearded Daoist Priest stood silently to the side, thinking she was faking—but her expression looked genuinely terrified.

She hadn't been like this just moments ago.

Zhang Zixiang and the other four also thought she was faking, but the four newer senior brothers believed her—because they were terrified too.

They hadn't seen her kick the corpse flying or strike the Thunder of Exorcism.

Since she was young, the four newer 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 Pan?"

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

Zhang Zixiang: "... You're not shaking while saying that, are you?"

"I'm not afraid—I'm just nauseated."

Seeing they were willing to do the work themselves, Zhang Zixiang said nothing about her earlier ferocity and tacitly accepted her standing on the rock.

Once all evidence was collected and the surrounding rocks and grasses were turned over, revealing and killing over a dozen worms, the other senior brothers tied together two more makeshift stretchers from branches.

They tossed the corpse and the man onto them, then lifted and carried them away.

Before they left the mountain, a voice drifted through the wind, branches swayed, and everyone tensed—raising their heads to see Zhang Ziwang and others standing atop tree limbs.

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

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

Zhang Ziming glanced at Zhang Zixiang's body and asked, "You're not injured, are you?"

Zhang Zixiang replied, "Minor wounds, nothing worth mentioning."

Since he said so, Zhang Ziming let it go.

The group carried the corpse and the man back to the Great Shangqing Palace. The Great Shangqing Palace had two sections: one handled Academy affairs, the other served common worshippers—it served as the Academy's external liaison.

Dangerous items like worm corpses could not be kept at the Great Shangqing Palace—too many ordinary people came and went.

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

The white-bearded Daoist Priest, as one of the victims, was naturally brought into the Academy and temporarily detained in the Criminal Law Hall.

Chen Ziwu: "... This is what you meant by 'getting into the Academy for protection'?"

Pan Yun: "Just tell me—did you get into the Academy? Were you heavily protected?"

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

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

Chen Ziwu shook the barred door, which creaked loudly, "You call this a door?"

He pointed to the wooden plank bed and straw mat inside the fence: "You call this a room?"

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Pan Yun: "You're the one nearly parasitized—who knows if he has accomplices? Who knows what's special about you that made him risk coming all the way to Long Hushan to capture you? So staying here is safest—patrols at night, guards at every entrance and exit. How secure is that?"

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

Pan Yun said, "There's no proof yet, but the corpse targeted your students with brutal force—almost like he didn't care if they lived or died. But with you? Aside from the kick I gave you, were you injured at all?"

Chen Ziwu paused, recalling—his face paled. "No."

Pan Yun patted his shoulder. "Take it easy—if he hadn't been after you, he could've grabbed any student. Why go through so much trouble to get you? Your cultivation is far higher than theirs—he must've struggled to capture you."

Chen Ziwu shook off Pan Yun's hand and stepped back. "How do you know my cultivation is good?"

Pan Yun glanced at him but did not answer. "It's getting late. Rest for now."

Chen Ziwu followed her closely. "Since you said he came specifically for me, I must be involved in every step—I'm going with you."

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

Chen Ziwu smiled at her but gave no reply.

The two reached a stone chamber, where Zhang Ziwang and others stood around the decayed corpse. Zhang Zixiang's hand hovered above it, a layer of Yuan force spreading out, circling the corpse.

It slowly moved upward from his toes, finally pausing at his heart. Pan Yun watched as a thread of Yuan force from his palm seeped into the corpse.

Pan Yun couldn't help raising an eyebrow—this control is impressive~

Pan Yun glanced at Zhang Zixiang—he's far stronger than Zhang Zixiang.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when Zhang Zixiang lifted his hand; the Yuan force in his palm solidified into threads, pulling out from within the corpse. With a soft pop, a worm's head emerged from his heart…

Pan Yun startled, stepping back half a step.

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

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

Zhang Ziwang's face darkened as he handed over a vial. After watching Zhang Zixiang seal it away, he said: "Tomorrow, all fifth-year students will descend to cleanse the demons. Every single corpse-worm must be exterminated. Long Hushan will not tolerate such filth."

Everyone responded in unison.

Pan Yun asked: "Zhang Yuanzhu, is this truly a corpse-worm? How does it control corpses?"

She turned to look at Chen Ziwu. "Did he capture Chen Daoist and Wenjie to create corpses?"

Zhang Zixiang said: "This isn't a corpse-worm—or rather, it's not merely a corpse-worm. I've examined the dead worms and jars you brought back…"

Zhang Zixiang paused, expression strained. "You shouldn't have killed every worm in the jars. At least one should've been left for me to identify. With nothing but corpses, I only barely managed to tell them apart—their Yuan force hadn't fully dissipated. Otherwise, I'd have thought these two worms were identical."

Zhang Zixiang shook the vial in his hand. "This gu worm is nowhere near as potent as those in the jars. It's degenerated, aged. The worms in the jars are called Soul-Absorbing Worms—they can drain all Yuan force from a human body and transfer it to the mother worm. If I'm not mistaken, the mother worm is on that heretic."

Pan Yun stared, dumbfounded. "Soul-Sucking Divine Art?"

Everyone turned to look at her.

Pan Yun: "Oh, I read it in a novel. This should be called Soul-Absorbing Art."

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

Pan Yun paid no mind, urging Zhang Zixiang on. "Then what? The mother worm gives him Yuan force, and his power surges?"

Zhang Zixiang paused before answering: "The Yuan force transfers gradually—the pupae pass it to the mother worm, and the mother worm passes it to him. When the pupae deliver their final trace of Yuan force, they degenerate and age, losing the ability to absorb Yuan force entirely. They survive only on flesh and blood. I suspect these corpse-worms are degenerated Soul-Absorbing Worms."

"He captured this Daoist for his Yuan force. He captured our academy's disciples to create soldiers. Once the Soul-Absorbing Worms release their Yuan force, they must feed on flesh to breed the next generation. But…"

He sized up the old man with the white beard.

(End of Chapter)