Chapter 53: Collaboration

"Fourth Senior Sister, is there really no other way?" Jiang Yan asked.

Wen Yue glanced at Jiang Yan and replied, "There is a way, though... it requires the help of someone else's spiritual power. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Alright, Fourth Senior Sister, tell me what to do."

"First, the immobilization talisman we used earlier is about to expire. Go and replace it for them," Wen Yue instructed.

After Jiang Yan followed her directions, Wen Yue released another strand of green thread from her palm. "Since you possess a wood-type spiritual root, try to connect with my spiritual thread, then use your spiritual power to probe for the location of the black aura..."

Wen Yue explained that this method was necessary because Jiang Yan was unfamiliar with medical arts and didn't know how to use wood-type spiritual power for healing. So, all Jiang Yan could do was connect with her spiritual thread to search for the black aura, while she would assist in pulling it out.

Understanding Wen Yue's intention, Jiang Yan began to gather his wood-type spiritual energy, attempting to connect with her green thread.

"I'll guide you. Close your eyes and use your spiritual power to sense," Wen Yue instructed.

After a brief pause, she added, "If you detect the black aura, use your spiritual power to control the thread and bind it. I'll sense it too..."

"Alright, Fourth Senior Sister."

With that, Jiang Yan closed his eyes and used his spiritual power to probe through the thread into the disciples' bodies, searching for the black aura.

He discovered several doors within his sea of consciousness; those must be the channels to investigate the black aura inside the disciples. The black aura was indeed cunning—whenever he found it, it darted about to evade him.

Were they playing a chase with him?

In that case, he decided to tackle them one by one...

...

Meanwhile, among the sect disciples—

The Revered Qing Daoist Master asked the returning disciple, "How is the progress over there?"

A disciple answered, "Daoist Master, they are showing signs of an outbreak, but the black aura has yet to be expelled."

The Revered Qing Daoist Master frowned slightly. Signs of an outbreak—did that mean their time was running out?

"I'll go take a look myself."

With those words, the Daoist Master strode toward where Jiang Yan and his companions were.

He saw Jiang Yan and his senior sister working together to expel the black aura and did not disturb them, quietly observing instead.

"Fourth Senior Sister, quick, I've trapped them," Jiang Yan suddenly called out.

Wen Yue had already sensed it. She swiftly pulled the spiritual thread outward.

Immediately, the black aura was drawn out, struggling desperately but unable to escape.

"Fourth Senior Sister, what exactly are these black auras? Why can your thread bind them?" Jiang Yan asked curiously.

Wen Yue did not immediately answer. She tightened the thread, quickly sealing the black aura inside a transparent jar.

Inside, the black aura crashed about, trying to break free.

"You can take a closer look yourself," Wen Yue said.

Jiang Yan approached the jar, scrutinizing it closely.

He had not expected what he saw—his skin crawled at the sight, a shiver running down his arm.

He confirmed he wasn't seeing things wrong. The black aura was actually composed of countless small, black insects, packed tightly together!

Jiang Yan could never have imagined such disgusting creatures were behind all this.

"Fourth Senior Sister, are these insects the so-called gu worms? Why are they clustered together? Could there be some left inside them?" Jiang Yan asked, puzzled.

Wen Yue heard Jiang Yan's barrage of questions and explained, "If they can be bound by my healing thread, then they are gu worms. Among them, there must be a mother gu, constantly producing offspring. The offspring follow the mother gu until they find a new host. That's why they're gathered together."

"So the offspring become the mother gu after finding a new host?" Jiang Yan pressed further.

Wouldn't that mean endless generations of gu worms?

"Yes, that's correct. Once the offspring find a new host, they produce new offspring and themselves become mother gu," Wen Yue replied.

Just then, the Revered Qing Daoist Master approached Jiang Yan and his group, asking, "Do you have any way to destroy these gu worms?"

Jiang Yan realized this frosty figure had been nearby all along—and had overheard their conversation.

Wen Yue said, "I've never encountered this type of gu worm before. We'll need to experiment to find a way to destroy them."

Jiang Yan suddenly exclaimed, "Come look, these gu worms are spinning white threads!"

In just a short while, their silk had nearly enveloped half the jar.

The white threads reminded Jiang Yan of the strips of cloth wrapped around the monsters they had encountered.

A sense of dread rose in Jiang Yan's heart. If these white threads completely wrapped the jar, destroying the gu worms would become even more difficult.

Was their purpose in spinning silk merely to protect themselves?

"Daoist Master, can you freeze this jar?" Jiang Yan asked the Revered Qing Daoist Master.

He never expected to need the Daoist Master's help someday.

"Yes."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Daoist Master unleashed a wave of ice spiritual energy at the jar, instantly freezing it solid.

Jiang Yan saw the insects inside also frozen.

He couldn't help but marvel—the former protagonist's ice spiritual power was truly impressive!

"Thank you! Now, leave the rest to me. Please step back."

With that, he affixed an explosive talisman to the jar and quickly retreated.

A thunderous boom erupted.

The jar exploded violently, countless gu worms reduced to ashes in an instant.

The Revered Qing Daoist Master had never seen such talismans before—he was astonished by their power.

"Little Six, well done!" Qin Feifei praised.

Wen Yue added, "Excellent!"

Wu Qianqian timidly stepped out of the camper, curiously asking, "Sixth Junior Brother, was the black aura gu worms?"

Jiang Yan replied, "Fifth Senior Sister, yes, they were gu worms. Now they've all turned to ash."

"Oh, that's good!" Wu Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief; she certainly didn't want to see those revolting gu worms.

"Daoist Master, you've encountered those monsters, haven't you?" Jiang Yan asked.

The Daoist Master replied, "Yes, we were attacked by them on the road."

"Have you considered that those monsters might actually be corpses parasitized by gu worms?" Jiang Yan continued.

"I hadn't realized before, but now that you mention it, it's quite possible."

"They likely manipulate the bodies to grab or bite people, so the gu worms can enter new hosts..." Jiang Yan analyzed.

"Indeed." The Daoist Master pondered; Jiang Yan's reasoning was sound.

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.

"Immortal... Immortal Maiden, can the silver needles be removed now?"

It was one of the disciples who had been treated. Their immobilization talisman had expired, and they could move again.

Jiang Yan felt embarrassed—they had been so engrossed in discussion, they'd forgotten about these people.

"You may remove the silver needles yourselves and hand them to me," Wen Yue said.

"Thank you, Immortal Maiden."

"Immortal Maiden, thank you for saving us!"

After extracting the silver needles and handing them to Wen Yue, they all expressed their gratitude.

"Ahem, ahem..." Jiang Yan coughed a few times, trying to remind them he had contributed as well.