Chapter 687
This is quite normal, after all, there isn’t a proper organization for “coroners.” Most “coroners” have stumbled into this path out of necessity or by chance.
If given a choice, it’s likely that very few would opt for this bloody route that involves dealing with countless corpses.
Some “Weavers” have spent decades accumulating experience by stitching together a multitude of bodies before finally drinking the potion, managing to digest it successfully.
Others, however, transformed their own bodies during the “Bone Sculptor” phase, inadvertently completing the ritual to become a “Weaver.”
Whether it’s altering corpses or transforming oneself, both seem to qualify as conditions for the ritual of becoming a “Weaver.” Thus, Xia’er had no intention of wasting time on the ritual any longer.
Xia’er didn’t need to succeed perfectly; her formidable spirit was enough to suppress most of the potion’s whispers and side effects. She only needed to gain the ability.
As for whether she would turn into a monster, that was completely outside of Xia’er’s consideration.
Xia’er opened the bottle, and beside her, Aivina wanted to speak up to stop her but swallowed her words instead. She was a bit worried about what might happen if Xia’er drank the potion all at once, but she didn’t want to disturb her.
If anyone’s feelings were the most complicated in that moment, it was undoubtedly Aivina’s.
Xia’er gazed at the massive, quivering spider egg in the bottle, instinctively swallowing hard.
Among all the potions Xia’er had consumed, this one—the “Weaver” potion—was particularly intense. It took a certain amount of courage to put this into her mouth.
With her left hand, Xia’er lifted the potion bottle, gesturing slightly near her neck before her right fingertip extended into a bone blade, piercing her neck to create an opening.
Now, with her mouth unable to consume anything, this was the only way for her to “drink” the potion.
As Xia’er tilted the bottle slightly, the spider egg broke through the webbing and rolled down to her throat, directly burrowing into her esophagus through the wound.
In that instant, the spider egg exploded, releasing countless tiny, translucent white spiders that began to tear through Xia’er’s throat, crawling toward every part of her body.
A powerful force surged into Xia’er, and she took a deep breath, her head tilting slightly back.
A fissure opened up above and below her eyes, revealing two pairs of crimson eyes that blinked open.
In Xia’er’s vision, it was as if she had unlocked the “Foreseeing Vision,” greatly expanding her field of view.
Now, she could switch between perspectives at will; all the creatures she saw glowed brightly, like thermal images.
Sizzle.
White bone spikes pierced through the skin on Xia’er’s back, emerging like sharp, spider-like legs. From a distance, they resembled delicate bone wings.
The transformation finally ceased.
Feeling the new power coursing through her, Xia’er’s mind was consumed by a single thought.
I’m even more tired...
---
**Chapter 351: What a Coincidence, I Want to Kill You Too**
In the study.
The carpet that once covered the floor had been removed, replaced by a desk in the center serving as an operating table, upon which lay the remains of a corpse.
After four or five hours, the body that had just been brought up from the basement had reached the peak of rigor mortis; the internal organs had turned to mush, resembling a honeycomb of decay.
Without the “coroner’s” ability to preserve the body, it was decaying at a normal rate.
The severed limbs revealed the presence of green bottle fly larvae, indicating that the corpse had died about four hours ago.
Charles had taken the head, one arm, and one leg, leaving only the torso, right arm, and right leg behind.
With Adele and Amy currently absent from Ansu, Aivina, dressed in a dirty-resistant outfit and wearing a cotton mask, stood by, ready to assist Xia’er.
However, it was clear that Aivina’s gaze was filled with reluctance as she looked at the corpse before her.
The method of killing through the “Listener” path wouldn’t leave a body this bloody, and since Aivina hadn’t had much exposure to the study of flesh alchemy, she had seen plenty of normal corpses, but dissecting a decaying one was on another level.
Tara, on the other hand, appeared much calmer. Aivina could only be considered a naive sixteen-year-old girl, while Tara was already thirty-four this year.
Moreover, Tara had witnessed countless more horrifying sacrificial scenes than this dismembered corpse, so her reaction to the decaying body was naturally less pronounced.
The bone spider legs protruding from Xia’er’s back reached forward like agile arms wielding surgical knives, directly slicing open the corpse before her, creating a Y-shaped incision in its chest.
Crack.
Crack.
The severed ribs were completely extracted, and Xia’er clasped her hands over her chest, staring at the dissected body, lost in thought.
The reason she hadn’t preserved the body was that Xia’er wanted to see if it could still yield any extraordinary materials, but now it seemed that there were no signs of any extraordinary materials, either inside or outside.
Was this... even a corpse of an extraordinary being? Could it be used for the study of flesh alchemy?
This was the first time Xia’er had encountered such an illogical extraordinary corpse, and her thoughts momentarily faltered.
“Have you ever encountered a corpse that didn’t yield extraordinary materials?” Xia’er turned to Tara and asked.
Though Xia’er had seen her fair share of dead bodies, this situation was a first for her, so she decided to ask Tara.
Tara might not have seen as many corpses as Xia’er, but she had certainly seen things Xia’er hadn’t, and perhaps Tara would have some insights.
Upon hearing Xia’er’s question, Tara instinctively thought it was another “test” from the Lady of the Mother God. She lowered her head slightly, racking her brain to search her memories.
In addition to the corpses she had seen, Tara began to sift through various books in her mind... but after several seconds, beads of sweat began to form on her forehead, and she still couldn’t recall a single case.
“Sorry... Lady Xia’er, I’m not sure...” Tara buried her head lower, speaking with embarrassment.
“It’s fine.” At that moment, Xia’er was still contemplating the corpse, her inquiry to Tara merely a casual question.
In this land, it was likely that no one possessed more knowledge than Xia’er.
If there was something Xia’er didn’t know, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that no one else on this continent would know either.
It shouldn’t be a technique or promotion method from after the Age of the Holy War...
Connecting this to the way the organization existed, Xia’er ruled out the possibility of finding answers in reality.
The minions had caused a great catastrophe; they couldn’t have gotten themselves caught up in it... so it was very likely that they had preserved some of the old traditions intact.
In other words, they might not have evolved through potions...
If she shifted her problem-solving approach to the old techniques, Xia’er found herself with more avenues to explore.
There were many ways to gain extraordinary power in the old days.
One common method involved symbionts with “seeds” opening pathways and “bestowing” the power of those pathways to their followers.
This “bestowal” could be flesh, or remnants of “seeds,” but regardless, it required the recipient to have faith in the bestower.
Another method, represented by the towers, involved dismantling and merging the powers of “seeds.”
The potion school, clearly, was a later development.
If they had preserved the old traditions, it was very likely the first scenario.
Their power came from the “bestowal” of the symbionts.
But...
Even power gained through bestowal and faith would result in some form of bodily transformation in the recipients; the closer they were to the Ascendant, the more pronounced the changes.
Yet, it seemed that none of these transformations existed in the corpse before her...
Completely absent...
Existing...
In the moment of death, the extraordinary power within him was erased from existence.
So what she was seeing was a corpse of an ordinary person, completely devoid of extraordinary power?
No, there must be something she hadn’t discovered...
As if to validate her hypothesis, Xia’er meticulously dissected the corpse before her, instructing Aivina and Tara to neatly arrange the bones and muscles that had been extracted.
Before long, the remains were reduced to small fragments, each cut open on several sides to expose as many details as possible.
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