However, that remark gave Luo Chen an idea.

He said with some anticipation:

"That’s right! The Brain-Eating Spiders’ Crystal Stones also contain Spiritual Energy. If I feed them to my Soul Beast, can it increase its Spiritual Power and, in turn, reinforce my own?"

"I don’t know. It’s worth a try."

He had already told them what he knew. The Hallucinogenic Attribute was a decent one, so it was up to them to decide what to do with it.

"Actually, in the future, we could distribute Crystal Stones based on the first and second Attributes our Soul Beasts display. That would reduce unnecessary waste," Han Ning added.

"I was thinking the same thing. I’ll discuss a concrete plan with Dean Wu when we get back," Lü Xiuning agreed.

The proper use of Crystal Stones could maximize the academy’s overall strength.

Following Han Ning’s suggestion, the group continued to collect the Brain-Eating Spider corpses.

A little over half an hour later, a small pile of faintly glowing Crystal Stones had formed on the ground in front of the four of them.

Han Ning absorbed the Energy from the weaker Brain-Eating Spiders that Yin Yi had killed through his panel, gaining a total of 56 Energy points.

"There are 112 Crystal Stones. How should we split them?" Lü Xiuning said, glancing at the other three.

"I’ll just take the Crystal Stone from the Brain-Eating Spider boss. You guys can split the rest, okay?" Han Ning said, shaking the Crystal Stone in his hand.

The single largest Crystal Stone was basically worth all the smaller ones combined.

Lü Xiuning shook his head. "That won’t do. Yin Yi killed a lot of Brain-Eating Spiders too. Han Ning, you should take another third. What do you guys think?"

"No problem. You two saved our lives. It’d be fine even if you took them all," Luo Chen said with a hearty laugh.

"I agree."

"Alright, I’ll take a third. Let’s feed the Crystal Stones to our beasts and get back on the road," Han Ning said with a smile, not dwelling on it.

The other three split the remaining Crystal Stones and directed their Silver Lotus Woods to begin consuming them with their roots.

Meanwhile, Yin Yi floated beside them like a loyal and dutiful guardian.

"SQUEAK~~"

Just then, Egg Pancake and its little buddy crawled out from a large pile of Brain-Eating Spider corpses, scurrying over to Han Ning.

"SQUEAK!"

Egg Pancake and its little buddy raised their heads together, their mouths, dripping with spider blood, struck a rather dissonant note.

"What’s wrong?" Han Ning asked with a smile, stroking its head.

Egg Pancake let out a comfortable purr, then opened its mouth and spat out a strange, crooked, branch-like object.

"Hm? This is..."

The moment he saw the strange branch, Han Ning’s expression changed.

’The Insect Flute the Insect-man was using?’

He picked up the "branch" and examined it closely.

It was a small, cylindrical, brownish-yellow rod, about 20 centimeters long, with eight small holes along its surface.

’It has small holes. It really is a flute?’

Han Ning turned the short rod over in his hands, found the mouthpiece, poured a little water from his water bottle to wipe it clean, then brought his mouth to the recessed embouchure and blew gently.

"PFFT..."

A low, hissing sound, like air being let out, echoed through the quiet square.

The tone was hoarse and unpleasant, like the unsettling cry of an old crow perched on a treetop at night.

"...That’s not a note," Han Ning grumbled, scratching his cheek in annoyance.

Playing the flute was a field he had never touched upon, and for a moment, he was at a loss.

’When the Insect-man played the Insect Flute, it emitted a strange Spiritual Fluctuation. Do I need to infuse my Spiritual Power into the flute?’

He decided to act on the thought. He focused on mobilizing the Spiritual Power in his mind, and a vague outline of the Insect Flute in his hands actually appeared in his mind’s eye.

He tried blowing into the mouthpiece again.

"WOO~"

In an instant, a strange, whining sound rang out, and sound waves invisible to the naked eye spread outward from the flute’s body.

Egg Pancake, squatting in front of him, instinctively stiffened the moment it heard the sound.

"Squeak?"

The Little Guardian on its head had an even more exaggerated reaction. It leaped three feet into the air before landing back on Egg Pancake’s head, staring at Han Ning in a daze.

The three people and their Silver Lotus Woods a short distance away were next.

Their bodies all trembled to varying degrees.

"What was that sound just now? I felt like something suddenly hit my head, and all the hair on my body is standing on end." Lü Xiuning whipped his head around to look at Han Ning.

"Same here," the two beside him nodded in unison.

"It was this."

Han Ning held up the brownish-yellow Insect Flute and waved it at the three of them. Then he asked Egg Pancake, "Did you dig this out of a Brain-Eating Spider corpse?"

"SQUEAK, SQUEAK-SQUEAK!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Egg Pancake nodded repeatedly, waving its claws.

"Yes, yes, Egg Pancake is very capable."

"What is that?"

The other three, who had never seen an Insect Flute before, walked over with curious expressions.

"It’s the flute the Insect-man was playing. This is the thing that lured the black beetles. Lin Tianhe couldn’t hear it very clearly from Building B, but people in Building A should have heard a little."

Han Ning said, rubbing the slightly coarse body of the flute in his hand,

"I wonder what this flute is made of. It can absorb Spiritual Power and emit sound waves that are inaudible to our ears, transmitting them over vast distances."

Building A and Building C were only a few dozen meters apart. Even Lü Xiuning, who was in Building A, only heard a faint sound. Yet the Insect-man was able to summon black beetles from an unknown distance. This means the flute’s sound waves cover multiple frequency bands.

Lin Tianhe asked in surprise, "Oh? Does that mean you’ll be able to summon other insects in the future, Han Ning?"

"No, no, no. Attracting a swarm of insects probably requires specific tunes, something like an Array Entrance Tune that boosts morale, or the flute music from Country A used to charm cobras. I’m a complete amateur when it comes to playing the flute. All I can make is noise; I doubt I could attract any insects." When it came to musical instruments, Han Ning felt a sense of defeat for the first time.

"Erm... well, noise has its uses too. At least you gave us a scare. Maybe if we run into a swarm of insects, you can give them a scare too and buy us a second of time. That could be crucial."

Lü Xiuning, on the other hand, was rather optimistic. "Besides, what if we get our hands on the corresponding sheet music later on? Then this Insect Flute would become useful."

"That makes sense." Han Ning casually put the Insect Flute into his backpack and stood up. Looking at the three of them and their radiant complexions, he smiled. "Judging by your faces, it looks like feeding the Illusion Attribute Crystal Stones to the Silver Lotus Woods worked?"

"It worked. I feel my mental state has improved a bit, and my vision is better. I can see farther," Lin Tianhe said, his face full of joy.

"I think my Silver Lotus Wood has awakened its second Attribute." Lü Xiuning pointed to his Silver Lotus Wood, a rare, joyful smile appearing on his face.

The base color of this Silver Lotus Wood’s body was emerald green, its surface covered with pale, ring-like patterns. The flower bud on its head, similar to Yin Yi’s, had changed from pink to a pale white.

"My Silver Lotus Wood doesn’t usually eat many Crystal Stones. After eating dozens of Illusion Attribute Crystal Stones all at once, it probably awakened the Illusion Attribute directly."

"That’s great. Maybe it will be able to use Hallucinogenic Species Soul Techniques after it evolves," Han Ning nodded. He then pointed to the corpses scattered on the ground and asked,

"Teacher Lü, what should we do with the rest of these Brain-Eating Spider corpses?"

There were 122 Brain-Eating Spiders that had Crystal Stones, and even more that didn’t. There was no way the four of them and their few Soul Beasts could eat so many Soul Beast corpses in a short amount of time.

"I’ll contact the command center in the dormitory area and have them send people over to collect these corpses."