Worm Cursed Spirit

"Yeah, I think I've got the gist. Let's go in!"

Yuanfang nodded to show that he had no objections.

As long as the attacks weren't physical, he wasn't worried at all.

"Need your big sister to hold you while we jump in?"

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary!"

Yuanfang didn't lose his composure at her teasing. Instead, a gentle smile curved his lips.

Then he leaped eagerly into the hole, as though he were already prepared to harvest cursed energy.

"Hehe... what an interesting kid!"

Most kids his age would have blushed bright red and become terribly embarrassed when she teased them like that.

But this boy was different. He remained unusually calm.

She chuckled and followed Yuanfang without delay.

Although the cave was pitch-black, Yuanfang and Mei Mei could still see their surroundings with the help of cursed energy!

There was an enormous central chamber, connected to tunnels of varying sizes all around it.

"The energy that distorts space shoots out of these tunnels like bullets. Activate your cursed technique!"

Although she had already explained this aboveground, Mei Mei couldn't help reminding Yuanfang not to let his guard down. She had nearly met her end here last time.

"Don't worry. It's already active!"

"How strange. I can't sense any fluctuations in your cursed energy!"

Although she had read about Yuanfang in the documents, experiencing it firsthand still left her marveling.

She had encountered plenty of jujutsu sorcerers, but this was her first time meeting someone as unusual as Yuanfang.

Bang!

Suddenly, a sound much like a bullet leaving a gun rang out. Yuanfang immediately sensed a basketball-sized sphere of cursed energy appear within his domain.

Before it could even approach him, Yuanfang absorbed it.

"Looks like I picked the right person. I'll leave the rest to you!"

Sensing that energy dissipate, Mei Mei breathed a sigh of relief.

She stripped the cloth off the enormous axe in her hand and slammed it into the ground below.

From their previous battle, she knew the cursed spirit lurked beneath them, rather than in the surrounding tunnels.

Boom!

A single blow carved out a large crater, but unfortunately, nothing emerged.

Meanwhile, the gunshot-like sounds around them grew more frequent, and attacks hurtled toward them like a raging storm.

Under Yuanfang's protection, those attacks posed no threat to either of them.

Boom!

Seeing Yuanfang effortlessly block even that barrage reassured Mei Mei further, and she continued hammering the ground.

After a minute of this, an enormous, pitch-black hole appeared beneath them.

A weaker jujutsu sorcerer might have mistakenly assumed the cursed spirit was inside that hole and eagerly jumped in.

But Yuanfang and Mei Mei did no such thing. They immediately leaped aside to avoid falling into it.

Because it was actually the cursed spirit's gaping maw.

Roar!

Seeing that Yuanfang and Mei Mei hadn't fallen for its trap, the cursed spirit stopped hiding.

Rows of sharp teeth emerged from the soil around the black hole, accompanied by a deafening roar that sent chills down their spines.

Its mouth resembled that of a gigantic death worm, horrifying beyond belief.

"Looks like I'll have to make them raise my fee!"

Because of Yuanfang's domain, Mei Mei couldn't sense how much cursed energy this cursed spirit was emitting.

But merely seeing its enormous body was enough to tell her it was no harmless creature.

Yuanfang, meanwhile, was delighted. The immense cursed energy pouring off this giant made absorbing it incredibly satisfying.

The Worm Cursed Spirit couldn't have cared less what they thought.

Its mouth and the surrounding tunnels simultaneously spewed out energy spheres capable of distorting space, attempting to wipe out both of them in one stroke.

"You can block those, right? My life is in your hands!"

Mei Mei watched the countless glowing energy spheres fly toward them. She had never seen Satoru Gojo and Yuanfang fight.

She was still a little worried that Yuanfang wouldn't be able to nullify these attacks.

"Hehe, no problem at all!"

A gentle smile remained on Yuanfang's lips throughout. He didn't take those attacks seriously at all.

The attacks came fast, entering the six-meter radius around Yuanfang in an instant.

There was no violent collision. They simply vanished as if by magic, as though they had never existed.

"This just keeps getting more incredible!"

With that, Mei Mei raised her axe and swung it at the Giant Worm Cursed Spirit.

Slash!

Though the axe was tiny compared to the Giant Worm, it still left a long gash across its body.

Roar!

The Worm Cursed Spirit immediately roared in pain, and the entire underground chamber shook violently.

Mouths smaller than the Giant Worm Cursed Spirit's suddenly appeared in the surrounding tunnels, and the ground cracked apart.

Only then did the two of them finally get a clear look at its form.

It had one enormous head, with smaller heads attached around it like strands of hair.

It resembled Medusa from Western mythology, unfortunately without Medusa's beauty.

"This probably isn't an ordinary special grade cursed spirit!"

Looking at the Worm Cursed Spirit, which stood five or six meters tall despite only a small portion of it being exposed, Mei Mei concluded that something was unusual about it.

Based on the records she had seen, she suspected this cursed spirit had swallowed Sukuna's Finger, a finger belonging to the King of Curses.

At the same time, she felt fortunate that it hadn't used its full strength last time and that she had escaped quickly. Otherwise, she would have died here.

"Can you still handle it?"

Yuanfang asked Mei Mei with apparent concern, though the smile on his lips never changed.

"Hmph! Don't worry. I can handle it no matter how strong it is!"

Feeling that Yuanfang had underestimated her, Mei Mei's attacks instantly grew fiercer, leaving more wounds on the Worm Cursed Spirit's body.

It began attacking Mei Mei with the hairlike mouthparts covering its body.

Yuanfang didn't join their battle. He merely stayed to the side, helping Mei Mei suppress the cursed spirit's cursed technique.

Time passed, second by second and minute by minute, and an hour flew by.

"Phew..."

Mei Mei let out a deep breath. She wasn't in very good shape.

Her clothes were somewhat tattered now, offering tantalizing glimpses of bare skin.

"Kid, let's get ready to retreat!"

Watching the Worm Cursed Spirit's wounds heal rapidly while it remained in good condition, Mei Mei was already considering backing out.

She was certain this creature had absorbed more than one finger.

Within Yuanfang's domain, she couldn't use her own cursed technique either.

She couldn't beat this cursed spirit in a battle of attrition.

"All right!"

Yuanfang also realized that this cursed spirit must have absorbed Sukuna's Finger. He very much wanted to kill it right then and see whether he could absorb Sukuna's Finger.

But he didn't want to reveal any more of his abilities, so he agreed to Mei Mei's proposal.

With their decision made, the two of them quickly leaped upward.

The Worm Cursed Spirit seemed to have realized their intentions, and its attacks actually grew even fiercer.