Zhang Hao's words instantly made the students from the smaller Colleges feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
Without the protection of Tianwu Academy, how could these dozens of students from the smaller Colleges survive here? One must know, among this group of students from the smaller Colleges, only a very few strong individuals were Martial Kings. The rest were Great Martial Masters. If it were any of the other nine routes, it would be fine. But on this Curse Road, having lost the protection of Tianwu Academy, let alone obtaining the clearance token, it was uncertain if they could even keep their lives.
"Hmph, let's go!"
No matter how these people begged, Zhang Hao had no intention of changing his mind. He had shown a little pity, but was instead bitten back; anyone would be furious if this happened to them.
In this attack by the man-eating grass, no one from Tianwu Academy lost their lives, only a few were injured. After all, the ones who came this time were all Martial Kings from Tianwu Academy. This level of situation could still be handled.
They traveled about another three li and arrived at a Gobi Desert. Upon reaching this place, decaying corpses were visible everywhere, some having long since weathered into skeletons due to the passage of time.
"There are so many corpses here. It seems this is a place of great ill fortune," Liu Jie said gravely, looking at Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao nodded slightly and said to Liu Jie, "Mm, everyone be careful."
Casually looking back, he noticed that the students from the smaller Colleges were still trailing behind the group, following unhurriedly.
"Hmph, these people!" Mo Qing also noticed the group of students from the smaller Colleges.
Zhang Hao said calmly, "Don't mind them. If they want to follow, let them. It doesn't hinder us anyway."
After crossing the Gobi Desert. Ahead, many crisscrossing canyons that looked more like they were artificially formed appeared. There were also many sinkholes at least a hundred meters square.
Zhang Hao sensed endless Fiend Qi emanating from these pits. This Fiend Qi would corrode human skin and flesh.
"Everyone be careful! Circulate your protective True Qi," Zhang Hao quickly instructed his companions.
Liu Jie and the others, following Zhang Hao's reminder, circulated their protective True Qi one by one to resist the attacks of the Fiend Qi.
"This Fiend Qi was clearly left behind from when the Extra-territorial Demons and True Martial Continent experts fought back then. Who would have thought that after endless years, this Fiend Qi would still be preserved," Mo Qing exclaimed in admiration.
Zhang Hao and the others advanced cautiously. The deeper they went, the more skeletal remains there were around them. It seemed many were left behind by Martial Warriors who had come here for training in the past.
Not far behind the Tianwu Academy group, that group of students from the smaller Colleges was also following at this moment. Leading them were three Martial Kings from the smaller Colleges.
"Zhou Qi, why are we following behind them? I don't think this group from Tianwu Academy is anything special. If we keep following behind them, even if we reach the end, that clearance token won't be ours," a white-robed Martial King said with some dissatisfaction.
Zhou Qi said sternly, "Yan Zheng, you're being foolish. With such a good shield available, do you expect us to break through the stages ourselves? When they've cleared all the stages, we'll arrive at the finish line ahead of time at the last moment and seize the clearance token. Isn't that enough? Although I haven't been on this Curse Road before, I've heard of it. It's extremely dangerous. To be honest, relying on just us is very risky."
Upon hearing this, Yan Zheng suddenly understood and smiled at Zhou Qi, "Zhou Qi, you're still the one who thinks things through! Those people from Tianwu Academy are always acting arrogant. At that time, I'll make all their efforts amount to nothing."
Just at this moment, a student suddenly shouted in a trembling voice, "Look quickly, what... what is that..."
The place the student pointed to was a pit. Blue gas was intermittently rising from within the pit.
"That's... that's a hand... Could it be someone..."
Seeing this, Zhou Qi's face instantly turned pale, perhaps having thought of something, and he said, "Could it be... could it be a Corpse Fiend? Let's leave quickly..."
Corpse Fiends were extremely terrifying things. If they encountered a Fiend Corpse King, let alone them, even the people from Tianwu Academy would be in deep trouble.
Although Yan Zheng didn't know why Zhou Qi was so panicked, seeing him so nervous, he also knew that whatever was crawling out of that pit was definitely very terrifying. Therefore, he also wanted to run.
What Yan Zheng and Zhou Qi didn't expect was that Corpse Fiends were also continuously crawling out of the surrounding pits. Within just a few breaths, all of them were surrounded by these Corpse Fiends.
For Corpse Fiends, fresh flesh and blood was a very natural great tonic for them. Therefore, these Corpse Fiends were naturally very greedy for the group of fresh flesh and blood before them.
Yan Zheng was surrounded by countless Corpse Fiends, and his face turned pale at this moment. He asked Zhou Qi, "Zhou Qi, what should we do?"
Zhou Qi also said somewhat helplessly, "Find a way to break through the encirclement and then meet up with the people from Tianwu Academy. Only by being with them might we have a chance to survive."
However, none of the people present had ever fought with Corpse Fiends before, and at this moment, they couldn't help but hesitate.
Zhou Qi said to a Blue-Clothed Youth beside him, "Lu Han, you go test the strength of these Corpse Fiends."
Lu Han was instantly stunned at this moment and asked Zhou Qi with some hesitation, "Me... why me?"
"Or should it be me? If it weren't for you, we would still be with the people from Tianwu Academy. All of us have been harmed by you. Aren't you going to set an example?" Zhou Qi looked at Lu Han and said angrily.
Hearing Zhou Qi say this, Lu Han's expression turned pale. However, there was nothing he could do at this moment, so he unsheathed his battle saber and slashed towards the nearest Corpse Fiend.
Although Lu Han was not a Martial King, he was a Half-Step Martial King, and his strength was not weak. This saber strike was sharp and unparalleled, carrying a powerful saber light as it slashed down towards that Corpse Fiend.
That Corpse Fiend did not dodge. Its pale, bulging eyeballs glared fiercely at Lu Han. It reached out its hand to grab his saber strike.
Seeing that the Corpse Fiend did not dodge, Lu Han was instantly overjoyed. He was still very confident in his saber strike.
With a "Clang!" sound, Lu Han's saber struck heavily on that Corpse Fiend's arm.
The scene he had expected, where the Corpse Fiend's arm would be severed by his strike, did not appear. Instead, sparks flew.
"This..."
That Corpse Fiend grinned, seemingly smiling. A ball of green mist sprayed out from his mouth.
Lu Han instantly felt his mind go blank, followed by a chill in his chest.
"Splurt!"
An arm was brutally inserted into Lu Han's chest, digging out a heart that was still beating.
"Is this my heart? It's actually still... red..."
Lu Han finished muttering, his vision went dark, and he knew nothing more.
Lu Han's death, however, caused that group of Corpse Fiends to go mad. They pounced towards those students from all directions. A fierce battle with a predetermined outcome had begun.