Meng Qiuqiu led the way, holding a powerful flashlight that illuminated the path and made it easier for Wang Shou to discern their direction. Before long, they entered the depths of the dense forest.
However, there was no sign of movement anywhere. They couldn't even hear the chirping of insects.
The oppressive silence was terrifying, as if they had entered a dead zone.
After an unknown amount of time, Wang Shou led everyone to a clearing deep within the forest.
It was a massive depression, thousands of meters in diameter. The soil surrounding it was dark and murky, and not a single tree or plant grew anywhere nearby.
Wang Shou pointed toward the depression and said to the group, "This is the Corpse Burial Pit!"
"Alright, let's draw out whatever is hiding in here!"
He stepped forward, reversed the blade in his hand, and thrust it forcefully into the ground.
A powerful ice-attribute Spiritual Ability instantly spread outward, and a layer of ice rapidly extended toward the Corpse Burial Pit.
Before long, the entire surface of the Corpse Burial Pit was covered in a thin layer of frost, and the surrounding temperature dropped significantly.
However, the Corpse Burial Pit showed no reaction whatsoever.
Shao Han's expression became somewhat awkward. He looked at Wang Shou and asked, "Is there another way to draw out the Corpse Mother?"
Wang Shou remained silent. After a long pause, he asked, "Do you really want to do this?"
At that moment, Zhao Mu, who had been silent at the back of the group, suddenly realized something.
He finally understood what had been bothering him all along!
"Are the things living in this place really corpse demons?"
His sudden question immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Shao Han turned to look at him. "Zhao Mu, what do you mean?"
Zhao Mu's gaze swept across the group before he looked at his surroundings.
The mountain forest was exceptionally cold at night. A cold wind swept through the trees, adding to the grim and desolate atmosphere.
"Rather than saying that corpse demons are mutated corpses, it's more accurate to say that they are a type of strange beast created through bacterial parasitism. They act almost entirely on instinct and have very little ability to think."
"Therefore, if there really were corpse demons here, they should have rushed out and attacked us long ago. After all, nighttime is when they are most active."
"Instead, this place is terrifyingly quiet!"
Zhao Mu had the most comprehensive understanding of the knowledge in their textbooks. Even his arch-rival, Shao Han, had to admit that.
Because of this, everyone present began to feel that something was wrong.
But if the things living here weren't corpse demons, then what exactly were they?
They had no time to find the answer.
The next moment, a strange vibration reached their ears, and the ground began to tremble violently, as if something were about to emerge from beneath the earth.
"Rumble!"
The earth shook.
Zhao Mu didn't hesitate for even a second. He immediately stepped in front of Mo Guanguan and Meng Qiuqiu, gripping his great halberd tightly.
"Watch out!"
Just then, an arm suddenly burst out from beneath the ground and grabbed toward Shao Han.
Shao Han's pupils contracted sharply.
Fortunately, he had undergone years of rigorous training, and the combat instincts his father had instilled in him were excellent. He reacted immediately.
Shao Han swung his first-grade Jinhai longsword, Frost Blade, downward.
Dense blue cold energy covered the blade, and with a single strike, the longsword severed the arm.
But immediately afterward, one corpse demon after another began crawling out from beneath the ground.
The scene was like a forest floor after heavy rain, with countless seventeen-year cicadas crawling out of the soil.
Except these weren't cicadas.
They were corpses in various stages of decay!
"Damn it! What's going on here? These... these should be corpse demons, right?"
In the blink of an eye, the group found themselves surrounded by a swarm of corpse demons.
Chen Tang, who was standing beside Shao Han, gripped his spear tightly. Three corpse demons were crawling out of the soil in front of him.
With a furious roar, he swept his spear across them!
One of the corpse demons had its upper body shattered instantly.
However, when the spear struck the second corpse demon, it produced a dull thud.
The corpse demon wasn't shattered.
Instead, a wisp of black Spiritual Ability emerged from its body, rising like a burning flame.
"What?!"
Everyone was stunned.
Corpse demons that possessed Spiritual Ability?
Zhao Mu's expression tightened.
"It's finally here!"
This place had been a battlefield for Spirit Power Users ten years ago, and many of the soldiers who died here had been Spirit Power Users.
After their bodies were infected, some of them had a chance to become corpse demons while still retaining their Spiritual Abilities.
And the number of corpse demons like these was gradually increasing.
They crawled out from beneath the earth. Some had already transformed into Puppets over half of their bodies, exposing grim, white bones.
Yet the chilling wisps of Spiritual Ability still covered their bodies.
Looking across the area, it seemed as if countless clusters of black flames were rising from a massive graveyard.
A huge number of corpses crawled out from beneath the ground.
In an instant, there were already thousands of them, and even more continued to emerge from underground.
Even though they were nothing more than corpses, the sheer number of corpse demons possessing Spiritual Ability was enough to make the fourteen people present feel their scalps tingle.
Even the experienced Liang Zhichu couldn't help but exclaim in shock, "How can this be? Why are there so many corpse demons here?"
Zhao Mu took a deep look at Wang Shou, who had led them here.
A trace of deeply concealed killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Something was definitely wrong!
If there really were so many corpse demons here, Qingshan Village should have been wiped out long ago.
Could there be something wrong with Wang Shou?
Had he deliberately lured them here to kill them?
But why?
They were merely a team from the New Recruit Camp of Qingfeng Camp. As far as Wang Shou was concerned, they were insignificant.
It made no sense.
The suspicion in Zhao Mu's heart grew stronger. He had a feeling that this remote little mountain village was hiding some enormous secret.
And Wang Shou was definitely involved!
At this moment, Wang Shou's expression also became tense.
He raised the hunting knife in his hand. Powerful Spiritual Ability surged from his body as he desperately hacked and slashed at the surrounding corpse demons.
"Hurry! Leave this place!"
He shouted at Zhao Mu and the others.
However, it was already too late to escape.
The entire area was filled with corpse demons!
"Stay calm! Even if they possess Spiritual Ability, they're still just corpses! They aren't the warriors they were when they were alive. Everyone, stand back-to-back. Don't get separated. We'll fight our way out!"
Liang Zhichu shouted.
He drew a two-handed sword from his waist, and the Spiritual Ability surrounding his body surged like a gale. He was clearly a wind-attribute Ability User.
He swung the two-handed sword forward, creating a massive whirlwind that instantly sent more than a dozen corpse demons flying.
However, a group of corpse demons covered in black Spiritual Ability was also drawn toward him.
They let out terrifying roars and charged at him with astonishing speed.
Because corpse demons acted purely on instinct and weren't limited by the need for conscious thought, they possessed tremendous speed and strength.
The dozen or so corpse demons possessing Spiritual Ability reached Liang Zhichu in an instant.
Liang Zhichu gritted his teeth as the two-handed sword in his hands began glowing with brilliant cyan light.
"Tornado Shredding Disk!"
The Spiritual Ability surrounding the blade began spinning violently like a massive gear. The spinning energy grew larger and larger until it formed a five-meter-wide disk.
Then, with terrifying force, it tore through the air and swept toward the corpse demons in front of him.
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