In the blink of an eye, Ye Yuqiao had brought Chen Hao to a deserted spot on the sidewalk opposite the farmers' market. Then, wails filled the air, reaching the ears of both.

Chen Hao looked around the street and saw only a hazy morning fog. Through the haze, he could make out the silhouettes of people running and the sudden flash of car headlights.

Next, Chen Hao activated the Nether Vision Technique. Habitually, he glanced at Ye Yuqiao beside him before turning his attention to the dense fog ahead.

Once his vision pierced through the fog, a chaotic scene unfolded on the sidewalk in front of the farmers' market, with bodies strewn everywhere: panicked people were fleeing in all directions, trampling over corpses whose souls had been reaped by the Hand of Death.

On the ground, smashed eggs, overturned motorcycles, feathers flying in the air, and fresh, lonely vegetable leaves were all being ruthlessly or carelessly trampled, just like the bodies.

With each successive piercing scream, more and more people fell to the ground. Gradually, blood pooled into rivers, creating an exceedingly gruesome spectacle.

As the merciless trampling and screams persisted, Chen Hao began to search for the black Hand of Death within the thick fog.

"There!" Ye Yuqiao pointed to her right, and with the help of Chen Hao's sight, she spotted the black Hand of Death flickering with dark light.

"Yuqiao, use the Nether King's Light to destroy it!"

"Without the Nether King's Heart, I can't unleash the Nether King's Light, otherwise, I would have gotten rid of it long ago. I was born with a destiny of fire and can only release the Nether King's Fire without the Nether King's Heart, but sadly, the Nether King's Fire cannot burn it to death!" Ye Yuqiao anxiously explained to Chen Hao.

"So that's how it is!" Chen Hao sighed helplessly, "I'll go lure it over!"

Having said that, Chen Hao took out the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword from his pocket and infused it with Yang Energy. Once the Evil-Banishing Moon Sword shone with a yellow light, he brandished the sword and charged into the fog towards the black Hand of Death.

Chen Hao had only run halfway when suddenly, a patch of fog gathered in front of him, and then Zi Que materialized with an indignant expression.

"I can't believe you dare to show up in front of me?" Zi Que looked coldly at Chen Hao and said, "And you appeared so quickly!"

"Yes, here I am. Aren't you trying to kill me to avenge that female ghost?" Chen Hao said with a scornful laugh.

"Where's the girl who saved you the night before last?" Zi Que squinted his eyes and asked coldly, "Who exactly is she?"

"Catch me and I'll tell you!" Chen Hao replied with a cold laugh.

Without another word, Chen Hao leapt into the air and vanished into the blurred fog.

"Once I catch you, you'll have no chance to speak!" Zi Que said murderously, and then he transformed into a hazy fog and pursued Chen Hao.

In midair, Chen Hao looked back and unleashed the "Escape is Futile" sealing technique towards the black Hand of Death within the fog.

But no sooner had the six characters, flickering with golden light, appeared in the air than Chen Hao felt immersed in a powerful wave of Yin Qi.

Before he could dodge, Chen Hao's shoulder was viciously slammed by the black Hand of Death.

Then, that sensation of the soul being pulled away overwhelmed him like a tsunami, and immediately after, all consciousness in Chen Hao's mind vanished.

A dark purple light column shot up into the sky once again, and Zi Que reappeared behind Chen Hao, his incredulous facial expression illuminated by the dark purple glow.

"What on earth is going on with this kid's left eye?"

"It's the Nether King's Heart!" Suddenly, Ye Yuqiao's voice sounded from behind Zi Que.

Startled, Zi Que turned around. The moment his eyes landed on Ye Yuqiao, a black fire ignited upon his body, instantly engulfing him whole.

"Ah!" Intense burning pain spread throughout Zi Que's body, forcing him to clench his teeth and let out a wretched scream. "This is the Nether King's Power! Could it be you are the legendary Fourth Generation Underworld King?"

Ye Yuqiao clutched Zi Que's throat, glaring at him and said angrily, "I will vanquish you in place of my imperial grandfather. You betrayed him!"

"I did not!" Zi Que roared at Ye Yuqiao, "Originally, it only took us half a month to deal with all the evil spirits that had fled. Little did I expect that, apart from me, those other sixteen wished to remain in the mortal world! At that time, conflict arose among us, and we parted on bad terms. Later, I found them one by one, persuading each in turn. But in the end, I never did find my brother. Moreover, on the day we had agreed to return to the Netherworld, none of them showed up at the prearranged meeting place!"

"Then why did everyone, including your brother, come back later? Why were you the only one who didn't return?"

"Impossible!" Zi Que shook his head repeatedly, "I did find my brother later on, but by then he was already dead, nothing but a pile of bones, and his left hand had been chopped off!"

Ye Yuqiao was taken aback and, after pondering for a moment, she suddenly realized and exclaimed in shock, "So, the sixteen who went back to report to the Second Generation Nether King were all impostors?"

Zi Que's eyes shone with earnest fear as he replied, "Very likely! The other sixteen might have been killed just like my brother, and those who went back to report to the Second Generation Nether King were all fakes!"

"You said your brother's hand was chopped off? Could it be that someone wanted to collect the arms of all seventeen of you to obtain a complete arm?"

"Who would want to do such a thing?" Zi Que asked with suspicion.

"You!" A voice suddenly came from behind Zi Que.

His body shuddered, Zi Que swiftly turned around, only to see Chen Hao standing unharmed behind him.

"How did you come back to life?" Zi Que asked in disbelief.

Chen Hao smiled and returned the question, "What do you think?"

Just before Zi Que's Hand of Death made contact with his shoulder, Chen Hao had told Ye Yuqiao through the Nether King's Heart that if the Hand of Death were to touch him, Ye Yuqiao mustn't come to his rescue.

Because Chen Hao firmly believed that he would surely rise from a desperate situation, just as he always had at critical moments.

Indeed, just before his Yin Soul plummeted into the Eighteen Levels of Hell, the two streaks of Nether King's Power above Chen Hao's left eye had been completely absorbed into his body, causing a significant increase in his Spiritual Power.

Meanwhile, the Nether King's Power that had been frozen by Ye Yuqiao flew out of Chen Hao's body at that moment, pulling him back from the brink of the gates to the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

Ye Yuqiao didn't worry in the slightest about Chen Hao's risky decision because she believed Chen Hao couldn't bear to leave her alone in the mortal world.

After a snort of laughter, Zi Que retorted, "How could it possibly be me! Don't forget, one of those sixteen people was my brother!"

"What if your brother isn't dead either?" Chen Hao queried back.

"Ah!" Zi Que's complexion darkened, "How do you know my brother isn't dead?"

"Not only is your brother not dead, but originally none of you seventeen went back at all!"

"How exactly do you know?"

Ye Yuqiao looked at Chen Hao with surprise, harboring the same question in her heart.

"Because..."

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