Long Jiangzheng was completely dumbfounded. This was the Ghost Baby Legion he had prepared, whose terror was beyond doubt. With them, he could definitely carve out a new domain in the frightful era. But in the blink of an eye, they were all gone?

Chu Hao was speechless. It seemed this toad was truly angered.

The toad swallowed all the Ghost Babies, belched, and appeared quite satisfied. However, in an instant, its expression darkened again, and it said, "Kiddo Chu, let's have a proper chat. You actually tricked this Emperor."

Chu Hao said, "Who tricked you? You should be thanking me. That was a Soul Treasure with a Fifth Order Curse Mark—a gift to you, and you're still not grateful? What's that about?"

The toad was livid. It spat out a huge fireball, three or four meters in diameter, which hurtled toward Chu Hao like a cannonball.

Chu Hao naturally dodged it. Long Jiangzheng, initially horrified by the toad's power, now felt a surge of joy. There's such a formidable Toad Spirit! It can deal with Chu Hao!

Chu Hao, relentlessly pursued by the toad and its barrage of fireballs, was in a sorry state. He finally got annoyed and snapped, "Warty Toad, are you ever going to stop? Do you think Brother Hao can't fight back?"

The toad ranted furiously, "Do you know how this Emperor has spent the last two days? Two days and two nights without sleep, constantly on the run!"

Feeling a pang of guilt, Chu Hao said, "But you're alive and well now, aren't you?"

The toad roared back, "You have the nerve to say that? This Emperor will kill you!"

The man and the toad were locked in a fierce battle. Long Jiangzheng, seeing his chance, wanted to retreat. Without the Ghost Baby Legion, he was no match for Chu Hao.

Even while fighting the toad, Chu Hao kept an eye on Long Jiangzheng's every move. Seeing him try to flee, Chu Hao rushed over and delivered a swift kick.

Long Jiangzheng went flying from the kick, slammed into a large rock, and was knocked out cold. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Chu Hao, panting, said, "Enough fighting. Let's get down to business."

The toad, still huffing but looking somewhat wronged, said, "What's wrong with this Emperor throwing a little tantrum?"

Chu Hao, shameless as ever, said, "Don't be so petty. A toad of your stature should be generous. You're alive and well now, aren't you? Let's figure out how to deal with the Netherworld People. What good does fighting me now do you?"

The toad roared, "This was your problem to begin with! You made this Emperor take the fall! Go to hell!"

They fought for a while longer. Chu Hao's clothes were scorched, and the toad, despite its tough hide, was also taking a beating and yelling in pain.

Finally, the toad settled down. Chu Hao walked over and kicked Long Jiangzheng awake. Terror filled Long Jiangzheng's face as he pleaded, "Please, don't kill me."

Long Jiangzheng was filled with immense regret. He knew Chu Hao was formidable. He had been too complacent—no, not complacent, foolish. And what rotten luck for a toad to suddenly appear out of nowhere!

Chu Hao, still fuming from his fight with the toad, was extremely annoyed at the sight of Long Jiangzheng. He kicked Long Jiangzheng squarely in the chest, making him scream in pain.

Chu Hao said, "The chance to live is one you earn yourself. Now, write down the names of everyone in the Long Chen Financial Group involved in producing the Ghost Fetus."

Long Jiangzheng despaired. Indeed, what they were doing was morally depraved.

Long Jiangzheng gritted his teeth and said, "The one behind the Long Chen Financial Group isn't someone you can afford to provoke. You'd better stay out of this. Actually, we can make a deal. You let me go, we'll pretend this never happened, and we'll stay out of each other's affairs in the future."

Chu Hao smiled faintly. Like father, like son. Long Shao was just the same.

Chu Hao crouched down and twisted one of Long Jiangzheng's arms until it snapped. The man screamed miserably, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at Chu Hao.

"You talk too much bullshit. Who gave you all the audacity to do such things? Who is the person behind the Long Chen Financial Group? If you don't tell me, I'll cripple you and make your life a living hell. This Taoist Master has ten thousand ways to torture you."

Terrified, Long Jiangzheng stammered, "It's... it's the Three Truths Sect! The Three Truths Sect is behind the Long Chen Financial Group!"

The Three Truths Sect? I never expected it to be them.

The Three Truths Sect is a major organization of the Evil Cult and a first-rate great sect. Its strength is said to rival that of Longhu Mountain, and it is one of the longest-existing evil cults to date.

Chu Hao narrowed his eyes. "How many people are involved in this? Tell me all their names."

Long Jiangzheng listed the names. They were all high-ranking figures in the Long Chen Financial Group.

Desperate to live, Long Jiangzheng added, "The real person in control of the Long Chen Financial Group is Fu Long! He's the second-in-command of the Three Truths Sect—"

Suddenly, Long Jiangzheng's voice died in his throat. His expression froze. Something seemed to be blocking his throat, and GURGLE, GURGLE sounds emerged as his face twisted in terror.

Then, tiny black insects began to crawl out from his throat. Long Jiangzheng couldn't make a sound. There were too many insects; they burst through his windpipe. Eyes wide with horror, he collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Gu insects.

Chu Hao recognized them as Gu at a glance. It seems someone used Gu on Long Jiangzheng. No doubt it was the Three Truths Sect.

As the Gu insects finished crawling out, Long Jiangzheng's body looked as if it had been completely drained of blood, utterly and irrevocably dead.

Then, the Gu insects swarmed toward Chu Hao.

Chu Hao snorted coldly. A surge of scorching True Qi erupted from him, and any Gu insect that came within a foot of him was instantly reduced to ashes.

Chu Hao murmured to himself, "Fu Long, huh?"

Chu Hao took out his phone and looked up Fu Long in the rankings. The man was a mystery—no photo, just a name—but he was listed as a 15-Star Yin-Yang Master.

So, he's the true target of the Black Iron Level Mission. He's the one controlling the Three Truths Sect.

However, Chu Hao had no intention of letting the other members of the Long Chen Financial Group off the hook.

The toad grumbled, its dissatisfaction clear, "Alright, let's sort this out. You need to compensate this Emperor for the losses inflicted upon me."

The toad was extremely dissatisfied and decided it was time to plunder Chu Hao thoroughly.

Chu Hao retorted, "You just swallowed three thousand Ghost Babies. Your strength must have increased, right? And those Ghost Babies were originally mine."

The toad was utterly furious, cursing, "You turtle! You bastard Wang Ba! Kiddo Chu, are you trying to swindle this Emperor? Thinking three thousand Ghost Babies is enough to send me away? If you don't compensate this Emperor properly, I'll stick to you all day!"

Chu Hao felt a headache coming on. "Alright, alright. First, tell me about the Netherworlder. Where is he?"

The toad, puffing its cheeks in anger, said, "How would this Emperor know? That guy is as elusive as a ghost! This Emperor already returned the Soul Treasure to him, but he's still relentlessly pursuing me! If it weren't for this Emperor's Demon Emperor life alignment, I would've been dead long ago!"

Chu Hao listened to the toad boast about its supposed near-death experiences and its demands for compensation—at least four Fourth Stage Curse Marks.

Chu Hao changed the subject—compensation was out of the question. "Speaking of which, you returned my Soul Treasure to the Netherworlder. Why is he still chasing you?"

The toad replied, "How should this Emperor know? But my guess is the Soul Treasure's original owner must be someone extraordinary. You disturbed their peace. I reckon the Netherworlder is trying to use this Emperor to find you."

Hearing the toad's explanation, Chu Hao felt a chill run down his spine.

"Don't scare me," Chu Hao muttered, though he was genuinely puzzled. Just then, he witnessed a terrifying scene that nearly scared the soul out of his body.

"Damn it!" Chu Hao yelled, jumping back in fright as he stared behind the toad.

The toad also sensed something was wrong. It turned around but saw nothing. "You're trying to change the subject! Hurry up and compensate this Emperor—five Fourth Stage Curse Marks, or I'll fight you to the death!"

Chu Hao backed away further, his hair standing on end. He swallowed hard and stammered, "Toad, there's... there's someone in your shadow!"