To rise with the sun and rest when it sets. While Sakurako, Ali, and Xing'er lived their mundane and tedious days, they were unaware that Xiaoyu and Xiaoshu, searching for the two children, were navigating treacherous mountains and rivers, overcoming dangers repeatedly on their way to meet them. Although the children themselves paid little mind to where they were or who might come looking, someone certainly cared about the appearance of Li Xiaoshu.

As soon as Xiaoyu and Xiaoshu entered the Sea of the Dead on that first night, Da Mao received the reconnaissance report. Perhaps you recall the creature—the golden-furred great monkey that squatted in the thicket, later given a rather unprofessional moniker by Ming Xiaoyu. Setting aside its actual scouting prowess, the creature had, after all, returned to its territory unscathed, delivering accurate intelligence directly to Da Mao. This afforded Li Xiaohao the necessary time to prepare. He absolutely did not wish for Sakurako to encounter Xiaoshu. From the moment he carried Sakurako away from home, he had determined that this woman belonged only to him for life. Despite the deep affection Sakurako held for Xiaoshu, fate was fate; since she had become the mother of the Ghost Infant, she could not become Li Xiaoshu's bride. Thus, he instructed Da Mao to place the Transformation Stone on the path the pair must take, conjuring the scene that would so profoundly shock Xiaoshu, hoping in this manner to suggest that they should leave voluntarily.

Unexpectedly, Xiaoshu’s will proved ten times stronger than Xiaohao had imagined. She buried her suffering deep within her heart, relentlessly continuing her journey to find Xing'er and Ali, even allowing a fragile thread of hope to sprout amidst her internal agony—a hope to see Sakurako one last time through Xing'er.

It was this very hope that plunged Xiaohao into overwhelming panic. He carried Sakurako from the mountain cave to the Immortal Spring overnight, gently stroking his wife’s lovely face under the bright moonlight. If he could, he wished to take both Xing'er and Sakurako away, never letting his own full brother lay eyes on them. But in this moment, Xing'er was bound to the stone by Sakurako; without her psychic energy, no one could break the iron chain. This was the legendary Self-Thought Lock, which only the one who originally fastened it could undo. Yet, he could not bear to let the former lovers meet, forcing him to summon the Monkey Tribe to bind the two near the cave, preventing them from wandering off and finding Sakurako.

The story reaches this juncture with no further suspense; everything unfolds according to one man's design. The only variable that person failed to account for was the fact that Xiaoyu and Xiaoshu would provoke the Spider Clan en route. In the world of the Sea of the Dead, danger lurked not only in the water but also, without exception, on land. Spiders here were vengeful beings, ten times more troublesome than mermaids. If one of their kin were attacked and perished, they could track the dying message released by the slain comrade, follow that information to find the culprit, and dispatch the enemy to hell using their unique methods. This strategy of concerted, retaliatory attack had proven successful time and again, effectively solidifying the Spider Clan’s dominance over the land within the Sea of the Dead; they had never failed.

At that time, the monkeys carried Xiaoyu and Xiaoshu into their territory. For the spiders, this was akin to other nations in the human world sheltering fugitives wanted in their own land, defending their right to jurisdiction even through force of arms. Consequently, what the group witnessed in the cave was a horrific spectacle: thousands of spiders crossed the ancient boundary that had separated them from the Monkey Tribe for generations, besieging everyone and everything associated with Ming Xiaoyu, catching the few completely off guard and routing them utterly.