"Save me, quickly!" Yexiu hung suspended in mid-air, watching the monstrous spider thrash and writhe on the ground below. No matter how desperately it struggled, it could not break free from the webbing.

Old Liu ignored Yexiu and charged again toward the massive spider lying on the ground. Just as he prepared to use the Thin-Blade Knife for another lethal thrust, he heard a chorus of scuttling sounds behind him. When he spun around, he saw that the stone crevices, previously empty, now teemed with countless smaller spiders, each glaring at him with seven or eight menacing eyes as they crawled closer.

"Black River Water! If Black River Water can freeze these strange silk strands, it must be able to control them too!" Intuitively, Yexiu knew he was safe for the moment, suspended overhead. He carefully reviewed the recent details. Just as venomous snakes always have antidote herbs growing nearby, spiders cursed by the Asura tribe must have something they fear from the Asura heritage. For now, it seemed that only this cold, dark water of the Sea of Blood was the answer.

Following Yexiu's shouted reminder, Old Liu abandoned the mother spider on the ground and sprinted to the riverbank. He whipped his heel rapidly against the black water, sending droplets scattering directly onto the swarm of smaller spiders behind him.

"Jee... Aow..." Accompanied by quiet but equally pained sounds echoing in the cavern, the smaller spiders slowly retreated back into the stone crevices. At that very moment, the enormous mother spider seemed to shake off its agony. With a powerful leap, it landed directly onto the web where Yexiu was trapped.

"Hoo..." Yexiu fought down the terror rising in his chest, forced to watch the repulsive creature circle him. It slowly extended one foreleg, coming within a hair's breadth of touching his sternum.

"Yaah!" Overwhelmed by fear, Yexiu instantly ignited the Purple Flame in his hand. Though this flame couldn't melt the webs encompassing him, it was potent enough to startle the mother spider. After another bout of frantic writhing, it leaped to the cavern ceiling, its body dissolving once more into the enveloping darkness.

Below, Old Liu constantly rubbed his foot, apparently finding the Black Water intensely corrosive to his skin.

Before Yexiu could fully regain his composure, the seven-legged mother spider reappeared, clinging to the rock face beside him. Yexiu could clearly see the green lights of its eyes atop its head, each one looking intensely bizarre and vicious. He was terrified but dared not make any loud sound to alert it: "Old Liu, think of something quickly! My Purple Flame might not be enough to deter this one."

Hearing Yexiu’s cry, Old Liu responded with a confident smile, suggesting he already had a plan in mind.

"Aow!" Just as predicted, the mother spider launched itself from the rock face toward Yexiu, its pincer-like mouth already looming inches from his face.

"Now!" Seizing the precise moment, Old Liu hurled the Pentagram outward again. His timing was impeccable; just as the mother spider was about to engulf Yexiu, the Pentagram instantly exerted its freezing effect, encasing both Yexiu and the spider in a block of ice.

Yexiu cursed Old Liu mentally, yet he knew this was the only way to neutralize the creature. However, Old Liu's freezing power with the Pentagram was limited; it could only mildly cool the webbing and slightly slow the mother spider’s movements.

"This is the only way to finish it," Old Liu declared. He used the Thin-Blade Knife to tightly secure Yexiu's entire body, then yanked, pulling Yexiu and the spider together until they were right in front of him. Without hesitation, he treated them like a soccer ball, kicking the clump of ice forcefully into the Black Water.

"Damn you!" Yexiu had never expected this extreme tactic, grumbling inwardly. But as he plunged with the mother spider into the dark water, the spider beside him instantly froze into a massive block of ice. The flash-freezing effect was so pronounced that the large ice mass shattered into countless smaller fragments without any external force, sinking silently into the Black Water.

"Thump, thump." Old Liu watched from the shore until the mother spider was clearly neutralized before hauling a frozen Yexiu onto the bank. Yexiu collapsed onto the ground like a block of ice, utterly miserable.

"Release!" As Old Liu canceled his spell, he retracted the Pentagram. Instantly, Yexiu thawed out of the ice block, the chilling cold of the Black Water immediately seeping into his body.

"You... what... what the hell were you doing?" Yexiu shivered as he managed to stand up, desperately trying to reignite his Purple Flame to ward off the internal chill. Old Liu’s action had deeply infuriated him; the man was clearly getting back at him for something earlier.

Sure enough, Old Liu gave a simple, honest smile and spread his hands: "Now we're even. Neither of us owes the other anything. Besides, it’s not the first time you’ve taken a dip."

Yexiu understood that eliminating the monster required drastic measures. Once his body acclimated slightly, he sank onto the bank, exhausted. He complained grumpily, "How much further to the end of this Styx River? One spider almost did us in."

"Good thing the thing wasn't venomous," Old Liu said, pulling some herbs from his pouch to clean his own wounds. His prognosis, however, was less optimistic than his immediate self-care. "The Styx River is where Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva eradicated the Asura tribe. This mother spider, being an object cursed by the Asura, has only one duty: to guard the last remaining souls of the Asura."

"Guarding souls? Is this thing some kind of tomb keeper?" Yexiu began warily watching the quiet black water churning beside them. If the mother spider was guarding a tomb, it meant the Asura race was likely interred right here in this dark water.

Old Liu nodded, tying off his bandages tightly. "I originally thought this Styx was just a tributary of some nameless underworld river. But now, with the mother spider guarding Asura souls appearing, this river must contain the very essence of the Asura. In other words, this might be one of the Four Great Styx Rivers."

"The Four Great Styx Rivers? You mean this place is the battlefield where Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva once suppressed the Asura?" Yexiu gasped, a cold dread washing over him. The Asura were notoriously warlike and bloodthirsty; being so close to the resting place of such a race meant the peril here was beyond description.

"It seems the opportunities buried within the Nine Paths of Vicious Formations are too profound, fitting for a place so saturated with malevolent energy," Old Liu stated gravely, his expression grim. "The Four Great Styx Rivers of the Primordial Era were: the River of Wrath (Oath River), the River of Resentment (Grief River), the River of Sorrow (Lament River), and the River of Fire. Each river harbors the accumulated resentment of the Asura tribe when they were crushed by despair. We don't know which river we are in now, but we must tread with extreme caution moving forward."

"Just how immense must the power of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva have been to suppress such a terrifying race?" Yexiu, being a Shinigami himself, believed implicitly in all the ancient Eastern legends. Though he had never seen them firsthand, even hearing the tales was enough to ignite his profound curiosity.