"Krak…." A heaven-shaking tremor suddenly echoed above the Black Water. It turned out that the giant mosquito had withdrawn all eight of its massive legs from the stone wall overhead. The surface of the Black Water erupted in a thousand splashes as falling debris cascaded down.

"No way, it’s really going to fight now." Old Liu clutched his head, attempting to dodge the rocks raining from above. With a casual swing of the thin blade knife in his hand, he batted the debris aside. He frowned, "Which side do we take if these two start battling? Neither of them is easy to mess with."

"Nonsense." Ye Xiu thrust his palm forward, sending a violet flame that struck down a massive boulder in front of him. He pointed toward the Ferryman across the water. "Of course, we side with the one in the boat. I don't want that giant mosquito sinking his vessel."

While the two were exchanging these disjointed words, the giant mosquito had completely detached itself from the stone wall. It slowly fluttered its six wings, deliberately positioning its head directly toward them. Those two enormous red eyes seemed to foretell one thing: they were finished.

The Ferryman, for the first time ever, pulled down the cowl covering his head. Beneath the hood, however, there was no head at all—only a void as black as pitch.

Ye Xiu forcefully stabilized his nerves. It was incredibly difficult to process the sight of a headless figure brandishing a pole before him. He stared wide-eyed at Old Liu, who was equally stunned into silence.

"Swish…" The giant mosquito's attack was peculiar. Perhaps due to its immense size, its weapon didn't dive down from above; instead, it lunged its thick proboscis directly toward the ferryboat.

"Watch out." Ye Xiu, witnessing this assault, could only foresee one outcome: the small boat would never withstand such immense pressure and would certainly sink.

"Whoosh!" A gust of wind rushed past his ear. The headless Ferryman completely drew his slender pole out of the Black Water. As he spun the pole in mid-air, a streak of dark radiance instantly enveloped it, transforming the object into a long, slender scythe.

"Now that is the Grim Reaper's scythe!" Old Liu remarked, speaking to Ye Xiu while gazing at the weapon. "Don't you think you should have one of those cool-looking weapons too?"

Ye Xiu swallowed hard, completely mesmerized by the scythe. It was undeniably the scythe of death. A purple vapor emanated from the black shaft and the razor-sharp edge. Countless tiny skulls were etched onto the blade itself. Could it be that this Ferryman—no, this direct corporeal descendant of the Ancestor of the Styx—was somehow connected to the lineage of Death itself?

"Stop staring, duck!" Old Liu swiftly pulled Ye Xiu toward the center of the boat. Against a mosquito of such gargantuan proportions, his thin blade knife was utterly useless.

"Swish!" The Ferryman stood calmly at the bow, spinning his scythe in a wide arc. That single rotation cleanly sheared off a long section of the giant mosquito’s thick proboscis. However, the mosquito didn't scream and flee; instead, its thick mouthpart coiled back like a tongue. By the time it attacked again, it had transformed into dozens of smaller, slender needles, all aimed like pinpoints toward the boat.

The Ferryman stood steady before the two men, adopting an air of protection over Ye Xiu. He suddenly spread both hands and drew a circle in the air. As his hands retracted, a huge halo of hand-shaped shadows appeared around his primary hand.

"Is that the Thousand-Armed Guanyin?" Ye Xiu gasped, pulling Old Liu back to watch the spectacle unfold.

Old Liu rubbed his eyes, equally awestruck. "The Asura race inherently has many limbs. How did we end up witnessing such a world-shaking battle? This is going to kill us."

"Swish-swish-swish…" After several strikes, the Ferryman, with his many hands wielding the scythe, sliced the giant mosquito's mouths to shreds, scattering bits across the Black Water. His movements were so swift, it was as if his hands were not attached to his body but suspended freely in the air. No matter where the mosquito's needle-like mouths tried to hide, a hand and scythe were there to track and destroy them.

"Damn, that mosquito’s going crazy…" Old Liu suddenly roared and retreated toward the Ferryman's feet. It turned out the mosquito’s needle attack was just a feint; its two rear claws were already descending rapidly, slicing through the center of the boat.

Ye Xiu jumped forcefully to avoid the attack, but this maneuver sealed the boat's fate—it was going to sink, taking him and Old Liu down into the Black Water. Thinking quickly, Ye Xiu ignited his violet flames with both hands again, propelling himself high into the air. However, the closer he got to the giant mosquito, the greater the danger. He looked down at the struggling Old Liu and yelled, "Quick, throw the thin blade knife up here!"

Their coordination had greatly improved after the Mirror Palace leap. As soon as Ye Xiu spoke, Old Liu tossed the thin blade knife along with its silk line into Ye Xiu's hand. Ye Xiu yanked upward with all his might, pulling the almost-submerged Old Liu into the air. But when Ye Xiu looked back at the Ferryman, he saw him standing perfectly still on the half-submerged hull of the boat.

"Yee-haw!" Old Liu’s cry was ecstatic and frenzied. At that moment, his body was positioned right behind the giant mosquito, poised to land on the massive creature momentarily.

"What…" The subsequent scene left Ye Xiu utterly dumbfounded. He watched helplessly as Old Liu was about to land on the giant mosquito's back, only to pass clean through its abdomen. Immediately afterward, Old Liu dropped beside Ye Xiu. Lacking any support, both men plummeted heavily, their destination inevitably the cold Black Water.

"Quick, use the Ice Crystal!" Old Liu roared, breaking the stunned silence of their shared helplessness. At that moment, both of them activated the Ice Crystal five-pointed stars to encase their bodies. But just as they were about to hit the water, a new phenomenon froze them in place.

They had enveloped themselves in ice crystals hoping to temporarily ward off the severe cold of the Black Water. Yet, as they struck the surface, the ice crystals shattered as if they had collided with solid stone. The surface of the Black Water was clearly already solid.

"Old Liu, your Ice Crystal managed to freeze the surface," Ye Xiu said, unable to fully believe the power he was witnessing, but the Black Water surface was undeniably hard as rock.

Old Liu had taken quite a fall. As he climbed up, he hammered his fist heavily against the water. Although the surface shimmered, it produced a thick, solid sound—it was clearly a dependable floor.

"Rumble!" At this, the Ferryman stomped the remaining section of the boat and leaped high into the air. As he soared toward the giant mosquito, he began swinging the scythe in his hand wildly. The giant mosquito naturally refused to yield. Its two foremost legs began to sway violently left and right, attempting to sweep the Ferryman away. But the Ferryman executed a sudden shift, appearing behind the mosquito, and with a gentle upward sweep of his scythe, all six of the giant insect's wings were cleanly severed.