"Ye Xiu" let out a cry and immediately retracted his scythe, sprinting toward the cave entrance. Only when he leaped out without hesitation did he realize the sheer, unimaginable drop from the opening to the river below. He twisted his head in mid-air to look back at Old Liu, who was grinning at the exit, his expression clearly conveying, I’ve done it again, Ye Xiu, I’ve screwed you over.

The scene outside the cave mouth burst fully into Ye Xiu’s view. He now saw that the entire mountain was hollow. Within this vast, cavernous chamber, a city of breathtaking grandeur lay revealed. Its architecture was profoundly ancient, built mostly upon foundations of grass and timber. The city was segmented by three concentric walls, with a moat of flowing water encircling the outermost barrier. At the center stood a magnificent palace, ostensibly covered in grass, but the undeniable gleam of gold beneath the foundation stones betrayed its true nature—that had to be the resting place of Xia Jie's soul.

“Yee-haw…” Old Liu’s boisterous voice shattered Ye Xiu’s contemplation. The man swung down the cliff face, using the drag of his Thin Blade like a jungle ape, swaying side to side along the stone. As he zipped past Ye Xiu, he even made a face at him. “Don’t you go falling in the water, Death God. Heaven only knows how deep the water pools of the Xia Dynasty might be.”

Ye Xiu finally looked directly below him. The river spanned several dozen meters wide, its current remarkably swift. Logically, a moat shouldn't flow like this. No matter what, he had no desire to be soaked. Ye Xiu spread his arms, blasting his Purple Flame against the rock wall behind him, managing to push his body a step closer to the bank. Just as he was about to land at the river's edge, Old Liu let out a sharp cry of dismay from ahead.

“Damn it, these surrounding walls are much higher than they look!” Old Liu roared, having slammed directly into the barrier wall. He instantly lost his balance, stumbled, and plunged into the flowing water, sending up great sprays.

Ye Xiu found it hard to believe, but as he flew toward the wall, he deliberately used his Purple Flame to clear a path. Unexpectedly, the flame seemed to strike something solid, rebounding and throwing his body backward. Helpless, he plunged down with a splash into the water.

“Hey, Death God, can you swim? Don’t go drowning on me here!” Old Liu’s head popped up from the current. He laughed playfully, shouting toward Ye Xiu, “Ah, this is refreshing! Just what I needed, a bath.”

Though Ye Xiu wasn't a strong swimmer, for some inexplicable reason, he managed to handle the current with surprising ease. However, as he fell into the water, he distinctly felt something solid beneath the surface. Ye Xiu swam, fighting the flow, and yelled to Old Liu, “There’s something down here! Want to check it out?”

“How long can you hold your breath?” Old Liu was done bathing. He rummaged in his waist pouch again, pulling out two pills. He swallowed one and tossed the other to Ye Xiu. “Take this. It’s a divine medicine made from fish gills. Eat it, and you can breathe underwater like a fish for a short time.”

Ye Xiu caught the pill and swallowed it immediately. He asked with astonishment, “Old Liu, what kind of treasure is that waist pouch? Water can’t seep through it, and you have all these strange things inside.”

Old Liu didn’t explain. He pointed a finger at the water below and then submerged himself, tucking his head down. Ye Xiu followed him down. He had intended to hold his breath, but underwater, Old Liu swam over to him and said, “Relax, Death God. Your breathing is almost like a fish now. You can even talk!”

“Damn, that’s incredible!” Ye Xiu cursed Old Liu, instantly awed by his esoteric Daoist skills. “How profound must the ancient, strange Dao be? If I ever get the chance, you have to take me to see your place of origin.”

“I’d like to see it myself, but I have no idea where it is,” Old Liu replied, turning and swimming with the current. “This water probably doesn’t just circle the outer wall; there must be a lower outlet. Since we can’t get over the outer wall from above, I figure that’s the way in.”

Ye Xiu affirmed his logic and followed. The underwater passage seemed bottomless. Red aquatic plants drifted on both sides, swaying rhythmically in the disturbed water. He grew cautious. “Could there be Corpse Flowers in this water? If we run into them, my Purple Flame won’t do a thing.”

“Corpse Flowers don’t require moisture to grow; they hate places like this,” Old Liu paddled his feet like a duck and swam up beside Ye Xiu. “I’m more worried about unseen horrors in this water. If this river is usually a moat, then appearing within a mausoleum suggests there must be guardians.”

“And this isn’t just a mausoleum, it’s called a Soul Tomb…” Ye Xiu cautiously tilted his head, observing everything around him. The water weeds continued to sway. He glanced down into the black abyss beneath him, hoping there was nothing down there.

Old Liu led Ye Xiu onward through the water. Their time submerged felt strangely prolonged. He suddenly stopped and said to Ye Xiu, “This river shouldn’t be this long. I think we’re lost!”

“Lost? I saw the river circling the walls from the sky. How can we get lost swimming in one direction?” Ye Xiu couldn't believe Old Liu, yet after swimming for so long, the scenery underwater remained unchanged.

“There’s an invisible barrier above the wall; that means we must find a way inside through the water.” Old Liu pulled out his sunglasses and put them on, his entire focus now locked on the black depths of the river. “I think we’ve run into Water Ghosts.”

“Water Ghosts? You mean those things from the Styx?” Ye Xiu instantly recalled the ghostly hand that had reached out from the Styx, trying to drag him under.

Old Liu scrutinized the abyss closely, then sighed. “This moat is getting progressively lower. We seem to be swimming downstream, but in reality, we are descending deeper into the abyss. There’s something strange going on down here.”

“Even your sunglasses can’t see clearly?”

“No good! Something’s coming up!” Old Liu’s voice spiked with alarm, and he immediately started swimming upward, tearing off his glasses. “Damn it, we’ve been ambushed!”

“What the—?” Ye Xiu hadn't grasped the situation when the surrounding red weeds suddenly morphed into long, slender arms reaching toward him. Ye Xiu gasped in horror. How could there be so many arms in this river, existing independently without any body to anchor them?

“Hurry and find a way to the surface! There are so many more hands down here!” Old Liu yelled, pulling out his Thin Blade and striking the rock face of the bank. With a powerful yank, he launched himself clear of the water.

Uselessly, the Purple Flame was nullified underwater. Watching the long arms close in, Ye Xiu drew his Death God Scythe, slashing left and right to carve out a bloody path. However, every arm he severed immediately divided into two, then four, blocking his path again. He felt overwhelmed by the dense, swarming mass, seeing no hope of escape.