As Ye Xiu hesitated, the surroundings suddenly erupted in pale, dazzling light, and a heavy voice drifted out, permeating everywhere: "The main artery of the Styx is not a place for mortals like you to trespass."

Ye Xiu shielded his forehead with his hand, scrutinizing the area in the glare. At that moment, he and Old Liu found themselves within a massive circular chamber. Directly opposite them stood another iron gate, several zhang high. Etched upon the gate was a grotesque beast, resembling a hound but possessing three heads. Surrounding the gate were concentric circles of white candlelight. "Who is speaking?"

Old Liu remained impassive, his gaze locked forward. The spectral images of his Demon-Breaking Sword never dissipated near him. "Do you remember those strange hounds from the Nine Poisons Fierce Array? This creature is much larger."

Suddenly, the entire circular ceiling vibrated again. Chunks of ice rained down, falling into the back of Ye Xiu’s neck, sending a bone-chilling shiver through him. "What is this thing doing?"

"It seems a formidable entity blocks our path," Old Liu glanced briefly at the ceiling before his focus returned to the iron gate. "Is the one speaking to us this dog?"

"What!" Ye Xiu exclaimed, tilting his head back toward the gate in shock. At that instant, an immensely powerful frost energy surged from nothingness, growing stronger by the second. A colossal dog's head burrowed out from the iron gate, followed by a second, then a third. Accompanied by a violent gust of frigid wind, the mere appearance of the monster shook the entire space.

"The legendary Hell's Gatekeeper? So immense." This was not the first time Ye Xiu had encountered such a behemoth. No matter how one looked at it, the three-headed dog dwarfed his own body by tens of thousands of times. He hesitated, instinctively retreating several steps. "Look at its head!"

Old Liu, seasoned by countless battles, was also no stranger to such creatures. However, what concerned him was the icy magical power radiating from the three-headed dog, even though he sensed that power wasn't overwhelmingly strong. "Don't make such a fuss; it’s just a dog that has eaten too much."

"Eaten too much! Look closely at its head." Ye Xiu pointed frantically. In an instant, the massive body of the three-headed dog shifted out of the gate, occupying half of the vast circular room. It shook its head wildly, and thick layers of ice condensed around its feet, cascading and enveloping its entire form with loud cracking sounds.

"Hoo..." The three-headed dog exhaled a heavy, resonant breath upon manifesting. The chilling vapor rushed toward Ye Xiu and Old Liu, pinning them against the wall.

Experiencing this firsthand, Ye Xiu finally understood the true meaning of chilling frost. Just from that casual breath, his entire body was trembling. Looking over, he saw Old Liu also hugging his arms, hopping incessantly—a truly pitiful sight.

"It's you two!" That deep voice spoke again. The middle head of the three-headed dog shook violently several times, radiating intense malice. "The main artery of the Styx is not where you should be. Retreat now, and you may spare your lives."

"It's talking!" Old Liu’s eyes widened as he craned his neck to stare upward. It was hard to believe such an unknown behemoth could speak human language; it was truly bizarre.

"Spare your lives, ha!" Ye Xiu focused on the key point of the opponent's speech, which seemed different from the rest. At that moment, the corner of his mouth curled up, and his Dazzling Blade was already in hand. Without preamble, a flash of blade light erupted. In an instant, his eyes glowed with malevolent red light, and the air filled with the scent of gore as blood scattered and then fell. Only then did he hear the heavy ice layer covering the three-headed dog show slight chipping.

"O-hoho." The three-headed dog raised a massive claw, attempting to pounce on Ye Xiu. Unexpectedly, its sheer weight caused its movement to be slow, allowing him to dodge easily. "It seems you have chosen your own path to death. I, the Hell's Gatekeeper, shall stop your advance."

"Hey! Don't be so impulsive!" Old Liu could barely restrain Ye Xiu. Since his battle with Guan Si Yan, this fellow's temper had grown significantly more violent. Upon encountering such a huge monster, he immediately became eager, channeling his Soul Energy to charge forward again. "You could at least announce it if you're attacking! We stand a better chance if we go together."

"Hell's Gatekeeper, a fitting name!" Ye Xiu paid no heed to Old Liu's words. His figure flashed again, and scorched black flames erupted from his hands, relentlessly hammering the Gatekeeper. Immediately, large amounts of ice fragments melted within the room, and the presence of cold energy grew so dense it became almost suffocating.

The Gatekeeper’s three heads shook furiously, its massive paws flailing wildly in an attempt to shake Ye Xiu off its body. But Ye Xiu's feet moved rapidly, weaving back and forth across the creature's enormous spine. Every spot he ran across melted a significant amount of ice.

"It's useless. Your paltry flames cannot harm me!" the Gatekeeper boasted triumphantly, paying no mind to the attacks. "How could mere mortals like you challenge the might of the Asura Clan?"

"What's so great about the Asura Clan? This thing comes from the Dead Kingdom," Old Liu stated coolly, watching the battle. Hearing this, he raised a hand to point at Ye Xiu in the air, believing the beast was still too naive.

Ye Xiu completely ignored the Gatekeeper’s words. He sprinted rapidly across the creature's body, moving from its spine directly onto the head in the center. He immediately planted his feet on the central head and leaped upward. The crimson light of his Dazzling Blade flashed, his red-tinged gaze sweeping across the entire world: "No matter what clan you belong to, you will ultimately die beneath my blade!"

"Demon-Breaking Sword Shadows, rise!" Old Liu could no longer stand idly by and joined the fray. He launched himself into the air, attacking the thick ice layers on the Gatekeeper from the left and right alongside Ye Xiu. The Seven Sword Flying Shadows and the flowing black flames intensified their assault. The ice layer on one of the Gatekeeper’s heads was completely shattered away.

"The weakness is here!" Ye Xiu’s eyes lit up, gripping the Dazzling Blade tightly as he charged toward the bare head. Old Liu also noticed this, flipped in the air, and casually snatched his Demon-Breaking Sword, plunging it down from above into that spot.

"Aaaaah!" That dog head did not recoil in fear just because the ice was gone. On the contrary, a potent magical force began to accumulate within its maw. Just as the two were about to close in, it suddenly raised its head and unleashed a massive, sweeping beam of light, aggressively surging toward them.

"Hah!" Cold sweat beaded on Ye Xiu's forehead as he formed a wall of flame with his black embers to block the attack. In an instant, the circular scene blazed with light—what a spectacle! "I didn't expect this thing to have such a trick up its sleeve!"

Old Liu, following closely behind Ye Xiu, expended little effort. He observed Ye Xiu’s sometimes flushed eyes and questioned him, "Since you took the Styx Blood Dazzling Blade from Ming Luo Sheng, your killing intent seems much stronger."

Ye Xiu glanced at the Dazzling Blade. Its edge was perpetually laced with blood threads, seemingly originating from the hand gripping the hilt. "There is indeed something strange. I never felt this way even when I wielded the Death Scythe. It's very peculiar."