Lei Dong listened to the words and felt quite astonished, once again marveling at the sheer might of the legendary figure called the Death God, who had managed to weave the very laws he created into the fundamental laws of the universe. Compared to his own progress, where even the Law of Space was mastered only superficially, the gap between them was immense.

As the others spoke, Xiao You produced a five-colored spirit treasure, shaped like a shuttle or a boat, held in her palm, barely over a foot long. With a practiced flick of her hand and a murmur of incantation, the treasure ascended into the mid-air. It grew rapidly with the wind, soon stretching out several dozen feet, settling gently upon the surging waves of the Styx River like a small skiff. When the massive waves struck the spirit shuttle, it remained utterly unmoving.

It was abundantly clear that this spirit shuttle was no ordinary artifact. As expected, Xiao You revealed a hint of pride: "My Lord, this is a Primordial Spirit Treasure gifted to me by Father Emperor, named the Five-Colored Shuttle. It’s slightly different from the designation 'Side Court'—or rather, the palace designation. The Five-Colored Shuttle is a spirit treasure passed down from antiquity, specifically designed to traverse all manner of harsh aquatic domains. The environment within this Styx River is extremely severe, which the Five-Colored Shuttle is perfectly suited to counter. The only slight regret is that its interior space is too small to carry many people."

"Princess, you, the Young Master, and Senior Lei should ride within it. Your subordinates will escort you nearby the shuttle," the moment Xiao You spoke, the leader of the guards understood immediately and proactively took on the most arduous duty, unwilling to cause Xiao You difficulty. This also demonstrated the exceedingly high standing Xiao You held among these Ghost King-level guards. It was unsurprising: the Netherworld Ghost Emperor recognized Xiao You as his daughter, and she was a rare Heavenly Spirit Ghost, possessing inherently outstanding talent. Furthermore, having undergone the tempering of the Netherworld Essence alongside Lei Dong, once she successfully advanced to the Ghost Emperor level, the status of Empress of the Ghost Clan under the Netherworld Ghost Emperor would undoubtedly be hers. It was only natural for the guards to offer their flattery in advance.

Xiao You also breathed a small sigh of relief: "It’s not necessary for all of us to escort you through the Styx. Our team of ten guards can split into two shifts to alternate the escort duty." According to Xiao You’s intentions, of course, Lei Dong and Lei Long were not meant to enter the Styx directly. While the Styx could cleanse a portion of the malevolence from the soul, the accumulated filth within it over time was inexhaustible.

The guards all let out a silent breath of relief. Though they had no issue taking on the hardest and most exhausting tasks for the sake of the Princess, the Styx River was indeed extremely perilous. They would need to maintain full defensive postures before entering the waters, where their vital energy would deplete at an alarming rate. Without rest, it would truly be an agonizing and deadly endeavor. The ability to rest in shifts made things significantly easier.

Once the arrangements were finalized, the exquisite Five-Colored Shuttle moved like an extremely agile swimming fish, parting the Styx waters as it entered the river. Inside the shuttle, which felt no larger than a single small boat, Lei Dong saw only a dazzling spectacle of five-colored light, swirling and rotating continuously, preventing even a trace of the Styx water from invading.

Moreover, the Styx River was violently turbulent, with cresting waves often soaring dozens of feet high, resembling typhoon-induced tsunamis. This was merely the surface. Below, a mile deep, various undercurrents churned with ferocious intensity, occasionally whipping up dangerous whirlpools resembling tornadoes.

Yet, regardless of the severity of the environment, the Five-Colored Shuttle proceeded as if traversing flat ground. The undercurrents and whirlpools that swept over the shuttle caused not the slightest tremor or wobble. This Five-Colored Shuttle was indeed worthy of being a Primordial-grade Spirit Treasure, possessing distinct capabilities. It was only hard on the few Ghost Guard-level escorts outside, each manifesting shadowy black shields, looking as if they were struggling to swim while encased in bubbles. Fortunately, their strength was considerable; the weakest was a Mid-rank Ghost King, and the strongest guard leader was already a High-rank Ghost King. Thus, though the journey was arduous, they managed to persevere.

The lingering spirits roaming the Styx, upon catching the scent of the powerful aura of the large group, immediately vanished if they were weak. Only a few foolishly self-important and brainless resentful spirits would charge forward like moths to a flame. For the Ghost King escorts, although the Styx was not their home turf, their formidable strength allowed them to slay every single one that approached, with few escaping.

Of course, this was also partly due to good fortune thus far; they had not encountered any exceedingly powerful resentful spirits. Otherwise, even a single Nascent Soul level resentful spirit, operating in its own domain, would not be so easy to handle. However, resentful spirits at the Nascent Soul level already possessed developed intellect and would not be foolish enough to charge headlong into trouble with a group of Ghost Kings.

Inside the Five-Colored Shuttle, Lei Dong let his divine sense and gaze sweep across the chaotic, crimson-orange expanse of the Styx. Curiosity was his dominant emotion. No one had expected that this Styx River, legendary for transporting souls, would harbor such a diverse array of living creatures. The smallest were no bigger than a finger, but they moved in swift and fierce swarms numbering in the thousands.

The largest creatures were up to a hundred feet long, resembling sperm whales magnified many times over. Observing their aura, they possessed vigorous and extremely powerful vital energy. A single inhalation could often draw in dozens of various resentful spirits. However, these colossal beings seemed interested only in those spirits and did not approach to bother Lei Dong and his party.

They traveled deeper for about a hundred miles in this manner. The immense water pressure was already forcing the Ghost King escorts to take turns resting every hour or so. At this depth, the variety of life within the Styx had become richer. Powerful creatures, as if never having encountered beings like Ghost Kings before, attacked them in massive swarms. It was only due to the guards’ outstanding strength and battle-hardened experience that they could barely hold back the relentless onslaught.

While the Ghost Kings exerted themselves, Lei Dong and Lei Long merely observed. This was not due to unreasonableness or a lack of consideration for the guards. Rather, they needed to reserve their most precious combat power for situations where it was most appropriate. In theory, this trip down the Styx should not present major issues, but being far from home, in such a dangerous and mysterious place, demanded extreme caution from Lei Dong and the others.

Fortunately, the coordinates and map provided by the Netherworld Ghost Emperor were extremely detailed and precise. After descending about one hundred and fifty miles, they reached the valley floor. The bottom of the Styx was rugged and grotesque, with sharp, blade-like underwater mountains jutting up like countless spears.

Precisely locating a valley pit several yards wide, the Five-Colored Shuttle, under the protection of the Ghost Kings, easily pierced into the dark opening that resembled the gaping maw of a monstrous beast. Yet, something utterly bizarre occurred. The moment they entered this pit, it was as if they had arrived in another world. The formerly dim and turbid riverbed was suddenly replaced by streams of golden light, making even the Five-Colored Shuttle appear somewhat dim in comparison. Not only that, but the surging waters of the Styx River were miraculously held back by this vast cavern.

Everyone disembarked from the Five-Colored Shuttle. The ten Ghost King escorts were exhausted, immediately sitting cross-legged to meditate and regulate their energy. Their protection was what saw them through the journey so far.

Lei Dong, meanwhile, began inspecting this mysterious cavern. Everywhere was a brilliant golden hue, as if they were inside an enormous cave. Golden stalagmites hung inverted from the cavern roof, and it was these formations that radiated an extremely strange, golden light, illuminating the entire cave brightly.

Furthermore, the spiritual energy within this cavern was exceptionally abundant. With just a few breaths, one could detect pure spiritual energy entering the nostrils. If this location were not so remote and its environment so harsh, it would be an outstanding Blessed Land; perhaps even cultivators with slightly inferior aptitude would have a high chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Hmm?" Lei Long suddenly took a few deep breaths and frowned. "The spiritual energy here seems somewhat unique. Deep within my memory, I recall a profound fondness for this energy."

"Naturally. Father Emperor mentioned it to me before he left. Because this is a natural cavern located deep within the Styx River, it has existed for untold eons, seldom visited by living things. Therefore, within this nearly completely sealed independent space, some of the Primordial Chaos Spiritual Energy from the birth of the universe still remains. Of course, the quantity is relatively sparse," Xiao You also inhaled deeply and praised, "Cultivating here would certainly lead to rapid progress in cultivation. It’s a pity our time is limited."

Chaos Spiritual Energy? Lei Dong was slightly taken aback. No wonder he sensed an extremely active and unique aura within the spiritual energy here, one that felt invigorating upon breathing it in. He had initially assumed the energy was merely exceptionally pure. Who would have thought that Chaos Spiritual Energy, which had vanished from most places in the world, still lingered here? Unable to resist, Lei Dong inhaled a couple more times. As expected, although the Chaos Spiritual Energy was scarce, it instantly invigorated his spirit, and the true essence within his body stirred, eager to circulate.

"Boy, this is excellent stuff. Chaos Spiritual Energy—even in the era when my master existed, it had become extremely rare," the artifact spirit’s voice emerged in Lei Dong’s mind, sounding somewhat excited. "This cavern is like an untouched virgin territory. I can teach you an ancient formation called the Chaos Spirit Gathering Array, which can gather the sparse Chaos Spiritual Energy and store it in special containers."

"Chaos Spirit Gathering Array?" Lei Dong was slightly bewildered. "I’ve never heard of such a formation." But then he understood, letting out a wry smile, "It has probably been lost because we haven't heard of Chaos Spiritual Energy appearing for a very long time."