River Styx

"The Lady Moon is a Impermanence deity who favors rituals composed of Moon Grass, Seven-Colored Flower, and Soul Stone... Both the Necro-Spirit and the undead are within her sphere of protection."

"He controls the River Styx, a river that, according to legend, flows through the Spirit World and is only accessible to the dead... Believers believe they can be reborn through the River Styx."

"In the largest or highest church in the world, the Goddess performs miracles, causing the River Styx to appear and a real tributary to emerge... All believers, when circumstances permit, throw their bodies into the Tributary of the River Styx after death, believing that they will reach the Goddess's Divine Kingdom in this way and gain a new life."

"The River Styx... a river flowing through the Spirit World? Never heard of it, never seen it..."

Sulu was amazed and excited. "Judging by its size, there's probably no larger church in the world... Could it be that Lady Moon's Tributary of the River Styx is also nearby?"

Thinking about the large amount of spirit energy that could be invested in it, and considering his own Attribute Panel, Sulu had a premonition that he might be able to reap a batch of experience points there.

After all, through experiments and tests, he became increasingly convinced that the gain of experience points was related to the most essential aspect of the soul: the 'true spirit'!

"Search the surrounding area carefully; you should find something..."

Sulu originally thought this would require a careful investigation and search.

To his surprise, he found the ' Tributary of the River Styx ' behind the church!

This is a place for believers to worship and find solace; it is not a hidden place, and there are even signposts.

However, the ' Tributary of the River Styx ' that appeared was not quite what Sulu had imagined.

It is not in the shape of a river, but a huge lake!

This is an artificial lake built with pebbles and obsidian, forming a distinct black and white pattern, surrounded by a ring of white bones.

More importantly... it's completely dried up; there's not a drop of water inside.

"The River Styx?"

Sulu's Inspiration was directed outwards, but he did not observe anything unusual, not even from the Spirit World.

But he just felt something was off.

The skeletons here don't look like they're worshipping, but rather like they're fleeing for their lives!

Most of them had their backs to the lake, and some had already run a long distance, but still collapsed and died on the ground, giving the impression of a collective, instantaneous death.

Many people believe that, judging from the hardness and ornamentation of their bones, they are definitely extraordinary!

He came to the lakeside, before a skeleton clad in armor.

These were among the very few priests who did not flee but faced the lake head-on. The skeleton left a final message with its finger. "Gods... why have you abandoned us? Why have you brought down the River Styx as punishment?"

The writing was deeply etched into the marble floor, clearly indicating that the deceased was a powerful knight in life and harbored deep resentment.

But in the face of the waves of the River Styx, he was no different from an ordinary person.

"Gods... River Styx... Abandoned?"

Sulu was struck by Inspiration, as if he were witnessing a scene.

It was a man-made lake that had become boiling and noisy, with a large amount of River Styx water flowing back and sweeping in. The superhumans around screamed and fled for their lives, but it was no use!

Death instantly enveloped everything, sparing not even the people worshipping in the church!

"Did Lady Moon manipulate the River Styx to reap the benefits of the believers here?"

Sulu wasn't a believer in the Goddess, and immediately fixed his skeptical gaze on Him: "If that's the case, it explains why the deaths here were so 'clean,' leaving not even a single Wraith behind..."

Because all the spirits have been collected by the River Styx.

"Then why slaughter her own followers? Has Lady Moon gone mad? Or have the followers here already turned away from Him?"

Sulu couldn't figure it out, and didn't want to think about it anymore.

"If the River Styx still exists, I would definitely be able to find clues in the Spirit World... So the only explanation is that after killing all the believers, the Lady Moon's will left this world, and the Tributary of the River Styx here gradually dried up?"

Sulu felt somewhat disappointed.

But after thinking for a moment, he sent out a Shadow Clone clone, which leaped into the lake.

"It's very safe! There are no traps!"

"It really seems like... everything has disappeared."

"The relationships between gods certainly hold secrets! But they're not something I can access... Moreover, from the Ancient Serpent Society, and even from my own understanding, the Seven True Gods have been resisting the appearance of such beings, which has garnered attention since the beginning of legends..."

Sulu sighed and walked to the side of the artificial lake.

There are also numerous altars around here, bearing mottled and ancient marks, clearly used by believers for sacrificial rites in the past.

According to religious rituals, after a believer dies, the body is carefully dressed up, adorned with Moon Grass and Seven-Colored Flower, and placed on a small boat woven from Thornwood. After a prayer ceremony, the boat is placed in a lake.

When the ritual ends, the waters of the River Styx will devour everything and take away the souls of the dead.

"If Lady Moon truly had a long-standing faith in this world, even driving her followers to build such a magnificent structure... then the number of believers buried at sea here must have reached a terrifying level. Among them were a large number of professionals..."

He leaped down to the dried-up lakebed and picked up a pebble.

A light screen appeared on the Attribute Panel and popped up:

[XP+3]

"It really exists!"

Sulu took a deep breath. Although the experience contained in this stone was very weak, he glanced around.

This was an enormous lake. After it dried up, black and white obsidian and pebbles were everywhere, almost forming an ocean!

"It seems I'll be staying here for quite some time."

Sulu smiled.

His reason for exploring various ruins was to open up another source of experience points.

And now, a rich 'warehouse' is right in front of him!

"As expected... how could a world that once witnessed the Dawn of Gods lack experience points?"

Sulu clenched his fist excitedly, feeling like a mouse that had fallen into a rice granary.

"And indeed, the source of experience is related to the true spirit!"

"Perhaps... the River Styx carried away most of the spirits, but even the remaining 'dregs' are enough for me to reap a huge amount of experience and cross half of the legendary chasm..."

Experience points are not only found in killing, but also in some ancient books and even Curio.

Sulu believes that these items contain some 'spiritual energy'.

Here on the River Styx, the accumulated experience over time is terrifying!

It's even possible that the River Styx didn't take away the energy needed for the Attribute Panel; some of it remained and settled here!

He felt a pang of sadness at the Impermanence of life.

Unexpectedly, Black Death Society and Lady Moon, who were considered his enemies, actually helped him cross the threshold of legend!