The Underworld was forever dim and gloomy, with a blackened sky above, dark earth below, and unsettling mist hanging in the air. Let alone the living—even the dead souls felt anxious here, trembling with dread day and night.
Fortunately, this did not last forever. Every so often, winds would rise in the Underworld. Vast gales swept through every corner, blowing the souls into the air like scraps of paper and fallen leaves, sending them drifting on the wind before they finally fell into the River Styx. There, they flowed along the river toward the destination and origin of all souls: the Sea of Souls, a holy land the gods yearned for yet were forbidden to approach.
Of course, on the journey to the Sea of Souls, intact souls would be scoured by the River Styx and gradually collapse, scattering into countless soul particles—the basic units that made up a soul. In this process, every trace of the soul's past would vanish completely; even the soul itself would cease to exist. In the future, those soul particles would join with others to form new souls and begin new lives.
Sui Xiong floated beside the River Styx, watching soul after soul get swept over by the chill wind and continuously fall into the river. Their faces had originally worn all manner of expressions, but not long after entering the River Styx, every expression gradually settled into peace, becoming tranquil and serene.
It was said that the souls in the River Styx were all asleep—a slumber from which they would never awaken.
With Sui Xiong's abilities, fishing a few souls out of the River Styx was no difficult task, and he had considered doing so. Souls that entered the River Styx were more or less ownerless; whoever had the ability to retrieve one