The waters of the River Styx surged without rest, flowing day and night. They were murky beyond measure, making it impossible to see what lay at the bottom. Yet from the ferocious Abyssal Creatures that occasionally surfaced from the riverbed and swallowed unlucky souls who fell into the water in a single bite, one could tell that the River Styx was fraught with danger. Only the Ferryman's bone boats could safely carry passengers across it.
Bone boats drifted across the river's surface. From afar, they looked like lone strings stretched across the wilderness, left for wind, rain, and time to pluck.
All manner of Abyssal Creatures stood aboard the bone boats, each remarkably powerful. Their average strength was around that of a level-fifty Spirit King, and there was no shortage among them of Abyssal powerhouses comparable to Spirit Douluo and Titled Douluo.
Amid the motley assortment of ugly Abyssal Creatures, a particularly striking sight stood out: figures clad in black. They resembled tall human women, their entire bodies covered in dark purple scales. A pair of wings grew from their backs, with bone claws at the wing tips, while deep black light flickered within their eyes.
They looked very much like humans, and their appearances fit human beauty standards exceptionally well. They were incredibly beautiful, and even their figures would have been considered devilish in the human world—voluptuous and extraordinarily alluring. Yet they stood over three meters tall, the black scales covering their bodies giving off a cold, ghostly sheen.
They were the Black Empress Clan, a race unique to the 9th Abyssal Layer.
The Black Empress Clan was one of the rarest races among the layers of the Abyssal Plane, but their individual combat power was exceptionally formidable. In terms of average strength, they could even rank among the