The Land of the North Hades, located in the extreme north of the Blue Water Continent.
It is cold all year round, and it is desolate and barren and uncultivateable, so it is sparsely populated, and only a very small number of humans who live by hunting and animal husbandry survive here.
However, the reason why it is cold all year round is not only because it is located in the far north and rarely receives sunlight, but also because there is a big cold river flowing through it.
This great river is called the River Styx, and it is thousands of miles wide, and in general, such a wide river will always be bustling and weaving, but this river is so quiet that there is not even a single boat passing by - let alone a boat, even the lightest and lightest feather, as long as it falls into the river, it will quickly sink to the bottom, and there is no possibility of floating at all.
The water in the river is called weak water, and this kind of water has been described in "Journey to the West": "Eight hundred quicksand boundaries, three thousand weak water depths, goose feathers can't float, and reeds sink at the bottom." ” Moreover, not only can nothing float above the river, but there is nothing in the air above the river surface that can pass through - as long as there is an unwitting bird or even a spirit bird flying over the river, except that it will fly a distance greater or closer because of the inertia of the forward rush, and when the power of this inertia is exhausted, it will be like goose feathers and reeds falling into weak water, no matter how hard to flap its wings, it is like flapping in a vacuum, there is no trace of strength to borrow, and can only fall straight into the water in extreme panic and helplessness.
After that, they either sink to the bottom and drown alive in the weak water; Or it was swallowed by the underworld beasts in the water halfway, and became their mouth meat and belly food - although the water of the River Styx is "weak", so weak that humans and countless spirit birds and beasts can't set foot at all, but, everything is special, in this River Styx, there is a kind of water spirit beast called the Hades Beast, its body shape is like a black catfish, with extremely short limbs, the skin is covered with a layer of scale armor, and in the middle of the forehead, there is a black horn.
Most of them feed on their souls on weekdays, and they swallow them in one bite regardless of their size.
And if there are birds and spirit birds falling from the sky, they will also open a "foreign meat" and have a fresh and delicious meal.
It's just that these birds and spirit birds that were eaten by them have to be said to be lucky to go home - not only did they fall into the river in a daze, but they were also eaten by such ugly-looking guys, and more importantly, even the soul was swallowed directly without the slightest chance to escape......
The weak water is not only weak, but also extremely clear, and those with excellent eyesight can even see the scales of the beasts hundreds of zhang away through the river, so the beasts do not dare to get too close to the shore, for fear of being caught as a food tonic - although this beast has the "magical power" to swim freely in the weak water, it can be said that in the weak water, they are the absolute kings, but as long as they leave the weak water, they will be soft and lose their strength, and become the "lamb" to be slaughtered.
Moreover, as the so-called "one thing descends one thing, brine points tofu", the beast is almost invincible in weak water, but it is extremely afraid of a tree on the shore, this tree is called the Seven Corpses Tree, its posture is strange, no flowers, no leaves, no stems, no branches, the ground is the roots, the ground seems to be the roots.
The reason why this tree has such a terrible name is mainly because of its appearance—no matter how big or small, the "roots" of this tree growing on the ground are always divided into seven clusters, each of which resembles a human form, with a brain, a torso, and limbs, like a baby when it is young, and like an adult when it grows up, and because it only grows near the River Styx, it is contaminated with a strong dead air, so it is named.
Not only that, but if the wind blows by the river, they will also make a "whine" sound in the wind, which is extremely scary from a distance.
Even, there were people who didn't know about it, and they were scared to death by the Seven Corpse Tree!
To humans, the tree is ugly and scary, but it is not a threat, and it is okay to cut them down for firewood if you want to.
But for the beast, this tree is a complete nemesis - as long as its scale skin is pierced by the "roots" of this tree, whether it is a foot or three feet long, it is like taking anesthetic, and it can no longer move.
So the hunters used the tree to sharpen their arrows and tie strings to their ends to hunt the beasts.
It stands to reason that the surface of this beast's body is covered with scales, and it is also a water-based spirit beast, which should not be easily hunted, but the arrows made into the seven corpse trees can not only anesthetize it, but even break the scales are far better than fine iron, which can be said to be broken when touched, broken and numb, and when the hunters are grinding arrows, they will also deliberately make barbs one by one, so that as long as the underworld beast is shot, there is almost no way to escape!
Because most of the beasts feed on the soul throughout their lives, it has an excellent nourishing effect on the soul, which can make the old man energetic, let the child open his wisdom and enlighten his wisdom, plus its meat is delicious and tender, it is a rare ingredient and medicinal material, so this beast has always been highly sought after by people.
Once a hunter catches it, someone will soon rush to buy it at a high price—although there are not many humans who have settled in the Northern Netherlands, there are also many merchants who come and go.
It is precisely because of the existence of these merchants that the supply of underworld beasts has always been in short supply - the number of underworld beasts is too scarce, ordinary people may not be able to see one in a year, and even if they do, if the distance is too far and exceeds the range of arrows, it is extremely difficult to hunt them.
Therefore, this has formed an inextricable knot: the rarer it is, the more precious it is, the more precious it is, the more people scramble it, the more scramble it is, and the rarer it is, the more precious it is......
The reason why the beast is extremely rare, in addition to the non-stop hunting by humans, is more critical because of its brutal nature, and it has always been "a mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, unless a male and a female", and the male eats the male, the female eats the female, and the two beasts meet, and only one can survive.
Moreover, this "rule" that one mountain does not tolerate two tigers is not only between strange beasts, but even includes father and son, new mother and daughter - this beast is viviparous, if a female is born, the male beast will immediately take the little beast away and raise it alone, otherwise, the female beast will eat it; And if a male is born, the female will quickly take the little beast away to nurse alone, otherwise, the little beast will also die tragically in the mouth of the male beast!
Therefore, whenever the underworld beast gives birth, it is like a fierce battle, the father grabs the daughter, the mother takes the child, if the speed is a little slower, the other party gets the first opportunity, it will cause an irreparable tragedy - there are many little underworld beasts have just been born, and they have not even swam in this river of Styx, and they have become the food of their father or mother, so don't be too pitiful!
Some people say that the underworld beast is an extremely "cold-blooded" spirit animal, in addition to their hearts and intestines are extremely cold and brutal, and even their own flesh and blood can be mouthed, their flesh and blood are also cold - although the weak water in the River Styx does not freeze, but it is cold all year round, much colder than a general ice block, and it is difficult to survive in this environment all year round, and it is difficult not to be "cold-blooded"!