Underworld

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Underworld (地府)
Alias(es)	Netherworld
Affiliation	Independent forbidden-zone power; later ruled by Duan De as the returned Nether Lord 131 260 283
Occupation/Role	Collects corpses, creates and commands Yin soldiers, Yin generals, and War Slaves; recruits or refines outside cultivators 12 13 17
Status	Active; brought under Duan De's control after the Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure's deity dispersed and four Supreme Beings submitted 260
First Appearance	12

Background / History

The Underworld was founded by the Nether Lord during the Mythological Era. It accumulated ancient corpses from across the universe, including beings from the Mythological and Chaotic Ancient Eras; some regained sentience and their former combat power, helping the Underworld bring down the Heavenly Court of that age 131 283.

Its rulers are organized into three small branches tied to Imperial Dao figures. These “royal relatives” act as household servants and administrators for the Supreme Beings, wielding authority from the Underworld's core while ordinary Yin soldiers and generals serve below them. One branch traces to the Prison Suppressing Emperor, a former Heavenly Venerate who survived the siege of Emperor Venerate before entering the Underworld 17.

After the Void Blood War, the Underworld's forces were heavily targeted by outside cultivators. Its Yin soldiers and generals were slain or forced into hiding, while numerous powerful corpses remained uncollected or had yet to awaken. This shortage drove an aggressive recruitment campaign for living cultivators 13.

Zhang Huan entered as an Outer Saint, drawn by resources including Primordial Life Essence, Quasi-Emperor insights, and Dao Fragments. He discovered that these generous terms were bait: the Underworld intended to refine foreign recruits rather than merely employ them 13 17. He exploited its burial grounds for Origin, secretly prepared his escape, and later plundered its resources during the aftermath of the Demon God Flower battle 14 22 30.

During the contest for the Demon God Flower, the Underworld activated a concealed Emperor Formation and deployed the Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure to trap and refine the gathered cultivators and Emperor Weapons. Its intended prize was an Undead Mysterious Bird, which would have allowed it to dominate the universe through an army of undead 28 29.

Zhang Huan later attacked the Underworld with the completed Immortal Sword, killing one Supreme Being and wounding two others. The Underworld surrendered treasures and a joint Imperial Decree in exchange for peace 38. The decree subsequently passed to Duan De, who used it to reclaim authority as the Nether Lord 100 259 260.

Appearance

The Underworld is a vast, death-saturated wasteland concealed from the outside world. Its landscapes are marked by black desolation, blood rivers, corpse mountains, bone seas, burial pits, ancient tombs, and monumental steles recording its history 12 13 18.

• An endless sea of white bones occupies only one corner of its burial grounds; larger pits may contain the remains of entire eras 18.
• A perpetual dark cloud and dense Yin energy obscure the land and conceal its dangers 18 259.
• Its inhabited regions use Domain Gates and Five-Colored Altars to receive recruits and transport personnel 28.
• Ancient steles preserve biographies, historical secrets, Origin Arts, and inheritances seized from other traditions 13 39.

Organization and Governance

Ruling branches

The Underworld's ruling class consists of three branches associated with Imperial Dao figures. Their members are few—only several hundred at most—and reside in the Netherworld's deepest core, largely unknown to ordinary personnel 17.

• Prison Suppressing Emperor branch — Descended from or associated with the Prison Suppressing Emperor; its members share responsibility for serving the Supreme Beings and receive extensive resources 17.
• Underworld Lords — High-ranking authorities who direct major schemes, negotiate with external powers, and manipulate seals and formations 127 130.
• Supreme Beings — The Underworld retains multiple hidden Supreme-level figures, supported by its formations, Dao principles, and immortal artifact 259.

Personnel

Rank / Group	Role
Yin Soldiers and Yin Generals	The Underworld's ordinary military personnel; historically deployed outside its territory but later driven into concealment by hostile cultivators 13
Outer Saints	Living cultivators recruited from outside; often sent to battlefields as expendable forces 28
War Slaves	Powerful corpses or captives refined into puppets and bound to eternal service 13 20
Spirit-awakened corpses	Corpses restored to consciousness and potentially indistinguishable from living beings 12
Supreme Beings / Emperors	The organization’s highest combatants and decision-makers, including the Prison Suppressing Emperor, Longevity Heavenly Venerate, Yan Luo Emperor, and Ghost Emperor 17 201

Imperial Decree

The Underworld recognizes an Imperial Decree rather than its bearer. Whoever possesses it is treated as the most honored Emperor of the Underworld and can command its resources and personnel, while the Ancient Emperors bound by its formations cannot resist 100.

The Underworld's Supreme Beings prepared sealing chains intended to bypass the decree's restrictions if it returned through the Divine Emperor's descendants. When Duan De appeared with it as the returned Nether Lord, they attempted to use those chains against him instead 260.

Methods and Objectives

Corpse collection and reanimation

The Underworld searches the starry sky for divine corpses and preserves vast numbers of exceptional physiques in its burial grounds. Its resources include Supreme Immortal Bodies, Extreme Cold Bodies, Divine King Bodies, and other rare remains 14 17.

• Reanimates corpses through spiritual awakening 12.
• Refines powerful captives or corpses into War Slaves 13 20.
• Uses corpse-derived methods such as Corpse Pills and soul-stabilizing treasures 20 21.
• Studies Chaos Bodies and uses Chaos Blood to further its research 283.

Recruitment contracts

The Underworld offers assistance and powerful artifacts to desperate cultivators in exchange for their souls. Those who accept are bound by contract: after death, their souls return to the Underworld and are dispatched indefinitely 12.

• Great Saint recruits can receive Primordial Life Essence, Quasi-Emperor insights, and Dao Fragments 13.
• Recruits are assigned residences, resources, contribution systems, and tasks 13.
• The organization covertly treats foreign cultivators as material for refinement 17.
• Outer Saints are frequently deployed to dangerous battlefields, where their survival rate is believed to be extremely low 28.

Refinement and manipulation

The Underworld specializes in exploiting corpses, souls, and lingering obsessions. Its schemes extend to Deity Thoughts, Emperor corpses, and the conversion of powerful beings into controllable assets 130 132 201.

• It sought the Ghost Emperor's vital essence as a catalyst for a curse targeting the Deity Thought inside an Emperor corpse 132.
• It intended to use the Demon God Flower and the Ancestral Mysterious Bird Egg to create an Undead Mysterious Bird 28.
• Its Quasi-Emperors planned to refine all cultivators trapped in their formation into Origin Source for that creation 28 29.
• Its Chaos Monsters can merge with Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasures, becoming opponents that even contemporary Great Emperors may struggle to defeat 172.

Infrastructure and Relics

Asset	Description
Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure	The Underworld's immortal artifact, attributed to its founder. It is a dark treasure wheel covered in immortal symbols and possesses laws feared even by Emperor Weapons 29. Zhang Huan marked it as its half-master, while its deity later dispersed rather than submit to Duan De 38 260.
Emperor Formation	A complete formation infused with the insights of several Supreme Beings. It can transform a star domain into a refining furnace capable of trapping and killing Supreme Beings 28 29.
Imperial Decree	A decree that grants its holder supreme authority over the Underworld and access to all of its resources 100.
Longevity Sword	A weapon used by the Underworld in dealings with the Ghost Emperor and to receive its vital essence 131 132.
Ancient steles	Records containing Underworld biographies, rare historical knowledge, Origin Arts, and seized inheritances such as material related to Spirit Treasure Heavenly Venerate 13 39.
Burial grounds	Vast corpse repositories containing ancient tombs, bone seas, blood rivers, and remains from many eras 14 18.
Domain Gates and Five-Colored Altars	Transport infrastructure used to receive recruits and move Underworld personnel across the void 28.

Major Conflicts

Demon God Flower conspiracy

The Underworld concealed a complete Emperor Formation beneath a star-domain-wide Origin Arts formation designed to isolate auras and spiritual sense. Once the Demon God Flower ripened, it exposed the formation, trapped major powers, and deployed the Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure 28 29.

Its forces used the Heavenly Halberd, the Golden Mace, and the Nether Treasure alongside the Emperor Formation to suppress Emperor Weapons. Although the Void Mirror escaped through a gap created by a sacrificed Hegemon Body forbidden artifact, the other trapped weapons faced eventual sealing 30.

Zhang Huan's retaliation

Zhang Huan infiltrated the Underworld, learned its layout and secrets, and later joined the Void Mirror in raiding it. He killed a War Slave guarding the ancient steles, looted resources, and acquired treasures including the Ethereal Azure Gold Cauldron 30.

After forging the Immortal Sword, Zhang Huan attacked again, killed a Supreme Being, and wounded two others. The Underworld surrendered and offered treasures plus a joint Imperial Decree to end the conflict 38.

Conflict over the Ghost Emperor

The Underworld Lord attempted to free the Ghost Emperor from its seal, intending to gain a new Supreme Being for the Underworld. The Ghost Emperor instead threatened to consume the Underworld Lord after escaping, exposing the alliance as one based entirely on mutual exploitation 127.

The Underworld later bargained for the Ghost Emperor's vital essence, secretly intending to curse the Deity Thought within its Emperor corpse and claim the body for itself. The Ghost Emperor and Underworld Lord temporarily fought together against the Killing Formation Diagram while preparing to betray each other 130 132.

Underworld's Three Emperors

Undying dispatched Yan Luo Emperor, Longevity Heavenly Venerate, and the revived Ghost Emperor against Zhang Huan. Zhang Huan killed all three with the Six Paths Reincarnation Fist and seized the Longevity Sword 201.

Return of the Nether Lord

When Duan De returned carrying the Imperial Decree, the Underworld's remaining Supreme Beings recognized him as the Nether Lord and attempted to prevent him from reclaiming control. Duan De recovered the Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure, forced four Supreme Beings to submit by taking traces of their natal souls, and began investigating the history of his former life 259 260.

Relationships

• Nether Lord / Duan De — Founder and returned master of the Underworld; reclaimed control through the Imperial Decree and subdued its remaining Supreme Beings 260 283.
• Prison Suppressing Emperor — One of the Underworld's rulers and the origin of one ruling branch; later joined a plot to eliminate the returning Nether Lord 17 260.
• Longevity Heavenly Venerate — A historical Supreme Being associated with the Underworld; later one of the three Underworld Emperors killed by Zhang Huan 122 201.
• Ghost Emperor — A powerful Deity Thought whom the Underworld attempted to recruit, exploit, and ultimately curse for possession of its Emperor corpse 127 130 132.
• Undying Heavenly Emperor — Has deep ties to the Underworld and later sent three Underworld Emperors to kill Zhang Huan 149 201.
• Zhang Huan — Former recruit and infiltrator who exploited the Underworld's burial grounds, exposed its schemes, plundered its territory, and forced its surrender 13 17 30 38.
• Heaven-Piercing Nether Treasure — The Underworld's paramount immortal artifact; it served its campaigns but resisted both Zhang Huan's and Duan De's control 29 38 260.

Notable Quotes

“At the end of reincarnation, all will fall silent; the Underworld is the destination for all spirits.” 14