Underworld

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Underworld (阴间)
Type	Yin realm inhabited by ghosts, gods, underworld officials, and native monsters
Counterpart	Yang World / mortal realm
Status	Devastated when the Primordial Worm destroyed the Immortal Capital and the Underworld’s hells 555
First Appearance	Chapter 23

Nature and Geography

The Underworld and Yang World are two aspects of a single world. For ordinary mortals they appear as separate realms, while cultivators at the Void Returning Realm can have their physical bodies remain in the Yang World as their Primordial Spirits reside in the Underworld 492.

Its geography corresponds to the mortal realm on a vastly larger scale. A change of entry point in the Yang World leads to a different Underworld region 220 221.

Yang World entry point	Underworld destination
Huangpo Village	A mist-filled region inhabited by soul-devouring ghosts and monsters 220
Dejiang River	The River of Forgetfulness, where children hide beneath shells 220
Phoenix Ridge	A vast lotus field watched by ghosts and gods concealed in the sky 220
Mirror Lake Villa	The Yin Spring Sea, whose extreme Yin energy is used to replenish vital energy 221

The Underworld has two layers and also contains a separate Buddhist Hell. The Divine Capital, Demon Capital, and Netherworld govern only two to three tenths of its total territory 529.

Major Locations

Location	Description
Immortal Capital	A vast administrative center filled with ghosts and gods overseeing Underworld affairs; its governance system continued operating even after the Ten Yama Kings were replaced 335.
River of Forgetfulness	A river traversed by underworld officials who ferry souls; its ferrymen are not living people 157.
South Sea	A mirror-like sea where the dead wander until they sink and become part of the White Bone Mountains beneath it 227.
Yin Mountain	A dangerous Underworld region where herbs may be collected and where Yin energy is cultivated or refined 351.
Tongue-Pulling Hell	A hell whose law punishes lying by pulling out the offender’s tongue; Wuwang City is a fragment of this hell 221 470.
Scissor Hell	A layer of hell reached through its own Ghost Gate Pass 470.
Buddhist Hell	A hell associated with twenty named layers in Buddhist scripture, guarded by corrupted remnants of half-Buddhas 303.

History

Period	Event
Early True King Era	The True Kings established the Underworld and Netherworld of the Western Ox Continent by inviting the statues of the Ten Yama Kings. The Yama Kings, Tongpans, Judges, and Tai Ao formed the hells from their Great Dao rules 470.
Great Ming era	The growth of the human population created wandering souls with nowhere to go. Buddhist figures became involved in managing these souls, giving rise to the Buddhist Hell tradition 303.
Around 1,400–1,500 years before the present	The Thirteen Noble Families, after building influence in both Yin and Yang, began replacing Underworld Marshals, Judges, and other officials with their own people. They ultimately seized the Ten Yama Kings’ authority 331 340 468.
After the usurpation	Numerous original hells were shattered or lost. The Thirteen Noble Families recreated some using the Void Realms of their strongest members 470.
Nannan’s restoration	Nannan returned as King Yama, recreated the Eighteen Levels of Hell, appointed officials, and restored divine artifacts and talismans to the Underworld administration 506.
Primordial Worm calamity	The Primordial Worm covered the Underworld’s sky, corrupted its inhabitants, and destroyed the Immortal Capital and its hells despite Empress Houtu’s defense of Houde Palace 555.

Governance and Law

The Underworld’s original order was administered through the Yama Kings and a hierarchy of ghost and god officials. Its hells were not merely prisons: each was a powerful magic treasure governed by a distinct Dao rule 470.

Office / Group	Function
Ten Yama Kings	Original rulers of the hells and core authorities of the Underworld 470.
Judges	High-ranking officials capable of exercising the authority of their Judge’s Brushes and Ghost and God Domains 335.
Underworld Marshals	Enforcers responsible for apprehending criminals and maintaining Yin–Yang order; the office carries binding duties and rules 243.
Tongpans, Directors of Works, and Tai Ao	Senior offices within the Underworld’s administrative system 468.
Underworld officials	Ferry souls, pursue those who evade death, and enforce Underworld law 157 317.
Black and White Impermanence	Demon gods who wield Mourning Staffs that attack souls, Primordial Spirits, and Divine Manifestations 220.
Underworld Official Inspectors	A post held by the boatman and boat girl after Nannan’s restoration; they oversee deployment and investigate officials who violate laws 506.

Laws of the Hells

• Tongue-Pulling Hell punishes lying, slander, deception, and glib speech by pulling out the offender’s tongue 221 470.
• The recreated Eighteen Levels of Hell were furnished with Judges, talismans, divine positions, and magic treasures under Nannan’s authority 506.
• Underworld Marshals are expected to apprehend criminals and uphold the laws governing both Yin and Yang 243.

Inhabitants

• Ghosts and souls — The dead enter as wandering spirits; many are herded, harvested, consumed, or processed by stronger Underworld beings 23 406.
• Ghosts and gods — The principal residents and authorities of the Underworld, ranging from minor local powers to Judges and Yama Kings 335.
• Underworld officials — Ox Heads, Horse Faces, Yakshas, and other races serve as ferrymen, pursuers, guards, and administrators 415 506.
• Ghost race — A people whose adults may awaken bloodline Spiritual Powers; they maintain settlements and kingdoms such as Tianchi Kingdom and Yu Kingdom 353 555.
• Native monsters — The Underworld contains creatures such as Sheng Sheng, locust beasts, Huo Dou, minor demons, and soul-eating predators 305 347 500.
• Malevolent spirits — Although ordinary malevolent spirits are reportedly absent from Tianchi Capital City, the Underworld contains dangerous entities and regions capable of producing similar disasters 321 352.

Hazards

Yin Energy

The Underworld’s Yin energy is hostile to most living cultivators. Prolonged exposure can strengthen the Three Corpses Gods, damage a cultivator’s Dao Foundation, and leave survivors unable to cultivate effectively 304.

Chen Shi is unusually resistant to this erosion: his corpse-release immortal body can absorb Underworld power rather than be harmed by it 221.

Soul Predation

The dead are vulnerable to predatory beings from the moment they arrive. In the mist-filled region entered from Huangpo Village, bony claws drag souls away to be eaten by unseen monsters 23.

Underworld livestock and monsters may themselves feed on ghosts. Even the creatures herded by ghost gods are raised as food for stronger ghosts and gods 305 406.

Fog Moon

A Fog Moon appears monthly over parts of the Underworld. It resembles an eye with a pupil, releases dense fog, and causes anything that dies within its coverage to revive 352.

Demonic Corruption

The Primordial Worm’s evil and demonic energy caused widespread evil transformation among Underworld inhabitants. Ghosts, gods, minor Yakshas, Ox Heads, Horse Faces, and even Three Corpses Gods turned on one another during the calamity 555.

Access Between Yin and Yang

• Death and soul separation — The dead naturally enter the Underworld as souls or ghosts 23.
• Nighttime Yin–Yang convergence — Underworld officials may enter the Yang World at night, when Yin energy peaks and the two realms overlap, to guide souls away 317.
• Possession — Underworld beings who need to remain in the Yang World may possess suitable dead bodies, as the boatman and boat girl did 317.
• Ritual divination — Granny Sha used a brazier, talismans naming Underworld deities, a geographical map, and the King Wen’s Drum to locate Chen Shi’s soul and open a route for Black Pot 176.
• Black Pot’s stove magic — Black Pot’s awakened bloodline grants a Spiritual Power that enters a particular Underworld palace, though it cannot freely reach every region 186.
• Wandering Dragon Sword — By activating the treasure with Yang energy, its user can cut through the Yin–Yang boundary and return from the Underworld to the mortal realm 277.
• Moonlight travel — The Nether Spring Swimming Dragon Sword can enter the Underworld by using moonlight 227.

Notable Events

• Chen Shi first entered the Underworld as a child during a near-death experience, walking among mutilated souls through a silent white mist before Black Pot rescued him 23.
• Chen Yindu and the Six Gentlemen of the Five Great Lakes made three descents into the Underworld to search for Chen Shi’s soul; one expedition led to A Zhuo becoming an Underworld Marshal 243.
• The Thirteen Noble Families infiltrated and ultimately seized the Underworld’s official hierarchy, replacing its original Marshals, Judges, and Yama Kings 340 468.
• Chen Shi led an escape from the Immortal Capital after rescuing his mother’s soul, breaking through an encirclement of underworld officials and awakening Huo Dou in the process 335.
• Nannan restored the Eighteen Levels of Hell and deployed the ghost and god army against the Thirteen Noble Families 506.
• The Primordial Worm’s invasion destroyed the Immortal Capital and the hells while Empress Houtu used the Purple Sky Vine to protect Houde Palace and the surviving inhabitants 555.