Southern Wilderness

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Southern Wilderness
Original	南荒
Alias(es)	Southern Wilderness Mountains; Ten Thousand Mountains of the Southern Wilderness
Type	Vast mountain-and-marsh wilderness; homeland of ghosts and monsters
Primary Inhabitants	The Twenty-Four Ghosts and Monsters, alongside numerous other ghost, demon, and monster lineages 17 91
Regional Position	The central landmass around which Yaoguang Province and dozens of ancient kingdoms are arranged 122
Status	Active but politically fractured; its northern and southern ghost factions contest influence amid the Guyao Mountain and Great Abyss crises 178 184
First Appearance	1

Geography and Nature

The Southern Wilderness is a continuous expanse of mountains, marshes, forests, and deep rivers. Its Ten Thousand Mountains contain towering peaks, dense ancient woodland, and routes largely inaccessible to ordinary people 17 27.

• It is vast enough to surpass both the Chu Kingdom and Rain Country, with dozens of ancient kingdoms connected to or surrounding it 122.
• Its mountain canopy can block sunlight entirely; flying through the deeper forests risks entering the territory of ancient mountain beasts 17.
• Human paths are scarce. Older roads were left by ghost and monster activity, while newer trails were created by the influx of Qi Refiners seeking opportunities 17.
• Small Stone Lake is a major gathering point for Qi Refiners and treasure fish, especially during the Peach Blossom Garden cycle 17 18.
• Fox Mountain marks an entry into the deeper wilderness and hosts the Southern Wilderness Ghost Market 133.
• Tiger Mountain serves as a northern stronghold associated with the Mountain Lord and Chen Xuan's later residence 126 177.
• The central region contains the Great Abyss, a tens-of-thousands-of-li chasm exposed during the search for Guyao Mountain 178.

Origins

According to a secret preserved among the wilderness ghosts, the Southern Wilderness originated from the remains of an ancient Earth Virtue Mountain God. At the end of the Mountain and Sea Era, ancient Listed Immortals and Sages flattened many primordial mountains; after this Mountain God's death, its bones became the Southern Wilderness 122.

Successive mountain gods searched for the ancient god's burial place, leaving their findings in a scroll. Their search was tied to the lost ancient mountain-and-sea site known as Guyao Mountain 122 171.

Inhabitants and Rule

Ghosts and Monsters

The Southern Wilderness is the ancestral habitat of the Twenty-Four Ghosts and Monsters. Unlike humans and demons, who build densely populated states and clans, its ghost and monster populations are diverse but individually sparse; even the Mountain Lord's family numbers only dozens 17 91.

• Northern ghosts — Centered around figures such as the Mountain Lord, Old Turtle, Three-Tailed Fox, and Six-Tusked White Elephant. They are comparatively more accustomed to human customs and border the Chu Kingdom, Rain Country, and Sesame Country 178.
• Southern ghosts — More primitive and aggressive factions occupying the south. Rumors place Hidden in the Mortal World-level Mountain Gods among them 178.
• Mountain Lords — Cauldron Furnace Realm great monsters who command mountain territories and their associated ghost populations 79 182.
• Mountain Gods — Higher authorities whose will is regarded as essential to maintaining order within the wilderness 185.

Mountain Ghost Lady

The Mountain Ghost Empress, also called the Mountain Ghost Lady, is the wilderness's paramount patron and the source of its long-standing authority. Her rules prohibit Cauldron-level cultivators from entering the Southern Wilderness without authorization 126 185.

She gave Chen Xuan the jade token “Mountain Ghost”, establishing his extraordinary standing within the wilderness 60 126. Although she entered seclusion for a time, her influence continued to restrain outside powers and shape internal politics 128 180.

Customs and Restrictions

• The Peach Blossom Garden descends once every twenty years. Its appearance draws Qi Refiners while mountain gods open the Southern Wilderness gates and ghosts, demons, and monsters emerge in large numbers 11 44.
• The Ghost Market beneath Fox Mountain operates under three principles: do not ask origins, inquire into true names, or probe karma 133.
• Outsiders entering deep territory face territorial beasts, ghosts, monsters, and hostile cultivators competing for spiritual resources 6 17.
• Cauldron mighty figures are forbidden from entering without permission under rules associated with the Mountain Ghost Empress and Jiang Emperor 126.
• The wilderness recognizes status and strength more readily than human political convention; its monsters treat affronts against holders of the Mountain Ghost's token as matters for the entire region 126 128.

Major Locations

• Small Stone Lake — A deep green lake inhabited by swift, sharp-toothed Treasure Fish; Green Deer Mountain disciples and other Qi Refiners hunt there for resources 17 18.
• Tiger Mountain — Northern mountain territory of the Mountain Lord and the tiger cubs; later a meeting place for Chen Xuan, Mountain Lords, and Chu Kingdom representatives 126 233.
• Fox Mountain — Location of the Ghost Market and a threshold to the deeper, stranger regions of the wilderness 133.
• Shangyang Grotto-heaven — A major grotto-heaven linked to the Southern Wilderness, the Mountain Ghost Empress, and conflicts involving the Chu Kingdom 83 126.
• Great Abyss — A colossal chasm in the central wilderness exposed by the excavation of Guyao Mountain; numerous Mountain Lords and ghosts disappeared into it 178 183.
• Guyao Mountain — An ancient mountain-and-sea site hidden within the Ten Thousand Mountains. It later becomes central to Chen Xuan's struggle against the Golden Crow God, Green Hill foxes, and outside cultivators 172 199 229.

History

Green Deer Mountain's important figures passed through Willow Town every twenty years on their way to the Southern Wilderness, establishing the region as an early destination for sect cultivators and treasure seekers 1. Chen Xuan entered its mountains while pursuing Green Deer Mountain and searching for opportunities around Small Stone Lake 17.

The Peach Blossom Garden's descent brought a major influx of humans, demons, ghosts, and monsters. Southern Wilderness great monsters attempted to drive Red Crow City forces from the area and monopolize the garden's benefits 44.

After the Peach Blossom Garden events, the Mountain Ghost Empress became directly involved with Chen Xuan by granting him the Mountain Ghost jade token. This token gave him influence and protection far beyond that of an ordinary cultivator 60 126.

As the Jiang Clan prepared for war against the Rain Country and Southern Wilderness, the region became a strategic frontier between Fire Virtue human forces, Water Virtue demon forces, and native ghosts 83 89. When outside Cauldron cultivators violated the wilderness's restrictions, the Mountain Lord rallied great monsters to retaliate beyond the borders 126 128.

The disappearance of the Mountain Lord and several northern Mountain Lords into the Great Abyss destabilized the region. Southern ghosts saw the weakened north as territory to annex, creating the threat of a north-south civil war 177 178 184.

Chen Xuan's defeat of the Peacock Mountain Lord established him publicly as the Southern Wilderness Saint, countering southern attempts to replace or dismiss him 180 184. He later led efforts to reclaim Guyao Mountain, defeat the Green Hill foxes, and expel remaining outsiders from its secret realm 207 229.

Relationships

• Mountain Ghost Empress / Mountain Ghost Lady — The wilderness's supreme protector and source of its traditional restrictions; she granted Chen Xuan the Mountain Ghost jade token 60 126.
• Chen Xuan — Recognized as the Southern Wilderness Saint after defeating the Peacock Mountain Lord; he later claims authority over Guyao Mountain through the Classic of Mountains and Seas · Guyao remnant page 180 229 231.
• Mountain Lord — Northern leader associated with Tiger Mountain. Its reported death and the disappearance of other northern Mountain Lords created a major power vacuum 177 178.
• Old Turtle — A major northern ghost who represents the Southern Wilderness alongside the Mountain Lord and helps uphold its interests against outsiders 60 128.
• Southern ghost factions — Southern Mountain Lords, including the Golden-Winged Great Peng and Azure Feather Luan Bird, view the northern wilderness and Chen Xuan with hostility and seek greater control 183 184.
• Chu Kingdom — A neighboring human state whose Jiang Clan prepared war against the Southern Wilderness to secure the Fire Emperor's legacy 83 89.
• Rain Country — A neighboring demon nation whose conflict with the Chu Kingdom intersects with Southern Wilderness politics 83 89.
• Green Hill Mountain — Its fox demons infiltrated Guyao Mountain, captured native Mountain Lords, and attempted to exploit the wilderness's instability 199 207 229.

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Green Deer Mountain pursuit — The wilderness becomes Chen Xuan's destination after his break with Willow Town and his pursuit of Wang Chan and Green Deer Mountain 4 17.
• Peach Blossom Garden descent — It serves as the staging ground for a mass scramble among Qi Refiners, ancient villagers, ghosts, monsters, and major regional powers 44 46.
• Sanctuary and political base — Chen Xuan remains in the wilderness after obtaining the Mountain Ghost token, using its protection while outside forces pursue his treasures 60 62 126.
• War frontier — The Southern Wilderness becomes a focal point of conflict among the Chu Kingdom, Rain Country, aristocratic families, the Demon Suppression Division, and native ghosts 83 107 128.
• Northern-southern schism — The Great Abyss disaster divides the wilderness, with southern ghosts preparing to annex the weakened north 178 184.
• Guyao Mountain reclamation — Chen Xuan enters Guyao Mountain, learns that trapped Mountain Lords have taken refuge in the Mountain Ghost Lady's shrine, defeats Green Hill forces, and begins clearing outsiders from the secret realm 207 229.
• Saint's domain — By obtaining the Classic of Mountains and Seas · Guyao remnant page, Chen Xuan gains control of Guyao Mountain and chooses to remain in the Southern Wilderness to prepare for the Golden Crow God's return 231.