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Abyss of the Netherworld
All I Cultivate Are Demonic Arts—Where Do You Get a Ten-Thousand-Zhang Golden Body?
Contents
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Abyss of the Netherworld |
| Original Name | 归墟境渊 |
| Type | Secret realm / small world |
| Affiliation | Old Heavenly Court; serves as the refuge of its surviving immortals |
| Location | Reached through a deep-sea vortex in the East Sea |
| Status | Unstable; its laws and existence are threatened after the Heavenly Emperor's Spiritual Sense is removed 204 208 |
| First Appearance | Li Yan enters the realm with Ao Jiao 158 |
Background / History
The Abyss of the Netherworld was created by the Heavenly Emperor through a secret technique after the destruction of the Old Heavenly Court. Its time-stagnation law preserves immortals who are critically wounded or near dissipation; many would turn to ash as soon as they left the realm and time resumed flowing around them 161.
This preservation came at the cost of confinement. Its residents cannot cultivate, heal naturally, age, die, or produce new life. Over tens of thousands of years, the unchanging environment eroded many immortals' wills and Divine Souls, leaving them afraid that eternal survival would end in loss of self-awareness 158 160.
The realm is connected to the outside world through the East Sea, but its entrance was sealed and could normally be passed only by the Ancient Dragon race. Li Yan entered by manifesting the Dragon Soul Golden Body, with Ao Jiao assisting him through the barrier 157 158.
The Abyss later began collapsing after the Heavenly Emperor's Spiritual Sense was stolen or transferred away. Li Yan temporarily slowed its descent into the Chaos Rift by enlarging the Coiled Dragon Pillar to support the secret realm, though the Ancient Dragon King warned that this measure could last only six hours 204 205 208.
Environment
After passing through its entrance, travelers experience a reversal of direction: descending through the vortex feels like emerging upward through a Dragon Gate. The realm appears as an inverted underground world beneath a Golden Crow 158.
- Spiritual energy is abundant, and the landscape contains spiritual herbs, making the realm initially resemble a paradise 158.
- The Old Heavenly Court and its palaces stand within the Abyss, inhabited by surviving Heavenly Soldiers, Heavenly Generals, and immortals 159 160.
- The realm is maintained by the Heavenly Emperor's divine coffin; interference with the coffin threatens its stability 199 200.
- The entrance and connection to the cultivation world can be severed by spatial methods, potentially leaving the Abyss lost forever in the Chaos Void 211.
Laws of the Abyss
| Law / Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| Time stagnation | Entrants do not age or die, and their lifespan remains fixed at the point of entry 158. |
| No cultivation or birth | Cultivation cannot progress, wounds ordinarily cannot heal, and no new life can be born 158 163. |
| Pseudo-time stop | Time outside continues to pass normally; the Abyss is not fully isolated from external time, but maintains its inhabitants in a stagnant state 180. |
| Non-aggression | Under its normal laws, residents cannot meaningfully harm or kill one another 160 194. |
| Irreparable damage | When harm can be inflicted, injuries persist and accumulate because time stagnation prevents recovery. Ao Jiao's frostbite can therefore stack until targets are immobilized 195. |
| Soul deterioration | Physical immortality does not prevent the gradual decay of will and Divine Soul caused by endless stagnation 160. |
Exceptions and Exploitation
- Li Yan can ignore the realm's time-stagnation side effects and heal Ember Extinguishing Immortal despite the realm's laws 162 163.
- Side Effect Suppression can temporarily remove the law that prevents harm, allowing Ao Jiao's Dragon Breath to freeze opponents 194.
- Candle Dragon powers can bypass or alter the Abyss's temporal laws. Ghost-faced Dragon Nightmare Ao Yan was able to enter and threaten its inhabitants despite the realm's protections 217.
- Shadow Slaves empowered through Li Yan's methods exploited time stagnation as effective immortality: they could harm Old Heavenly Court forces while their own injuries could not be permanently resolved 231.
Inhabitants and Related Figures
- Heavenly Emperor — Created the Abyss as an emergency refuge for the remnants of the Old Heavenly Court. His divine coffin sustains the realm's stability, while the loss of his Spiritual Sense precipitates its collapse 161 199 204.
- Purple Micro Star Lord — One of the Old Heavenly Court's Four Imperial Lords and its acting leader within the Abyss. He initially receives Li Yan cautiously, then recognizes him as a force capable of disrupting the realm's stagnation 159 160 164.
- Xuan Yue War Marshal — An Old Heavenly Court commander who sees Li Yan as a potential means of resisting White Jade Capital 204.
- Ancient Dragon Ao Jiao — Helps Li Yan cross the dragon-exclusive barrier and becomes his principal ally within the realm 157 158.
- Li Yan — Exploits his immunity to the Abyss's laws, gains exceptional influence over its inhabitants, and seeks to stabilize the realm by taking control of the Heavenly Emperor's divine coffin 195 199.
- Moon Eater Commander — A White Jade Capital commander whose pursuit of Li Yan reaches the Abyss; she can open chaotic rifts to enter it 193 194.
- White Jade Capital — Enemy force that seeks to eliminate the Old Heavenly Court, infiltrates or attacks the Abyss, and attempts to sever it from the cultivation world 211 217 231.
Story Role / Major Arcs
Discovery and Entry
Li Yan learns of the Old Heavenly Court through the Guixu Mirror Abyss and reaches the Abyss of the Netherworld through the East Sea with Ao Jiao. He discovers that its apparent paradise is a prison sustained by eternal stagnation 151 158 160.
Refuge of the Old Heavenly Court
The Old Heavenly Court's survivors reveal that they remain alive only because the Abyss arrests their deterioration. Their inability to leave or recover makes the realm both their sanctuary and their coffin 161.
Li Yan's Dominion
Li Yan's immunity to time stagnation allows him to heal others and manipulate the realm's laws through Side Effect Suppression. His ability to permit harm inside the supposedly inviolable sanctuary makes the inhabitants regard him as the Abyss's effective ruler 163 194 195.
Collapse Crisis
When the Heavenly Emperor's Spiritual Sense disappears, the realm begins falling toward the Chaos Rift. Li Yan attempts to prevent its destruction by securing the divine coffin and using the Coiled Dragon Pillar as temporary support 199 204 205.
Assault by White Jade Capital
Lamp Holding Siming leads Shadow Slaves into the Abyss, using its time-stagnation laws to turn the invaders into nearly unkillable attackers. The conflict exposes how the realm's protective rules can become a weapon when controlled by an outside force 230 231.
Notable Quotes
“This place is a prison called eternal life.” — Li Yan 160
“When everything stagnates, longevity becomes the most vicious curse.” 160