Netherworld

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Netherworld
Original	地府
Type	Neutral Character (AI)
Status	Extant
First Appearance	250

Nature and Characteristics

The Netherworld is the yin counterpart to the Yang Realm within the Origin Spirit Realm. Its landscapes correspond to those of the living world—including Coiled Dragon Mountain, lakes, and spirit veins—but its settlements and living inhabitants do not mirror their Yang Realm counterparts. 252

• It is saturated with bone-piercing yin qi and diverse negative energies, including resentment; ordinary yin souls that go without pure-yin food may be corrupted into vicious ghosts. 264
• Yin and yang energies flow between the two realms and can form spatial breaches when they collide over time. 251
• Its spiritual resources are generally more abundant than those of the Red Wasteland in the Yang Realm, particularly soul-nourishing herbs and yin-aspected materials. 252 338
• Yang-aspected materials are exceptionally valuable because high-level yin souls and native creatures require a balance of yin and yang to continue cultivating. 292 293
• Native beings possess physical bodies, reproduce, favor yin energy, and dislike yang energy; they are broadly comparable to a Demon Race adapted to the Netherworld. 251
• The realm was once illuminated by a weak sun, which was shattered during the ancient Witch–Demon conflict. Fragments of that sun later helped form the Nether Sun Grotto-Heaven. 333

History

Formation and Ancient War

The Netherworld formed approximately 130,000 years ago, after a Reincarnation Phantom arose under the influence of Houtu Ancestor Witch's transformation into Reincarnation. The essence of fallen Earth Witch Lineage experts merged with this phantom, establishing the Origin Spirit Realm's own crude, single-path Reincarnation. 522

During its early history, the Witch Race retreated into the newly formed Netherworld after the Witch–Demon War. The Demon Race pursued them, but the Netherworld environment strengthened the Witch Race—especially the Earth Witch Lineage—while suppressing most demons. 317

The Witch Race ultimately drove the Demon Race from much of the land, though demons retained control over the Netherworld's seas through Innate Spirit Treasures. The Twelve-Celestial Capital Gods and Fiends Formation shattered the Netherworld Sun during this conflict. 317 333

Later Development

The Netherworld remained largely inaccessible to ordinary Human Race factions. The Divine Court maintained agreements with its upper ranks and escorted departed souls into City God underworld offices, but possessed little direct authority within the realm. 250 269

The Demon Cloud Sea later became a sealed danger zone associated with an ancient invasion by Extraterritorial Lifeforms. Demon Cloud Eruptions occur roughly every seven hundred years, releasing lethal blood mist and residual power from fallen experts. 312 313

Governance

Netherworld King

The Netherworld is ruled by Hou Yue, the Netherworld King and leader of the Earth Witch Lineage. The heads of the other eleven Witch Race tribes answer to him. 317

• The Earth Witch Lineage's strength increases by roughly fifty percent in the Netherworld. 317
• The Netherworld King appoints regional grand generals and maintains separate military authority over strategic areas such as the Demon Cloud Sea. 296 315
• Only appointed grand generals are known to have met the Netherworld King directly. 296

Regional Authorities

• Eastern Plains Grand General — regional ruler who collects taxes through envoys and generally leaves local powers autonomous unless they threaten broader order. 295
• Sea of Clouds General — personally appointed commander overseeing the Demon Cloud Sea and the Cloud Sea Army. 315
• Coiled Dragon General — office granted to Liu Yuanchen, with jurisdiction over one thousand li around Coiled Dragon Mountain and authority to conscript up to ten thousand troops. 297 298

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is the Netherworld's central function. Souls of ordinary beings are taken in by Divine Court deities or naturally drawn toward the Netherworld, while powerful cultivators may retain enough autonomy to resist entering it. 293

• City God Spirit Realms can receive and shelter departed souls, but cannot reincarnate them; true reincarnation occurs only in the Netherworld. 250
• The Divine Court's City Gods deliver souls to Netherworld outposts, after which Witch Race-appointed generals escort them toward Nether Capital. 566
• The current Reincarnation Hall contains a multicolored passage that irresistibly draws in arriving souls, transforming them into lights that disappear into its depths. 565
• Before later reforms, the Witch Race relied on ghostly mist to erode souls' memories before reincarnation. 565
• Liu Yuanchen proposed an expanded system incorporating Ghost Gate Pass, Yellow Springs Road, magistrates, judges, a Wrongful Death City, Meng Po Soup, and a bridge leading souls toward memory erasure voluntarily. 565

Locations

• Nether Capital City — the central Witch Race city, spanning five to six hundred li in each direction and housing lower-cultivation Witch Race members and the leaders of the twelve tribes. 565
• Coiled Dragon Mountain — a Netherworld counterpart to the Yang Realm mountain; it possesses a fourth-rank upper-grade Spirit Vein and was initially left desolate after conflict between the Poison Flood Dragon Demon King and Iron-Armed Ghost King. 264
• Coiled Dragon City — settlement built under Liu Yuanchen's authority to support trade, governance, and defense around Coiled Dragon Mountain. 293 299
• Blazing Sun Valley — a barren region containing the hidden site of a Minor Grotto-Heaven linked to fragments of the shattered Netherworld Sun. 295 333
• Demon Cloud Sea — a vast sealed region where demon clouds, blood mist, ancient battlefield remnants, and periodic catastrophic eruptions occur. 312 315
• Sky-Suspended Ghost City — a cross-realm city appearing in both yin and yang realms; it became dangerous after being conquered by Extraterritorial Lifeforms more than 60,000 years ago. 416

Resources and Trade

The Netherworld is a major source of yin-aspected and soul-related materials, while Yang Realm goods carrying yang energy command extreme prices within it.

• Nether Silkworm Jade Silk — soul-strengthening silk produced by native Netherworld Jade Silkworms; it is hard currency in the Netherworld and sells for at least five to six times more in the Yang Realm. 292
• Nethermoon Pearl — a fifth-rank treasure that converts yin energy into moonlight for nurturing yin souls and vegetation. 292
• Soul-related spirit herbs — much more common than in the Yang Realm due to the Netherworld's yin-rich environment. 338
• Yang-attributed spiritual objects — highly sought by ghosts, demons, and dragon-kind, whose cultivation suffers in an environment lacking yang qi. 292 300
• Cross-realm spirit creatures — can yield profits of ten to twenty times their original value, with some special creatures reaching forty to fifty times profit. 298

Relationship with Liu Yuanchen

• Liu Yuanchen — established a Netherworld Passage beneath the Profound-Yin Ghost Willow rather than submitting it to Divine Court control, intending to secure yin energy, trade routes, and an independent foothold. 251
• Liu Yuanchen — became the Mountain God of Netherworld Coiled Dragon Mountain after the Earth Book merged the mountain's Netherworld Spirit Vein Mark with its Yang Realm counterpart. The two Heavenly Dao Authorities fused into a unique dual-realm authority. 267 269
• Liu Yuanchen — received appointment as Coiled Dragon General and negotiated a trade alliance with the Eastern Plains Grand General's You Family. 297 298
• Hun Yu — worked with Liu Yuanchen on expanding the Netherworld's Reincarnation and Hell framework, adopting his institutional proposals. 550 565

Trivia

• The Netherworld's geography mirrors the Yang Realm's natural terrain, but not its artificial structures or populations. 252
• Netherworld Minor Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands can form from the rejected laws and essence of dead Longevity Immortals. 297
• The Demon Race's long-term presence in the Netherworld is linked to its ancient invasion after the Witch Race's retreat; most demons are weakened by the realm's environment. 296 317