The Netherworld, Fengdu.
Darkness lay deep, frost and snow covered the ground.
Of late, the Netherworld had grown cold to the extreme. Though ghosts, monsters, and Yin Spirits were exceptionally resistant to freezing, even they could not endure such bitter cold. One after another, they burrowed into the sea of fire outside Fengdu.
The city was vast beyond measure, a realm unto itself. From its gates to its walls, everything was a deep, mysterious shade, with many wandering souls and stray ghosts clinging to the stone. "Reincarnation" had utterly collapsed ten thousand years ago, and the Netherworld had long since lost its authority. Now, after another great calamity, its ghostly bailiffs and nether officials had dwindled further.
Within the city stood a hall, shimmering with eerie light.
[Hidden Chamber Hall]
All manner of hideous fiends were carved around the hall's entrance. Yin qi drifted from within, along with yellow lamplight, which made every ghost nearby fall to its knees. At the center of the hall, a lone figure sat.
He was a young man, his face stern, his aura dark and mysterious. He wore an emperor's black Robe of Law. All around him, radiance of Wu Earth flickered, taking the shapes of mountains, high ridges, great walls, and embankments.
The Wu Earth divine ability, [Invasion-Proof, Leakless].
The first divine ability he had cultivated was Subduing Earth's [Burial Mound of Artemisia], but for his second, he had switched to Wu Earth's [Invasion-Proof, Leakless]. Ordinarily, this would have prevented him from cultivating any further divine abilities, but that posed no difficulty for him.
He was the reincarnation of the Golden Nature of Righteous Order!
[Righteous Order] was the Wu Earth Venerable Position, close to Subduing Earth, representing the primordial Netherworld beneath Mount Tai. With Subduing Earth below and Wu Earth above, this