Big Black

Biodata

Background / History

Service to the Netherworld God

Big Black once stood before his master's Netherworld Throne on the Soul-Calming Spiritual Platform. Although he craved Origin Spirits, his master treasured and nurtured them. When Big Black secretly ate one, the Netherworld God punished him with the Soul-Shattering Whip, nearly scattering his soul. The memory still frightens him long afterward 17.

When Extraterrestrial Demons invaded the Netherworld, his master sacrificed that realm to prevent them from reaching the Mortal and Immortal Realms. Before dissolving into the Dao, the Netherworld God entrusted Big Black with a severed fragment of the Netherworld containing pure Origin Spirits. The intended refuge was to become a small Netherworld capable of sustaining reincarnation 171 173.

Betrayal in the Mortal Realm

Instead of receiving protection, Big Black was attacked after bringing the fragment into the Mortal Realm. The fragment was shattered, its Origin Spirits refined and hoarded, and only some wandering ghosts and defeated soldiers escaped into the Wasteland. His master's final remnant of will became the barrier at Two-World Mountain, leaving Big Black guarding a gate beyond which his master was gone 17.

The attackers included Immortals, mortal cultivators, and an Earth God. Some cultivators involved later remained in the Wild Spirit Land. Big Black killed four Orthodox Land Gods, and Ninth Master acknowledges that the attack on him was dishonorable 171 173 177.

The accounts give different dates for these events: Big Black's dream places his arrival thirty thousand years earlier, while his later explanation places the rescue mission ten thousand years earlier 17 68.

Two Realms Village

Big Black remained near the Land God Temple and the Suppressing Stele in Two Realms Village. The stele both restrained him and nurtured his true soul. His protection sheltered the villagers, but he generally refused to involve himself in their affairs or obey their requests 17 30.

His unusually close attachment to Lü Bufan puzzled Master Ming and Huang Jiu. Big Black eventually explained that the boy carried the rare aura of an Origin Spirit—a reminder of what his former master had valued most 16 17 68.

Appearance

Big Black usually appears as a massive black dog with listless eyes and an unhurried manner 8 24.

• Eyes: Can turn blood-red when his power or hostility surfaces 8 17 174.
• Manifestation: An enormous, savage beast with gigantic claws and blood-red eyes 17 37.
• Younger body: A second, younger-looking black dog separates from his sleeping original body 18.
• After fighting Yunxia: Returns gaunt and withered, walking with visibly heavy steps 42.

Personality

Big Black is indolent, proud, and openly dismissive of powerful cultivators. He routinely ignores questions, sleeps belly-up, and treats respectful appeals with little more than a glance. He enjoys well-prepared meat and consumes Folded-Ear Mushroom Kings for their intoxicating effects, despite their danger and enormous value 16 17 27 30.

His apparent apathy conceals grief over his master and resentment toward those who betrayed him. He remains bound by his master's prohibition against consuming Origin Spirits, despite still craving them. His care for Lü Bufan extends beyond physical protection: he insists that the boy's inner goodness must not be sullied and favors watching over him without deliberately dictating his future 17 38 42.

Big Black distrusts grand schemes and considers resistance to the Immortal Realm futile in the face of its overwhelming strength. Nevertheless, he sometimes acts for Lü Bufan's sake, including agreeing to fight Yunxia. He also refuses Bai Ye's proposal to destroy the Netherworld and its Millstone, warning that doing so would bring chaos and harm the Mortal Realm 38 85 171.

Abilities & Skills

Beast Manifestation and Physical Power

Big Black can manifest an enormous beast form capable of overwhelming beings far beyond ordinary mortal cultivators 17 37 113.

• A dream-induced claw strike sends a house-sized boulder and Old Skeleton flying into a distant valley 17.
• His manifestation stamps Bai Ye into the ground at the village entrance 37.
• He kills Immortal Yunxia, destroying the immortal's body and divine soul and shattering his Golden Body 40 68 113.
• He restrains the Coffin Bearer with a phantom claw and tears away part of his rust-covered chain 171.

Soul and Origin Spirit Perception

Big Black recognizes the trace of pure Origin Spirit within Lü Bufan when Old Skeleton cannot detect its significance 17 42.

• His growl exerts a soul-crushing pressure that leaves Lü Bufan trembling on the ground 8.
• He shatters a skeleton with white mist and swallows its remaining spark of soul fire; the departing consciousness thanks “Lord Mo Shou” 28.
• Origin Spirits could restore some of his strength, but he says a single person like Lü Bufan would be negligible; thirty or fifty thousand might have an effect 174.

Divided Bodies and Consciousness

With Old Skeleton's assistance, Big Black leaves a mark and a dark-red bead within Lü Bufan's sea of consciousness. A younger dog-body then separates from his original sleeping body 18.

• The younger body accompanies Lü Bufan outside the village while the original remains asleep beside the temple 22 34.
• Big Black can merge the bodies again before battle 38.
• A severed portion of his consciousness communicates through Lü Bufan's heart lake while his main self recuperates elsewhere 68.
• As Mo Shou, he possesses Lü Bufan during a confrontation with Bai Ye 85.
• The bead later produces a phantom manifestation capable of acting against the Coffin Bearer 171.

Protection and Cultivation Assistance

Big Black's connection to Lü Bufan provides both immediate protection and help during cultivation 24 109.

• His enveloping aura eases Lü Bufan's injuries and helps stabilize his damaged internal organs 24.
• A force stored in the bead separates Lü Bufan's conflicting Daoist and martial powers, enabling his breakthrough to the middle stage of the Third Realm 109.
• He warns that separating those powers is only the first hurdle; Lü Bufan must still find his own path into the upper third realm 109.
• His assistance is not unrestricted: Master Ming initially tells Lü Bufan that Big Black can intervene for him only once before withdrawing to the village 23.

Cold Aura and Spatial Manipulation

Big Black's manifestations affect both the surrounding environment and space itself 17 171.

• His icy breath leaves Old Skeleton crying out from the cold 17.
• His dream manifestation chills and disrupts the world's vital energy; its howl clears clouds and mist across a thousand miles 17.
• A light sweep of his claw tears open space like a sheet of paper 171.

Resistance to Folded-Ear Mushroom Kings

Big Black eats several raw Folded-Ear Mushroom Kings and becomes intoxicated rather than suffering the catastrophic poisoning others expect 26 27.

• Simen Baihua says a drug refined from one can affect Seventh-Realm cultivators, while eating one raw could leave even a Ninth-Realm Great Cultivator half-dead 27.
• His mushroom-laden breath releases hallucinogenic fumes that incapacitate nearby people and spirit creatures 26 27.
• He consumes five or six in succession and carries off the entire remaining crop 27.

Restrictions and Vulnerabilities

Equipment / Associated Objects

• Suppressing Stele / Wordless Stele — The village spiritual treasure that restrains him and sustains his true soul. Master Ming suspects Meng Laojiu's Immortal Talisman was placed to interfere with it 17.
• Dark-red bead — Left within Lü Bufan's sea of consciousness; houses a portion of Big Black's consciousness and stored power 18 68 109.
• Yunxia's immortal crystal — Revealed after Big Black returns from killing the immortal 42.

Relationships

• Netherworld God — Former master. Big Black remains devoted to him, remembers his punishment with fear, and grieves the destruction of the realm he entrusted to him 17 171 173.
• Lü Bufan — Friend and protected companion. Their bond begins with the boy's Origin Spirit aura but develops into personal affection; Lü Bufan insists that not knowing Big Black's identity does not prevent their friendship 16 28 38 42.
• Old Skeleton / Master Peach — Companion of more than ten thousand years. They squabble constantly, but Old Skeleton helps manage Big Black's condition, nourishes him after battle, and shares his decision to watch over Lü Bufan 17 18 42.
• Master Ming / Mingxin — Fellow villager who recognizes Big Black's importance to Lü Bufan and helps contain his instability. Big Black is not under his command 16 17 18 28.
• Bai Ye — A distrusted schemer and occasional collaborator. Big Black violently rebuffs his initial approach, later participates in the attack on Yunxia, and rejects his plan to destroy the Netherworld 37 38 68 85.
• Ninth Master — One of the Land Gods who attacked him when he sought refuge. Big Black shattered his Golden Body; after their later encounter, he destroys the remaining temple stele and says killing him again would accomplish little 173 174.
• Immortal Xuanjing — Wary negotiating counterpart. She privately approaches Mo Shou seeking leniency and agrees not to kill Lü Bufan, at least for the time being 174 177.
• Wild Spirit Land — A deeply strained association rather than a dependable alliance. Big Black resents its inhabitants' past conduct, and Bai Ye attributes his more recent injuries to an ambush carried out through Meng Laojiu 42 68 85.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“Principle cannot prevail over the human heart...” 38

“Don't sully that glimmer of light in this boy's heart!” 42

“Before absolute power, every scheme is ultimately futile!” 171