Netherworld Record

Liu Manqing was quite efficient; she sent over the professional pamphlet from the Underworld Bureau Advisor almost the very next day.

It's not an electronic version; it uses the Underworld Bureau's unique "Global Pass" service.

At that time, Hu Mang was still eating a piece of coconut glutinous rice cake for breakfast in the courtyard when a cold wind swept by and a black book with a vermilion Underworld Bureau seal landed on the stone table.

The black booklet also had three large black characters on its surface: "Netherworld Record".

There are two smaller characters in the upper right corner: Volume 1.

"You look familiar."

Hu Mang muttered to himself, picked up the small black booklet, and looked it over a few times.

Whether by coincidence or not, apart from the fact that the text is written in Heavenly Gate script, the style and illustrations are quite similar to the Ghost Makeup Book and Corpse Liberation Book in his hands.

Hu Mang opened the book of ghosts and found that its contents were quite complicated.

This book, "The Netherworld Record," contains relevant knowledge in four aspects.

Types and levels of power of ghosts

The Powers and Restrictions of Yin Officials

Evolution of the Ghost Dragon Vein

Underworld Bureau Technology

For example, the list of ghosts alone includes thousands of species, ranging from the lowest level wandering spirits and solitary ghosts, to the intermediate level vengeful spirits, vengeful ghosts, and evil corpses, and then to the Yakshas, Rakshasa, and Flying Yakshas in the path of the dead; it even includes some modern ghosts, such as elevator ghosts, food delivery rider ghosts, ghosts who liked posts in live streams, Wi-Fi ghosts, and Ghost Eye of surveillance cameras...

If it weren't for this "Netherworld Record," Hu Mang would never have known that so many yin beings had been born in the modern cultivation society, and that he had never seen a single one in his nearly thirty years of life.

Awesome!

As for the system of underworld officials, this section details the powers and restrictions on the actions of officials at all levels—from the lowest-ranking ghost messengers and underworld officials, to the mid-ranking clerks and judges, to the high-ranking Underworld Bureau officials, as well as the legendary Ten Yama Kings, including the highest-ranking Ghost Lord.

The most crucial restriction is that the living and the dead are separate entities, each belonging to a different realm. Matters of the Yang World should be left unattended if possible.

Of course, Hu Mang also saw the "field service system" where Old Third was located, and only then did he realize that in addition to food delivery, there were also people who drove Underworld buses and Underworld Didi, and people who specialized in ghost food and ghost markets. Their work was quite complicated, covering everything from clothing, food, housing, transportation, eating, drinking, and excretion.

The evolution of the Ghost Dragon Vein goes back to ancient times and to modern society. It includes specific opening times for the Underworld Bureau Ghost Subway lines that are currently open or planned to be opened nationwide. Moreover, the opening times for some of these "Ghost Subway" even predate the establishment of the New Heavenly Gate.

However, it wasn't called "Ghost Subway" back then; it was called Ghost Post Road, Ghost Highway, and even modern steam trains and old-fashioned passenger trains were all means of transportation that evolved with the times.

It is said that a flying route to the Underworld was once planned, but for some unknown reason, it was eventually sealed away.

This article explains why Hu Mang has always been fine.

In ancient times, Spiritual Qi was weak, but Yin Qi is related to the life and death of the living, and its relationship with Spiritual Qi should not be so great. So, according to common sense, shouldn't there be a situation where yin is dominant and yang is weak?

Or is it that because of the balance of Yin and Yang, the cultivation of spiritual practice in the mortal world has declined, leading to the decline of ghosts and spirits in the Underworld?

The latter seems to make more sense.

If yin truly prevailed over yang, then the ancients should have been devoured by all sorts of vengeful ghosts long ago. Even a dynasty could only produce a handful of Golden Core cultivators, let alone withstand several Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

However, this article offers a very unique interpretation.

That is, in ancient times, with the cycle of life and death, a large number of ghosts did indeed appear, even forming Ghost Vein and Ghost Dragon Vein.

However, in the Middle Earth, once Ghost Vein takes shape, it is often swallowed up by the turbid Turbid Qi underground, thus maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang.

However, in some cases, a ghost becomes a phantom.

That concludes this section.

"Damn, this is a total disaster. I was really looking for information on what this 'mystery' thing actually is."

Hu Mang complains.

As for the final section on the Underworld Bureau technology, it is even more diverse, including "Underworld Bureau Global Access", various ways to enter and exit ghost cities, some methods to temporarily control the underworld veins, and some operations that reverse yin and yang, such as letting a ghost registered in the Underworld Bureau temporarily possess the corpse of a dead person to complete some special tasks.

However, all of the above can only be achieved with magical Law Treasure customized by the Underworld Bureau, and these Underworld Law Treasure can only be obtained by exchanging points earned from underground missions, underworld currency, or even points of Yin Virtue.

As an advisor to the Underworld Bureau, Hu Mang seems to only have the Global Pass service at his disposal.

The most amazing Underworld Bureau technique that Hu Mang witnessed was extending the lifespan of ghosts, preventing some from vanishing into nothingness so quickly, or turning them into "dead ghosts."

This kind of operation is already somewhat reminiscent of the Book of Life and Death.

Since extending one's lifespan in the yin realm is possible, what about extending it in the yang realm?

To be honest, he was still quite concerned about Jiang Kuisha's previous statement that industrial Spiritual Qi could not extend lifespan.

If what they say is true, then in 20 or 30 years, Heavenly Gate might really be in chaos, and it's hard to say whether this golden age of cultivation can be preserved.

Moreover, compared to the useless group of Celestial Person back then, if the current high-ranking members of the Heavenly Gate were to go Evil Dao, such as transforming into Sinful Dragon, not to mention anything else, the sheer number of artificial Dragon Vein that the Heavenly Gate currently controls would be absolutely terrifying!

Industrial Cthulhu, directly transformed into the Sinful Dragon Cthulhu, has polluted the entire globe!

However, the higher-ups at Heavenly Gate must have realized this as well.

If industrial Spiritual Qi can't extend lifespan, then let's develop it to the point where it can.

As for the technical problems encountered, didn't Heavenly Gate face just as many problems before?

Hu Mang was lost in some kind of reverie when a knock on the door woke him from his daydreams.

"Who?"

The place his sister-in-law arranged for him was the best small building in Liang Household Garden, and of course, the quietest one, where no one would usually bother him.

Hu Mang swept his Divine Sense across the area, raised an eyebrow, and with a thought, the door opened by itself without any wind.

An old man and a young boy were standing outside the door.

The younger one was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old with a long, shiny black braid. She was wearing a batik sarong, a common local garment in Nanyang, and a plain white short-sleeved shirt. Her eyes still had a touch of childishness, but her gaze was firm, as if she had made a decision to come here.

The older man was drunk, half-supported by the girl as he stood at the door. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved jacket covered in oil and metallic dust, which was open to reveal a similarly dirty undershirt underneath. His messy gray hair looked like it hadn't been styled for months, and his beard was stained with several patches of dirt of unknown origin.

He reeked of alcohol, which could be smelled from several steps away, but that wasn't the point.

The key point is that the opponent's right arm was severed at the root and replaced by a large, magical Law Artifact arm.

The prosthetic limb was cast entirely from dark blue metal, with intricate gears and linkages visible at the joints. The five fingers were metal fingers of varying thicknesses, with several small Spirit Stone embedded at the fingertips, giving it a rugged yet refined appearance. Judging from the shape and structure of the prosthetic limb, it seemed to be specially designed for casting work—the knuckles were thick and powerful, and there was a small, replaceable slot for Law Artifact in the palm.

"So you're the kid who asked me to forge weapons? Let me make this clear beforehand: I only care about money, not people, and I only care about materials, not people. It's only because of Madam Liang's influence that I was allowed to come to see you. Whether or not to have them forged is my decision."

"Mr. Mang, this is Master A Pei, the most famous forging master in Java. He has forged several Law Treasure. I invited him here because I want him to forge a gun for you."

The girl with the long braid mustered her courage and said.

"How did you know I needed a gun?" Hu Mang retorted.

"The Heavenly Blood Python's strongest weapon is the spear. Yesterday, when I saw you practicing your fist techniques, I glanced at the weapon rack a few times, but you didn't practice with the weapon. So I boldly guessed that there was something wrong with your weapon, Mr. Mang. I consulted Sister Yanqiu and found Master A Pei, the best weapon master here."

Hu Mang glanced at the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl; he didn't recognize her at first, but now he did.

Liang Xiaoqiu, right?

"Master blacksmith, what happened to your hands?" Hu Mang asked in return.

Before the other party could answer, he slapped his Storage Bag, pulled out a jar of "Jade Spring Fine Brew," and tossed it over.

"Let's drink first and then talk."

Master A Pei took the wine jar with his Law Artifact hand, took a deep sniff, and his old eyes lit up. He then took a big gulp, and a chilling aura visibly emanated from the mouth of the jar.

"Fine wine! Fine wine! I've never tasted such good wine before!"

"A cultivator suffering from fire poison is indeed a very good match for the thousand-year-old Yin wine."

"How did you know that I've been poisoned by fire?" the old man opposite asked curiously.

"Now it's my turn to ask questions, and you answer."

The old man glared at Hu Mang, gritting his teeth, and said, "Don't think that a mere jar of wine can make—"

"I can remove the fire poison from your body."

"I broke while forging a Fire Element Law Treasure ten years ago, but fortunately, the Law Treasure was completed," the old man immediately became honest.

Moreover, judging from the other party's words, they didn't seem to regret it at all; on the contrary, they were quite pleased with themselves.

So you installed this afterwards?

"Certainly."

"I've seen similar modifications on demonic cultivators."

"Oh, this?" Master A Pei said quite frankly, "This is the modification of the demonic path. I even had them enhance it for me so that I can forge large Law Artifact like the master craftsmen of Heavenly Gate."

"You've joined the demonic path?"

Master A Pei looked at Hu Mang with a strange expression. "What era is this? You're still a Heavenly Gate person, how can you ask such a strange question? Even the demonic path needs to eat. These days, without money, no matter what path you follow, it won't work."

"Yes, Mr. Mang, the demonic path actually has quite a few industries on our Java Island. For example, this human body Law Artifact modification technology comes from the Demonic Machine Hall, which is the largest demonic Law Artifact modification center on the island," Liang Xiaoqiu added.

"..." Hu Mang.

Even the demonic arts have evolved with the times these days.

So, he's the only one who's fallen behind?