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[Nine Netherworld] is also the level system of this book.
The Nine Netherworld of the Taoist Sect is different from the Buddhist Hell's Eighteen Layers. The Taoist Hell has nine levels. The evil spirits in the world are also divided into levels by the Nine Netherworld, which is also the source of power for the world's ghosts, monsters, and evil spirits.
After a normal person encounters a ghost, they may open the Ghost Gate and thus find the stairway to the Lower Nine Netherworld. The soul residing in the Nine Netherworld can see the corresponding level of evil spirits and ghosts. Detailed settings can be found in Chapter 18.
★In simple terms★
The Nine Netherworld is divided into nine levels. Humans and ghosts are classified at this level, from top to bottom: levels 123 are called evil spirits, levels 456 are called ghosts, and levels 789 are called ghost gods.
When people descend into the Nine Netherworld, the lower they go, the more insane they become. Levels 123 are the safe zone, and going below level 4 will drive them crazy. A Heart Lamp is needed to stabilize the soul, and the Heart Lamp must correspond to the levels to continue descending.
Humans do not have the ability to directly kill ghosts; they need to borrow the power of ghosts, such as controlling ghosts to become a Yin Walker. A Level 4 Yin Walker controlling a Level 3 ghost can exert Level 4 power.
[Heart Lamp] The power of incense and wishes can light the lamp in one's heart, stabilizing the soul in the Nine Netherworld to prevent it from being eroded and losing control. See the second half of Chapter 18 for details.
★In simple terms★The Heart Lamp is the power of incense and wishes. One devout believer counts as one incense. As long as the believer is alive, the incense remains. When the believer dies, the incense disappears. If the believer betrays, the incense also disappears.
The number of Heart Lamps corresponds to the level of the Nine Netherworld. For example, the first level of the Nine Netherworld is nine levels, so nine believers are needed to provide incense to light the Heart Lamp, ensuring people do not go mad. If the number of Nine Netherworld levels exceeds the number of Heart Lamps, people will go mad.
[Witch Temple] Formerly the National Temple, it worshipped a witch possessing the power of the Mountain Ghost, called the Witch Lady. It was abolished more than twenty years ago by the Prime Minister of the Xuan Dynasty and considered an obscene shrine and Evil God, prohibiting worship (11).
[Evil Suppression Bureau] A department that specializes in handling bizarre events across various dynasties (7).
[Daoist] In the ancient world, non-orthodox Taoist Sect members worshiped the 'Daoist Lord'. They needed to formally receive talismans before they could use the Power of Daoist Lord for talisman painting, enhancing Magic Artifacts, performing rituals, etc.
[Village Guardian] It is said in the mountains and seas that the foolish become wise, sacrificing one soul and two spirits to reincarnate as fools, banishing demons, sweeping away spirits, balancing yin and yang, stabilizing the five elements. Some rural areas have sayings about Village Guardians, suggesting that kind-hearted but foolish and insane people are protecting the village from disasters, which is why they lack three souls and seven spirits, becoming fools (11).
[Yin Walker] A person who controls evil spirits, constantly suffering erosion from evil spirits, with a very short lifespan. Every time they use the power of evil spirits, a great price must be paid (7).
[Yin Object] Items left behind after evil spirits and ghost creatures are annihilated, possessing the power of evil spirits (7).
[Summoning Soul] After encountering evil, the soul is lost. Within three days, one must use a soul lamp and soul-guiding charm to find where the soul is wandering, calling its name to guide the soul back to the body. The most important rule in summoning the soul is 'when the soul is summoned, do not look back' (13, 14, 15).
[Soul Lamp] A lantern made of human skin and runes, containing special candles within. Once lit, it can attract souls and emit an aura that protects the soul from being captured by wandering souls.
Besides summoning souls, the soul lamp is also used as a path for Daoists to practice passing the Yin. The candle's scent during summoning can induce hallucinations, and can also quickly bring one into the dream of the Nine Netherworld during meditation (13, 14).
[Soul-guiding Charm] A talisman used to guide the soul's direction, which needs to be ignited with the blood of the lost person's left middle finger. It will then transform into talismanic fire, flying to the lost soul's location (13, 14).
[Corpse Mud] Smearing it on the forehead can temporarily conceal a living person's aura, only effective against wandering souls (13).
[Glutinous Rice] Used to deal with zombie-type corpse evil.
[Rooster blood / Black dog blood] Has the effect of temporarily warding off evil spirits.
[Exorcism Talisman] Painted by a daoist, once ignited with blood, it can emit an aura within a certain range, making common evil spirits unable to approach. Powerful evil spirits can instantly burn out the Exorcism Talisman (2, 3).
[Eye-opening Talisman] Painted by a daoist, it allows an ordinary person who hasn't opened the Ghost Gate to temporarily see a small portion of evil spirits (7).
[Passing the Yin] A method of training in the Lower Nine Netherworld. By applying corpse mud on the forehead and lighting a soul lamp to go outside where many wandering souls are gathered, one mingles with them and uses the yin energy on wandering souls to cleanse the soul. Returning home before midnight, one sits in meditation with the yin energy of wandering souls, visualizing to enter the dream of the Nine Netherworld, allowing the soul to continue descending into the depths of the Nine Netherworld (20).
[Ghost Soldier Talisman] A special talisman, white talisman paper with black runes. Yan Daozi can only make two per year, and they can be attached to weapons to harm evil spirits with considerable power (25).
[Wooden Comb] An object in Yan Daozi's possession, wrapped with hair. After being stimulated with blood, it can use the hair to strangle evil spirits. It needs to absorb fresh blood afterward (25).
[Xu Family Bay Village Mountain God Statue] An unknown object, always covered with red cloth. It is an item passed down by the temple guardian of the Xu Family for generations, and the red cloth cannot be removed. Aunt Qiao, the owner of Aunt Qiao's Tailor Shop in the village, can remove the red cloth but later went mad. The Black Cat Xuan Yu has also removed the red cloth, turned its pupils green, and became special. Xu Shufen once removed the red cloth, facing the Divine Statue towards the Yin Child, temporarily restricting it (31, 46, 51, 52).
[Entering the Abandoned House] Before entering, one needs to light three incense sticks at the door, asking for the owner of the abandoned house for permission to let in those seeking shelter. If the incense does not break after worship, it is a sign of agreement. If the incense breaks, one should quickly run away (80).
[Sha Bing] Weapons contaminated with evil qi from mass killings, have a deterrent effect and direct damage to evil spirits and evil ghosts, related to the negative Heart Lamp collecting people's fears (80).
[Magic Artifact] The Buddhist and Taoist Sects, by adding power to ordinary items, turn them into Magic Artifacts, gaining the power to deal with evil spirits and evil ghosts.
[Buddhist Sect] Faithful to the 'Longevity Buddha', when seeing people, they first invoke 'Infinite Life Buddha'.
[Incense Burner] An item that can represent identity, most are masks. For example, everyone in the Evil Suppression Bureau wears masks. People's awe and worship are directed at the identities represented by masks. Incense will gather on the masks, turning them into incense burners. Who is behind the mask doesn't matter. As long as the mask is worn on the face, one obtains the abilities conferred by the identity, such as the ability of the Evil Suppression Bureau Night Traveler to roam the fields at night, and the ability of the storyteller mask to write stories. Incense burners cannot be forged (83).
[Evil People] People born with the power of evil spirits tend to have a short lifespan with incomplete mental faculties. The female character Xia Chan has the mental faculties of only five or six years old, with special hair. Her hair is her true form, and as long as the hair is not destroyed, she can survive even if her body is destroyed (67, 69, 95).
[Storyteller] A member of the Nine Songs, who through continuing to write stories that exist in reality, turns them into horror and materializes them to achieve a certain purpose. The author must be recognized by everyone and adhere to the principle of writing stories. Refer to related chapters for more details (83, 87).
[Building a House] Houses can be built with bricks and stones mixed with vermillion, and mortar mixed with glutinous rice. By arranging a ghost-repelling Feng Shui formation and worshipping Ghost God, it can achieve the effect of repelling evil and avoiding misfortune (84).
[Ten Victory Stone] Modern obsidian, has the effect of repelling evil (126).
[Soul-locking Rope] Soaked with vermillion and black dog blood, made by disciples of the Taoist Sect, can trap evil spirits (127).
[Witchcraft] The content is extensive, including Yansheng coin, the reception ceremony, and specifics can be found in chapters 147 and 148.
[Case Division] The Evil Suppression Bureau's classification of bizarre cases is relatively simple, divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. The sacrifice event in Tangyuan County is classified as level A, involving evil ghosts above four-layer and affecting the region of a whole county. The event in Pinghu Village, which affected several nearby villages and involved four-layered evil ghosts, is classified as level B. The range of one village is level C, and small cases involving a few households are level D. The Day Traveling Envoy generally handles level C and D cases, while levels A and B are handled by the Night Traveler (144).
[Five Ghost Transport Technique] Cultivating five ghosts can deliver messages and do work with various wondrous uses, further details will be explained later.