No, this place can't be the Netherworld Realm. After all, there is no trace of that evil energy native to the Netherworld, and I don't see any demon, either, Song Shuhang thought to himself.
After pondering for a moment, he thought of another possibility.
The Virtuous Golden Lotus of the scholarly faction had created a world of its own in the main world, the so-called world of the golden lotus... and this world happened to be connected to the world of the black lotus in the Netherworld Realm through a certain passage.
Back then, the owner of that big metallic hand had forcefully barged into the 'world of the golden lotus' from the 'world of the black lotus' in the Netherworld Realm precisely through this passage.