Chapter 183

The underworld of Inuyasha's world is where the dead are reincarnated. Its area is not even half the size of the "earthly world." However, compared to the void space in Teyvat, it is still considerably larger.

The land of the underworld was broken into countless fragments by the system's supreme power, similar to a jigsaw puzzle, and transferred to the "empty space" through dimensional space. The pieces were then reassembled to form the underworld within Teyvat's void space.

As these fragments filled the empty space, the rules of the underworld began to integrate, injecting their essence to create a new underworld within Teyvat. The underworld is a world where only the dead reside. Life that has not reached the level of immortality or above will eventually transform into "underworld creatures" upon entering the underworld due to the influence of the underworld's rules.

As the place of reincarnation, all beings in the underworld have one duty—to safeguard the reincarnation of the deceased. Any life that disrupts this rule will be thrown into the abyss and face an eternity without reincarnation. For the living who uphold the rule of reincarnation, the underworld grants passage to and from the boundary between life and death.

The "Haiyuan" and "Land Abyss" serve as special areas leading to the underworld, where the dead who have not yet reincarnated can meet their families when the Abyss Red rises into the sky. Contact between the living and the dead is facilitated by those on the surface who maintain the operation of the underworld.

The elemental creatures that originally existed in the sea abyss and land abyss will gradually become "messengers of death" under the influence of the underworld's rules, dedicated to devouring souls that refuse to follow the reincarnation process.

The void space was filled with the constant noise of the underworld's formation—rumble after rumble. On her floating island, Reindottir, also known as Albedo's creator, looked around in panic as black land appeared out of nowhere. The land emanated an aura of death that could be felt even by those attuned to alchemy like herself.

She could sense death, and if those black lands extended to her, they would consume her. There was no doubt in her mind that this was Lord Tianli's doing, and she found that the entire void space was sealed. Leaving was not an option.

Reindottir shouted in fear, "Lord Tianli!"

Just when she thought Lord Tianli had changed his mind and intended to kill her, her vision blurred, and everything changed. In front of her was Takumi, sitting on his throne, holding his face in one hand, with two supreme halos shining behind him. His golden eyes looked at Reindottir, who sat trembling before him.

Takumi raised her chin with his foot and said, "Did you think I was going to kill you? Tsk! You actually thought I would break my promise. If I didn't have so many things to do now, I would give you a few slaps. And don't call me 'Lord Tianli.' Call me 'Master.'"

Reindottir, relieved that she wasn't about to die, felt a chill at the thought of being slapped by Tianli. His slaps were far from ordinary. Even a gentle one would cause her pain for days, and blocking her senses did nothing to mitigate the pain.

She looked up at Takumi with wide eyes, trying to appease him. "Master... could you let me off with just one slap?" Despite considering herself Tianli's property, she still hoped to avoid suffering too much pain.

Takumi looked at her and nodded slightly, satisfied that his previous discipline had yielded results. Still, he kept his expression stern. "Are you trying to bargain with me? Thirty slaps, no less. If you ever dare not call me 'Master' from the bottom of your heart again, it will be a thousand slaps a day."

Reindottir nodded furiously, like a chicken pecking grain. "Yes, yes, Master..." A thousand slaps a day—she couldn't bear that. It would prevent her from conducting any experiments. In her mind, she repeated over and over again, "Master, Master…"

The creation of the underworld continued. The void space, initially a barrier between the Teyvat continent and the Abyss Moon Sky, was now transformed into a world for the dead, comparable in size to four nations of the Teyvat continent.

The Teyvat continent was fully isolated from the Abyss Moon Sky. If beings from the abyss wanted to enter Teyvat, they would have to pass through the underworld. Should they try to force their way in, the rules of the underworld would make them pay dearly—be they human or demon.

According to Takumi's plan, the Abyss Moon Sky was both an abyss and a "hell," where those who disrupted order would be imprisoned.

At the moment when the last piece of the underworld merged, a massive vortex, a black hole thousands of meters high, slowly rose from the center of the underworld. This was the reincarnation passage exclusive to the world of Teyvat.

The reincarnation channel gathered the sum of all rules regarding souls, rebirth, and the afterlife from the four worlds. Every world, no matter its size, contained some form of these rules—often unconscious processes. In Demon Slayer's world, for instance, similar rules existed, though incomplete and inconsistent, with reincarnation depending largely on luck.

As soon as the reincarnation channel was formed, the reincarnation rules instantly spread across the entire Teyvat universe, guiding the dead to their next journey. The recently deceased, along with those who had been dead for a long time and unable to reincarnate, were all drawn to the underworld by these rules. Not all dead would be taken, however—those with strong obsessions would be filtered out by the reincarnation law.

Souls burdened by obsessions would resist reincarnation, putting a strain on the reincarnation passage. If there were too many souls resisting at once, it would interfere with the smooth reincarnation of others. Therefore, normal souls were prioritized for reincarnation. To address this situation, gods who maintained the order of the underworld would be required.

Once the underworld began to operate normally, in Liyue, specifically in Wuwang Hill, Hu Tao spun her Staff of Homa to guide a few restless spirits towards the border between life and death.

"When a big Hilichurl gets sick, two Hilichurls watch over it. Three Hilichurls gather herbs, four Hilichurls brew it. Five Hilichurls die, six Hilichurls carry them. Seven Hilichurls dig a pit, eight Hilichurls bury them..."

Hu Tao recited the peculiar rhyme as she went about her work, her tone light as if she were performing a simple chore. As she walked the familiar path, she looked around with a puzzled expression. "Hmm, strange. Although this is called the boundary between life and death, it's essentially just a place where ley lines are disrupted... but something feels different today."