I, a Paper Effigy Maker, Build a Divine Dynasty of the Underworld from the Start

An ancient world where gods and ghosts remain hidden, and demons and evil spirits run rampant. Ordinary people know nothing of them and dismiss them as strange illnesses or legends. The powerful and members of the mystic sects, however, understand the terror they pose and have their own ways of dealing with them, though these methods are usually crude, relying on killing or sealing them away. The Chen family, where the protagonist was born, was once a renowned paper effigy-making clan, able to use paper to communicate with the netherworld. But the craft has long been lost, leaving them ordinary artisans.

The protagonist’s extraordinary gift, not a golden finger: Chen Mo was born with a pair of “True Spirit Eyes” that let him see the essential “true spirit” of everything in the world, whether living people, inanimate objects, or ghosts. This gift allows him to precisely link paper effigies to particular souls and auras, granting them far greater strength and sentience than ordinary ones. It is the foundation for restoring his family’s fortunes and building a force in the underworld, a unique talent of his own rather than a gift bestowed by outside forces.

Power system:

Ghost ranks: Wandering Soul > Vengeful Ghost > Malevolent Ghost > Ghost General > Ghost King > Ghost Lord

Paper Effigy Craft ranks: Spirit Attunement > Soul Binding > Manifestation > Baleful Energy Gathering > Investiture > Creation

Protagonist’s faction ranks: Yin Residence > Ghost Village > Netherworld Court > Ghost Kingdom > Divine Dynasty