地府十王的概念，乃綜合中土的黃泉、泰山信仰、酆都鬼域之說與印度地獄說而逐漸形成；從佛、道二教的宇宙觀到民間故事中所描述的入冥傳説，對於地下幽冥世間的描述隨著時代發展也逐漸整合。此部份的物質文化十分豐富，道、佛兩教的壇場畫即可作為代表。本區展出雙幅成組十王圖與傳統結構有所差異，案前故事並非以地獄刑罰的景象作為警世之用，而是選取各類文學敘事典故，以小說、戲曲中的善惡報應故事為主題。

然而進入幽冥世界中並非只有刑罰，道教有救度、拔度的儀式，將亡者拔離地獄，度往仙界；與此類儀式的相關文物眾多，如填庫文書、「玉皇寳誥」印版等，道教認為此類拔度儀式皆由太乙救苦天尊主理其事，以救助生人與拯拔幽魂，因此往往在儀式中張掛天尊圖像，祈求冥陽兩利。

The concept of the Ten Kings of Hell has developed on the basis of the Chinese netherworld, faith in Taishan, and Fengdu Ghost City as well as the Hindu hell. From the cosmological views in Buddhism and Daoism, to folk legends about visits to hell, an integrated portrayal of the underworld has gradually taken shape. There is an abundance of material culture in this respect, among which the Daoist and Buddhist shrine paintings serve as representative examples. The Ten Kings of Hell painting pair exhibited in this section differs from traditional paintings in structure. Instead of depicting scenes of punishments in hell as a warning, the paintings feature stories of karma depicted in various literary narratives, particularly novels and Chinese operas.

Punishment is not the only option in the netherworld. There are also deliverance and transcendence rituals in Daoism. The dead may be extracted from hell and delivered to heaven. A myriad of artifacts related to these rituals exist, such as documents about replenishing the Heavenly Treasury (Tianku wenshu) and the printing plate of Jade Emperor Mantra (Yuhuang Baogao). Daoism holds that Taiyi jiuku tianzun (the Suffering-relieving Supreme Lord) takes charge of such deliverance rituals to salvage the living and transcend wandering ghosts. Therefore, His image is often displayed at ceremonies to pray for auspiciousness in both the living world and the underworld.

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