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The '72 Earthly Fiends' or 72 Earthly Warriors (地煞星七十二星) refer to the two divisions amongst the 108 Liangshan bandits in the epic Chinese tale, the ''Water Margin''; the other division being the 36 Heavenly Spirits or 36 Heavenly Chieftains. This segregation essentially determined where the heroes were seated when they gathered for feasts and meetings in the grand hall of their lair.
The 72 in question were the less senior members, such as Zhu Wu, Bai Sheng and An Dao-quan.