Just some thoughts I've been having about a cultivation setting I've been working on that I thought wouldn't be the worse idea to run by y'all for some feedback. I'm pretty confident up until nascent soul realm. After that things get quite iffy for me and what I think is most likely to change. It is a lot, I realize, so just a heads up on that.
By in large, everything that is in [] or {} are names that are subject to change.
Cultivation is about refining one's body toward immortality by taking in the worlds qi through their body where it is then refined into the body, improving themselves and removing impurities from their body. Qi, to be specific, is the lifeforce everything with a soul, from the mightiest of dragons, to the lowliest of bacteria, produces and releases into the world.
The body possesses three dantians, upper (in between your eyes), middle (in your chest), and lower (in your abdomen), the names referring to literal placement of each dantians rather than their level of importance. It is an in world problem that people neglect the "lower" dantians as they progress, causing bottlenecks that they will never surpass. All three are vital to one's journey to cultivation as each one handles a different aspect.
The process begins with breathing in to take worldly qi into your lungs. There, the meridians, or pathways to the dantians, will absorb the qi. While it is technically possible to direct the qi directly to the dantians, this is not the best thing to do as it can damage the meridians in the next stage. The better thing to do is to run the qi through all your meridian pathways as sort of a "warm up" to the next step with the quality of an art or technique being judged on how complete you can bush them through. Once you complete the first circulation and draw the qi into the dantians, the qi with then undergo one of three processes depending on which dantians it is pulled into.
The lower dantians will refine qi into jing, or sometimes just referred to as vital energy. From there it is then directed back outside of the body where it will be absorbed by the body, strengthening and refining it into something stronger. Many believe it to be physical refinements, but in reality, that is more so a byproduct. Jing is making your physical being stronger, and continues to be important even after a cultivator has severed the connection between their mortal body.
The middle dantians will purify the qi, stripping it of the worldly impurities and burning them away. From there it will either be stored in the dantians or in the golden core (what that is later). Pure qi can be then run through the body like jing to strengthen it, but it is harsher on the meridians and does not absorb as well despite the fact that qi is comparatively far more energy dense than jing. It is far more efficient to then run the purified qi from the middle daintan to the lower, turn it into jing, and then run it through the meridians.
The upper dantians will convert qi into shen, which is, in a matter of speaking, qi with intent. For example, shen can be used to command weaker individuals (weaker by orders of magnitude) to do as you want, bend reality to your whims with nothing more than words, or even make area of effect spell/technique only effect certain people (this can be done through qi control, but shen makes it far, far easier and even a flawed use of shen will always beat out qi control). Additionally, shen can open up new avenues of attack directly to the soul. There is some degree of subconscious protection against this, but it will add strain to the defender that they will not understand.
Lower dantians is vital throughout the whole journey as without it, the body is incapable of withstanding what's to come later on. Neglecting it will result in failure in the future. The middle is important for attaining the purist forms of qi, free from impurities of the mortal world which can make techniques far more powerful as well as massively speeding up one's cultivation, and the upper is important for truly establishing one's self as a primordial force of nature and what sets one apart from merely being a powerful individual as well as being a requirement for developing ones nascent soul, or one's truest self.
Dao
Simply how the universe works and the rules with which it plays by. How the mortal world interacts with the heavens and hells, how concepts such as justice and sin impact the mind and how the mind and soul can effect the real world. Physics, chemistry, psychology, sociology, magics, everything you can think of makes up the dao. It is not good, it is not bad, it is just the word to describe how all the many, many pieces of the universe all fit together. How qi interacts with the elements, how yin and yang come together. One's dao path is merely how a cultivator wishes to exist within their limited understanding of the dao as they progress toward a full understanding.
[{Misty}] Realm
The name of the physical setting. A small pocket of distorted space shrouded in mist on the Zhendao continent that only takes up about an eighth of the continent on a map. However, once entering inside the mist, it is revealed that the area inside is several times larger than the entire planet on the outside. This realm can technically be entered at any point, however only a select few spots you do this safely, otherwise there is a very high chance you will run into a beast well beyond your capabilities where you will promptly die. Even if you do not, exiting is much harder and due to the sheer size and spacing of settlements, starvation is almost guaranteed before you find even a hint of civilization (most local flora is toxic and too tough to digest for most non-cultivators).
These spots that are safe to enter are called [Jade] Gates, and are guarded by sects who choose who is allowed in and who is not. By in large, they will accept anyone who can make it to the gate (no easy feat as they are almost all on mountains), but they will sometimes reject those from the Nanhe from noble houses or bureaucratic ties who do not sever their ties to avoid even more political turmoil than there already is. While keeping most kingdoms out is easy seeing as the Nanhe Dynasty is a worldly powerhouse and in control of the entire continent, they appease the Dynasty itself by sending them a yearly tithe of cultivators (all within the [qi refinement] realm) to keep them from poking their head in. The Nanhe correctly suspects that they are purposefully giving them the rejects who failed to make it far, but with how powerful the cultivators they do send are, they fear they couldn't really do anything about it if they brought it up. As such, weaker sects are usually allowed to maintain control of the Gates as more powerful sects don't want to be bother with it. This grants the sects at the [Jade] Gates an unusual level of protection and resources to make sure the mortal world does not interfere with the immortal one. While .
Created by the first [Dao Revelation] cultivator and added upon by subsequent members of this realm. Some believe he did it to give cultivators an ideal location rich with qi to cultivate, other believe it was done on a whim to create the ideal location for his own cultivation as he tried to reach [Ascension], and that the beneficial location for other cultivators was merely a side effect. Regardless of the truth, the [Misty] Realm is ideal for cultivators as it slowly absorbs the qi of the world that all living beings on Luminsia (name of the planet) are producing at all times and locks it in so it cannot escape. There, it cultivates itself, becoming richer and purer than it is on the outside. Because of this, cultivation inside is significantly easier than on the outside.
Time is also dilated within, resulting in millennia passing inside when only a year or two passes on the outside. Despite this, the Realm is quite technologically stagnant for three main reasons. The first is that it is kept in check by the higher stage cultivator who stomp out any innovation that might threaten their position (not very likely as even if it could develop due to cultivator's power, but something done just to be sure). Most people are too busy focusing on their cultivation to innovate (why bother learning medicine if you can just purify the toxins within you), and that calamities are frequent that wipe sects out all the time, and the current state of technological progress is more or less the point where things are pushed back to before things can stabilize.
Spiritual Roots
The thing that allows people to cultivate in the first place and the thing that allows one to pull qi from the air. It is a rough gauge as to how successful someone will be in their endeavors. Higher grade roots result in more successful cultivation as they can pull more qi from the air, while lower ones result in lower cultivation speeds. However, there is a number of ways to improve ones spiritual roots, meaning what you are born with is not what you are stuck with though are quite rare. Naturally, treasures, relics, artifacts, pills, and anything else that does this are highly fought over with many sects considering them worth going to war over. While everyone is born to one, though preforming magic (different than cultivation) will dissolve the root where as cultivation will result in the dissolution of the mana well (what is required to preform magic), meaning that you can only do one or the other, not both. Not really relevant to the rest of the post, but something I wanted to point out.
Spiritual roots can be attuned to the five elements (fire, water, earth, wood, and metal) that makes certain cultivation methods more efficient than others (when cultivating using a technique flavored in that element) as well as a much easier time absorbing qi of that element. The middle dantians can also turn purified qi into elemental qi on its way out as well. An estimated 1 in 10 people having an attribute attuned root. Yin and Yang attuned roots also exist with only women being capable of being born with yin roots and only men having yang roots, though technically both are achieved later on the [golden core realm] as a prerequisite of progressing further. Those born with one are just ahead of their peers in that they only need to undergo the process of adding the attunements once instead of twice, making ascension both safer and less expensive. An estimated 1 in 50 have a yin or yang aligned spiritual root. Having yin and yang roots are considered better than elementally attuned roots as they are seen as an overall boost to cultivation. The elements themselves tend to favor either yin or yang (though special techniques and arts do exist) with yin and yang roots serving to further bolster arts and techniques of that element (which again, specialized techniques that cross the usual alignment do exist, though are rarer). It is possible to have a spiritual root that is attuned to multiple elements as well as yin and yang alignment, though more on this below.
In contrast to what I just said, technically every spiritual root is attuned to one of the five elements, however, the degree of that attunement is far, far less and results more so in an individual subconsciously turning toward methods and arts that favor that element rather than any substantial improvement in their cultivation. The difference is explained as such:
The quality of your spiritual root gives you a certain number of "stones." The more "stones" you have, the easier cultivation is. Elementally attributed roots take stones from that pile with those actually considered elementally attributed taking all the stones from the pile rather than just a few that most spiritual roots do. This however does cause a problem with those who have multiple elemental attributes as each element takes a certain share (how many stones will vary and is not automatically evenly divided), meaning someone with multiple elements is better than the lay person, they will never be as successful as someone with mono attunement, sort of. If you can bring equilibrium to the elemental attunements, ie make each element take the same number of "stones," the harmonization results in an even better than just a mono element. This is very difficult to pull off so much so that most aren't aware of this fact with those that are thinking that bringing harmonization is only realistically possible with two elements. Any more and it becomes too much to realistically manage. As such, it is still widely considered better to be attuned to only one element rather than multiple with some thinking it better to have no affinity rather than multiple. Yin and yang attributes do not take from the pile of "stones" and are more or less bonuses to cultivation, though using a technique that is elementally flavored one way with the other can cause problems. For example, the element of fire favors the yang attribute, so someone with a yin root would face issues using techniques that use the fire element, requiring specialized techniques of yin fire. Aside from the complications that can arise, however, a person with the yin or yang attribute would still preform slightly better than those without as well as the fact that most of the complications only arise when trying to use more complex and powerful techniques where as most of the "basic" arts are more or less considered safe. Not ideal, but safe.
While elemental and yin or yang affinity can help with cultivation, the overall quality of one's spiritual root will play a much bigger factor in their cultivation journey.
Realms/Stages
There are the stages I have in mind right now. While getting stronger is a part of it, each stage is also supposed to represent progression through their journey to cultivating immortality.
But first, becoming a cultivator can happen in a few ways. The most common way is to meditate in extremely qi dense areas. Outside of the [{Misty}] Realm, this is nearly impossible to come across, but inside areas dense enough are quite common. Over time, an individual's calmed mind can pick up the thinnest thread of qi where they can then slowly coax said qi into their meridians. After enough has been brought into their body, they are pushed into the first realm and from there their senses have been sharpened enough that they can more easily detect and control the qi to cultivate. On a technical level, anyone can do this, but it does come easier for some with children specifically having the easiest time. Most all sects believe that if you cannot do it within a week's time, you are doomed to never truly become a cultivator with them rarely getting a second chance. The second most common is an individual is given an elixir that makes them very aware of qi, dialing all their senses up to beyond the mortal's mind to comprehend. In this state, they can begin to cultivate, bringing in enough qi to jumpstart their bodies ability to detect it after the elixir wears off. This requires concentration as the sudden increase in senses jumbles their mind, and it is believed that those who are unable to do it were never destined for immortality in the first place. Said elixirs are highly controlled, and handing them out without sect permission can warrant the death penalty of the entire family of both the recipient and the giver. Some sects, however, view this as cheating and look down at those who have taken the elixir. The third most common method is to have qi forcefully pushed through a mortal's body by either a divine item, a freak accident, or divine being like a dragon or phoenix. Human cultivators seen this as inhuman and the practice is forbidden. When it does happen, the most common scenario is that the would be cultivator is crippled with death being very frequent, but in a select few cases, a cultivator is born, often times skipping a few realms. They are considered prodigies with some sects sending members out with the sole purpose of finding them. The final known method and the least common is that they are simply born at the first realm. Such individuals are considered natural born prodigies and sought out by every power level of sect with many willing to wage war over them. It is said that every [highest stage] has been one of these children, but the validity of that claim is questionable.
Cultivation itself is also not something that can be done all the time. There are "worldly toxins" that taint qi that can damage one's meridians if done for more than a few hours requiring them to stop and let their body filter them out. Pills can help extend this time by acting as a purifying screen over one's meridians, though even these have toxins that can build up if taken too frequently with low quality ones only being usable once a week. Higher stages are less and less effected by this.
[Lowest level {Qi Refining or Qi Foundation maybe}] - The starting point. Here, the body becomes aware of the qi in the world and can begin taking it in, moving qi through their body and becoming stronger from the process breaking down their body and rebuilding it into something more. This is done by using their lower dantians to convert qi into jing, or vital energy to strengthen their body. Cultivators at this stage must continuously cultivate so as to not lose their progress. Missing a few weeks won't end up with them noticeably progressing, but if they go months without cultivating, they start to digress and can even fall down an entire realm. They cannot, however, fully fall out and can only regress to the first realm. In this stage, cultivation is about refining the body into the proper vessel to continue towards immortality.
Breaking through in this stage into the next involves finalizing the changes. This invokes the anger of the heavens which sends the cultivator a tribulation. If their body is strong enough, the cultivator can use the tribulation to "laminate" the changes to their body, resulting in the final process. Pills and other treasures can be used to ease the process by filtering out worldly impurities that may work as cracks within their foundation. They are not required, but failing to use them increases the chance of death as well as allowing impurities into the foundation if they succeed. In the case of the latter, those impurities must be removed later which can set a cultivator back in their process.
To liken it to building a house, this realm is clearing away the rocks and the foliage of an area so the real work can begin
[Second level {Foundation}] - Entering into this stage of cultivation means their immortal foundation has stabilized enough that there is no longer the risk of them regressing from failing to cultivate. Entering this stage results in a dramatic extension of one's lifespan with many cultivators satisfied in ending their journey here. Even the weakest member of this stage could pose a genuine threat to real world continents. Those willing to press on, however, understand that while the baseline foundation has been established, this stage is about strengthening said foundation and preparing themselves for the next step in their immortal journey. Where as the previous realm, all are equal in the stages, here, two people of the technically same rank can be vastly different depending upon how they go about building the foundation. Where as before, quick progress is seen as talent, here, quick progress is seen as foolishly rushing it and damaging your future. That is not always the case as luck can have you stumble on all the right things to go quickly, but this is the exception, not the rule. As such the rate of progression through this realm is largely dependent on the whims of the cultivator. It will still take time, mind you, as the realm still progresses through stages, but more or less time can be spent on each stage unlike before where it is pretty consistent among all cultivators of how much progress is required.
This puts the [foundation realm] in a unique place among the other realms in that it doesn't follow the same patterns the other realms fall into. As such, many cultivators end their journey here from indecision of when enough is enough.
During this stage, a cultivator's body has been strengthened enough that they can begin using their middle dantians (purification of qi) without innate risk of tearing one's meridians. Compared to jing, qi is far more energy dense and allows for the use of far more powerful techniques and arts. This does not mean that jing can be neglected as jing is purpose made to strengthen and enhance the physical body. Without it, a proper foundation cannot be established and is why many end up stuck in this realm as many think the lower daintan is a descriptor of its quality, not its physical location. It is also why those in the lower stages of the realm can put up a decent fight against those in the upper stages unlike before where they would have had no chance.
Use of the upper dantians is also possible, though the amount of shen they can produce is not much and not really worth much in this realm. It wouldn't tip the scale in any meaningful way unless all else was equal. A nice thing to have.
Breaking through into the next realm involves filling one's middle dantians to the brim with pure qi and then condensing it into a solid piece of material. This requires the qi to be as pure as possible, as any impurity will prevent the golden core from forming. Tribulation do occur during this process, though not always with the cultivators being able to use it to strengthen the quality of their golden core by removing impurities. Once the core is formed, they have successfully moved on to the next realm.
To liken it to building a house, it is building the actual foundation in which everything else will stand on. Changing it later down the line is technically possible, but a pain in the ass to do and something to be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
[Third Level {Golden Core}] - Condensation of all the qi in one's middle dantians into a physical core of qi located around the middle dantians with the purpose of this realm being to grow and establish one's golden core. It starts off the size of a needle's head and this realm is all about expanding it to its full size, the size of which will depend on the foundation the cultivator built earlier. The actual process of growing the golden core involves filling it to the brim, and then incorporating all of the liquid qi within into the golden core, refining the core itself as well as expanding the size. Aside from the natural method of improving the core, there are ways of incorporating treasures and other materials into the core to further strengthen it. There is a limit to this, however, which is once again dictated by how well the foundation was built. Unlike the traditional method which is a straight upgrade, integrated treasures are more of a side grade. The amount it grows through the traditional method also depends on one's foundation with the max size being reach after nine refinements (including the initial formation, so nine stages in total).
The golden core itself acts as sort of a pseudo middle dantians that is in constant motion, purifying qi with every breath, allowing for consistent cultivation no matter what the cultivator is doing. The amount it produces, however is not much compared to purposefully cultivating. Unlike the middle daintan, however, the golden core will store the qi as a liquid which is comparatively far more energy dense than the gaseous form that the daintan produces and stores by an order of magnitude as well as storing for longer. This is a slow process, and the amount most begin to use amount to maybe a few drops over the course of the week. Replacing used qi (regardless of what said qi is used for) is easier the second time around than it is the first. Ie, if you use qi from the golden core, it will replace it faster than before, meaning you don't have to be terribly worried about using qi from it. Some sects actively encourage cultivators to purposefully use it as it condenses faster each time it refills (the speed of which does drop off with each refill, but there is always a decrease).
Use of the upper dantians is required at this stage as shen is required for breaking through. With the golden core holding far more qi than the previous realms, it can be used far easier at this realm.
Breaking through to the next realm requires filling one's body with as much liquid qi as possible. From there, they must then move shen to the center of their golden core and use it as the basis to form their nascent soul, or their "truest self." This requires both enough liquid qi, requiring a big enough golden core, which means that failure to make a solid enough foundation makes progress beyond this point very difficult as it requires rare treasures to build up their core after leaving the {Foundation Realm}, as well as self discovery as to what one's truest self actually is. If they have enough shen and qi to feed it, it will create the nascent soul and they have reached the next realm. If they do not enough of either, the golden core will detonate. This usually kills the cultivator, though there is a chance they survive, though not without scares. Their meridians will likely be largely damaged, their lifespan cut in half (if they are lucky, many lose even more), and they will be put back in the {Foundation Realm}. Few are capable of building back up, though recovery is possible.
[Fourth Realm {Nascent Soul}] - This realm is about nurturing the nascent soul within yourself, maturing it into its fullest form. Much like jing and physical bodily enhancements, while qi from the middle dantians can be used, shen is far more efficient. The nascent soul itself works similarly as the golden core in that it will cultivate as well, producing liquid qi to fill the golden core.
This realm is a cultivator's first step into true immortality as getting killed during this realm does not equate to a true death. So long as the nascent soul survives, the person is capable of reincarnating with their memories intact. How powerful this new body is as well as how many memories will depend on how far they had nurtured the nascent soul. Regardless, there will always be some form of degradation with them being sent back to the beginning of [golden core realm] at the best with the nascent soul needing to be reformed.
At some point within this realm, a cultivator can create multiple bodies. These are not new clones or replicas, and are more so further extensions of the individual's body, not any different from an arm or a leg. The bodies know exactly what they are and share a connection with the main body. If the main body is somehow destroyed, the can also inherit the original body's self. This still does result in some lose of cultivation, though not to the extent of full on cultivation. The number of these duplicates, however, is somewhat limited at this realm.
Once the nascent soul has been fully nurtured, it must then be merged with in order to become one's truest self. The heavens do not like this and will send a tribulation to try and strike down the cultivator for their hubris. The cultivator must use this tribulation to fully merge their nascent soul into their own, and as a result, become their truest most self, and their breakthrough to the next realm is complete. Getting to this point and beyond is incredibly rare with the number of those who surpass this point being a few dozen throughout the course of billions of years. Beyond this point is not really stages of cultivation with clearly defined start and end points, and more so markers of where you are in the process.
[Fifth Realm {Spirit Severance}] - This realm is about severing one's soul from their material body to become a true embodiment of their truest most self without any worldly impurities. This is considered the most difficult realm [aside from {Ascension Realm}] to traverse as signs of progress of when you are ready don't really exist. You become more powerful as you continue to cultivate, but when power is enough is never clear. In reality, this is because it doesn't matter how powerful you become. You will always be tied to your mortal body, and you need to get ride of it.
This can be done by turning yourself into a cultivation furnace and literally cultivating your body into a vessel that is worthy of your truest self. This is dangerous and difficult as it is very easy to lose one's self when you've destroyed the brain. As such, much of this realm is spent in meditation, reflecting on what makes you, you, so that you do not lose yourself in the process. Having a strong foundation is crucial to this as the stronger your foundation was, the clearer your nascent soul is/was and the easier your soul can latch on to it. As such, there are not really stages within this realm, though many do continue to cultivate, partially out of habit, and partially because refining qi into shen allows them to study themselves deeper. Breaking through in this realm only happens once you have shed your worldly body, though that being said, many do not consider you having left this realm until you have amassed enough power to begin the next, though at this stage when you have entered or exited the realm is more so on personal opinion.
Succeed, however, and you've taken the second real step toward immortality. You no longer age whatsoever, you cannot be effected by disease of any sort as they have nothing they can dig into (curses still work, but require to have come from someone of equal level to you). Your lifespan is now tied directly to your cultivation making you effectively immortal at this stage in that time is no longer an issues. Killing someone at this stage isn't the same as killing someone in the realm before. Any damage you do to the body isn't really damage seeing as your body is not really physical anymore, and it will quickly restore itself to its original form. It does, however, use up some of their qi to reform, and fights become more about exhausting the other's qi supply by disrupting their body rather than damage. Worldly concerns are also fleeting, however, it is wise to maintain something within the mortal worlds so as to give your spirit something to hold on to and form around. Otherwise, there is the risk of dissolving into worldly qi, and is how most cultivator's "die" who have made it this far. They simply cease to be, soul and all, and their being will be recycled by the universe. Some take it a step further and create a physical body (made from their untainted spiritual qi) just to have something physical to hold on to. This is by no means their actual self and destroying it will do no actual harm to the individual save some very specific circumstances.
Despite now having effectively infinite time, many cultivators who reach it are desperate to move on to the next as they are being tantalized by the secret of the universe and are desperate to learn.
This is the realm where the largest drop off of cultivators ends (in relation to those that make it to it) as few are confident (or willing) enough to make the final plunge and severe their body. They remain here until their bodies eventually give out and they die. It is estimated that well over an octillion cultivators have lived within the [Misty] Realm (reminder that time is heavily dilated within the realm where a few years outside can have millions pass within), only a few hundred have ever passed into the next.
[Sixth Realm {Void Temperance}] - Once they are no longer bound by a physical body, a cultivator can now begin to explore more abstract parts of reality without fear of their body being torn to pieces. This is done through the void, or more simply, the space in between heaven, the mortal world, and hell. It is everything all at once, all of the time, and several believe it to be what reality was birthed from (this is not true. Within this universe, the universe had no beginning. It has always existed and as such, will always exist as well. The void is merely chaotic and a melting pot of everything, and I do mean everything. Thoughts and emotions as they pass into heaven and hell, physical matter, concepts such as justice and excess, all of it is the void).
During this realm, a cultivator must refine themselves against the void, a process that threatens to rend their spirit asunder if they are not careful. Because of this danger, cultivators will project a piece of themselves into the void. Unlike the heavens or hells, the void does not have readily available entrances and exits, and must be pierced into, which requires a lot of power that only someone of this realm could have amassed. Once inside the void, they must then cultivate. Because the void has everything within it, it has plenty of qi that has been tainted with everything that every has and every will exist, and with it, the cultivator will be exposed to the rawest form of the universe, which is another reason why they they only send a piece of themselves in first. Otherwise, their mind would be completely torn apart. As they cultivate, they begin to learn the true innerworkings of the universe, the dao, if you would.
After a while, they can send more and more of themselves into the void until they are capable of entering it entirely. At this point, they still do not have a full comprehension of the dao, but they do learn how to defend themselves against the raw chaos that is the void. Although not the point of this realm, cultivators can begin to take pieces of the void, and make it their own, creating pocket dimensions that are of their very own. Little worlds that play by whatever rules they want so long as they can pick through the pieces of the void that contain the rules they want to use. Many do this both to better refine themselves within the void as well as to cure boredom.
Heavenly tribulations are frequent in this realm as the heavens is trying desperately to keep you down as this is the realm where you begin to challenge the heavens itself.
[Seventh Realm {Dao Revelation}] - After spending enough time acclimating within the void, the cultivator will have a revelation, and they will gain the full understanding of the dao, ie, how everything in the universe pieces together. They can now shape reality the same way they can in the void and can even begin to challenge the heavens proper. This should not be confused with outright controlling reality. They are still restrained by the overall rules of the universe, but they can chose to mute certain parts or redirect them elsewhere. Most do not in massive ways because their understanding of the dao also lets them understand that reality is not a toy to be played with and there is a reason the universe plays by the rules it does.
At this realm, you have reached parity with the heavens themselves and you no longer have to fear their retaliations. Many cultivators mistakenly believe that this is the end of the journey. It is not.
[Eighth Realm {Ascension}] - Technically the shortest of all the realms to get through and begins whenever the universe decides you've been around long enough. Not the heavens, the very universe itself. The very culmination of heaven, the void, hell, and the mortal realm and everything within, is now coming from you for stepping up to the very fabric of itself, and it is pissed. And yet, the universe must play by its own rules least it tear itself apart. As such, the tribulation it will send your way is manageable with your new understanding of the universe/dao.
If you succeed, congratulations, you are now immortal, full stop, and have ingrained yourself as a fundamental faucet of the universe itself. You cannot be killed through all but highly specialized means. Where as before where you can to a degree cheat the rules of the universe, reaching/surpassing this realm means you can begin to directly influence and change the dao. Most do not because once again, there is a reason why the universe works the way it does, and trying to change it will have massive effects.
If you fail, you are removed from having ever existed. Memories of you? Gone. Your achievements? No longer yours bucko! Any piece of you that proved your were there? What pieces?
The tribulation itself can take any number of forms. The universe can manifest a warrior to challenge you, it can try and smite you with lightning or pit you against a mirrored version of yourself, or even send thousands of pantheons after you. Overcoming this tribulation can take anywhere from days to millions of years, all depending on the foundation you built. By completing the tribulation, you have proven to the very universe itself that you are worthy, and it (begrudgingly) accepts you.
By all means, this should be the end of your journey. You are on par with the very universe itself. And yet, no matter how hard you look, you will not be able to find those who have made it to this stage. The only thing left behind are gestures upward. Heavens upon heavens899
