Xianxia Cultivation System Archive

[Necropostmancer]

I will be starting this thread off by outlining the most barebones and ubiquitous cultivation system in the whole eastern fantasy genre.


Ye Old Faithful Cultivation System
1st Realm: Qi Gathering
2nd Realm: Foundation
3rd Realm: Golden Core
4th Realm: Nascent Soul

 

[SeptimusMagisto]

1st Realm: Open mind. You can see energy in the environment and interact with it.

2nd Realm: Astral Body. You absorb a huge amount of energy and avoid dying long enough for your body to become half solid half spirit. You're much more powerful and get to enter pocket dimensions Open Mind cultivators wouldn't survive.

3rd Realm: Burning Soul. You literally set your soul on fire and regenerate it as fast as it burns. Huge influx of power. You can fly.

4th Realm: Vast Will. Your personality exceeds your body. You can manipulate ambient qi in any amount, even at considerable distance.

No one's ever gotten farther than that.

 

[Necropostmancer]

This is my attempt at expanding the basic set of Cultivation Realms described above. Feel free to use my system for your own content.

Expanded Cultivation System

Spoiler: Show

0th Realm: Mortality/Qi sensing
99% of the population spend their entire lives in this realm. Mortals who desire to change their fate and enter the world of Cultivation must first learn to sense and therefore manipulate Qi. Mortals learn to sense Qi through meditation. Some waste their entire lives meditating yet fail to complete this first step. (Average Lifespan: 30 years. Living in a medieval setting doesn't do wonders for one's lifespan)

1st Realm: Meridian Opening
In this stage, cultivators unseal their 12 meridians. Cultivators in this Realm are unable to store energy so they open their meridians by channeling energy through their bodies through various meditation techniques. In this Realm, cultivators cannot project qi outside of their bodies, though certain techniques can allow them to channel qi through weapons or tools. This Realm is divided into 12 different Stages, each Stage corresponding to the opening of a different meridian. (Average lifespan: 80 years)

2nd Realm: Qi Gathering
To enter this realm a cultivator must unseal their Dantian. during this Realm, cultivators focus on filling their Dantian. The cultivator can also optionally attempt to unseal his 8 extraordinary meridians. Each extraordinary Meridian unsealed will permanently enhance the cultivator's qi storage capacity. The Qi Gathering Realm as well as every Realm after it is split into the Initial Stage, Early Stage, Mid Stage, Late Stage, and Peak Stage. Most of this stage is technically optional as a cultivator can enter the Qi Refinement Realm as soon as he reaches Early Stage Qi Gathering but a Cultivator needs to have reached the Peak of this Realm to even have a chance at opening the 8th extraordinary Meridian. (Average lifespan: 120 years)

3rd Realm: Qi Refining
In this realm, a Cultivator starts refining their qi to increase its purity and therefore its power. In this Realm, the elemental affinity/affinities of the cultivator start to come into play. Most cultivators end up having to search for a new Cultivation Technique that matches their affinity in order to progress to this Realm. In this Realm, cultivators gain the ability to conjure and manipulate their affinities (fireballs from Fire affinity cultivators, temporary flight from Air/Wind affinity Cultivators, etc.) (Average lifespan: 150 years)

4th Realm: Spiritual Sea
In this Realm, a cultivator condenses their refined Qi into a liquid, forming what is known as the Spiritual Sea. In this stage the Qi capacity and therefore the combat strength of a Cultivator skyrockets. To reach the Peak Stage of this Realm a cultivator must entirely fill their dantian with liquid Qi, only then may a cultivator create their first Foundational Pillar and enter the Foundation Realm (Average lifespan: 250 years)

5th Realm: Foundation
In this Realm, a cultivator uses their cultivation Technique to form pillars of solid Qi out of their Spiritual Sea. The number and form of these Foundational Pillars depends on the Cultivation Manual/Technique the cultivator uses. Any semi-decent Cultivation Technique will form Pillars that grant the cultivator different benefits depending on the technique used (increased Qi absorption/generation, increased speed, the ability to use a powerful Technique or set of Techniques, etc.) The fixed and solid nature of the Foundational Pillars means that it becomes extremely difficult and potentially even dangerous for a cultivator to change their Cultivation Method once they reach the Foundation Realm, this difficulty means that cultivators usually don't see changing their Method as being worth it. Furthermore the difficulty and danger of this process increases with every Realm after the Foundation Realm. (Average lifespan: 400 years)

6th Realm: Qi Core
in this Realm a cultivator merges their Spiritual Sea and their Foundational Pillars, condensing them into a solid Qi Core. This Qi Core has the capability to store massive amounts of Qi. The higher the condensation of the Core at its creation the more Qi it can store. Additionally, Qi Cores have the ability to use Qi to create more Qi. This allows a Qi Core Cultivator to regenerate their Qi stores even when in an environment completely devoid of Qi so long as the cultivator hasn't completely emptied out their Qi reserves. The shape and color of a cultivator's Qi Core depends on the cultivator's Affinities and Cultivation Technique. Qi Cores are almost always spherical but some of the more complex, powerful, or unique Cultivation Techniques form differently shaped Cores (such as sword-shaped Cores, Mobius Strip Cores, multiple cores, and so on.)
As a cultivator progresses through this realm they gradually increase the size of their Qi Core. Upon reaching this Realm's Peak Stage, a cultivator fuses their Qi Core with their Dantian. (Average lifespan: 1000 years)

7th Realm: Dao Formation
In this Realm, a Cultivator creates what is known as a Path or Dao. A Dao is essentially the sum of a Cultivator's understanding, personality ideals, morals, sense of self, life experiences, Cultivation Method, Affinities, and Techniques. A Dao grants a Cultivator massively increased comprehension ability of Techniques and Cultivation Methods that align with their Dao as well as a small boost to the comprehension of techniques that do not conflict with their Dao. On the other hand, it becomes a lot harder for a cultivator to learn Techniques that go against their Dao, for example, a Holy/Righteous cultivator would find it almost impossible to learn Evil Techniques once they have formed their Dao. Additionally a cultivator's Dao automatically imprints itself upon their Qi over time, this process has both benefits and drawbacks. The main benefit of this Dao-infused Qi (commonly known as Spiritual Qi) is that it is a lot more efficient and powerful than normal Qi. The downside of having spiritual Qi is that Techniques that conflict with a cultivator's Dao become a lot weaker, for example a cultivator that follows a Dao of All-Consuming Flames will have more trouble using his flames in a creative fashion than a destructive one, while a cultivator that follows a Dao of Healing Waters will have the exact opposite problem. As a Dao is formed from ones life experiences and personality each cultivator's Dao is unique and personal to them. Even if two cultivators have the same Affinities and practice the exact same Techniques their Dao's will differ slightly. From this stage onwards a cultivator can harm (or in extreme cases potentially even cripple) their cultivation by acting in a way that violates their beliefs or morals (and therefore violating their Dao.) While it is possible for a cultivator to completely change their Dao once it has been formed, but like changing ones Foundation it is extremely difficult and potentially lethal and the difficulty of doing so scales with a cultivators Realm. (Average lifespan: 5000 years)

8th Realm: Nascent Soul
To enter this Realm, a cultivator uses their Dao to condense what is known as a Nascent Soul within their Qi Core. A Nascent Soul is a spiritual construct derived from a cultivator's soul that enhances a cultivator's control of their Qi. A nascent soul greatly enhances a cultivator's conscious and subconscious control over their Qi to the point where a Nascent Soul Cultivator's Qi can be said to be a physical extension of their will, this results in cultivators in this stage or higher needing little to no conscious thought to exhibit low-level techniques. (This ability has led to amazing feats such as a cultivator defeating an assassin before they even noticed they were trying to harm him, or a cultivator destroying an entire Evil Sect while sleepwalking.) As a cultivator's Qi becomes linked to their subconscious, users of certain Cultivation Manuals can have their power enhanced or weakened by certain strong emotions, this fact has resulted in a belief among low Realm Cultivators that the fastest way to die is to make a Nascent Soul Cultivator angry, (though some reason that this advice can be applied to pissing off any cultivator with a higher Realm than oneself.) Another powerful ability of a Nascent Soul is that it grants its owner the ability to survive after death. Upon the destruction of a cultivator's physical form, a cultivator's consciousness transfers to their Nascent Soul, temporarily becoming a ghostlike being. A cultivator is extremely vulnerable in this state being able to be killed with a single well-placed attack capable of harming a non-physical entity. A cultivator in this state must eventually return to a physical vessel or risk death. This vessel can be anything from a lab-grown clone, to a construct or even an unsuspecting cultivator of a lower Realm. A Nascent Soul usually looks like a miniature version of its creator, though Soul Cultivation Manuals can alter the appearance of a Nascent Soul and even give it new abilities. While a cultivator having multiple Nascent Souls is not unheard of, it is extremely rare.
(Average lifespan: 20000 years)


9th Realm: Spirit Form
To enter this Realm a cultivator must use their Nascent Soul to create what is known as a Spirit Form. A Spirit Form is essentially an ethereal backup for a cultivator's physical form. A Spirit Form vastly improves a cultivator's ability to survive the destruction of their physical form. Unlike a Nascent Soul by transferring their consciousness into their Spirit Form a cultivator can retain basically all of their combat power with the added bonus of being immune to purely physical attacks. Another advantage a Spirit Form has over a Nascent Soul is that a cultivator can not only use it to survive without a physical form indefinitely, but they can use it to regenerate their physical form from nothing. (average lifespan: (100000 years, having a literal backup save for one's physical form does wonders for one's lifespan.)

10th Realm: Domain of Power
To enter this Realm a Cultivator must enhance their near-perfect control of Qi to the point where they can project a field around themselves that grants them absolute control over the ambient qi in the environment. This field is known as a Domain of Power and it effectively turns any terrain within its range into a perfect killzone meaning that getting within the range of an enemy cultivator's domain is suicide for any cultivator of a lower Realm (though fighting a cultivator with a higher Realm than themselves would be suicide anyway). Your average Domain has two different states or modes firstly there is a passive mode that grants the Domains owner the agility to see everything within their Domain. A Domain grants its owner the ability to control the ambient Qi in their surroundings allowing a cultivator to launch attacks from anywhere within their Domain , an extension of this ability is being able to stop, deflect or even reflect the attacks of cultivators with a lower Realm that the Domain owner. Finally the Domain allows a cultivator to rapidly replenish their Qi reserves by absorbing ambient Qi. A Domain in a activated state has all the abilities of its passive mode but in addition the Domain will shift the attributes the ambient Qi within it into attributes that match the Domain (and therefore the domains owner). This process not only amplifies the Domain Realm cultivator's Qi regeneration even more, but it gradually transforms the surrounding environment to match the Domain Realm cultivator, (for example, a fire affinity cultivator's Domain might end up creating a lava flow or a raging inferno, a nature or plant affinity cultivator might create a forest of trees or a field of trees and so on and so forth.) Most Domains range in size from 100 meters to 500 meters though legends tell of cultivators with domains hundreds of kilometers wide which when activated permanently alter the geography of a location. Cultivation Techniques and certain Cultivation Manuals can give Domains additional abilities. If a cultivator somehow gains access to multiple domains they should only be able to use one at a time, (though only the xianxia gods know what busted new abilities the MC shall receive after reaching this realm.) (Average lifespan: 500000 years, meditating Domain realm cultivators are occasionally dug up by archeologists while searching for fossils.)

11th Realm: Unbound Existence/Immortality
This is one of the hardest Realms to enter as reaching the Peak Stage of the Domain of Power Realm is just the beginning for those who desire true immortality. To become an Immortal one must use their power to server entropies hold over their existence effectively becoming biologically immortal and unkillable by normal means. To successfully pull off this literally impossible feat one must become so powerful that they can literally ignore the laws of reality. This means that any Immortal is able to at will ignore some if not all of the laws of physics, logic and common sense. This allows Immortals to pull absurd feats such as, literally severing fate, breaking ones resolve (in the most literal sense possible), identity theft (where the previous owner of the identity becomes a faceless nameless ghost unable to interact with reality), picking themselves up (Lorax style), moving while time is stopped and the list goes on. Being unbound from entropy means that in order for someone to kill or even harm an Immortal they need to use an Artifact or Technique that applies an artificial law of entropy on an entity, Artifacts that can do this are known as Eternity Slayers. (lifespan: literally cannot die, though words like cannot or impossible don't really mean much at this level of power.)

12th Realm: Divine Core/ Godhood
While the Unbound Existence Realm is literally impossible to reach without violating the laws of reality itself it is still easier to reach than the Divine Core Realm. Only 1% of the entire population of Immortals ever reach this level of power despite having a theoretically unlimited amount of time to work towards it. The most notable ability that comes with Godhood is the ability to be empowered by the faith of others. The more believers a God has the more powerful they become. Though wholehearted devotion grants a Deity the most power just mentally acknowledging that a certain God is an unstoppable cosmic force grants them a small amount of power. Additionally if a God is somehow destroyed soul and all, so long as said god still has enough believers their soul will eventually regenerate from nothing. As most Gods have believers all across their home multiverse this makes permanently killing a Deity so impossibly difficult that even other Gods usually dont waste their unlimited amounts of time trying. (lifespan: will probably outlive their home universe.)

 

[Quest]

History:

In the Ancient Era, it is recorded that the heavenly demon fled to our earth. It is said that he was only as tall as a man, but even when standing in the void above, such was his presence that every living being could see him. He did on come alone - behind him came the sword immortal, a being of equal stature.

With the first swing of his sword, the sword immortal wounded the demon and made it bleed crimson blood. With his second swing, he cut the demon's bones and made it scream. With his third swing, he slew the demon's body and its soul fled.

With the fourth swing of his sword, even the soul was cut and all that was left was the demon's quivering mind. Then with a fifth swing, the demon was finally silenced and so, the sword immortal departed leaving the world changed in his wake.

Cultivation System:

Where the demon fell, the world was transformed. It's body, consumed by the earth, gave us it's essence. Plants took on strange abilities and beasts grew into monsters. When men partook of this essence, they grew greater still.

Yet there was a limit to this growth for when the swordsman cut the demon, he cut the world as well. Five cuts gave rise to six realms and six sub-realms within them. By consuming the demon, we become more like it but in return, we must face the blade that killed it.

It requires a purposeful will to break the barriers but in doing so we face tribulation. Temporarily, the realms align and an echo of the blade is manifested in the form of a bolt of lightning. In surviving this and proving oneself, a cultivator advances.

The Realms of Cultivation:

1) Essence Gathering:

In this realm, one hones their affinity to demonic essence. Feeling it's presence, manifesting it and manipulating it to their will. Strictly speaking, one hasn't stepped on the path to immortality and so there aren't any true subrealms here. All one truly has to do is infuse the essence into thier body in sufficient quantity to ascend.

However, many believe that different schools of techniques can have different effects on ascension and these schools do have formal steps of mastery. The simplest official te hnique divides it into Awakening where one senses essence, Manifestion where one gathers the essence according to one's will and Infusion where the essence is incorporated into one's body. This process is also known as the Tribulation of Blood.

2) Blood Awakening:

Infusion of the body with demonic essence causes mutations as one's body becomes closer to the heavenly demon. Power is stored in the blood and flows into every organ, allowing a holistic increase in one's capabilities. Strength, toughness, senses - even lifespan is improved to a century. Beyond these general improvements, there are a lot of specialized mutations as well.

Common traits and abilities tend to show themselves on those who share bloodlines and techniques. These changes are often dependent on essence and though unable to generate it, cultivators of this stage are able to store it in their bodies. Due the lack of need to gather power, techniques of the previous stage become stronger and drastically faster.

Progress along sub-realms occurs by gathering more and more power in one's body until it reaches a critical threshold for improvement. Cultivators of this level often band together into clans and sects to protect resources for their advancement. To breakthrough to the next realm, one needs to infuse demonic essence into their bones. This step is the Tribulation of Bone.

3) Immortal Bone:

Essence seeps into your bone. Where before ambient essence was merely infused into the blood, now 'true' essence is generated by the body. Even without conscious thought, power is infused into the cultivator's blood. It responds in instinct now, forming barriers when the cultivator blocks and step techniques when the cultivator runs. Techniques become intuitive, allowing for far more complicated effects.

Though other physical features improve in this realm, endurance and resilience is improved above all others. They can take more hits, they can go days without food or sleep and regenerate from otherwise fatal wounds. Where a Blood Cultivator's body begins to break down in a century, a Bone Cultivator can live up to five on average, though continuously overtaxing the body can result in a shorter lifespan.

Cultivation at this level requires constant draining of essence to allow the body to more quickly refill it. As the bones are strained, they improve in their ability to produce essence. Paradoxically, the desire to ascend often strains the body and burns one's lifespan. Most cultivators of this level often act as the elders of their organizations with only the truly driven still pursuing the higher realms.

Breakthrough into the next stage occurs when the power generated the cultivator's bones reaches a critical level. Where before ambient essence mutated the body, now it is 'true' essence that transforms the body. This transition is known as the Tribulation of the Body.

4) Physique Transformation:

The cultivators of this realm are the true elite of the world, the patriarchs and the great sages. With a body truly adapted to the essence produced within their body, the invisible strains that characterized the previous realms cease to exist in this level. Those who reach these levels are said to be able to live forever or at least long enough that they are more likely to die in battle or tribulation.

This realm is characterized by stability and efficiency. A drop of true essence reinforcing the body of a Physique Cultivator is said to generate more power than all but the most advanced techniques. The control over their essence is so refined that they can cause conscious mutations in their bodies and that of others. It is through this that they advance, seeking a body that improves upon their natural efficiency.

It is said that to break through, one needs to reach such a perfect balance of mind, body and essence that they invite a piece of the demon's spirit into their bodies. It is a rare thing to break through to this level and most of those who attempt it, fail. This step in the path is known as the Tribulation of the Spirit.

5) Soul Emperor:

Only legends that have truly transformed the world reach this level, marking the passage of eras through their lives and deaths. Unlike all other stages, this is stage describes not what they do but what they are. Soul Cultivators are Emperors, ruling the world or at least shaping it through their actions. Their presence is akin to the ancient immortals, all essence in the world as easy to control as their own true essence.

A Soul Emperor is a being of growth, no longer needing to consciously cultivate. Power is their right and so essence flows into their bodies unceasingly, replenishing any power that they use and steadily advancing them further. Every small-realm in this stage is said to invoke a tribulation equal to the Tribulation of Spirit.

Yet, a Soul Emperor can die. For a soul is more than a body and it prepares a vessel for the mind. It is recorded that as a Soul Emperor grows closer to the next realm, they exhibit changes in personality. There is no consistency for those ruled by emotion may turn eerily calm and those with incredible discipline may fly into a rage.

So, a Soul Emperor dies - often by their own hands. It is said that the final tribulation occurs when one when becomes the perfect vessel for the mind of the heavenly demon and it descends upon the Emperor, in an attempt to rise once more. The Emperor's mind struggles for domination, until the Soul Cultivator kills themselves or their divided mind falls to the manifestation of the Tribulation of the Mind.

6) True Immortal:

A realm of myth, that has never truly been achieved. The existence of True Immortals is a fact, yet the only method to reach it seems to result in the resurrection of the heavenly demon. The cultivators of this realm are speculated to able to swing blades with such mystical strength that they leave marks on the world long after their passing. They are said to contain so much energy that they can spawn a world of cultivators from just their power.

Yet, none known from our world have achieved this. To do so would require a will to to contend with the mind of an immortal and the strength to survive a killing blow from another at the same time. Should any achieve this stage... then they would be able to walk freely through the Void and leave this world for the starry Heavens.

 

[Queshire]

Oh fun. Well, other than using mana instead of qi and taking place in a setting with elves, dwarves, etc, my system purposefully aligns with the basic system to start out with though each of the mortal stages has a philosophical aspect to it that I'm rather happy with.

Spoiler: Mortal Stages

Stage 1: Mana Gathering
Cultivation in this stage varies depending on where you come from. Someone from a noble family will have a different cultivation technique then someone from out on the frontier and an Elf would have a different one from a Dwarf. Some cultivation techniques might be seen as better than others, but honestly they're all so weak in the grand scheme of things that it doesn't really matter. Cultivation occurs by gathering mana and clearing primary internal ley lines (meridians). It's a stage associated with one's origin.

Stage 2: Foundation Establishment
This stage is reached by simultaneously clearing all your capillary internal ley lines in one push after first clearing the primary ones. In doing so mana flows to every inch of your body.

Enough mana has been gathered at this point that it takes on a nature. This affects what it's best at being used at. This is where people get their Classes. Cultivating progresses by tempering the body & spirit part by part until the entire thing has been tempered. This is also generally when cultivators can start learning signature techniques of their clan, sect or develop their own as before this stage they generally wouldn't be able to endure using the techniques. It is described as being a sculptor carving yourself from stone and is a stage associated with forming a clear image of yourself as a person.

Stage 3: Core Formation
Without sufficiently tempering your body & spirit the powe held within a core could cause internal injuries or kill you so best not skimp out in the previous stage. There's various methods for actually forming your core, but it generally takes an elemental form; a burning star, flawless diamond of mana or a growing seed.

Other than a pure power boost one can draw on the energy of the world around them to assist their spells and martial arts. Cultivating in this stage requires studying the various aspects of the elements such as fire's destructiveness, lightning's speed or the spiritual resilience of the sword and weaving those Insights into your core. In doing so your core grows into an inner world.

It's a stage that revolves around studying the world around you and how it works.

Stage 4: Nascent Soul
Instead of creating a nascent soul it's your own soul that evolves. The inner world provides both the energy needed to fuel that evolution and, well, a space for the evolved nascent soul to live. In a departure from what's normal for Xianxia settings nascent souls in my setting are meant to hit the sort of feel you get from Final Fantasy summons or Bankai in BLEACH. Cultivators can change into their nascent soul form or channel their power. Other than the power that comes from being able to transform into, say, a big badass dragon the ability to draw on the energy of the world around you evolves into a basic domain. This domain can't be used for anything other than putting a heavy pressure on anyone that lacks a domain of their own, but just that is enough to ensure they can't really be touched by anyone below nascent soul.

The process of awakening your nascent soul and cultivating in this stage is different for each person. It requires taking a clear look at your own desires, impulses and inner nature. It's a stage that revolves around facing your own motivation and drives.

Spoiler: Demigod Stages

Stage 5: Demigod
The Immortals of the setting complete with Heavenly Tribulation though instead of being sent from on high it's a result of the starving, newborn demigod drawing mana from miles around and instinctively refining it into divine mana to fuel the transformation.

Actually becoming a Demigod requires forging your Law. This is your divine domain and in xianxia terms it's your Dao. It has to fit how you see yourself as per foundation establishment, how you view the world as per core formation and your own motivation/drive as per nascent soul. Any contradictions there will block the way to immortality. It also has to be fairly specific. The forge's fire or the flames of war work where just fire wouldn't. Then you need to actually pass the tribulation but can't just block all the lightning since that's the fuel for your transformation. It's the whole thing about a starving mana gorging himself until he gets sick.

A Demigod's main advantage is the ability to wield authority through their domain.

All demigods wield authority over themselves. Effectively they reach the point where their attributes warp reality around them slightly. Channeling their authority through their Dexterity allows them to flash step without using any particular technique, channeling it through their strength allows them to cut a skyscraper in half lengthwise even with a normal sized sword or leave a massive imprint of a fist on a mountain from a punch and so on.

At this stage they can't really channel their authority over their Law directly, but still need to form it into techniques. A demigod of the forge's flames would summon red hot glowing swords and fire those at people or make his own body radiate intense heat.

Cultivating in this stage relies mostly on extending the authority of your Law until it fills the entirety of your domain.

Stage 6: Terrestrial Demigod
Terrestrial Demigods change the land around them with their domain. In battle they are a living storm of their Law. Molten steel would errupt from the ground and smoke would block the sky when the forge's fire fights while the flame of war's opponents would be beset by a constant artillery barrage and gunfire from nonexistent soldiers.

Outside of a fight most wouldn't bother warping the world around them, though the forge's fire could certainly summon up a workshop wherever he went.

Cultivating at this stage focuses mostly on strengthening your will because while there's no danger going from demigod to terrestrial demigod breaking through to the next stage is incredibly deadly.

Stage 7: Celestial Demigod
Breaking through to this stage requires fully dissolving your body and soul into your domain and having the strength of will to pull yourself out again instead of dissolving peacefully into your Law.

Upon doing so your domain becomes your true self with your physical body just an avatar created from it. Any wounds or even having your physical body completely destroyed can simply be fixed though forming your physical body takes up a lot of your domain's power. Without enough time to recover you can still eventually die. A fight at this level requires going through enough of your foe's lives until you can completely suppress their domain and snuff it out.

Other than that this stage results in a large jump in control over your domain. Instead of random bursts of molten steel the forge's flame could now shape it into molten swords as it emerges.

As a Celestial Demigod one is freely capable of moving between planes and across the heavens by simply uncreating their physical body and moving around as pure domain.

Spoiler: Divine Stages

Stage 8: God
To become a full god one need's to begin splitting their Law off from the System of Heaven & Earth and have to stand on its own right. This is something only possible with the insight & control gained as a Celestial Demigod. As one moves further and further away from the System of Heaven and Earth the harder it is for those still within the system to affect the god though the opposite is rarely true. If the System opposed a god's efforts they could block the god's power just as easily, but it rarely does so.

It also means the god is less restrained by the System which allows them to do such things as create living beings with ease, resurrect the dead, create new magic systems and other such divine feats.

Cultivating as a god requires 'proving' your Law which mostly consists of, well, god stuff. Every challenge overcome by a faithful follower abiding by your Law proves it just a little bit. So does performing grand mythic deeds yourself or building some grand monument in accordance with your Law. Every action taken by a god is part of one grand philosophical debate with each other.

Stage 9: High God
The distinguishing feature of a High God is that they seem to have multiple Laws. Actually this isn't a result of having multiple seperate Laws but different transformations of their initial Law. For example a God of the Forge's Fire might obtain the Weapons of War as a secondary Law as a High God upon reflecting on how often they end up forging such things.

Stage 10: Divine Ruler / Titan
To become known as a Divine Ruler requires reaching the point where one's Inner World stops being inner. Known as a Divine Realm in this state it is a home, stronghold and source of power for the Divine Ruler. These realms are the Asgards & Mt. Olympuses of the setting.

A Titan is the same thing only with their Divine Realm worn wrapped around them as arms & armor.

Stage 11: Demiurge
Technically not required. Reaching the next stage only requires one's Law to be capable of fully existing seperately from the System of Heaven and Earth. In effect it has to be capable of transforming into any other Law. However most seek to reach this state by becoming a Demiurge.

A Demiurge has created a false, alternative reality through their Law. In doing so they can test to see what bugs they need to work out of their Law before it can fully stand on its own.

On a practical level a false reality like this fulfills many of the same roles as a Divine Realm only on a larger scale though it can't be turned into a Titan form.

Spoiler: Beyond Gods

Stage 12: Pillar
The Law has reached the point where it can fully stand on its own. It's a pillar that supports its own existence. This one borrows from Xianxia's daoist inspuration. In particular the saying that the dao produced one, one produced two, two produced three and from three came all things. In this case the 'one' is the Pillar's Law.

It's not almighty though. A Pillar of the Forge wouldn't be as skilled at time stuff as a Pillar of Time or even a Pillar of some other aspect that practiced with time stuff more than the Pillar of the Forge. Also with multiple Pillars in the setting it all generally balances out unless a particular Pillar's focus was on something.

Stage 13: Boundless Lords
Ultimately Pillars are still bound by the nature of their Law. Boundless Lords move beyond that restraint. However, while they're known to exist they're mostly some far off epilouge type figures.

 

[Necropostmancer]

Found this link to this cultivation system while browsing through this site. Decided to put it here.

Legend of Zelda Triune World-as-Self Method

 

[Necropostmancer]

I was inspired by this and wanted to try my hand at something similar. I had recently finished chapter 2 of Toby Fox's Deltarune. So ladies and gentlemen presenting the thing that no-one knew they wanted and definitely did not need, Undertale/Deltarune: The Xianxia Edition