Cultivation

Cultivation is the path by which one refines themselves into an immortal.

A person needs to have a spirit root in order to walk the path of cultivation. It is normally better to have fewer spiritual roots, because a cultivator must fill all of the spirit roots they have with qi to advance to the next stage. The more spirit roots you have, the longer it takes to cultivate, making someone with every type of spirit root a generalist, having every element but mastering none of them. Having a single spirit root or a variant spirit root is quite rare since since the variant spirit root is almost extinct. If a person has five spirit roots they are considered a good-for-nothing, and having seven makes you absolutely rubbish out of all the good-for-nothings.

There are seven spirit roots which are: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and the variant spirit roots of Ice and Thunder.

When cultivating one has to absorb the surrounding spiritual influences into the body. This is accomplished using a mental method. There are many different mental methods with different properties and varying quality. Most are designed to only absorb a single element. The Secret of Chaos allows a cultivator to absorb all seven types of spiritual influences very rapidly, but is also one of the most dangerous techniques if used incorrectly.

After successfully cultivating for the first time, there will be a black sludge released from the body which is a result of widening the meridians.

Cultivation is divided between the righteous path and the demonic path. Righteous and demonic path cultivators are usually mortal enemies. Righteous path cultivators have been known to switch to the demonic path, sometimes willingly but oftentimes as a consequence of failing to overcome some adversity. Righteous path cultivators tend to have the advantage of skill, while demonic path cultivators have the advantage of more raw power.

Cultivation Levels are split up between the Initial - Middle- and Late stage.

Every time a cultivator advances a stage, they must face a tribulation. For example, when a cultivator reaches foundational stage, they must survive getting hit by lightning multiple times. With every stage a cultivator manages to earn, they increase their power and lifespan.

Cultivation Levels:

* Mortal
* Refining Stage / Vitality
* Foundation Building Stage / Building Base
* Golden Orb / Solidifying pellet
* Yuan Ying Stage
* Fenshen Realm
* Hedao
* Dasheng
* Feikai Realm

(These levels are all muddled up, I don't know the exact order these go in or if the names of the level were changed later through the story, so if you do know can you please help)

* Spiritual Master
* Primordial Infant Stage
* Splitting Conscious
* Divine Realm
* State of Levitation

With assistance, it is even possible for ordinary animals to cultivate. Cultivating animals are called demon cultivators. When they reach a high enough stage, their intelligence increases and they become sapient. It is common for them to assume human forms.

Certain types of injuries can leave a cultivator crippled, reducing them back into mortals or even rendering them unable to cultivate entirely. Restoring a crippled cultivator's ability to cultivate is possible, but requires resources most cultivators don't have.

When a cultivator grows high enough in power, their natural form will grow bigger with it, causing them to become gigantic if they release their control over it. If Yan Mo Ge, one of the strongest beings in the series, were to unleash his true size, he would be even bigger than the very planet he originated from.