Cultivation

Wheel and Sea (Seed) -- Five Dao Palaces -- Four Poles -- Dragon Transformation (Nine of the Spine) -- Immortal Platform (Six)

-- Quasi-Emperor -- Great Emperor -- Red Dust Immortal

Cultivators first had to establish their ***Sea of Bitterness***, gradually expanding it. Only then could they sense their ***Wheel of Life***, because the two of them were so inextricably connected.

Then an endless *Life Qi* would curl above the Sea of Bitterness, overflowing throughout the body to nourish the flesh, bones, and organs. It would increase the power of the body to surpass ordinary mortals.

The Sea of Bitterness drowned the Wheel of Life. One above and one below, the two of their existences overlapped upon each other. Each year, another mark would be left upon the Wheel of Life. Once it was covered in scars, it would completely shatter, and that would be the time that a person’s longevity ended, the time of their death.

The only way to change this was to establish a channel through the Sea of Bitterness to its very bottom, connecting to the Wheel of Life, allowing an ocean’s worth of *Life Qi* to flourish and prevent the Sea of Bitterness’s erosion. Only then could one’s longevity change.

This quantitative change would then cause a qualitative change. Vigorous *Life Qi* would turbulently surge, and in the end condense to become liquid, forming the divine ***Spring of Life*** and forcing itself into the Sea of Bitterness.

A small opening of the Spring of Life would form upon the dull Sea of Bitterness, a connection to the Wheel of Life.

Only in such a way could a cultivator obtain an energy source, and only then could they fully use all kinds of mystical arts and divine abilities, allowing them to possess an immeasurable might. This was the most crucial part of a cultivator’s evolution. As long as the divine energy spring was endless, one’s power would be infinite.

In reality, the so-called divine rainbows that cultivators rode on were actually just the divine light flowing from their Spring of Life. After reaching the Spring of Life realm, one could use divine rainbows to fly across the sky and countless other amazing mystical arts.

The human body was endlessly mysterious. Powerful cultivators didn’t wish to remain trapped within their Sea of Bitterness. They wished to explore to other mysterious unknown places within the human body, and thus there was also a process to surpass the Sea of Bitterness.

The Dao Scripture’s mystical arts possessed a dominating “pressing forward” manner. Although the Sea of Bitterness was endless, there was no need to turn back; what was needed was to use all of one’s power to break through its confines.

In order to reach their goals, cultivators needed their body to transform; they had to form a Divine Meridian within the Sea of Bitterness to aid in breaking through their body’s limits, in order to reach the other end of the Sea of Bitterness.

This was a long and arduous process. The further one pushed past these restrictions, the stronger one would become. In the end, by rising above the Wheel and Sea, and forming heaven and earth’s Divine Meridian, one could release their endless potential, allowing one to reach the third realm – the ***Divine Bridge***.

For a cultivator to reach such a stage, they must be absolutely resolute and completely unwavering. Only then could one see through the hazy fog and illusions in order to find the other side of themselves.

During this course of events, not only did the body need to transform, the spirit also had to sublimate. Only once spirit and body united and broke through their restraints and transcended the self together could one find one’s true root. Using the Divine Bridge as a rainbow, cross over the powerful Sea of Bitterness and reach the fourth realm – ***Paramita***.

Upon reaching Paramita, one’s flesh, organs, and bones would all turn dull, and one would be reborn in a new way. One would shed their body nine times, becoming a completely new existence like a butterfly being born from a cocoon.
Sea of Bitterness, Spring of Life, Divine Bridge, Paramita; the distance between each of them was as great as the heavens, and wanting to break through each was extremely difficult. Each realm had many particular details that had to be dealt with and settled before there was even a chance of transforming.

Four small sub level Realms. Find the Sea of Bitterness -- to cultivate the Spring of Life -- to erect Divine Bridge -- to arrive at Other Shore.

 2nd Realn
 3rd Realm
 4th Realm

## Dao Palace Realm

Five small sub level Realms. The order of cultivation is practiced differently according to the cultivator. Example order based on Ye Fan/Cultivation.

 1st Realm
(肾之神藏)

## Four Pole Realm

Four sub level Realms. Cultivate the four limbs (two arms, two legs). No order of cultivation required, only choice. Usually, special physiques have higher potential so these cultivators face tribulations during the process of this realm.

## Dragon Transformation Realm

Nine sub levels called Transformations. Cultivate the spinal cord & vertebrae from bottom up to reach the Immortal Platform within the Head. Each Transformation requires the cultivator to experience a Heavenly Punishment.

 1
 2

## Immortal Platform Realm

The most mystical cultivation realm when cultivators become partially touched by Immortal aura. Immortal Platform has six steps, called Heavens (层天). Each Heaven is as good as a single REALM of nine sub level realms in itself. Depending on the step of Immortal Platform you are on there are different titles. By the end of this realm, a cultivator has established their Great Dao and their unique cultivation method foundation.

 First Heaven
 Second Heaven
 Third Heaven
 Forth Heaven
 Fifth Heaven
 Sixth Heaven
By this cultivation point, the Immortal Platform cultivator must had created their own cultivation method and perceived the Great Dao.
A Quasi-Emperor near the end of one's lifespan will decline to this Heaven's overall ability.

## Quasi-Emperor Realm

Quasi-Emperor is part of and not part of the Immortal Platform Realm as the pseudo-7th Heaven. It has nine steps, classified as Quasi-Emperor Numbered Heavenly Layer (准帝\_重天) and each Heavenly Layer requires the cultivation depth of the previous Five Realms.

 1-9重天
 Pseudo-Great Emperor A-type

## Great Emperor Realm

Great Emperor is part of and not part of the Immortal Platform Realm as the pseudo-8th Heaven and apex of Mortals, but under the Red Dust Immortal. Great Emperor is the general final realm in *Shrouding the Heavens*. Reclassified in Book 3 *Sacred Ruins*.

 Official
 Pseudo Great Emperor B-type
 Title

## Immortal Dao Realm

Incorporates the Red Dust Immortal method sponsored by Heavenly Emperor Huāng. See Book 2 *Perfect World* and Book 3 *Sacred Ruins*.

 Red Dust Immortal (红尘仙)
 2
 Quasi-Immortal Emperor (准仙帝)
 3

## Trivia

* (神兵宝物) Divine Weapon-Treasure Classification:
	+ Race (Special Limitation): 人族/妖族/......
	+ Divine (神兵 - Standard)
		- Sea of Bitterness (苦海)
		- Spring of Life (命泉)
		- Divine Bridge (神桥)
		- Paramita (彼岸)
		- Dao Palace (道宫)
		- Four Poles (四极)
		- Dragon Transformation (化龙)
	+ Supreme/Holy Lord (大能的法宝/圣主级兵器)
	+ Monarch/King (王者兵器)
	+ Sacred/Saint (圣兵)
	+ Great Sacred/Saint (大圣兵)
	+ Quasi-Imperial/Emperor (准帝器)
	+ Imperial/Emperor (帝兵)
	+ Immortal (仙器)

## References

1. ↑ *STH* Chapter 94 – Wheel and Sea Realm