Cultivation/Eight Desolates

The Cultivation System in Eight Desolates was initiated by Li Qiye, who opened a new Epoch during his meditation in the Uncrossable Expanse.

The palaces store the four symbols that protect the true fate used to build the grand dao resulting in the heart scripture with seven laws to reach the primordial.

## Cultivation Cycles and the Four Symbols

In this current epoch, the four symbols had a pivotal role on the same level as the fate palaces. When using the mantra to absorb the worldly, dao power, and chaos energy, they entered the fate palace to be refined by the four symbols in accordance with the mantra’s guideline. They eventually turned into chaos true energy. This true energy would craft a dao foundation around the true fate.

At the beginning of cultivation, regular cultivators’ true fate was only a faint radiance. This was the shape of the soul. Through the gestation of the grand dao and chaos true energy, the true fate would slowly grow stronger and manifest into a different form. At the **Enlightened Being Manifestation realm**, the true fate would look like a miniature copy of the cultivator. This would allow cultivators to control powerful weapons.

The twelve realms are divided into three levels - minor, intermediate, and grand.

For the **minor level,** using energy to refine the body is the first step, resulting in an external radiance. On the other hand, the true fate utilized chaos true energy and the body to power up.

With enough chaos true energy, one reaches the **intermediate level.** This consists of gestating and empowering the four symbols. Normally, the four symbols would create and refine the affinities into chaos true energy. However, after having enough, the true energy then complements the four symbols. Both mortals and cultivators had four symbols right after birth. Moreover, they are all nine feet long. A popular phrase among cultivators is the following -

“ Born with nine, perfect with ten. Shed one’s mortal body and exchange one’s bones. „

Essentially, during the **intermediate level**, chaos true energy makes the four symbols grow one extra foot.

Then the cultivator reaches the **grand level**. This is the time to open more fate palaces.

Everyone is born with one and opening more is a requirement for breaking through. One palace, one realm. There are a total of twelve realms from Mortal Shell to Golden Avatar. This means that a Dao Lord would have twelve palaces. At the same time, each realm makes the four symbols inside the palace one foot longer. Therefore, a Dao Lord has symbols spanning for twenty-one feet.

Each realm allowed the formation of one fate palace. However, this process was only truly completed at the grand level when the particular fate palace became available for use - **a full opening.** As the true fate grew larger and stronger, it would be able to open the fate palace and enter the grand level. The new palace also absorbed the previous affinities and powers along with the mysteries of the grand dao. Thus, the body, true fate, and fate palaces all supported and matured in harmony.

## True Fate

Chaos true energy engulfs the fate palace of a cultivator. The worldly energy, grand dao power, and self-vitality (anima/true energy) are being channeled and refined into this true energy by the four symbols. It serves to gestate the true fate.

As the true fate grows stronger, so do one’s techniques and abilities.

An inborn true fate gives one incredible talent like the favourites of the heaven. Merit laws and mantra restrictions no longer apply.

## Great Era Seven Laws (大世七法)

Li Qiye's Grand Dao became the foundation for the most basic and commonly known cultivation laws, the Great Era Seven Laws.

1. **Chaos**, Primal Chaos Merit Law (混沌心法)
2. **Heavensplit**, Heaven Splitting Merit Law (开天心法)
3. **Divinization**, Divinization Merit Law (封神心法)
4. **All-things**, Myriad Things Merit Law (万物心法)
5. **Society**, World Dao Merit Law (世道心法)
6. **Devil**, Exist the Demon Merit Law (存魔心法)
7. **Samsara**, Samsara Merit Law (轮回心法)

Later generations had numerous beliefs regarding the origin of the seven mantras. One stated that it was passed down by an immortal. Another said that after the initial destruction, these methods descended from the heavens as a blessing to the inhabitants. Most believed in the first because back in the late stage of the chaotic era, a youth received instruction from an immortal who had descended. From then on, he became a supreme Dao Lord with the title of Blessed, created a sect and spread mantras that later on were known as the seven. Because of this, some of the future generations referred to these mantras as Laws of the Blessed.

Those with sufficient knowledge thought that the True Immortal Sect was falsely padding their own reputation. They knew that the seven laws have existed before Blessed Dao Lord. Cultivators and even Dao Lords have trained in these seven arts. They could be traced back to the first Dao Lord of Eight Desolaces, the “duck’s egg buyer”.

The era of chaos really weakened the cultivation world. Prosperity only returned during Blessed’s era. He then re-compiled and promoted them all over the land without ever claiming to have created the seven laws. Therefore, those in the know called them the Seven Laws of the Golden Age instead.

## Merit Laws and Mantras

Merit laws and mantras have classifications. There are four of them - heaven, earth, black, and yellow. Each also has three levels - low, intermediate, and high. Each of the four corresponds to three realms, which is a strict rule. Breaking it results in terrible results.

For example, a Bronze Tendon cultivator can only train with yellow laws and mantras. If he reaches Silver Carapace, the black levels become available.

As for the levels within the four classifications, they differ in quality. A high-level is certainly better than a low-level one. Cultivators at higher realms start switching to the higher-level mantras for two reasons - harmony and power potential. Therefore, cultivators only really need four mantras before reaching the height of power.

## Cultivation Levels

“ The body becomes the vessel of the grand dao while the grand dao becomes the treasury of the body. „

In the Eight Desolates cultivators train their bodies to reach the dao. First they train their dao heart to build a foundation then cultivate merit laws to transform their bodies into a divine one. Each Realm has three levels: Small, Medium and Big.

* In the Small level, the cultivator uses spiritual energy to temper their body and chaos energy to temper their True Fate.
* In the Medium level, the cultivator uses the tempering of the body to increase their blood energy and the tempering of the True fate lead to the growth of the four symbols.
* In the Big level, the cultivator uses this improvement to open a new Fate Palace.

With a new palace, the cultivator can breakthrough to the next realm, where they can store more chaos energy or blood energy.

When a cultivator reaches the Dao Monarch Golden Body realm, they are able to grow a Primordial Tree and Dao fruits.

 Dao Lord | One toTwelve Dao Fruits
 One to Twelve Sacred Fruits

## References

1. ↑ Chapter #3215(WuxiaWorld)
2. ↑ Chapter #3252(WuxiaWorld)
3. ↑ Chapter #3251(WuxiaWorld)
4. ↑ Chapter #3511(WuxiaWorld)
5. ↑ Chapter #3338(WuxiaWorld)
6. ↑ Chapter #3399(WuxiaWorld)
7. ↑ Chapter #3246(WuxiaWorld)
8. ↑ Chapter #3269(WuxiaWorld)
9. ↑ Chapter #3510(WuxiaWorld)
10. ↑ Chapter #3984(WuxiaWorld)
11. ↑ Chapter #3248(WuxiaWorld)
12. ↑ Chapter #3379(WuxiaWorld)