Bone Forging – After sufficiently strengthening their body, body cultivators must forge their bones to further support their growth. Bones are the basis of strength and durability. They traditionally subject their bones to intense quantities of qi, strengthening and tempering them in the process. They become akin to magic treasures, making it extremely difficult to shatter them using strength of an equivalent realm. Bone-forging cultivators gain the ability to manipulate their weight by using voids that are formed in their bones, making it easier to wield heavy weapons and use their immense strength to their advantage.
Marrow Refining – Once the bones are strong enough, it is necessary for cultivators to refine their marrow. Marrow is the basis of their blood, which feeds the remainder of their body in turn. Marrow-refining cultivators gain powerful regeneration abilities stemming from the deep pool of vitality hidden within their marrow and the voids in their bones.
Blood Awakening – To transcend, body cultivators must awaken the divinity within their blood. How this is done is uncertain, though descendants of a god have a much easier time in doing so.
Soul Cultivation (Human)
The foundation of a cultivator is their soul. Sufficient soul force is necessary to become a professional, such as an alchemist or spiritual blacksmith. In some cases, a sufficiently strong soul is required to advance in cultivation. Buddhists and evil spirits often lean toward soul cultivation.
Innate Soul – Cultivators are born with an innate soul, and it grows as the cultivator advances in qi condensation. Eventually, with sufficient cultivation, the soul will make a rapid breakthrough into incandescence.
Incandescent Soul – In the incandescent realm, the soul begins to shine with incandescent light. Advanced soul manipulation of objects and mental communication is then possible.
Resplendent Soul – Once the soul is sufficiently incandescent, it becomes resplendent. A wrapping appears around the soul, which is called a resplendent vestment. It embellishes the soul and prepares it to transcend. Long-range scanning is possible at this realm.
Transcendent Soul – A transcendent soul grows sufficiently large and gains the ability to move. Since it has broken free from its shackles, it can then leave the mortal body and operate independently from it.
Demonic Cultivation
Humans aren’t the only ones who can cultivate. Demons, manifestations of natural forces in the material world, take a different path. They are incapable of cultivating their qi, body, and soul separately. For demons, these three components are part of a complete cultivation system. Demon bodies can grow to massive sizes.
Demonification – Spirit beasts are products of nature. By gaining demonic qi from their natural surroundings, they grow in power. If their bloodline is sufficiently potent, they can break through and become demon beasts.
Purification – Bloodline purity is essential for a demon’s advancement. Demons in the purification realm continuously purify their bloodline with demonic energy they gain by either consuming other demons, humans, or natural treasures. They can also do this by living on a demonic mountain, but the process is much slower. Demons who possess sufficiently pure and potent bloodlines can awaken ancestral memories.
Core Formation – When a demon’s bloodline is sufficiently pure, it can be crystalized into a demonic core. By feeding this core with demonic energy, a demon grows stronger. Core-formation demons can fly.
Initiation – To reach the initiation realm, demons must first gain approval of the land. They condense demonic energy into an initiation mark that anoints them as initiates.
About the Author
Patrick Georges Laplante was born in a small town in the Canadian prairies in 1987. He began publishing Painting the Mists online under the pseudonym RedMirage in January 2018.
An engineer by trade, he graduated from the University of Alberta in 2009 and completed his master’s degree in 2011. While writing and engineering have little in common, he actively utilizes his experiences and attention to detail in fleshing out a vivid world and answering the “whys,” which are often left unanswered in xianxia fiction.
As an avid vegan, he aims to prompt internal reflection in his readers through various themes like non-violence, choice, and begging the question: Is personhood restricted to humanity? And what is proper conduct, morality, and love?
His work is inspired by a combination of Western fiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Chinese web novels, and various Japanese, Korean, and Chinese comics and illustrated novels.
