Explain the standard cultivation realms for dummies

[AncestorDuck]

Someone cares to help?

 

[cabbag3]

Just look it up

• Qi Condensation:
  This is the very first stage, where a cultivator starts to gather and control their internal energy ("qi") within their body, like learning to hold a small amount of air in your hand.
• Foundation Building:
  Once you can control basic qi, you start to strengthen your foundation by refining and storing more qi, similar to building strong muscles in your body.
• Core Formation: (Preparation Stage, not an actual realm in most novels or the same as golden core stage.)
  At this point, you can create a "core" within your body, which acts as a powerhouse to generate and channel more potent qi, allowing for more powerful techniques.
• Golden Core:
  Considered a major breakthrough, this stage involves further refinement of your core, making it incredibly stable and allowing for even more advanced abilities.
• Nascent Soul:
  Here, your soul starts to develop and become more connected to your body, enabling you to perform powerful spiritual attacks or even project your consciousness.
• Spirit Transformation:
  At this level, your body starts to become more spiritual, allowing for even greater control over your qi and possibly the ability to fly or manipulate elements.
• Immortality:
  This is the ultimate goal, where a cultivator has reached a state of near-immortality, with the ability to live for thousands of years and potentially even transcend the physical realm.
  

 

[BernKatstel]

Dumbass Mortal
Slightly less stupid Qi mortal
Foundation realm
Core formation realm
Nascent Soul realm
Immortal realm
Immortal + realm
Immortal ++ realm
Immortal +++ realm
And so on until the Patreon money stops coming in.

 

[Empress_Omnii]

I think there is a website that has that information... but I have forgotten it.

 

[RepresentingPride]

I think there is a website that has that information... but I have forgotten it.

Here https://immortalmountain.wordpress.com/glossary/wuxia-xianxia-xuanhuan-terms/

 

[AncestorDuck]

I think there is a website that has that information... but I have forgotten it.

I know it, the tread wasnt meant seriously

 

[RepresentingPride]

Here for dummies:

Mortal realm:
Body Refining/Tempering: Strengthening the physical body, muscles, bones, and internal organs to enhance durability and strength.
Qi Condensation: The cultivator begins to absorb and refine spiritual energy from the environment, forming the foundation for further cultivation.
Foundation Establishment: Building a strong foundation within the dantian (energy core) to stabilize and hold more spiritual energy.

Core Formation realm:
Core Formation/Golden Core: The cultivator condenses their spiritual energy into a core that serve as a container and generator of the spiritual energy inside a body.
Nascent Soul: A spiritual embryo or soul is born within the core, granting cultivators greater control over their energy and a deeper connection to the world.
Soul Formation/Divine Transformation: The soul matures and begins influencing reality more directly, allowing for spiritual attacks or divine perception.


Immortal Realm:
Earthly Immortal/Spirit Ascension: The cultivator transcends mortality and gains ner-immortal traits, such as the ability to recover quickly or defy aging.
Heavenly Immortal/Dao Seeking: The cultivator seeks enlightenment and attempts to harmonize with the "dao" (universal laws or truths)
Tribulation Crossing: The cultivator endure a heavenly tribulations (natural disasters such as lightning, etc...) sent by the heavens to test their worthiness to ascend further


Divine Realms:
True Immortal/Emperor: The cultivator achieves a god-like state, wielding immense power and controlling vast laws of nature
Saint/Deity Realm: A higher level of divinity where the cultivator becomes capable of shaping worlds, manipulating laws, or creating new life.
Supreme Being/World Creator: The cultivator's understanding of the Dao becomes complete, allowing them to rival the heavens or create their own realms.



You can change some realms, creates one, or erase some other. In all honesty you can do whatever with cultivation realm, there just some part that come again and again, which are enhancing the body, then create a core to stock the energy gathered and use it, then enhancing the soul, after that is just power up to transcend the limit, mortal limit, immortal limit, divine limit, world limit, whatever limit.

 

[ArchlordZero]

1. Seed or seedling planting
2. Fertilizing
3. Daily watering and sunlight
4. Pest control
5. Harvesting

This is how to cultivate your farm realms

 

[MotherofAThousandYoung]

don't listen to these people, the profound truth of the Great Dao is that there are only four realms in total:
Ant
Fellow Daoist
Senior
Main Character

 

[Tsuru]

For wuxia :

>Muscles training
>Bones
>Organs
>Blood/Qi

Far simpler XD

 

[NotaNuffian]

For wuxia :

>Muscles training
>Bones
>Organs
>Blood/Qi

Far simpler XD

Acktually.

Skin
Meat/ Muscle
Tendon/ Sinew
Bone + Marrow
Blood
Organs

Six stages. Give or take.

Till date I don't understand why Skin is included in the big four (Skin, Meat, Bone, Blood)?

 

[Tsuru]

Acktually.

Skin
Meat/ Muscle
Tendon/ Sinew
Bone + Marrow
Blood
Organs

Six stages. Give or take.

Till date I don't understand why Skin is included in the big four (Skin, Meat, Bone, Blood)?

Bc cheap or easier ? Maybe ?
or intuitive feeling
or edgy

Muscles need medicine internal or baths, or training regularly hard.
Meanwhile skin, just need beatings from a stick XD

or i guess : perfection OCD (people would think : HEY SKIN IS MISSING ! from the entire human body composition ! why did you forget that !)

 

[NotaNuffian]

Bc cheap or easier ? Maybe ?
or intuitive feeling
or edgy

Muscles need medicine internal or baths, or training regularly hard.
Meanwhile skin, just need beatings from a stick XD

or i guess : perfection OCD (people would think : HEY SKIN IS MISSING ! from the entire human body composition ! why did you forget that !)

Skin is the biggest organ.

Also with skin, medicine is also involved after the beating.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Hmm - so, if anyone has seen it, would the K-Drama Alchemy of Souls be a Cultivation story then (or at least a Korean take on a Cultivation story)?

 

[John_Owl]

My first foray into cultivation was a crappy cultivation game. The whole thing was "click until you get to the next stage". The only real graphic for it was a guy meditating. So for the longest time I literally thought it was just meditating for ages upon ages until one day you open your eyes as a god.

 

[NotaNuffian]

My first foray into cultivation was a crappy cultivation game. The whole thing was "click until you get to the next stage". The only real graphic for it was a guy meditating. So for the longest time I literally thought it was just meditating for ages upon ages until one day you open your eyes as a god.

...

Actually that is correct.

Taoism cultivation is similar to Buddhism meditation; to train the body and mind to the higher state.

And oftentimes it does involve being still and isolated from society.

I recall a chinese thread regarding the "true cultivation method" and long story short, it is boring.

The gag story involved MC in lotus position, meditating and constanrly on the run from human interaction. When his family all died, he did not do anything. When his country was invaded, he did not do anything. When the entire world is moving to the next technological advancement, he did not care. Then all of a sudden he found that his form is cultivated to a higher being and just leave for higher plane.

All the murder, excitement and perhaps seggs? Embellishment. Because actual cultivation is boring.

 

[John_Owl]

...

Actually that is correct.

Taoism cultivation is similar to Buddhism meditation; to train the body and mind to the higher state.

And oftentimes it does involve being still and isolated from society.

I recall a chinese thread regarding the "true cultivation method" and long story short, it is boring.

The gag story involved MC in lotus position, meditating and constanrly on the run from human interaction. When his family all died, he did not do anything. When his country was invaded, he did not do anything. When the entire world is moving to the next technological advancement, he did not care. Then all of a sudden he found that his form is cultivated to a higher being and just leave for higher plane.

All the murder, excitement and perhaps seggs? Embellishment. Because actual cultivation is boring.

nah , I meant the game itself was LITERALLY 1000% just clicking to encourage the character to continue meditating. That's it. Game play, graphic, etc. The "goal" was to reach godhood simply by clicking enough times (i.e., the character never got up and tested, he never did ANYTHING. not even eating. Literally just "ohm" for 10,000,000 years and voila, he's a god.)

 

[Tempokai]

Grug is a Grug. Grug live simple life: smash rock, eat herb, avoid tiger. But one day, tiger come. Tiger no care about Grug’s smashing. Tiger big. Tiger hungry. Tiger see Grug’s herb, herb that make Grug feel good. Grug sad because herb gone. Grug can’t punch tiger. Grug weak. Then Grug has think-think.

Grug remember: magical air in air. Grug call it "chi" because Grug doesn’t have big word-think yet. Chi make grass grow, make water flow, make sun go up and down. Grug think, “If grass and water can grow strong, maybe Grug can too!” Grug sit and breathe magical air. He snort it. He slurp it. He focus very hard, harder than when Grug try to remember how fire work. Magical air go into Grug’s belly. Grug feel warm. Grug think, “Grug now strong!” Grug punch tree. Tree laugh at Grug. Grug not strong yet.

Grug learn. Grug not just breathe. Grug need fancy poses. Grug call them “Sky Punch” and “Earth Sit.” Grug move hands in circle. Grug kick like bird. Other Grugs laugh. They say, “Why Grug not smash rock like normal Grug?” But Grug no listen. Grug keep breathing magical air, doing silly moves. One day, Grug feel something snap. Not in leg—no, this snap in belly. Grug call it “breakthrough.” Grug now Level Two Grug.

Now tiger come back. Grug see tiger, but Grug not scared. Grug punch tiger. Tiger fly. Tiger hit tree. Tiger confused. Tiger no eat herb. Grug feel strong. Grug laugh. Other Grugs see and say, “Grug strong now. Grug teach us magical air tricks.”

So Grug teach. Grugs make names for tricks. “Sky Punch” becomes “Heaven-Splitting Fist.” “Earth Sit” becomes “Mountain-Crushing Meditation.” Grugs get stronger, but now Grugs fight. They fight for herb, for rock, for tiger skin. Stronger Grugs say, “I Level Four Grug, you Level Two Grug. I take your herb.”

Now Grug life is more complicated. Grugs build big cave and call it “Sect.” Leader Grug sits on big rock throne. They call him “Ancestor Grug” because he Level Ten Grug. He punch mountain and mountain say, “Sorry.” Ancestor Grug tell weaker Grugs, “You follow me or I smash you.” Weaker Grugs say, “Okay.” They make rules. No more herb-stealing. Only duel. But duel is just fancy herb-stealing with crowd watching.

Some Grugs leave Sect. They say, “Sect dumb. Ancestor Grug mean.” These Grugs go to forest, make own Sect. Then more fighting. Grugs invent “Heavenly Grug Council” to stop all fighting. But Council also fight, just with words. Grug politics.

Meanwhile, smart Grugs write book. They say, “If you breathe magical air this way, you get stronger faster. If you breathe wrong, you explode.” Grugs call it “Cultivation Manual.” But smart Grugs no share book for free. They say, “Give me herb, I give you book.” Some Grugs no want to pay. They steal book. Then more fighting.

Grug now think, “Why tiger no do magical air? Why only Grugs?” But Grug too busy leveling up to care. Grug learn new moves, like “Heavenly Palm That Makes Big Boom” and “Dragon Kick That Shakes Ground.” Grug fight other Grugs, make big explosions. Trees cry. Rocks crack. But Grug happy because Grug strong. Grug call it “Immortal Path.”

But here big joke: Grug never happy. Grug think, “If I Level Ten Grug, I happy.” But when Grug Level Ten, Grug think, “Why not Level Eleven?” Grug always want more. Grug no enjoy herb anymore. Grug only care about punching stronger tiger, punching stronger Grug. And when Grug punch too much, magical air get angry. Sky say, “No more punch.” Sky send big lightning. Grug call it “Heavenly Tribulation.” But really, sky just annoyed.

So Grug run from lightning. If Grug survive, Grug say, “I now True Immortal Grug!” If Grug no survive, Grug explode. Other Grugs loot exploded Grug’s herb and manual. Cycle continue.

In the end, Grug’s life not about tiger or herb. It about breathing magical air, punching everything, and hoping sky not mad. Grug call it “cultivation.” Rest of world call it “Grug nonsense.”

 

[NotaNuffian]

nah , I meant the game itself was LITERALLY 1000% just clicking to encourage the character to continue meditating. That's it. Game play, graphic, etc. The "goal" was to reach godhood simply by clicking enough times (i.e., the character never got up and tested, he never did ANYTHING. not even eating. Literally just "ohm" for 10,000,000 years and voila, he's a god.)

Then the game is being faithful.

Because you as the player/ clicker is the character's motivation. You click to egg him to meditate until godhood.

 

[John_Owl]

Then the game is being faithful.

Because you as the player/ clicker is the character's motivation. You click to egg him to meditate until godhood.

that... seems really boring. Or maybe that's just my ADHD preventing me from enjoying something so mundane.

But it seems you'd need food and bathroom and water at least until you actually get to immortality.