This novel adopts a unique cultivation system that differs from the traditional framework seen in many xianxia stories. While it still revolves around the refinement and circulation of qi (or aura), the structure of advancement is entirely distinct.
You won't find the usual stages like Qi Refining, Foundation Building, or Golden Core here. Instead, the story introduces a custom hierarchy of realms that will be revealed and explained gradually as the plot unfolds.
Please note: this cultivation system will be updated over time. As the story progresses, I may expand on certain terms or clarify how the stages work. So feel free to revisit this chapter for future updates or additions.
Also, as with many of the novels I've worked on, this version is not a word-for-word replica of the original. Some things might be interpreted differently, rephrased for clarity, or expanded for better immersion. That's just part of the translation process—it's about conveying meaning, not just
literal words.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this novel.
Exchange Rate:
Human World → Underworld
– 2 RMB = 1 Hell Coin
Underworld → Human World
– 1 Hell Coin = 2 RMB
Spirit Stones
– Low-Grade Spirit Stone = 100 Hell Coins
– Medium-Grade = 10,000 Hell Coins
– High-Grade = 1,000,000 Hell Coins
– Top-Grade (Legendary) = 100,000,000 Hell Coins
General Information About Cultivation in This Era:
In this era, spiritual energy drifts freely in the air, invisible and intangible to most. It cannot be absorbed unless drawn by a strong enough attraction. Even when it gathers around a person or object, it remains untouchable—a mere presence without substance—unless it breaks through an invisible barrier and begins to emit a vivid, colorful glow. Only then does the energy become tangible and absorbable.
Spiritual energy does not respond to everyone equally. The first stage of interaction typically begins with artifacts or crafts. When drawn in successfully, spiritual energy enhances the object's grade or tier, depending on the artisan's skill. The more refined the craft, and the higher the artisan's mastery, the stronger the pull they can exert on spiritual particles.
However, there is always a limit. No matter how skilled the artisan, only a certain amount of spiritual energy can be absorbed into a craft in a single sitting. When the object's capacity is reached, further absorption is impossible without advancement.
As artisans continue to refine their skills, something begins to shift. The spiritual energy no longer flows just into their creations—it starts to flow into them.
You can also read this (cultivation stages) in report style at chapter 65: The SEIU's Revelation;
Cultivation Stages of the Artisan:
True cultivation for artisans begins not with grand breakthroughs, but with gradual attunement to spiritual energy. Before the core is formed, the body must first be conditioned—both strengthened and purified. This early phase is essential for the birth of any true cultivator.
🔹 Preparation Phase: Body Integration & Purification (Or can be said Body Tempering Stage)
Spiritual energy first integrates with the body in progressive stages, guided by the artisan's growing affinity with their craft. This entire period is considered the Preparation Phase, laying the foundation for real cultivation.
Initial Integration: Energy flows into the hands, arms, and chest, subtly enhancing strength, dexterity, and breath control.
—Full-Body Channeling: It spreads further to the waist, back, and legs, balancing physical movement and stabilizing internal flow.
—Purification: The energy purges hidden illness, fatigue, and impurities from the body—bringing physical rejuvenation and clarity of mind.
—Heavenly Eye Awakening: Upon reaching the head and eyes, the artisan unlocks the Heavenly Eye—the ability to perceive spiritual energy directly, as well as see spirits, ghosts, or lingering entities that ordinary people cannot sense.
This phase ends when the cultivator's body becomes a proper vessel—not just for sensing energy, but for containing and cultivating it.
🔸 First Stage: Crimson Crystal Core Formation
After the Heavenly Eye opens, spiritual energy begins to settle between the eyebrows, forming what is considered the replacement of the traditional dantian in this era.
At first, it manifests as crimson mist, swirling quietly in the brow-space and later be called as Spiritual Platform
Over time, with focused drawing and resonance through crafting, the mist condenses into a bead-sized red cluster of energy. Uniquely, this core takes the form of a perfect crimson cube—unlike the spherical cores of past eras. Its edges sharpen with every influx of energy, its color deepens, and its density solidifies.
When fully formed, this crystalline cube becomes the Crimson Crystal Core, marking the artisan's true entry into the path of cultivation. This cube is not only a reservoir of power—it acts as a spiritual anchor, sharpening perception, enhancing craft resonance, and deepening the artisan's connection to spiritual forces.
🔹 Spiritual Power Crystallization: The Crimson Platform
After the Crimson Crystal Core forms, it begins to expand. Spiritual power no longer gathers as mist or condenses in abstract forms—instead, it manifests tangibly as crimson crystals.
Each crystal represents one unit of spiritual power. Within the artisan's spiritual platform, these crimson crystals are neatly arranged on a panel-like board, forming the artisan's personalized reservoir.
—Crimson Crystal Board: One layer contains exactly 90,000 crimson crystals. These are counted and monitored easily, even by sight alone.
—Measurement System: The SEIU (Spiritual Energy Investigation Unit) officially uses this format. One crystal equals one unit. Song Miaozhu, for example, had already formed over 809,000 units—nearly nine full layers.
The formation of nine complete layers signals full mastery of the Crimson Crystal Tier, marking a peak in early-stage cultivation. Beyond this, new colors emerge.
🔸 Second Stage: Azure Crystal
When crimson crystals reach saturation, further spiritual power no longer condenses into red. Instead, a more refined energy begins forming azure crystals—cool blue and hazy, demanding far more spiritual essence to coalesce.
—Tenfold Requirement: Each azure crystal takes at least ten times the energy of a crimson one. Despite their faint glow, they are denser, purer, and harder to restore once spent.
—Azure Crystal Board: Formed on the same spiritual platform, beginning from the upper-right corner, continuing the structure like stairs.
—Crafting Resonance: Azure-level refinement cannot be achieved through repetition alone. It requires complex, high-level crafting to process spiritual power effectively.
🔸 Third Stage: Green Crystal Stage
Once nine azure layers are completed, green spirit crystals begin to manifest. The difficulty multiplies again. Formation demands not just vast energy but elevated technique.
Crystals continue the step-like structure, forming a staircase of color that stretches toward the seven-colored light gate seen within the spiritual platform.
🔸 Fourth Stage: Blue Spirit Stage
With completion of the Green Tier, the artisan enters the Blue Spirit Stage. At this point, the refinement required increases over a hundredfold compared to crimson crystals.
Song Miaozhu noted that the blue crystals followed the same formation process—layer by layer, nine layers total—despite their difficulty.
🔸 Fifth Stage: Yellow Spirit Stage
Yellow Crystals mark a shift from raw cultivation to refined mastery. The SEIU confirmed the Yellow Spirit Tier as the next major stage.
Without spiritual creations, no further breakthroughs can be achieved. Stagnation is common for artisans without innovative techniques.
🔸 Sixth Stage: White Spirit Stage
Forming milky-white crystals requires both mastery and creativity. Prior techniques only yield minimal gains.
True progress in this tier depends entirely on developing new methods and crafting revolutionary spiritual items.
🔸 Seventh Stage: Black Spirit Stage
The Black Spirit Stage heralds peak-level artisanship. Jet-black crystals form at the summit of the spiritual platform, just beneath the multicolored gate.
One final transformation occurs: every layer—from red to black—resonates and transforms into radiant hues, echoing the gateway's brilliance.
🔸 Final Step: The Rainbow Gate & Immortal Realm Ascension
When Song Miaozhu formed her last multicolored spirit crystals, her spiritual platform shifted. The six colored staircases turned radiant, and her awareness ascended.
Hovering before the rainbow gate suspended above, she experienced a physical and spiritual pull toward transcendence.
This moment wasn't just symbolic. The platform realm reflected in the physical world—manifesting the gate above her, witnessed by elders and cultivators who had once glimpsed spiritual light.
Younger generations, born after the spiritual decline, could not see it. Yet to the awakened, the sky bloomed with color. Her tools, creations, and servants all rose with her.
A true Immortal ascended—not by violence, but through the perfection of craft.
She entered the Immortal Realm.