As Mo Yuan lay unconscious, his mind plunged into a realm beyond the physical—a sea of consciousness that should have remained sealed until he reached a far higher realm of cultivation. Yet, the Aetherium's awakening tore through that barrier like a tidal wave, flooding his inner world with raw, uncontainable energy. In this vast mental expanse, an enormous gate loomed before him, its boundaries stretching beyond comprehension, its surface etched with shifting, silvery runes that pulsed with a power that dwarfed the qi of the martial world. The gate radiated an aura so immense that Mo Yuan's spiritual form shuddered, his body in the physical world twitching in response.
From the gate's center, a sliver of radiant light drifted out, delicate yet searing with potential. It moved with purpose, sinking into the core of his sea of consciousness before descending into his dantian. There, where qi had always refused to gather, the light ignited something new. A spark flared, and for the first time, a faint vortex of energy formed in his dantian, swirling with a strange, silver-tinged force unlike the qi of his peers. His body, once barren of cultivation, began to transform. The Aetherium's power coursed through his meridians, purging impurities and reshaping his very foundation. Black, tar-like substances oozed from his pores, the stench of mortal frailties expelled as his body was purified under the light's influence.
By the time the process subsided, Mo Yuan's unconscious form lay still, his breathing steady but deeper, more resonant. The candle in his room had long since burned out, and the first rays of dawn painted the walls. He woke up and his body felt lighter, stronger, as if every muscle and bone had been reforged. Within his dantian, the vortex hummed steadily, marking his entry into the Qi Condensation stage—or, as the Mo Clan called it, the Qi Refining stage. Not just the first level, but the fifth, a leap unheard of for a beginner, especially one deemed defective.
Mo Yuan's journey as a cultivator had begun, and with the Aetherium as his guide, he would carve a path none in the martial world could predict.
Mo Yuan woke with a start, his body thrumming with newfound energy. The leap from no cultivation to the fifth stage of Qi Condensation was staggering, a miracle born from the Aetherium's intervention. He recalled the booming sigh that had knocked him unconscious, the sensation of movement in his mind, and the vision of the boundless gate in his sea of consciousness. Eager to confirm it, he closed his eyes and focused, willing himself back to that inner realm. The gate reappeared, vast and pulsing with silvery runes, its power so overwhelming that his spiritual form trembled. Before he could explore further, he was yanked back to the physical world, gasping, his body drenched in sweat and his mind aching from the strain. The gate was real, and it was tied to the Aetherium—but it was too much for him to handle.
The next day, Mo Yuan sprinted to his parents' courtyard, his heart pounding with excitement. "Father! Mother! I've broken through! Fifth stage of Qi Condensation!" Mo Haoran and Wei Lan stared at him, disbelief giving way to joy. Five stages in a single day was unheard of, even for prodigies like Mo Lingshuang, who had only just entered the Qi Condensation realm. The Mo Clan erupted in celebration, the elders proclaiming Mo Yuan a genius, a once-in-a-generation talent. Word spread beyond Yunxi, and neighboring clans sent envoys to inquire about the Mo Clan's sudden prodigy. The whispers of his "defective" constitution vanished, replaced by awe and envy. Even Mo Lingshuang, the clan's darling, glanced at him with a mix of curiosity and rivalry.
But the joy was fleeting. Mo Yuan soon discovered that entering his sea of consciousness to commune with the gate was a grueling ordeal. Each attempt left him mentally drained, his body soaked in sweat, and his spirit battered. Worse, he couldn't decipher how the Aetherium had sparked his cultivation or how to advance further. The gate remained an enigma, its power tantalizingly out of reach. As days turned to months, his peers began to catch up. Mo Lingshuang and other juniors progressed steadily, their qi growing stronger, while Mo Yuan remained stuck at the fifth stage of Qi Condensation. No matter how he meditated, trained, or pushed his body, his cultivation refused to budge. The Aetherium's energy, so potent at first, seemed to have sealed itself off, leaving him stagnant.
Three years passed, and Mo Yuan, now ten years old, felt the weight of his stagnation. The clan's admiration faded, replaced by indifference and scorn. Mo Lingshuang, at the same age, had broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm, a feat that solidified her as the clan's true genius. "Mo Lingshuang is a jade among pearls," he overheard one day while passing through the training grounds. "Why did they ever compare her to Mo Yuan? He's nothing but a fluke." The words stung, but after three years of hearing such talk, they barely registered. Even his parents' gazes had turned cold. Mo Haoran, once proud, now looked at him with disappointment, and Wei Lan's attention shifted to their newborn son, Mo Chen, leaving Mo Yuan all but forgotten.
The clan's monthly resources—spirit stones, elixirs, and training manuals—were no longer allocated to him. His father didn't protest when the elders redirected them to more "promising" juniors. Mo Yuan, shaped by the solitude of his past life, adapted to this isolation. He retreated to the edges of the Shadowfang Forest, training alone, his body honed by relentless physical practice even if his cultivation remained frozen. The Aetherium's pulse in his core was still there, faint but undeniable, a reminder of the power he couldn't yet wield. He didn't know why it refused to awaken again, but he refused to give up. Alone under the stars, he whispered to himself, "I'll find a way. I'm not done yet." The gate in his mind loomed in his thoughts, a challenge and a promise. Somewhere, somehow, he'd unlock its secrets—or die trying.
Mo Yuan was alone in the Shadowfang Forest, practicing the Iron Tempest Fist, a punch art bestowed upon him during the brief days when the Mo Clan hailed him as a genius. His movements were precise, each strike cutting through the air with a force honed by years of solitary training. Though his cultivation had stagnated, his body was a weapon, tempered by relentless effort. As he flowed through the forms, sweat beading on his brow, a sudden pulse surged from his core—the Aetherium, stirring once more. The familiar thrum overwhelmed him, and before he could brace himself, his vision darkened, and he crumpled to the forest floor, unconscious.
In his sea of consciousness, the boundless gate reappeared, its silvery runes pulsing with an intensity that shook the very fabric of his inner world. This time, the gate didn't merely loom—it moved, its surface rippling like liquid starlight. Two sparks of radiant light burst forth, one burrowing into the depths of his mind, stabilizing the chaotic tides of his sea of consciousness, and the other sinking into his physical body, igniting his dantian with a ferocious energy. Black, tar-like impurities poured from his pores, the same foul substance from three years ago, as his body was purified once again. His meridians widened, his dantian expanded, and the Aetherium's power surged through him, rewriting his cultivation foundation.
When Mo Yuan awoke, sprawled among the roots of an ancient tree, he felt a seismic shift within. His dantian thrummed with a vibrant, silver-tinged energy, far beyond the feeble qi he'd sensed before. He sat up, testing his strength, and realized his cultivation had skyrocketed—from the fifth stage of Qi Condensation to the twelfth, then beyond, tearing through the bottleneck into the Foundation Establishment realm. By the time the transformation ceased, he stood firmly at the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment, a level that rivaled even Mo Lingshuang's recent breakthrough. The spark in his mind had stabilized his sea of consciousness, granting him a clarity and mental resilience that felt almost supernatural.
He clenched his fists, a grin breaking across his face. The Aetherium had awakened again, and this time, it had propelled him to heights that would silence the clan's scorn. The Iron Tempest Fist felt different now—each practice strike carried a weight that made the air crackle, as if the Aetherium's power amplified his every move. Yet, questions lingered. Why had the Aetherium stirred now, after three years of silence? What were these sparks, and what did the gate hold beyond its shimmering surface?The forest around him seemed to hum with possibility, as if the world itself sensed the awakening of something extraordinary.
*These are the stages of cultivation here
Qi condensation or refining stage or realm
12 stages
Foundation establishment realm 9 stages
Core formation or golden core realm divided into early, middle, late, peak
Nascent soul realm divided into early, middle, late, peak
Soul transformation realm divided into 9 stages.
I'll update it as I continue
Beast are just divided into numbers stage 1-9