Since this is a Xianxia story with the classic cultivation stages, here's how I'll be handling some terms:
-For the Nascent Soul stage, I'll refer to the "infant" within it as Yuányīng, but the stage itself will still be called Nascent Soul.
-You'll also see formal titles written in pinyin with tone. For example:
Jīndān Zhēnrén for Golden Core cultivators.
Yuányīng Zhēnjūn for Nascent Soul cultivators.
-The format usually goes like:
[Name] or [Dao Name] + Formal title,
[Cultivation Stage] + Formal title,
or simply [Formal title] by itself.
For higher realms above Nascent Soul, I'll mostly stick with English translations for the stage name + formal title.
For the Immortal realm and higher, I'll handle them differently:
-Cultivation stage references will use pinyin without tones. Examples:
Dixian (Earth Immortal)
Jinxian (Golden Immortal)
Daluo Jinxian (Great Luo Golden Immortal)
-When cultivation stage used as titles will use pinyin with tones, just like the lower realms. For example:
Xiāndì (Immortal Emperor)
Tiānxiān (Heavenly Immortal)
Jīnxiān (Golden Immortal)
-When combined with a name, the name stays tone-less, while the title carries tones. For example:
Zi Mo Xiāndì → "Zi Mo" (character name, no tones) + Xiāndì (title, with tones).
-If Immortal realm and higher stages also have titles for cultivation stages, I'll write them the same way as Jīndān Zhēnrén and Yuányīng Zhēnjūn — fully in pinyin with tones. The titles themselves will always remain in pinyin with tones.
So in short:
Cultivation Stage Reference → Tianxian, Jinxian, Xuanxian (no tones)
When Used As Title → Xiāndì, Tiānxiān, Jīnxiān (with tones)
Name + Title Format → Zi Mo Xiāndì (name no tones, title with tones)
This format will stay consistent throughout the story. For the Immortal realms, I won't be using English translations for the titles, only pinyin as shown above.