When King Yama sentenced you to be barred from reincarnation and become the Guardian Spirit of China for both your sins and achievements, Ying Shouren had expected to guard China dutifully for eternity after dying once, not wake up in another world where cultivation is as real as reality itself

People, whether mortals or cultivators, whisper. About a powerful spirit of an emperor riding through the lands of the living, teaching skills to anyone they came across, whether they were a thief, a disgraced noble, or a blind mortal, causing the scales of the cosmos to tip.

Cultivators of various sects ought to exorcise him. But how could they when those he taught became big shots?

Is it truly Heaven's will?

1. Body Tempering – Refining flesh to withstand Qi pressure


2. Qi Condensation – Accumulating and purifying spiritual energy within the meridians


3. Foundation Establishment (Solid Core) – Fortifying core stability for higher advancement


4. Golden Core Formation—A condensed inner sun of refined Qi that powers all arts beyond this point


5. Nascent Soul Formation—Separation between physical body and spiritual self; true immortality begins here


1. Bone Cultivation – Tempering skeletal essence to withstand underworld energy. (A precursor to higher Yin arts.)


2. Shadow Meridian Opening – Accessing pathways only active in death; unlocks ghostly stealth and spectral limbs


3. Necrotic Core Formation – A condensed heart of black flame, fueled by consumed spiritual energy from other spirits or demons


4. Soul Severance—When a Ghost Cultivator severs their final tie to mortality… they become something beyond even immortals


Cultivation Stages