After successfully integrating the Great Way Tree as the central node for the sect’s communication network, Hanna turned her focus to the next critical aspect of her vision for the Forest Immortal Sect: the cultivation system. She recognized that the path to empowerment for her disciples not only lay in connectivity and communication but fundamentally in their individual and collective cultivation journey.
In the early hours of the morning, with the first light of dawn casting a soft glow over the sect, Hanna made her way back to the Room of Fortunes and Misfortunes. Her goal was clear: to extract the profound cultivation methods recorded in the ancient texts and integrate them into the newly created sect database, ensuring every disciple had access to the structured stages of the Mortal Coil.
Upon entering the room, Hanna approached the ancient scrolls that detailed the Mortal Coil stages, her fingers tracing over the aged parchment with reverence. She carefully transcribed the intricate details of each step, beginning with the philosophical foundations and moving through the complexities of physical and spiritual cultivation.
First Step: Heart of Dao – “Why do you seek power, and what do you seek to protect?” Hanna noted this initial step was crucial for setting a cultivator’s intentions and aligning their path with their deepest values and aspirations.
Second Step: Body Refining – “Only a strong body can hold limitless power.” This stage emphasized the strengthening of the physical body to prepare it for the immense energies it would need to channel in later stages.
Third Step: Qi Refinement – “Accepting the energy of heaven into the body.” Here, cultivators learned to draw Qi from their surroundings, refining it to nourish their body and spirit.
Fourth Step: Foundation – “Any building must have a strong foundation to withstand the earthquakes and tremors of time.” This step involved solidifying the cultivator’s core energies to prepare for the formation of the Golden Core.
Fifth Step: Core Formation – “The Golden Core condenses the foundation into raw power.” The critical phase where a cultivator’s accumulated energy is condensed into a core, granting them significant power and capabilities.
Sixth Step: Nascent Soul – “The soul becomes the vessel of power, and the being is reborn.” In this stage, the cultivator’s Golden Core evolves into a Nascent Soul, which harbors even greater power and spiritual awareness.
Seventh Step: Severing – “The Nascent soul is severed into three parts: Evil, Centric, and Good; each separates the emotions, leaving a clear heart and essence in the Centric Soul.” This complex phase involves refining the soul by separating and purifying its aspects.
Eighth Step: Integration – “Evil and Good return to the Centric and infuse into the body.” The previously separated soul aspects are reintegrated, achieving a new harmony and balance within the cultivator.
Ninth Step: Void – “The soul becomes boundless.” Here, cultivators expand their consciousness into the void, achieving a profound connection with the universe.
Tenth Step: Nirvana – “The soul and Body are reborn in the nirvanic flames of ten tribulations.” This transformative stage involves surviving great trials, leading to rebirth and immense strengthening of the soul and body.
Eleventh Step: Mahayana – “The Body, Mind, and Soul become one and tranquil and seek power of laws above.” The final stage where the cultivator achieves oneness with the universe, mastering the laws that govern existence.
With the cultivation stages meticulously documented, Hanna used her spatial abilities to encode the information into the sect’s database. Each entry was linked to detailed explanations, guidance, and supplemental practices to aid in understanding and mastery.
Returning to the Great Way Tree, Hanna found Yin still seated in meditation. She shared with him the completion of the Codex of Ascension, as she now called the database. Yin opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face.
“This Codex will guide our disciples well, Hanna. It’s a ladder to the heavens, built from knowledge and wisdom,” he said, his voice filled with pride and anticipation.
Hanna nodded, her gaze settling on the serene landscape around them. “With this, our disciples can not only reach new heights of power but also find guidance in their darkest hours. We have provided them with the tools; now, it’s their journey to make.”
As the sun rose higher, bathing the sect in golden light, Hanna and Yin stood together, looking out over the sect. They were leaders, mentors, and guardians, ready to support a new generation of cultivators aspiring to ascend the Mortal Coil, guided by the Codex of Ascension.
Following the successful integration of the Mortal Coil stages into the Forest Immortal Sect’s database, Hanna focused her attention on documenting the more advanced cultivation methods of the Heavenly Coil. These stages represented profound growth and mastery beyond the mortal bounds, touching the essence of creation and cosmic law.
Under the gentle canopy of the Great Way Tree, with Yin and their closest companions gathered around, Hanna began to outline the steps of the Heavenly Coil. Each step was introduced with a powerful maxim, encapsulating the profound transformations expected at that stage.
First Step: Immortal – “Beyond Tranquility comes Chaos, the World is formed and the Immortal is Born.” Hanna explained how this stage marks the cultivator’s transition from mortal to immortal, where their inner tranquility is tested, and from that chaos, their immortal essence emerges.
Yin, always reflective, added, “It’s about embracing the chaos within us, using it as the soil from which our new selves sprout.”
Second Step: World God – “The Immortal creates the World, let there be Darkness.” Hanna described this as the phase where the immortal cultivator begins to shape their own realms and domains, starting with the creation of darkness as a canvas for what comes next.
Lian commented with a grin, “It’s like being asked to paint your masterpiece, but first, you have to make your own canvas.”
Third Step: Way Lord – “The Lord’s Way is the way of Light, warmth arise in the inner Darkness.” This stage involves the cultivator infusing their dark-created world with light, defining their path and illuminating their domain with their personal essence and power.
Suri, ever the alchemist, noted, “It’s about finding the right ingredients to bring light to the darkness—a careful balance of energy.”
Fourth Step: Boundless Eternal Tree – “The tree of Life sprouts in the world of Light.” At this stage, the cultivator’s world sees the growth of the Eternal Tree, symbolizing life and continuous growth within their crafted domain.
Kei, who had a fondness for nature, said softly, “It’s as if you’re planting the seeds of eternity in the garden you made from nothing.”
Fifth Step: Infinite Law – “Fragments of Law expand the world and Tree.” Here, the cultivator begins to understand and manipulate the universal laws, expanding their domain and enhancing the life force of their Eternal Tree.
“The laws are like the rules of a game,” Yin mused. “Once you know them, you can play to expand your reach and your realm’s vitality.”
Final Step: Tree of Way – “The Boundless Tree of Way sheds the shackles of Mortality; The Shackles of Heaven, BREAK BEFORE THE BOUNDLESS TREE!” This ultimate stage represents the pinnacle of the Heavenly Coil, where the cultivator’s Eternal Tree matures completely, their mastery over their domain is absolute, and they transcend the final limits of mortality and heavenly restrictions.
Hanna, with a spark in her eyes, concluded, “This is where you are no longer bound by the cosmos’ rules but become a rule-maker yourself. It’s the ultimate freedom, the breaking of all shackles.”
As Hanna entered these stages into the sect’s database, her companions discussed the philosophical underpinnings and the metaphors within each maxim.
Their conversation enriched their understanding and brought depth to the cultivation process, making it not just a journey of power, but also one of profound personal insight and cosmic discovery.