Hei Lian, the protagonist of this story (here depicted age 12). His name is written as '黑蓮' - '黑 Hei' as in 'Black', '蓮 Lian' as in 'Lotus'.

Kind of soft and squishy, in heart and body, and a little short for his age. He likes cooking, and believes the pinnacle of life is tending to a garden outside a nice, clean home. Unfortunately, everyone around him disagrees, and he's too soft to avoid going along with them.

There is nothing particularly special about him, except perhaps his kindness.

Zhou Cheng, the impetuous sworn brother to Hei Lian, and a character who would probably be the protagonist of a story if this were about him - and it is, but in an entirely different way. His name is written '周誠' - '周 Zhou' as in 'Around', '誠 Cheng' as in sincere, honesty.

Talented, but not too talented, handsome but not too handsome (or he will be, when he grows up) - Zhou Cheng is full of brash arrogance and untested determination.

He has a sweet tooth, and his favourite food is 'anything Hei Lian cooks'. He doesn't really understand why Hei Lian doesn't try harder, but he means well.

As a sign of his familiarity and close relationship with Hei Lian, he tends to call him 'Lian-er', despite the fact that he's only an inch taller and actually younger.

The revered, the reviled, the feared Immortal of Teaching - Ao Long.

He dresses simply and adventurously - that is, for adventures, with short, easy to move in robes, thick and high boots, and hair carefully tied to avoid getting in the way. Despite his incredible power, he wears an eyepatch - whether this is because he cannot regenerate the eye (due to an attack from a stronger Immortal) or because he's hiding something underneath is still unknown. It might just be because it looks cool.

Although his official title is 'The Immortal of Teaching', his Dao could also be described as 'Experience', 'Learning', or 'Education'. He delights in teaching lessons and imparting knowledge to everyone he comes across. This is not always a good thing.

He is an Unorthodox Cultivator, and together with his sworn siblings, the Immortals of Beasts and Ruin, he is one of the Three Great Calamities. Despite what some may believe, he is widely considered the worst of the Three.

A grand, towering mountain that rises into the very Heavens. It's heights are home to any number of spirit beasts, primarily those of a winged nature, and it is known for birthing cultivators skilled in the Sword, the Spear, and elements of Wind and Water.

The Sect Compound is built into the side of the mountain somewhat literally, as the Founding Master used his immense power and arts to quite literally carve half the peak off to create room. In the impossibly smooth face of that new cliff, several 'rings' have been built to house Disciples, Elders, and perform all sorts of functions.

The higher one goes, the purer the Qi, and only the Sect Grandmaster is allowed to dwell near the very peak.

The Forest of Wandering Phantoms surrounds the base of the Heavenly Misty Peaks, and acts as a 'natural defence'... against anyone who can't just fly over it, at least.

Renowned for its illusionary dangers and hypnotic hazards, the Forest is full of ambient Qi that begins to shape itself into illusions naturally, due to some unknown and unstudied quirk. The local wildlife has adapted considerably, being able to perform their own illusions or tricks to further muddle the mind and seek out prey.

There is no shortage of great and wondrous treasures that lurk in the Forest, but getting to them is quite dangerous, and only those strong in spirit as well as body are sure to succeed. Many a hopeful cultivator has gone in, trusting the strength of their power only to lose their minds.

The Mortal Realms are characterised generally by a focus on simply refining more Qi - up until crossing from Core Formation to Nascent Soul, a Cultivator's progression through the Mortal Realms is defined almost entirely by their ability to gather and refine Qi. Many Sects do not have any Cultivators beyond these Realms, and one's 'talent' is often summarised as 'one's ability to refine Qi efficiently'.

Each 'realm' is divided into Nine Steps.

Qi Condensation is defined quite literally. It is the initial stage any Cultivator steps into - once one ignites their Dantian and begins the journey, they must condense and refine ambient Qi from the world around them. Exact methods vary and have their own benefits and detriments. The most basic form is to refine pure, unaligned Qi, but most methods rely on altering the nature of Qi in some way to better suit a style or various techniques the user will learn later on.

This has benefits and detriments, but generally speaking, the upsides outweigh the downsides for most Cultivators as people tend to naturally be better at certain methods or styles depending on quirks, bloodlines, constitutions, et cetera. Qi Condensation continues until the user has filled their Dantian completely, and then they must break through to Foundation Establishment.

With their Dantian filled entirely with Qi, the Cultivator must now begin the process of strengthening and refining their body in order to prepare themselves. This process involves drawing in more Qi and circulating it fiercely through the meridians. This is a process that usually begins in Qi Condensation, but takes off in Foundation Establishment.

It is here that most Cultivators also begin to learn to use Qi-based techniques - it is possible to learn them in Qi Condensation, but without forming a strong foundation, it is possible to harm one's meridians, and there is the simple fact that progression through these realms is defined by how much Qi one possesses. Using it on techniques only makes the whole process take longer. It doesn't stop people from doing it, but it's usually considered a last resort kind of deal.

Once they have strengthened and filled their meridians, the Cultivator inevitably reaches a point where there is simply no more room for Qi in their system. They are now ready to break into Core Formation.

To break into Core Formation requires that the user refine, purify and condense their Qi even further until it begins to 'solidify'. The name of this realm is, once again, quite literal, in that they literally form a Golden Core within their Dantian. The process can roughly be thought of as refining a pill using a cauldron - the Golden Core is the pill, your Dantian the cauldron.

Ultimately though, getting to this stage is just a question of 'How much Qi can you refine and how quickly?'. Core Formation Cultivators are often capable of flight using a tool, and truly begin to master many techniques that would otherwise strain the system of weaker cultivators too much.

Once a Cultivator has formed a Golden Core and continued to grow it until it is beginning to strain their Dantian, they must now use it to form an Origin Soul. The exact process of forming an Origin Soul is more involved. Getting to the peak of Core Formation is a matter of sheer power and resources, but in order to break through to Nascent Soul requires understanding and knowledge. It is not something that can be brute forced, and so, it is a bottle neck many face.

The Core can be thought as an embyro, an egg or seed and it must be transformed into the Soul. There are differing ways of doing it, but once the Soul is formed, the Cultivator is now officially in the Nascent Soul Realm.

In this realm, the Cultivator is now capable of refining their Spirit alongside their Body, and Spiritual attacks become more common - and learning how to defend against them as well. It's possible to perform them earlier, naturally, but it usually takes the formation of the Origin Soul to truly understand what a soul is and how to interact with it.

The Origin Soul may be seen and developed as something an extension of the self, something semi-autonomous, or something completely autonomous (although most Cultivators find that prospect a little leery).

Cultivators of this level have just begun to transcend their mortality, as they may persist through death via their Origin Souls, and stories abound of Nascent Soul Cultivators (or higher) being 'killed' only to possess their students or enemies, haunting areas as a Ghost, or even dwelling within objects waiting for a host or someone to pass their knowledge to. For this reason, it's not entirely uncommon to consider the Nascent Soul Realm the beginning of being a 'true' Immortal, but frankly, calling yourself an Immortal if you're 'just' in the Nascent Soul Realm is considered a bit gauche.

This is the final realm for 'Mortal Cultivators', and those who seek to transcend it face a Heavenly Tribulation - but those who step past officially become known as Immortals (to other Cultivators). It is not uncommon for these Tribulations to take a long time to resolve, and there are stories of Cultivators who took whole centuries to break through them, but what is widely believed is that once you begin the Tribulation, there are only two outcomes.

Either you break through to the Immortal Realms, or you die trying. There is no in between, and there is no trying again (unless you count trying again in your next reincarnation). This makes the Nascent Soul Realm one of the greatest bottle necks.

(It is possible to survive failure... but it is exceedingly rare, and Heaven does not like it when you do.)