Summary
It's all in the title. Feel free to use. This is being constantly updated. Things will be changed.
Note
It's all in the title. Feel free to use. I'd be happy if my work was used to create more fanfic. Just make sure to give credit where credit is due, and to let me know about it so I can read it too.Note - Once I figure out the coding for the linked title pages, I'll set that up.
SVSSS - Worldbuilding Notes
April 21, 2025 at 12:36 AM
- Cultivation - A supernatural powers system. As far as I know, it is based off of alchemy, traditional Chinese medicine, Daoism, and Buddhism. Featured in xianxia(immortal masters - this is more magic-y), wuxia(immortal heroes - this is more martial arts-y) and xuanhuan(I think this is supposed to be a mix between eastern and western though I could be mistaken). Though it is based off of a religion is is not actually religious.
- Note - I sort of smashed what I understood of cultivation with litrpg so you can get the art and style of xianxia/wuxia but get nice explainable mechanics. They are both progressive fantasy are they not? I'm not sure how well I did it. Any questions or holes, let me know.
- Everyone (free) cultivates a little but the majority of people, especially the non jianghu, do not cultivate past mid Energy Movement.
- Two organization types - Guilds/using cultivation in an occupation and Sects/cultivation is the occupation.
- Guilds - Craftspeople/artisans. The producers. Scavengers/resource hunters and gatherers. The mercantile class falls in this category. Guardians/Martial inclined. The courtesans fall in this category due to their dual cultivation methods.
- This is one of the main reasons high class courtesans are so valued. They provide a higher quality boost. This is also why in the Jianghu - especially with medical practitioners and the martial inclined - virginity is not nearly as important as in the mortal world.
- The Guilds on average do not cultivate past early Early to Mid Foundation Establishment. Those who wish to cultivate further usually apply to join a Sect.
- Sects - Monastic/monks and or nuns. These are the frugal minimalist type. Zhao Hua Temple and Tian Yi Overlook are examples of this type. Militaristic. Self explanatory, but Huan Hua Palace is an example of this type. Artisans are ones to produce the goods. Cang Qiong is an example of this type.
- If Huan Hua was Roman legions of the Jianghu, then Cang Qiong would be like the Greek City-States.
- Cang Qiong is the only Sect with the capability of being entirely self sufficient.
- Guilds - Craftspeople/artisans. The producers. Scavengers/resource hunters and gatherers. The mercantile class falls in this category. Guardians/Martial inclined. The courtesans fall in this category due to their dual cultivation methods.
- Five foundation pillars/centers - Body/physicality; Mind/cognition; Heart/mental and emotional health; spirit/resolve and resilience; soul/energy, self honesty/awareness
- This is where SJ is weak. His heart and body centers are weak. AKA his mental/emotional health and his physical body aren’t in the greatest shape.
- One can be a lying sack of shit and still be high leveled though, cultivation requires self-awareness and self-honesty, however, self-honesty doesn’t require being truthful to others or being a good person which is subjective anyway; Lao Gongzhu knew very well who he was. He’s both shitty and powerful. He just doesn’t practice self-deception.
- Cognition does not exactly mean smarts. It's more akin to fundamentally understanding a situation. One doesn’t need to be a genius to achieve awareness and smart people can overthink things.
- you aren’t going to find many high leveled cultivators lacking in a foundation
- Five elements - fire/passion, water/adaptability, earth/stability, wood/growth, metal/resolve;
- can be suited for more than one element
- Qi is life force, energy, and the eastern equivalent of the air element
- Two inclinations - Yin/passive, receptive, supplementary, flexible/adaptive; Yang/active, resistant, rigid/structured
- Think of it as yang natured qi is like a staff and yin natured qi is more like a rope. Yang has more drive and yin has more versatility. Each has their pros and cons. Yang tends to have more power and yin tends toward more finesse. Of courses you can get a yang with control and a forceful yin, but that’s the exception not the rule.
- Two polarities - Spiritual - external, interpersonal, metaphysical, environmental awareness; Martial - internal, intrapersonal, physical, self-awareness
- One must learn both in order to truly excel.
- Spiritual cultivators have an advantage in perception. It sorta works like a sixth sense, a sense that detects energy.
- Physical cultivators have an advantage in body awareness. They are more grounded in themselves and are less likely to get lost.
- Martial cultivation is less nebulous or abstract than spiritual cultivation
- Martial cultivators tend to have an easier time during Foundation Establishment while Spiritual cultivators hold the advantage during Qi Condensation.
- Two methods - demons usually follow the unorthodox school while humans follow the orthodox
- Orthodox - civilized, refined, purity/density/quality of power; they try to understand it and hone it.
- Unorthodox - wild, primal, volume of power; This is less structured, more explosive and wild. Control is less important to them. Demons constitutions are uniquely suited for it
- For a human, using demonic cultivation is like being under qi deviation. A demon using human cultivation is like expressing like Lan Wangji when you're naturally like Wei Wuxian. The methods aren't exclusive. They can work together - and be utterly magnificent - but due mass misunderstandings, and then later on tradition, they were kept separate.
- SevenStages - each stage is divided into three; early, mid late.
- Mortality - normal person - average 60 to 80 years
- Energy Movement- opening the twelve primary meridians, one becomes aware of qi and energies and aging starts to slow - average 75 to 105 years
- Late Energy Movement is the stopping point for most as cultivating gets exponentially harder and the resources for cultivating - and a safety net in case of accidents) are hard to get outside of Guild, Sect, or wealthy patron.
- Foundation Establishment - opening the peripheral/greater meridians, stabilizing and evening out skill, shoring up weaknesses in the five pillars, deciding on cultivation path - 100 to 145.
- Late Foundation is the stopping point for the Guilds and the Outer Disciples. Those who wish to cultivate further can apply to be an inner disciple, or a visiting/exchange disciple at a sect that doesn't mind teaching further.
- Qi Condensation - Gathering qi, condensing it, purifying it - averaging 125 to 200 years.
- This is when major spiritual techniques become usable, and when spiritual tools and weapons become usable. Senior Disciple receive their Sword and begin to go on night hunts.
- In the mid to late part of this stage A quasi core is form. This is what most of those in MDZS form. As the great cultivation schools, the clans rose though a lot was lost. Including .instructions on how to form A proper golden core
- Core Formation - longevity and eternal agelessness achieved - immortal though not invincible - the average Core Formation Level cultivator looks to be in their twenties and thirties. An unlucky few get stuck in their teenage years.
- More than a few prodigies got stuck as a child. They had to bind their cultivation for a few years to age enough to get taken seriously.
- Shen Qingqiu didn't achieve his golden core till his early thirties. This is actually quite respectable, but since his was a generation of prodigies - most of the Qing generation achieved Core Formation before they hit thirty and since they were all older the gap was more noticeable - well... you can get it.
- The golden core is formed in the lower dantian. Storing qi or forming a core in the upper and mid dantians is exponentially more difficult and dangerous. Cultivators who do this are more powerful yes, but they are also more unstable, insane even, and slower to advance as they have to advance their entire so as to not cause an imbalance.
- Qi fluctuations and deviations have more severe consequences for these cultivators. Even Demons don't do this.
- The golden core gets rid of impurities, this includes dead skin, scars - sans those made with spiritual power.
- This is why some branding irons - slavers don’t want other stealing their property and mundane scars can be healed - and the discipline whips are so brutal.
- Yue Qingyuan, Liu Qingge, and surprisingly AP Shang Qinghua are considered to be cultivational prodigies as they achieved core formation in their early to mid twenties
- If one is sufficiently skilled they can de-age themselves. Aging just requires for the qi to be sealed away due to its preserving nature
- Nascent Soul - detachment from the mortal plane; one begins to survive on the worlds energy entirely rather than on personal energy
- Ascension - congratulations, you’ve reached a new plane of existence
- Artifacts - self explanatory
- Seals - proof of a cultivator's credentials.
- The cultivation world as a whole sects, guilds, and wandering cultivators are called the jianghu. As mutually agreed all members have a Seal made by a Seal Master that proclaim their affiliation.
- Masters have a personal Seal to use as well as their affiliate one, and the ranking ones have a third to denote their position. Seals are used according to the situation. Affiliate and positional Seals tend are belt ornaments or medallions, and personal seals tend to be in two parts. The first is often in the form of a signet ring and used for correspondence. The second is on the pommel/hilt of the master's spiritual sword. All Seals are able, with an application of qi - the requisite amounts vary - or another Seal to leave a spiritual imprint. The Seals are minor artifacts and can be keyed to a person. Positional Seals are to be used alongside the personal and afiliate ones in order to taken as valid.
- Each Seal has at least the characters of the name/title though they often have a picture in a color.
- For an example Shen Qingqiu has three Seals. the first is his affiliate Seal which has a picture of a mountain in sky blue and the name of the Sect. His positional Seal which has the stylized bamboo leaves of Qing Jing in green as well as the characters for Qing Jing Peak Lord. His third Seal, the personal Seal, has a stylized fan and his courtesy name Shen Qingqiu in green again.
- Seals - proof of a cultivator's credentials.
- Cultural Notes - Though I am Chinese, I don't actually know this stuff as I was adopted so feel free to critique and make suggestions as needed. Also, remember this is an ancient fantasy setting, and its not dynastic, so I'm going to be mixing a few things up. Vocabulary/Terms will be on a different page.
- Personal names - even if you know it - aren't to be used if a person has a courtesy name and isn't a young child.
- I believe it is incorrect, in the east anyway, to term names as first name and last name. I feel the terms given name or personal name and surname or family name are more appropriate due the the fact that in China names are said surname first.
- Mobei Jun and Tianlang Jun are titles. Jun means lord. Junshang is the term for ‘overlord’. Mobei and Tianlang are surnames. Had Luo Binghe been acknowledged by his father, he too would have been ‘Tianlang Jun’. As it is, when he is not/before he was Junshang, he is/was probably termed ‘Luo Jun’.
- Zhuzhi Lang is a general, not a lord, thus he is (insert name) Lang. One is called by their most prestigious/relevant title. If Mobei Jun was only a general, no lordship, he would be ‘Mobei Lang.’ Zhuzhi Lang as far as I’m aware, has no surname. He is the son of Tianlang Jun’s sister - women generally don’t pass down surnames or titles - and a snake demon, which I believe is a clan demon. He is (insert personal-name) Lang rather than the usual (insert family-name) Lang.
- General Notes/Thoughts
- Cultivators tend to be tall and athletic because unlike everyone else, they are in optimal health. Masters tend to pick up disciples before puberty so throughout their physical development they have nourishment and an exercise regime. When they reach their golden core they are in optimal health, and thus are preserved that way. Some characters are naturally short though.
- Until able to practice inedia properly, a cultivator will eat a lot of food to replace lost energy.
- Inedia is learning to use the world's own energy to live.
- Cultivating seriously when young can hinder growth because the cultivator in question is sing the energy stores the body uses for growing.
- Master Cultivators also tend to be pale because their qi protects their skin from damages from the sun.
- Most people's meridians start out closed, but some are naturally open. This allows for the use of energy techniques.
- Which in turn allows for a crossover. In an HP crossover, for example, no one learned to cultivate to immortality or even cultivate in general. All of the wixen just have naturally open veins. They channel qi, no refining necessary, with the use of artifacts/spiritual tools.
- I'd put Dumbledore at late energy movement.
- The nasty gunk of impurities are celebrated and seen as an increase of power.
- Celebrated or not, one is still encourage to wash as soon as humanly possible.
- This is why most peasant don't cultivate in the winter. Food requirements and the nigh unbearable stench.
- Cultivator or not, Nobles still have a longer lifespan than peasants of the same level because they can take better care of themselves.
- I'd say the middle class lives the longest because they have the resources to take care of themselves, but not the resources to overindulge.