Entity: Cultivator

Source Tian Xia Character Guide pg. 114

Cultivators are seekers of immortality who practice occult disciplines to refine their qi. By gathering and purifying vast quantities of qi and enriching their bodies' qi with energies from the Universe and Creation's Forge, these warriors pursue—or “cultivate”—immortality and gain mastery over life and death. Many cultivators seek to become ageless immortals with awe-inspiring mystical powers known as xian and potentially even ascend to divinity as minor officials of the Tian pantheon. More unorthodox cultivators instead mingle qi with the Void and the Netherworld's dark energies.

While humanoid cultivators are the norm, it isn't unheard of for animals, trees, rocks, or even household objects to cultivate their qi and become powerful yaoguai (page 82). The mountains of Shanguang, Shenmen, and Zi Ha are famed sites for cultivators, as are the bamboo groves of Songbai and the verdant heart of the Valashmai Jungle. All types of cultivators are watched over carefully by Tian Xia's imperial dragons, for cultivators go against Heaven's will in seeking to transcend their ontology and destiny. There is little place for the timid among cultivators, as they seek to stand among the most powerful beings of both earth and Heaven. As a result, their personalities tend to be extreme, possessed of otherworldly benevolence, hellish wrath, or unmoving poise.

The intense effort and discipline required to reach the peaks of cultivation weed out most aspirants before they can even truly begin, and the tribulations that most cultivators attract winnows the rest. While calamity drives many to cultivate, rumors persist that gods and dragons alike test and punish cultivation's path with yet more hardship and woe. For every cultivator who eventually attains immortality, a thousand more aspirants meet their ends in the cruelest fates.

Cultivators are rare, even within Tian Xia.