The Taoist Path to Immortality as Seen in A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Shuchong Kenshu

The reason A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality (Fanren Xiuxian Zhuan) has become a classic of xianxia and xuanhuan fiction is that its entire system of cultivating immortality is not invented out of thin air. It is firmly anchored in the actual process of orthodox Taoist cultivation, taking as its foundation the four core Taoist stages of “refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness, and refining emptiness to merge with the Tao.” On this basis the novel builds a complete, closed loop covering every link of Taoist immortal cultivation: levels and stages of practice, cultivation realms, cultivation trades, the currencies of the immortal domains, Qi Refining, alchemy, artifact refining, talismans, formations, artifact spirits, elixirs, combat power, the demonic path, the devilish path, the spirit path, and more, along with all manner of tools, Taoist arts, and techniques. It is a magnificent panorama—vivid, tangible, and traceable—so that even readers who are not “insiders of the Taoist gate” can catch a glimpse of what cultivating the Tao and cultivating immortality are about.

All of the book's rules of cultivation, its hierarchy of heaven and earth, and its methods of practice can be traced back to Huang-Lao Taoist thought. It turns abstract Taoist philosophy of awakening to the Tao into concrete xianxia settings that can be practiced, advanced through, and used to realize the Tao, achieving a seamless fusion of traditional Taoist learning with an original story of cultivating immortality.

1. The Realm System: A Taoist Cultivation System of Four Stages Across Three Realms

The four core phrases describing the stages of Taoist immortal cultivation are the sole underlying logic of the realm system throughout A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality. The novel's three great tiers of cultivation—the Human Realm, the Spirit Realm, and the Immortal Realm—correspond precisely to the four stages of cultivation, advancing and transcending layer by layer, in full accord with the Taoist law of practice: “from the mortal one enters sagehood, and from sagehood one returns to the Tao.”

1. Refining Essence into Qi—the Start of Foundation-Building in the Human Realm (Qi Refining Stage)

A Taoist saying goes: “In the mortal body, essence is the root and qi is the driving force.” Refining essence into qi is the starting point of all immortal cultivation; at its core it means refining the mortal essence of the flesh and transforming it into the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, cleansing the marrow and clearing the vessels, and leaving the mortal and the vulgar behind.

This corresponds to the Qi Refining stage of the Human Realm in the novel, where a cultivator's essential task is to remake the mortal body. The mortal flesh is shackled by turbid qi and mortal essence and cannot bear the power of the Great Tao. By absorbing the elementary spiritual qi of heaven and earth, Qi Refining cultivators temper their internal organs, sinews, bones, and blood vessels, transform the mortal essence of later heaven into the spiritual qi of prior heaven, break the shackles on a mortal's lifespan, and open the road to immortality. Just as the Taoists say, “When essence is sufficient, qi is abundant; when qi is abundant, spirit is concentrated,” all the practice of the Qi Refining stage is accumulating the root for later, higher cultivation. It is the most basic and most crucial foundation-laying stage of cultivating immortality.

2. Refining Qi into Spirit—the Advanced Metamorphosis of the Human Realm (Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation)

Refining qi into spirit is the core advancement stage of practice in the Human Realm. Its essence is to continually purify, condense, and internalize the spiritual qi gathered throughout the body, advancing from nourishing the flesh to tempering the primordial spirit, and achieving the metamorphosis in which “qi gives birth to spirit, and spirit becomes the master.” It corresponds fully to the four advanced realms of the Human Realm.

①　Foundation Establishment: spiritual qi flows completely through all the meridians of the body, solidifying the Tao-foundation of cultivation and severing once and for all the boundary between mortal and cultivator. What the Taoists call “laying the foundation and securing the root, carrying qi and preserving spirit”—Foundation Establishment is exactly this stabilizing of the root of practice, so that spiritual qi dwells permanently in the body and no longer leaks away. From then on the cultivator can wield talismans and magic artifacts and possesses a lifespan and supernatural powers far beyond those of mortals.

②　Core Formation: the pure spiritual qi of the whole body converges in the elixir field (dantian) and condenses into a golden core, the core form in which qi is condensed within and spirit is stored in the elixir. As the Taoists say, “The Golden Elixir is the embryo of the Great Tao.” The golden core is the condensed vessel of all the body's spiritual qi and spirit-soul; from this point the cultivator possesses a natal, fundamental power, can cultivate natal supernatural abilities, and can temper a natal magic treasure. It is the watershed of strength among Human Realm cultivators.

③　Nascent Soul: the golden core shatters and the primordial spirit condenses into an infant, turning the formed into the formless and the elixir-body into a spirit-embryo. Taoism holds that “the spirit transcends things, and form and spirit can be separated.” The Nascent Soul is the original form of the cultivator's primordial spirit; even if the body is destroyed, the Nascent Soul can escape, so that the cultivator truly possesses a second life beyond the mortal world. Lifespan increases dramatically, and the cultivator stands securely among the top fighting powers of the Human Realm.

④　Deity Transformation: the Nascent Soul transforms into the primordial spirit, and divine sense fuses completely with the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, able to cover a thousand li and set the forces of heaven and earth in motion. Here the stage of refining qi into spirit is complete; the cultivation of the flesh and tempering of the primordial spirit in the Human Realm reach their utmost, completing the ultimate metamorphosis of “nourishing spirit with qi and commanding qi with spirit.” The cultivator touches the ceiling of Human Realm practice and becomes qualified to break through to the Spirit Realm.

3. Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness—the Path of Transcendence in the Spirit Realm (Void Refining, Body Integration, Great Ascension)

The heart of the Taoist stage of refining spirit to return to emptiness is to abandon the fetters of form, letting the primordial spirit transcend the body and the rules of the mortal world and return to heaven and earth's source of emptiness and nothingness. It corresponds to the three realms of the Spirit Realm in the novel and is the core transition from becoming an immortal in the Human Realm to approaching the Great Tao.

①　Void Refining: the cultivator completely breaks the shackles of the Human Realm's rules of spiritual qi; the primordial spirit breaks free of the body, can draw on the power of the void of heaven and earth, and absorbs the purer primal qi of the Spirit Realm. At this stage the cultivator sheds the mundane traces of Human Realm practice, divine sense merges into the void of heaven and earth, and the first rebirth of the Tao-body is completed; the cultivator truly steps into the ranks of transcendent spirit cultivators.

②　Body Integration: the void power of the primordial spirit and the physical dharma-body become perfectly one, so that “the empty and the solid give rise to each other, and form and spirit have no distance between them.” As the Taoists say, “The empty and the solid unite as one; the Great Tao returns to the One.” In the Body Integration realm the body carries the void-like primordial spirit and the primordial spirit nourishes the dharma-body; offense, defense, supernatural powers, and endurance all reach perfection, and the cultivator can roam freely across every territory of the Spirit Realm.

③　Great Ascension: practice in the Spirit Realm is complete; primordial spirit, dharma-body, and the primal qi of heaven and earth become one; the cultivator perceives the full picture of the Spirit Realm's laws of heaven and earth and has accumulated sufficient depth in the Great Tao. This is already the peak of the Spirit Realm; one need only pass the heavenly tribulation of the Nine Heavens to break the barrier of the Spirit Realm, transcend its fetters, and enter the ultimate Immortal Realm.

4. Refining Emptiness to Merge with the Tao—the Ultimate Realization in the Immortal Realm (True Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi, Daluo, Tao Ancestor)

The highest stage, refining emptiness to merge with the Tao, is the ultimate aim of Taoist practice: from emptiness one awakens to the Tao, and finally one's very self merges with the Tao and holds sway over the Way of Heaven. It corresponds perfectly to the five realms of the Immortal Realm in the novel, each drawing closer to the source of the Great Tao.

①　True Immortal: having passed the tribulation and ascended, the cultivator sheds the mortal spirit-body, condenses an immortal body, and absorbs original immortal spiritual qi, leaving the mortal cycle of rebirth of the Three Realms entirely behind. Possessing an immortal lifespan that spans the ages, the cultivator formally enters the ranks of the immortal path.

②　Golden Immortal: the immortal body is stable, the cultivator begins to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth, immortal power is pure and flawless and immune to the erosion of cosmic calamities, establishing the immortal foundation of “the Golden Immortal is indestructible; the immortal body endures forever.”

③　Taiyi: the cultivator deeply comprehends the rules of the Great Tao, condenses a personal immortal domain, can begin to rewrite the order of a region of heaven and earth, breaks free of the fetters of the common Way of Heaven, and possesses a source of Tao-charm entirely their own.

④　Daluo: the cultivator perceives the core of the Great Tao of all the heavens; the laws are perfected and no method can touch them. True everlasting life and incorruptibility are achieved, and the cultivator wanders the myriad heavens and worlds without restraint. This is the symbol of the highest fighting power in the Immortal Realm.

⑤　Tao Ancestor: the ultimate completion of refining emptiness to merge with the Tao. The cultivator's self merges with the Tao and holds sway over the original Way of Heaven; the self is the rule and the self is the Great Tao. This is the ceiling of power and cultivation in the whole system, in accord with the ultimate Taoist truth that “the Tao gives birth to the myriad things, and the myriad things return to the Tao.”

5. Why the Cultivation Hierarchy Makes Sense

The reason the cultivation hierarchy of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality is logically sound comes down to three things it does: it has roots, it has steps, and it has hardship.

①　Having roots means it does not pile up realm names on a whim; it faithfully translates the Taoist stages of “refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness, and refining emptiness to merge with the Tao” into a complete, tangible, workable path of advancement. Qi Refining remakes the body, Foundation Establishment solidifies the Tao-foundation, Core Formation condenses the source, Nascent Soul gestates the primordial spirit, and Deity Transformation brings the primordial spirit to maturity—each step corresponds to a qualitative change in the cultivator's form of life, not a mere inflation of numbers. Readers do not need to memorize a table of realms; following the line of “bodily transformation → condensation of energy → gestation of the primordial spirit → maturity of the primordial spirit,” they naturally understand why a Foundation Establishment cultivator cannot beat one at Core Formation, and why a Nascent Soul cultivator can seize another's body and be reborn. This setting, in which “every step has a physiological basis,” means cultivation is no longer an ethereal, abstract awakening but a long journey with clear signposts.

②　Having steps means its division of realms conveys a real sense of chasm. Many xianxia novels have plenty of realms, yet reading them feels like the characters simply change titles and keep fighting; apart from the names, there is almost no difference in combat power between Golden Core and Nascent Soul. In A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, however, crossing each major realm means a qualitative leap: Foundation Establishment doubles one's lifespan, Core Formation lets one wield a natal magic treasure, at Nascent Soul the primordial spirit survives even if the body is destroyed, and at Deity Transformation divine sense covers a thousand li and moves the forces of heaven and earth. These qualitative changes make every breakthrough something to look forward to, and they ensure that every time Han Li kills an opponent above his level in the Human Realm arc, he must pay a huge price and rely on many external aids and schemes—the logic is airtight.

③　Having hardship means its cultivation system is not a fairy tale in which “effort alone brings promotion,” but one that sets real bottlenecks and costs. In the Qi Refining stage spiritual qi is thin and hard to gather; a single Foundation Establishment Pill is almost impossible to obtain; the inner-demon tribulation of Core Formation is a matter of nine deaths to one survival; and reaching Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation is one in ten thousand. This cruelty, in which “every step forward costs you a layer of skin,” fits precisely the Taoist essence of practice as “defying heaven to change one's fate”—cultivating immortality is not a dinner party; it is wresting one's life from heaven. Better still, the system introduces a heavenly-tribulation mechanism: after Void Refining one's lifespan is in theory unlimited, but the great heavenly tribulation that comes every three thousand years grows fiercer each time, so you cannot lie back and live off past gains; you are forced to keep breaking through. This “advance or die” setting keeps the whole cultivation system taut even in the later stages and prevents power creep from collapsing it.

Because of these three points, the cultivation system of the “mortal-flow” school became the industry benchmark. After it, countless xianxia novels, consciously or not, followed this framework: Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Deity Transformation have practically become the “standard answer” for cultivation web novels. This is not because Wangyu was the first to invent these terms, but because he was the first to make the chain of logic behind them clear, thorough, and believable. A setting becomes a benchmark never because it is flashy, but because it makes sense.

2. Cultivation Trades: A Complete System of Immortal Arts Rooted in Taoism

The seven cultivation trades in the novel—formations, talismans, alchemy, artifact refining, magic treasures, spirit beasts, and spirit insects—are not simply a pile of web-novel settings. All of them trace back to the traditional Taoist system of esoteric arts and embody the Taoist idea that “the arts carry the Tao.”

Since ancient times Taoism has held that “the Tao is the root, and the arts are its application”: the Great Tao is the core of practice, and the various esoteric arts are means of awakening to, protecting, and realizing the Tao. Traditional Taoism already had a complete transmission of such arts: alchemy for nurturing life, talismans for expelling evil, formations for gathering qi, and forging artifacts to subdue malign forces. A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality expands and refines this foundation and adds systems of spirit beasts and spirit insects, making the Taoist system of arts fit its immortal-cultivation worldview even better.

Alchemy corresponds to the Taoist teachings of outer alchemy and inner alchemy. Cultivators refine immortal pills to temper the body, replenish the primal essence, and break through realms, in keeping with the Taoist idea of “nourishing the body with elixirs and realizing the Tao with the help of medicines.”

Talismans derive from Taoist talismanic script and incantations. They use spiritual qi to activate the talismanic script and borrow the power of the Way of Heaven to govern good and ill fortune; they can expel evil, protect the body, attack, and seal. They are the basic Taoist means of communicating with the spiritual power of heaven and earth.

Formations grow out of Taoist feng shui configurations and the arrays of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha stars. Using the directions of heaven and earth and the flow of spiritual qi, cultivators lay down barriers, killing arrays, and spirit-gathering arrays, harnessing the power of heaven and earth for their own use.

Artifact refining and magic treasures correspond to the Taoist culture of ritual implements and spirit treasures. Practitioners temper objects to carry Tao-charm; the higher a treasure's grade, the purer the rules of the Way of Heaven it contains and the stronger its power to protect the Tao.

The spirit beast and spirit insect systems the novel adds also fit the core Taoist idea that “all things have spirit.” The plants and trees, beasts, and insects of heaven and earth can all absorb spiritual qi, awaken spiritual intelligence, and cultivate toward the Tao. Cultivators form contracts with spirit beasts and spirit insects, cultivating together and realizing the Tao side by side—an extension and expansion of the Taoist ideas of the unity of heaven and humanity and the common origin of all things.

3. Currencies of the Three Realms: True to the Novel, Rooted in the Taoist Idea That “Qi Gives Birth to All Things”

The core Taoist view is that “all things of heaven and earth are born of one qi.” The currencies of all three realms take solidified primal qi of heaven and earth as their medium, with an energy purity that matches the level of each realm, strictly following the novel's rules of currency exchange:

1. Common Currency of the Human Realm: Spirit Stones

Spirit stones come in four grades—low, middle, high, and supreme—with a basic exchange rate of 1:100. Low-grade spirit stones store basic, impure spiritual qi; high-grade stones hold refined spiritual qi; supreme-grade stones contain rich original spiritual qi, are scarce in quantity, and rarely circulate in the Human Realm.

Taoist origins: spirit stones are solidified spiritual qi of heaven and earth. All of a cultivator's practice, spellcasting, and purchase of materials consume spiritual qi; spirit stones turn formless spiritual qi into a standardized medium of exchange, so that the value of everything in the world is ultimately converted into a quantity of spiritual qi—a perfect match for the Taoist core idea that “qi is the foundation of all things.”

2. Common Currency of the Spirit Realm: Spirit Stones

The currency system is exactly the same as in the Human Realm, so no change of currency is needed and it circulates freely across the Human and Spirit Realms. The difference is that the primal qi of heaven and earth is richer in the Spirit Realm and it produces far more supreme-grade spirit stones than the Human Realm, so high-level cultivators often settle trades in supreme-grade spirit stones.

Taoist logic: the Human and Spirit Realms both belong to the stage of “cultivating qi and cultivating spirit” and have not yet touched the source of the immortal path; their primal qi is of the same essence. The currency therefore need not change, and only the concentration of energy differs—in keeping with the idea that the Great Tao has a single source and is not split in two.

3. Common Currency of the Immortal Realm: Immortal Essence Stones

After ascending to the Immortal Realm, spirit stones are completely phased out. Immortal essence stones condense pure immortal spiritual qi and bear the Tao-patterns of the immortal path; they are the sole standard currency of the Immortal Realm. In the novel's setting, one immortal essence stone is worth one hundred supreme-grade spirit stones.

Taoist origins: the Immortal Realm enters the level of realization of “refining emptiness to merge with the Tao,” where energy is upgraded from mortal and spiritual primal qi to the immortal-essence qi of the Great Tao. The energy level of the old spirit stones is too low to support the practice of immortals and their comprehension of the laws, so the higher-grade immortal essence stone comes into being—corresponding to the Taoist view of practice that “the Tao has levels, and qi has higher and lower grades.”

4. Barter

It should be added that beneath the surface of spirit stones and immortal essence stones as common currency, the economic system of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality has always contained a more hidden and higher-level logic of exchange: barter. This is not a loophole in the system; it is precisely a true reflection of the scarcity of resources in the cultivation world.

When an item's value far exceeds what spirit stones can measure, currency ceases to work. Pills that decide the fate of one's advancement, such as the Deity Transformation Pill and the Chongxu Pill; supreme treasures capable of guarding an entire clan, such as Profound Heaven Spirit Treasures and Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasures; irreplicable inheritances such as secret tribulation-crossing arts and immortal cultivation methods—these things can never be bought with spirit stones. The high-level exchange meetings Han Li attends several times in the novel follow nearly identical rules: items are only swapped, never sold, and each takes what they need. You bring out a rare spiritual material, I bring out a unique pill formula, and no spirit stones pass between us as a medium.

This way of trading fits precisely the Taoist principle of naturalness that “each thing has its owner, and each rests in its place.” Spiritual things of heaven and earth are inherently scarce, each with its own unique Tao-charm and fortuitous destiny; forcing a single currency on them to quantify their value would make them lose their true nature. Barter between cultivators is essentially an “exchange of opportunities”—what you receive is not necessarily worth more than what you give, but it is certainly better suited to your present path. This is the immortal-cultivation economics of “usefulness over price.”

From another angle, barter also forms an invisible barrier between the classes of the cultivation world. Low-level cultivators can only rely on spirit stones to trade common goods in the markets, while the resources that can truly change one's fate circulate only at the exchange meetings of high-level cultivators. This two-tier structure—“currency trade below, item exchange above”—keeps basic circulation efficient while preserving the mystery and scarcity of high-level resources. Killing two birds with one stone, it is the ingenuity of the economic setting of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality.

4. Following “Merging with the Tao and Becoming One with the Truth,” Vivid and Believable

Looking at the whole worldview of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, from the core realms to the esoteric arts of cultivation and the currencies of the three realms, every part is rooted in orthodox Taoist thought. Wangyu uses the four Taoist stages of cultivation as the skeleton, and traditional Taoist arts, the idea of heaven and humanity, and the idea of the original source as flesh and blood, turning abstract philosophy of awakening to the Tao into a cultivation system that is logically rigorous, progressive, self-consistent, and complete.

What is called “a mortal cultivating immortality” is essentially a journey in which a mortal follows the Tao, awakens to the Tao, merges with the Tao, and realizes the Tao. From the first step out of mortality in refining essence into qi, to realizing the Tao with his very self in refining emptiness to merge with the Tao, Han Li's immortal journey is the truest and most complete miniature of the Taoist path “from the mortal into sagehood, and from sagehood back to the Tao.” This is also the core reason why A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality stands apart from ordinary xianxia novels, with a deep heritage and enduring appeal.