In a small cottage behind a massive garden, a boy was born. There was nothing special about his birth, nor were his parents, who were servants for an alchemic sect for generations. This sect was one of many other schools and although alchemy wasn't overly popular, their knowledge with herbs and medicine was like no other. And since they were good with medicine certainly meant they knew about poisons and their remedies which made them a valuable ally for both the Orthodox and Unorthodox sects.
They preferred to stay neutral in the war struggles between the two factions, although some criticized them for their impartiality, they would never mention it to the faces of that sect in fear of losing the ability to buy their products, or worse, losing their lives.
-Dear, shouldn't our son be crying? Why is he only shivering?
-I don't know, it isn't too cold for him, is it?
On the year 7536 of the Tharfian Calendar, Leng Jin was born.
Leng Jin was born on the Rhasan continent, this world isn't like any typical spherical plane. The Rhasan continent is a lower-world and thus is only a fragment of a globe is needed to house entities with low-cultivations. Lower worlds are also called as such because of their lack of Aether as it's called on this continent.
Once someone has reached saturation for their cultivation in the mortal realms, they can try breaking through to another plane which brings them to another world or can stay in their mortal realm where they can solidify their foundations. The downside to staying past saturation in a realm is the plateau that one would hit after a long enough period and that a breakthrough to the next cultivation realm becomes harder. Luckily, the Tao is fair and thus rewards those who work harder by making their Aether denser. The downside of cultivating the mortal realms would be the fact that they take years to even decades to complete if done correctly, so staying in a realm to consolidate foundations comes with its risk of death.
For those who try to breakthrough realms immediately after achieving saturation, the drawback of failure is near fatal, you can receive a backlash which has a high chance of fatally wounding you. If you aren't prepared, you can become crippled with no chance at cultivating. Becoming a crippled is practically a death sentence in a dog eats dog world.
There are many ways to consolidate, boost, increase or burn cultivation. There are natural treasures which usually grant a certain attribute depending on the type you ingest or wield. There is also the choice of alchemical pills which can grant some help with cultivation, although, that would depend immensely on the purity of the pill. Some pills can have a sudden increase in cultivation but have the drawback of a harder breakthrough. Nothing is free in life, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
There is also the blood burning pill which will grant you half a realm of cultivation strength for a short period of time before shattering your cultivation and increasing the future cultivation difficulty to near impossible, this option is considered taboo because of its fatal drawbacks but is widely used as a last resort before dying in battle.
Because of the increasing amount of violence and avarice, treasures that help with cultivation are hoarded by the leading organizations, also known as sects. Sects, were originally put in place for people of a similar mindset or belief, currently sects are just major powers which if entered can give you protection and a place to cultivate in return for tasks or fighting against enemies of the sect.
Of course, there are spies and organizations built to infiltrate these powerhouses and discover their secrets. The world is a messy place when strength rules all, but the world has grown accustomed to slaughter since the beginning of the Enlightenment which happened 7500 years ago, dynasties have risen and fallen, and avarice never ends.
The Rhasan continent is a never-ending story of bloodshed between swords, spears, and other weapons of murder. Once the enemy shows weakness, you strike, because no one wants the short end of the stick.