Chapter Text
In this version, there are 4 worlds; common folk, immortals/cultivators, demons, and mysticals. The last thing, mysticals, are something that also exists in the world Shen Yuan and Shang Qinghua came from, which is kinda why it’s been added into the book.
Mysticals are more neutral since they don’t really choose sides, they’re more independent and aren’t very common or that known amongst common people/demons. The ones who know about them have either come in contact with them (like rogue cultivators or cultivators on missions who just happen to meet one), scholars, allies (like demon leaders or something), etc.
They are usually some sort of mystical or magical beast that can turn and look like a human, like a unicorn, gryphon or dragon. A mystical’s spiritual core could feel like an immortal’s core or a demon’s core, depending on what deeds they have done or what type they are. For example, a unicorn who went down a path of goodness and heals the wounded would have a spiritual core that feels similar to an immortal and can be mistaken as such.
A mystical has 4 forms; human, human with creature characteristics (which I’ll call half-human for convenience), anthropomorphic beast (which I’ll call anthro for short), and beast.
Each form has it’s different perks; their human form lets them fit in with common folk or cultivators, their half-human form can allow them some of their abilities as a beast and can fit in with demons, their anthro form gives them more accessibility to their beast abilities while keeping a somewhat human form and height (depending on their species, they’d either be smaller than their beast form or bigger), their beast form allows full access to their abilities and can fit in with other beasts.
Each form also has it’s cons; their human form doesn’t really allow much of their abilities (like flight, if they have wings in beast form), their half-human form could make people believe their were demons or cursed (unless they are able to change their appearance or their colour, something like that), their anthro form could look pretty beast-like and scary so they’d be shunned as demons if people don’t know any better, their beast form could get themselves killed if they’re too reckless or if cultivators hunt them (some of them can be killed by common folk if they’re weak or something).
Mysticals have pretty long life spans, at least longer than humans (some are shorter), depending on their size or species. For example, something smaller like a jackalope might live shorter than a human, something bigger like a unicorn might live longer than a human. Some mysticals have long life spans in a way that allows rebirths or reincarnations, like dragons or nine-tailed foxes.
When it comes to finding a partner, mysticals don’t really care when it comes to being another mystical or not, it really depends on how they live and what they socialise with. For example; if they choose to live life as a cultivator, common person or a demon, they’d most likely want to be with a human or a demon. And if they choose to live life as a beast, then they’d most likely be attracted to other beasts. Some of them will only be with other mysticals if they wanna keep their offsprings purely mystical, but that’s pretty rare. They’re mostly pansexual/panromantic in a way if you think about it, it’s instinct/common knowledge to just love who you love and not really question it amongst mythicals, at least for the ones in the world of “Proud Immortal Demon Way”.
Their offspring will be born with 2 cores, depending on the other partner. At the age of 10, the kid could either keep both cores (kinda like Luo Binghe) or one core will merge with the other, causing the domineering gene to take over, essentially turning the core into either a mythical core or similar to the partner’s core. This process is all determined on how they’re raised and the things they’re exposed to until their 10th birthday. For example, if the kid is taught by both parents about their different abilities and the different foods each species would consume (like what humans would eat and what a slime would eat, if the mystical partner was a slime beast), then the child would still have both cores. If the kid was only taught about human things and only consumed what humans would eat, then they’d lose the mythical core to be a normal human or a strong cultivator (same thing with demons).
There are hidden sects for those who wanna live as a mystical rather than hiding as a human or whatever else. There are only 4 because the number of mysticals are so little but it is quite a lot since most mysticals wanna live as a mystical, only a few handfuls of them live as humans, demons or beasts. All 4 sects are close together and peaceful with each other since the leaders are like marital siblings. Each sect has certain rules and morals they go by, in the middle of the sects, there’s a hidden village for mysticals who just wanna live peacefully and do other things, like farming.
(I used Google Translate so I apologise if these peak names aren’t good, I’ll just blame it on Airplane’s lazy naming or something lol)
The four sects have the strongest kinds of mysticals leading them; Long Gao Peak (Dragon High Peak) is lead by a dragon mystical and it’s on the tallest mountain in the area, Mao Zhao Peak (Cat Claws Peak) is lead by a white tiger mystical and it’s in a more grassy area with tall grass, Qi Pao Peak (Bubbly Peak) is lead by a betta fish mystical and it’s in a water area with some land, Qin Yi Peak (Avian Wing Peak) is lead by a phoenix mystical and it’s in a more forest area with very tall trees.
(I might add more later)