So Im currently making a novel which has both magic and cultivation. Im focusing the cultivation side only on strengthening the body and prolonging life ( since qi which is gained from cultivation raises spiritual and vital energy) . So do I have to implement spiritual attacks and stuff like that, and is it related to qi? or would it be okay to make a magic cultivation novel, where cultivation mainly focuses on just prolonging life and increasing physical strength.
Thank you.
Depends on the Mythology you use, but my preferred definitions make Qi similar to Life Force, Martial Energy and Sword Force are more advanced versions of stamina and Intent/Will, Mental Energy and Mind, Spirit Energy and Spirit/Soul attacks are all very different energy forms. Will ends up being a combination of the formless parts of Mind and Spirit Energy. With Cultivation mechanics all forms of energy have many different density levels from barely perceptible mist to ultra-dense like a neutron star like solids at those levels beyond the God levels.
With the Basics of a beings existence broken down into Aspects, the Base ones are Body, Mind, and Spirit. All other Aspects cross and combine segments of these Base Aspects. In some universes, Magic, Spirit Energy, and/or Qi is also a Base component of all beings and everyone can use them, and in some it is just something that you can manipulate and gather from the environment, with special physiques needed to even start doing so.
The particular definitions you use to set your Universe Rules help define the Genre you are writing in. The more clearly you define the rules for each world you write for, the easier it becomes to spin up new stories for that background setting. At least for me.
As the Author, you get to set the rules for your world. Sometimes it helps to map out why things are like they are with universe creation mythology. In the case of an idea like yours, I often start with two different universes suffering their End times and some of the pieces glomming together in the Multi-verse to form a new one with some combined rules but missing the parts you don't want to deal with in your story. Thus you have some forms of magic and some forms of Cultivation, but not all of them work because not all of the normal rules for the whole sets survived the Birth Process for the new universe.
Have fun! I hope you are better at following through with stories than I am!
Scripture02 Make it so that spiritual attacks can only be done by powerful cultivators. Qi and Mana are essentially the same, the only difference is that Qi is heavily refined by a cultivator, which naturally takes more time.
To do this, you need to need to make the cultivator temper their body first. It's logical since a normal body cannot hold large quantities of Qi. Next is Qi Refining where a cultivator begins to gather Qi and refine it. This is the realm where Mages and Cultivators truly become equal, because now the cultivator can let out spiritual attacks.
But! Just because they're in the Body Tempering realm doesn't mean that they are less powerful than mages. As I said before, a cultivator needs to temper their body before going into Qi Refining. This means that their body is being tempered to the point where it can hold Qi, which means that their body can withstand the attacks of Mages.
Next is the spiritual attacks themselves. In order to launch a spiritual attack, one needs to have a corresponding martial arts technique to it. Without a martial arts technique, there's no 'spiritual attack'. For example, if a cultivator launches, let's say the "Heaven Destroying Palm"—which basically launches a palm filled with spiritual Qi towards the enemy— he first needs to have said palm technique and learn it. But presumably, you're starting in a lesser kingdom, so martial arts techniques should be less available.
