Cultivation Starts with Debt

The Office of Heavenly Cause and Effect is the manifestation of the Heavenly Dao's laws, the "financial hub of the Heavenly Dao" in the cultivation world. It is governed by "account spirits" nurtured by the Heavenly Dao, and has offices at the celestial, prefectural, and county levels, as well as mobile branches. It regulates the flow of resources through "credit" and restricts access to resources through "causality." Originally intended to prevent monopolies over resources, it has gradually become a tool for entrenching class divisions.

The cultivation credit system is based on "causal origins" as its core collateral. It offers six types of loans and imposes graduated penalties for overdue payments. Debts cannot be transferred or evaded, and violations trigger the Heavenly Dao's thunder punishment. The cultivation world is divided into three classes: the upper class (Golden Immortals and above, top sects and ancient clans), the middle class (Golden Core to Nascent Soul cultivators, second-rate sects and ordinary clans), and the lower class (Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment cultivators, third-rate sects, rogue cultivators, and mortals). The credit system has become a "barrier" between classes. Those at the bottom are often deeply in debt, while those at the top use the Heavenly Dao's wealth to attain immortality for themselves. The prevailing belief is, "You can't cultivate without debt, and without a loan, you can't advance."