Modern Dharma Cultivators divided realms into four major stages: Nurturing Life, the Human World, Grandmaster, and the Free and Unfettered Journey.
Nurturing Life:
Cultivation in the first major stage produced neither divine abilities nor Dharma power, and could only extend one's lifespan. Hence, it was called Nurturing Life.
Nurturing Life was further divided into three realms: Nurturing the Heart, Learning, and Reaching Heaven. The Nurturing the Heart stage strengthened the soul and heightened consciousness, laying the foundation for perceiving the breathing of Heaven and Earth; the Learning stage involved extensively studying and understanding the summaries left behind by predecessors concerning the laws of the Heavenly Dao, preparing one to merge with the breathing of Heaven and Earth; the Reaching Heaven stage formally communicated with that breathing.
Since cultivation in these three stages could proceed simultaneously, some people collectively referred to them as "Reaching Heaven." The three realms of Nurturing Life corresponded precisely to the ancient methods' Illumination, Revolving Illumination, and Fasting.
Human World:
In the second major stage, the cultivation of Modern Dharma Cultivators advanced extremely quickly. To prevent their cultivation from exceeding the limits they could control, resulting in the destruction of their mental restraint and the collapse of their Dao hearts, Modern Dharma Cultivators suppressed the speed at which their cultivation rose during this stage and instead strengthened their tempering of the mind. Thus, it was called the "Human World."
The Human World was likewise divided into three realms: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation. This stage differed the least from the ancient methods.
The Qi Refining stage drew upon Heaven and Earth to gather spiritual qi from beyond the heavens and refine it into Dharma power.
The Foundation Establishment Realm used Dharma power to forge a Foundation Base.
The Core Formation stage condensed an inner core upon the Foundation Base.
Grandmaster:
In the third major stage, the requirements for comprehending the laws of Heaven and Earth were even higher, while Dharma power became comparatively less important. Anyone who cultivated to this stage could be called a master.
Grandmaster was divided into the Primordial Spirit Realm, Void Refining, and Nirvana.
After Modern Dharma Cultivators formed their cores, they used the golden core as the center and their Foundation Base as the foundation to construct their souls into a "small world" that operated according to the laws of the Heavenly Dao. This was the Primordial Spirit.
Once the small world within the Primordial Spirit resembled the great world to a certain extent, one no longer needed to rely on the breathing of Heaven and Earth, and could directly refine Dharma power from the void beyond the heavens, unceasingly and without end. This was Void Refining.
Finally, the small world drove the physical body to continuously ascend, becoming Nirvana.
Free and Unfettered Journey:
The fourth major stage contained only one rank: the Free and Unfettered Stage.
The specifics were unknown.
Supplement:
Ancient method rank classification: Revolving Illumination, Illumination, Fasting, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul Realm, Dividing the Spirit, Body Integration Realm, Mahayana.
After reaching the Core Formation stage, one had to nurture the embryonic form of a new Dharma body within the golden core, known as the Nascent Soul. When the core shattered and the infant formed, one had reached the Nascent Soul Realm. After the Nascent Soul Realm, cultivators continuously merged their Primordial Spirit with their Nascent Soul, allowing their spirit to leave the body and divide, with inexhaustible wondrous applications. This was the Dividing the Spirit realm. The Body Integration Realm merged the Nascent Soul with the fleshly body, forging a supreme Dharma body.
The Demon Race rank classification: Spiritual Awakening, Qi Accumulation, Core Formation, Transformation [Taking Human Form], Divine Abilities, Demon God, Mahayana.
Beasts that had not undergone Spiritual Awakening were collectively called Fierce Beasts.
Additionally, some believed that the human race was the only type of demon that completed "Spiritual Awakening" from birth.