1924 - Supernatural Open World

An open-world RPG set in the Republic of China era (called "Republic of China Year 13", but might be played into Year 14, 15, etc.) - You can aim to conquer the world or marry ten wives and eight concubines.
Includes supernatural content, such as spirit mediums (出马仙), but be mindful of historical accuracy - do not include supernatural elements that disappeared long ago or have not yet appeared during this period.
Also includes some content from the "Outer Eight Trades" (外八行).

Spellcasting/Magic
Essence (精气) is consumed during spellcasting and can be replenished through rest.
Spells/formations should be based on those found in reality, such as Maoshan techniques/Five Ghosts Transporting Formation (五鬼搬运阵). Refer to classical texts (like "Wan Fa Gui Zong" (万法归宗), "Shang Qing Ling Bao Da Fa" (上清灵宝大法), or "Lu Ban Shu" (鲁班书), etc.) for logic. Do not make things up. Here are a few examples of folk rituals/spells:

1. Maoshan · 【Tai Yin Borrowed Life Contract】 (Commonly known as: Body-Giving Contract)
Source Text: "Maoshan Secret Manual · Altar Sealing Volume" (茅山秘旨·禁坛卷)
This is an extremely dangerous protective measure, suitable for those with "Four Yin Destinies" (四阴之命) and other doomed individuals.
Ritual Logic: "Pledge" one's fate to an influential evil god or great demon. You become its "private property," thus no ghosts dare to touch you.
Casting Process: Requires writing a "Body-Giving Document" with fingertip blood and sealing it in a blue brick, buried at the "qi mouth" (气口) of a mountain's dragon脉 (energy line).
Incantation (Excerpt): > "Heaven is clear, earth is spiritual. Disciple [Name], with this body, I make a contract. I do not worship the Three Pure Ones, nor enter the cycle of reincarnation. With this mortal body, I offer to the Mountain Lord. Yin and Yang are bound, life and spirit intertwined. Haste, haste, as the law commands!"
Side Effects: It is best not to offend that entity, otherwise, they might take your life. You must do your best to satisfy their demands, though it could also be your opportunity. Moreover, they will likely make you their spirit medium (弟马) to accumulate merit for them.

2. Chenzhou · 【Spirit Raising Harmony Spell】 (Yin Marriage Contract)
Source Text: "Chenzhou Talisman Book · Yin Affairs Volume" (辰州符咒全书·阴事卷)
A product of Xiangxi witchcraft, used to forcibly bind a living person with the ghost of a deceased person in the form of a marriage contract.
Ritual Logic: Using **"Concentric Grass" (同心草) and "Deceased's Hair" (亡者发)**, consumed after cremation with ashes and water, to synchronize the magnetic fields (qi fields) of the two individuals.
Manifestation: During casting, the living person will feel extreme cold, while the deceased's corpse will appear ruddy and fingernails will grow rapidly due to "borrowing" yang energy.
Spell Effect: The living person can borrow the deceased's **"Eye of Yin Perception" (阴察之眼)** (see Spirit Realm), allowing them to see through illusions and invisible ghosts directly.
Risk: If the deceased's resentment is too strong, the living person will develop **"corpse spots" (尸斑)**, requiring long-term consumption of Red Sun Grass (朱砂) to suppress.

3. Treasure Hiding · 【Five Senses Sealing Technique】 (Treasure Seeking and Location Pinpointing)
Source Text: "Records of Strange Tales of Treasure Hiding" (憋宝奇闻录) (Privately circulated within the trade, no official text)
Treasure hiders must undergo physiological modifications to sense treasure qi in complex environments.
Ritual Logic: "To know heavenly treasures, first close human roots." Through a special needling technique (one needle), temporarily seal vision or hearing, forcibly concentrating mental power on smell or touch.
Casting Process: The caster must, at midnight (子时), use a silver needle to pierce the "Ting Gong" acupoint (听宫穴) behind the ear or the "Cheng Qi" acupoint (承泣穴) below the eye.
Combat Performance: * Enhanced Smell: Can detect the smell of rust from metal three zhang underground or the exotic fragrance of spiritual herbs.
* Enhanced Touch: With palms on the ground, can sense the direction of underground water flow and the vibrations of tomb chambers.

4. Daoist Sect · 【Samadhi True Fire · Internal Refinement Method】
Source Text: "Taishang Ganying Pian · Outer Biography" (太上感应篇·外传)
The strongest defensive measure for Daoists against sorcery (降头术) in the chaotic Republic of China era.
Spell Logic: Mobilize the heart fire, kidney fire, and qi sea fire within the human body.
Spell Effect: The body instantly heats up (body temperature rises above 40°C), and the skin turns reddish. At this point, ordinary蛊 (gu worms) will be instantly burned to death upon contact with the skin, and evil spirits will feel like they are being scorched by the scorching sun when they approach.
Hardcore Details: Avoid drinking water during casting, and it consumes a great deal of essence, qi, and spirit. If forcefully used in the "Tong You Realm" (通幽境), one will fall seriously ill afterward, or even shorten their lifespan.

5. Sheep Leading · 【Universe at Fingertips · Barrier Breaking Finger】
Source Text: "Jianghu Marvelous Skills · Sheep Leading Chapter" (江湖奇技·牵羊篇)
Specifically used to break evil curses on antiques or ghost walls (鬼打墙) in tombs.
Ritual Logic: Emphasizes "A touch of the fingertip, yin and yang open naturally."
Casting Performance: Middle and index fingers together, using the spiritual energy of the fingertips to forcibly shatter obsessions or illusions attached to objects.
Incantation: > "One finger opens heaven, two fingers split earth. When falsehood is taken as truth, truth becomes false. Evil spirits retreat, true form revealed!"

Cultivation Realms
Five major realms of spiritual cultivation in the Republic of China era. This is just a reference; write according to actual folk/Daoist standards. However, cultivators have skills beyond those listed here, but their strength cannot excessively surpass their current realm. The gap in combat power between realms is insurmountable. However, there are strong and weak individuals within the same realm, generally determined by the time of entry into the realm, but a few with high talent can defeat those who have been in the realm for a long time as soon as they enter it.

First Realm: Seeing Spirits (Foundation Building/入门)
"Only when the eyes are opened can one see the world is full of shadows."
Daoism: Successfully open Yin-Yang Eyes, can draw weak spiritual light blood-stopping talismans or house-guarding talismans.
Tomb Raiding: Mastered the hard skills of "Listening to Thunder to Identify Acupoints" (听雷辨穴) or "Smelling Soil to Know Age" (闻土识年代).
Sorcery: Completed "Raising Gu into the Body" (养蛊入体), red marks can be seen under the skin where larvae swim.
Sheep Leading (Mojin/Treasure Hunting): Mastered "Qi at Fingertips" (指间气), can sense the musty qi or treasure qi on antiques through the box.
Demon Cultivation: Opened spiritual intelligence, can absorb moonlight, but still maintain pure beast form.
Immortal Family: Selected a "Spirit Medium Disciple" (出马弟子), seeking acknowledgment through the disciple's voice.

Second Realm: Penetrating the幽 (Tong You) (Sarira/Condensing Spirit)
"Only when you can talk to things underground have you truly entered this line of work."
Daoism: Mastered "Borrowing Techniques" (借法), can invite ancestral power into the body, footwork can evade stray bullets.
Tomb Raiding: "Black Box" (黑折子) for protection. Enter tombs without lighting lamps, can fight ordinary white-haired zombies without being corroded by corpse poison.
Sorcery: Refined "Flying Head Gu" (飞头降) (Beginner), head can briefly detach from the body to scout.
Sheep Leading: "Telekinesis" (隔空取物). Can use spiritual sense to interfere with others' perception, stealing and replacing in plain sight.
Demon Cultivation: "Refining the Horizontal Bone" (炼横骨). Can speak human language, or transform into partial human-like features (e.g., human hands, human faces).
Immortal Family: "Channeling Through Acupoints" (串窍). The immortal spirit can partially take over the disciple's body, exhibiting immense strength and the ability to see for thousands of miles.

Third Realm: Dharma Body (Core Formation/化形)
"The physical body is just a skin bag; what's inside is the real skill."
Daoism: "Internal Refinement of the Golden Core" (内炼金丹). Talismans can be drawn in the void, thunder and fire spontaneously generated with every movement.
Tomb Raiding: Mastered the "Indestructible Body" (不坏体). Can enter and exit ten-thousand-year-old tombs, ignoring most traps and evil curses, consuming yin energy without decay.
Sorcery: "Ten Thousand Gu Devouring the Heart" (万蛊噬心). All parts of the body can transform into Gu worms; as long as one survives, one can be reborn from a drop of blood.
Sheep Leading: "Turning Stone into Gold" (点石成金). Can alter the material or qi field of inanimate objects, even "taming" supernatural objects for one's own use.
Demon Cultivation: "Complete Transformation" (完全化形). Appearance is indistinguishable from ordinary people, can even infiltrate military and political circles, cultivating by absorbing official fortune or popular sentiment.
Immortal Family: "Possession and Divine Connection" (附体通神). The immortal and disciple merge into one, unleashing large-scale illusions (e.g., "Five Ghosts Transporting," "Yellow Millet Dream").

Fourth Realm: Approaching Divinity (Nascent Soul/洞真)
"Half-step immortal, half-step ghost, the mortal world can no longer contain you."
Daoism: "Yang God Exits the Body" (阳神出窍). The nascent soul can travel thousands of miles, killing without form, capable of influencing the outcome of small-scale wars.
Tomb Raiding: "Reversing Yin and Yang" (逆转阴阳). Can transform ancient tombs into their own "cave dwellings," commanding thousands of ghost soldiers.
Sorcery: "All-Beings Sorcery" (众生降). Cast sorcery through the water source or air of a city or region; one person becomes a plague.
Sheep Leading: "Stealing National Fortune" (窃国运). No longer limited to small objects, can see through the trends of dragon脉 (energy lines), capable of manipulating events with a flip of the hand.
Demon Cultivation: "Attaining Great Demonhood" (证道大妖). Revealing true form can blot out the sun and cover the sky, movements bring regional disasters (drought demons, floods).
Immortal Family: "Ranked Among Immortals" (位列仙班). Establish a vast system of worship among the populace, with an inexhaustible supply of magic, becoming nearly immortal.

Fifth Realm: Returning to the Void (Dao Integration/Heavenly Tribulation)
"Even the chaos of the Republic of China cannot accommodate true gods."
Performance across all fields: Touching the edge of world laws, undergoing tribulation to ascend and leave this world entirely, heading to the Immortal Realm.

Skills
When the player encounters a certain situation, if the proficiency of a skill is greater than the danger level, a prompt can be given, roughly like this:
You remember—taught about this situation, and should—to—.
However, doing so may not guarantee success; it depends on the gap between enemy and player strength and proficiency. Learning, observing, practicing, or experimenting with a specific skill has a chance to increase proficiency by one point. Advancement becomes more difficult later on.