The World of Beware of Chicken: Demons and Demonic Cultivators (Patreon)

A bit of a lore dump, for those inclined. not a chapter, just world building stuff, and to clarify things.=======================

=======================On Demonic Cultivation/Demon divide

Demons: The otherworldly invaders. Not much is actually known about the creatures, other than they are not from this plane, and seem to eat Qi. The cultivators have named this other place Hell. They have varying intelligence, and a lot of the mainline combatants are thought to be constructs, and some of their bigger constructs, like Hellforged Warforms, can become sapient, learning as they fight. The most powerful demons are normally the smallest, ironically. those around human size, who look the most like men should be feared the most.

The world was nearly overtaken by these creatures during the Age of Heroes. However, they were valiantly beaten back by the First Emperor, the Scholar Generals, and the Sects, forming the Crimson Phoenix Empire, in honour of the Phoenix that in the Age of Darkness shielded the people who would be the head of the Empire in the Phoenix Rest Plains.

However; though the Demons were routed, defeated, and destroyed, some escaped. Some, the mindless, carried on their war. others became subversive elements.

And the last of the Demons took human apprentices or interbred with humans, creating Demonic Arts. These arts normally revolve around blood and sacrifice of others.

Some Demonic Sects are servants of the Demons, like Genestealers calling down the tyranids. The cultists and practitioners are then eaten when they open a rift and let the demons in.

Most others are in it for themselves, and will fight the demons. Demonic arts normally boast faster growth than more traditional cultivation, due to their sacrificial nature.

And some are actually righteous, in a way. Using their own sacrifice as fuel. However, these are still demonic arts, and thus hated and reviled by the Orthodox. This can lead to things like otherwise loyal villages being purged, or the arts being used by the desperate; These are not bad people, but are still slain. There has also been some corruption of the term to mean "anybody against the Emperor" which.. well, starts to dilute the words.

Demons: strange beings from beyond the stars

Demonic Cultivators: Humans using the teachings of Demons/have demon blood from the Age of Heroes. These teachings normally revolve around blood and sacrifice. a quicker path to power, but normally quite corruptive. requires a strong will to use effectively.The Ages/Eras:

The Age of Myth: Humans lived on this world, little, if anything is known.

The Age of Darkness: Humanity lives in cut off and isolated fortresses, as Demons generally seem to rule the word outside.

The Age of Heroes: The First Emperor ascends and the Crimson Phoenix Empire forms, breaking out from the Phoenix Nest and igniting a trail of fire through demonic ranks. The founding of many sects, who join the newly ascendant Empire. They crush the Demons, and win.

The Age of Fire: the Empire's Golden Age, where under the First Emperor, they expand across the continent, and solidify their gains. The CPE is the strongest thing on the continent. Most provinces are fully incorporated in this era. This age Ends when it is said the First Emperor becomes immortal and ascends.

The Age of Balance: Current Age. The CPE is completely ascendant on the continent, and have discovered other continents, with their own cultivators. however, such journeys across the Sea are practically infeasible thanks to the distance. The other lands are obviously barbarians, though it was surprising that they hadn't been overrun by demons.