万物轮回 贯穿震旦子民学说的中心思想便是万物轮回的存在。它由玉皇大帝开启，由玄龙和朱后循环，决定着世界进程和其中的万物秩序。它永不停歇的前进塑造且催生了生与死、帝国兴与衰、人与兽的宿命。当造物与本质契合时，它们的灵魂会转生到越来越高贵的生命上，每次转生也都变得越来越神圣。然而当造物蔑视轮回意愿时，它们的灵魂会越来越沉重和腐化，最终沦为恶魔，永远被轮回驱逐。
万物轮回酷似车轮，它有十二根辐条，代表世界发展的十二个纪元。这一纪元之轮的转动会将其所有部件分离进预设的作用和天性，分离进阴阳，来让世界达到平衡。
万物轮回也有其黑暗面：当纪元向前，世界不断分离进无数对立时，会变得愈加脆弱、混乱和糟糕。对鬼人而言，他们的堕落和中原之气的腐化证明了这一观察的正确性。随着轮子转动，凡事都朝着暴力而（可能是）终极的对抗奔去。
一些鬼人试图逆转轮回的灾难前进，以使自我救赎成为可能；其他目睹了来到世界的万鬼激增，则相信他们的使命实际上是让纪元转入下一个，而吸血鬼是第六纪元的前兆。但无论如何，绝大多数鬼人都视西洋血族为被派来加速轮回终结的恶魔。随着鬼人着手对抗他们，第六纪元的到来要么被阻止，要么来得更快。
第一纪元 第一纪元通常被认为是创世前，又称极乐纪元。此时阴阳尚未分开，万物一体，这一体便是玉皇大帝。这是个究极和谐的时期，万物间都相互关联。许多鬼人认为，心法的圆满能让自己回到这种状态；当然，也有不少认为此纪元纯属神话，他们更愿相信得道不过是结束了俗世的囚禁。
第二纪元 第二纪元，或美丽纪元，标志着阴阳两界从中原——两极元素皆有之地——的分离。这也是纪元之轮开始转动的时期。黑龙和猩皇于此纪元诞生，他们的互动和对立进一步推动了轮回，凝聚了物质和精神（魂）。
不久后，玄龙和朱后学会了呼吸，随着他们的呼吸，物质和精魂中的万物又开始成形。龙呼吸之地，出现了阴魂和阴质；皇呼吸之地，成形了阳魂和阳质。很快，凡和灵的诸界诞生，诸神和龙们行走在年轻、活泼的世界，上天也为其赋予了精魂王廷中的使命和位列。
然而，当天界存在都被安置到自己的世界时，有一些却逃脱了龙和皇的注意与指导。这些造物，缺乏正当引领，无视使命并拒绝服从上天的意志。某些与他人作对，另一些的阴阳则完全失衡。恶魔和怪物，贪婪吞噬气的存在，也在第二纪元出现了。
这些造物中最可怕的，在世界最荒凉之地的深处建起了巢穴。他们无视玉皇大帝的权威，吸取整个区域的气，并将这些穷山恶水据为己有。恶魔们还内部倾轧，最强大的则强迫其它效忠自己。这些魔头自称阎魔王，他们蹂躏着周遭的一切，为满足私欲谋取巨量的气。
龙和皇面对越来越放肆的阎魔王，为维持轮回的纯净，孕育了神——变形的变化妖怪、妖精和其它造物。这些存在被赋予了各种使命，以让轮回照常转动。人类也作为龙皇相爱的产物，在第二纪元诞生。但这最后的孕育尤其不受怪物般阎魔王的待见。他们嫉妒这些被公正对待的弟兄，便行走于最初的人类中，引起疫病、恐惧和毁灭。
玉皇大帝恐惧着恶魔的行径。但阎魔王实在太多了，绝大多数还躲在幽暗的巢穴，远离上天的监督，只在烧杀劫掠时爬出。
万仙降临 因此，为了保护他新生的子民，玉皇大帝将他的宠爱赐予那些最强大的凡人，一个全新的种族诞生了。
他们那时还不叫万鬼——而是万仙。万仙因其睿智、力量和平衡而被选中，他们既非完全的物质，又非完全的精魂，而是两者皆有。要成为一员，凡人的灵魂须先进入灵界，再返回中原。因此他们适应了灵界，能汲取阴阳两界的气，并以此维生或供能。
这些最初的万仙确保了普天之下无不有序。而他们最重要的，便是守护人类——自己就是从中选出的。因为被诸龙所赏赐，所以他们无需吃喝。就像诸神以仙桃为生一样，万仙也以气为生，适度吸入于世界起伏的它们。
传奇纪元 第三纪元，或传奇纪元，是一个辉煌的时代，万仙自豪地承担了上天的敕令。他们就是不朽的王、猎魔人、行走于并引领凡人的诸神。在龙、皇和玉帝本人的旨意下，万仙消灭了阎魔王的爪牙。如果一个精魂或恶魔变得没有教条，万仙可将其逐出中原，然后把恶行汇报给它的主上；如果一个凡人君主偏离了上天法则，万仙可以矫正他。随着万仙变得睿智并完成使命，他们就会离开这个世界，加入诸神行列，而黑龙和猩皇又会遴选更多万仙来替代他们。
万仙负责看守许多在西藏和黄河沿岸的新兴定居点。万仙尽全力引导着人类，守护着他们，并确保其行径都遵循上天旨意。古老典籍述说着黄帝、大国主神和其他英雄们。接受了龙皇赠礼的万仙清除了世上的阎魔王和其走狗，将它们赶入阴阳两界深处或直接摧毁。
由于这些最初万鬼近乎神话的地位，第三纪元又被称做传奇纪元。也正是这个时期，诞生了震旦子民的大多数草创文书和著作，但如今几无完本存世。然而，时光流逝，阎王的低语腐化了至高者的耳朵。万仙背弃了神圣使命，糟蹋了信任。在第三纪元，一些万仙习得了一个可怕的秘密。诸神早已教会他们如何从中原的自然中获取气——但，气也可从其它造物上吸取。气弥漫在肉体中；流动在血液、呼吸和玉中。
也可以，从比他们弱的造物上，夺取。
起初，万仙只从恶魔、怪物和其它敌人上偷取气。但做得越多，却越挑战着自己的贪婪，也越饥渴。
凄美纪元 万物轮回的第四纪元在恐惧和火光中来临。万仙战神用鲜血染红了大地。不朽的将军带领着成群的奴隶，无休止地掠夺鲜血和玉石。凡人中出现了死亡教派，以喂饱万仙不断增长的胃口。万仙还向中原的其它神开战，甚至不惜让变化妖怪自相残杀，以占领其圣地。甚至精魂都开始恐惧贪婪的他们；阴阳两界也愈加远离了中原，两地间的道途变得更难走。智者和精魂试图和万仙说理，但贪婪和饥饿蒙蔽了其耳目。最后，万仙的贪欲终于变得无法无天了，诸龙向上天哭诉，请求解救。
天罚 苍天回应了。
万仙被赶下宝座，散落五方。玉皇大帝从他们身上偷走了如何呼吸的知识，他们变成了冰冷、无生息的存在，但也并非死去。没有呼吸的万仙发现他们与生者世界永远隔绝了。然而，早已违抗了使命的他们不愿在亡者中生存。新生的万仙，也无法真正重生，不得不居于凡人时的尸体中。并且，由于他们以前是如此渴望从其它造物上获取气，玉皇大帝便很乐意看到如今的他们只能以此给养自身。
然后，万事就毕，玉皇大帝就此背离了中原、精魂王廷和万物轮回。失去了监督的阎魔王和其恶魔侍从卷土重来。对万仙劫掠愤怒到失去理智的变化妖怪们，也开始对那些跟随着不朽领袖的愚昧凡人们下手。
羞愧难当的龙皇也背离了他们犯错的子民——但在此之前，却把心法秘密藏在了云间、风间、雨间和血间，以便有一晚，万仙们能自我救赎，重回在轮回的位置。
随着纪元之轮转动，凡灵两界的障壁变得厚重，万仙的诞生也变得非常困难。穿越这些障壁成了残酷的任务，只有魄极恶的灵魂才能如此残暴。上天还做出了一个很讽刺的决定——足够邪恶的灵魂才能成为万仙。他们还是能像原初时代那样行走于中原。但因为其已放弃了钦定的尊位，便只能从那些充满了饥渴和贪欲的凡人中选出。因此，这些作为中原守卫被创造出的造物，最终却沦为了其永恒的苦难。
如果他们之前是神，那么现在他们就成为了自己曾发誓打倒的魔王。万仙也悲伤地意识到，中原本身已成为了他们的地狱。
万仙，变成了万鬼。
第五纪元 现在是第五纪元。万鬼，或者说鬼人，着实是群悲惨的造物。被恶魄逼疯的他们被迫沦为活死尸，以窃取的生命之力维持。绝大多数鬼人忍受着和他们的血族敌人一样悲惨的生活。实际上对他们来说，不死生命还更可怕，因为其个人挣扎常与巨大内疚交织。
甚至他们的气之视觉都仍提醒着其过失。通过阴之视觉，他们看到了第五纪元的腐化正侵蚀着中原。通过阳之视觉，他们看到了厌恶、战争、愤怒和恐惧等躁动的能量。实际上，对很多鬼人而言，重生将他们丢入了充满噩梦的幻境。
现在万鬼必须决定是否该纠正轮回，尝试绝望的逃亡或屈服于身为怪物的诅咒。而且必须很快做出。
未来——第六纪元 第六纪元又称哀伤纪元，轮回的最低点。许多鬼人认为它终会迎来末世般的混乱，阎魔王崛起，统治世界。谁也不清楚第六纪元会持续多久，但都认同它即将来临，充满暴力。
鬼人对第六纪元时及后会发生什么各执一词。最乐观的认为，灵界和中原会重新结合，龙们和精魂会重循天命。其他认为，再度统一是会发生，但它预示着中原终结，万物重塑，回到互相关联的最初，也是真正的状态。还有一些，时常旅行于阴阳两界，认为最强大的阎魔王会崛起，作为魔皇代替玉帝统治世界。鬼人会被轮回驱逐，堕入无尽的湮灭。
在这第六纪元的前夕，纪元之轮的状态令许多鬼人担忧。不少听命于痛苦残忍的哀伤纪元，认为伤痛和死亡虽不可避免，但第六纪元终会结束，万物轮回将再次全面进入第一纪元。但同样多的也预言，积累了数世纪的业债会压垮纪元之轮，使其停止转动。他们说这昭示着可怕的世界末日。
哀伤纪元必定是某种意义上的末日。鬼人对此一致同意，将此称为火焚末日的血族亦然。然而对万鬼来说，轮回的现实使得第六纪元必然到来。但不像想方设法阻止它的惊恐血族，鬼人相当从容。无论采取形式和持续时间，哀伤纪元终会降临，沉重无情地转入。
这便是万物轮回之道——生命本身的道。
原文：
劇透 - :
The Great Cycle of Being
A central idea that flows through all Cathayan thought is the existence of a Great Cycle of Being. This Cycle, set in motion by the August Personage of Jade and kept in rotation by the Ebon Dragon and the Scarlet Queen, determines the course of the world and the place of all creatures within it. Its unceasing revolution shapes and ordains lives and deaths, the rise and fall of empires, the destinies of men and beasts. As beings act in harmony with their nature, their souls reincarnate through nobler and nobler lives, becoming more and more divine with each incarnation. As beings flout the will of the Cycle, though, their souls become weighted and corrupt, until finally they become demons and eventually are purged from the Cycle altogether.
Metaphorically, the Great Cycle resembles a wheel, with 12 spokes standing for the 12 separate Ages through which the world progresses. The turning of this Wheel of Ages enables the world to achieve balance, by separating all of its component parts into their preordained roles and innate natures, into Yin or Yang.
There is a dark facet to the Great Cycle: As the Ages progress and the world continues to separate into its myriad of dualistic opposites, it becomes more fragile in nature, less unified and altogether worse. For Kuei-jin, the devolution of their species and the general decay of natural Chi in the Middle Kingdom lend credence to this observation. As the Wheel turns, things grind toward a violent and possibly final confrontation.
Some Kuei-jin seek to reverse the Cycle's degenerative course, so that they might redeem themselves; others, seeing the increasing numbers of Kuei-jin entering the world, believe that their duty is, in fact, to turn the Ages from one to the next, and that the vampires are to be the harbingers of the Sixth Age. Regardless, most Kuei-jin see the Western Kindred as devils sent to precipitate the Cycle's end; as the Kuei-jin act against the Kindred, the coming of the Sixth Age will either be halted or arrive all the faster.
The First Age
The First Age is generally taken to be the period before the creation of the world. Called the Age of Heaven, it marks the era when Yin and Yang had not separated, when all things were One, and that One was the August Personage of Jade. The First Age was a period of ultimate harmony, the first point of interconnectedness among all things. Many Kuei-jin believe that the fufillment of their Dharmas allows them to return to this state of being; of course, many others discount the First Age as pure myth, and they prefer to think of Dharmic fufillment as simply bringing an end to their earthly imprisonment.
The Second Age
The Second Age, or the Age of Beauty, marks the separation of the Yin and Yang Worlds from the Middle Kingdom, which bore elements of both. It is also the era that sets the Great Cycle in motion. During this Age, the Ebon Dragon and Scarlet Queen were born, and their interaction and opposition furthered the turning of the Cycle, coalescing matter and spirit-stuff alike.
Soon thereafter, the Ebon Dragon and the Scarlet Queen learned to breathe, and as they breathed, the Ten Thousand Things of matter and spirit began to take shape. Where breathed the Dragon, spirits and properties of Yin appeared; where breathed the Queen, spirits and properties of Yang took form. Soon, the worlds of matter and spirit had been breathed into existence, Gods and dragons walked the young, vibrant world, and to them Heaven ordained duties and positions in the Spirit Courts.
However, as the celestial beings gravitated to their specific realms, some escaped the notice and tutelage of the Dragon and the Queen. These beings, deprived of proper instruction, neglected their duties and failed to make obeisance to the will of Heaven. Certain creatures became dualistically opposed to others, while others combined Yin and Yang in unwholesome imbalance. Demons and monsters, greedy devourers of Chi, appeared during the Second Age.
The worst of these creatures made lairs deep within the wildest regions of the worlds. Disregarding the August Personage's authority, these demons drained entire regions of Chi, then claimed the blighted and diseased lands as their own. The demons warred among themselves, and the mightiest forced the other demons to swear fealty to them. Calling themselves Yama Kings, these archdemons ravaged their surroundings and plotted to garner vast amounts of Chi for their own selfish appetites.
To maintain the Cycle's purity in the face of the ever bolder Yama Kings, the Dragon and the Queen birthed shen into the world - the shapeshifting hengeyokai, the kamuii fae and other creatures. These beings received various tasks to perform, so that the Cycle would spin as it should. Humans also came into being during the Second Age, a product of the Dragon and Queen's love for each other. This last act, in particular, was not received kindly by the monstrous Yama Kings. Jealous of their fairer brethren, the Yama Kings stalked amid the first mortals, afflicting upon them sickness, terror and destruction.
The August Personage grew alarmed at the demons' actions. But there were many Yama Kings, most of whom dwelt in dismal lairs, far from Heaven's scrutiny, and emerged only to ravage and conquer.
The Coming of the Wan Xian
And so, to protect its newborn charges, the August Personage bestowed its favor upon certain of the most superior mortals, and a new race of beings was born.
The members of this race were not called Kuei-jin then - they were the Wan Xian, the Ten Thousand Immortals. Selected for their wisdom, power and balance, the Wan Xian were neither wholly mortal nor wholly spirit, but possessed elements of both. To become Wan Xian, a mortal soul had to cross into the spirit worlds, then enter the Middle Kingdom once more. Thus attuned to the world of spirit, the Wan Xian could draw upon the stuff of the Yin and Yang Worlds Chi and utilize it for sustenance and power.
These first Wan Xian ensured that all under Heaven was properly ordered. Above all, the Wan Xian were responsible for the first humans, from whom they had been selected. The Wan Xian needed neither food nor drink, for the dragons themselves gave of their bounty to the Wan Xian. As the gods subsisted on the Peaches of Immortality, so did the Wan Xian nourish themselves with Chi, which they inhaled in moderation from the ebb and flow of the world itself.
The Age of Legends
The Third Age, or the Age of Legends, was a glorious time during which the Wan Xian bore their Heavenly mandate proudly. They were the immortal emperors, the demon-slayers, the gods who walked among humanity and guided its progress. At the directive of the Ebon Dragon, the Scarlet Queen and the August Personage itself, the Wan Xian purged the world of the Yama Kings servants. If a spirit or demon grew unruly, the Wan Xian could drive it from the Middle Kingdom, then report the transgression to its spirit master; if a mortal ruler strayed from the way of Heaven, the Wan Xian could set the mortal aright. As Wan Xian gained in wisdom and completed their tasks, they passed from the world to join the gods, and the Ebon Dragon and Scarlet Queen then selected more Wan Xian to replace them.
The Wan Xian took it upon themselves to watch over many of the fledgling settlements of humanity that settled in Tibet and along the Yellow River in ancient China. The Wan Xian guided the people in their endeavors, guarding them and ensuring that all acted in accordance with Heaven's will. The old scrolls speak of the Yellow Emperor, Oh-kuni-nushi, and other heroes. Drawing on the gifts of the Dragon and the Queen, the Wan Xian cleared the earth of the Yama Kings and their minions by driving these unruly creatures deep into the Yin and Yang Worlds or by destroying them outright.
Because of the near mythic status of these first Kuei-jin, the Third Age is referred to as the Age of Legends. It is also during the Age of Legends that the majority of the Cathayans' founding texts and sacred writings were composed, although few of these works survive in complete written form today. Years passed, though, and the whispers of the Yama Kings darkened the noblest of ears. The Wan Xian turned from their sacred duties and betrayed their trust. During the Third Age of the Great Cycle, certain Wan Xian learned a terrible secret. The gods had taught them how to harvest Chi from the natural eddies of the Middle Kingdom - but Chi could also be taken from other creatures. Chi permeated flesh; it flowed through blood, and breath and jade. And it could be wrested from beings weaker than the Wan Xian.
At first, the Wan Xian stole Chi only from demons, monsters and other enemies. As they did so, though, it became easier and easier to justify their cravings. And the more they stole, the more they hungered.
The Age of Beautiful Sadness
The Fourth Age of the Great Cycle dawned in fear and flame. Wan Xian warlords stained the soil with blood. Immortal generals led hordes of slaves in ceaseless raids for jade and blood. Death cults arose among the mortals, cults devoted to feeding the Wan Xian's ever-growing appetites. The Wan Xian made war on the other shen of the Middle Kingdom, even going so far as to set the hengeyokai against one another, that the Wan Xian might plunder their sacred sites. Even the spirits grew fearful of the greedy Wan Xian; the Yin and Yang Worlds withdrew further from the Middle Kingdom, and the road between the two grew difficult. Sages and spirits alike tried to reason with the Wan Xian, but their greed and hunger blinded and deafened them. At last, the Wan Xian's gluttony grew intolerable, and the dragons cried to Heaven for succor.
Karmic Punishment
And Heaven answered.
The Wan Xian were cast from their thrones and scattered to the Five Directions. From them the August Personage stole the knowledge of how to breathe. They became cold, unliving things. Yet neither were they dead. Without breath, the Wan Xian found themselves forever separated from the living world. Yet, having rejected their purpose, they had no passions to sustain them among the Dead. New Wan Xian, denied true rebirth, were forced to inhabit the corpses of their mortal lives. And, since they were so eager to wrest Chi from others, the August Personage saw to it that they could nourish themselves in no other fashion.
Then, its work done, the August Personage turned its face from Middle Kingdom, Spirit Courts and Great Cycle alike. Deprived of supervision, the Yama Kings and their demon minions seeped back into the Middle Kingdom. The hengeyokai, angered beyond reason by the Wan Xian's depredations, fell upon the humans who had foolishly followed their immortal masters.
The Dragon and Queen, ashamed, likewise turned away from their errant children - but not before leaving the secrets of the Dharmas hidden in clouds, wind, rain and blood, so that one night the Wan Xian might redeem themselves and regain their place in the Cycle.
As the Cycle turned, the Wall between the mortal and spirit worlds grew thick, and Wan Xian couldbe born only with great effort.
Slashing through the spirit walls became a brutal task, and only individuals with strong P'o souls could muster the necessary savagery. In an ironic judgment, Heaven had seen to it that only souls weighted with evil could become Wan Xian. Wan Xian would continue to walk the Middle Kingdom, as had been decreed in the early days of the world. But because they had rejected their ordained place, their numbers came only from mortals whose hungers and lusts had overwhelmed them. And so, those beings created to be the Middle Kingdom's guardians instead became its eternal misery.
If, before, they had been gods, the Wan Xian now resembled the very demons they had pledged themselves to overcome. And, the Wan Xian realized to their sorrow, the Middle Kingdom itself had been turned into their Hell.
Thus did the Ten Thousand Immortals become Wan Kuei - Ten Thousand Demons.
The Fifth Age
Now, in the Fifth Age, the Wan Kuei, or Kuei-jin, are wretched creatures indeed. Driven to madness by the P'o, forced to reanimate corpses and sustain them with stolen lifeforce, most Kuei-jin endure existences every bit as miserable as those of their Kindred rivals. In fact, for the Hungry Dead, unlife is often worse, for their personal struggles are overlaid with tremendous, collective guilt.
Even their Chi sight continually reminds them of their failed responsibilities. With their Yin sight, they see the decay of the Fifth Age eat away at the Middle Kingdom. With their Yang sight, they see the rippling, jagged energies of hatred, war, rage and terror. Indeed, for many Kuei-jin, the Second Breath catapults them into a dreamscape of unending nightmare.
The Kuei-jin must now decide whether they should seek to right the Great Cycle, attempt a desperate escape or succumb to their curse as monsters. And their decision must be made soon.
The Future: The Six Age
The Sixth Age is the Age of Sorrow. It is the lowest point on the Cycle, which many Kuei-jin believe will usher in a time of apocalyptic disruption, when the Yama Kings will rise and rule among the nations. How long the Sixth Age will last is indeterminate, but all are convinced that it is imminent and will be violent.
Kuei-jin are of several minds as to what will occur either during or after the Sixth Age. The most optimistic Kuei-jin believe that the spirit worlds and the Middle Kingdom will reunite, that the dragons and spirits will resume their Heavenly duties. Others feel that this reunification will occur, but that it will signal the end of the Middle Kingdom, as everything is suffused back into the first true state of interconnectedness. And still others, having traveled frequently to the Yin and Yang Worlds, believe that the mightiest Yama King will rise and rule as Demon Emperor in the August Personage's stead, and the Kuei-jin will be cast from the Great Cycle into eternal oblivion.
The state of the Wheel of Ages concerns many Kuei-jin at the brink of the Sixth Age. Many Kuei-jin who have resigned themselves to a bitter and brutal Age of Sorrow contend that, despite the inevitable suffering and death, the Sixth Age will eventually end and the Great Cycle of Being will come full around to the First Age again. But an equal number prophesy that the accumulation of centuries of karmic debt will weigh down the Wheel of Ages to the point where it stops turning. This, they say, will herald a horrific end to the world.
The Age of Sorrow will definitely be some sort of end; on that all Kuei-jin agree, as do the Western Kindred, who refer to the time as Gehenna. Yet, for the Kuei-jin, the fact of the Great Cycle makes the Sixth Age inevitable. Unlike the panicky Kindred, who will attempt any measure to halt its arrival, the Kuei-jin are far more resigned to this end. Whatever form it takes and however long its duration, the Age of Sorrow will come, and it will arrive hard and ruthless.
It is the way of the Great Cycle of Being - the way of life itself.
