Death Cultivator
Eden Hudson
Death Cultivator is a progression fantasy / LitRPG cultivation series that follows regular high schooler Grady Hake, who is mistakenly taken by the Angel of Death and wakes on a prison shuttle bound for Van Diemann's Planet — a penal colony run by brutal gangs of criminal cultivators. To survive, he must harness his unique Death Spirit, befriend alien outcasts, appease hungry ghosts, and fight his way into one of the strongest gangs on the planet. Later volumes thrust him into the kill-or-be-killed world of the Eight-Legged Dragons, where cloaking lethal Spirit attacks in oblivion and advancing through death is the only way to protect his friends and keep his soul intact.
Progression: Central, explicit cultivation progression built on Spirit as power. The system is verified on Goodreads series and book blurbs: Van Diemann's Planet penal colony where criminal cultivators form gangs; Spirit types include the rare Death Spirit wielded by protagonist Grady Hake. Advancement is kill-driven — 'Others have to die for him to get stronger. The more death, the more Death Spirit' (Book 3 blurb) and 'Fight to kill. Kill to advance… whether you want to or not.' Trials of the Eight-Legged Dragons gang require rising through ranks, learning to cloak lethal Spirit attacks in oblivion, and advancing Spirit cultivation to survive. Ghost appeasement, alien-outcast allies, and gang hierarchy provide structured power tiers. Tagged LitRPG/Fantasy/Science Fiction on Goodreads with explicit cultivation and progression genre markers; series description confirms Spirit is power and advancement requires harnessing Death Spirit, soul-risking ascension, and gang trials.
Goodreads
