Stages 1-3
The first 3 Stages are dedicated only to strengthening the Martial Artist's body, going beyond normal levels (Olympic level strength).
Stages 4-6
At the 4th Stage, one develops the ability to sense the World Energy in the atmosphere, and this sensation only grows stronger as they reach the 6th Stage.
Stages 7-9
At the 7th Stage, cultivators start to naturally gather World Energy, absorb it, and use it to generate Yuan Qi in their Dantian and meridians. However, cultivators are unable to consciously speed up their absorption of World Energy or their restoration of Yuan Qi.
Cultivators at this realm have gathered and accumulated enough Yuan Qi to use in Martial Skills.[1] Though their Yuan Qi can be used to affect their body and the environment, it can't yet leave the body.
Upon reaching this realm, cultivators get a massive boost in Yuan Qi, and can finally release it outside of their body in order to use it for attacking, defending, and Etc. This is also the first realm in which a cultivator experiences a World Baptism.
Due to the massive increase in their Yuan Qi stores, cultivators often have a harder time controlling and balancing both their state of mind and temper in the beginning stages of promoting to this realm. As such, they are more prone to getting into fights(this applies less to those with strong will power like Yang Kai or Su Yan).
which strengthens a cultivators blood and physique.[3] A cultivator's ability to manipulate their Yuan Qi only improves as they move toward and through the Separation and Reunion Boundary.
These cultivators are simply more adept and powerful in their use of Yuan Qi than Qi Transformation Stage cultivators, in addition to being capable of storing more.
Upon reaching the Separation and Reunion Boundary, two paths appear in one's mind. This state is known as Separation and Reunion.
If one drowns theirself in the thrill of seeking power, they become unable to suppress their raging emotions and desires. This is called Becoming Devil(Devil's Path).[1] These people are generally more brutal, bloodthirsty, and violent.
True Element
To reach this realm, one needs to purify their Yuan Qi into the much more powerful and versatile True Yuan Qi, aka True Qi. This not only increases their power and combat efficiency, but allows them to use Secret Techniques and perform other more complex tasks that are simply impossible for a cultivator to accomplish with Yuan Qi.[1] For example, the True Element Boundary is known for being the first stage at which all cultivators can fly due to the power and versatility of True Qi.
Immortal Ascension
After achieving this realm, one opens and creates both their Knowledge Sea and Divine Sense. A Knowledge Sea acts as a storage reservoir for one's Divine Soul, and holds all of their knowledge, memories, and techniques. A Divine Sense allows one to see without their eyes, and can also be used to attack another's Divine Soul.
If one meets with a special set of circumstances like Yang Kai, it is possible to gain a Divine Sense prematurely. As said by Meng Wu Ya, even if a True Element Boundary cultivator develops a Divine Sense for any variety of reasons, they usually can't keep it since they cannot nourish it without a Knowledge Sea. Yang Kai manages to bypass this due to the Heaven-defying Soul Warming Lotus. This Heavenly Treasure constantly refuels his Divine Soul, Knowledge Sea, and Divine Sense in addition to both strengthening and tempering them.
9 stages
After accumulating enough understanding of the Heavenly Way, one can eventually reach this realm. At this realm, one's life span goes beyond the limits of average mortals.[1] Likewise, they can live for hundreds of years.
In Yang Kai's original world, cultivators did not have a name for this realm for most of their history, and simply referred to it as the "Above Immortal Ascension Boundary." Before the 'Demon Lord Yang Bai,' no native of the world had ever been known to reach the 3rd Order Transcendent Realm, which he accomplished by inheriting the legacy of a dead Demon General from Tong Xuan Realm.
3 stages
Like when a Separation and Reunion Boundary cultivator wants to enter the True Element Boundary, a 3rd Order Transcendent Realm cultivator has to purify their 'True Qi' into 'Saint Qi' before they can enter the Saint Realm. Once a cultivator both completes this process and has a high enough comprehension of the Heavenly Way, they can promote to this realm.
Only in the 3rd Order of this realm are most cultivators' flesh bodies strong enough to survive in the Starry Sky without a Defensive Artifact.
3 orders
Saint king
To reach this realm, one only needs a stable foundation, in addition to accumulating enough 'Saint Qi.' They also require sufficient comprehension toward the Heavenly Way
3 orders
Origin returning realm
At this realm, with some training, a cultivator should eventually be able to merge their Will, Saint Qi, and Divine Soul Strength into Shi (Potential)[1], which suppresses most cultivators below this realm. Shi is what makes Origin Returning Realm cultivators exponentially more powerful than those of the Saint King Realm.[2][1]
The development of one's Shi also greatly distinguishes Origin Returning Realm cultivators from one another, and can even allow one with superior Shi to significantly suppress cultivators of the same Minor Realm. Therefore, developing one's Shi is the most important aspect of this realm. To reach the 'Minor Accomplishment' stage in Shi, a cultivator has to merge their unique strengths into it.[3] Example: Yang Kai's Space Force.[4] One must develop their "Shi" to the "Grand Accomplishment" stage in order to have a chance of promoting to the Origin King Realm.
The Origin Returning Realm is also the 1st realm where there is a huge risk of dying if a cultivator fails to breakthrough.[5]
Yuan Control Mastery
At this realm, when one's Divine Sense becomes strong enough, they may achieve Yuan Control Mastery. This further increases their control over Yuan Qi in order to perform more complex tasks, greatly increasing their combat efficacy.
3 stages
Origin returning king
When one's ability in Shi reaches the expertise of Grand Accomplishment, they are able to cultivate to this realm. Their 'Shi' becomes Domain. Domain is a massive upgrade over Shi, and its development acts in the same way of distinguishing Origin King Realm masters from one another. Likewise, a single 1st Order Origin King is powerful enough to kill a group of Peak 3rd Order Origin Returning Realm cultivators like nothing. If nothing damages their vitality, their lifespan can reach several thousands of years.[1]
Origin Essence Crystal
When one reaches the 3rd Order of this realm, they naturally create an Origin Essence Crystal, which is the consolidation of a person's lifetime comprehension toward the Heavenly Way. Because of this, many covet the crystal of a 3rd Order Origin King Realm expert who dies as it can help them to reach the 3rd Order as well. The Origin Essence Crystal promotes only one aspect of a cultivator's accomplishment on the Martial Dao (Ex: Yang Kai chose Space Force).[2] In the future, this aspect will become significantly more powerful, and will receive greater comprehension in terms of sensibility toward the Heavenly Way.[3]
This step, in addition to developing one's Domain to the Grand Accomplishment level, qualifies 3rd Order Origin King Realm cultivators to start comprehending Principle Strength.[4][5]
Star Master
At this realm, if one is skilled/lucky enough to be able to refine a Star Source, they can form a connection with that Cultivation Star, and are able to unconsciously borrow the strength of their Star's World Principles, enhancing their techniques with the world's strength. These martial artists are near invincible existences vs other Origin King Realm martial artists on the Star they are Master of. If one prospers, the other prospers, and the same vice-versa. However, even the general 3rd Order Origin King Realm Star Master is not necessarily a match for a 1st Order Dao Source Realm martial artist, as the latter have Source Qi, and can transfer the strength of World Principles no matter where they are.
The biggest advantage of becoming a Star Master stems from one's ability to get a sneak peak at both sensing and transferring the strength of World Principles. This is a major aspect of the Dao Source Realm and above. Cultivators that have refined a complete Star Source, such as Star Masters, can far more easily sense World Principles than those without one, and also have a massive advantage in converting their Saint Qi into Source Qi within the Starlight Corridor to Star Boundary.[5] Primarily due to the fact that they bring such a major advantage in regard to one's sensibility toward Principles, the complete Star Sources found within Star Fields even hold an attraction to many of the Emperor Realm cultivators of Star Boundary.[6]
3 stages
Doa source:
o breakthrough to this realm, one must both develop their Domain to the Grand Accomplishment level and convert their Saint Qi completely into Source Qi.[1][2] Likewise, the World Principles of a world must allow access to this level of Martial Dao in order for this conversion to naturally take place, such as in the Ancestral Domain or Star Boundary.
This process can be relatively slow, even taking up to several decades.[3] However, there are two particularly well-known methods to speed up this process significantly:
Refining a Star Source before entering the Starlight Corridor to Star Boundary: Due to its attraction to Starlight, a Star Source allows for an Origin King Realm cultivator to collect Saint Qi converting Starlight at least 10x faster than those without one while inside the Starlight Corridor.[4][1]
The most popular, consistent, yet costly way of quickly converting Saint Qi into Source Qi is through the consistent consumption of a large number of Source Condensing Pills.
Unlike Domain, which consists of a cultivator's own inner strength projected on to others, Dao Source Realm cultivators start to comprehend and manipulate Principle Strength, which allows them to utilize the power of the world around them instead.[5][1] Likewise, they can display a far more powerful and suppressive strength than Domain.
Principle Strength
Starting at this realm, a cultivator is able to sense and draw support from the strength of one or more World Principles to transfer into their techniques, giving them the support of the world's strength, and making them incomparably more powerful than cultivators beneath this realm.[6][1][7] For example, Yang Kai greatly developed his ability to transfer the strength of Space Principles in order to both suppress other cultivators and support his application of Space Force upon promoting to the Dao Source Realm.[8]
As one might expect, the amount or types of Principles a cultivator is able to understand, as well as the depth to which they understand them, can greatly determine their ability to compete with other martial artists of the same realm. Of course, most cultivators only focus on the use of one Principle Strength due to the energy and comprehension required to do so.[9] Refining a Star Source most significantly gives cultivators a major advantage in gaining sensibility toward the comprehension and manipulation of Principles.[1] The more mastery one gains in this respect, the closer they move toward the Emperor Realm.
3 stages
Emperor:
Emperor
4
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Emperor
Realm Name
Emperor
Chinese
帝尊
Subdivisions
3 Orders, Peak, Dao Seal, Half-Step Open Heaven
Location
Star Boundary
Previous Rank
Next Rank
Dao Source
Pseudo-Great Emperor
The peak of most Universe Worlds, it is difficult to reach this realm because one needs to be able to directly control their respective Principles.[1][2] Their Source Qi also needs to be converted into Emperor Qi before they can command the full power of the Emperor Realm.[3][4]
Due to the relatively profound command and effect that they have over the strength of World Principles, an Emperor Realm cultivator's presence, Artifacts, and/or even places of interaction often carry a powerful force known as Emperor Pressure, which can greatly suppress or even directly kill cultivators that are beneath this realm.[5][6]
A good number of 3rd Order Emperor Realm and above cultivators experienced the atrocities of the Heaven Devouring Great Emperor more than 30,000 years before Yang Kai entered Star Boundary. Correspondingly, Emperors are shown to have exuberant vitality, with many living tens of thousands of years without showing significant signs of aging.
6 Levels
The Emperor Realm is a uniquely large Great Realm with multiple different categorizations that project vastly different amounts of power.
1st-3rd Order: these Minor Realms work like previous cultivation realms, as the higher you go, the greater the increase in power, and the larger the difference between Minor Realms. The general 3rd Order Emperor can destroy 1st Order Emperors like nothing. As an Emperor promotes Minor Realms, both their sensibility toward the Heavenly Way and control of their respective Principles increases accordingly.
4th: Pseudo-Great Emperor: A cultivator that has made a breakthrough past the normal 3rd Order Emperor Realm has reached the Peak Emperor Realm. Pseudo-Great Emperor is the Star Boundary term for a Peak Emperor Realm cultivator that has not yet achieved Great Emperor due to the bottleneck of its Heavenly Way. Having reached the normal limits of most Universe Worlds, Pseudo-Great Emperors have a relatively high level of control over their primary Principles. The term "Pseudo-Emperor" is short for "Pseudo-Great Emperor."
5th: Dao Seal: An Emperor that has gained sufficient sensibility to one of the 3,000 Grand Daos and condensed a Dao Seal has reached a masterful level of control over their primary Principles[7], and are far more powerful than a Pseudo-Great Emperor. In Universe Worlds, this step is both usually tied to and always necessary for becoming a Great Emperor. [8] Condensing a Dao Seal is also required to promote to the Open Heaven Realm.[9] Outside of Universe Worlds (i.e. the Outer Universe), cultivators no longer need to become a Great Emperor to condense a Dao Seal.[8]
Great Emperor: These cultivators have gained the acknowledgement of their Universe World's Will (Heavenly Way), and, after gaining the ability/chance to condense a Dao Seal, are able to transfer the World Force. In most healthy Universe Worlds, this means they are capable of displaying the power of at least Low Rank Open Heaven Realm.[10] There is a limit to the number of these cultivators determined by each Universe World's Heavenly Way. The drawback of this power is that it is only usable within a certain range of one's Universe World. Once out of range, they will only be able to rely on their actual cultivation level.
6th: Half-Step Open Heaven: Half-Step Open Heaven is a special classification for Great Emperor-level Emperors (i.e. Dao Seals) that have condensed at least 5 of the Yin-Yang + 5 Elements, making them ever so close to the next realm after the Emperor Realm, Open Heaven Realm. Having condensed 5 strengths, these Emperors are generally significantly stronger than normal Emperors with Dao Seals.[11]
Pseudo-Great Emperor
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Pseudo-Great Emperor
Realm Name
Peak Emperor Realm
Chinese
伪帝
Location
Star Boundary
Previous Rank
Next Rank
Emperor
Dao Seal
A step beyond the normal 3rd Order Emperor Realm, Pseudo-Great Emperor is the Star Boundary term for one who has made a breakthrough to the Peak Emperor Realm, but has not yet achieved Great Emperor.[1][2][3][4]
Normally, it takes several thousands of years for a high aptitude 3rd Order Emperor to breakthrough to the Pseudo-Great Emperor level. This usually makes them, at least at some point, a famous and/or respected figure among their world's cultivators.
Having reached the limit of most Universe Worlds, these cultivators have almost no way to progress further within them, and can only await the extremely rare opportunity to become a Great Emperor outside of special circumstances. In other words, these cultivators must gain the opportunity to condense a Dao Seal in order to advance further on the path of the Martial Dao.[5]
Contents
1
Pseudo-Great Emperors
1.1
Star Boundary and Demon Realm
2
Quote
3
References
Pseudo-Great Emperors
Pseudo-Great Emperors are incomparably more powerful than 3rd Order Emperors, with the latter being virtually helpless before them. On the other hand, Pseudo-Great Emperors are similarly as powerless vs Great Emperors. Therefore, they are considered their own special 1 layer[3], and are given the name Pseudo-Great Emperors, i.e. false Great Emperors. In Demon Realm, these cultivators are referred to as "Half-Saints."[6] Having cultivated to extraordinary heights, Pseudo-Great Emperors have a high level of control over their respective Principles.
Star Boundary and Demon Realm
Before the Demon War in Star Boundary, Pseudo-Great Emperors were rarely ever seen or heard from outside of some extremely famous individuals, such as Li Wu Yi of Spirit Beast Island. However, most cultivators under the Emperor Realm, and even many within, had never even heard of the Pseudo-Great Emperor level. This was due to the fact that these extraordinarily powerful cultivators were mostly unconcerned with worldly affairs, and spent most of their time outside of the public eye in preparation for the Heaven-defying opportunity to seize a Great Emperor spot. For this reason, 3rd Order Emperor Realm cultivators, not Pseudo-Great Emperors, were popularly and overall seen as the most influential and powerful figures under Great Emperor throughout Star Boundary.[2]
On the other hand, in Demon Realm, Half-Saints directly and openly served under their respective Demon Saints (Great Emperors), and often even ruled over their own entire continents. Likewise, they were practically treated as royalty.
Dao Seal
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Dao Seal
Realm Name
Peak Emperor Realm w/ Dao Seal
Chinese
道印
Location
Star Boundary
Previous Rank
Next Rank
Pseudo-Great Emperor
Half-Step Open Heaven
Having gained sufficient sensibility toward their Grand Dao[1], an Emperor that has condensed a Dao Seal has reached a masterful level of control over their primary Principles, and can easily outclass Pseudo-Great Emperors. Due to the limits of the Heavenly Way, and barring unusual circumstances (i.e. World Tree Subtree), the only Emperors within Universe Worlds capable of achieving this step are those who have successfully seized the chance to become a Great Emperor.[2]
A Dao Seal is the condensed and focused accumulation of a person's lifetime Martial Arts practice, energies, and foundation. It is created by condensing these aspects around one of the 3,000 Grand Daos[1], with each Dao directly correlating to a cultivator's attainments toward particular World Principles. For example, Yang Kai's Seal was built based on his attainments toward Space Principles, as he chose to focus on the Dao of Space.[3] This step is necessary for a cultivator to become a Great Emperor and/or to promote to the Open Heaven Realm.[4][5] Generally, condensing a Dao Seal also allows a cultivator to break through the fetter of their respective Universe World in order to explore the Outer Universe.[6][7]
In the Outer Universe (3,000 Worlds), it is much easier to condense a Dao Seal than in Universe Worlds. This is because the bottle of the Heavenly Way no longer applies, and condensing a Dao Seal is no longer tied to becoming a Great Emperor.[2] However, even in the Outer Universe, it is said that 90% of Emperors are unable to gain sufficient sensibility toward their Grand Dao in order to condense a Dao Seal on their own.[8] Therefore, many must rely on external forces in order to help them to advance on the path of the Martial Dao, such as the Grand Dao Pill.[9] Once a cultivator condenses a Dao Seal without becoming a Great Emperor, they can no longer acquire the title.[10]
Due to the obvious and significant difference between a cultivator that has condensed a Dao Seal versus one that has not, Yang Kai once suggested to himself that it should be considered its own Dao Seal Realm between the Emperor and Open Heaven Realms, but the 3,000 Worlds still consider it to be part of the Emperor Realm.[11] The next step after condensing a Dao Seal is called Half-Step Open Heaven.[12]
Contents
1
Great Emperor
1.1
World Force
1.2
Bottle of the World
1.3
Monster Race Great Emperor
2
References
Great Emperor
There is a higher class of Emperor (or above) exclusive to Universe Worlds called Great Emperor. These are usually former Pseudo-Great Emperors that have been acknowledged by their World's Will (Heavenly Way), allowing them to both condense a Dao Seal and transfer the World Force. This allows them to display the power of Low Rank Open Heaven Realm in most Universe Worlds, making them virtually invincible vs Pseudo-Great Emperors and below.[13]
However, the World Force belongs to the Universe World, and a Great Emperor that is too far away from their world cannot draw upon it. In many ways, the Great Emperor relationship with their Universe World is similar to a Star Master's relationship to their Cultivation Star. Therefore, Great Emperor is not a cultivation realm, but rather a title granted to those fortunate and talented few who are chosen by their world.
Having become an extension of their World's Will, Great Emperors can borrow the strength of their world's World Principles to a profound degree, including those for which they have no significant attainments. However, Great Emperors can also lose the privileges of their title if they betray their Universe World (i.e. Can Ye), most significantly stripping them of their ability to transfer the World Force.[14]
World Force
Also known as the Power of Heaven and Earth, World Force stems from the Source of a Universe World, and is far more powerful and mysterious than the strength of World Principles. Upon reaching the cultivation level of a Great Emperor (i.e. condensing a Dao Seal), cultivators have mastered control over their primary Principles relative to others. World Force, however, is something that only Emperors with the Great Emperor title can sense and transfer within their own Great Worlds. Containing the power and will of an entire Universe World, it is this power that makes Great Emperors practically invincible existences among the native inhabitants of their respective Great World.[15]
Bottle of the World
According to a Universe World's Heavenly Way, there is a limit to how many Emperors can condense a Dao Seal and become a Great Emperor.[2][16] For instance, as Yang Yan explained, Star Boundary's limit was once 10 Great Emperors.[17] Demon Realm, however, had a limit of 12 Demon Saints (Great Emperors).
The bottle of a Universe World is based on its overall level of Martial Dao.[18] Therefore, a Universe World's bottle can be expanded if its background is improved to a significant enough degree. For instance, Yang Kai once concluded that Star Boundary and Demon Realm would gain many new Great Emperors/Demon Saints in the future due to the miraculous changes brought by the World Tree Subtree.[10]
Monster Race Great Emperor
For information on Monster Race Great Emperors, check out the Open Heaven page's Monster Emperor Section.
Half-Step Open Heaven
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Half-Step Open Heaven
Realm Name
Peak Emperor Realm w/ Dao Seal
+ 5 Strengths
Chinese
半步开天
Location
Outer Universe
Previous Rank
Next Rank
Dao Seal
Open Heaven
Like Pseudo-Great Emperor, Half-Step Open Heaven is not a new realm, but is yet another classification of Emperor. Half-Step Open Heaven denotes a Peak Emperor Realm cultivator that has condensed 5 of the Yin-Yang + 5 Elements into their Dao Seal, giving them a significant boost in strength.[1] This is due to the fact that Half-Step Open Heaven cultivators can generate an embryonic form of World Force, allowing these Emperors to display a preview of Open Heaven Realm strength.[2]
Details
After an Emperor condenses a Dao Seal, they can start refining the Yin-Yang + 5 Element resources (Yin, Yang, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) in order to promote to the Open Heaven Realm. Unlike Yin and Yang, the 5 Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) must be condensed in a specific order based off of the first strength condensed. Likewise, the possible sequences for condensing the 5 Elements are:
Wood>Fire>Earth>Metal>Water
Fire>Earth>Metal>Water>Wood
Earth>Metal>Water>Wood>Fire
Metal>Water>Wood>Fire>Earth
Water>Wood>Fire>Earth>Metal
Upon condensing 5 resources, an Emperor can be called Half-Step Open Heaven, and gains a significant boost in strength due to the mutual balance and promotion of the 5 condensed strengths. In other words, the cycling of 5 strengths in one's Dao Seal generates an embryonic form of World Force.[2]
Exception
After condensing the Earth Element, Yang Kai would later be compelled into using a technique known as the Defying Yin-Yang 5 Elements Profound Universe Heart Scripture[3] in order to condense a High Rank Water Element before Metal. This would cause the Elements in his Dao Seal to become unbalanced, requiring the constant use of his Divine Soul Strength in order to maintain order and avoid catastrophe.
For this reason, Yang Kai didn't get the expected promotion in strength upon condensing a High Rank Yang Attribute resource as his 5th strength.[1] Later, after finally condensing the Metal Element as his 6th strength, he truly reached Half-Step Open Heaven.[2]
Open Heaven
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Open Heaven
Realm Name
Open Heaven Realm
Chinese
开天
Subdivisions
9 Ranks
Location
Outer Universe
Previous Rank
Next Rank
Half Open Heaven
World Creation
The previously known peak of human cultivaton within the 3,000 Worlds, Open Heaven Realm was developed by the Human Race, with the help of the World Tree in Great Ruins Boundary, in order to match the power of the Monster Race and Divine Spirits.[1]
To promote to the Open Heaven Realm, an Emperor needs to refine all 7 of the Yin-Yang + 5 Elements into their Dao Seal. After doing so, they must successfully form a Small Universe within their body, from which they can readily draw upon its World Force.
Thus, unlike a Great Emperor, an Open Heaven Realm cultivator does not need to rely on an external Universe World in order to use World Force.[2] Depending on their rank, an Open Heaven Realm cultivator can also display an incomparably more powerful strength.
Contents
1
Details
1.1
Ranks
1.2
Small Universe
1.3
Dao Marks
1.4
Promoting to Open Heaven Realm
1.5
Comprehended Divine Ability
1.6
Divine Ability Manifestation
1.7
Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water
2
Suppression
3
Promoting Ranks
3.1
Two Rank Limit
3.2
Limit of the World
3.3
Practice
3.4
Practice Methods(Two Rank Limit):
3.5
No Limit(Extremely Rare/Miracles):
4
Divine Spirits
5
Monster Emperor
5.1
Monster Race Great Emperor
5.2
Alternative
6
References
Details
Ranks
Open Heaven Realm has 9 Ranks, which are further categorized into 3 Groups: Low Rank Open Heaven Realm (1st-3rd), Middle Rank Open Heaven Realm (4th-6th), and High Rank Open Heaven Realm (7th-9th). The power gaps between Low, Middle, and High Rank Open Heaven Realm are absolutely massive. This is so much so that they can be considered 3 entirely different Great Realms. Even within each Group, the power between each small rank increases dramatically as they go up.[3]
Even further, within each 1 rank, there is a division between recently promoted, established, and peak strength. This makes it so that each 1 rank essentially has its own division of 3 Layers, with each increasing small rank requiring more and more time to reach the next division in strength. For example, it takes an elite 6th Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator about 100 years to consolidate their boundary, but it is considered very fast for an 8th Rank cultivator to do so within 2,000 years. Unlike previous cultivation realms, Open Heaven Realm progression is not primarily decided by comprehension and combat experience, and is instead based on the accumulation of background in one's Small Universe, making time one of the most important factors for increasing one's strength.
The power difference between each 1 rank for High Rank Open Heaven Realm is particularly vast, as are the divisions within each 1 rank. Likewise, a Peak 7th Rank may be invincible against average 7th Ranks and below, but is still nowhere near the match of even an initially promoted 8th Rank. Correspondingly, A newly promoted 9th Rank is so dramatically more powerful than Peak 8th Ranks that even a group of the latter cultivators is not their opponent.[4] Therefore, outside of Low Rank, jumping over the ranks to fight is practically unheard of in Open Heaven Realm.
Between each Group is a watershed barrier which makes promoting between Groups difficult, and this is especially so when promoting from 6th to 7th Rank. The Small Universe Worlds of Low and Middle Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators are similar in that they cannot hold or store life.[5] When promoting to 7th Rank Open Heaven Realm, the World Principles of one's Small Universe will become complete, and it will evolve into a true Universe World, allowing living creatures to grow and prosper inside of it.[6] This transition is one of the biggest and most difficult checkpoints for Open Heaven Realm promotion, and its common failure is one of the reasons High Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators have historically been relatively scarce.[7]
Small Universe
The Small Universes of Low or Middle Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators will collapse upon their death, improving the background of the environment they fall in with World Force.[8] The Small Universe of a High Rank cultivator, unless destroyed, will remain after their death.[9] 7th Rank Small Universes are called Universe Paradises. 8th Rank and above Small Universes are called Universe Cave Heavens.[6] In any case, the Small Universe is a part of the cultivator's body. Therefore, if it sustains any damage, or its Heavenly Way is corrupted too much, it will collapse and the cultivator will die. Attacks that target the stability of one's Small Universe are very effective in injuring or killing Open Heaven Realm cultivators.
Dao Marks
The promotion to Open Heaven Realm is extremely risky, as the Dao Seal, which carries the foundation of a Martial Artist's entire lifetime practice, will break apart and dissolve during the process. In order to prevent oneself from dying, the extremely difficult task of forming a Small Universe must successfully be completed in time to absorb all the attainments of one's Dao Seal before they disperse prematurely.[10] Therefore, Open Heaven Realm cultivators no longer have a Dao Seal, and instead bear their lifetime practice and Grand Daos as particularly rich and obvious Dao Marks within their Small Universe.
The richness and significance of each individual Dao Mark varies depending on which Daos a cultivator has the most comprehension and accomplishment in. Likewise, Daos a cultivator has never browsed will not be noticeable as Dao Marks within their Small Universe.[11] Each sufficiently comprehended Grand Dao will be much easier to practice and gain sensibility toward by the lives that reside within a High Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator's Small Universe.
Of course, the most prominent Dao Mark of a cultivator (i.e. the Dao of Space for Yang Kai) will have the most significant influence on a cultivator's Small Universe and the lives that reside within it.[12] However, the significance, richness, and overall presence of Dao Marks are not set in stone for Open Heaven Realm cultivators, as one can develop and improve more Dao Marks in their Small Universe through the sufficient comprehension of more Daos.
Promoting to Open Heaven Realm
In the 3,000 Worlds, your initial rank and overall strength is determined by the lowest rank Yin-Yang or 5 Element resource you refine.[13] For example, if a cultivator refines all 1st Rank resources then their final rank will be 1st Rank Open Heaven Realm. If a second cultivator refines six 9th Rank resources (practically impossible) and one 1st Rank resource, their final rank will still be 1st Rank Open Heaven Realm. In this case, the second cultivator will only be able to display the power of 1st Rank Open Heaven Realm like the first cultivator, regardless of the other resources. Because of their superior background, they will likely be far more powerful than the general 1st Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator, but will not necessarily be the match of a 2nd-3rd Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivator. The only other possible benefit to having condensed High Rank resources in such a case would be the comprehension of Divine Abilities or Manifestations from them. Generally, there is a 2-rank promotion limit after promoting to your initial rank.[14]
One of the biggest limits to directly promoting to Middle or High Rank Open Heaven Realm is natural aptitude. A cultivator must first condense a Dao Seal to promote to Open Heaven Realm. In addition, the Dao Seal must be strong enough to refine all of the Yin-Yang + 5 Elements. Trying to condense one or more resources with a rank above one's aptitude can cause the Dao Seal to collapse, ending the martial artist's life.[14] Therefore, many martial artists without good aptitude, by Outer Universe standards, will choose to promote to Low Rank Open Heaven Realm in large part due to safety.[15] The limit for those with decent aptitude is generally 4th Rank. Those with good aptitude can promote 5th Rank, and those with excellent aptitude and great backgrounds can promote 6th Rank.[16] Correspondingly, to straight promote to 7th Rank requires unparalleled aptitude the likes of which even the Outer Universe has rarely seen. Historically, due to this and other reasons, 9th Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators are virtually never seen in the 3,000 Worlds.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to promoting to Open Heaven Realm is the cost and scarcity of resources. In the 3,000 Worlds, the currency is Open Heaven Pills. A 1st Rank resource costs 150 Open Heaven Pills, a 2nd Rank resource costs 1,500, and a 3rd Rank costs 15,000. Each rank is 10 times the cost of the previous rank. But in reality, they are usually even more, especially for the rarer Yin and Yang Attribute resources. Due to this, a large number of Open Heaven Realm martial artists are only Low Rank Open Heaven Realm regardless of aptitude. Unless you are part of a strong 2nd or 1st Class influence, the likelihood of directly promoting to Middle Rank Open Heaven Realm is very small to nonexistent.
Comprehended Divine Ability
Not to be confused with the extremely rare Divine Ability Manifestations, the 5 Element resources used in Open Heaven Realm promotion may contain unique and/or preserved Divine Abilities, from which those who condense them can learn powerful and ready-made Secret Techniques. Though not as rare or as strong as Divine Ability Manifestations, these techniques can be very powerful, and, unless someone has condensed an opposing resource of the equivalent rank, they can be very difficult to solve. Also, unlike Divine Ability Manifestations, this ability is not restricted to High Rank, and is more related to the unique quality, ability, and origin of the particular resource that was condensed. For example, Yang Kai would learn powerful Secret Techniques from his High Rank Wood[17], Earth[18], Water[19], and Metal Elements[20].
Divine Ability Manifestation
If a cultivator with Heaven-defying aptitude manages to condense a High Rank resource into their Dao Seal, they have a small chance of comprehending a Divine Ability Manifestation from this resource upon promoting to Open Heaven Realm. This means that they develop their own original and extremely powerful Divine Ability using the inspiration of their High Rank Element. Historically, this is very rare, and is almost exclusively seen from the elite High Rank Open Heaven Realm members of the Cave Heavens/Paradises. However, Yang Kai managed the even rarer feat of comprehending a Divine Ability Manifestation at the Emperor Realm.[21]
Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water
Before promoting to Open Heaven Realm by forming a Small Universe within their bodies, some cultivators have regrets about the resources they've chosen, and want to straight promote to a higher rank so that their 2-rank limit is higher(i.e. a 3rd Rank can only promote 5th Rank, but a 5th Rank can achieve 7th Rank). Hence, some cultivators will risk the use of Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water, which allows cultivators to completely strip their Dao Seal of all elements to start anew. However, this process is extremely dangerous as there is both a strong risk of collapsing the Dao Seal and only a miniscule chance of success. What's more, the higher the number and strength of resources you've condensed, the less likely it is to succeed. Therefore, this is a desperate measure taken by cultivators who'd rather take the very high likelihood of dying than promote to their current potential initial rank. If successful, the water will remove all the elements condensed, with no opportunity to re-condense, salvage, or selectively choose to save the ones that were lost.[13]
Suppression
Due to an incident involving the Ink Clan many years before the story started, no person outside of the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises has been allowed to directly achieve High Rank Open Heaven Realm.[22] If they come close, the first class influences of the world try to suppress them.[23] Elsewise, outsiders who have successfully promoted to High Rank have either been taken in by the 108 influences and sent to Ink Battlefield, kept in the Inner Sect of a Cave Heaven/Paradise, or they flee to Shattered Heaven, a Secret Boundary in which they can hide from the major influences.
Promoting Ranks
Two Rank Limit
Due to the imperfection of the Open Heaven Realm cultivation method, there is a 2-rank Limit on Open Heaven Realm promotion through the use of normal means. It is said that a fetter forms around the Small Universe of a cultivator after they have reached their limit. Upon increasing their Small Universe's background to a certain extent, the Small Universe can no longer expand passed this fetter. If one tries to forcefully overcome it, their Small Universe threatens to immediately collapse, effectively killing the cultivator.[24] For this reason, the initial rank of a cultivator is extremely important, as it will determine their future limit barring a miracle.
The 2-rank limit of Open Heaven Realm promotion affects all alternative methods of cultivation an Open Heaven Realm cultivator practices. For instance, even if an Open Heaven Realm cultivator becomes a pure Divine Spirit, they will be restricted in their ability to improve their Divine Spirit Rank past the level of their Open Heaven Realm limit.[25] In other words, a Human with an 8th Rank Open Heaven Realm limit that becomes a Divine Spirit is also restricted from promoting to their 9th Rank-equivalent Divine Spirit Rank (ex: Divine Dragon).
Limit of the World
In addition to the two-rank limit, all 9th Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators face the inability to promote past the 9th Rank Open Heaven Realm for a lifetime (i.e. the 10 Great Experts).[26][25] It is later revealed that this limit exists because the strength of the Peak 9th Rank Open Heaven Realm or its equivalent is the limit that the Heavenly Way of the Outer Universe will allow, as anything higher would threaten the existence of the world itself.[27]
Cultivators who go too far past the limits of the world will be sent to the Taboo Realm.[28]
Practice
To promote your rank in Open Heaven Realm you need to improve your Small Universe's background. This is confirmed possible through the following ways:
Practice Methods(Two Rank Limit):
Refining up Open Heaven Pills. A man-made imitation of Universe Furnace Open Heaven Pills, Open Heaven Pills are one of the most widely used and safest ways to improve your background. This is due to the pills holding the complete Yin-Yang + 5 Elements within them. However, to promote 1 rank requires billions of pills, and pills are also the main method of currency in the Outer Universe. In addition, due to an inherent amount of toxicity, the pills eventually lose their efficacy.[29]
Refining up a Universe World. This way can be extremely fast and efficient but is a huge taboo. This is because, in addition to potentially killing trillions[30], each Universe has a different structure of World Principles that may conflict with the Dao Marks of one's Small Universe, potentially corrupting it if refined (causing a fall in rank).[31][32]
Refining other Yin-Yang + 5 Element resources.[33] This is a relatively safe method. However, in order to keep your Small Universe stable, you need a complete set of resources[34], which is extremely expensive. Usually, this is one of the fastest ways to promote, but the difficulty of consistently acquiring enough resources for this method essentially limits it to members of Cave Heavens or Paradises.
Planting a World Tree Subtree in one's Small Universe. Unlike the above methods, this is a Heaven-defying opportunity. Similar to the benefits brought to Universe Worlds by a subtree, it will steadily and constantly improve the background of one's world. It can even allow one to raise elite high aptitude disciples within their Small Universe. Originally, it was thought this method would overcome the 2-rank limit of Open Heaven Realm promotion.[35] However, this is later learned to be untrue.
No Limit(Extremely Rare/Miracles):
Refining the true World Tree's World Fruit. Once picked from the World Tree, they can not only be refined with no hidden danger, but can even allow for one to straight promote 1 rank. Due to their extraordinary nature, these fruits can allow for a cultivator's rank limit to also increase 1 rank. So if a 3rd Rank's limit is 5th Rank, the World Fruit upgrades their limit to 6th Rank together with the promotion that follows. While the effects of these fruits are Heaven-defying, they are tied to the quality of these extremely rare fruits. Low Rank fruits are only effective to promote up to 3rd Rank Open Heaven Realm, Middle Rank fruits are only effective to promote up to 6th Rank Open Heaven Realm, whereas the exceedingly rare High Rank fruits work up to 9th Rank Open Heaven Realm. Later, it is discovered that World Fruits created the first Open Heaven Realm cultivators.[1]
Refining up a Best Quality Universe Furnace Open Heaven Pill. The Universe Furnace's Open Heaven Pills are naturally generated by the Universe, and are what manufactured Open Heaven Pills are based on. It is stated that as long as there are enough of this pill, a cultivator's rank and limit is bound to continuously promote upward.[29] The difficult task is to acquire these pills, due to each extremely rare time the Universe Furnace has appeared, it has drawn the eyes of the entire 3,000 Worlds.[14] The conflicts that have arisen over the appearances of the Universe Furnace have historically lead to the deaths of thousands of Middle and High Rank Open Heaven Realm cultivators, including many 8th Ranks.[36] Later, it is revealed that only one of the extremely rare Best Quality Open Heaven Pills allows a cultivator to break through their limit, with the other Furnace pills only helping cultivators to overcome bottlenecks.[37]
Ink. Cultivators that are corroded by Ink, i.e. Ink Disciples, can ignore the 2-rank limit of Open Heaven Realm promotion. However, when this occurs, their bodies suffer grotesque physical deformities, and their foundation becomes extremely unstable. This makes them far weaker than the average cultivator of their equivalent rank. What's more, without the support of the strength of Ink, these cultivators' Small Universes will collapse, causing an unsightly demise.[38]
Heaven Devouring Battle Law. A Heaven-defying technique, Heaven Devouring Battle Law can ignore the limit of Open Heaven Realm promotion if one can find a way to solve its horrifying side effects, which get even worse as one becomes more powerful.[39]
Heaven's Order Bloodline. Having derived from the 1st Light of the Outer Universe, the Heaven's Order Bloodline has been shown to be capable of allowing one to ignore the shackles of the 2-rank limit.[40]
Three Parts Reunification Art. Practiced by creating two special clones to form and develop a trinity of Divine Spirit, Human Race, and Monster Race bodies, the Three Parts Reunification Art allows one to breakthrough the shackles of Open Heaven Realm promotion by using the power of fate within these 3 races to overcome the fetter of the Heavenly Way. In the current Era, the worship and belief of the Human Race within one's Small Universe is particularly helpful in allowing them to breakthrough their shackles as they reabsorb their developed clones.[41] Created by Devourer, this Secret Art has only ever been successfully practiced by Yang Kai.[42]
Divine Spirits
Having derived directly from the 1st Light of the Outer Universe[43], Divine Spirits are naturally the most powerful of the 3,000 World's major races(Divine Spirits, Monster Race, Human Race). Likewise, after a certain amount of growth, Divine Spirits display strength comparable to or, in most cases, more powerful than Open Heaven Realm cultivators of their corresponding rank. This is especially so for the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. All fully grown Divine Spirits are at least comparable to High Rank Open Heaven Realm.
When a human with a Small Universe successfully becomes a Divine Spirit, they will retain their Open Heaven Realm cultivation. They must continue to improve their Small Universe to increase their Open Heaven Realm rank, which is completely separate from their cultivation level as a Divine Spirit. In addition, it is later revealed that a Human Race cultivator with an Open Heaven Realm background will have their Open Heaven Realm limit applied to their Divine Spirit cultivation upon becoming one, restricting their ability to advance further than their limit in both their Divine Spirit and Open Heaven Realm cultivation levels.[25]
Monster Emperor
The Ancient Cultivation Technique of the Monster Race allows them to achieve Open Heaven Realm equivalent strength through the particularly dangerous and risky strengthening of their Monster Core. This technique often gives Monster Race a lower starting point than the upper level Human Race Open Heaven Realm cultivators, but, unlike the latter, these Monster Race are not shackled by the constraints of a 2-rank limit.[44] These Open Heaven Realm equivalent Monster Race are known as Monster Emperors. Monster Emperors have 9 Ranks like Open Heaven Realm cultivators.
Monster Race Great Emperor
Since the start of the Human Race Era, only the Human Race, and their variants (ex: Demon Race), have been able to receive the acceptance of the Heavenly Way to achieve Great Emperor. However, this convention would finally be broken when Ying Bao, carrying the Divine Soul Clone of Yang Kai, became the first known Monster Race Great Emperor of the Era.[45] The rules for a Monster Race achieving Great Emperor appear to be very different from that of Human Race cultivators. This is namely due to the fact that it is done during the breakthrough to Monster Emperor, and does not seem to involve the condensing of a Dao Seal.
Alternative
Monster Race that have reached the level of the Peak Emperor Realm and have not learned their Race's Ancient Cultivation Technique often practice Human Open Heaven Realm cultivation in order to advance their strength. In this case, these Monster Race will open a Small Universe in their bodies to become Open Heaven Realm cultivators.[46] These Monster Race are not Monster Emperors.
World Creation
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World Creation
Realm Name
World Creation
Chinese
创世
Subdivisions
N/A
Location
N/A
Previous Rank
Open Heaven/Variable
Only known to have been achieved by Yang Kai, the World Creation Realm is the current known peak of the Martial Dao.[1] As can be seen from the example of Yang Kai, one can reach this realm by achieving the following series of Heaven-defying feats:
1. A peak-level cultivator's (ex. 9th Rank Open Heaven Realm in the 3,000 Worlds)[2] attainments on all of the 3,000 Grand Daos must reach a certain level.[3]
2. Once their mastery of the myriad Grand Daos touches upon the taboo of their world, the cultivator will be sent to the Taboo Realm.[3]
3. After breaking free from the restrictions of the Taboo Realm, the cultivator may finally breakthrough to the World Creation Realm.[4][3]
As its name suggests, a World Creation Realm cultivator, in addition to holding otherworldly power, including the ability to effortlessly shatter a Taboo Realm cultivator's Grand Dao manifestation[4], instantly killing them[2], has also been shown to be capable of using the perfect power of 3,000 Grand Daos to create true Universe Worlds, and by extension life, from nothing.[1] Yang Kai estimates that his Space-Time River at the World Creation Realm will eventually reach the same degree as the Universe Furnace's Endless River on which it is based.[1]
As can also be seen from the example of Yang Kai, a former Open Heaven Realm cultivator who has promoted to the World Creation Realm no longer has any need of their Small Universe, allowing them to both safely and permanently remove it from their body. From there, they can even turn it into a true external Universe World.[3]
Fake Creation Realm
Though "Creation Realm" was originally used to describe the power of Ink, who was believed to be able to create the extremely powerful Ink Clan armies, including Ink Giant Spirit Gods, innate Royal Lords, and innate Territory Lords, with the power of Creation[5], it turns out that this ability was actually only due to Ink's own natural talent.[1] In a later discussion with a true World Creation Realm Yang Kai, Ink's surviving consciousness classifies its own "Creation Realm" as "fake."