Open Heaven

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.

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. Depending on their rank, an Open Heaven Realm cultivator can also display an incomparably more powerful strength.

## 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

### 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. The Small Universe of a High Rank cultivator, unless destroyed, will remain after their death. 7th Rank Small Universes are called Universe Paradises. 8th Rank and above Small Universes are called Universe Cave Heavens. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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, Earth, Water, and Metal Elements.

### 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.

### 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.

## 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. If they come close, the first class influences of the world try to suppress them. 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. 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. 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). 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.

Cultivators who go too far past the limits of the world will be sent to the Taboo Realm.

### 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)

1. 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.
2. 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, 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).
3. Refining other Yin-Yang + 5 Element resources. This is a relatively safe method. However, in order to keep your Small Universe stable, you need a complete set of resources, 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.
4. 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. However, this is later learned to be untrue.

### No Limit (Extremely Rare/Miracles)

1. **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.
2. **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. 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. 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. 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.
3. **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.
4. **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.
5. **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.
6. **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. Created by Devourer, this Secret Art has only ever been successfully practiced by Yang Kai.

## Divine Spirits

Having derived directly from the 1st Light of the Outer Universe, 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.

## 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. 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. 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. These Monster Race are not Monster Emperors.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 5412
2. ↑ Chapter 3808
3. ↑ Chapter 4707
4. ↑ Chapter 5775
5. ↑ Chapter 4416
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 4219
7. ↑ Chapter 4850
8. ↑ Chapter 4144
9. ↑ Chapter 4337
10. ↑ Chapter 4312
11. ↑ Chapter 5427
12. ↑ Chapter 4657
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chapter 4007
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chapter 4154
15. ↑ Chapter 4308
16. ↑ Chapter 4022
17. ↑ Chapter 4390
18. ↑ Chapter 4055
19. ↑ Chapter 4313
20. ↑ Chapter 4355
21. ↑ Chapter 4039
22. ↑ Chapter 4267
23. ↑ Chapter 4155
24. ↑ Chapter 5428
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Chapter 5668
26. ↑ Chapter 5583
27. ↑ Chapter 5978
28. ↑ Chapter 6009
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Chapter 4290
30. ↑ Chapter 4601
31. ↑ Chapter 4177
32. ↑ Chapter 5032
33. ↑ Chapter 4202
34. ↑ Chapter 4407
35. ↑ Chapter 4628
36. ↑ Chapter 4389
37. ↑ Chapter 5725
38. ↑ Chapter 4881
39. ↑ Chapter 5502
40. ↑ Chapter 5678
41. ↑ Chapter 5789
42. ↑ Chapter 5790
43. ↑ Chapter 5630
44. ↑ Chapter 5562
45. ↑ Chapter 5613
46. ↑ Chapter 5561