Immortal Arts (仙術) is the authority to alter the laws of the world purely with the heart—without Qi, spiritual power, or cultivation. Anyone can wield this authority if they repentantly enlighten themselves.
Overview
Heart-driven authority to bend heavenly principles without external energy.
Inherent to all beings; mastery requires sincere enlightenment and repentance.
Cultivation spells often approximate Immortal Arts; the more peerless a spell, the closer it approaches true Immortal Arts.
Substages of Immortal Arts
Before Immortal Cultivation was systemized, Immortal Arts followed three realms that mirror the Minor, Middle, and Greater Boundaries of Immortal Cultivation:
- The realm of clearing the heart.
- The realm of laying the basics of Immortal Arts through the heart.
- The realm of fully using Immortal Arts and reaching the heavens.
Clearing the heart
Corresponds to the Minor Boundary of Immortal Cultivation.
Basics of Immortal Arts
The basics are divided into four substages, each paralleling cultivation formulas:
- Various Omens (庶徵)— Rain, Sun, Heat, Cold, Wind, Time — mirrors the Integration formula.
- Examination of Doubts (稽疑)— divination via attraction forces — mirrors the Star Shattering formula.
- Five Epochs, Three Spirits (五紀三靈)— reads constellations to gather spirits — mirrors the Sacred Vessel formula.
- Eight Paths, One Extreme (八道一極)— unites the Eight Paths to reach the Nine Palaces and enter true Immortal Arts — mirrors the Entering Nirvana formula.
After mastering these, focusing the Five Affairs (五事) on the Five Elements and enlightening to the Ten Heavenly Stems forms the final stage (per Cheongmun Ryeong).
Real life inspiration
The basics reference the Nine Divisions (九疇, jiuchou) of the Hongfan (Great Plan) in Confucian literature. The corresponding mapping is shown below.
| Immortal Cultivation Realm | RToC Basics of Immortal Arts | Hongfan (洪範) Division |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Axis (地軸) | Five Blessings (五福) | Five Sources of Happiness (五福) |
| Six Extremes (六極) | Awing Use of the Six Occasions of Suffering (六極) | Six Occasions of Suffering (六極) |
| Five Elements (五行) | Knowledge of the Nature of the Five Agents | Five Agents (五行) |
| Integration (合體) | Various Omens (庶徵) | Various Verifications in Divination (庶徵) |
| Star Shattering (碎星) | Examination of Doubts (稽疑) | Examination of Doubts (稽疑) |
| Sacred Vessel (星槃) | Five Epochs, Three Spirits (五紀三靈) | Five Dividers of Time (五紀) · Three Virtues (三德) |
| Eight Paths, One Extreme (八道一極) | Eight Paths, One Extreme | Eight Objects of Government (八政) |
| Entering Nirvana (開涅) | Royal Perfection (皇極) | Royal Perfection (皇極) |
| Unknown / Great Boundary | Five Affairs (五事) | Five Personal Matters (五事) |
Reaching the heavens
Corresponds to the Greater Boundary of Immortal Cultivation.
Uses of Immortal Arts
Immortal Arts can manipulate the Plane of Fate or the hearts of many. Cultivation spells are often paths that approximate true Immortal Arts; the more peerless the spell, the closer it is to the real authority.
"Immortal Arts are something anyone can use. It is an authority everyone wields from the moment they are born... All life in this world carries the Immortal Art called life."
History
Immortal Cultivation originally had only three realms: clearing the heart, laying the basics through the heart, and reaching the heavens. Later, realms split into the modern cultivation ladder, shifting the focus from understanding the heart to pursuing power. Cultivation itself is described as an Immortal Art that twisted the original process.
"Immortal Cultivation isn't the process of learning Immortal Arts. Immortal Cultivation itself is... someone's Immortal Art."
Known Immortal Arts
Yeon's Play
Mad Lord's Immortal Art inspired by the Serving Command Palace; realized as the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress to recreate his first dance with Wol Ha-eun using hundreds of millions of puppet souls. Contains the power of Vast Cold Heavenly King.
Vast Cold Beautiful Agreement (Vast Cold Oath)
Binds a couple with a fate to die together; activated by hand seal and kiss, requires reciprocity or can be undone via a witnessed return kiss or by the caster. Kim Yeon reactivated it in the 15th cycle through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.
Extinguishing Divine Tribulating Heavens Technique
Yang Su-jin's ritual to obscure fate via calamity, combining 9000 Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect methods and reciting the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Four regulations include secrecy from the Heavenly Lightning Banner and avoiding its use while holding the banner.
Purple Soul Filling the Heavens
Inheritance-themed;
inert until merged with another inheritance. Core formulas:
—Purple is the most suitable color
to hide in the darkness.
—Carry on life in the darkness where light can never reach.
—By
continuing the inherited life,
we shall all finally reach liberation.
Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens
Corrupted form of Purple Soul; formed when fragments merged in the Head Realm, creating Seo Hweol as an innate Sacred Vessel. Disassembles consciousness into configurations, enabling implantation or brainwashing.
Flower Soul Filling the Heavens
Seo Eun-hyun inherits Ryeo Hwa's memories merged with Purple Soul; bestows stored hearts from the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections to others.
Crystal Glass to Treading Sea (玻瓈蹈海成)
Seo Eun-hyun's incomplete Innate True Method, merging all learned techniques into the Glass True Fire. Weaknesses: past illusions ignore its pain; heart-based attacks halve its power and complete heart-only Immortal Arts can shatter it; salt disperses its formula (e.g., Salt Sea Flooding the Heavens Esoteric Method).
Forms include:
- Twin Flowers Reaching the Heavens(Glass True Fire born of memories of suffering).
- Sword Sea Star Body(Glass True Fire swords paired with Colorless Glass Sword).
- Heavenly Shatter Star Body(body refinement; glass wings).
- Avīci Hell Star Body& Ghost-Face Killing Heavens Furnace(Glass True Fire turns Black Flame; curse/ghost optimized).
- Mysterious Bizarre Star Body(consciousness strands become Glass True Fire).
- Wind-Painting Star Body(manipulates interstellar wind with attraction force).
Mantras
Mantras are woven collections of Immortal Arts, sometimes numbering in the thousands. Powerful Mantras can have hearts of their own, acting as innate True Immortals capable of corrupting or overpowering unprepared users.
References
- Chapters 463–465
- Hongfan (Great Plan)
- Chapters 147–233, 298, 438, 455, 466, 475, 480, 481, 497, 500
- Quotes from Cheongmun Ryeong, Mad Lord, Yang Su-jin, Gyu-ryeon, Gyu-baek, Seo Hweol, Yuk Jeung, Yuk Rin