Heavenly Being (천인/天人)
Heavenly Being is the sixth stage of Immortal Cultivation and the last stage in the Lower Boundary.It is preceded by Nascent Soul and is followed by Four-Axis.
Boundary
Number Of Sub Realms
Lifespan
Description
The Heavenly Being stage is the realm where mental cultivation is considered most important among all the realms until that point.
The essence of the Heavenly Being stage is to gradually grow the seed of madness one created upon reaching the Heavenly Being stage, turning one's Nascent Soul itself into a seed of madness.
When one reaches the Grand Perfection of the Heavenly Being stage, the ultimate point of the madness one has pursued fills the inside of one's Nascent Soul. There are cases, however, where this has happened even before reaching the Heavenly Being stage, where one's Nascent Soul is already filled with madness in the Nascent Soul stage due to being too deeply insane [1].
From this Realm onward, those who practice the methods of Heaven, Earth, and Heart together will be able to manifest the Three Great Ultimates.
Substages
Acceptance at Fate's End
The early Heavenly Being stage is called Will to Become an Immortal Established, but in fact, it is more accurate to divide it into the transitional 'Will to Become an Immortal' and the proper initial stage 'Established'. In the 'Will to Become an Immortal' (志仙), it is the phase where one is born as a cultivator and sets their heart on cultivating immortality. The form of the Nascent Soul grows from an infant to a youth. From the 'Established' phase (而立) onward, the Nascent Soul becomes solid and large enough to act outside the body without issues, growing from a boy to a young adult. This symbolizes the beginning of the cycle of life and death, with the season of life being spring (春).
The mid Heavenly Being stage also divides into the 'Unswayed' and 'Amidst the Heavenly Mandate' phases. In the Unswayed (不惑), the form of the Nascent Soul fully aligns with the cultivator's true body. It is the time when the cultivator's own vitality reaches its peak. In 'Amidst the Heavenly Mandate (知天命)', although the cultivator's vitality decreases slightly from the previous phase, their ability to perceive celestial energy maximizes, and they gain short-term prophetic abilities. Also, the form of the Nascent Soul grows from a young adult to a mature adult. This symbolizes the transitional period in the cycle of life and death, with life corresponding to the season of summer (夏).
In Heavenly Compliance (天順), one becomes attuned to the voice of the heavens. This expression is merely figurative, but in reality, it means that the sense of reading celestial energy enhances further. The form of the Nascent Soul becomes elderly, This represents the season of autumn (秋) in life, where the fruits of one's life are harvested.
Heart's Governance (從心) represents the 'heart' accumulated throughout the Heavenly Being stage. That is, madness reaches its extremity, and it becomes capable of slightly influencing the celestial energy. With will alone, it can distort natural phenomena, becoming a disaster in itself, and the form of the Nascent Soul is 'on the verge of death', representing the end of the season, winter (冬).
Thus, throughout the early, mid, and late Heavenly Being stages, the four seasons (春夏秋冬) are completed, and the seasons endlessly cycle.
Real Life Inspiration
'Acceptance of Fate's End' sub-realms in the Heavenly being realm are based on a quote from the Analects by Confucius, in the Wei Zheng chapter, Fourth passage: "At fifteen I set my heart upon learning. At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground. At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities. At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven. At sixty, I heard them with docile ear. At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.” (吾十有五而志于學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而從心所欲，不踰矩)
"At fifteen I set my heart upon learning.”
This represents the transitional stage of the Early Heavenly Being Sub-Realm, 'Will to Become an Immortal
(志仙)'. Where one is born as a cultivator, setting their hearts on cultivating immortality, and their
Nascent Soul grows from an infant to an youth.
“At thirty, I had planted my feet firm upon the ground.”
This represents the proper initial stage of the Early Heavenly Being Sub-Realm, 'Established (而立)'.
Where the Nascent Soul becomes strong enought to leave the body and act without issue, and grows from a
child to a young adult.
“At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexities.”
This represents the first part of the mid Heavenly Being Sub-Realm, 'Unswayed (不惑)'. Where the form of
the Nascent Soul fully aligns with the cultivator's true body and their vitality reaches its peak.
“At fifty, I knew what were the biddings of Heaven.”
This represents the second part of the mid Heavenly Being Sub-Realm, 'Amidst the Heavenly Mandate (知天命)'.
Where the cultivator's vitality decreases slightly from the previous phase, their ability to perceive
celestial energy maximizes, and they gain short-term prophetic abilities. Also, the form of the Nascent
Soul grows from a young adult to a mature adult.
“At sixty, I heard them with docile ear.”
This represents the first part of the late Heavenly Being Sub-Realm, 'Heavenly Compliance (天順)'. Where
one becomes attuned to the voice of the heavens. This expression is merely figurative, but in reality, it
means that the sense of reading celestial energy enhances further. The form of the Nascent Soul becomes
elderly.
“At seventy, I could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what I desired no
longer overstepped the boundaries of right.”
This represents the second part of the late and the grand perfection Heavenly Being Sub-Realm, 'Heart's
Governance (從心)'. Where the seed of madness, that is, the 'Heart' reaches its extremity, and it becomes
capable of slightly influencing the celestial energy. With will alone, it can distort natural phenomena,
becoming a disaster in itself, and the form of the Nascent Soul is 'on the verge of death'.
None are Beyond the Merits of the Four Seasons
Unlike the normal formula, Vast Cold created a new formula which was passed onto Seo Li who passed it to Seo Eun-hyun when he passed away. The formula is as follows [2]:
Spring gives birth to all things.
Summer nurtures all things.
Autumn matures all things.
Winter puts all things to rest again.
This is the merit of the Four Seasons (四時). The cycle of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (春夏秋冬)
completes the Heavenly Circle. It is long yet simple at the same time.
Vitality
Upon reaching Heavenly Being, the cultivator's lifespan increases by 2400 Years.
References
- https://wetriedtls.com/series/a-regressors-tale-of-cultivation/chapter-268
- https://wetriedtls.com/series/a-regressors-tale-of-cultivation/chapter-331