Chunibyo in Cultivation World

”Little Chen, let me give you a piece of advice—run. I’m afraid the entire Sacred Land of Lingxu has fallen into chaos now.”

”It’s obvious that the strange phenomenon in the Heaven-Burning Abyss signifies a great upheaval in the whole cultivation world. With the Sacred Land of Lingxu showing such anomalies, it must be related.”

”If I remember correctly, the Sacred Land of Lingxu has several Tribulation-Transcending experts. For even this place to encounter trouble—one can imagine how dire the situation of the cultivation world is.”

Elder Ling sensed something wrong with these people and immediately advised Li Tianchen.

But just as he finished speaking, Li Tianchen—who had already begun to feel the urge to retreat—heard a familiar voice beside his ear.

”Senior Brother Tianchen, you’re back!”

Li Tianchen shivered slightly, his gaze falling upon the person who called out to him.

”Junior Brother Shuyun.”

Seeing that man, Li Tianchen suppressed his inner unease and greeted him calmly.

The newcomer was none other than a fellow disciple of Li Tianchen from Woodbeard Peak.

”Senior Brother Tianchen, you’ve returned at the perfect time—Senior Brother Li from Heaven’s Gate Peak is about to give a Dao lecture!”

Shuyun nodded lightly, entirely unaware of Li Tianchen’s odd demeanor, and spoke with his usual friendliness.

”If I recall correctly, that Senior Brother Li from Heaven’s Gate Peak is your elder brother.”

Shuyun continued talking to himself.

Upon hearing the news about Li Tianwei, Li Tianchen’s expression grew solemn.

”Elder Ling, what should we do now? If something truly has gone wrong with the Sacred Land of Lingxu, what will happen to my elder brother? With his strength, it shouldn’t be possible…!”

Li Tianchen continued communicating with Elder Ling within the ring.

”Indeed. Still, you must remain cautious.”

Elder Ling replied.

Just then, while Li Tianchen was still lost in thought, Shuyun’s words suddenly pulled him back to reality.

”Your elder brother has already achieved the Golden Core Realm. A Golden Core in a single year—he’s broken the Sacred Land of Lingxu’s record for reaching the Golden Core Realm.”

”Ah! What—Golden Core!?”

At that moment, Li Tianchen no longer cared about the current situation. The news of Li Tianwei’s breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm completely shocked him.

He thought about how he had gone through countless trials within the Heaven-Burning Abyss, struggling bitterly just to barely reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, believing that this would allow him to approach Li Tianwei’s cultivation.

Yet now he was told that Li Tianwei had already entered the Golden Core Realm. Back when he was still in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he already possessed strength enough to suppress Nascent Souls. Now that he was a Golden Core, how could his power even be measured? He, too, possessed Divine Abilities.

”Too terrifying… truly too terrifying! Even in my era, there wasn’t such a monster!”

Elder Ling was equally stunned by the news.

Soon after, Li Tianchen suppressed his emotions, but his hands clenched into fists unconsciously.

At that moment, he truly felt utterly crushed—no matter how hard he tried, he could never catch up.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Tianwei—as usual—descended the mountain, continuing the first step of his plan to transform the Sacred Land of Lingxu.

As Li Tianwei appeared, the disciples of the Sacred Land surged excitedly toward his location—their enthusiasm was visible to the naked eye.

The sudden movement of the crowd drew Li Tianchen’s attention to a distant figure.

Li Tianwei made no effort to conceal his cultivation aura. With just one glance, Li Tianchen could feel the immense pressure.

Before he could even assess Li Tianwei’s strength, Elder Ling’s trembling voice echoed once again.

”He didn’t just break through to the Golden Core Realm—he’s already at the peak of Golden Core.”

Hearing that quivering tone, Li Tianchen’s heart completely sank.

”How… how is that possible!? How did he do it!?”

Li Tianchen was utterly stunned. After all, having comprehended Divine Abilities within the Heaven-Burning Abyss, he himself could battle Nascent Souls. He thought that by doing so, he could finally narrow the gap between him and Li Tianwei.

Yet looking now, the distance only seemed to grow greater. For a time, Li Tianchen didn’t even know how to describe the feeling.

Inside the ring, Elder Ling grew even more flustered—for he had just sensed Li Tianwei’s Divine Sense sweeping across.

”Did he notice me?”

Elder Ling turned his gaze toward the distant Li Tianwei, his heart unsettled.

Indeed, Li Tianwei had sensed Elder Ling’s presence. Before his breakthrough to the Golden Core Realm, Li Tianwei couldn’t have done so.

But now things were different. His strength had advanced through several dimensions.

He possessed three Divine Abilities—Hundred Intentions Circling, Fusion Golden Core, and could withstand even Out-of-Body experts head-on. Discovering a mere remnant soul was nothing to him.

Seeing his younger brother reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, Li Tianwei couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—his appearance had indeed greatly benefited his own kin.

Who else but himself could be the protagonist!

Li Tianwei reflected inwardly, though he hadn’t forgotten why he came down from Heaven’s Gate Peak—to once again expound upon his understanding of the Great Dao to the disciples of the Sacred Land of Lingxu.

Such matters required deep comprehension—to let one’s mind gain logical and dialectical capacity, or else one could easily fall under the influence of Evil Demons.

Only then could one walk together upon the true path of the Great Dao.

Yes—the Great Dao itself.

When Bai Muxu once spoke of Divine Abilities and called them “Lesser Paths,” Li Tianwei had begun pondering: then what truly is the Great Dao?

Because of that, Li Tianwei’s thoughts turned, constantly contemplating every possibility. After an hour of reflection, he finally arrived at what he believed to be the Great Dao.

”The so-called Great Dao lies in utmost simplicity.”

No matter how intricate the world might be, there would always exist a principle pointing straight to the root.

Just like E = mc²—a simple equation revealing the essence between mass and energy. Seemingly complex things, when deduced, could yield an utterly simple truth.

Of course, that presupposed one’s knowledge and understanding were sufficient.

Through such simplicity, Li Tianwei deduced his own Dao. Divine Abilities were “Lesser Paths”—but then, what was the Great Dao?

This led him to recall the ancient sages in the primordial myths—the likes of Nüwa, Tongtian, and Yuanshi…

When they achieved sainthood, they did so through Merit—creating humans, founding teachings, guiding all beings without discrimination…

In the most abstract sense, their actions revealed an ultimate simplicity—that each took themselves as the center, radiating influence to all living beings, guiding all things.

Thus they became Saints—was that not the Great Dao?

After all, no matter how mighty a Divine Ability was, it remained confined to oneself. It could not enlighten others or lead the world.

Hence, Li Tianwei arrived at his own answer—the Great Dao was Principle—yes, Li (理).

To seek order within chaos, to perceive essence through phenomena, to extract law from the concrete—the objective laws that govern all things, yet the subjective truth endlessly pursued by sentient beings.

Undoubtedly, those ancient Saints too were pursuing their own Principle, and precisely within that Principle lay their respective Great Dao.

Thus Li Tianwei found the path by which he could become even stronger—to comprehend his own Great Dao, to explore his own Principle.