Cultivating with Top Enlightenment Chapter 825 - 348: The Key to Ning Qi’s Victory (2)

Ning Qi commanded, "All troops, listen closely. Once we pass through the Teleportation Gate, do not move without my direct orders, as we must avoid alerting the enemy."

The soldiers replied in one voice, "Understood!"

With a booming voice, Ning Qi yelled, "Advance!"

Dressed in pristine white robes, he took the initiative and soared toward the Teleportation Gate.

The entire force surged forward, trailing close behind him.

For members like Ren Boping, this was their inaugural transit through a Teleportation Gate. They were shocked by the experience; instead of the dark, void-dizzying nightmare they had anticipated, it was a smooth transition.

Their vision blurred for a mere heartbeat before they found themselves having traversed the void almost instantly.

As their clarity returned, they scanned their surroundings and realized they had arrived at the fringes of the active war zone between the two competing armies.

Ren Boping, Jiang Yuyue, and Lang Yingying were visibly startled, their pupils contracting as they braced for the immediate threat of detection.

Yet, looking at the chaotic battlefield ahead, it seemed their arrival had gone entirely unnoticed.

Considering the sheer size of the army they had brought—four and a half territories' worth of Cultivation talent—getting through the gate was one thing, but remaining completely undetected was a feat of impossible skill. They gazed at Ning Qi with renewed awe.

"Domain Master Ning, what are our next instructions?"

Lang Yingying queried in a soft tone.

As a mermaid demon king, she possessed mastery over illusions and water-based rules, so Ning Qi had placed her in command of that specific division.

Ren Boping and Jiang Yuyue also turned their gazes toward Ning Qi, ready to follow his lead.

Ren Boping, known for his offensive prowess, had been placed in the vanguard, while the powerful Jiang Yuyue had been assigned to the Demon Race battalion alongside Niu Dingtian.

Since this was their first time engaging in such atypical warfare, they placed their trust entirely in Ning Qi's strategic acumen.

Ning Qi took a moment to analyze the volatile skirmish unfolding before them, carefully studying the tactical landscape.

He arrived at a tactical conclusion almost immediately.

After sending out silent commands to realign the formations, Ning Qi gestured with his hand.

"Move out, and keep pace with me!"

Lang Yingying felt no slight at his lack of verbal acknowledgment; instead, she found his unwavering focus to be incredibly impressive.

Having prepared the ground so thoroughly, securing victory in this encounter was a trivial matter, no harder than saving Ren Boping and his comrades had been.

Within a short time, Ning Qi led his forces to finish rescuing the local cultivators and systematically eliminated the invading Vast Realm soldiers.

The leader of the local forces was a Nine-Headed Sea Serpent. During the fight, he had utilized all nine heads to cast divergent rules and divine techniques, his massive, surging body crushing the Vast Realm interlopers with brute force.

Now appearing in human form, he was a handsome, ethereal man who went by the name Qing Chu Lan.

He was filled with gratitude when Ren Boping and the rest arrived to provide support.

Once the dust settled, he followed the suggestions of Ren Boping, deciding to approach Ning Qi to pay his respects.

"Domain Master Ning, I am Qing Chu Lan of the Sea Serpent Domain. My deepest thanks for your timely intervention!"

Qing Chu Lan acted with refined grace and genuine respect, clearly having been briefed by Ren Boping regarding Ning Qi's status.

Ning Qi replied, "There is no need for such formalities. We all serve under the Sea Ancestor, and helping one another is simply our duty."

Qing Chu Lan smiled, adding, "By saving us today, Domain Master Ning, you have secured our loyalty; when we return to the Mountain and Sea Realm, we will ensure your deeds are recognized."

Ning Qi glanced at Qing Chu Lan, briefly amused by his polished manners and momentarily wondering if having nine heads indeed granted superior intelligence.

Qing Chu Lan then facilitated introductions with two other Domain Masters, leading to a strategy session regarding their next moves.

By this stage, Ren Boping and the others had fully committed to Ning Qi's leadership, treating him as their anchor.

Ning Qi did not hesitate, immediately delegating responsibilities to each unit.

Their top-tier objective was the complete pacification of this domain.

He entrusted the Sword Ancestor and his people to seize the four designated anchor nodes, tasking Ren Boping and Qing Chu Lan with the remaining four.

As for Ning Qi, he focused on harvesting the six hidden nodes, folding them directly into the structure of his True Martial Realm.

Once the reward from the Mountain and Sea Realm's Will was secured, Ning Qi led the charge once more, smashing the Boundary Wall between the Central Domain and the Lower Realm.

He employed a similar tactical process to pacify the Lower Realm.

By the time Ning Qi had successfully obtained the six hidden nodes of the Lower Realm, the Sword Ancestor's group had finally captured the final node in that territory.

With all nodes accounted for, they had successfully brought the Southern War Realm under their total control.

A sudden, seismic shift was felt by everyone present.

The entirety of the Lower Realm shuddered, and from the northern horizon, a series of deafening, terrifying roars erupted.

The group rushed toward the heavens, peering into the distance.

The north was precisely where they had originally broken through the Boundary Wall.

At that very moment, the immense Boundary Wall collapsed, dissolving into raw energy that drifted out to infuse the surrounding space.

Ning Qi opted to teleport to the scene by himself.

He knit his brows, closely inspecting the unfolding phenomenon.

As the walls dissolved and that energy permeated the space, Ning Qi could sense the local reality becoming significantly more stable. Yet, the transformation was far from finished. He proceeded to warp space again, crossing the Central Domain to reach the boundary partition between the Central Domain and the Upper Realm.

Similar cataclysmic changes were occurring there as well.

Ning Qi watched as the Will of the Mountain and Sea Realm utilized its power to crush and dismantle the existing Boundary Wall.

The manifestation of the Mountain and Sea Realm’s Will appeared beside Ning Qi.

Witnessing this ethereal entity no longer stirred surprise in Ning Qi; as a Realm Lord himself, he possessed a deep comprehension of such manifestations.

Ning Qi asked, "Realm Venerable, is this the inevitable outcome of fully occupying a Great Domain?"

The manifestation looked at Ning Qi with what appeared to be appreciation before answering, "Now that the Southern War Realm is fully united under the True Self, the internal obstructions are cleared, allowing the entire Southern Domain to exist as a single, seamless expanse."

"Does this imply the Unity Realm can now manifest its power within this domain?" Ning Qi questioned.

The manifestation shook its head in response.

"Not yet. It requires time. Once the Southern Domain has fully assimilated the energy from the destroyed Boundary Wall, I will reinforce it. Only then can the Unity Realm descend here."

Ning Qi nodded, but pressed for more, "Realm Venerable, you are capable of traversing this domain at will. Why the need for pawns? Can the Vast Realm really oppose you if you handle it personally?"

The Mountain and Sea Realm’s Will let out a sudden, hollow laugh.

"The True Self is a Realm Venerable. The laws of this War Realm are too fragile to support my true power; the spatial limits of this realm forbid it. Even after I stabilize it, it will only accommodate the strength of the Unity Realm."

"Therefore, I can only bring forth power equivalent to that level. The reason I required the capture of those nodes was specifically to allow my power to manifest at all."

Ning Qi understood the situation immediately.

However, drawing upon his experience as a Realm Lord, he suspected the Mountain and Sea Realm was hiding a piece of the puzzle.

Namely, the fact that its Will is tethered to a specific regional range!

It is, after all, the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Its true might is anchored within the Mountain and Sea Realm itself; attempting to exert influence beyond those borders is difficult, allowing for external influence but never true omnipotence. If it were truly omnipotent, it would have long since expanded its borders indefinitely.

Clearly, that is impossible. If the realm had the capacity to hold more, it would naturally have continued growing.

Ning Qi recognizes that he, too, bears similar constraints.

For instance, his own core existence as the True Martial Realm Master normally prevents him from wielding full authority outside of his domain.

However, Ning Qi is distinct from the realms; he is human. By purging the original Will of the True Martial Realm and becoming the Will himself, he retains his human nature.

Ning Qi is an anomaly—neither bound by the limitations of a machine-like realm nor limited by a mere mortal body. He is both.

Because of this, Ning Qi stands superior to both the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Vast Realm.

Moreover, his ability to split his soul to create a reincarnated vessel gives him an avatar that remains tethered to his essence, allowing him to shift power between them at will.

In that moment, the fundamental gap between himself and the two great realms became clear.

A bright spark of realization gleamed in his eyes. In this ongoing war, his anomalous nature meant that the balance of victory was no longer a tug-of-war between the realms; it was tilting squarely in his direction.

"Realm Venerable, since the Southern War Realm is now fully under our control, what is our next objective?"

Though Ning Qi had already formulated his own plans, he wanted to solicit the Will’s input, curious to see what it would reveal.