Cultivating with Top Enlightenment Chapter 886 - 377: First Battle

Envious stares from the cultivators of the two sects fixed on Ning Qi while he handed out abundant resources to his followers.

The smiles that had briefly graced their faces after getting supplies vanished swiftly, shifting instead to the faces of Ning Qi’s subordinates.

Right then, Ning Qi seemed like the most incredible figure in their hearts, with many even imagining themselves as one of his subordinates.

Who could possibly rival Ning Qi?

"Thank you, Domain Master!"

The forces from the two domains voiced their thanks loudly in unison.

Ning Qi ignored the gazes from the two sects' cultivators. A simple hand gesture from him brought immediate silence to the crowd.

"I have no more to give you, but I have one last thing to say."

"Please teach us, Domain Master!"

Ning Qi declared, "If you all survive until the end, I will lead you to a more glorious future."

Brilliance sparked in everyone's eyes.

Even without knowing the details of Ning Qi’s promised future, a deep yearning filled every heart.

Zhao Yujun stepped forward to Ning Qi.

"Taoist Friend Ning, your army is so talented and resourceful, why not cooperate with my Moon Sea Immortal Sect people?"

Ning Qi smiled and replied:

"Sect Leader Zhao, I appreciate you thinking of me and my subordinates several times, but they have been trained well by me, and disrupting their formation rashly isn’t a good idea."

"Moreover, I believe your subordinates might not necessarily be willing to accept them, so I think it’s best to fight our own battles, although they can help each other."

Zhao Yujun hadn’t foreseen her good intentions being turned down by Ning Qi repeatedly.

If it were anyone else, who could refuse her so bluntly?

Zhao Yujun remained undeterred and said, "Alright then, I’ll follow Taoist Friend Ning’s lead, but we’ll cooperate well."

"Of course." Ning Qi nodded.

Next, everyone hurried to complete their final preparations.

With Ning Qi having connected the arrays carved by the two great sects, cultivators from all three parties settled into their assigned positions.

Soon after,

the Mountain and Sea Realm Will manifested again beside them and stated bluntly, "Are you ready? Soon, I and the Vast Realm Will will remove the boundary wall of the Central Domain."

Ning Qi, Zhao Yujun, and Gong Tiandao nodded in agreement.

"Alright!"

The Mountain and Sea Realm Will wasted no more words.

It pressed down on the ground, causing the whole earth to tremble violently.

Instantly, immense power surged toward the central boundary wall, accompanied by a shattering sound like breaking glass.

The blood mist inside the Central Domain paused briefly before surging even more fiercely.

In a flash, a denser crimson veil shrouded everyone's sight.

The wills of the two realms had finally shattered the boundary wall dividing the Central Domain's north and south, plunging the scene from utter calm into frenzied chaos.

A thick bloody aroma assaulted the senses of countless cultivators, instantly fueling their battle fervor.

"Kill!"

Earth-shaking war cries erupted!

Though no enemies were visible yet, the cultivators unleashed their combined assaults.

"Hoo hoo hoo!"

Fierce winds roared as blood mist swirled wildly like scattered dandelion seeds, with endless attacks blasting toward the opposite side.

Rumble!

Thunderous quakes rocked the entire Central Domain, echoes reverberating without end.

Myriad Divine Techniques, vast Rule powers, and surging Spiritual Qi smashed together, illuminating the Central Domain like broad daylight, as if a colossal flashbang had exploded!

After the initial barrage ended, a handful of figures hovered high in the sky, facing off against each other.

To the north stood the Vast Immortal Sect’s Saint Ancestor’s avatar and Sect Leader Jiang Yingchu.

To the south were Ning Qi, Zhao Yujun, and Gong Tiandao.

The two realms' wills stayed absent, occupied with stabilizing the Central Domain's spatial structure and unable to fight.

Both sides started assessing one another.

Ning Qi swiftly scanned Jiang Yingchu first.

His stature stood tall and straight, his features refined and bookish, radiating a profound scholarly vibe—far from frail, but carrying the awe-inspiring aura of one who grasped the world's profound principles.

Ning Qi’s eyes then shifted to the Saint Ancestor’s avatar.

Compared to Jiang Yingchu, the Saint Ancestor’s looks were far less impressive.

Jiang Yingchu resembled a lofty scholar of high standing, whereas the Saint Ancestor evoked a destitute wandering scholar.

His hair and beard were entirely white, loosely bound with a simple hair band and a plain wooden hairpin.

His robes were the plainest grayish-white scholar's garb, faded and threadbare from endless washing.

Yet, nobody dared to belittle this elder; he was held in awe by all in the Vast Realm, serving as the mentor to the Vast Realm Will, his prestige matching Ning Qi's in the True Martial Realm.

Upon laying eyes on the Saint Ancestor, Ning Qi recalled their three prior indirect clashes.

In the first encounter, he faced the Domain Master of the Vast Realm's Divine Wind Domain, and at a crucial juncture, the foe produced a Wind God Painting, a creation of the Saint Ancestor.

During that incident, Ning Qi's consciousness was pulled into the Wind God Painting, where the Saint Ancestor's lingering will morphed into a Wind God, trampling Ning Qi's remains to reach True Immortal status.

However, Ning Qi shattered the Saint Ancestor's will using his own Dao, thereby catching the Saint Ancestor's notice of his presence.

The second time, Ning Qi's bold moves allowed him to seize several realms in the War Realm at lightning speed.

This ignited the Saint Ancestor's caution, leading him to dispatch twenty Harmonization cultivators, together with his "Suppress" character talisman, to the War Realm.

The third occasion came when Ning Qi endured his tribulation, drawing away close to a thousand Harmonization cultivators from the Vast Realm.

The Saint Ancestor instructed the Vast Realm Will to carry his "Resolve" character talisman to rescue them, only to be thwarted by Ning Qi yet again.

Across all three events, Ning Qi bested the Saint Ancestor's techniques, earning the elder's intense scrutiny.

Now, with the Saint Ancestor's avatar appearing for a face-to-face showdown, Ning Qi had advanced far on his path, his vision locked solely on the Saint Ancestor.