Cultivating with Top Enlightenment Chapter 888 - 378: Hundred-Character Heavenly Stele

A few exquisitely sharp strands of Sword Qi slashed across the void, much like laser beams or speeding bullets.

Those strands accurately targeted the shadow avatars freshly summoned by the Saint Ancestor, obliterating every one of them in an instant.

In a flash, Ning Qi rematerialized right in front of the Sword Ancestor.

"I said, I’ll handle him."

Ning Qi shot a glance back toward Zhao Yujun.

That one look immediately stopped Zhao Yujun cold, just as she geared up to take on the Saint Ancestor’s avatar by herself.

Her eyes fixed on Ning Qi’s back, as a powerful wave of security etched his figure permanently into her mind.

Standing nearby, Gong Tiandao let out a heavy sigh of relief the moment he saw Ning Qi break loose.

With Ning Qi around, after all, he could afford to feel somewhat more relaxed.

Going up against Jiang Yingchu solo would leave him short on confidence.

He didn’t truly dread Jiang Yingchu; what rattled him was losing a comrade in the fight against the Saint Ancestor’s avatar.

That avatar’s strength terrified, and both he and Zhao Yujun—who had tangled with the Mountain Ancestor and Sea Ancestor of the Mountain and Sea Realm for ages—knew its might better than anyone, branding it forever in their souls.

Ning Qi spun around to confront the Saint Ancestor directly.

The Saint Ancestor heaved a sigh.

Ning Qi had advanced so far that he slipped free from the avatar’s mystical Divine Techniques, forcing even the Saint Ancestor to acknowledge his breakneck growth!

Growth so explosive it resembled an ant barely coping with his possessions yesterday now toppling a giant tree today!

The Saint Ancestor halted all motion, divine radiance pulsing in his eyes.

Flashes of Ning Qi’s prior Sword Qi Divine Techniques raced through his thoughts.

Research had always been the Saint Ancestor’s forte; his climb to the Saint Ancestor throne in the Vast Realm stemmed not just from raw talent but chiefly from his knack for profound, methodical probing.

Earlier moments surged back vividly, playing out in slow motion within his mind.

Ning Qi’s Sword Qi transcended the commonplace—it was minuscule like bullets, shining brilliantly like silver.

A vital clue lay in how that Sword Qi slammed into the shadow avatars he’d only just invoked.

Another key observation: the Saint Ancestor saw the Sword Qi bullets unleash no stray energy bursts on striking each avatar, sparing any extra ruin.

Few cultivators amid battle notice such subtleties; they typically hurl every ounce of power, ignoring mastery of finer forces.

Cultivators, for example, often channel total might to fell one foe, manifesting a forty-meter Rule Blade—like firing a cannon at a gnat.

Such an assault might doom the enemy, yet it ravages everything else nearby.

Hence, witnessing that Sword Qi, the Saint Ancestor discerned Ning Qi’s command of his strength had soared to a dreadfully elite degree.

He had called forth the shadow avatars to offset the weakness in fighting force from the Vast Realm’s Harmonization cultivators.

Despite their uniform appearance, those shadow avatars differed greatly.

The Saint Ancestor had forged them via the Hundred Phases Diagram for combat alone, each boasting distinct powers and skills suited to varied adversaries.

Some shone in defense, others in assault, stealth strikes, ensnarement, group clashes, and more.

And yet, Ning Qi’s apparently effortless Sword Qi volley vaporized them all nearly at once, without wrecking anything beyond.

Isn’t that utterly chilling?

For the Saint Ancestor, Ning Qi’s off-the-cuff blow revealed profound skill—not happenstance, but the essence of a cultivator’s drive for supremacy.

From those minutiae, the Saint Ancestor assessed Ning Qi’s present prowess, concluding he outclassed his own pupil, Vast Immortal Sect Leader Jiang Yingchu, and by extension dwarfed Zhao Yujun and Gong Tiandao.

The Saint Ancestor’s avatar inevitably weighed Ning Qi’s might against its own.

A hint of powerlessness stirred in its core, as the avatar grasped that binding Ning Qi would exact colossal toil.

Moreover, without neutralizing Ning Qi upfront, scant time would remain for other pursuits.

Why, then, did the Saint Ancestor’s avatar hold back from deploying Great Magical Power to eradicate the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators?

First off, his exalted rank barred a supreme Saint Ancestor from stooping to clash with lesser Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators personally—such would sully his prestige.

Second, the Saint Ancestor understood the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators harbored no real thirst for strife against the Vast Realm.

Absent the prodding of the Mountain Ancestor, Sea Ancestor, and Mountain and Sea Realm Will, these cultivators would be mad to ignite a Spiritual Realm conflict.

Win or lose, their rewards stayed paltry; they’d only bleed lives to fatten gains and fame for their betters.

Third, the Saint Ancestor’s disposition stayed his hand against rank-and-file cultivators—he upheld the Heavenly Dao.

Though he could call upon others to enter the fray, he personally would not make a move—a boundary he refused to violate.

Should he throw caution to the wind and strike anyway, would the two Ancestors of the Mountain and Sea Realm not retaliate in kind?

Once the memories flashing through his mind came to an end, the Saint Ancestor’s avatar turned his gaze back toward Ning Qi.

His entire recollection had passed in the blink of an eye, a mere instant that let him plot his following step.

"Since you wish to fight me, then I shall grant your wish!"

An object shot forth from his sleeve on its own, which he seized firmly in his grasp.

The Saint Ancestor’s avatar spread it open, and in that moment, heaven and earth shifted dramatically.

Ning Qi felt a faint jolt of surprise. When he looked once more at the Saint Ancestor, he found they had stepped into a bizarre standalone realm.

Within this realm, nothing existed but the two of them.

Ning Qi scanned the area around him; the space held no boredom. Mountains rose and waters flowed, punctuated by distant rooster crows and dog barks, evoking a heavenly paradise.