Cultivating with Top Enlightenment Chapter 784 - 329: Six Hidden Nodes (Part 2)

"Hand me your compasses; I’ll enhance them with additional features."

At these words, the Sword Ancestor, Qi Keqing, and Zhu Yanchuan swiftly propelled their compasses before Ning Qi through spiritual power.

With a quick spell gesture, Ning Qi refined the three compasses once more in an instant, then handed them back to their owners.

He explained, "I’ve added a fresh capability; now you can detect one another’s locations, plus the whereabouts of the Divine Wind Domain forces."

Glancing at their compasses, the trio’s faces filled with sheer amazement.

Ning Qi’s ability to detect the enemy forces was downright alarming!

Didn’t that imply they held total control over all intel inside the war realm?

They could track the nodes, spot the foes, and the three armies could pinpoint each other’s spots—utterly unbeatable!

Ning Qi went on, "Now, your three armies must combine to eliminate the Divine Wind Domain forces first, then split up to seize every node in this domain."

The group shouted with fervor, "Yes!"

"After securing all the nodes shown on the compass, Qi Keqing and Zhu Yanchuan, lead your armies to merge with the Profound Truth Realm forces. I’ll then guide you into cross-realm combat!"

Qi Keqing and Zhu Yanchuan shared a look before responding, "Keqing (Yanchuan) accepts the command!"

Even though Ning Qi no longer desired the role of army commander, the pair still viewed him that way and gladly followed his directives.

Ning Qi dismissed them with a wave, declaring, "Depart now; the command is issued. Your gains in the war realm rest on your own efforts from here."

Right away, the three armies took to the air.

Just prior to departure, Qi Keqing spoke up once more, "Domain Master Ning, we Fuyao Realm cultivators have agreed unanimously to offer you thirty percent of our entire war realm yields as gratitude. Please accept it without hesitation!"

Ning Qi wasn’t one for false modesty or sainthood; he chuckled, "If you’re all so eager, then I’ll take it."

Qi Keqing and those behind him let out relieved breaths; things had shifted, and they worried he might turn it down.

Without real ties to Ning Qi, and no shared benefits, how could they keep supporting him?

Zhu Yanchuan and his companions traded looks and quickly added, "We Langya Domain cultivators wish to contribute thirty percent as well, to honor the Domain Master’s benevolence!"

Ning Qi gave a nod, "Very well."

The Profound Truth Realm army looked toward Ning Qi with evident hesitation to part.

Ning Qi recalled something abruptly and noted, "I nearly overlooked it—I rescued a few folks earlier but haven’t handed them over yet."

He indicated the emptiness, and in a flash, more than a hundred individuals materialized there from the void.

These were members of Sikong Lan’s army, every one a True Martial Realm reincarnate.

Ning Qi hadn’t freed them alongside Qi Keqing and the rest, due to their highly delicate statuses.

As expected, upon spotting them, numerous Fuyao Realm cultivators displayed confused looks, unsure why Ning Qi had bothered saving them.

Just the True Martial Realm cultivators recognized them as allies, Ning Qi’s loyal inner circle.

Ning Qi instructed, "Don’t lump them in with Sikong Lan’s bunch; they supplied me with vital intel before."

"We get it."

Truth be told, Qi Keqing and company remained somewhat baffled, merely suspecting that during Ning Qi’s arrival, these individuals had covertly signaled him.

Ning Qi pondered the optimal way to place these hundred into the Profound Truth Realm army.

His eyes swept across Xia Xing of Celestial Star Upper Sect, Taoist Baishan of Cyan Mist Upper Sect, and Zhuang Chen of Luotian Upper Sect; should he assign them to these figures?

They met his gaze and all winked, signaling they’d handle it.

Yet ultimately, Ning Qi addressed Qin Minghao of Infinite Sword Sect, "Minghao, I’m placing them in your care; look after them well on my behalf!"

Hearing Ning Qi address him directly thrilled Qin Minghao to no end.

From within the ranks, he affirmed, "Don’t worry, Senior Brother Ning, Minghao has it covered!"

Qin Minghao stood among the rare few in the Mountain and Sea Realm aware that Ning Qi truly ruled the True Martial Realm; having sworn loyalty to him, his fate bound to Ning Qi’s, entrusting the hundred to him brought Ning Qi great confidence.

After all, Qin Minghao currently oversaw Infinite Sword Sect’s Five Elements Peak for Ning Qi, with numerous True Martial Realm reincarnates among its members.

With the hundred’s placement settled, Ning Qi declared, "Business here is finished; head out now!"

The three armies’ leaders promptly replied, "We depart!"

They spearheaded the advance, guiding the three armies onward.

Ning Qi observed the three armies blending into a massive, never-before-seen cultivator force vanishing into the horizon, a faint grin playing on his face.

Such was the surprising boon from his war realm venture.

Abruptly, a voice transmission came from the Sword Ancestor.

"Kid, I’ve never looked up to anyone in my life—you’re the exception."

Ning Qi shot back, "Spare the praise; I’m leaving the Profound Truth Realm army under your watch, and keep tabs on the cultivators from the other two domains too."

The Sword Ancestor hesitated briefly before chuckling, "Rest easy—with my presence, I doubt they’d dare any folly."

Ning Qi formed a sword gesture, aiming at the Sword Ancestor’s departing path.

A five-element divine chain shot skyward without delay, racing after the Sword Ancestor and merging into his body.

"I nearly forgot—I’ve hit Integration Perfection, and you, Sword Ancestor, ought to boost your cultivation as well."

Their powers interconnected, the Sword Ancestor’s aptitude was phenomenal; absent the evil qi, he’d have entered Harmonization ages ago.

Ning Qi couldn’t yet purge his evil qi, but uplifting the Sword Ancestor’s power offered extra aid against the Divine Wind Realm foes.

Far off, the Sword Ancestor unleashed a mighty roar, surging straight into Integration Perfection.

This display left the cultivators from the other domains utterly shocked, highlighting the Profound Truth Realm’s incredible might!

Once all had gone, Ning Qi ascended solo into the heavens.

He ventured into the void, surveying this area.

The local nodes remained dormant, with the Node Pearl still held by Ning Qi, so the Mountain and Sea Realm Will hadn’t arrived.

Naturally, he wouldn’t trigger it just yet, preferring to fully grasp the origins of this location’s creation.

This spot held special uniqueness, impervious to the wills of both realms; Ning Qi even deemed it his prime gain since entering the war realm.

With everyone dispatched, Ning Qi could now examine it in solitude.

Upon complete comprehension, he intended to cut the space loose, merging it into the True Martial Realm to hasten its growth.

Ning Qi alternated between aerial overlooks and ground-level shortcuts, flashing about with shadowy trails.

The deeper his investigation, the odder it seemed to Ning Qi.

He pondered how many similar sites existed in the war realm; more would mean more spaces he could claim!

Soon enough, Ning Qi came to a stop.

He whispered, "I get it now!"

The Mountain and Sea Realm and Vast Realm connected, siphoning power from the Sea of Realms to birth nine war realms.

Even as Spirit Realms, crafting extra spaces in the Sea of Realms couldn’t be flawless.

Were it possible, they’d have vastly expanded their Spirit Realms in the Sea of Realms long ago, no need to husband resources for this war realm.

Therefore, these concealed special nodes in the war realm were inevitable.

It wasn’t reluctance from the two realms’ wills to claim every inch, but sheer impossibility.

Ning Qi’s gaze sparkled; this was exactly the chance that opened up for him.

Ning Qi drew out his Soul-Searching Plate and checked the compass radar’s map.

As Ning Qi’s cultivation advanced and his war realm knowledge grew, the compass radar revealed far more than those shared with the Sword Ancestor and others.

The map brimmed with detail, nearly mapping every node in this war realm.

Captured nodes glowed vividly, while free ones flickered dimly.

Ning Qi tallied precisely; thirty-one nodes appeared on the map, counting this exceptional one ahead.

Without Sikong Lan and company unearthing this node and luring him here, Ning Qi wouldn’t have known such hidden spots dotted the war realm.

Ning Qi promptly updated the compass data, folding in details from this location.

Moments later, five additional nodes surfaced on the map.

Yet these five nodes’ glow was extraordinarily dim, barely noticeable.

"One Domain holds thirty-six nodes, six being secret ones, so six spots where I can slice space and fuse it into the True Martial Realm!"