Cultivating with Top Enlightenment Chapter 793 - 334: Calm Before the Storm

The frontier of the Central Domain in the Southeast War Realm.

A teleportation portal suddenly materialized, revealing a figure clad in white robes.

Shortly afterward, cultivators from three armies emerged, traversing through different realms.

They floated in orderly formation within the emptiness, all eyes fixed on the white-robed individual leading them.

Ning Qi clutched the communication jade scroll, quietly reviewing the details relayed by cultivators from the True Martial Realm.

Thanks to this intel, Ning Qi had a solid grasp on the domain's current state.

From the reports gathered by his team, Ning Qi discovered that the Central Domain mirrored the Lower Realm with its Six Domains, evenly split between the two sides.

The Mountain and Sea Realm encompassed the Celestial Fire Realm, Earth Gold Realm, and Vine Wood Realm, whereas the Vast Realm covered the Yangchun Realm, Xiahe Realm, and Autumn Fruit Realm.

Within the Six Domain forces, the Celestial Fire Realm and Xiahe Realm stood out as the mightiest, so only their commanders directed their cultivators on their own.

The remaining four domains paired up their troops to survey the full expanse of the Central Domain.

By now, the Mountain and Sea Realm's Three Domain cultivators had seized nine nodes across the Central Domain, with each domain securing an average of three.

Ning Qi stored the communication jade scroll away, then retrieved the Soul-Searching Plate and channeled magical power into it.

Backed by the thorough records from the Lower Realm, the disparity between the Central and Lower Realms proved minimal, making the data Ning Qi had acquired earlier still applicable here in the Central Domain.

As a result, within mere moments, a layout of node positions across the Central Domain surfaced automatically on the device.

Ning Qi concentrated deeply on the displayed map.

The map displayed thirty-six nodes shimmering in varied hues, igniting one after another.

Nine of those nodes glowed in a cyan-blue shade, exactly the ones claimed by the Mountain and Sea Realm's Three Domains.

Besides them, ten more nodes carried a subtle golden tint, representing the areas occupied by the Vast Realm's Three Domains.

This indicated that forces from both realms had claimed nineteen nodes in the Central Domain, with seventeen still unclaimed, among them six concealed ones.

Given how expansive the Central Domain was compared to the Lower Realm, the rapid capture of so many nodes by the two realms' cultivators was truly remarkable!

After all, they lacked a tool like Ning Qi's compass that could pinpoint node locations.

Trailing Ning Qi were Sword Ancestor, Qi Keqing, and Zhu Yanchuan, positioned side by side.

These three guided the Three Domain cultivators, and for smooth coordination of the armies, they remained grouped to discuss strategies upon entering the Central Domain.

Right then, the trio also drew out their compasses, examining if they could sense the nodes present in the Central Domain.

As they poured spiritual power into the devices, a hum resonated, and the needles sprang to life, indicating various directions.

This reaction stemmed from the tailored features Ning Qi had embedded in their compasses.

The purpose was to prevent all three from detecting the identical node, which might draw the entire armies to one spot and squander their unified strength.

Meanwhile, the Three Domain armies at their backs remained utterly still and mute, like motionless effigies, ready for directives from Ning Qi and his companions.

A glint sparked in Ning Qi's gaze.

Abruptly, six luminous dots began to emerge on the compass map he held.

These dots shifted steadily, at times spreading out thinly, at others bunching closely, akin to mist that scattered and reformed, denoting the locations of the Six Domain armies throughout the Central Domain.

Spotting these indicators, Ning Qi colored them according to the updates from the True Martial Realm.

He assigned red, gold, and green markers to the Mountain and Sea Realm's Three Domain armies: Celestial Fire Realm, Earth Gold Realm, and Vine Wood Realm.

For the opposing Vast Realm's Three Domain armies, lacking spies from the True Martial Realm at the moment, Ning Qi couldn't differentiate them as precisely as he did for the Mountain and Sea Realm's forces.

Yet that was of little concern; they were all Vast Realm cultivators anyway.

"You three, hand over your compasses for a bit. I'll upgrade them with some new features!"

This statement caught Sword Ancestor and the others off guard, prompting them to glance at Ning Qi with mild astonishment.

Yet another enhancement? Just how powerful would it turn out?

By age, the youngest among the three outstripped Ning Qi by dozens of years.

They boasted vast experience, yet in Ning Qi's presence now, that experience felt insignificant.

It was like Ning Qi possessed far deeper insights and wisdom, rendering the three akin to green novices who could only stare in bewilderment and follow along.

Without delay, the three channeled their spiritual qi to forward their compasses toward Ning Qi.

However, Ning Qi didn't grasp them; instead, he swiftly formed a Daoist seal using both hands.

In an instant, three tiny yet fiercely blazing fireballs ignited in the void, each swallowing up a compass.

Through their spiritual sense, the compasses resembled tiny vessels tossed upon ocean waves, rolling wildly within.

Suddenly, three azure rays shot from Ning Qi's palms, piercing into the fireballs and straight through the compasses.

The whole enchantment procedure for the artifacts unfolded swiftly, concluding in a flash as the fireballs merged, leaving the three compasses radiating a gentle light while hovering in the void.

As they observed Ning Qi's fluid and masterful technique, not just Sword Ancestor and his peers, but even the artifact refiners among the Three Domain cultivators, found themselves spellbound, utterly absorbed.

This level of proficiency bordered on the Dao itself, so mesmerizing that merely witnessing it felt profoundly satisfying.

Ning Qi had upgraded the three compasses with the full node distribution map of the Central Domain plus the Six Domain armies' positions, mirroring what appeared on his own.

Naturally, as always, Ning Qi subtly omitted the six unique hidden nodes in the Central Domain.

These nodes lay beyond the reach of the two realms' wills, and Ning Qi planned to seize them solely for himself, integrating their spaces into the True Martial Realm—a secret he vowed to guard fiercely.