"No, I have not reached the Domain Lord Realm yet, but I am already in the process of breaking through." Shaking his head while saying this, Xuan Hao did not deny the fact that he would inevitably be able to reach the Domain Lord Realm in the soon to be future as he constantly felt his pseudo domain growing stronger with each passing minute. Growing closer and closer to becoming a full-fledged domain.
"I see…" Not knowing what to say when she heard this, Shu Yao just answered simply as she became even more determined in convincing Feng Chen to merge the Flying Sword Sect and the Spring Flower Sect together after he finished stabilizing his cultivation base!
Having a Domain Lord in the sect would inevitably put the sect among the stronger factions on the Ewaria Continent.
While not enough to contend against powers like the Sky Empire that had people above the Domain Lord Realm, it would still be more than enough to dominate the few dozen kingdoms surrounding the Heavenly Sky Kingdom and freely expand their territory without much of a challenge.
After all, in the eyes of the Sky Empire, a sect with a Domain Lord was worth way more than a dozen kingdoms that only had people in the Nascent Soul Realm… Especially so now that the Sky Empire was trying to build up a force made of the different sects inside their territory to weaken the churches.
As he was about to ask Shu Yao about the organisation, he had found lurking around inside the Spring Flower Sects territory, Xuan Hao suddenly sensed a very familiar presence coming from a courtyard up ahead.
"This is… Chi Hu?"
The person in question was indeed Chi Hu that Xuan Hao had almost completely forgotten about!
Looking over towards Shu Yao with a confused expression on his face, Xuan Hao clearly realized that Shu Yao was currently on her way towards the courtyard where Chi Hu was staying.
The only question he had, was why?
Perhaps they managed to get along with each other after Chi Hu reached the Flying Sword Sect?
"You know him? After he suddenly showed up, I placed him in confinement inside the courtyard over here… After all, I had no idea if he truly was your friend and not just someone sent over by an enemy of your sect…" Knowing what Xuan Hao wanted to ask about, Shu Yao quickly explained this in a serious tone.
"I see, so you were going over to inform him about me returning…?" Nodding his head understandingly, Xuan Hao did not think too much about it as he heard what Shu Yao said.
What she had said was indeed reasonable. After all, he had not been able to inform the other core elders about it due to the secret realm appearing. Distributing the use of low-quality communication talismans like the one he had for at least a month or so after opening in the surrounding kingdoms…
Thinking about this, Xuan Hao felt that he would have to visit the Explorers Union at some point in the future and purchase a higher quality communication talisman for himself and the other core members of the Flying Sect.
"Yes! I was just on my way to inform him about that, but from the looks of it, he was indeed speaking the truth." Nodding her head in agreement, Shu Yao soon came to a stop together with Xuan Hao as both of them arrived in front of a gate leading into a small courtyard.
Beyond the small gate, Xuan Hao could clearly feel the presence of both Chi Hu and the treasure hunter alchemist that Chi Hu had caught back in the secret realm.
Creak~
Opening the gate, a small sound came out as the inside of the courtyard was revealed as both Xuan Hao and Shu Yao entered.
The courtyard was by no means shabby as a small artificial pond was located at the corner with a few cherry trees spread around the courtyard along with other decorations such as a small lion statue at the entrance where Xuan Hao and Shu Yao entered.
"Elder Xuan!?" A shocked voice could be heard as a figure ran over from the distance.
Soon, Chi Hu appeared in front of Xuan Hao with a happy look on his face as he looked like he was almost about to start crying tears of joy.
"Chi Hu, it is good to see that you are well. So, how was your stay during the last few weeks? I hope it was not too hard on you…" Smiling happily as he saw Chi Hu all well appear in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help himself from asking this as Chi Hu seemed too emotional after meeting again.
"Ah, I-I have been fine, Elder Shu took good care of me while I was waiting for you to come!" Glancing at Shu Yao beside him nervously as he said this, Xuan Hao felt a bit suspicious.
Did something happen between them? Maybe he was beaten up by Shu Yao after just showing up and entering the Flying Sword City or something along that line…
Shu Yao did after all say she had placed him in confinement…
Not thinking too much about this, Xuan Hao decided not to dig into what happened between both of them. No matter what, Chi Hu was fine and that was the most important.
After all, he was going to be a Core Elder of the Flying Sword Sect in the future!
"That is great!"
Talking with Chi Hu, Xuan Hao quickly learned about what had happened outside the entrance of the secret realm and found out that the people he had seen at the Domain Lord Realm was most likely people from the Sky Empire!
"We should go out and introduce you to the other Core Elders and the Sect Master in the future. For now, I still have something to discuss with Shu Yao… Go and ask after Elder Song, he will get you sorted out and help you with getting a pavilion of your own!" Finishing his conversation about what had happened after they split up, Xuan Hao instructed Chi Hu to go and find Elder Song to help him with getting a place to stay.
"What about Peng Yun?"
"Who…?"
"Ah, Peng Yun is the name of the treasure hunter we caught, he is just over there." Chi Hu turned around and pointed in the direction of the treasure hunter who was currently in the process of leisurely enjoying a few snacks as he completely ignored the presence of the group that had just shown up.
"I see… Shu Yao, do you have any idea how to sort this out…?" Still having no idea how to deal with the treasure hunter alchemist Peng Yun, Xuan Hao asked Shu Yao for her opinion as it seemed like she already knew about both Chi Hu and the treasure hunter's circumstances.
"Can't you just kill him…? He did after all try to kill you guys." Shrugging her shoulders with a clearly disinterested look on her face, Shu Yao ruthlessly declared the end of the treasure hunter Peng Yun.
"W-w-w-wait a moment! I can be useful! I know alchemy and can even help make pills and potions for you!" Peng Yun suddenly sprang up from the spot he was sitting and hurriedly kneeled down on the ground as he began begging in front of all three of them.
"…"
Both Chi Hu and Xuan Hao had no idea how to react when they were suddenly faced with the begging Peng Yun.
Already expecting the reaction of the treasure hunter Peng Yun, Shu Yao drew a small flower mid-air as it flew forward and landed on top of Peng Yun's head before slowly entering his body.
Following this, Xuan Hao felt the restriction already in place inside Peng Yun disappear as an even more powerful restriction appeared to replace it.
At the same time, a small flower mark appeared on Peng Yun's chest as it shone for a short moment before disappearing again.
This procedure sounded complicated, but everything happened in an instance, as Peng Yun had no chance to react before the new restriction was already in place.
"I have ensured that the seal on his cultivation is even stronger, and it cannot be broken by anyone other than myself or someone stronger than me. For now, I would recommend having him enter the Alchemy Hall and share his knowledge about alchemy. After that, you can allow him to go in return for giving away his knowledge on alchemy. From what I heard, his focus in alchemy is quite unique and should be useful as a referral point for other alchemists…" Hearing what Shu Yao said, Xuan Hao could not help but agree as he looked over at the Peng Yun.
"What do you think? If you don't want to give away your knowledge on alchemy, we can always find another way to deal with you…" As he was saying this, Xuan Hao did not notice how threatening his words sounded in the ears of Peng Yun.
The other option mentioned by Shu Yao was death!
How are you even calling this giving me a choice!?
"I agree…" With a reluctant look on his face, Peng Yun agreed to share his alchemy knowledge with the alchemist from the Alchemy Hall in return for staying alive and regain his freedom.
As for Xuan Hao and Shu Yao lying about letting him go in the future?
Peng Yun simply did not have a choice in believing them as it was his only way out of his current situation alive. All he could do was hope the reputation that the Flying Sword Sect had outside was true…
The last few days of not thinking too much about anything and just quietly enjoying three meals a day along with snacks was something truly blissful to Peng Yun and at the same time something he had never experienced before.
In the future, I will never be a treasure hunter again and will just find a quiet place to settle down and spend the rest of my time peacefully enjoying life…
Unknowingly, Peng Yun thought this to himself as he left the courtyard together with Chi Hu. Leaving behind only Xuan Hao and Shu Yao.