Looks like everything worked out...
Looking at the Soul Sacrifice Formation breaking apart under the tyrannical power of the capital city's guardian formation, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief as he glanced towards the cardinal who was still in the process of recovering the arm he had lost during the fight with the demonic cultivator.
Whoosh~!
Using the time when no one were paying attention, Xuan Hao used his divine sense together with a small string of qi to pull the silver sword that had been buried beneath some rubble from a nearby building that had collapsed on top of it after the collapse of the Soul Sacrifice Formation.
Just a few seconds earlier, he had decided to make a gamble and help out the cardinal by stopping the demonic cultivator from killing him. Hoping that doing so would allow him to continue hiding his identity and strength... And from the way that the cardinal sometimes glanced towards the large estates belonging the large noble families and the way that the few people who had emerged from those large noble families were looking suspiciously at each other, it was obvious that they all thought that the person responsible for saving the cardinal belonged to one of their noble families...
In the end, it looked like his plan to save the cardinal without anyone figuring out who was behind the attack and the cardinal at the last moment, was perfect!
Swish~
Knowing that it would no be a good idea to stay inside the noble district any longer, Xuan Hao decided to quietly blend together with the large number of people trying to leave the noble district now that the Soul Sacrifice Formation had been destroyed.
Together with the fact that his strength was still only in the Domain Lord Realm, he managed to leave the noble district without any issues... Of course, it was also due to the fact that most of the Domain Lords who had observed the battle just now were doing the same as him.
Although... Their reason for leaving quickly was not so much about getting away from the noble district and was more about them returning back home so they could enter seclusion and try to comprehend something from the fight they had just witnessed.
After, a fight between a Soul Ascension Realm Expert and a True Demon Realm Expert was incredibly useful to someone in the Domain Lord Realm. Especially those who did not have a way to come into contact with the Soul Ascension Realm and had a hard improving after reaching a bottleneck.
Even if these kind of people might not be able to directly break through a minor realm due to witnessing the fight. At the very least, they would be able to increase the strength of their foundation and lay the groundwork for a smooth breakthrough in the future.
...
Shortly after Xuan Hao left the noble district, a handsome middle-aged man covered in a regal armour appeared floating above the noble district as he scanned the place where the battle had taken place just a short time ago with his divine sense.
"Hmph... To think a demonic cultivator managed to sneak inside the capital and even managed to set up a Soul Sacrifice Formation without being noticed. At least it looks like one of those half dead people decided to help out..." Muttering this to himself as he narrowed both his eyes while looking towards the only remaining buildings left standing at the core of the noble district, the handsome middle-aged man soon disappeared before reappearing beside the more than three meter tall cardinal who was still in the process of recovering from the battle that had just taken place.
"Y-your excellency!?"
Seeing the handsome middle-aged man, the cardinal showed a shocked expression on his face followed by a fearful one that quickly disappeared in less than a second. However, from this alone, it was obvious that the cardinal was scared of the man who had appeared.
"Tell me everything that happened since you arrived at the noble district, I don't want you to leave out a single detail!"
"Yes!"
Hearing what the man said, the cardinal didn't hesitate as he told him everything that had happened since his arrival in the noble district to deal with the demonic formation that had appeared out of thin air. From the appearance of the demonic cultivator to the mystical scroll he had used to escape, the cardinal didn't leave out a single detail in his explanation to the mysterious man!
The reason for this, was that the man standing in front of him was none other than the ancestor of the Sky Empire, an existence that had already surpassed the first minor realm of the Soul Ascension Realm!
Even if the three religious organisation were all trying to take away power from the imperial family, they still did not dare to truly fall out with them... And the main reason for this was the ancestor of the imperial family currently standing in front of him!
The difference in strength between even a single minor realm in the Soul Ascension Realm was massive and it could be seen from how easily the cardinal had been beaten up by the True Demon Realm Expert just a few seconds earlier...
"For a True Demon Realm Expert of this level to enter the capital... Even if he had help from the inside and his lifespan was about to run out, he should not have the courage to enter the capital. Hah... It looks like something is really wrong at the Frozen Wasteland... And from the looks of it, it should not just be some old True Demon Realm Expert awakening like most of the rumours state..."
Frowning visibly as he said this to himself with a worried expression on his face after listening to what the cardinal said, the ancestor of the imperial family did not believe that the only reason that the demonic cultivator attacked the capital was to kill a Soul Ascension Realm Expert and use the soul energy refined from a Soul Ascension Realm Expert to break through and increase his lifespan.
If that demonic cultivator wanted to do something like that, it would be far easier for him to target those Soul Ascension Realm Experts wandering around by themselves instead of targeting one in the capital of the Sky Empire that was protected by the guardian formation that had the ability to trap and kill him.
"That scroll he used to create a spatial tunnel and escape, it had the ability to ignore the spatial lock of the guardian formation without me even noticing it... The person who made that scroll should at least be someone skilled in spatial manipulation who crossed the Third Tribulation...
Cardinal, I have something important to do, I will take my leave now. Recover your strength as quickly as possible... In case something happens..."
Swish-!
Before the cardinal had any time to respond, the ancestor of the imperial family had already disappeared after leaving those ominous words behind.
"..."
Leaving the cardinal to stare out into empty space as he wondered just what kind of disaster the ancestor of the imperial family had foreseen.
"Your excellency! Are you alright!? "
Only after hearing the familiar voice of his right-hand man and most trusted subordinate did he manage to somewhat recover again-
"Ah! Your arm! Your excellency, why does your arm look like a baby arm!? What happened- Don't tell me, is this a curse left behind by that demonic cultivator!? Oh, what horror! To embarrass his excellency like this, what a despicable demon!"
Bang!
However, after hearing what his dear subordinate said next, the cardinal could not help himself from sending him flying with a faint killing intent flickering through his eyes for a split second.
Baby arm!? What do you know! My arm needs to regrow in some way!
Swish-!
Not waiting for his subordinate who had ended up buried beneath some of the rubble belonging to the different already ruined buildings he had crashed into along the way, the cardinal jumped into the air before making his way back towards the main church belonging to the Followers of the Fire God.
For now, the most important thing was to figure out what the ancestor of the imperial family had meant with what he had said before leaving in a hurry.
Even if the cardinal did not feel that the attack of the demonic cultivator was odd considering how close the other party was to running out of lifespan, he still decided to take what the ancestor of the imperial family said to heart.
After all, the other party was far older and more experienced compared to him and also had a far better understanding of the Frozen Wasteland and the demonic cultivators that settled the inhospitable land of the Frozen Wasteland.
Maybe I should contact another branch and see if they have any information about what is happening in the Frozen Wasteland...
Thinking this to himself, the cardinal increased his speed further. Wanting to find out just what the ancestor of the imperial family was worried about.