Following the Seventh Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert who had been secretly watching over the entire thing from the side was frozen by Xuan Hao without a chance to resist, there was no longer anyone left to cause trouble for the independent sects. Even if the major sects outside had surrounded the rundown inn, there was no way that they dared to launch an attack with a terrifying expert in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm present on the side of the independent sects.
As for the kingdom that the Seventh Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert that had been turned into an ice statue by him belonged to, Xuan Hao didn't really worry about them showing up to cause trouble. After all, they had no idea what had happened to the Seventh Stage Domain Lord in the first place, and he doubted that they would think that a Seventh Stage Domain Lord had been incapacitated without a chance to resist.
For this reason, Xuan Hao and the elders from the independent sects ended up spending the next few hours quietly waiting for Xu Bao to return before they could leave the capital city… Well… Almost everyone…
"Ah! M-master! P-please spare me!"
"G-grand Elder, w-we just followed senior brother! P-please spare us!"
The group of disciples from the Tree Flower Sect and Stone Horn Sect were all rather loud due to the punishment inflicted upon them by their elders...
"Senior Xu Bao is back!"
"Looks like the last part of the sect alliance meeting finally came to an end…"
Like this, Xu Bao finally appeared at the entrance to the rundown inn with a haggard expression on his face. Even without asking him about what had happened during the last part of the meeting, it was obvious that it had been a rather draining endeavor for the old man who had been so confident before they had left him in the meeting hall.
? "Thank you for looking after them in my place senior."
"No problem at all…" Shaking his head as he said this to show that it was no problem at all on his side, Xuan Hao could not help seizing up that haggard state of Xu Bao at the same time. "But what on earth happened to you?"
"This… It's a long story, but let's just say that those three from the major sects are hard to deal with. Even if we didn't fight, I feel like I just left a life and death battle with demonic beast at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm… At least I had the help of the Great General, if not, I doubt I would be able to get anything for the independent sects during that meeting…!" Almost whispering the last part to himself, Xu Bao soon shook his head before his face was filled with energy once again before he turned to look directly at Xuan Hao.
"Senior, you don't have to worry about your sect gaining any unwanted attention due to the sect alliance, I managed to make sure that the sect alliance would not interfere in the development of any sects located in the border region of the Sky Empire!
Although those three didn't fight me that much on that point due to how weak most sects located in the border region of the Sky Empire are compared to those in the core region. If I'm not wrong, the reason why they fought me on that point should be due to them thinking that the reason I did this was to ensure that there would be more independent sects showing up in the future. After all, sects that come from the border region tend to end up becoming independent sects. Just take the independent sects here, more than half are from the border region!"
"Really?"
"Yes! Senior Xu Bao is telling the truth, most sects in the core region of the empire do not really get a chance to develop without the interference of one of the larger kingdoms. The Sparrow Sect is a good example of this, they were nurtured by a powerful kingdom ever since a Domain Lord Realm Expert appeared inside the sect…"
"I see… How interesting…" Muttering this to himself as he went over the new information that had been given to him, Xuan Hao could not help wondering just how much these independent sects had gone through to establish themselves in the core region of the Sky Empire where almost everyone would target them and look for an opportunity to destroy them.
Although the imperial family itself did help ensure the safety of Domain Lords in most circumstances as it pertained to the overall strength of the Sky Empire as a whole, the three religions, powerful kingdom and major sects would from time to time find a way to destroy an independent sect and kill the Domain Lord watching over it.
As for the weaker independent sects that only had Peak Nascent Soul Realm Experts watching over them, they would normally settle down close to, or directly inside of one of the larger independent sect's territories for safety.
"Senior, I think we should get ready to leave the capital city. Although the major sects might not dare to do anything to us due to the strongest among them only having reached the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, the same cannot be said about the powerful kingdoms behind them.
Even if they normally won't do anything, I doubt they would be willing to just watch us leave after snatching away one of the leader positions for the sect alliance. Especially the kingdom behind the Sparrow Sect, I doubt they are happy about the fact that the sect under their control lost its leader position in the sect alliance…"
"Indeed, leaving now before its too late is indeed a good idea." Nodding his head as he heard what Xu Bao said, Xuan Hao agreed that it was indeed a good idea for them to leave as fast as possible. Especially when one considered the fact that the Seventh Stage Domain Lord, that he now suspected to be from the kingdom behind the Sparrow Sect, was found by someone.
Not long after this, Xuan Hao, Xu Bao and the rest of the elders from the different independent sects made their way out of the capital city together.
"They are leaving…"
"Is no one going to stop them!? We can't just allow them to leave like this!"
"Are you perhaps willing to make the first move then? Don't forget that they not only have that old man Xu Bao support them now, but also a terrifying ancestor who has reached the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!"
"…"
As they left the capital city, the people from the major sects could only watch from the side with unwilling expressions on their faces. No matter how much they wanted to attack the independent sects, none of them were willing to make the first move and suffer the wrath of Xu Bao and the ancestor in the Seventh stage of the Domain Lord Realm…
In the end, the powerful kingdoms that some of the major sects had been hoping would make a move did not appear either, as the Xuan Hao along with the independent sects made their way out of the capital city without any problems before disappearing into the distance.
…
Having travelled together with the Xu Bao and the rest of the people from the independent sects for a few hours after leaving the capital, Xuan Hao came to a stop before looking back towards the direction of the capital city, a concentrated expression appeared on his face for a short moment before he returned to his usual peaceful look.
"This should be far enough away from the capital, I'm sure that the major sects or the people from the powerful kingdoms aren't following us, so I'm going to take my leave." Turning towards Xu Bao as he said this, Xuan Hao had in fact just used his divine sense to sweep through their surroundings to make sure no one had been following after them to launch an ambush the moment they split up… And just now, he had been able to confirm that there weren't any such people around waiting to ambush them.
If there really were someone, it would be someone who had already surpassed the Domain Lord Realm and reached the Soul Ascension Realm… But Xuan Hao doubted that the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the three religions would have enough time to deal with a few independent sects at the moment. Especially with how busy they were with the church of the plague god.
Even if they had the time, there was no way they would have waited for so long. After all, to a Soul Ascension Realm Expert, a Domain Lord was someone who could be killed with ease, a Seventh Stage Domain Lord or a Sixth Stage Domain Lord made no difference in the eyes of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert!