Chapter 929: Stone Eye (1)

Countless eyes instantly landed on Li Xiaofei. When the Grand Princess had interacted with him earlier, many had been surprised, yet few had drawn any deeper conclusions. But at this moment, her attitude toward Li Xiaofei once again stood out from the rest, causing many to realize that their earlier closeness had not been a coincidence.

Zhou Shisan simply could not hold back anymore. “I don’t think he’s quite suitable.”

He continued, “His strength was lacking, his background is unknown, and his status was low. What right does he have to stand beside you, Princess, to showcase the Time Jade to everyone? It would be better if—”

“Are you teaching me how to handle things?” asked the Grand Princess. The smile had vanished from her face, and she suddenly seemed cold and harsh.

Zhou Shisan froze.

“Step aside,” she ordered mercilessly.

Zhou Shisan’s face shifted through several expressions of supreme anger and humiliation. In the end, he lowered his head in anger and reluctantly stepped aside.

The Grand Princess then turned to Li Xiaofei, and a smile like fresh spring reappeared on her face. “I wonder if this gentleman would be willing to give me the honor?”

Li Xiaofei had vaguely guessed the Grand Princess’s intention. Although he did not want to be used as a shield, he could not miss the opportunity to experience the Time Jade.

“Of course,” he replied.

Li Xiaofei took the Grand Princess’s hand. The intimate scene made Zhou Shisan and many others twitch with jealousy. Finally, hand in hand, the two of them passed through the closed formation and arrived before the pillar, now only half a meter away from the Time Jade.

At that moment, as long as Li Xiaofei acted, he could have instantly taken it. But he also wanted to see what exactly the so-called Time Jade was and how it functioned to break formations. It would be a good opportunity to let the Grand Princess demonstrate its use so that he wouldn’t be confused later.

He watched as the Grand Princess placed one hand on the upper end of the Time Jade, then gave Li Xiaofei a playful wink and softly said, “Help me.”

Li Xiaofei was puzzled.

How am I supposed to help?

The Grand Princess leaned in closer and whispered a few words into Li Xiaofei’s ear. Li Xiaofei fell silent for a moment, then finally extended his right hand, pressing his palm firmly on the back of the Grand Princess’s hand that was gripping the Time Jade.

He then placed his left hand over her left hand. The two of them were practically face-to-face, with their hands tightly clasped. This posture was as intimate as one of lovers. Then, both of them exerted force simultaneously.

They gently twisted the floating Time Jade. A single, semi-transparent wave of light immediately radiated outward. It felt as if the entire world had flipped upside down as an inexplicable sensation instantly filled everyone’s hearts.

Then, the formation protecting the Time Jade suddenly vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed. The formation had been broken!

Li Xiaofei’s eyes widened.

How did it do that? That force just now... it felt like time had reversed itself. But it wasn’t quite that either. In any case, the formation protecting the pillar vanished in an instant. Is this the secret of breaking the formation?

Just as Li Xiaofei was about to feign shock and ask for a detailed explanation, he heard someone outside suddenly shout, “Take action!”

It was a real shout. But the key was, the person had spoken in Earth language, in Great Xia’s tongue. Then came a deafening boom. A violent explosion suddenly blasted outward inside the banquet hall. A wave of overwhelming, destructive force surged forward like a collapsing mountain. In an instant, the scene turned into a sea of fiery energy.

A bomb!

The term sprang into Li Xiaofei’s mind. Immediately, he suppressed the surging energy within his body. He had to restrain his natural instinct to activate his cultivation defense to avoid exposing himself.

He was wearing clothes made from the hide of the Mother of All Beasts, which was strong enough to withstand the blast of that destructive force. But not everyone at the scene was so fortunate.

Severed limbs and broken arms flew through the air. Blood and bones mingled together. The explosion’s lethality was immense. Even many of the highly humanized Reapers were injured and forced to reveal their true forms.

The Grand Princess, on one side, had also been blown away by the shockwave. The treasure in her hand, the Time Jade, was immediately thrown into the air. Li Xiaofei clearly sensed several figures, moving at incredible speed, rushing toward the Time Jade.

Among them, two figures were actually charging straight at him. He was about to strike back, but in that instant, he suddenly realized that they were human cultivators. Pure humans.

Li Xiaofei froze, then quickly changed his plan. He pretended to be stunned by the explosion, spat out a mouthful of blood, and flew backward to the side. The two human cultivators refused to let him go, arriving beside him with blades slashing down on his body.

“Quick, search for the Commander’s sword!”

“It’s probably been put in his storage space. We can’t find it. What should we do?”

“Cut him to pieces and see if it drops!”

The two human cultivators exchanged words quickly, preparing to act. Just then—

“Die!” The Grand Princess’s voice rang out.

The Hui Yao clan’s most exceptional genius was the first to react. She immediately struck back, her palm transforming into a dazzling fist of light that carried a sharp, unstoppable force.

The two human cultivators struggled to resist but were instantly blown away. The difference in strength was considerable.

“Got it.”

“Let’s go.”

A low voice rang out.

“But the Commander’s sword—”

Someone was still hesitating.

“Let’s go!”

The first person who had shouted now yelled angrily. Several figures quickly fled out of the banquet hall.

“Are you okay?” The Grand Princess’s anxious voice reached Li Xiaofei’s ear.

Astonishingly, she had not gone after the assassins or tried to retrieve the Time Jade. Instead, she had immediately focused on Li Xiaofei’s injuries.

Li Xiaofei forced his eyes open and wiped away the blood, saying, “I’m fine. Quickly, go after the Time Jade—”

The Grand Princess spoke confidently, “Don’t worry, they won’t get far.”

She started loudly issuing orders. Her personal guards were quickly mobilized and began to act. The two peak-level Seven Transformation Realm experts from the Hui Yao clan who had been guarding the Time Jade had already turned into streaks of light, chasing after the fleeing figures. The scene was a complete mess.

“Here’s an antidote pill, take it quickly.” The Grand Princess handed him a green pill the size of a longan and said, “Take care of yourself first, don’t worry about anyone else.”

“Thank you,” Li Xiaofei accepted the pill but did not swallow it immediately.

The Grand Princess seemed about to say more, but then she fell silent. The aftershock of the explosion had gradually died down. The casualties at the scene were even worse than expected.

Many high-stage Reapers had actually been blown to pieces, their bodies lying lifeless on the ground. Li Xiaofei glanced around and immediately understood what had happened. Everyone had been poisoned. It was a uniquely paralyzing and petrifying venom.

It had probably been mixed into the drinks and food, unknowingly ingested by the guests, and then activated through some sort of incantation at the moment of the explosion, causing catastrophic casualties.

This kind of poison had been extremely difficult to detect. Li Xiaofei had only realized that there was a strange toxic force spreading within his body the moment the Grand Princess produced the antidote pill.

Fortunately, his unique constitution, cultivated through his aunt’s training, had long since rendered him immune to all poisons. Even the most insidious toxins had already been neutralized by his body’s natural defenses.

Li Xiaofei glanced around. Liu Shaji’s injuries were not serious, since he also wore protective clothing made from the Mother of All Beasts’ hide. But Wei Xiaotian had suffered terribly. Half of his body had been blown apart, and his injuries were severe. Luckily, having absorbed Delta’s essence, he could resurrect even after death, so it wasn’t yet the worst-case scenario.

“Chase them! Don’t let them get away,” Wei Xiaotian shouted loudly.

The two men exchanged a glance, understanding each other’s intentions, and they charged after the fleeing humans without hesitation. Many of the Reaper experts at the scene had the same thought. Those who could still move all rushed in the direction of the human cultivators.

“Everyone, please stay where you are.” A powerful force of intimidation radiated across the entire banquet hall.

The Grand Princess floated in the air, her expression calm as she said, “The experts of the Hui Yao clan will recover the Time Jade. Until then, I ask that you all remain in place to avoid unnecessary suspicion.”

Everyone was subdued by the Grand Princess’s imposing aura and did not dare to move. Zhou Shisan stepped forward from the crowd. He must have been wearing some protective treasure, since the explosion hadn’t affected him much. His ceremonial robes remained intact, and he exuded a certain imposing presence.