Chapter 831: Borrowing Him for My Pleasure

Lu Xiao no longer possessed the otherworldly composure he had at the start; his eyes now burned with intense malice. Clearly, no one could remain indifferent after suffering such a significant loss.

Seeing that he was still alive, everyone from the Eastern Palace instantly plummeted from heaven to hell. Bi Linglong quickly said to Zu An, "Run, don't worry about us... Huh...?"

She suddenly realized Zu An was no longer beside her. A blur of motion later, Zu An had already appeared in front of Lu Xiao.

While everyone else was in despair, Zu An was not. He keenly perceived that although Lu Xiao was alive, the recent attack had severely wounded him, likely leaving him with little power to resist.

In fact, the longer they waited for him to recover, the more trouble they would be in.

Lu Xiao hadn't expected such speed. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes, and he hastily leaned backward.

Ordinarily, avoiding such an attack with his cultivation level would be effortless, but he was now critically wounded; simply being alive was a miracle. How could he possibly defend himself?

Just as Zu An's sword was about to pierce Lu Xiao's throat, a streak of light suddenly flew in, deflecting the fatal strike with a clang.

Zu An felt a tremendous force in his hand, almost losing his grip on the Tai'e sword.

Without hesitation, he continued to thrust his sword at Lu Xiao, determined to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill a grandmaster.

He abandoned the intricate movements of the Divine Snowflake Sword, opting instead for the straightforward "Evil-Dispelling Sword Art," attempting to strike a fatal blow via the shortest and fastest path.

To everyone watching, his figure became a blur, continuously assailing Lu Xiao's vital points.

However, each of his attacks was blocked by the streak of light. No matter how cunning or strange his sword strikes, the light always anticipated them and intercepted them one by one.

Zu An stopped. He ceased his attacks, having concluded from their brief exchange that his efforts were futile.

At that moment, a figure slowly floated down from the sky. The streak of light returned to his side, humming and emitting a dragon-like roar, revealing itself to be a flying sword.

Mi Li's voice echoed, "Grandmasters begin cultivating their divine souls. Within the reach of their divine sense, none of your moves can escape their perception, which is why they can always anticipate your every action."

Hearing her familiar voice, Zu An involuntarily let out a sigh of relief. "Empress Sister, you're finally awake."

Mi Li hummed in acknowledgment, then fell silent again, seeming to be burdened by worries.

Zu An, however, didn't have time for such concerns and quickly asked, "Do I have a chance this time?"

"Not a single chance," Mi Li stated bluntly.

Zu An was speechless.

"Not even with all my special skills and cheats?" he asked, unwilling to give up.

"It's precisely because you have those cheats that you have a slim chance of survival, otherwise it would be certain death," Mi Li scoffed. "Your enemies this time are different from before. There's a qualitative difference between a Grandmaster and a Ninth-Rank cultivator. Under their divine sense, you have nowhere to hide; all your attacks and evasions will be meaningless. If you were only facing one Grandmaster, with your heaven-defying combat ability, you might stand a chance. But now they have two Grandmasters, two Ninth-Rank cultivators, and a large number of other Eighth and Seventh-Rank experts. How do you plan to fight them?"

"I advise you to run now, while Lu Xiao hasn't fully recovered. You might still save your life. Otherwise, once he regains his strength, you won't be able to escape."

Zu An looked back at Bi Linglong, Pu Duandiao, Jiao Si-gun, and his other friends from the Eastern Palace in the distance, and fell silent.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiao and Wei Pingyang were conversing on the other side.

"If you had arrived any later, you'd be collecting my corpse," Lu Xiao said with considerable dissatisfaction, clearly still shaken by the recent incident.

"Brother Lu, don't be angry; didn't I arrive in time?" Wei Pingyang said with a smile, then his gaze fell on Lu Xiao's severed arm, and he sighed. "The Emperor merely left a wisp of his aura on her, yet it was so powerful. Truly terrifying."

Lu Xiao nodded, still visibly shaken. "Fortunately, this secret realm has been acting strangely lately, seeming to sever that wisp of aura's connection with the outside world. If this had happened in the outside world, merely losing an arm would have been the least of my worries."

"It seems Heaven's will favors Prince Qi," Wei Pingyang chuckled. "Brother Lu, how long until you recover?"

"An hour. I'll regain my combat strength in an hour, but..." Lu Xiao's gaze fell on his empty left shoulder. "My left arm, I'm afraid, won't grow back."

High-ranking cultivators possess strong regenerative abilities, and Grandmasters recover even faster. Although Lu Xiao's injuries appeared horrifying, the most severe damage was the destruction of his life-bound sword and the loss of his arm; other wounds would heal more easily.

Wei Pingyang even felt a touch of secret delight. Lu Xiao had always overshadowed him for years, but after this battle, even if he recovered, his cultivation realm would certainly decline. The title of Prince Qi's chief retainer would likely fall to him.

Prince Qi strictly forbade internal conflicts among his subordinates, and with so many of Prince Qi's experts watching, Wei Pingyang dared not refuse to help. However, a sense of schadenfreude was unavoidable.

"Very well, Brother Lu, focus on your recovery. I will guard you," Wei Pingyang said, standing beside Lu Xiao. He then waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to tighten their encirclement.

"Crown Princess, how about I, Wei, also withstand one of your sword strikes?" Wei Pingyang's words held a hint of mockery, as he clearly saw that Bi Linglong was in no condition to unleash a second sword attack.

Bi Linglong felt a surge of silent anger, but she had no mind to retort. Instead, she looked solemnly at her subordinates. "Everyone, we will most likely die here today. You are free to defect to Prince Qi's mansion now. Linglong will have no complaints whatsoever."

Zhao Xi laughed heartily. "Crown Princess, what are you saying? We are all fine young men chosen by our respective families. How could we do something so servile? Besides, today's events are too significant; they wouldn't dare leave any survivors to leak information. Rather than dying in humiliation after surrendering, it's better to fight a glorious battle!"

Zu An secretly nodded. Zhao Xi usually appeared rough and unrefined, but he possessed a surprising subtle intelligence.

Many people had indeed wavered just moments ago, but hearing Zhao Xi's words, they completely abandoned any other thoughts. One by one, they roared, "Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

Wei Pingyang sneered. "Commendable courage, but ultimately meaningless."

With a wave of his hand, his voice turned cold. "Leave no one alive!"

"Kill!" After a volley of arrows, Prince Qi's death soldiers roared and charged towards the center.

"Hold your formation firmly!" Bi Linglong was now extremely weak, barely able to stand steadily while leaning on Zu An, yet she still insisted on commanding her subordinates.

These individuals were elites from various families; if properly organized, they could still put up a fight. However, if their formation broke, they would be slaughtered.

Seeing the Crown Princess practically lying against another man, no one from the Eastern Palace objected. It was as if it were perfectly natural. At this moment, they were desperately trying to maintain their formation against Prince Qi's assault.

It was Wei Pingyang who instead mocked, "Zhao Ruizhi, oh Zhao Ruizhi, your wife is lying in another man's arms, yet you remain indifferent. For a Crown Prince to fall to such a state is truly a disgrace to the imperial family. You should abdicate and let Prince Qi take your place."

The plump Crown Prince paused, then looked up at Wei Pingyang in the air. "Can't a wife lie in another man's arms?"

Wei Pingyang scoffed, "Nonsense!"

"Then where is your wife?" the Crown Prince asked with a curious expression.

"My wife is, of course, at home outside," Wei Pingyang snorted.

The Crown Prince continued, "You said you've been here for many years, never returning home for so long. Maybe your wife is also lying in another man's arms."

"You!" Wei Pingyang's face instantly flushed crimson. He hadn't expected to be outwitted by an idiot.

Then the Crown Prince added, "Brother Zu has always been very kind to me, and he's saved my life several times. He's my good friend, and I'm happy to lend him my wife. But you, you've bullied Linglong and me. Once I get out of here, I'll definitely confiscate your property, annihilate your clan, and make sure your wife also lies in another man's arms."

Even some of Prince Qi's own men couldn't help but chuckle.

"You infuriate me!" Wei Pingyang fumed, practically steaming with rage. "You fat oaf, you won't leave here alive."

No sooner had he spoken than a flying sword, transformed into a streak of light, directly struck the Crown Prince's chest.