Chapter 459: 420. Chapter 419: Treacherous Tactics

420. Chapter 419: Treacherous Tactics

Lin Lin Caiyi was now filled with shock and doubt; she had seen the divine needle pierce through her, and though the needle was razor-sharp, piercing her top-grade spirit artifact, the Black Tortoise Armor, and even embedding itself into the dueling platform, the injury she suffered was minimal—essentially none.

But.

The opponent had unleashed full power, breaking through the defense of a top-grade spirit artifact to land this strike—it could not possibly have been without effect.

But it didn't matter.

Lin Lin Caiyi swallowed a spirit pill to restore much of her magic power, then rose into the air, immediately commanding the Black Tortoise Armor to swiftly distance itself from Li Yi; as a cultivator, her combat relied on spells and spirit artifacts—close-range melee was not her strength.

Yet Li Yi stood motionless in place, merely looking up as she moved away from him.

Hum!

The Fly-Eye Needle, under control, trembled, broke free from the dueling platform, and immediately flew back, circling Li Yi like a golden-gleaming little sword.

Since the killing move had already been revealed, there was no need to hide further.

"Li Yi, this fairy acknowledges your strength is formidable, unlike other Soul Stage evolvers—but unfortunately, you are not a cultivator. Your methods are limited. Though you used despicable tactics to gain a temporary advantage, the loser of this duel will always be you." Lin Lin Caiyi, sensing her magic power gradually replenishing, regained her confidence.

The fear of nearly being punched to death was slowly fading.

"My methods are despicable?"

Li Yi couldn't help but laugh: "What was that lightning strike just now? Exceeding the full-power strike of a Qi Refining expert—no Foundation Establishment cultivator could have summoned that. Had I not possessed a special bloodline and worn the Dragonhide Armor, I'd have been ambushed to death. Indeed, you cultivators are born cunning; compared to you, I'm practically benevolent."

"And how could you naively assume you'd win this duel? You're already on the brink of death and don't even realize it?"

Lin Lin Caiyi coldly said: "I've merely suffered a minor setback. This duel isn't over—I've already seen through your tricks. Now let me show you my trump card."

With a flick of her sleeve, nine flag banners shot out—each engraved with intricate runes, each rune radiating terrifying energy, extremely dangerous. As she controlled them, they flew to all corners, then she clasped a battle array disc, preparing to set up a killing array to annihilate Li Yi with her final move.

Though setting up an array during a duel was unsportsmanlike, she had already used the Thunderbolt Talisman and the Black Tortoise Armor—Lin Lin Caiyi no longer cared.

This was a duel to the death—only one side could survive.

"Lin Lin Caiyi still had a killing array hidden? If I'd known, I'd have used it from the start," Lin Mu Dao Ren outside the dueling platform exclaimed, eyes gleaming: "Good, very good. After swallowing the spirit pill, Lin Lin Caiyi's magic power has recovered nearly fully. Once the array is set, she won't need to maintain the Black Tortoise Armor—just activate the array, and this man is dead for sure."

"Does Lin Lin Caiyi have so many trump cards? She's nearly on par with a Jin Dan cultivator. It seems the Xuexia Sect really invested heavily—just a Foundation Establishment cultivator possessing so many spirit artifacts."

"We've finally survived the most dangerous strike. The advantage still lies with us."

Facing the Foundation Establishment cultivator's confidence, the Jin Dan cultivators frowned, their thoughts heavy.

Though the dueling platform blocked spiritual sense, anyone with eyes could see Li Yi's strike had landed. Though Lin Lin Caiyi appeared unharmed, they didn't believe the needle had merely pierced her skin.

"Friends, this duel may not go well for us," one Jin Dan cultivator whispered via spiritual sense.

"Lin Lin Caiyi isn't weak, but the opponent is deadlier. He seized the moment perfectly in this life-or-death struggle. That divine needle must be deadly—its danger just hasn't manifested yet."

"Wait—something's wrong." Suddenly, Zhang Zhang Yihua, the Jin Dan cultivator, turned grim.

One of the floating array flags suddenly lost control and dropped straight onto the dueling platform.

Could a Foundation Establishment cultivator lose control of an array flag?

That was impossible.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth—array flags tumbled down like dumplings, completely losing control.

Only then did Lin Lin Caiyi's face turn ashen; she realized something was wrong—her magic power was failing. No—worse—her spiritual sense was dissolving, and fast.

"What's happening?" She staggered, barely staying upright, on the verge of collapsing.

She urgently scanned her body.

Lin Lin Caiyi finally understood—she had been poisoned. The poison was brutal, invading her dantian and spiritual sea, spreading rapidly, and extremely subtle. Had her spiritual sense not failed, she might never have noticed.

No time to hesitate.

Lin Lin Caiyi hastily swallowed an antidote pill.

It did nothing—the poison continued spreading, intensifying.

She pulled out another antidote pill—but before she could swallow it, her body suddenly lost all weight and plummeted from the air. Had she not forced a sliver of magic power to stabilize herself, she would have become the first Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Xianxian Continent to die from a fall.

Even so, she collapsed onto the dueling platform, limp and powerless, her magic power utterly gone.

"You—you poisoned me?" Lin Lin Caiyi gritted her teeth, glaring at Li Yi, furious.

"Only now noticing? Foundation Establishment cultivators aren't so impressive after all. I thought this poison might resist you." Li Yi stared at her expressionlessly, then condensed a brilliant silver spiritual energy: "And did you truly think I'd come here to duel you to the death without preparation? You're too arrogant. Now pay for your arrogance."

With that, he raised his hand and slashed the silver blade of spiritual energy forward.

The distance of hundreds of meters vanished in an instant.

Lin Lin Caiyi's pupils shrank sharply—she knew that without a defensive artifact, this strike would cleave her in half; survival was impossible.

"Damn it!" She cried out in fury; a spirit talisman flew from her inner garments, emitting a faint glow that formed a protective barrier around her.

Boom!

The blade of spiritual energy struck—shattered. The barrier didn't budge.

"Still have a trump card? But this poison will only deepen. I don't believe you can hold out forever." Li Yi reached out through the air, summoning a high-energy sniper rifle from the ground with his spiritual energy, then fired.

The energy beam struck Lin Lin Caiyi again—but still, the spirit talisman shielded her.

Yet each attack dimmed the talisman's glow slightly.

Lin Lin Caiyi's eyes now revealed terror and despair—this talisman was a gift from her master before coming to Earth, her final safeguard. Once spent, she'd have no more survival tools.

Repeated gunfire steadily drained the talisman's spiritual energy; without magic power to replenish it, the talisman couldn't last long.

"Lin Lin Caiyi is going to lose." Seeing this, the dozen or so cultivators from the Xianxian Continent grew restless, their faces grim.

Anyone could see Lin Lin Caiyi was cornered—with no chance to turn the tide. Not only could she not defeat Li Yi, she might not even save her own life.

Yet even if they wished to help, they were powerless.

The dueling platform's array blocked even Nascent Soul cultivators—only its original owner, Tai Tai Xianweng, could dismantle it and halt the match.

But would Tai Tai Xianweng risk breaking his word and angering the Golden Academy just to save a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Wouldn't that nullify the entire purpose of this visit?

Some rejoiced, others despaired—the Golden Academy students, witnessing this, erupted in excitement.

"Li Yi's going to win! That female cultivator's reached her limit—she can't even stand!"

"These cultivators are so damn sneaky—still have trump cards at this point? No wonder they all look down their noses at everyone. If I had these artifacts and techniques, I could kill their Foundation Establishment cultivators too."

"After all this, it's just a contest of who's richer. I get it now—that's the essence of cultivator duels. It's never about true strength. So these cultivators are all rich kids, and we're poor bastards—that's why we keep losing. To win, we need to be richer, have more trump cards than they do."

After watching Li Yi and Lin Lin Caiyi's duel, they suddenly understood many things.

Was Lin Lin Caiyi strong?

She was formidable—but not invincible.

The key was: Lin Lin Caiyi wielded a mid-grade flying sword, a low-grade defensive spirit artifact, the Black Tortoise Armor, a Thunderbolt Talisman, a life-saving talisman, healing pills, and a powerful array—all combined made her untouchable by Soul Stage evolvers.

This was the gap in world foundation.

Bridging it was too difficult.

Boom!

With the final gunshot, the spirit talisman lost all power and shattered—the protective barrier vanished.

Lin Lin Caiyi lay on the ground, gasping, her eyes and lips now a vivid green—poisoned deeply.

"Time to go." Li Yi lowered the sniper rifle, condensing silver spiritual energy once more—a long spear materialized in his hand.

"Wait—wait!" In desperation, Lin Lin Caiyi raised her hand: "I surrender! You said you wanted me before? I'll serve you as slave or maid—if you cure me, spare my life, I'll agree to anything!"

The Xianxian World's tradition emerged.

When trapped in utter despair with no hope of escape, male cultivators offered to become slaves, female cultivators to become maids—temporary submission for a chance to live.

Later, once recovered, they'd seek revenge, kill their master, change their appearance with a Transformation Pill, and become a new hero.

This trick was worn out in the Xianxian Continent—no one believed it anymore. But on Earth, it was still fresh—perhaps it might work.

"Slave or maid? Laughable. Earthlings swear oaths to heaven like they're farting—words they don't even believe themselves. Why would I believe you?" Li Yi sneered: "And don't misunderstand—I don't want you. I want your life. Die quietly."

With that, he hurled the silver spear—it shot forward like a streak of light.

Out of caution, Li Yi had not approached within eight hundred meters—he feared some last-ditch suicide move.

Lin Lin Caiyi was truly cornered. The spiritual energy spear came—she couldn't dodge—and pierced straight through her heart.

Her eyes widened, blood gushing uncontrollably, her life force vanishing rapidly.

With a thread of hatred, Lin Lin Caiyi fell, unwilling, onto the dueling platform.

Dead!

This Foundation Establishment cultivator lost the duel to Li Yi—and died before all eyes.

With Lin Lin Caiyi's death, the dueling platform sensed no opposing life force—the array began to dissolve.