When Lin Yizhi saw the Flying Centipede appear, the corners of his lips curled up slightly. With a wave of his hand, he said to the people behind him, “The legs of the Flying Centipede are excellent materials for Artifact Refining. Brothers, charge with me!”
After saying that, he even courteously turned back and said to Bai Ying, “Bai Ying, since you’re only at the Qi Refining Realm, just stay back and heal us.”
Then he dashed forward without hesitation.
Bai Ying was curious about what they were planning, so she stood quietly to the side as instructed, applying healing techniques while staying vigilant.
The Flying Centipede spotted them and, with a sharp hiss, launched itself straight toward Lin Yizhi. He quickly raised his sword to strike. Though the Flying Centipede was large, its speed was astonishing. Lin Yizhi dodged to the side just in time, and his sword clashed with the creature’s forelimbs, producing a crisp metallic sound. The others quickly followed and joined the fight.
Bai Ying judged that although these people might find the battle tough, they were fully capable of killing the beast. She knew of Lin Yizhi’s hostility toward her, and she began to suspect their true intent in keeping her back.
Did they plan to lure the Flying Centipede toward her to have it attack her instead? If it had been in the past, when she was just at the Qi Refining Realm, she definitely wouldn’t have survived. But now, Bai Ying wasn’t the slightest bit afraid. Even if ten more Flying Centipedes came, she could handle them.
However, Lin Yizhi didn’t try that. They genuinely fought with the creature. Lin Yizhi continued dodging its attacks while trying to find its weakness. The Flying Centipede missed a few times and became even more enraged. It lunged again, its many legs flailing, stirring up a fierce wind. But in the process, it exposed its abdomen—its vital point. If struck by a Treasure Artifact right then, it would die instantly.
Just as Bai Ying thought they were about to deal the finishing blow, Lin Yizhi and his group were suddenly struck down by the creature. They cried out loudly, “Bai Ying, heal us!”
Bai Ying immediately activated her Treasure Artifact and applied healing techniques to them.
Yet they continued shouting, “Bai Ying! What are you doing?! Heal us—hurry!”
As they yelled, they staggered clumsily around, dodging the centipede’s attacks, clearly being overwhelmed.
At this point, how could Bai Ying not realize their plan?
Her healing had clearly reached them, yet they deliberately pretended she hadn’t healed them, trying to make the cultivators watching through the Mirror of Heaven and Earth resent her.
Sure enough, the spectators were already furious.
“What’s wrong with this Bai Ying? Her teammates are risking their lives in battle, and she can’t even use a simple healing spell? Is she stupid?”
“She’s clearly activating her Treasure Artifact, so why isn’t it working?”
Ruan Xinyou looked teary-eyed as she said to the crowd, “Maybe Senior Sister is just too scared… She’ll cast it soon, I’m sure.”
But before she even finished, someone else spoke up, “Ruan Junior Sister, you’re too kind. Don’t you realize how evil someone can be? What if Bai Ying’s doing this on purpose? Healing tools are simple—everyone knows how to use them. She might be pretending not to know, planning to wait until Lin Senior Brother and the others die, then steal their Treasure Artifacts and escape. The Flying Centipede is wounded—if she uses a Speed Talisman, it won’t be able to catch her.”
“But she doesn’t know that we can see everything through the Mirror. She’s truly vicious!”
That comment caused an uproar.
After all, these were cultivators—they all understood how basic healing works.
The curses grew louder.
“No wonder! I was wondering how someone could be so dumb. Turns out it was intentional! So devious!”
“Lin Yizhi is the sect master’s son. If Bai Ying is willing to betray even him, she’s finished. Even if she survives this trial, she’ll be expelled from the sect!”
“Lin Yizhi won’t die—he has a Life-Saving Talisman. But Bai Ying daring to set him up like this? She’s doomed!”
Ruan Xinyou listened to the commotion with great satisfaction. She glanced approvingly at the people she’d planted to fan the flames, then turned her gaze toward Xiao Yu and Su Yu.
There’s no way they could still side with Bai Ying now.
“Senior Brothers… you don’t think Fifth Senior Sister would be that heartless, right?” Ruan Xinyou bit her lip and asked softly. She was hoping to hear words of disappointment about Bai Ying from the two of them.
But to her shock, Su Yu suddenly shouted, “Nonsense! Bai Ying is absolutely not that kind of person!”
Xiao Yu didn’t say a word. He simply stared at Bai Ying through the Mirror of Heaven and Earth. He didn’t believe Bai Ying would ever act like that. Though she was jealous and often clashed with the Little Junior Sister, she would never take someone’s life.
His eyes remained locked on her figure. He didn’t even seem to hear Ruan Xinyou anymore.
Inside the trial, Lin Yizhi and his group saw the timing was right. They were ready to give Bai Ying the final blow to her reputation.
All they had to do now was pretend to die from lack of healing.
The Flying Centipede was charging at them again. The performance was reaching its climax.
Lin Yizhi “struggled” to take out a Life-Saving Talisman and tossed it to Bai Ying. “Take this—it will keep you alive!”
Outside the trial, the spectators were nearly driven mad.
How could she live with herself?
The insults exploded, sharper and crueler than ever.
“Bai Ying, just die already!”
“Bastard! She’s clearly waiting for them to die so she can steal their stuff. Now she even has a Life-Saving Talisman—she won’t fear death inside the trial anymore. She’s going to screw over more people!”
But Bai Ying didn’t rush to grab Lin Yizhi’s talisman like everyone expected. Nor did she just stand by waiting for them to “die.”
Instead, she suddenly leapt into the air, holding her sword, and charged straight at the Flying Centipede.
Her movements were lightning-fast. In just a few breaths, she struck out with a flurry of powerful, precise sword thrusts—each one piercing directly into the Flying Centipede’s abdomen.
The creature screeched and was flung backward, nailed to a wooden stake behind it.
It didn’t move again.
In an instant, the entire battlefield fell silent.
No one could react. What had just happened?
All they saw was the once-ferocious Flying Centipede, now lying dead and lifeless.
“Holy shit… that was insane!” one of Lin Yizhi’s companions cursed aloud.
“The centipede… is it really dead?” another asked, totally stunned.
“So powerful?” someone else mumbled in disbelief.
Even Lin Yizhi’s pupils shrank in shock.
He had to admit—if they’d truly been fighting to win earlier, they might have been able to kill the beast, but definitely not that fast. There was no way they could have defeated the Flying Centipede so cleanly, so easily, in just a few strikes.