The chill of "Lingering Spring Intent" slowly retreated under the effect of this ball of fire.
With each advance and retreat, the two forces of cold and warmth treated Zhao Yunfei's body as a battlefield, until a clear line was drawn, dividing them distinctly.
Having reached this state, the strength of the warm current had been weakened by about seventy to eighty percent, and its momentum was also weaker than before.
In contrast, the coldness of "Lingering Spring Intent" had consumed very little energy, so it was full of fighting spirit, ready to counterattack at any moment.
Moreover, as the cold retreated, it left behind a contingency. Wherever it had previously occupied, it had planted seeds of cold.
These seeds of cold, as soon as they sensed the call of the cold again, would rise up and erupt once more.
Once these seeds of cold erupted, they would form an unstoppable momentum.
At that time, "Lingering Spring Intent" would be even more ferocious than when it first invaded the body. This was the terrifying aspect of ancient divine poisons.
Furthermore, Zi Linling had added a little extra spice, so Zhao Yunfei's plan to deal with "Lingering Spring Intent" using the same method as he dealt with "A Fragrant Bloom" was doomed to fail.
However, Zhao Yunfei was unaware of this.
Seeing the coldness temporarily halted, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He provocatively looked at Zi Linling and sneered, "Brat, 'Lingering Spring Intent' has been contained by me. It's my turn to set the challenge!"
"Contained?"
Zi Linling indifferently took a bite of a celestial fruit, not even lifting her eyelids. "Are you sure?"
Her calm demeanor caused Zhao Yunfei's just-settled heart to leap into his throat again.
He instinctively plunged his consciousness into his body, only to find that the clear demarcation within him showed no change.
He angrily shouted, "Brat, you tricked me?"
Zi Linling rolled her eyes and said, "Tricked you? You're not worthy! Don't think that just because you used diversion to temporarily weaken 'A Fragrant Bloom', you can use the same method to deal with 'Lingering Spring Intent'!"
"The reason ancient divine poisons are feared is because of their characteristic – tenacity!"
"Let alone weakening a part of it, even if only a trace of the poison remains in your body, it can still kill you!"
Although her voice held a hint of languor, her confident tone made Zhao Yunfei's heart sink.
He again submerged his consciousness into his body and found that the clear demarcation within him remained unchanged; the cold and the ball of fire were still in a stalemate.
"Brat, are you trying to scare me?"
Zhao Yunfei's expression was extremely grim.
Being toyed with by Zi Linling twice in a row, the fire burning within him was almost beyond his control.
Zi Linling ignored him, leisurely took a sip of tea, then calmly raised three fingers and uttered a number, "Three!"
Zhao Yunfei raised an eyebrow, unable to comprehend Zi Linling's meaning.
"Two!"
Zi Linling didn't care if he understood or not. She took another sip of tea and uttered a number.
"Putting on a show!" Zhao Yunfei sneered.
He finally understood; Zi Linling was counting down.
Zi Linling finished the tea in her cup and uttered the third number, "One!"
Then, she smiled charmingly at Ye Lingyuan and said, "Let's begin!"
Ye Lingyuan nodded, and the table laden with fruits and tea before them instantly vanished into their spatial rings.
Zi Linling's smile faded, and she looked at Zhao Yunfei with pity, shaking her head. "If you had admitted defeat directly earlier, you could have lingered for a while longer. But you insisted on playing smart and courting death, so your time has come!"
Zhao Yunfei disdainfully said, "Boasting!"
Zi Linling did not argue, and calmly said, "Detonate!"
The disdain on Zhao Yunfei's face was instantly replaced by agony.
"You... *cough*!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood.
However, this blood was turning into ice shards at a visible rate.
Concurrently, the ball of fire in his body flickered and extinguished.
Bone-chilling coldness emerged from all over his body, especially in the half of his body that had been occupied by the ball of fire, which was quickly riddled with holes.
His meridians, blood vessels, bones, muscles, and internal organs rapidly turned to ice, covered in cracks.
A slight touch would shatter them into dust.
What was more deadly was that Zhao Yunfei began to experience hallucinations, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
The lingering "A Fragrant Bloom" within him seized this opportunity to counterattack, its poison directly assaulting his Sea of Consciousness.
Under the combined assault of "A Fragrant Bloom" and "Lingering Spring Intent," Zhao Yunfei's soul power turned extremely dark.
"How... can... this... be...? *Cough! Cough! Cough!*" He looked at Zi Linling, utterly perplexed.
However, just these few words further worsened his already fragile body.
He coughed out three more mouthfuls of bloody ice shards, and the light in his eyes rapidly dimmed.
His soul fire was reduced to a mere ember.
Would Zi Linling explain?
Of course not!
She still wouldn't tell Zhao Yunfei that she had infused "Lingering Spring Intent" with power of words.
In other words, the moment Zhao Yunfei ingested "Lingering Spring Intent," his death had become inevitable.
Zhao Yunfei's body shattered into ice shards, then turned into nothingness, leaving no trace behind.
His soul had also been completely annihilated, losing any chance of reincarnation.
The sudden turn of events on the stage left those watching frozen in place.
The area around the stage was briefly engulfed in silence.
Suddenly, a sinister, enraged roar broke the eerie atmosphere.
"Die!"
As Du Wutian instantly appeared on the stage, his dark fingers pointed directly at Zi Linling's forehead.
"Your opponent is this king!"
Ye Lingyuan moved with astonishing speed, flashing in front of Zi Linling and catching Du Wutian's fingers with his own.
Of course, he knew that Du Wutian was poisonous all over, so he had already wrapped his fingers in a layer of flame.
Ye Lingyuan's flame was a manifestation of the power of the Law of Fire, so even Du Wutian's Law of Poison couldn't harm him for the time being.
Moreover, to be safe, he had already swallowed the super-strength, universal antidote pill refined by Zi Linling.
Fingers against fingers, a wave of energy surged around them.
Zi Linling, caught in the middle of their battle, was not blown away by the energy wave.
This was, of course, thanks to Ye Lingyuan.
Ye Lingyuan had split off a portion of his Law power, condensing it into a shield to protect Zi Linling.
"Then I will kill you first!"
Du Wutian, radiating killing intent, slammed his other palm towards Ye Lingyuan's face.
His palm was dark and emitted a nauseating stench.
"Hmph! You're not worthy of killing this king!"
As Ye Lingyuan leaned back, he kicked out at Du Wutian's vital spot.