This was something that was bugging Zu An as well. He too was wondering why Old Mi hadn’t used Grandgale, Blue Mallard, or any other skills. No matter how slowly Old Mi cultivated that secret manual, there was no way he could be worse than me, right?

He wanted to use this opportunity to see for himself what the higher levels of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra looked like. He wanted to see what new skills he would obtain.

Old Mi remained silent. He clearly had no intention of answering this question.

Wei Dan didn’t seem to mind. He began talking to himself. “It’s been so many years since we last crossed paths. Your cultivation has risen considerably since then, probably because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. As expected of the legendary Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! It was actually able to close the gap between the two of us. However, I really don’t think that’s all there is to the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra.”

Old Mi finally spoke. “The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra seeks oneness with heaven and earth. This is not easy for imperfect bodies like the ones you and I possess. Cultivating it doesn’t yield much results, and we will never reach its pinnacle.”

Wei Dan frowned when he heard this. This issue that Old Mi touched on definitely existed. Their imperfect bodies always had negative effects on their cultivation. He wasn’t at all surprised to hear that the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra shared this quirk.

A sudden realization came to him. He looked at Zu An, who was being carried by Old Mi. “No wonder you care so much about him. According to the rumors, he was complete trash not long ago, yet he’s grown into a young expert in such a short amount of time. This must be the work of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!”

Zu An was furious. Who are you calling trash?!

You can’t even be called a man yourself! What gives you the right to brazenly call me that?!

The two elders naturally cared little for Zu An’s feelings. Old Mi snickered and said, “Indeed, I really wanted to see just how far he would go. He might even achieve immortality! I have no hope for myself, so I can only live vicariously through him.”

Zu An was touched by these words. He hadn’t expected Old Mi to have such a noble character! He really shouldn’t have suspected this elder.

However, there was something not quite right about this either. Old Mi had said that those who were crippled below the belt would experience poor results while cultivating the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, but there was no way this old man could know about his recovery! Wasn’t this a contradiction?

Clearly, that meant that Old Mi was trying to fool Wei Dan. Zu An wasn’t sure whether it was because Old Mi wanted to shift all of the focus onto Zu An, or if he didn’t want Wei Dan to take Zu An’s life.

Sure enough, Wei Dan’s expression turned to shock, and he couldn’t hold back a sigh. “There's been one nice surprise after another today! There are actually two individuals who have cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra! The emperor will surely be pleased if I bring him back.”

Zu An pressed his lips together in annoyance.

He definitely didn’t want some old man to be interested in him! Unfortunately, he wasn’t in any position to make any choices. He had no say with two ridiculously powerful cultivators present.

Old Mi was already injured, and he was carrying Zu An as well. Even though his movement speed was excellent, he was sure to slow down eventually.

Wei Dan used this chance to leap in front of the two of them. “Little Ying, this game of cat and mouse has gone on for too long. It’s about time to end things.”

Old Mi’s expression turned grim. He tossed Zu An into a nearby tree, and prepared his body for battle.

Wei Dan wasn’t all that interested in Zu An right now. He knew that, once he took down Old Mi, Zu An would be his for the taking as well.

Zu An quickly examined his surroundings. They had flown beyond the walls of Brightmoon City, so this was probably deep within Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Even though Hidden Dragon Mountain was considered dangerous, that was only true for ordinary folk.

For super cultivators like Old Mi and Wei Dan, the vicious beasts that lurked here were nothing to worry about.

He felt a twinge of regret. If that red dragon were still alive, he could’ve finished off these two elders in one go. He’d only gotten rid of a single Chen Xuan the last time. Sigh, what a waste!

While Zu An was still living in his alternate reality, Wei Dan had already made his move. Old Mi had been injured all this while, and he’d fled while carrying Zu An a considerable distance. His strength had begun to wane.

The fight went as he had expected. In the previous exchange, the two of them had spent an equal amount of time on the offensive. Now, however, Old Mi spent less than a third of the time on the offensive, and only managed to hold on by relying on the miraculous movement speed of the Sunflower Phantasm.

After fighting for another hour, he couldn’t even maintain this level of offense. He was completely focused on defense, yet new wounds continued to open up all over his body.

Wei Dan wiped off the blood staining his fingertips as he casually threw out strike after strike. “Little Ying, why must you be so stubborn? You can’t win. Is there a need for us to waste so much time?”

Old Mi responded through gritted teeth, “Who can know the final outcome unless we fight to the final bitter second?”

“If you insist. You leave me with no choice. I’ll just have to beat you down until you admit defeat.” Wei Dan’s voice became cold. His movements grew even more swift.

There was no way for Old Mi to dodge anymore. He could only clench his teeth and raise his palms to ward off this attack.

“Stellar Palm!” A nasty smirk appeared on Wei Dan’s face. He was going to use this chance to completely cripple his opponent. The long battle had worn his patience all the way down to the bone.

A wave of air blasted out in all directions. Zu An was blown off of the tree he was on.

He fell onto the ground with a loud crunch. If his body hadn’t been reforged twice by the Primordial Origin Sutra, he would surely have suffered a few broken bones at the very least. He’d fallen from such a great height, and his movement had been completely sealed by Old Mi earlier.

Instead, Zu An was overjoyed. He quickly began to circulate the ki within his body to break the seal. Recovering his ability to move was the top priority right now. While the two of them were busy fighting, he would seize his opportunity to slip away.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, something unexpected happened the instant the two palms met. Old Mi’s panicked expression vanished, replaced with the cold smile of someone who’d seen a scheme come to fruition.

In a flash, his outstretched palm morphed into a finger, and then he displayed his trademark skill: Sunflower Finger!

Wei Dan instinctively sensed that something was off. However, he just couldn’t figure out what.

Old Mi’s cultivation wasn’t a match for his own. That was the case even when the former was at his peak, let alone now, when he was heavily injured.

With this in mind, Wei Dan threw aside his worries and pressed his palm forward. He was confident that once his palm made contact, that finger would crumble inch by inch, and Old Mi would completely lose the ability to retaliate.

Palm and finger met in a burst of blood, and someone screamed miserably.

Zu An was busy trying to undo his seal. He suddenly raised his head in horror, because the one who had screamed wasn’t Old Mi. Instead, it was the one who looked certain to win—Wei Dan!

Old Mi’s shining purple finger thrust straight through Wei Dan’s palm. The blue glow of Wei Dan’s Stellar Palm vanished without a trace, and only a bright, blood-red color could be seen.

Old Mi didn’t hesitate at all. He thrust out his other hand, aiming straight for several major acupoints on Wei Dan’s body.

Wei Dan collapsed to the side like a leaky sandbag. However, he seemed unconcerned about his own condition. Instead, he looked at the old man in front of him in horror. “How?!”

Old Mi’s strength seemed to have instantly increased several fold. Previously, even though Old Mi’s cultivation had been slightly beneath his, there wasn’t much to choose between them. However, in that instant, Old Mi had completely overwhelmed him!

Why did Old Mi have to resort to such trickery if he’d possessed this level of cultivation from the very start?

Then again, if he didn’t truly possess that level of cultivation, there was no way he could have defeated him so easily in that one instant!

He could not wrap his head around what had just happened.

Zu An’s eyes were about to pop out as well. After all, he had been secretly rooting for Old Mi all along. He had been merely hoping that the old man could hold out just a little longer. However, in a sudden turn of events, Wei Dan—who looked odds on to win—had been defeated in a flash!

He hadn’t managed to undo the seal on himself yet. That was why he was now praying for Wei Dan to hold on for just a few more moments.

The world was just that fickle. Surely this change had happened way too quickly.