Old Mi didn’t answer his question immediately, but took a moment to catch his breath. That burst of strength had clearly dealt considerable damage to himself as well.

In time, some color returned to his deathly pale face. He opened his eyes and looked at the dying Wei Dan with a measure of ridicule. “Weren’t you wondering all this time why I didn’t use the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra? Well, your desire has been fulfilled. I’ve let you have a taste of it. So, what do you think? Do you regret saying that now?”

“That was the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra?” Wei Dan seemed to grasp what Old Mi was saying, but it left him with even more questions. “Is the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra a technique that greatly strengthens an individual?”

“You’re half right.” The knots in Old Mi’s brow finally loosened. The enemy that he’d worried about for so many years was finally dealt with. He knew that he shouldn’t be speaking so much, and should instead end Wei Dan’s life as quickly as possible. However, this was just human nature. Although humans possessed logic and reasoning, whether their emotions allowed them to choose that option was another matter entirely.

The ancient saying embodied this best: If riches weren’t brought back home, it was the same as wearing extravagant clothes on a night stroll—no one would notice your new-found wealth at all.

The situation was pretty much settled. Wei Dan had always been above him, in his official position or in cultivation. Even though Wei Dan tried to hide it in his speech, the feeling of contempt was already ingrained in his bones.

He had to properly cherish this moment as the victor. He needed to properly release all these years of pent up resentment that had built up by being inferior to Wei Dan.

“The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra can indeed boost a cultivator’s strength, but a certain condition must be satisfied first: it will only activate when the user is seriously injured. The greater the injury, the greater the boost in strength,” Old Mi continued.

Zu An finally understood what had happened. He’d been completely focused on Grandgale and Blue Mallard, the two special abilities that the technique granted him. He had forgotten this fundamental feature of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra!

Wei Dan finally understood. “No wonder it was so easy to injure you earlier… you deliberately let me injure you. Everything was an act! You baited me step by step into your trap.”

“Both intellect and strength are equally important for cultivators. I believe this was something you taught me.” Old Mi felt rather smug when he said this. After all, Wei Dan had been extremely condescending when he said this to him in the past. However, he had emerged the final victor.

Wei Dan’s eyes lost some of their sparkle. He had now fully experienced what was meant by winner-takes-all. It was now all over for him. He muttered, “A phoenix undergoes rebirth after reaching nirvana… why did I never expect this…”

Old Mi clearly didn’t want to talk about this matter any longer. He was more interested in learning something meaningful. “How many others know that I am here, apart from you?”

A smile finally appeared on Wei Dan’s face. “Do you think that all of this will be over once you kill me? Dream on! I’ve already informed the emperor about everything. As long as the Great Zhou Dynasty survives, there will always be someone coming after your life. It’s all your fault for coveting what the emperor desired the most.”

“I thought as much…” Old Mi frowned, but he wasn’t all that worried. He looked at Zu An, who was a distance away. He already had a way out of all of this. “By the way, what level has the emperor cultivated up to?”

“Hahaha, I do admit that the strength you showed in the end was shocking. Even I am far from being your match. But do you really think that you can rely on this to prevail against his majesty?!” Wei Dan laughed and coughed out some blood. “You are overestimating yourself!”

“Of course I’m not delusional enough to compete against his majesty. However, as a cultivator, how can I not pursue further growth? It’s completely normal for me to be fascinated by someone with a higher cultivation level,” replied Old Mi.

“You are correct.” Wei Dan didn’t retort this time, but said, “I advise you not to place too high a hope in this field. The two of us are naturally deficient, and we are doomed to never truly reach the peak of the heavenly dao. To try to force your way forward is to seek the path to your own doom.”

“That might not be true,” Old Mi sneered. He’d already found a perfect technique for rebirth. A cripple like Wei Dan couldn’t compare to him at all.

Wei Dan looked at him, his expression somewhat surprised. He had no idea where Old Mi’s confidence was coming from.

Old Mi then asked, “How fares the empress?”

“I wouldn’t have answered you if you’d asked about anything else. But since you’re asking about the empress, I guess you still have a bit of a conscience. You still remember the favor she showed you after all these years…” Wei Dan sighed. “When our batch of eunuchs first entered the palace, we were badly bullied until we received the empress’ grace. She truly is a benevolent person. What a pity that she gave birth to a…”

He realized midway through his sentence that he was about to blurt out a secret, and stopped himself.

Old Mi had no such qualms. He said, “So many years have passed. The crown prince’s… intelligence still hasn’t developed?”

Zu An was baffled. Intelligence? Why would you word it in this manner? Did she give birth to an ape or something?

Wei Dan shook his head. “The emperor and empress have sought out various doctors, and collected all sorts of treasures to try to nurture the crown prince. Even though he can’t be considered a genius, he can just about be considered comparable to most ordinary folk.”

Old Mi snorted. “In a royal family, being ordinary is the greatest disaster. His father is the most powerful cultivator in the world, while his uncle and cousins are great geniuses as well. It is truly unfortunate.”

Wei Dan smiled bitterly. “Perhaps all of the luck in the family has already been used up.”

Zu An had a strange expression on his face. Chu Chuyan had mentioned before that the current dilemma facing the court was precisely whether to hand the throne down to the crown prince, or to King Qi.

The crown prince was said to possess only an ordinary aptitude towards cultivation, which led many to support King Qi. However, from what he was hearing right now, his aptitude was far from even being ordinary—he was complete trash!

Wei Dan continued, “The empress has been worried sick over the crown prince all this while. She found a beautiful and capable concubine for the crown prince a few years ago. With her assistance, she should be able to make up for some of the crown prince’s deficiencies.”

“The crown prince has a concubine?” Old Mi was surprised. He sighed. “Time truly passes quickly. The crown prince was so young back then… Now, has already reached a marriageable age.”

Wei Dan felt his heart stir as well. “Indeed… Back then, we could still drink and chat merrily… Now, we must fight each other to the death.”

“All right, that’s enough reminiscing for now. It’s time for me to see you off.” Old Mi walked up to Wei Dan and thrust out a finger, preparing to strike him between his brows.

In that instant, Wei Dan suddenly lashed out with his uninjured hand. His palm smashed into Old Mi’s lower abdomen.

He’d clearly been stalling on purpose. All the time he’d been speaking, he had been preparing for this final strike.

Old Mi threw up a huge mouthful of blood. However, his finger still landed on Wei Dan’s forehead.

The light in Wei Dan’s eyes faded. His eyes grew completely gray, and his aura dimmed and disappeared.

Old Mi staggered backwards a few steps. He clutched at his abdomen, blood pouring out from his mouth.

Seeing this final exchange, Zu An’s heart grew numb. The two of them were both incredibly treacherous! As expected of these two old friends from the imperial palace.

He had already undone the seal on his body, but he refrained from making any suspicious movements, pretending instead to still be sealed. “Elder, are you okay?” he asked.

Old Mi shot him an annoyed look. “Can’t you see all the blood I’m vomiting out? How could I be okay?”

You have successfully trolled Old Mi for 233 Rage points!

Zu An laughed awkwardly. “Keep vomiting and you’ll get used to it… Besides, Elder is truly powerful. I’m sure you’ll recover quickly.”

Old Mi had nothing to say to that.

It took him a while to catch his breath. “How could it be that easy? Wei Dan’s last strike was truly powerful. I was careless at the last second. It seems he’s managed to take me down with him in the end.”

Zu An couldn’t believe his ears. “Is it really… that serious?”

Old Mi suddenly turned to look at him. “Ah Zu, ask yourself—has this old one treated you well?”