Chapter 383: Step by Step, Blossoms Bloom

As the light blue handprint pressed onto the giant handkerchief, a significant indentation clearly formed within it. Zu An even wondered if Old Man Mi would be flattened into a meat patty inside. Although he harbored some doubts about Old Man Mi's intentions, they were somewhat familiar, so he subconsciously hoped Old Man Mi would emerge victorious. Of course, it would be even better if both were injured and incapacitated.

To his relief, Old Man Mi was not subdued so quickly; a bulge quickly appeared from inside the handkerchief, indicating he was countering Wei Dan's palm strike from within. Wei Dan frowned, increasing the frequency of his hand movements and pressing his palm strikes more urgently. Simultaneously, dense, protruding palm prints also appeared all around the giant handkerchief. Clearly, they were exchanging palm strikes through the air.

After a moment, a long fingernail suddenly pierced through the handkerchief, then, like a sharp knife, it sliced a large opening. Immediately afterwards, a purple lotus bloomed. The giant handkerchief could no longer contain it; it rapidly expanded and then, with a bang, exploded into countless fragments.

Old Man Mi emerged, casually landing on the roof of a nearby thatched hut, and said indifferently, "My apologies, I accidentally damaged your Star Net Handkerchief."

Wei Dan shook his head. "It's your skill to escape from within; there's nothing to apologize for. What surprises me more, however, is how significantly your cultivation has advanced."

Old Man Mi chuckled, "As I mentioned earlier, one should look at a scholar with new eyes after three days' absence."

"Is that so? Then I truly must see how I should look at you with new eyes," Wei Dan snorted, then suddenly tapped his toe and leaped towards Old Man Mi like a zombie.

Zu An noticed Wei Dan's arms stretched straight out in front, resembling the Qing Dynasty zombies from the movies of his previous life. He thought, "What's so scary about such clumsy movements?" However, Old Man Mi reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, immediately activating Sunflower Phantom to dodge to the side. As for the thatched pavilion where he had just stood, Wei Dan's hands hadn't even touched it, yet the sharp wind preceding his arrival had already shattered it into pieces.

Zu An's eyes widened in amazement. "They're all superhumans!"

Wei Dan tapped his toe on a nearby pillar, then shot straight towards Old Man Mi again. Old Man Mi, utilizing the Sunflower Phantom movement technique, dodged while seeking an opportunity to counterattack. To Zu An's great surprise, he had thought that the Sunflower Phantom movement technique would naturally have an advantage against such direct movements. However, in reality, Wei Dan consistently took the shortest path and struck at the fastest moment, giving him a considerable advantage rather than a disadvantage. After all, Old Man Mi's constant flitting movements in all directions consumed more vital energy.

As expected, after they had exchanged blows for a while, Old Man Mi's speed slowed down ever so slightly, though it wasn't obvious. But Zu An, being familiar with Sunflower Phantom, could feel it clearly. Zu An understood that Wei Dan's perception and realm were slightly superior. After all, to execute every move with perfect timing and angle, one would likely be unable to do so without a higher level of cultivation.

However, he found it somewhat strange that Old Man Mi wasn't using the Great Wind technique or other skills from the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra. The Great Wind's teleportation ability was a level above Wei Dan's linear jumps, and if used in conjunction with Sunflower Phantom, Wei Dan would likely be at a disadvantage. Could it be that he intended to feign weakness first, then unleash a surprise attack at a crucial moment?

Just then, the situation in the arena changed again, as Wei Dan burst out laughing, "Got you!"

"Heavenly Net, Earthly Trap Formation!"

He brought his palms together in a circular motion, and then an ethereal, light blue sphere, dozens of feet wide, formed in mid-air, encompassing Old Man Mi. As he pressed his hands towards its center, the blue sphere visibly began to shrink.

Old Man Mi was clearly a bit surprised and hastily shouted, "Sunflower Finger!" He extended all ten fingers, continuously pointing them outwards, and where he touched the blue sphere, ripple-like patterns formed. However, his finger strength, powerful enough to instantly kill a seventh-rank master, still couldn't pierce through this light sphere that appeared as fragile as a soap bubble.

Wei Dan smiled faintly. "It's no use. This is the Law of Space I've subtly grasped in recent years, and it cannot be broken by worldly power."

"The Law of Space?" Zu An was startled. "What level of cultivation does this guy truly possess? No wonder his zombie jump was so powerful before; it turns out he was utilizing the Law of Space. I was wondering why even Sunflower Phantom struggled to keep up."

Old Man Mi gave up on using Sunflower Finger and suddenly turned to look at Wei Dan. "No wonder you weren't at all distressed when your Star Net Handkerchief was destroyed earlier. It seems your trump card had already been upgraded."

"Of course," Wei Dan said, bowing towards the east. "Having served by His Majesty's side all these years, occasionally receiving a single pointer from the Emperor is better than ten years of our arduous cultivation. If I hadn't made any progress, how would I dare come to find you?"

As he spoke, the light blue sphere in mid-air grew smaller and smaller. A faint black glimmer even subtly collapsed at its center, and Old Man Mi could no longer control his body, slowly being drawn towards that black glimmer.

"A black hole?" Zu An watched, dumbfounded, suddenly realizing that many things in this world could no longer be explained by science.

Old Man Mi repeatedly used Sunflower Phantom, but he found that not only did he not move, but his body was being pulled backward towards the center. Wei Dan said in a deep voice, "Xiao Yingzi, for the sake of our past friendship, if you now sever your own arms, I will release you. Otherwise, if you are truly sucked into that black glimmer, even His Majesty won't be able to save you."

"Sever my own arms?" Old Man Mi sneered, "I'd rather die than surrender."

"Why bother with this?" Wei Dan frowned. "As long as you hand over the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra,' you might still have a way out. Why be so impulsive?"

Old Man Mi burst out laughing. "Precisely because I know you still need the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' from me, that's why I'm confident enough not to surrender. I don't believe you'll truly kill me."

Wei Dan snorted, but he stopped compressing the blue sphere with his hands. He also knew that if Old Man Mi were truly destroyed by that black glimmer, the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' would never be recovered, and how would he explain that to the Emperor? But the opponent's cultivation was too high. If he were released directly, he would be wary of this move, and it would be difficult to capture him next time.

Just as he hesitated, Old Man Mi moved while the surrounding space temporarily stabilized.

"Step-by-Step Lotus!"

He walked step by step through the void, each step leaving a footprint, and after each footprint, a beautiful lotus flower gradually bloomed. Zu An watched, dumbfounded. Although Old Man Mi looked like a decrepit old man, his aesthetic sense was truly impeccable; every one of his skills was so beautiful. If a beautiful young woman performed it, it would definitely be a man-magnet.

Not just Zu An, even Wei Dan was a bit surprised. "You've also touched the threshold of the Law of Space?"

Old Man Mi smiled faintly, then suddenly spewed out a mouthful of fresh blood. Clearly, that last move had been beyond his capabilities, and he was now suffering from the backlash. How could Wei Dan let such an opportunity slip? With a single zombie jump, he appeared beside Old Man Mi. His hands instantly struck Old Man Mi several times. Despite Old Man Mi's desperate resistance, he was still hit squarely by three of Wei Dan's palm strikes.

"Pfft!"

Old Man Mi coughed up a torrent of blood, staining his snow-white beard red.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Wei Dan said, "It seems you truly still mind your identity as a eunuch; even in old age, you still put on a few strands of fake beard." Wei Dan didn't pursue him, clearly somewhat worried about Old Man Mi's desperate struggle as a cornered beast. Now that his opponent was severely injured, time was on his side. The longer it dragged on, the more blood Old Man Mi would lose, and the weaker his body would become.

"Don't you mind it yourself?" Old Man Mi retorted, "You also have quite a few strands of beard glued to your face." He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, accidentally dislodging the attached beard strands, and his expression couldn't help but show a hint of distress.