Chapter 385: Life Is Unpredictable

This was also Zu An's confusion. He had just been wondering why Old Man Mi wasn't using skills like Great Wind or Blue Duck. Even if Old Man Mi cultivated slowly, his level surely wouldn't be lower than Zu An's own. He had also hoped to take the opportunity to observe what new skills would emerge from the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture when cultivated to higher realms.

Old Man Mi remained silent in response to Wei Dan's query, clearly disinclined to answer. Wei Dan, undeterred, muttered to himself from behind, "After all these years, your cultivation has significantly improved during our recent exchange. This must be the doing of the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture. To have nearly bridged the gap between us in such a short time, the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture certainly lives up to its legendary reputation. Yet, the more I consider it, the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture should be capable of more than this, shouldn't it?"

Old Man Mi finally spoke: "The Phoenix Nirvana Scripture embodies the very essence of creation, making its cultivation far from easy. For individuals like us, who are physically flawed, cultivating it yields half the results for twice the effort, and we can never hope to reach its peak."

Wei Dan frowned. He knew well that such a limitation existed; physical imperfections always made it challenging to cultivate advanced techniques, so he was not at all surprised that the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture possessed this characteristic. Suddenly, he seemed to realize something and looked at Zu An, whom Old Man Mi was carrying. "No wonder you value him so much," he said. "According to intelligence reports, Zu An was a complete nobody not long ago, yet in such a short time, he's become a young master. This must be the work of the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, wouldn't you agree?"

Zu An looked indignant. *Who are you calling a waste?* he thought. *You're not even a real man; where do you get off saying that?*

The two powerful figures naturally paid no attention to Zu An's internal musings. Old Man Mi chuckled, "Precisely. I merely wish to see what he will eventually become. Legend has it that it grants immortality; I have no hope for that myself, so I can only wait to see if he can surprise me."

Zu An was instantly overcome with emotion. He never imagined Old Man Mi possessed such noble character; it felt utterly wrong that he had ever suspected him. However, he immediately realized something. Old Man Mi had just mentioned that cultivating the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture was twice the effort for half the result for those with physical imperfections. But Old Man Mi was unaware that Zu An's body had already recovered, so wouldn't his words contradict themselves? He quickly understood: Old Man Mi was most likely deliberately misleading Wei Dan, either to divert the danger towards Zu An himself or to make Wei Dan reluctant to easily harm his life.

As expected, Wei Dan glanced at him with some surprise and couldn't help but remark, "Today truly brings one surprise after another! To find two individuals who have cultivated the Phoenix Nirvana Scripture... I'm certain His Majesty will be exceedingly interested once I bring him back."

Zu An was speechless. He certainly didn't want an old man to take an interest in him, but unfortunately, he was currently helpless. In the presence of two super-powerful experts, he had no voice at all.

Old Man Mi was already injured, and with the added burden of carrying someone, even his speed-oriented movement technique gradually slowed down. Wei Dan seized the opportunity, leaping directly in front of them. "Little Yingzi," he called, "you've run long enough. It's time for this to end."

Old Man Mi's face darkened. He casually tossed Zu An onto a nearby tree branch, leaving him suspended there, then faced Wei Dan with full vigilance. Wei Dan clearly had little interest in Zu An; after all, once Old Man Mi was dealt with, Zu An would be easy prey.

Zu An quickly surveyed his surroundings. Given that they had just flown out from Brightmoon City, they must now be deep within Dragon Concealment Mountain. While Dragon Concealment Mountain was indeed perilous, that was only true for ordinary people. For super-powerful experts like Old Man Mi and Wei Dan, the fierce beasts posed no threat whatsoever. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. If the red dragon were still around, perhaps he could have used it to ambush the two old men. Having only ambushed Chen Xuan once before felt like such a waste.

As he was lost in thought, Wei Dan made his move. Clearly, he surmised that Old Man Mi, having been injured for so long and exerting himself to carry Zu An, must have had his strength significantly depleted. The actual combat unfolded as he predicted. Moments ago, Old Man Mi had been exchanging both attacks and defenses with him, but now he was essentially only attacking a third of the time, relying on the wondrous movement technique of Sunflower Phantasm for defense and evasion. After another half hour of fighting, Old Man Mi could no longer even manage a third of his previous attacks, forced to dedicate himself entirely to defense. Yet, new wounds continually appeared on his body.

Wei Dan casually wiped the blood from his sharp fingernails while attacking with effortless grace. "Little Yingzi," he said, "why are you putting yourself through this? You're no match for me anyway; why waste everyone's time?"

Old Man Mi gritted his teeth. "No one knows the final outcome until the very last moment."

"Very well then, I shall make you completely give up," Wei Dan said, his voice turning cold as his speed abruptly increased. This time, Old Man Mi could no longer evade. He could only grit his teeth and raise his palm to meet the incoming attack.

"Great Star Luo Hand!" A cruel smile flashed across Wei Dan's face. He intended to use this opportunity to completely cripple his opponent; his patience had worn thin from the prolonged delay. A wave of vital energy spread outwards, directly blowing Zu An off the distant tree. He hit the ground with a thud. If his body hadn't been tempered twice by the Primordial Chaos Scripture, falling from such a height while unable to use his cultivation would have resulted in severe injury, if not several broken bones. Yet now, he only felt some pain, with minimal injuries to his body. Furthermore, the impact of the fall caused the vital energy within him to churn and surge, loosening the restrictions Old Man Mi had placed on him.

Zu An was overjoyed. He quickly guided the vital energy within him to continue assailing the restriction. His immediate priority was to regain his mobility, then escape while the two combatants were fully engrossed in their fierce battle.

On the other side of the battlefield, at the precise moment their palms were about to connect, the panicked expression in Old Man Mi's eyes vanished, replaced by the chilling satisfaction of a successful stratagem. Immediately afterward, he changed his palm to a single finger, unleashing his signature skill — the Sunflower One-Finger!

Wei Dan instinctively felt that something was amiss, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Even at his peak, Wei Dan's cultivation was slightly inferior to Old Man Mi's, let alone now, while heavily injured. Thus, he completely let down his guard and continued to press forward with his palm. He was confident that this strike would pulverize the opponent's finger inch by inch, and then the entire person would be rendered utterly incapable of resistance.

Palm and finger met, and a spray of fresh blood erupted as a scream immediately rent the air. Zu An, who was still trying to break the restrictions within his body, looked up in stunned horror. The scream did not come from Old Man Mi, but from Wei Dan, who had held the overwhelming advantage!

Old Man Mi's purplish finger had directly pierced a hole through Wei Dan's palm. The blue light that had enveloped Wei Dan's hand from the Great Star Luo Hand technique was gone, replaced by a blinding crimson. Old Man Mi didn't hesitate for a moment. His other hand instantly struck out, using the "Sunflower One-Finger" to successively strike several vital acupoints on Wei Dan's body.

Wei Dan fell to the side like a tattered sandbag, yet he ignored his injuries, instead staring at his opponent with utter horror. "How is this possible!" he cried. In that very instant, the opponent's strength seemed to have suddenly surged by an untold number of times. While Old Man Mi's cultivation was originally slightly inferior to his, there was no fundamental gap between them. Yet, in that single moment, Old Man Mi's cultivation had seemingly utterly crushed him. If Old Man Mi truly possessed such cultivation, why would he have deliberately put on such a show with him from the start? But if he didn't have such cultivation, then the irresistible, boundless vital energy unleashed in that moment couldn't have been an illusion. This was the puzzle he simply couldn't solve about his opponent.

Zu An, watching from the side, was so astonished his eyes nearly popped out. From the very beginning, he had secretly cheered for Old Man Mi, wishing he could hold on a little longer. But in an instant, the situation completely reversed, and Wei Dan, who had held every advantage, was defeated instead. Now, with the restrictions within his own body not yet fully broken, he found himself praying for Wei Dan to hold on a little longer. Life truly is unpredictable; this change happened far too quickly.

A few days ago, my surroundings were filled with old grandpas and grandmas, which made me doubt life for a while. Today, I finally spotted young women with long legs around.