Chapter 389: Birds Are Gone

Zu An's mind raced, desperate to find a way to escape death. However, his cultivation was already far inferior to Old Man Mi's. Now, with Old Man Mi's Phoenix Nirvana cultivation providing a powerful boost despite his severe injuries, the gap between them had widened even further.

No matter how he looked at it, there was no chance of survival.

The thought of being possessed by Old Man Mi sent a chill down Zu An's spine. He felt that dying would be preferable to such a fate.

"Empress Sister, Empress Sister, please come out and save me!" Zu An desperately called out to Mi Li in his mind. "Otherwise, we'll both be dead!"

But there was no response, as if she didn't exist at all.

Zu An remembered Mi Li saying that she needed to go into a long period of hibernation to detoxify herself from the "Xiangfei Red Tear" poison. He wondered if she was completely asleep or if she was at a critical stage of expelling the poison.

There was no other choice. He had to fight for his life; surrendering was out of the question.

At that moment, Old Man Mi spoke, "I must say, your resolve is quite strong. You haven't despaired or given up yet."

"You old eunuch dog!" Zu An cursed loudly. "Even if I die, I won't make it easy for you. Why should I give up?"

"Old eunuch dog?" Old Man Mi's face twitched. This was his greatest taboo, and it was clear that Zu An had hit a raw nerve.

Rage from Mi Lianying: 999!

"You brat, are you tired of living?" Old Man Mi glared at him through gritted teeth.

Zu An braced himself and retorted, "What are you looking at? Do you think you'd let me go if I spoke nicely to you? I'm dead anyway, so I might as well enjoy myself before I go. You old turtle, stinky turtle! You don't have a 'little chicken' of your own, so you want someone else's? Why didn't your father just shoot you against the wall back then..."

Hearing his insults, which contained no vulgar words but were deeply cutting, Old Man Mi's internal fury surged.

Rage from Mi Lianying: 666,666,666...

"You're asking for death!" He could no longer restrain himself and lunged directly at Zu An.

Before Old Man Mi even reached him, Zu An felt a powerful gust of wind, accompanied by an inexplicable pressure from all directions. He wanted to dodge, but his body wouldn't obey; he couldn't move at all.

Startled, he quickly summoned "Great Wind," and instantly retreated dozens of yards.

Old Man Mi missed, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Hmm? What kind of movement technique is that?"

He had never seen it before, nor could the Chu family have taught it to him. He even felt it was more profound in its understanding of spatial rules than Wei Dan's zombie jump from earlier.

Zu An was equally surprised. From the beginning, he had wondered why Old Man Mi hadn't used these abilities during his life-or-death battle with Wei Dan. He had initially thought Old Man Mi was deliberately feigning weakness, planning to use them at a critical moment to ambush Wei Dan.

But now, Old Man Mi's expression didn't seem feigned, proving he truly didn't know about it.

But how could this be? They both cultivated the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*, and Old Man Mi's cultivation was vastly superior to his own. How could he not possess special abilities like "Great Wind" and "Blue Teal"?

Could it be that I'm a peerless genius?

He quickly dismissed this thought. For Old Man Mi to cultivate to such a level with a disabled body, he was undoubtedly a genius in the cultivation world. It was impossible for him to understand less than Zu An.

Could the keyboard system have unlocked some hidden abilities of the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*?

Or was it due to Old Man Mi's physical disability?

A strange expression suddenly crossed his face as he thought of something: whether it was "Great Wind" or "Blue Teal," or even the other conjectured Phoenix Nine Chicks, they were all birds.

And Old Man Mi was a eunuch, who, of course, lacked a "bird."

Could that be the reason...?

A smile appeared on his face as he thought of this, and the gloom in his heart dissipated considerably. "Kneel down and kowtow three times, then call me 'Grandpa' a few times," he taunted. "Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll tell you."

Old Man Mi's face darkened. "While I don't understand why you keep provoking me, you have successfully ignited my fury."

Rage from Old Man Mi: 999!

Zu An knew there was no escape. Under the effects of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, Old Man Mi's speed and cultivation were far beyond his usual level.

The only point he could exploit was that Old Man Mi was severely injured. Like a high-damage, low-HP boss in a game, if he could seize the opportunity to hit him a few times, he might just be able to defeat him.

He completely abandoned the idea of escaping, standing straight. "Hmph! Do you really think I'm a pushover? Sword, come!"

He gestured into the void, and a sword suddenly appeared in his hand: the Taia Sword he had obtained from the secret realm.

Tall and holding the sword in one hand against the cold wind, he cut a somewhat imposing figure.

Old Man Mi paused, meticulously staring at the sword.

Zu An snorted. "Scared now that you've seen my Void Sword Summoning Art? I've been low-key for so many years, but now I'm laying my cards on the table. The truth is, I'm also a master who fully comprehends spatial laws."

Old Man Mi scoffed. "Isn't that just using a spatial ring or something similar? I didn't expect you to possess such a valuable item. It seems you gained a lot in the secret realm last time."

He was unaware of the red dragon's involvement, subconsciously assuming Zu An had acquired it in the secret realm.

Zu An sneered, "I have many more things. You'll regret trying to scheme against me soon enough."

More than just a spatial ring, I also gained a beautiful and powerful empress sister. If she were here, crushing you would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Thinking this, he desperately called out to Mi Li many more times, but still received no response.

Old Man Mi burst into laughter. "The more you've gained, the happier I am, because soon, everything you possess will be mine! Hahahaha!"

No sooner had his laughter faded than he moved, charging directly at Zu An.

This time, Zu An didn't dodge; instead, he charged straight into Old Man Mi's attack.

He knew Old Man Mi had taught him the Sunflower Phantom Steps, and even if he dodged, he wouldn't be able to evade for long.

Rather than merely evading, it was better to counter-attack. Old Man Mi was already severely injured, and if he could land a few hits, he might be able to turn the tide completely.

Having cultivated the Primordial Chaos Scripture, his body's toughness and recovery abilities made him well-suited for trading blows.

Moreover, Old Man Mi intended to possess his body, so presumably, he wouldn't want to inflict any fatal damage upon it.

This was the confidence that fueled his desperate fight.

Zu An swung his sword with an indomitable spirit, and around him, faint, sporadic snowflakes seemed to appear.

As expected, Old Man Mi's expression subtly changed upon seeing Zu An's resolute fighting style. He quickly abandoned his attack and instead reached out to deflect the longsword aimed at him.

"Oh? So Miss Chu has even taught you the Divine Snowflake Sword, huh? You really know how to win a girl's heart!" Old Man Mi exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmph, I am refined and handsome, a true gentleman. An ugly eunuch like you would naturally never understand the pleasures of being a handsome man like me," Zu An retorted, his hands not faltering in the slightest. He unleashed three more swift and fierce sword strikes.

He did not use the "Evil-Warding Sword Manual" he had created earlier. That manual relied on the Sunflower Phantom Steps combined with the Thirteen Basic Sword Forms, and was highly effective against weaker opponents.

However, it was insufficient against high-level cultivators, especially when facing Old Man Mi, who had immersed himself in the Sunflower Phantom Steps for centuries.

Old Man Mi, hesitant to cause fatal damage, was momentarily flustered by Zu An's desperate fighting style.

He quickly retreated, widening the distance between them. Gazing at the thin red line on his fingertip, clearly a fresh wound from Zu An's sword qi, a mix of surprise and delight spread across his face. "A Heaven-grade divine weapon? No, it looks more like an Immortal-grade divine weapon. You truly have given me too many surprises."

Zu An remained silent, continuing his assault.

"I was merely holding back earlier, afraid of hurting you," Old Man Mi sneered. "Did you really think I couldn't deal with you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished, leaving behind only a faint, lingering afterimage.