The madness in the scarlet-lit old man's eyes gradually faded.
In that instant, he knew with absolute clarity that he had to kill the azure-clad youth before him. Only then could he live.
Otherwise, death was certain.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
"A sword cultivator!"
As the blood-robed old man's reason slowly returned, he laughed strangely. "To think that after a lifetime of roaming unhindered, I would be forcibly imprisoned, placed under restrictions, and used as a whetstone for a junior sword cultivator."
"So be it. I was indeed weaker."
"May I ask what sect you hail from, young friend?"
"My sect has little renown, so I won't mention it."
Jiang Ding smiled faintly. "Senior, how about this? Kill yourself, and you won't have to give me the satisfaction. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
"Hahaha! You have quite a sense of humor, young friend."
"It needn't come to that. There's still a sliver of hope."
The blood-robed old man laughed heartily. "Sword sects that like to temper their juniors' blades through life-and-death battles tend to stand by certain principles. Your elders should watch me beat you to death, then let me leave. Sword cultivators are proud and stubborn that way. Therein lies my chance."
"Of course, some sword sects have no such scruples."
"If that's the case, I can only accept my fate."
Hum!
Scarlet light flooded the vast starry sky. Countless corpses and bones rose and sank within it, while the near-solid shadow of a world spread across more than seven thousand kilometers. Order cycled within it, sun and moon alternated, and countless strands of Blood Dao Order Force coursed through it, propping up a world.
"Senior, this avatar of yours has a weaker foundation than mine."
Jiang Ding nodded slightly.
His ten-thousand-li Annihilation Sword Domain unfurled,