"With this strike, you will die."
Shang Jiu had no intention of showing mercy. He slowly raised his blade toward Xu Taiping.
By now, he, too, was all but an oil lamp running dry.
The only difference between him and Xu Taiping was that he had a blade, while Xu Taiping did not.
"Death is better than leaving regrets."
As Xu Taiping spoke, every muscle in his body tightened. He summoned the last of his qi and blood, raising the strength of his physique to its peak.
Opposite him, Shang Jiu's bones crackled as well, and the muscles beneath his blood-caked skin tightened once more.
Whoosh!
Shang Jiu, blade in hand, and Xu Taiping, empty-handed, swung their arms down in unison.
Shing!
The instant Xu Taiping's arm moved as though swinging a blade, an ancient, simply fashioned saber suddenly flew out of the gourd, landing right in his hand.
It was Duan Tianya's Water-Cutting.
The moment the saber entered his grasp, the corners of Xu Taiping's mouth lifted. His muscles tightened further, and he put even more strength into his hand.
Whoosh!
The saber swept down, striking Shang Jiu's Blood Blade squarely.
With a tremendous bang, Water-Cutting cleaved straight through the Blood Blade in Shang Jiu's hand and slashed heavily into his chest.
Shang Jiu looked at the wound on his chest, then at the blade in Xu Taiping's hand. A trace of unwillingness appeared on his face as he said:
"Water-Cutting, you actually chose him?"
Water-Cutting let out a series of "furious" blade cries in Xu Taiping's hand, as though driving Shang Jiu away.
At the same time, the final Buddhist prayer bead in Xu Taiping's hand shattered.
The phantom of the Duedu Asura behind him instantly blazed with golden light, an incomparably terrifying pressure spreading from its body.