Chapter 152: Mutual Destruction

In the void, the sword will emanating from Gu Jian and the spiritual power radiating from Cheng Qian continuously collided.

Right at this moment, Cheng Qian suddenly pointed a finger toward the firmament. He could no longer hold back, and thus prepared to strike first!

"Power of the Thunder God! Strike the Firmament!"

With one finger pointing to the heavens and the other to the earth, Cheng Qian shouted sternly. This move was the absolute strongest strike Cheng Qian was currently capable of unleashing, channeling the power of the immortal in the Immortal Realm who governs thunder and lightning. However, once this technique was used, he would enter a state of complete spiritual exhaustion. Unless it was an absolute last resort, he would never have resorted to it.

As Cheng Qian's voice fell, rumbling sounds of thunder immediately echoed across the firmament. A patch of gloomy, dark clouds slowly materialized at that very moment, and strands of terrifying thunder and lightning kept rolling within the dark clouds.

Gazing at the terrifying aura sweeping down from the firmament, Gu Jian took a deep breath. He then placed the divine sword in his palm and gently sliced across it. A stream of scarlet blood instantly welled up and was absorbed by the divine sword. After absorbing Gu Jian's blood, the divine sword began to tremble incessantly, and its bright blade turned flushed red at that moment.

Seeing this turn of events, Cheng Qian did not hesitate any longer. The finger pointing at the firmament suddenly dropped, and a bolt of lightning carrying a destructive aura flashed out from the dark clouds, plunging directly toward Gu Jian.

"Brat, this is my strongest strike! Dying by this attack, you can rest in peace!" Seeing that the bolt of lightning was about to strike Gu Jian, Cheng Qian burst into wild, arrogant laughter.

Right at that instant, the lightning accurately struck Gu Jian. Just as Cheng Qian was laughing wildly, a dazzling red light suddenly erupted from the spot where Gu Jian stood. This development was completely unexpected to Cheng Qian. His gaze involuntarily shifted toward the front. Immediately afterward, Gu Jian's calm voice slowly drifted over and reached his ears.

"You are celebrating a bit too early!"

Following Gu Jian's calm words, his figure slowly emerged in Cheng Qian's line of sight. At this moment, Gu Jian was protected by a blood-red barrier, and the source of this barrier was precisely the radiance emitted by the divine sword hovering and spinning above his head.

Witnessing this scene, Cheng Qian wore a look of utter shock. He could not believe that his full-power strike failed to cause any harm to someone at the Martial King realm. Driven to fury and desperation, Cheng Qian once again pointed a finger toward the firmament and thrust it downward with force.

High above the firmament, another bolt of lightning broke through the clouds and lunged toward Gu Jian. The power of this lightning bolt was significantly greater than the previous one. However, just as the lightning was about to hit Gu Jian, the divine sword hovering above his head suddenly erupted with a dense crimson glow, instantly enveloping the thunderous power within it.

The scene that unfolded next filled Cheng Qian, a cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, with dread. The bolt of lightning trapped within the red light was actually fading at a rate visible to the naked eye, and finally vanished into nothingness right before his eyes.

"This—this divine sword actually absorbed the lightning power of the Thunder Immortal! How is this possible?!" Cheng Qian cried out in disbelief.

This spectacle was simply too mind-boggling. The thunder and lightning of the Thunder Immortal was the power of heaven and earth—an immensely formidable existence even among the forces of nature. Lightning represented destruction. But what about now? This force representing destruction had actually been absorbed by the weapon of a mere martial artist. This was something Cheng Qian had never even dreamed of.

Refusing to accept this, just as Cheng Qian prepared to summon the thunder and lightning once again, he discovered that the dark clouds across the firmament had also grown dim, looking as though they were ready to dissipate at any moment.

It turned out that because Cheng Qian had summoned thunder and lightning twice in succession, the spiritual power left in his body was now virtually depleted. Furthermore, the mystical technique he employed required vast amounts of spiritual power as a medium; as his spiritual power dried up, the thunder and lightning could no longer manifest.

Seeing this, Cheng Qian's expression instantly turned grim and ugly. In contrast, upon seeing this state of affairs, Gu Jian burst into wild, arrogant laughter.

"Hahaha, it seems your strongest strike still couldn't do a thing to me. Do you have any other techniques? I really don't want others to say later that I bullied you."

Hearing Gu Jian's words, Cheng Qian was struck by a surge of fiery rage that nearly caused him to vomit blood. Fortunately, by circulating the meager amount of spiritual power left in his body, he managed to suppress this fury. Never had he imagined that he, the dignified Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, would be subjected to such humiliation today, and that the person humiliating him was merely a brat at the Martial King stage.

"It appears you no longer have the stamina to attack me. Next, it's my turn to perform!"

Through a brief observation, Gu Jian seemed to have figured out Cheng Qian's current condition. Compared to Cheng Qian, his own situation was actually not much better. Although using a secret arts to boost his strength allowed him to contend with a Tribulation Transcendence stage Vice Hall Master, the backlash that followed the conclusion of the secret technique was by no means negligible. Therefore, he had to severely injure Cheng Qian and rob him of his combat capability before his own strength gave out. Otherwise, once he fell, Xiao Yu and the others would likely be in mortal danger.

At this thought, Gu Jian's gaze instantly hardened, and he slowly raised his right hand above his head. The divine sword hovering above seemed to sense its master's intent and immediately fell into Gu Jian's grip. A powerful aura instantly radiated outward, taking Gu Jian as its center.

Next, Gu Jian channeled all the vital essence remaining in his body, converging it onto the divine sword in his hand. The entire blade instantly burst into a dazzling red glow.

Feeling this formidable aura, Cheng Qian hardened his heart, mobilizing his remaining spiritual power to mount a final defense. After all, he was the Vice Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall; if he fled at this moment, not only would the Law Enforcement Hall no longer have a place for him, but the entire world of cultivation would have no room for him either. Besides, Cheng Qian clearly sensed that after condensing this strike, Gu Jian's vital essence would also be completely exhausted. As long as he could withstand this blow, the one left standing in the end would inevitably be him. In that case, the divine sword in Gu Jian's hand would also become his spoils.

"Cheng Qian, take my final strike!"

At this moment, Gu Jian, having fully condensed his attack, let out a sharp cry, and the divine sword in his hand descended heavily toward his opponent. A formidable sword momentum erupted from the divine sword, and the dazzling red light instantly transformed into a giant sword projection nearly ten feet long in the void, hurtling down toward Cheng Qian.

"Ah! Insolent brat, do not be arrogant!"

Cheng Qian also let out a fierce shout as a torrent of powerful spiritual power surged forth, rapidly gathering before him to form a barrier forged from spiritual energy.

Right at that instant, Gu Jian's attack arrived right on schedule, crashing heavily into the barrier of light before Cheng Qian. Following that was a deafening explosion. The shockwave generated by the explosion ravaged the void continuously, directly knocking Gu Jian down from the high altitude.

Cheng Qian's figure plummeted from the void just like Gu Jian's. Both of their bodies smashed into the ground at the same time, their lives or deaths unknown.