Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping could clearly sense the greed that had just emerged from her dissipate instantly.

“Is it very precious?”

Lin Buyu then asked Xu Taiping.

“More than precious. There are no true dragons left in this world, so naturally, every sip of Dragon Gall Wine is one less to be had. There was once a cultivator who offered a celestial weapon for a cup of Dragon Gall Wine but was refused.”

Before Xu Taiping could speak, Duan Tianya laughed and said.

“It’s probably not that he was unwilling to trade, but rather that he dared not.”

Xu Taiping handed the diluted bottle of Dragon Gall Wine to Duan Tianya.

He couldn’t say he completely trusted Duan Tianya, but he didn’t sense much malice from him, and since he was a man on the brink of death, Xu Taiping didn’t mind offering him another bottle of wine.

Upon receiving the bottle from Xu Taiping, a look of appreciation clearly appeared in Duan Tianya’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Lin Buyu continued to bury her head in the book she was reading.

“In truth, Dragon Gall Wine cannot awaken the memories of a past life in a Corpse Ghost. The reason it worked on me is simply because I once sealed a wisp of my soul within the Severing Water blade.”

Duan Tianya patted the ancient longsword at his waist.

“When I spilled a few drops of wine on the blade by accident, it awakened my lingering soul.”

“But because it is only a fragment of a soul, I knew I couldn’t hold on for long. That’s why I didn’t rush to confront that demonic cultivator and instead waited for the right moment to strike.”

He continued to explain to Xu Taiping.

Hearing this, some of Xu Taiping’s doubts were cleared up.

For instance, why Duan Tianya was sitting on the ground in a daze, and why he had told Xu Taiping to hide.

“So, Elder Duan, you had me hide as a precaution in case we needed to deal with that demonic cultivator, right?”

Xu Taiping ventured to ask.

“Exactly.” Duan Tianya nodded with a smile:

“My lingering soul and this Flying Zombie’s body can only sustain one strike. I wasn’t sure if one blow would be enough to kill the demonic cultivator, which is why I didn’t let you leave, young friend.”

He made no attempt to hide the fact that he had kept Xu Taiping behind for his own reasons.

Xu Taiping wasn’t too bothered by this.

He was well aware that even if he had fled, he might still have faced pursuit from the demonic cultivator.

“Ah…”

At that moment, Duan Tianya took a few more gulps of wine and then revealed a contented expression:

“To drink a bottle of Dragon Gall Wine at the moment of death, I have no regrets in this life.”

“Dragon Gall Wine can’t heal your injuries, Elder Duan?”

Xu Taiping hesitated before asking.

“No.” Duan Tianya shook his head weakly, “My life was borrowed to begin with. Not to mention Dragon Gall Wine, even a dragon gallstone couldn’t save me.”

Xu Taiping nodded, then voiced another doubt:

“Elder Duan, why did you appear in these Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh?”

Upon hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Duan Tianya’s face.

“I won’t lie to you, I’d like to know the answer to that myself.”

He said helplessly.

Then, under Xu Taiping’s puzzled gaze, Duan Tianya briefly recounted his and the woman beside him’s life story to both Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu.

According to Duan Tianya, he was originally the sect leader of the Nine Mansions’ Heavenly Blade Sect seven hundred years ago. The woman beside him was named Lu Yushi, and they were initially master and disciple. Over time, they developed feelings for each other but never became Dao companions due to societal norms.

Later, Duan Tianya gave up his position as sect leader and traveled overseas to cultivate in other realms.

This journey not only brought him to the brink of breaking through to the Transformative Realm but also led him to inheritances from several ancient Immortal Sects in a secret realm. It was around this time that he made an enemy of the Nine Mansions.

In a battle with a demonic sovereign of the Nine Mansions, he managed to inflict severe injuries on his opponent but also suffered irreparable damage himself, with little time left to live.

To prevent his techniques from being lost, he endured great hardship to return to the Nine Mansions, to the Heavenly Blade Sect.

By then, the sect leader was his former disciple, Lu Yushi.

He had intended to pass on all his techniques to Lu Yushi, but to his surprise, she harbored resentment over past events. Furthermore, instigated by another disciple, Shang Jiu, they confronted each other with weapons drawn.

The Heavenly Blade Sect then went through decades of turmoil.

In this upheaval, both he and Lu Yushi were gravely injured, while Shang Jiu profited from their strife, taking Duan Tianya’s life’s work and deceiving Lu Yushi.

Who would have thought that Duan Tianya, once a formidable figure of the Nine Mansions’ Heavenly Blade Sect, would spend his final days in the bleakness of a deep dungeon?

“During those ten years, I could have ended my life at any moment, but I didn’t because I still had a sliver of hope. I hoped for the dungeon door to open, for her to walk towards me from its entrance.”

At the end of his tale, Duan Tianya reached out and gently touched Lu Yushi’s pale cheek.

“When I awoke again, I saw you and remembered the years I spent as a Corpse Ghost with Yushi in these ruins.”

He let go of her cheek and looked at Xu Taiping with a bitter smile.

“So, Elder Duan, are you saying that after you and Senior Lu Yushi died, someone turned your bodies into Corpse Ghosts and placed you in these ruins to cultivate the Heavenly Fragrance Vermilion Fruit?”

After hearing Elder Duan’s story, Xu Taiping speculated.

“It seems that must be the case.”

Duan Tianya nodded with a bitter expression.

“Who would hate you both so much to not let you rest even in death?”

Xu Taiping asked with a frown.

“It can only be him, my second disciple, Shang Jiu. And if I’m not mistaken, he must have colluded with the Nine Mansions, because only the demonic cultivators of the Nine Mansions would be proficient in such a vile method of cultivating medicine.”

Duan Tianya’s expression turned icy.

“Moreover, based on my understanding of the Nine Mansions and past experiences, this entire Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh has become their medicinal garden. They are using Corpse Ghosts as vessels and the flesh and blood of treasure-seeking cultivators from various mansions as nutrients to cultivate various blood medicines like the Heavenly Fragrance Vermilion Fruit. And now, it must be the day these blood medicines mature, which is why they have gone to such lengths to come and harvest them.”

He continued.

Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping’s expression turned grave.

Even Lin Buyu, who had previously been indifferent to these matters, now lifted her head and looked at Duan Tianya.

“If it were just ordinary blood medicine, it would at most give the Nine Mansions one or two more demonic sovereigns. But if they are cultivating that kind of blood medicine in these ruins, I fear a great disaster will befall the Nine Mansions.”

Duan Tianya furrowed his brows.

“Which kind?”

Xu Taiping pressed.

Duan Tianya looked at Xu Taiping with an extremely grave expression and said:

“The Black Lotus, also known as the Demonic Lotus, which can elevate a demonic sovereign to a demonic master.”