After the coughing subsided, he suddenly said with a wistful expression:

“This Severing Water blade has an extraordinary essence. If I could face its master in battle, I would surely gain much. Alas, I fear I may never be able to wield a blade again.”

His murky eyes filled with regret as he glanced at his rough, scarred old hands.

Hearing this, the Severing Water blade at his waist let out a buzzing tremor, as if to chide him for his defeatist words.

“My old friend, it’s time to accept our age.”

Duan Tianya gently patted the long blade at his waist.

“Duan, in your lifetime, did you reach the Transformative Realm?”

Seeing Duan Tianya suppress the blade’s spirit, Xu Taiping couldn’t help but ask with curiosity.

“Transformative Realm? No, no, I only reached the peak of Spirit Refining in my life, but…”

Duan Tianya shook his head, then smiled proudly, playing coy.

“But what?”

Xu Taiping immediately pressed.

“I’ve killed.”

Duan Tianya grinned, his smile brimming with pride and arrogance.

Though it was a simple statement, it spoke volumes more than any flowery prose.

“There’s no need for such surprise. In the eyes of a blade cultivator, there are only those who can be killed and those who cannot. There’s no such thing as Spirit Refining or Transformative Realms.”

Seeing Xu Taiping’s expression, Duan Tianya chuckled and shook his head.

“I’ve learned my lesson.”

Though it was a casually spoken phrase, it revealed the true essence of blade cultivation.

“Young man.”

Duan Tianya suddenly looked up at Xu Taiping again.

“What is it, Elder Duan?”

Xu Taiping asked, puzzled.

“Would you like to learn my blade technique?”

Duan Tianya asked with a smile.

Xu Taiping was taken aback at first, then nodded earnestly:

“Yes!”

Seeing Xu Taiping’s forthrightness, Duan Tianya laughed heartily.

“Come closer.”

He beckoned Xu Taiping with a wave of his hand.

Xu Taiping did as told, bringing his head closer.

Then, Duan Tianya extended a finger and lightly touched Xu Taiping’s forehead.

As a buzzing filled his ears, pages of blade techniques fluttered into Xu Taiping’s mind like snowflakes.

“In my life, I’ve achieved nothing notable except for my skill with the blade, which I believe is second to none, even those in the Transformative Realm.”

“However, you’re not a disciple of the Heavenly Blade Sect, so I can’t pass on their techniques to you. The technique I’m giving you today was created by me over decades in a cellar after I was expelled from the sect, so it’s not considered a Heavenly Blade Sect technique.”

“The original purpose of creating this technique was to venture alone into the Nine Mansions with this blade to avenge the grievous injury inflicted by the demonic master. Thus, I named it the Demonic Severing Blade.”

Duan Tianya explained to Xu Taiping with a smile.

“Thank you, Elder Duan, for bestowing the blade.”

Xu Taiping expressed his gratitude once again.

Though he had only glimpsed it briefly, the Demonic Severing Blade technique had already left him in awe.

He had never imagined that a blade could be wielded in such a way.

“That blade at your waist is decent, but it’s merely a mortal make and can’t unleash the full power of my technique.”

As Duan Tianya spoke, he unfastened the Severing Water blade from his waist.

“This old friend of mine has a temper, but it’s the finest blade in the world. I hope you, young man, will treat it well.”

He then held the blade by its hilt and offered it to Xu Taiping.

Upon these words, the long blade in his hand wailed, as if reluctant to part with its owner.

Xu Taiping hesitated.

“Elder Duan, even ten jars of Dragon Gall Wine wouldn’t be worthy of your blade.”

Xu Taiping earnestly refused.

A blade and its techniques are different; they hold too much significance, and he truly couldn’t bear the weight.

“But you are worthy.”

Duan Tianya didn’t retract his hand holding the blade; instead, his gaze on Xu Taiping grew even more resolute.

“With mere Mortal Bones, no amount of fortuity could bring you this far without unwavering perseverance. I’ve roamed countless realms for hundreds of years, and I would not misjudge.”

He added with certainty.

“Elder Duan, how did you discern that I possess Mortal Bones?”

Once again confronted with his Mortal Bones identity, Xu Taiping couldn’t help but ask Duan Tianya.

“The most crushing defeat I suffered in my travels across various realms was at the hands of a cultivator with Mortal Bones. The essence of your punches and blade strokes is identical to his.”

Duan Tianya spoke while forcibly placing the Severing Water blade into Xu Taiping’s embrace.

“Who was he?”

Xu Taiping, holding the Severing Water blade, asked curiously.

“Gazing Abyss Realm, Western Liang Kingdom, the general who stood alone at the Sea Guarding Tower for nine hundred years, slaying countless abyssal demonic generals, and faced the demonic master alone, driving him back so he dared not invade Western Liang for nine hundred years—General Zhang Tianze.”

Duan Tianya spoke with reverence shining in his eyes.

“A mere Mortal Bones cultivator could stand alone against a demonic master?”

Xu Taiping’s eyes suddenly brightened.

“Young man, you may not know, but although it’s difficult for those with Mortal Bones to cultivate, once they embark on the path, their hearts are much more steadfast than ordinary cultivators. Thus, in other realms, those who persist in resisting demonic cultivators are often Mortal Bones. That’s why demonic cultivators hate them the most.”

Duan Tianya said with a serious expression.

Xu Taiping had never imagined that in other realms, Mortal Bones cultivators could perform such astonishing feats.

“If possible, I hope that one day you can take this old friend of mine and face the Gazing Abyss Realm’s demonic master in battle once more. So that when centuries have passed and the world has forgotten Duan Tianya, they will still remember my Demonic Severing Blade and this old friend.”

Duan Tianya grinned at Xu Taiping.

Realizing that Elder Duan truly had high hopes for him, Xu Taiping no longer declined and accepted the Severing Water blade, then said solemnly, “Although I don’t know if I can reach that point, Xu Taiping will not disgrace Elder Duan’s blade technique, nor this blade.”

“Very good, very good.”

Duan Tianya laughed heartily upon hearing this.

“I originally thought that this Demonic Severing Blade would be buried with me, but unexpectedly, I found a worthy successor on the brink of death. The heavens have not been unkind to me.”

He spoke with a sense of gratitude.

With that, Duan Tianya suddenly raised his hand, drawing a stack of letters and a wooden box from within the pavilion into his grasp.

“The books in this pavilion, the ones of some use have mostly been stolen. Only the letters from the master of Listening Wind Pavilion have some value. They are the correspondence he had with a certain immortal while exchanging insights on cultivation. If you and the young lady study them carefully, they may be of some use to your future cultivation.”

As Duan Tianya spoke, he divided the stack of letters into two, handing them to Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu.

He then opened the wooden box and took out two jade bracelets.

“These bracelets are the key to the pavilion’s array. Once you’re in the study, you just need to clasp your hands wearing the bracelets, and you’ll be able to activate the teleportation array, sending you to other teleportation points within the Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh.”

Duan Tianya continued, handing the two jade bracelets to Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu.