“Many thanks, Elder Duan.”

Xu Taiping expressed his gratitude with pleasant surprise.

With this item, he could directly teleport to Dew Garden and meet up with Senior Sister Zi Yan and the others.

“Thank you.”

Even Lin Buyu, who was always stoic, voiced her thanks at this moment.

“There’s no need for thanks. Without the two of you, I might not have had the chance to see my disciple again,” Duan Tianya said with a smile, shaking his head. He then pointed to the jade bracelets in their hands and explained, “These bracelets have a story behind them. They were tokens of love between the master of Listening Wind Pavilion and his wife. When the wearers of the bracelets hold hands and unite their hearts, they can activate a powerful incantation hidden within by the Pavilion’s master.”

“These bracelets have such an ability?” Xu Taiping was somewhat astonished.

“Shall we try it out?” Lin Buyu, equally curious, asked Xu Taiping while holding the bracelet.

“Sure.” Xu Taiping didn’t think too much of it, feeling that having a means of self-protection was always good.

Watching their back-and-forth, Duan Tianya couldn’t help but reveal a smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Elder Duan, why do you refer to the Heavy Soul as the ‘fated one’?”

Suddenly, Lin Buyyu turned to Duan Tianya. Although she had been mostly silent, she remembered what Duan Tianya had mentioned earlier in the backyard.

Duan Tianya didn’t answer immediately but gave Xu Taiping a meaningful glance.

Catching that look, Xu Taiping got the hint and nodded, saying, “I’ll step aside for a moment.”

“No need.”

Lin Buyu shook her head, pulling on Xu Taiping’s hand.

“Isn’t it better I don’t hear your secrets?”

Xu Taiping looked at Lin Buyu with some concern.

“You didn’t avoid me when it came to the matter of Mortal Bones,” Lin Buyu said matter-of-factly.

“Speaking of which, it’s not a big secret. You might as well listen, young man. In a sense, both of you are in the same boat,” Duan Tianya said with a grin, prompting Xu Taiping to nod silently.

“During my travels across various realms, I discovered something quite interesting. The two types of cultivators most hated by demonic cultivators are those with Mortal Bones and those with Heavy Souls. Upon encountering either, they will attempt to annihilate them,” Duan Tianya began after taking a sip of wine.

“Why is that?” Lin Buyu’s second personality, Lin Buyan, suddenly emerged.

“You’re a banished Immortal, haven’t you heard of this?”

Duan Tianya recognized that the one asking wasn’t Lin Buyu, but Lin Buyan.

“My Dao seal hasn’t been fully unlocked,” Lin Buyan said helplessly.

“I see,” Duan Tianya nodded in realization, then added with a smile, “Even if you had unlocked your Dao seal, you might not know about it. After all, I only learned of this by chance.”

Without further suspense, he explained to Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu, “Demonic cultivators dislike those with Mortal Bones because, I suspect, the souls of such cultivators are more resilient than those of ordinary cultivators, making them immune to demonic manipulation and leaving only death as an option.”

“As for those with Heavy Souls, according to the information I stumbled upon by chance, a demonic master once perished at the hands of a cultivator with a Heavy Soul and prophesied before dying. Within the realms of this world, there will emerge a cultivator with a Heavy Soul who will be the fated calamity for demonic cultivators. Even the terrifying beings within the Nine Mansions Abyss will fall because of this person. Hence, demonic cultivators refer to all with Heavy Souls as the ‘fated ones.’”

Duan Tianya’s words were a lot for Xu Taiping to take in. The various realms he mentioned, the world they were in, and the Nine Mansions Abyss were all existences he had never heard of before, not to mention the fated one who could cause the downfall of those terrifying beings from the abyss.

“So, it’s just a prophecy,” Lin Buyu remained calm.

“To demonic cultivators, it is indeed a vague prophecy. After all, many with Heavy Souls have appeared over the years, but they haven’t posed any threat to the demonic race.”

“But for those with Heavy Souls, it’s a nightmare. Because of this prophecy, countless cultivators with Heavy Souls have been secretly eliminated by demonic cultivators.”

“So, young lady, try not to reveal your identity as one with a Heavy Soul in front of demonic cultivators like you did today,” Duan Tianya advised Lin Buyu earnestly.

“Thank you,” Lin Buyu nodded.

Before today, she hadn’t realized how dangerous it was to expose her identity as one with a Heavy Soul, thinking at most she would be treated as an outcast, but she hadn’t expected to be targeted by the demonic race.

“Snap!…”

Just then, the female Flying Zombie, who was also Duan Tianya’s disciple Lu Yushi, and had been sitting motionless, suddenly sat up straight.

Her bones started to crackle, and the sunken parts of her body began to restore themselves.

“Young man, young lady, it’s time for you to leave,” Duan Tianya said to Xu Taiping with a bitter expression.

“Flying Zombies are undying; even with severe injuries, they will recover after some time,” he explained to Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu.

Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu exchanged a glance, then asked Duan Tianya, “What about you, Elder Duan?”

“In not too long, this remnant soul of mine will dissipate into nothingness, truly scattering to the winds, becoming a complete Corpse Ghost,” Duan Tianya said quietly, watching the female Flying Zombie without turning his head.

“Young man, before you go, could you do one last thing for this old man?” he suddenly asked, turning to look at Xu Taiping.

“Please tell me, Elder Duan,” Xu Taiping nodded.

Having received his guidance and gifts, including the teleportation array, Xu Taiping felt obliged to help with anything he could.

“Could you go to the western cliff and pick seven white crystal chrysanthemums for me?” Duan Tianya requested.

Xu Taiping was taken aback by the simplicity of the request.

“But seeing the flowers might enrage your disciple,” Xu Taiping recalled the fate of those Ancient Yue Sword Sect disciples.

“The last time we parted, I told her to wait for me there, to wait until she had torn off the petals of the seven white crystal chrysanthemums, and then I would return. But I lied to her that time, and once I left, it was for hundreds of years,” Duan Tianya said, filled with guilt as he looked at the female Flying Zombie.

“This time, I will not break my promise.”

He smiled and gently stroked the disheveled hair of the female Flying Zombie.