Chapter 2796: The Truth

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When Duan Ling Tian and Tie Tai He walked into the hall, Bai Ping, the Sect Leader of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect, walked away from Liu Yan Jun, a guest from the Thousand Spiders Celestial Sect, to greet Duan Ling Tian. A bright smile could be seen on his face as he said, “Master Duan.”

Duan Ling Tian smiled faintly as he nodded and greeted Bai Ping. “Sect Leader.”

Meanwhile, Zhou Shu Qiu, who was standing behind Liu Yan Jun, the elder from the Thousand Spiders Celestial Sect, had, naturally, seen Duan Ling Tian as soon as he walked in. She was in a daze when she saw the Sect Leader of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect walking away from them and taking the initiative to greet Duan Ling Tian enthusiastically. For a time, she felt that she really had been cut off from the affairs of the world for a long time. The purple-clad young man who was unknown in the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom previously had become a guest of honor whom even the Sect Leader of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect, one of the Three Major Celestial Sects of the Wasteland, greeted with such enthusiasm.

After Bai Ping greeted Duan Ling Tian and Tie Tai He, he led them to Liu Yan Jun and Zhou Shu Qiu before he said with a smile on his face, “Master Duan, this is the Supreme Elder of the Thousand Spiders Celestial Sect, Elder Liu. As for this woman, I don’t think there’s a need for me to make introductions, right?” He only introduced Liu Yan Jun and did not introduce Zhou Shu Qiu.

“Yes.” Indeed. There was no need for Bai Ping to introduce Zhou Shu Qiu since Duan Ling Tian knew who she was. She was the third miss of the Zhou clan in the capital of the Soaring Dragon Celestial Kingdom. Most importantly, she was the last disciple of the former Sect Leader of the Thousand Spiders Celestial Sect and the junior sister of the current sect leader.

When Duan Ling Tian appeared, Liu Yan Jun had used her Divine Consciousness to probe him and verify he was, indeed, younger than 100 years old. She was shocked by this discovery even though she had heard of his achievements before. After all, seeing is believing. “Master Duan, I heard that you have a profound cultivation base and are skilled in alchemy even though you’re not even 100 years old. You’ve even become the Chief Celestial Alchemist of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect now… You’re truly an extraordinary man.”

“Elder Liu, you flatter me,” Duan Ling Tian calmly replied. Then, he asked bluntly, “Elder Liu, is there a reason you asked to meet me?”

“I’m not the one who’s looking for you,” Liu Yan Jun said before she looked at Zhou Shu Qiu. “My niece wanted to meet you. According to her, you’re both old acquaintances…”

Duan Ling Tian looked at Zhou Shu Qiu. A hint of skepticism could be seen in his eyes. Why did Zhou Shu Qiu want to meet him? Was she still trying to recruit him to join the Thousand Spiders Celestial Sect? “Indeed. We’re old acquaintances.”

Zhou Shu Qiu looked at Duan Ling Tian. “Duan Ling Tian, I have something to tell you… It’s related to Murong Bing. Shall we talk in private?”

“Murong Bing?” If it were some other matter, Duan Ling Tian definitely would not be interested. However, since it was related to Murong Bing, how could he refuse Zhou Shu Qiu?

“Let’s go out and talk,” Duan Ling Tian said to Zhou Shu Qiu before he walked out.

Zhou Shu Qiu followed closely behind.

At this moment, only Bai Ping, Tie Tai He, and Liu Yan Jun were left in the hall.

…

Outside the hall.

“What happened to Murong Bing?” Duan Ling Tian asked in a deep voice as he looked at Zhou Shu Qiu. Although outwardly he appeared calm, one could still see a hint of worry in the depths of his eyes.

“She is fine for the time being,” Zhou Shu Qiu shook her head and said, “I came to you this time mainly to tell you that I lied to you previously when I told you that the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect wanted to marry her away. She’s not marrying anyone.”

“What?!” Upon hearing Zhou Shu Qiu’s words, Duan Ling Tian’s expression changed drastically. A hint of displeasure could be seen in his eyes as he said, “So it was all a lie?”

Faced with Duan Ling Tian’s displeasure, Zhou Shu Qiu braced herself and responded, “Yes.”

“Why did you do that?” Duan Ling Tian asked with a gloomy expression, “Do you think it’s funny?” He did not expect Zhou Shu Qiu to lie about the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect forcing Murong Bing to marry. He had been so worried when he had heard about this. He had even asked the young man with the surname Pei for help to stop the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect from marrying Murong Bing off. In the end, he discovered it was all a big fat lie!

Seeing how furious Duan Ling Tian was, Zhou Shu Qiu quickly apologized and explained herself, “Sorry. I just wanted to see how important Murong Bing is to you. I wanted to see how much you value her in your heart.”

“Why do you care so much about her importance or value to me?” Duan Ling Tian asked coldly.

“Murong Bing is my best friend. She had asked me to look out for you and save you when you were being hunted by the powerhouses from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect… This is the first time I’ve seen her care about someone so much. Moreover, it’s a man at that. I was, naturally, curious about the kind of person you are.” She did not seem to notice the coldness in Duan Ling Tian’s tone as she continued to say with a sigh, “When I met you, I wanted to see if you truly love and cherish her so I made up a lie to see your reaction. I didn’t expect you to react so strongly. You turned around and left immediately… I didn’t even have a chance to tell you it was all a lie.”

“She really asked you to look out for me and save me when I was being hunted by the powerhouses of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect?” Although Zhou Shu Qiu said many things, this sentence caught Duan Ling Tian’s attention

Was Murong Bing worried about him?

“I have no need to lie to you about such a thing,” Zhou Shu Qiu said.

“Is she… okay?” After learning that Zhou Shu Qiu was Murong Bing’s best friend, Duan Ling Tian was much more polite to Zhou Shu Qiu.

“Not really,” Zhou Shu Qiu shook her head and said, “You took her virginity. Because of that, she’ll never be the next Sect Leader of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect… Her goal has always been to become the Sect Leader of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect. Since she was young, her master had trained her as the future Sect Leader of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect. Her master is still unaware that she has lost her virginity. If her master finds out, her master would destroy her cultivation base even if she’s not executed.”

Zhou Shu Qiu’s voice turned grim as she continued to say, “Although the current Sect Leader of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect cares about her very much, nobody would be able to stop her master if her master insists on punishing her!”

Duan Ling Tian found it difficult to understand. “Even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs… She has been raised by her master since she was a child. How can her master be so heartless and treat her in such a manner?”

“You don’t know her master… Previously, her master had an outstanding disciple as well. At that time, her master also trained that disciple as the future Sect Leader of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect. However, that disciple fell in love with a man and lost her virginity. In the end, she was executed by her master! At that time, the Sect Leader and many high-ranking officials of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect tried to stop her master but to no avail. Her master did not hesitate to kill the disciple she had personally raised and trained.” A hint of worry clouded Zhou Shu Qiu’s eyes as she spoke. It was obvious that she was afraid Murong Bing would meet the same fate as her predecessor.

Duan Ling Tian asked in a deep voice, “Why doesn’t she leave the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect before her master finds out? Aren’t you her best friend? You can ask her to join the Thousand Spiders Celestial Sect.”

“Naturally, I’ve thought about this as well. However, it’s impossible for her to leave the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect. She treats her master like a mother. The last time I met her, she was considering if she should come clean to her master. Before I left, I warned her many times to not say anything to her master.”

“Thank you.” Duan Ling Tian expressed his gratitude to Zhou Shu Qiu. It was clear Zhou Shu Qiu had Murong Bing’s wellbeing in mind.

“There’s no need for you to thank me. You’ve not even met her when we became friends. I did what I did because I don’t want any harm to come to her. It has nothing to do with you,” Zhou Shu Qiu said as she shook her head, “However, even if she doesn’t tell her master about it, and the sect leader helps her to conceal the matter, it would still be exposed in a few years. Although the current sect leader can delay the selection of the Sect Leader of the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect for a while, she can’t delay it forever…”

Zhou Shu Qiu’s expression turned grim again as she said, “What I’m most worried about is her master’s reaction when her master finds out about the matter. After all, her senior sister serves as a good example of what would happen if her master finds out…”

Duan Ling Tian’s expression darkened when he heard Zhou Shu Qiu’s words.

Zhou Shu Qiu looked at Duan Ling Tian and continued to say, “I didn’t think it would be possible for you to bring her away from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect… However, I finally saw hope when I arrived in Tai Yi City and learned that you’ve become the Chief Celestial Alchemist of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect. I can see that you care about her very much. Therefore, I hope you’ll bring her away from the Compassionate Celestial Traveler Sect and her unreasonable master.”