Chapter 2889: Responsibility

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Initially, Duan Ling Tian had suspected someone else had killed Bai Yu Xuan, the Young Master of the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect, and He Shan, the Old Ancestor of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect, was used as a scapegoat. However, when he learned that Bai Yu Xuan was alive, it dawned on him that the incident was a scheme by the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect. Bai Yu Xuan had faked his death and Bai Wu Ji, the Sect Leader of the Profound Heaven Celestial, had used that as an excuse to kill He Shan! He Shan was unjustly killed by the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect! He was furious by this discovery of blatant injustice.

Duan Ling Tian had been summoned by Situ Ming to calm Bai Ping, the Sect Leader of the Tai Yi Celestial Sect. Upon learning the truth, Bai Ping’s Celestial Origin Energy roiled under his skin, and his eyes turned bloodshot. Clearly, he was furious beyond words. When he learned the truth about He Shan’s death, he had wanted to go to the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect to confront them.

Tie Tai He, Situ Ming, and the others, naturally, stopped Bai Ping.

“Sect leader,” Duan Ling Tian called out at this moment.

“Master Duan.” Bai Ping seemed to rein in his anger slightly when he saw Duan Ling Tian. He tried to calm his raging Celestial Origin Energy as well.

“I know what happened,” Duan Ling Tian said, “The Old Ancestor is unjustly killed by the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect through their scheme! However, do you know why the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect wants to get rid of him? Was there animosity between them?” In his opinion, there must be a conflict between He Shan and the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect. Otherwise, the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect would not have gone out their way to get rid of him.

“No.” Bai Ping shook his head. “The Old Ancestor didn’t have many interactions with those from the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect… There was no enmity between him and anyone from the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect.”

At this moment, Situ Ming who was standing at the side spoke up, “Master Duan, I’ve also asked the sect leader about this. After mulling over it, it seems like the only time he had any sort of conflict with the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect was when we first arrived in Alchemy City. Do you remember we had a conflict with Bai Yu Xuan, the Young Master of the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect?”

“Master Situ… Are you saying that the reason they killed the Old Ancestor is due to that incident? They devised such a plan to kill the Old Ancestor because of that?” Duan Ling Tian’s eyes widened when he heard Situ Ming’s words. If Situ Ming was right, then, he was partially to blame for He Shan’s death! After all, he was part of the reason the conflict had arisen between the Tai Yi Celestial Sect and Bai Yu Xuan. “As the strongest sect in the Six Southeastern Regions, will the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect really kill the Old Ancestor over such a trivial matter? Moreover, at that time, the Old Ancestor had shown them mercy and didn’t kill any of them! If the Old Ancestor wanted them dead at that time, all of them would have died!” When he finished speaking, a dejected expression could be seen on his face.

“Master Duan, do you still remember Bai Wu Ji’s reaction when he learned his son is dead?” Situ Ming asked.

Upon hearing Situ Ming’s words, Duan Ling Tian began to recall the events from that day.

“Bai Wu Ji didn’t seem to be acting. His rage and anguish seemed real. I have lived long enough to be able to tell these things. We can assume that Bai Wu Ji didn’t know his son is alive back then,” Situ Ming continued to say.

“Master Situ, you’re saying Bai Yu Xuan planned the entire thing? He’s the culprit?” Duan Ling Tian, naturally, knew what Situ Ming’s words meant. He was not stupid, after all.

“Yes.” Situ Ming nodded as his eyes turned cold. “Bai Wu Ji has a fairly good reputation in the Six Southeastern Regions and the borderlands… It doesn’t make sense for him to kill the Old Ancestor over such a trivial matter. However, it’s in line with Bai Yu Xuan’s character to do something like this.” He paused for a moment before he continued to say, “If you remember, at that time when Bai Wu Ji brought out his son’s Soul Pearl, the Soul Pearl isn’t shattered. It had only run out of energy. The energy in a Soul Pearl has to be replenished every once in a while. Bai Yu Xuan must have known the energy in his Soul Pearl would dissipate soon and came up with this plan to borrow his father’s hands to kill the Old Ancestor. I have every reason to believe he faked his death so his father would kill the Old Ancestor out of anger and avenge him.!” He was very confident about his hypothesis.

“Bai Yu Xuan, the Young Master of the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect…” Bai Yu Xuan’s figure appeared in Duan Ling Tian’s mind, and his gaze turned cold. He said in a deep voice, “Since Bai Yu Xuan is still alive when the Old Ancestor is dead… Shouldn’t the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect pay for this with Bai Yu Xuan’s life? The Old Ancestor had died because of Bai Yu Xuan’s supposed death, but now, Bai Yu Xuan is still alive and kicking.”

“Master Duan.” Situ Ming smiled bitterly. “Do you know why our sect leader is so furious? When news of Bai Yu Xuan being alive spread out, the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect insisted that the Old Ancestor had truly meant to kill Bai Yu Xuan. They said the Old Ancestor’s attack missed, and Bai Yu Xuan was grievously injured but survived due to a stroke of luck.”

“Ridiculous!” Duan Ling Tian cried out. He thought the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect was absolutely shameless for saying such a thing. He Shan was an Eight Trigrams Celestial Duke, how could he miss if he really intended to kill Bai Yu Xuan? He could easily kill Bai Yu Xuan with just a snap of his fingers!

“Indeed. However, how are we going to prove the Old Ancestor didn’t attack Bai Yu Xuan at all like the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect had asserted?” Situ Ming asked.

“I’m sure none of the top sects in the Six Southeastern Regions believe their words,” Duan Ling Tian said.

“Indeed.” Situ Ming nodded. “However, they won’t speak up for us against the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect if we don’t have evidence. Moreover, it has been a while since the Alchemy Conference ended, the incident has faded in importance.” A hint of helplessness could be heard in his voice when he spoke.

“So, the Old Ancestor died for nothing?” Upon hearing Situ Ming’s words, Duan Ling Tian’s expression darkened. Although he had personally witnessed He Shan being killed during the Alchemist Conference, he had only felt a hint of injustice. However, now that he learned He Shan was killed due to his part in the conflict with Bai Yu Xuan, he felt extremely guilty as well. The conflict was largely due to Huan’er. Naturally, she could not be blamed since Bai Yu Xuan was the one who provoked them, and they merely reacted. Even then, he could not help the guilt that ate at him. His eyes glinted with killing intent. It was the first time he had felt such a strong urge to kill after ascending to the Devata Realm. “Bai Yu Xuan…”

“Yes. We don’t have any evidence to disprove the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect’s claim that the Old Ancestor tried to kill Bai Yu Xuan. Unless Bai Yu Xuan comes clean or his men come clean, I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do,” Situ Ming said with a sigh, “The Profound Heaven Celestial Sect will continue playing the part of the victim and probably try to compensate us with some trivial things.”

“Compensation? Who needs that?” Bai Ling sneered.

“Profound Heaven Celestial Sect… Bai Yu Xuan…” Flames that seemed as though they could not be put out danced in Duan Ling Tian’s eyes. He swore inwardly, ‘Bai Yu Xuan must die… Otherwise, I’ll feel guilty about this for the rest of my life. After all, all this happened because of Huan’er and me.’ He was determined to kill Bai Yu Xuan to avenge He Shan. At this moment, he felt he was solely responsible for He Shan’s death.

After parting ways with Bai Ping and Situ Ming, Duan Ling Tian began to comprehend the Blissful Sect and the Profound Heaven Celestial Sect’s Duke Grade Celestial Method and Divine Ability… He became even more eager to improve his strength. This was the only way for him to protect himself against those who try to harm him and those around him.