The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 493: The Truth of the Past

Baek Jimin touched her mother’s hand and brought it to her face.

"Of course you will continue to see us. You will live a long life, and you will live a fulfilling life, so do not keep saying ominous things," she said.

She was truly happy, not only because her mother could be saved, but also because she was finally showing different emotions, like smiling, instead of being cold and expressionless like in the past.

Since her father had gone missing and her mother had changed, she had never been the same, no longer showing her smile to her. Now that her mother was smiling again, it gave her a sense of nostalgia.

Sect Master Baek smiled at her daughter and then looked at Aldrian.

"Thank you for saving me," she said.

Aldrian shook his head while smiling.

"Do not mind it. It was truly fate that we came back to Thorny Flower Garden and discovered that something had happened to you, Sect Master. Baek Jimin was so worried about you."

Sect Master Baek sighed and looked at her daughter again.

"Child, do you not hate your mother? Why did you come back?"

Hearing her question, Baek Jimin froze for a moment, but she still showed a smile. She gently rubbed her mother’s hand against her cheek and closed her eyes.

"Maybe I hated you in the past. But after hearing from someone that you might not be as you seemed, and after thinking about it thoroughly, I realized there are so many things I do not know about you. I was too ignorant to judge you, Mother," Baek Jimin said. She then opened her eyes and looked at her mother’s face.

"That is why my hatred towards you faded as time passed. Now, I only miss you."

Sect Master Baek could not help but be touched by her daughter’s words. She looked at Aldrian, believing he was the one who had helped Baek Jimin change. She gazed at him with gratitude.

"Mother, what really happened to you? Why were you fighting with the elders? How were you injured?" Baek Jimin asked with a concerned expression.

Hearing her question, Sect Master Baek sighed, and her expression turned serious. She seemed to be thinking carefully about how to explain it before finally opening her lips.

"This matter is connected to your father."

Baek Jimin froze, then her eyes widened and began to tremble.

"What?"

Sect Master Baek sighed and looked elsewhere, as if trying to recall the events of the past.

"Your father was actually captured by the devils."

Baek Jimin was shocked, and Aldrian continued listening, wanting to hear the details.

"And not just ordinary devils. Your father was captured by one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Sloth Devil."

Hearing the name of the perpetrator, Aldrian narrowed his eyes. The Sloth Devil? It seemed there was more happening behind the scenes, and something even larger brewing if the Seven Deadly Sins were involved.

"The day your father and I set out on our journey to the Piercing Heaven Sect to attend the Three Great Sects Meeting was the day everything changed for me," Sect Master Baek continued. "In the middle of our journey, we were suddenly attacked by a group of devils. It was a complete surprise, as we never expected devils to infiltrate so deep into demon territory."

"We managed to hold on for a few moments until she appeared — the Sloth Devil," Sect Master Baek said through gritted teeth. "That bitch, with her lazy and uncaring face, was terrifyingly strong. Her undead army and other summons, which included many beings at the King and even Emperor stages, were overwhelming. We were instantly crushed. All of our escorts were killed, leaving only me and your father."

"She did not even give us time to use our escape talisman, and—" Sect Master Baek paused slightly as she remembered her husband’s face.

"In that desperate moment, your father tried to sacrifice himself to give me a chance to escape. But that woman—" Her eyes filled with intense hatred. "She was playing with us. Like a predator toying with its prey. Your father, who was ready to sacrifice himself, was easily stopped by her, and she captured him."

"However, he did not give up and kept resisting, doing everything he could, even if it meant sacrificing his limbs. He shouted for me to escape, but in my hesitation, I overheard the Sloth Devil talking about you, which made my heart grow cold." She looked into Baek Jimin’s eyes.

"She said she wanted to capture you, and she would do it one way or another. At that moment, I decided to stop hesitating and abandon your father to escape using the escape talisman."

"After I returned to the sect, I searched for you, and fortunately, you were fine, just playing with your friends. I decided not to tell you anything and instead gathered all the elders to declare an emergency. However, at that meeting, I discovered a truth." Her eyes turned hateful again.

"The majority of the elders, who are also part of Grand Elder Kwon Mira’s faction, considered the tragedy I experienced to be just a ’normal’ tragedy in the cultivation world. They believed there was nothing they could do since it involved one of the Seven Deadly Sins."

"I was furious at the time, almost on the verge of rampaging, but then Grand Elder Kwon Mira brought you into the picture and threatened me using you. That’s when something finally clicked inside my mind."

"Grand Elder Kwon must have been working with the devils. She’s their asset inside the sect, their dog. She must have been the one who gave the devils the schedule of my movements to the Piercing Heaven Sect. No wonder the devils were able to ambush us in a place we never expected."

"When I confronted her about the devils, she just smiled at me and whispered that if I wanted to keep you safe, I would have to follow their demands, do everything they wanted. She also said that if I told the other great sects about the devils’ presence in the demon territory, Sloth Devil would come personally to take you."

"At that time, I realized that after the devils failed to kill me during the journey to the Piercing Heaven Sect, they resorted to another method to turn me into their puppet. Knowing it would be difficult to kill me within the sect’s grounds, the devils used that bitch’s hands to control me by threatening me with your safety."

Baek Jimin’s eyes trembled, and she felt a heaviness settle in her heart. Is this the truth about her father’s disappearance? No wonder, no wonder she changed after that trip! More or less, she finally understood her mother’s thoughts after all that experience and why she treated her the way she did.

"Since that time, I felt lost and didn’t know what to do. When I tried to think about your future, I finally came to a decision — the best one I could think of — and that was to strengthen you as quickly as possible. And the quickest way to increase your strength was to comprehend the Heavenly Demon’s Flower Scripture."

"Although I don’t know if you’ll succeed or not, I still wanted to try. Even though many generations have failed to comprehend it, I still wanted you to try, even though I knew you would have to bear immense responsibility and suffering afterward. At least, for me, it’s much better than you being taken by the devils."

"Like the Heavenly Demon hearing my prayer, you actually managed to comprehend it — something that became big news among the higher-ups of the Three Great Sects. After a long time, someone finally managed to comprehend one of the Three Heavenly Demon Scriptures. With this, the other great sects will also take notice of you, and the danger you face from the devils or anyone who wants to harm you will be greatly reduced." Sect Master Baek showed a proud expression.

"I also planned for your future escape, and I had to act cold toward you all the time. I needed you to hate me for my plan to succeed. My plan was simple: to make sure you wouldn’t hesitate to leave the sect and roam the world, far from the devils and their chaotic influence in the sects or anywhere else."

"Even though you successfully comprehended the Heavenly Demon’s Flower Scripture, your existence inside the sect will always be in danger, and the best option is for you to create your own identity outside. With your strength, I believe that in the future, you will finally be free from any danger."

"Many years later, when Aldrian came to the sect, I thought it was the perfect time to send you away. With him and the Sword Saint by your side, you would be safe on your own. Finally, I could do something I couldn’t do while you were inside the sect. I sent you away secretly, with only my most trusted people knowing about it, and without Grand Duke Kwon or anyone from her faction finding out. So, when I finally purged them, they realized that you were no longer in the sect."

Sect Master Baek paused, noticing her daughter was already in tears again. Baek Jimin didn’t hesitate to hug her mother, sobbing as she had no idea her mother had been through so much. Her mother hadn’t even been able to show her sadness after her husband was captured and had been out of her life for so long.

She couldn’t imagine how her mother must have felt, keeping all of that to herself. Did she not feel tired and broken? But then, Baek Jimin realized that the fuel keeping her mother moving forward was her — her mother had always thought about her, and once she was safe, her mother could finally unleash everything hidden inside her heart.

Baek Jimin felt guilty for not knowing all of this and for having hated her mother because of it.

Sect Master Baek smiled and gently stroked her daughter’s back to calm her. After a minute, Baek Jimin finally pulled away, and Sect Master Baek turned to Aldrian, then back to Baek Jimin.

"From the night I purged them, I found something even more troublesome than I initially thought."