Jing Wei took the teacup that had been lying on the table in front of him all this while and poured some plain water into it before taking a sip and moistening his parched throat. He then took a deep breath and continued his story, while Lin Mu Silently listened on.
Lin Mu had not expected to hear something like this today. This was the dark history of the empire that had been hidden from the eyes of the masses for decades. He could also see the hypocrisy of the so-called 'Righteous sects' and how they became bystanders while still secretly killing the Jing Clan's members.
"After the slaughter, only a few people were able to survive. I sustained injuries and escaped, but not before a tracking formation was placed on my body. Wherever I went I could be found and no matter what I did, I could not suppress the tracking formation.
The intricacy of the formation was beyond anything I had ever seen and I could not find its origin. But I knew that it was none other than the emperor who had commanded for it to be done. The other people who were able to survive were my eldest grandson Jing Luo, my daughter Miao'er and a few servants from the Duan Kingdoms royal family.
The servants were the ones that were able to save Miao'er and were able to smuggle her out. But our problems had not ended there, we were all separated and away from each other. I was in my clan's territory, Miao'er was in the Duan Kingdom's lands while Jing Luo was somewhere in the Eastern Ming Dynasty cultivating in seclusion.
I was able to contact them and we were able to decide upon a safe place which was none other than this very courtyard. The myriad armament canopy abode was the biggest achievement of my clan and was also the greatest secret. Its full potential was never tested, and even now I do not know of it.
The myriad armament canopy abode was meant to be a safe retreat for the clan in case of a calamity, and that was exactly what we were having back then. But I could not reveal the myriad armament canopy abode to the world until I found a way to suppress the tracking formation.
Eventually, I discovered a way that required a great sacrifice. I sealed my cultivation and suppressed my lifeblood, as that was the only way which could forcefully suppress it. My daughter Miao'er was able to find her way to me eventually and the only person left was my eldest grandson Jing Luo.
He was too far away, and it was difficult for him to come to us because of the danger that now presented in between, the cultivation sects. There were thousands of search parties looking for us and were spread in each and every kingdom.
It was during this time that I found out Miao'er was with child. Because of this, I had no choice but to take shelter in a small village and wait for my grandchild to be born. Jing Luo hid during this time, yet still ended up in conflicts with some cultivators.
He was on the precipice of the nascent soul realm back then and was looking for an opportunity to breakthrough. That was the reason why he was so far away from us and was in the Eastern Ming dynasty. He did breakthrough, but it came at a bad time.
The heavenly tribulation that he had been trying to suppress from appearing all this time came and interrupted his battle. He successfully broke through but ended up sustaining injuries due to the heavenly tribulation.
This also revealed his location to all the Sects, as Heavenly tribulation was not something that could be hidden easily from the sense of the elders of the sects. Having no choice, I unsealed my cultivation base and went to save him.
While I was able to save him, Miao'er suffered from an attack in my absence. Her servants sacrificed their lives so that she could escape, but she was too weakened by the pregnancy. I sealed my cultivation base and reached her location with Jing Luo, only to find out she was on her death bed.
My new granddaughter Ke'er was in her hands while she bled out. She held on till she could hand Ke'er to us before passing on to the afterlife. It was that day that we swore upon the heavens that even if millenniums passed, we would have our revenge.
Now finally together, I activated the myriad armament canopy abode and hid away to bide my time.
The Emperor had still not given up on us though and kept on looking. A decade passed like this and they were still unable to find us. The Emperor grew impatient and turned his attention on a new target, which was none other than the Gu clan, which was the perpetrator behind everything.
Even if the emperor was paranoid, he was not stupid. He knew what the Gu clan had done and what they were capable of. If they could bring forth the downfall of a strong clan like the Jing clan why couldn't they do the same with the empire given enough time?
Thus the Emperor had the Gu clan wiped off from the face of the empire as well. That was a great day for us, as well as it meant that one of our greatest foes had been eliminated. But this also meant that our other foe the Emperor had only gotten stronger.
Thirty years ago we got an opportunity to take revenge and embarked on the mission to kill the emperor. That was the time when the First Prince of the empire, the emperor's son, was going to be appointed as the crown prince.
But our mission failed as the sects were able to interrupt us and I ended up separating from Jing Luo. He sacrificed himself so that I could escape. Ke'er was still young and needed for someone to raise her, thus I went into hiding again.
We roamed across the Empire, finding opportunities and allies until we eventually settled here." Jing Wei concluded with reddened eyes.
