Chapter 218 — Never the Light of Heaven Again
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"Your Highness, the Dark Demon Cult is, after all, one of the three great holy lands.
Though it has gone forty years without a cult master, it is still not to be made light of. " The middle-aged man said, "Forty years without a cult master, and still it has not been destroyed, still it commands such strength — one can see how strong its cohesion is. If it were the Great Thunderpeal Monastery or the Daoist Sect instead, would they dare go forty years without a Tathagata or a Daoist Lord?
Make light of the Dark Demon Cult, and I fear we shall suffer for it. " Crown Prince Jingping waved a hand. "Rest easy. I will not make light of the Dark Demon Cult.
That the Dark Demon Cult could silently do away with the Grand Preceptor Sun Nantuo, wipe out even the monks of Nantuo's detached palace, tear Nantuo Temple up by the roots, and let not a whisper of it reach the outside world — one can see how great the Dark Demon Cult's power is. How could I make light of such a sect? " The middle-aged man showed a look of puzzlement, and Crown Prince Jingping went on: "This time I need not lift a finger myself to have the Dark Demon Cult destroyed. The Daoist Sect and the Great Thunderpeal Monastery — these two great holy lands have a feud with the Dark Demon Cult longer than their feud with the Kingdom of Jingping.
Both of them long to destroy this chief of the demonic path; they have simply lacked the chance. If. . . " He said slowly, "If the Emperor of Jingping no longer set himself against these sects, if the Emperor of Jingping no longer supported the reforms of the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, if the Emperor of Jingping dismissed the Imperial Preceptor, if the Emperor of Jingping could make the strife between the sects and the state vanish like smoke — do you think the Daoist Sect and the Great Thunderpeal Monastery would be willing to join hands with this emperor?
Would they be willing to support this emperor?
" The middle-aged man's body gave a slight shudder, and he looked at Crown Prince Jingping. Crown Prince Jingping's gaze was deep. He said calmly, "My Imperial Father is a man of grand talent and great strategy, but his trust in the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping goes too far. So far that more than half the court is the Imperial Preceptor's faction. This is to uproot my Ling family.
My Imperial Father has already let the Imperial Preceptor grow too great; should the Imperial Preceptor rebel, he would have no means at all to stop him. Let the Imperial Preceptor go on growing, and the heavens themselves will change — the dynasty will change hands! " His gaze turned sharp, and his voice deepened: "The elders of my Ling family, the loyal and high-minded men of my Ling family, have all seen the signs. This is why my Eighth Granduncle supports me.
My Eighth Granduncle once admonished my Imperial Father, but my Imperial Father would not hear of it, trusting only the Imperial Preceptor. In his helplessness, my Eighth Granduncle came to hope that I might bring about a change. " He was stirred with heroic feeling, and there was a grief and indignation in him: "My Eighth Granduncle was an elder of the Ling family who carved out this realm together with Emperor Gaozong; he is the Eighth Imperial Uncle of my Kingdom of Jingping. He did not scruple to bear the name of traitor, to make contact with those jianghu sects, to conspire with officials and generals in every region — all to pave the road for me, to drag the Imperial Preceptor down from his horse. And yet he failed at the final step!