Chapter 150 — The Heavenly Lord of the Northern Desert
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The Heavenly Khan was the Heavenly Emperor; what a magnificent name was the Heavenly Emperor's! How could it be used merely to frighten little girls into tears?
Shen Mu truly could not picture how overbearing Zaifu must have been in those days. Snow Fox murmured, "Martial Emperor Beyond the Frontier, Heavenly Emperor Beyond the Frontier.
. . how magnificent. . .
" The grasslands were vast and sparsely peopled; sometimes they walked half a day without seeing a single village. As far as the eye could reach there was not a cloud in ten thousand li, and the green of the grasslands met the blue of the sky in a single line, refreshing the heart and mind. Libationer Bashan's features were rugged, his frame tall and powerful, most imposing, somewhat like the men of the grasslands; and whenever they came upon a village, the herdsmen would come forward to offer wine, full of warmth. "Jingping has three great sects: the Way Sect, first among the righteous paths; the Great Thunderclap Monastery, first among the Buddhist schools; and the Dark Demon Cult, first among the demonic paths. " At nightfall they came to a village and made camp. Libationer Bashan sat by the bonfire and said, "But on the grasslands, the first holy place is the Loulan Golden Palace, the greatest of the shaman sects.
The Great Shamans of the Loulan Golden Palace hold the highest station on the grasslands; the khans of the grasslands all receive their sovereign authority from the Shaman Venerable of the Loulan Golden Palace.
If an old khan dies and his son wishes to succeed him, he must go to the Loulan Golden Palace and beg the Shaman Venerable to grant him authority. " Ling Yuxiu said, "Jingping was once the same. I heard my imperial father say that in early years Jingping was only a tenth of its present size, a vassal state of the Longevity Sect. In those days our Ling family was not of the imperial line either. Later the sect master of the Longevity Sect wearied of the emperor of the time, deposed him outright, chose my ancestor as emperor, and changed the dynasty just like that. Afterward my Ling family governed with diligence, developed in secret, and in the end did away with the Longevity Sect; only then did we grow great. " Shen Mu was somewhat taken aback; he had not known that Jingping had such a past. Libationer Bashan drank, set down his wine gourd, and said, "The land that is now Jingping was once more than thirty small kingdoms.
Each had its emperor, and each was swayed by a sect.
Those sects lived off those kingdoms; every year the emperors had to pay tribute to the sects.
Now the sects have become vassals of the state, and naturally they are none too pleased; given the chance, of course they rebel. Beyond the frontier there are a good many sects as well, but the strongest and greatest is the Loulan Golden Palace.
Every kingdom and every khan submits to the Golden Palace; no other sect can contend with it at all.
" Shen Mu asked, "Senior Brother, how does the power of this Loulan Golden Palace compare with the three great sects? " "About the same," said Libationer Bashan calmly. Shen Mu's eyes lit up.
To block the gates of the Loulan Golden Palace was the same as blocking the mountain gate of the Way Sect or the mountain gate of the Great Thunderclap Monastery; the difficulty could well be imagined!
"But this trip to the Loulan Golden Palace is not to block the gates, but to steal something. " Libationer Bashan chuckled.
"Junior Brother, Princess, the two of you will block the gates; I will go into the palace to steal the thing, and once I have it we leave at once. Princess, in the next few days I will intensify your training in the fundamentals, and draw out the full power of the imperial family's Nine Dragons Emperor's Art!
" Ling Yuxiu felt a little uneasy at heart. The next day they set out again, but this time Libationer Bashan made them walk, and as they walked he had Ling Yuxiu put into practice the arts she had learned.