Chapter 218 — Never the Light of Heaven Again

"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!

After death his body was not even whole; the traitor Imperial Preceptor cut off his head, and there are still rumors in court and country that he was disloyal! " Crown Prince Jingping wept, then suddenly struck the table hard, his eyes red: "I cannot watch the Ling family's realm be destroyed in my Imperial Father's hands — even if it makes me an unfilial son! Loyalty and filial piety cannot both be fulfilled; I am unfilial, but I am loyal to the Ling family!

Some things must be done, and cannot be left undone! " Agitated, he paced back and forth: "How laughable that my younger brothers and sisters still live as if drunk or dreaming, never knowing that catastrophe is about to fall on the Ling family! My Imperial Father has already been hollowed out by the Imperial Preceptor; when the Ling family is driven from the throne, they too will be scattered like ashes! I cannot let such a thing happen, cannot let this Imperial Preceptor of the demonic path seize the magpie's nest like a dove! I will be emperor, and I will turn back the raging tide!

" At the Hukou Imperial Works, the Hall of Heavenly Craft and the Hall of Artisans had spent ten days and at last forged the five tower ships. The men installed the fifteen pill furnaces Shen Mu had made, mounting the furnaces aboard the ships and linking them to the bronze beasts.

Shen Mu had made slight changes to the tower-ship blueprints, altering certain arrangements: each ship needed three furnaces, and carried three bronze beasts, two at the stern and one in the belly, and the beasts' heads could turn in every direction. Converting the originally wooden tower ships to dark iron and dark copper greatly increased their weight; one furnace could certainly not lift them, so two more were added, and a bronze beast able to spray fire downward was fitted into the belly, so that takeoff and landing would not be too rough. The five iron-hulled tower ships were three large and two small; small as sparrows, yet with all their organs complete, and the two smaller ships had cabins and guest rooms fully furnished.

Shen Mu had them lacquered with a wood grain, so that they looked like five wooden tower ships and would not shock the world. Fan Yunxiao was excited beyond measure, pacing round and round the five ships, and said in a fluster, "Cult Master, which ship is mine? " Shen Mu pointed to the smaller one, and Fan Yunxiao's face fell at once: "Can I have a big one?

" "The big ones are for carrying troops and fighting; they are not as fast as the small ones. " Shen Mu said, "If you mean to keep on as a fire bandit, choose a small ship.

If you choose a big one, it can carry passengers well enough, but a big ship burns a great deal of elixir stone, and in peacetime the fare may not cover the cost of the stone.

" Fan Yunxiao hesitated.

"Then I will take a small ship.

What is the other small ship for?

" Though called small, it was not so very small: over ten zhang long, three zhang seven or eight wide, five zhang tall, able to carry twenty or thirty people. Shen Mu had the Dark Demon Cult disciples change their clothes and take away the three big ships, then sent the remaining small ship to the Imperial Academy, saying, "The New Year is near; this small ship is for my own comings and goings. Incense Master Fan, you have already entered the cult's Bandit Hall.

The Bandit Hall is one of the Holy Cult's halls, and it is not for me to say much — it is a livelihood for the cult's disciples, after all.

But robbing wealth is permitted; robbing life is not, and neither is robbing virtue.

" Fan Yunxiao laughed: "I came out of the Daoist Sect — the old Daoist Lord drove me out, it is true — but we fire bandits have never taken life or taken virtue. Rest assured. They say there are three hundred and sixty trades, and a champion in every one; I will do this splendidly, and not fail the Cult Master's high hopes and careful nurturing! " Shen Mu was left staring, tongue-tied. After a good while he waved a hand, and Fan Yunxiao, all eagerness, boarded the remaining small ship, while the dozen or so other fire bandits strained to push the ship, shoving the iron vessel along the wooden rails and out of the workshop.

Outside, the snow had stopped; the cold was freezing, and there was hardly anyone left in the works. Fan Yunxiao shouted, "Light the furnaces, set sail! This ship shall be our new Cloud-Chasing Pirate Ship!