The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 332 Wives and Concubines (The End)
The sun was already setting, and it would be gone in a quarter of an hour.

Within a radius of a hundred miles, all the bushes were cut in half, opening up a much wider field of vision.

The wolf carcass, the size of a calf, lay silently on the ground, a long sword embedded in its chest and abdomen.

“A lowly wolf demon, and the sword is already dirty. I don’t want it,” Princess Iron Fan said.

"It was a celestial weapon after all," Princess Jade Face said, walking up to the wolf's corpse and drawing her longsword. "The Bull Demon King had said a lot to me before, praising your thrift and frugality, unlike my extravagance and wastefulness. Now it seems..."

brush!
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind arose.

Princess Iron Fan's expression changed. She turned around, but did not see any flying sword. Princess Jade Face threw a pebble, which passed a foot in front of her. She swallowed hard, still trying to endure.

Princess Jade Face suddenly sighed softly: "How long do you intend to hold on?"

"I……"

Princess Iron Fan opened her mouth, and a metallic taste filled her throat. Despite her best efforts to suppress it, a trickle of blood still escaped from the corner of her mouth.

"Clap!"

The blood fell to the ground, like a switch being flipped.

Princess Iron Fan felt dizzy, and her chest suddenly felt like it was about to explode. She opened her mouth to say something, but she could no longer hold back and vomited a mouthful of blood.

Suddenly it got dark.

……

Princess Jade Face, carrying a sword, walked up to Princess Iron Fan.

Looking down.

This once high and mighty Golden Immortal has lost all his nobility. He has fallen to the dust and lies at her feet, his clothes stained with mud and blood oozing out, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Princess Jade Face's eyes were cold. She recalled Princess Iron Fan's arrogance when she blew her away with a single fan, and the grievances she felt when the Bull Demon King relentlessly sent her vast fortune to Cuiyun Mountain. All these incidents, up to the danger of being dragged into the mess just now, gave her too many reasons to kill Princess Iron Fan. Her eyes slowly turned fierce, and she raised her long sword, its blade falling into the setting sun.

Cold light flashed.

"brush!"

The long sword thrust down.

For some reason, Princess Jade Face suddenly remembered Princess Iron Fan's action of pushing her behind her when the thousands of wind blades came swirling around. At that time, Princess Iron Fan could have watched her die. What made her make such a choice? Was it her confidence in herself, or the temporary abandonment of hatred and unity in the face of a great enemy, or simply the ridiculous pride of the strong? At this moment, it was impossible to know.

Her gaze remained cold.

"Buzz!"

The hilt of the sword trembled slightly and sank into the ground, but no blood was drawn.

At the last moment, Princess Jade Face slightly adjusted the angle, and the sword blade almost grazed Princess Iron Fan's cheek before falling heavily into the ground beside her.

Princess Jade Face gazed at Princess Iron Fan from her high vantage point, watching the sunlight fade and darkness descend. She thought of the Bull Demon King again, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Princess Iron Fan, like her, was ultimately just a pitiful abandoned creature.

"go with!"

Princess Jade Face raised her hand, a flash of spiritual light appearing in her palm. With another flick of her wrist, a nimble silk thread flew out, binding Princess Iron Fan tightly. After thinking for a moment, she sighed, withdrew the silk thread, and left Princess Iron Fan lying on the ground to fend for herself. She then looked around. The signs of battle were too obvious, and much demonic energy had not completely dissipated. Clearly, it was no longer safe to stay.

She helped Ding Lin up from the boulder, glanced at Princess Iron Fan, and, stepping in the moonlight, casually chose a direction and left.

……

I... am not dead yet?

Princess Iron Fan slowly woke up with a terrible headache. She reached out to pat her head, but felt weak and had no choice but to close her eyes again. After regulating her breathing for a while, she finally gathered a trace of magic power and barely regained her ability to move.

Open your eyes.

The bright moon shines, as if from another world.

A ray of silver light reflected into his eyes from his side; it was the longsword stuck in the ground.

Princess Iron Fan stood up, drew her sword, and ran two fingers along the spine of the blade, already understanding Princess Jade Face's meaning.

The grudges were settled.

“This fox spirit is quite…” Princess Iron Fan began, but then realized that she was not actually very familiar with the Jade Face. She could only smile, and with a flash of light in her palm, she put the longsword away again.

She also chose to leave.

……

This seemingly boundless mountain wilderness is actually located in a canyon.

Princess Iron Fan tried several different directions but encountered mountain barriers, sheer cliffs that isolated her from the world. She only had her demon core cultivation left and was seriously injured. She could barely climb the clouds, but she couldn't cross the bottomless cliff. Finally, when she finally found the exit, it was already the middle of the night.

"Bibibobo".

The sound of burning firewood reached my ears, the flames leaping and casting a flickering light.

Princess Iron Fan's eyes flickered, and she walked over.

Behind the flames was a narrow cave about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) wide, extremely cramped. Princess Jade Face was curled up, her several fluffy tails sticking out and tied around her waist. Behind her, the culprit who had brought her to this predicament was leaning against the stone wall, the firelight flickering on his face, half-lit and half-shadowed, seemingly still unconscious.

Ding Lin had naturally woken up, but he could not relax for a moment while recovering from his injuries. Most of his thoughts were focused on his inner vision, which naturally manifested as his severely injured and unconscious state.

A long, dark shadow hung down in front of him.

Princess Jade Face seemed to have expected this. She raised her head and drew her long sword from her hand: "I've already let you go once, are you still not giving up?"

"I'm not..." Princess Iron Fan protested, then paused for a moment, taking a step back to show she meant no harm.

Princess Jade Face stared at the iron fan, but she neither made a move nor sheathed her longsword.

“There is a spiritual vein here, so there must be demons. We can’t light fires like we would in a mortal wilderness, otherwise we’ll attract the little demons. They’ll suspect that someone is around, and humans are the little demons’ favorite elixirs,” Princess Iron Fan said.

"Is that so?" Princess Jade Face was somewhat suspicious, but she had no intention of extinguishing the fire. If it were just some insignificant demon, she could easily deal with it. Even if it were a more powerful one, Ding Lin would be there to support her, so there wouldn't be any problem at all. But this was, after all, Princess Iron Fan's good intention.

Princess Jade Face did not lower her guard, but her expression softened somewhat.

“If you don’t have a reason to stay, you’d better leave as soon as possible. If I remember correctly, this is Hidden Mist Mountain. The mountain master is a leopard spirit with a wormwood skin. His magic power is mediocre, barely reaching the Immortal Realm. Before… when he held a birthday celebration for me, this leopard spirit came to congratulate me once, and even brought a map of Hidden Mist Mountain, wanting to be under his command. He was concerned about his reputation, so he accepted the map but did not agree immediately. He was still hesitating. I glanced at the map briefly. The outermost part is a mountain stream like this.”

Princess Iron Fan no longer wanted to mention the Bull Demon King.

"So?" Princess Jade Face's expression turned serious.

"That iron-backed gray wolf during the day must be one of the leopard demon's subordinates. It has formed an immortal golden core, and in the leopard demon's hands, it should be considered a demon. It came to this mountain stream to patrol the mountain. It's already late at night, and the iron-backed gray wolf has not returned. Perhaps the demon that the leopard demon sent to find it is already on its way. You and I now..."

"Be careful and don't attract attention. Ordinary demons are fine, but what if you encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator or two, or if that leopard gets interested and comes looking for you in person..."

“There is a county town called Fengxian County, which is only about a hundred miles west of the Zheyue Lianhuan Cave in Yinwu Mountain. The city is quite large, with hundreds of thousands of people. It must have a master in the city to be able to stand firmly in the midst of these demons. If you want to be safe, you may want to hide in Fengxian County for the time being,” said Princess Iron Fan.

"So, you're planning to go to Fengxian County?" Princess Jade Face asked.

Princess Iron Fan nodded: "Delay will only lead to trouble, so it's better to get better and better." She seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking, "Do you want to come with me?" As she spoke, her eyes looked at Ding Lin, with a strange meaning in them, perhaps envy. Ding Lin was a match for the Bull Demon King, yet now he was stranded in this Hidden Mist Mountain with Princess Jade Face, and even injured in such a state. His choice was self-evident.

Princess Iron Fan thought that Ding Lin broke into the Banana Cave to stand up for Princess Jade Face. Since she no longer held a grudge against Princess Jade Face, she naturally wouldn't hold a grudge against Ding Lin either.

“This is my younger brother…” Princess Jade Face understood Princess Iron Fan’s gaze, and a strange look flashed across her face as she explained.

Princess Iron Fan remained noncommittal.

"Hahaha!"

Just then, a burst of wild laughter suddenly came from above.

Princess Iron Fan's expression suddenly changed. She looked up but couldn't find anyone. Instead, a powerful demonic aura pressed down on her, and shadowy figures appeared all around her. It was unclear when, but mist had begun to permeate the air.

"Nanshan?" Princess Iron Fan exclaimed in surprise.

"When I first saw your beauty back then, I was filled with admiration. Today, as I am on a mountain tour, it is truly a wonderful coincidence. Now that you have come to my Hidden Mist Mountain, why not come into the cave for a cup of wine and let me, Nanshan, show you some hospitality? Otherwise, how will I explain this to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven in the future?"

The leopard spirit leaped down the mountain stream, riding the mist, his cloak billowing wildly behind him. If one did not see his face, he would indeed have a somewhat otherworldly air about him.

Princess Iron Fan remained silent, her heart sinking to the bottom.

The worst has happened.

“Nanshan, we have offended you by killing the Iron-Backed Wolf today. I will make it up to you when we return to the mountain. Please let us go…” Princess Iron Fan said. This last attempt was better than nothing.

“Madam, what are you saying? If you wish to leave, how could Nanshan dare to stop you? After all, it won’t be long before Nanshan joins the Great Sage’s ranks, and at that time, you will be the mistress of the house. Nanshan would not dare to offend you. However, the night road is dangerous, so please move into the cave. After dawn, Nanshan will personally escort you back to the Banana Cave and pay my respects to the Great Sage.” The leopard demon said.

The fight between the Bull Demon King and Ding Lin caused such a huge commotion that every demon king in Xiniu Hezhou with even a little skill knew about it.

The leopard demon's words only made Princess Iron Fan's heart sink even further. She already knew things were not going to end well. Fortunately, the leopard demon's words left a loose end; he was greedy and still wanted to go to the Banana Cave and take everything. However, this was also a good opportunity to stall for time.

"Your Majesty's kindness..." Princess Iron Fan seemed to hesitate for a moment, her face grim, but she still managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth, "Iron Fan... accepts."

"If that's what Lady Iron Fan says, then what about Lady Jade Face?" The leopard demon then looked at Princess Jade Face.

"What do you want?" Princess Jade Face was more assertive than Princess Iron Fan, as if she had something to rely on.

The leopard demon couldn't understand what she could still rely on. Even if the Bull Demon King doted on her, he had now disappeared without a trace. Was she just a fool with only a pretty face?

"I want Your Majesty to know that she also has a cave full of treasures. If you can escort me back to Moyun Cave tomorrow, I will naturally thank you with generous gifts. Her... that cave of treasures should also find another place."

Princess Iron Fan naturally knew where Princess Jade Face's wealth was now, yet she said it that way, while giving Princess Jade Face a cold look as she spoke.

"Is that so?" The leopard demon grinned, its mouth filled with the stench of blood. "Ladies, you are too kind. How can Nanshan possibly accept such kindness? In that case, please, ladies, go to my Zheyue Lianhuan Cave first."

As he spoke, the leopard demon suddenly raised his hand, and a flash of gray light appeared in the air, followed by two ropes flying towards Iron Fan and Jade Face.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this?" Princess Iron Fan's expression changed drastically, but she was too badly injured and her magical power was vastly different. Although she could see the rope clearly, she couldn't avoid it at all.

"Madam is indeed pragmatic, but your reputation extends far beyond just the Bull Demon King's authority; Nanshan also has to bear the brunt of it. Madam, rest assured, as long as I obtain what I desire, your safety is assured. This is merely an extra layer of protection," the leopard demon chuckled. These words were utterly unbelievable; once they obtained the treasure from the cave, it would be the death of Princess Iron Fan and the Jade-Faced Fox. "Furthermore, I've considered that tomorrow is too late, and the Great Sage might be impatient. So, I will escort the two ladies back to the cave now!"

Despair was evident on Princess Iron Fan's face.

At the cave entrance, no firewood had been added for a long time, and the flames had become much weaker, as if a gust of wind would extinguish them.

The radiance was dim.

Princess Jade Face's expression, however, was somewhat strange.

"I went to great lengths to bring them out, and now you want to take them somewhere else?" A voice suddenly rang out, deep and suppressed.

The leopard demon's smugness vanished instantly, replaced by a serious expression. His eyes immediately fixed on Ding Lin, who was leaning against the innermost stone wall of the cave.

"Snapped!"

The flames suddenly shot upwards, illuminating every detail inside the cave in an instant.

No.

The light illuminating the cave was not from the fire.

It was Ding Lin's eyes that caught his gaze; he opened his eyes.

Electricity can be generated in an empty room!

"Who is Your Excellency?" The leopard demon took a step back, seemingly filled with fear. Even though Ding Lin had not shown any imposing aura, he was as if facing a formidable enemy.

“Didn’t you already guess?” Ding Lin said, standing up.

"This little leopard was unaware of Your Excellency's arrival and has offended you greatly. I hope Your Excellency will be magnanimous and spare my life. I will leave now!" the leopard spirit said repeatedly.

“You did see me,” Ding Lin said calmly. “From the moment you arrived at midnight and began to clear away the fog, your gaze has never left me.”

"You just didn't expect me to wake up."

(End of this chapter)