The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 345 Appearance
No sound came from below immediately.

Silence.

Princess Iron Fan lowered her head slightly.

Ding Lin didn't urge her. He was in a superior position and was observing Princess Iron Fan with great interest. In his opinion, the so-called gratitude should be real, and it was probably true that she wanted to repay him. But the extent of her gratitude and the extent of her repayment were another matter.

One thing is certain, however, that this so-called gratitude and repayment is anything but pure.

Princess Iron Fan is different from Princess Jade Face. She is more independent, which means she is more thoughtful, has her own ideas, and is not easily swayed by others. Moreover, she has just been betrayed by the Bull Demon King, who even disregarded her life. The trust that had been painstakingly built up over so many years of marriage was easily crushed, so she would naturally be more vigilant. In addition, given her personality, after the initial sadness, what remains is probably a deep resentment towards the Bull Demon King. She must be thinking of returning the favor to him one day.

But before that, she needs to find a powerful backer.

The Bull Demon King possesses extraordinary magical power, and is not considered an ordinary person even in the Taiyi realm. Princess Iron Fan, although also exceptionally talented, is ultimately only a Golden Immortal. She is currently fine within the Five Elements Mountain domain, but what if she leaves and returns to Cuiyun Mountain one day? If the Bull Demon King recovers from his injuries and comes knocking on her door, should she be expected to feign compliance?

Having come this far, there's no time for hatred, so why would she still bother with pretense?
This gratitude, this repayment.

It's possible that they were seeking refuge with Ding Lin.

Princess Iron Fan's eyes flickered, and finally she spoke. A spiritual light shone in her palm, and the Banana Leaf Fan appeared in her hand. She held it up with both hands: "This fan is part of my dowry. It is my most powerful magic weapon, which I rarely show to others. But compared to the grace of your life, Venerable One, it is just a mere external thing. This fan cannot repay even a fraction of your kindness. Since it may be of some help to you, Venerable One, how could I be stingy?"

"Haha, good!" Ding Lin stood up, then formed his palm into a claw and swirled his magic power in the air. The fan remained motionless. He then imbued his magic power with a trace of the Five Elements Law, and finally, the fan moved and fell directly into his palm.

Princess Iron Fan ultimately made the right choice. Now she herself is under Ding Lin's control. Ding Lin is still willing to discuss things with her. If she does not comply, Ding Lin will use violence to take her away, and she will be helpless.

He held the banana leaf fan in his hand.

Ding Lin's gaze fell on the fan, a small fan, about the size of a palm, exquisite in every detail.

"It seems there's a mantra needed to activate this fan." Ding Lin waved it casually. While the fan's current size made it convenient to carry, it wasn't very comfortable to hold.

"Your Excellency, please allow me to inform you that the fan contains the power of controlling the size of the fan. To activate it, one only needs to recite the incantation, and it can be adjusted at will..." Princess Iron Fan said.

"What's the formula?" Ding Lin asked without any hesitation.

Princess Iron Fan paused for a moment, then glanced at Princess Jade Face beside her. Ding Lin made no move to respond, so she could only open her mouth silently, and a soft voice entered Ding Lin's ear.

Ding Lin remained calm and waved his banana leaf fan, which immediately transformed into the size of an ordinary palm leaf fan.

“Recite a mantra, and fanning with the front will create wind; if you want fire, fan with the back and recite two mantras.” Princess Iron Fan gritted her teeth and said, since things had come to this point, she might as well tell everything at once.

“Not bad.” Ding Lin finally smiled. “I have felt the princess’s sincerity. I will keep this banana leaf fan for now. Once I have figured it out, I will return it to its rightful owner. Don’t worry, even if you leave this Five Elements Mountain, the Bull Demon King will not be able to cause you any trouble.”

"Thank you, Venerable One." Princess Iron Fan bowed again. At this point, how could she not know that Ding Lin had already seen through her thoughts? Fortunately, she hadn't given up the Banana Leaf Fan in vain; she had at least received a verbal promise in return.

“Here, the laws are dense. Since the princess has the desire for revenge, she should intensify her cultivation. With her talent, she may have already accumulated enough laws by the time she leaves Five Elements Mountain, and become a Taiyi on her own, no longer needing my protection,” Ding Lin said. His words were clear and logical, no longer the completely driven person he had been before, and he seemed to have returned to normal.

Princess Jade Face, standing to the side, breathed a sigh of relief.

"I must also begin my cultivation now, Princess, please proceed," Ding Lin said.

"Iron Fan takes her leave." Princess Iron Fan bowed again and then left the thatched hut.

"Are you... alright?" Princess Jade Face took a step forward, but Ding Lin stopped her with a raised hand. She looked at Ding Lin with concern in her eyes.

“Sister, you noticed something was wrong too? It’s probably just that something went wrong during your seclusion. Why don’t you go and keep Iron Fan company?” Ding Lin felt a warmth in his heart when he saw Princess Jade Face. He forced a smile. “Don’t forget to give me a little encouragement.”

“You…” Princess Jade Face was extremely anxious.

“Go ahead, you can’t get involved here. I’ll go into seclusion for a while longer and then I’ll be able to eliminate this hidden danger!” Ding Lin’s expression suddenly changed, and he stopped joking and said in a deep voice.

“You…” Princess Jade Face looked at Ding Lin deeply, “You must take good care of yourself.”

"Go!" Ding Lin's forehead veins bulged.

Princess Jade Face knew she couldn't help, so she glanced at Ding Lin one last time, then turned and left the thatched hut without a word.

"Ha!" Ding Lin exhaled, and with a wave of his hand, he channeled his magic power into his palm, hastily setting up a restriction in the thatched hut. Then, panting heavily, he collapsed to the ground.

"You're here again?" Ding Lin's face contorted, his teeth clenched.

"The Buddha said, every sip and every bite is ordained by Heaven. Our fates are intertwined. Now that you've set foot on the Five Elements Mountain, you're deliberately deepening this karma. If I didn't come, wouldn't I be wasting your good intentions?" Ding Lin's cheek twitched, seemingly no longer under his control. His lips curled into a smile that was neither a cry nor a laugh. "It's only been a few years. Less than a century has passed since our last parting, and you've already cultivated from the Nascent Soul stage to the Taiyi stage. Truly, Heaven has shown mercy, granting me another Taiyi realm incarnation!"

"Last time I only descended in avatar, allowing you to barely evade. This time I'm acting in my true form. How will you deal with it this time?" The demonic voice echoed in his mind.

"Marsh!"

Ding Lin gritted his teeth. At this point, the identity of this Heavenly Demon was obvious. Its ability to descend in its true form within the Five Elements Mountain realm meant it had a close relationship with the Buddha. Years ago, during the Investiture of the Gods war, Duobao Daoist, the chief disciple of the Tongtian Sage of the Jie Sect, was captured by the Supreme Sage. Later, the two Western Sages were troubled by their great vows, and the Supreme Sage released Duobao westward through Hangu Pass. Duobao transformed into a barbarian and became Shakyamuni. Just as he was about to become a Buddha, the Heavenly Demon Mara led eight billion followers to obstruct him, attempting to disturb the Buddha's mind through intimidation and temptation.

Shakyamuni broke through the obstacles of karma, finally attained enlightenment, achieved the position of Tathagata, and became the head of the Great Thunderclap Temple in the Western Paradise.

Mara was thus trapped in the sixth heaven of the Desire Realm.

"Oh dear, you recognized me. All these years I've been imprisoned by the Buddha. He imprisoned me, but he couldn't truly contain me. Wherever the Buddha of the Western Paradise is, there is me, the Sixth Heaven Demon King, Mara. However, compared to the days of my freedom, things are much more desolate. I haven't had any decent food in a long time. It's not easy for a Taiyi to enter my realm, and he's a familiar demon with my Heavenly Demon Seed within him..."

"Finally... I can loosen up my muscles." Mara made no attempt to hide his identity and openly admitted his identity. "How was it? Last night I helped you unleash your desires. Wasn't that feeling of doing whatever you wanted incredibly exhilarating? Why always have to restrain yourself? Enjoy life to the fullest. If you stay too celibate for too long, you won't become a saint."

"It really was you!" Ding Lin gritted his teeth.

"Of course it's me. Haven't you always been thinking that once you reach a high level of cultivation, you can do whatever you want and no longer have to restrain your desires? Yet you still hesitate and have so many concerns. I've been looking at you... tsk tsk..."

“I’m helping you. Weren’t you happy last night? If you submit to me, you can stay like this forever, without stopping, and continue to be happy. As long as you throw off your shackles and let go of your guard, your current cultivation level is actually enough. Isn’t indulging in revelry more interesting than the ascetic practice of a monk? You’ve come to this world once, so you should enjoy it all to make your life worthwhile!”

Bo Xun's voice was seductive.

Ding Lin suddenly laughed: "You know that your realm is far superior to mine. Why did you come silently, yet I discovered you so easily?" Ding Lin used the half of his face that was still under control to force out a mocking smile. "It's because of your indulgence. You could have come quietly and subtly seized my mind, but you chose to indulge yourself. Such a big change. You are too arrogant. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"What I want is to be free and unrestrained, to have my own destiny, and to no longer be controlled by others. Whether to restrain or indulge my thoughts is entirely up to me. If I only indulge my desires, what difference is there between me and a mere animal?" Ding Lin said. Sometimes he wondered why he had to suppress his emotions sometimes, even though his cultivation was for freedom. At this moment, everything became clear.

“I see,” Mara said in silence, but not in anger. He seemed to be deep in thought. Suddenly, a low laugh rang out. “Thank you for making me realize that my methods were crude. I always thought that manipulating people’s hearts was just a matter of driving their desires. Hmm, my understanding was not thorough enough. In Buddhist terms, it’s called… the obstacle of perception. Yes! The obstacle of perception! If I had heard this earlier, I might have already captured the Tathagata.”

"After Rahu died, he split into countless parts. Although I am a relatively large part, I am still incomplete and my methods are still clumsy!" Mara seemed to be lamenting.

But Ding Lin suddenly had a bad feeling.

"I originally only planned to come here for a bit of fun. Success would be great, failure wouldn't matter. But I failed to bewitch your mind again. You should have left once you noticed me, but seeing a familiar demon, I couldn't help but say a few more words," said Mara. Ding Lin suddenly had a bad feeling.

"After dealing with you for so long, you don't think I only know how to manipulate people, do you? I'm known as the Heavenly Demon. You don't think I'm only at the level of a Heavenly Demon, do you? I am the Heavenly Demon King, having already attained the demonic path. Your state of mind is unlike anything I've ever seen before, but state of mind is ultimately just an illusion. I suppress you with my absolute power. A Heavenly Demon possessing another's body is a rare opportunity, and I'm truly reluctant to use it. But you are already valuable enough. Many of your ideas are very interesting. Don't worry, soon, all of these will become mine..."

Bo Xun's voice was very soft, yet it resonated deep within Ding Lin's soul, sending chills down his spine!

The next moment, Ding Lin was horrified to discover that the half of the body he was controlling was being rapidly taken from his control.

not good!

With his last ounce of strength, just as he was about to completely lose control of his body, Ding Lin held the banana leaf fan upside down and gently fanned himself.

In an instant, the Samadhi Fire arose and surrounded his body.

"A mere trick!" Mara said disdainfully, scoffing.

Ding Lin had completely lost control of his body. He saw the black energy around him swirl around him, existing between the tangible and the intangible, and this fire domain derived from the superior law was easily annihilated. But with this momentary delay, he was able to make some response. He raised his consciousness high, leaving not a trace outside, and leaped upwards, entering the inner realm cave.

This is the true battlefield of the final battle.

"He does have a certain decisiveness." Bo Xun's figure followed and rushed in.

A dark shadow appeared out of thin air in the inner cave, formless and intangible, yet its shape could be discerned. The Heavenly Demon was originally formless and shapeless, but since it wanted to possess another body, it had to show its form. And since form arises from the mind, with this shape, there was a target that could be attacked.

With a thought, Ding Lin condensed the Five Elements Laws, while other laws swirled around them. A Taiyi Dao Law crashed down, and he showed no mercy, unleashing the strongest attack he could muster.

Within the inner grotto, primordial energy gathered and was applied to this Dao principle, causing the manifested longsword to suddenly grow larger, its power being dozens of times stronger than when used outside!
Upon entering the Taiyi realm, the inner landscape has transformed into a vast grotto-heaven, now only a step away from becoming a small world.

This great grotto-heaven was born because of Ding Lin, who is the closest person to this grotto-heaven. Every word and action of his has a great blessing. It is only because the grotto-heaven has not yet transformed into a world that, otherwise, with the blessing of the Heavenly Heart, the power of this attack could be increased a thousand times or even ten thousand times.

If one were to fight Ding Lin in the small world, it would be tantamount to fighting against the world itself.

"What a pity, a great grotto-heaven is still just a grotto-heaven after all, it hasn't transformed into a world. What use is this hundredfold increase in power, especially since it's such a trashy Dao principle as the Five Elements Mutual Generation!" Bo Xun scoffed disdainfully, speaking lightly. But when the blade light approached, he didn't take it head-on. The black shadow slashed open, instantly splitting into thousands of strands, swirling around the blade light, using softness to overcome hardness.

Ding Lin's powerful strike landed in empty space, failing to injure Bo Xun and instead striking the barrier of the cave.

"Crack!"

A crack spread across the barrier.

Ding Lin felt a sharp pain in his consciousness. This time, the Dao injury was one he had inflicted himself. As the cracks spread and the Dao injury worsened, the Taiyi Dao Law that had condensed above his head could no longer be maintained.

It collapsed with a deafening roar!

(End of this chapter)