Amidst the clamor and chaos, the sounds of zither and the ding-dong of drums began as the troupe commenced their performance.
Jian Lin started with elegance and confidence, occasionally casting flirtatious glances at the figures on the high platform, attempting to capture the Demon Lord's attention.
Soon, however, she found herself struggling to keep up with the rhythm, fearing she might falter and embarrass herself.
Her dancing skills were system-assigned, not top-tier, but at least above average, so theoretically, no problems should have arisen.
However, the competition within the Demon Palace's dance troupe was fierce. It demanded not only dancing prowess but also the support of demonic energy.
They had to dance while simultaneously forming hand seals and casting spells. Light butterflies would fly from their skirts, holding withered branches. Following the dance movements, they would use their demonic energy to make a hundred flowers bloom, then guide the butterflies back.
Such intricate designs were commonplace, and each dance concluded, stunning the entire audience.
Jian Lin, at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, was merely a low-level demon cultivator. By the end of the dance, her demonic energy was depleted, and she tasted blood in her mouth, nearly failing to maintain her final pose.
Using her last ounce of strength, she looked up at the Demon Lord. He didn't even lift his eyelids, making a gesture with his finger.
The portly supervisor, wearing a black feather crown, announced in a high-pitched, shrill voice, "A wonderful dance, a marvelous performance! The Demon Lord has a reward~"
It seemed the Demon Lord was pleased. However, Jian Lin noticed his gaze wasn't fixed on any of the dancers. She strongly suspected whether he had truly watched or was just habitually bestowing rewards.
In contrast, the demons reacted enthusiastically, pulling out spirit stones and treasures from their persons and tossing them towards the dancers as a sign of approval and praise.
"They danced so brilliantly!" Jian Lin's beautiful eyes were filled with emotion as she kept glancing at the Demon Lord. The large "00" above his head seemed like a silent mockery!
The imagined scenario of the Demon Lord falling instantly in love with her simply did not happen!
When the excitement died down, the dancers curtsied and left the grand hall with their heads bowed. The sisters gathered in small groups, chatting and speculating about what reward the Demon Lord would give and how many spirit stones they had earned that night.
Jian Lin followed behind, quietly listening to gossip to gather information.
Soon, the dancers began to argue about who the Demon Lord had actually glanced at.
"Oh? The Demon Lord really looked down?" Jian Lin's spirits lifted. Upon returning to the dance troupe's courtyard, she immediately began meditating to cultivate. As long as she danced diligently, she was sure to attract the Demon Lord's attention.
Demonic energy was Yin in nature, while Jian Lin's original body's cultivation technique, the Pity Heart Art, was Yang. She had been cultivating it since she was seven, for twelve years, and it had seeped into her bones.
Now, having fallen into demonic cultivation, each circulation of demonic energy felt like cold water dousing a fire, causing immense pain.
Half an hour later, Jian Lin couldn't persist any longer. She exhaled a turbid breath, collapsed onto the bed, and closed her eyes as the world spun.
Her sea of consciousness was turbulent, like roaring mountains and seas. Suddenly, a prompt sounded: Cultivation task completed, points +2.
Only then did Jian Lin remember that she had a cheat system. How could she forget her devious system?
"A'Zha, are you there? I have something I want to ask you."
The system clearly disliked the name "A'Zha." After a pause, it spoke again, emphasizing, "Host, you may address me as Tian Yi."
Jian Lin ignored it and directly asked what she wanted to know, "I have something to ask you. Why is my original body's spiritual energy gradually fading and unable to break through? Is there any way to solve it?"
The system was helpless. After a long hesitation, it answered according to its programming, "Host, regarding your cultivation advancement issues, as they are closely related to the final mission objective, the system cannot directly provide you with an answer."
Jian Lin pondered quietly, suddenly thinking of a crucial question, "A'Zha, according to the rules, as long as I can ascend to godhood, I don't actually need to conquer the Demon Lord to complete the mission, right?"
"Yes."
"A'Zha, then let me rephrase. Let's just chat casually," Jian Lin said familiarly, with a playful grin, "Which is easier for me to achieve? Cultivating alone, or conquering the Demon Lord? I'm not asking about cultivation advancement, you can answer that, right?"
The system was silent, seemingly weighing its options. After a long while, it replied, "The latter. This is precisely why I appeared."
Jian Lin understood. After all, the system was her cheat, so conquering the Demon Lord would naturally be easier.
However, after meeting the Demon Lord in the hall today, Jian Lin was certain he was not a lecherous man, and conquering him wouldn't be that simple.
From this, she deduced how utterly useless her original body must be! To ascend to godhood through her own cultivation was simply impossible!
"So annoying!"
In her original world, Jian Lin was a self-reliant go-getter. She studied, started businesses, secured investments, and went public – a true inspirational heroine.
Perhaps this was the wonder of life. To force her, a heroine, to complete a mission by seducing a man felt particularly like a deliberate torment.
Jian Lin, a woman who had been single since birth, was excellent. She had no experience in pursuing others, but plenty of experience being pursued. But what was the use of that?
"Ah, so annoying!"
Jian Lin rolled over to sleep. She liked to use sleep to relieve stress. After waking up, her physical fatigue was gone, and she was full of fighting spirit.
"So what if I've never been in love? It's just a man, I can definitely handle him!"
She decided to act immediately. After completing her daily dance practice, Jian Lin went out to inquire about the Demon Lord's schedule, hoping to create some accidental encounters.
Soon, she learned crucial information: the Demon Lord was busy and didn't spend much time in the Demon Palace. However, when he was there, he spent most of his time in the Hundred Beasts Garden, observing and tending to his exotic beasts.
Jian Lin, in turn, gifted the reward she received from the Demon Lord to the steward of the Hundred Beasts Garden, finally securing an opportunity to approach the Demon Lord.
The Demon Palace was located at the peak of Yin Mountain, perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist, with a heavy, overcast atmosphere.
That afternoon, Jian Lin hid in a rockery, waiting. As soon as the Demon Lord appeared, various spirit beasts and demonic beasts in the Hundred Beasts Garden eagerly surrounded him, seeking to be petted.
Suddenly, a scream was heard. It turned out a little spirit fox couldn't compete with the larger animals and was trampled on several times, crying out in pain.
The Demon Lord's expression was impassive, but his movements were gentle. He scooped the small, snow-white spirit fox into his arms and smoothed its disheveled fur.
Jian Lin: "..."
If she guessed correctly, if she had chosen to be a pet back then, she would have become that little spirit fox in the Demon Lord's arms.
"Damn it! Truly, there are no perfect solutions in this world. Why doesn't the Demon Lord like to hug beautiful women?"
Speaking of which, based on the information she had gathered these past few days, Jian Lin sensed something ominous. The Demon Lord seemed genuinely uninterested in women.
There was no mistress in the Demon Palace, not even a concubine. The affairs of the inner court were managed by the Black Feather Grand Steward.
As for the reasons for the Demon Lord's abstinence from women, there were all sorts of theories.
The most outrageous one claimed that the Demon Lord's demonic energy was so powerful and his attribute so cold that no woman could withstand it; one encounter would cost a life.
Every time Jian Lin thought of this, she couldn't help but laugh. "What the heck! If they die so easily, what is this Demon Lord then?" 138 Reading Network
Just as she was lost in thought, a cold glint shot through the air, grazing her face and embedding itself in the hard rock behind her.
Jian Lin shivered, her eyes wide, daring not to move. "Good heavens, I, a law-abiding citizen of a civilized world, still need to adapt more to this world of flashing blades and swords."
The Demon Lord, holding the spirit fox, said nothing, only staring at the direction of the rockery with a sharp, cold gaze.
"Such a powerful aura, such skillful psychological warfare."
Jian Lin regained her composure, took a deep breath, crawled out from behind the rockery, lowered her head, and walked before the Demon Lord, curtsying.
She had dressed up specially today, wearing a cherry-colored dress that accentuated her slender waist. Her eyes were filled with shyness and timidity, exuding no aggression.
Considering the Demon Lord's action of hugging the spirit fox earlier, she decided to maintain a persona of being fragile and harmless. The Demon Lord seemed to fall for this tactic.
"Dance troupe member A'Pei, pays respects to the Demon Lord." Jian Lin spoke in a falsetto voice.
"Dancer, why are you in the Hundred Beasts Garden?"
Hearing the Demon Lord speak for the first time, his voice was a clear, youthful tone, mixed with a hint of impatience, much like an arrogant college student.
Jian Lin knew this was related to the age at which one refined their Golden Core. Once the Golden Core was formed, one's appearance would remain eternally youthful, and their voice would be no exception.
In reality, the Demon Lord was over two hundred years old, but one shouldn't be fooled by his appearance.
Jian Lin was cautious, stating the prepared reason, "Reporting to the Demon Lord, this humble one's demonic energy is weak. To sew dance skirts, I came to the Hundred Beasts Garden to pick some spirit bird tail feathers."
The dance skirts worn by the dancers were more like magical artifacts. Infused with demonic energy, they were crafted stitch by stitch by the dancers themselves. If one's demonic energy was weak, or if they wanted to be lazy, they could borrow external forces, such as the fur and feathers of spirit beasts.
Jian Lin had not dared to look up, her gaze fixed on the spirit fox in the Demon Lord's arms. The little creature was squinting, nestled in the man's embrace, its fluffy tail swaying contentedly.
"As a weak creature, the Demon Lord should believe my words, right?"
"Demonic energy is weak, then how were you able to enter the dance troupe?"
At this question, Jian Lin choked. Why was this man so inquisitive?
Fortunately, she had an answer, derived from the system's settings.
"This humble one has some talent in dancing and was chosen by Sister Yu Yao to join the troupe. Sister Yu Yao said that as long as I cultivate diligently, my demonic energy will surely improve, but talent is rare." Jian Lin spoke with a mournful and delicate tone.
The Demon Lord's fingers stroking the spirit fox paused, as if suddenly enlightened. "I remember you. During the dance performance that day, you stepped on your skirt and almost fell. It was truly laughable. I thought you were deliberately making a fool of yourself to attract attention. Is that not the case?"
Jian Lin thought no one had noticed, but unexpectedly, the Demon Lord had sharp eyes!
However, she had never considered pretending to be foolish or clumsy to attract attention; that crossed her moral boundaries.
She immediately defended herself, "Your Lordship sees clearly, this humble one was merely exhausted from depleted demonic energy and lacked stamina, certainly not deliberately making a fool of myself."
Jian Lin spoke with a pitiful tone, almost mesmerized by herself.
"What a pitiful and alluringly fragile young maiden! Demon Lord, bestow upon me a little of the sympathy you show your pets!"
The Demon Lord's fingers delved into the spirit fox's soft, lustrous fur, stroking it from head to tail. He lazily uttered, "Since that is the case, come to my sleeping quarters tonight and dance a solo for me. Let me see how rare your talent truly is."
"Success!" Jian Lin rejoiced. She took a deep breath, controlled her expression, and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, but in a soft, gentle voice, "As you command, this humble one will prepare diligently and not disappoint your Lordship's expectations."
Inwardly, Jian Lin was roaring with laughter. "See? All men are the same. They can't resist a pretty, delicate flower playing the victim."
After bidding farewell to the Demon Lord, Jian Lin returned to the dance troupe's courtyard, closed her door to visitors, and began trying on clothes.
Going to the sleeping quarters to dance alone, did the dance itself matter? Of course, what she wore was most important.
Jian Lin looked at her "otaku goddess" face in the water mirror and narcissistically praised herself, "My aesthetic sense and craftsmanship are both good. Jian Lin, Jian Lin, I believe you'll be back in your original world very soon!"
In the evening, the Black Feather Grand Steward personally came to pick her up. Jian Lin rode in a small, soft sedan chair, directly carried into the Demon Lord's sleeping quarters.
The black jade floor tiles were luxurious and cold. Jian Lin walked alone into the sleeping quarters, looking around. The door behind her slammed shut.
The sleeping quarters were quiet, the lighting dim. Jian Lin suddenly had a bad premonition.
"There's no hint of romantic atmosphere. What does the Demon Lord mean by this?"
She stood frozen, not daring to move, and called out loudly to test the waters, "Demon Lord, this humble one A'Pei has come to perform a dance."
Suddenly, she felt a gust of cool air on the back of her neck. Jian Lin spun around abruptly, and a black shadow suddenly streaked past, instantly chilling her with a cold sweat.
Jian Lin, who feared nothing, was terrified of ghosts.
This time, she wasn't faking. She weakly communicated with the system, "A'Zha, are there really ghosts in this world..."
"Host, every world has ghosts. Mortals become ghosts after death, and only then can they enter the underworld for reincarnation," the system replied coldly.
Jian Lin froze in place, a chilling thought dawning upon her. Suddenly, someone patted her shoulder from behind...