"Jian Musheng! You colluded with the demonic sect and betrayed your master, your crimes are unforgivable! Today, with the twelve peak masters and all disciples as witnesses, our Guanlan Sect has resolved to purge our ranks. Guards, take action!"
Jian Lin opened her eyes and looked around blankly. She found herself bound by iron chains to a cross-shaped rack. The strong wind whistled, making her dizzy.
Her brain slowly processed the situation. The arbiter seated on the white jade platform looked indifferent. The shouts of the disciples calling for her death filled her ears.
She lowered her head to examine herself. The magic formation beneath the execution platform was constantly rotating and flashing. A pile of firewood was stacked at the base of the cross. Were they going to burn her alive?
At the command of the person on the judgment platform, twelve individuals in white Taoist robes surrounded her. They simultaneously raised their hands and formed hand seals. Twelve streams of ice-blue flames converged and fell upon the firewood, erupting into a raging inferno.
The heat and burning sensation washed over Jian Lin. She had to admit one thing: she had transmigrated!
Jian Lin was utterly speechless and burning with rage.
In her previous life, she had been incredibly successful. She started her own business in college. On the eve of her company's IPO, just as she was about to reach the pinnacle of her life, she had died suddenly at her desk.
She truly wanted to rage at the heavens and ask what sins she had committed in her past lives to have met such a frustrating end in her current one.
What was most hateful was that if she was going to die, why did she have to transmigrate?
Transmigrating was fine, but at least give her a life of luxury and comfort. How could she be sent to a public execution?
Was she going to die again? What was the point of transmigration then?
Jian Lin cursed loudly, acting as if she had gone mad, "Who is it?! Don't push me too far! If you have the guts, keep killing me, but don't give me a chance to get revenge! I will make you wish you were never born, ahhhhhh!"
As she vented, she became breathless. Amidst the chaos, a "ding" sounded in her mind.
A cold, emotionless, god-like male voice spoke, "Host, hello. System Tianyi No. 1 is at your service. Do you agree to bind with the system and receive its assistance? Please reply with 'agree'."
"???" Jian Lin's eyes widened. She was not accustomed to internal monologues. Cautiously, she lowered her head and gritted her teeth, asking, "Cut the nonsense! I only have one question: by binding with the system, can you save me from here?"
"Of course. Upon successful binding, you will receive a beginner's gift package..."
"Fine, agree! Agree! Agree!" Jian Lin couldn't be bothered to listen further and urged him, "Hurry up, I can already smell roasted meat!"
If she didn't agree, she would become roasted chicken bones. What other choice did she have?
A mechanical loading sound echoed in her mind, and the god-like voice began counting down from ten.
The day was already overcast and windy, the sky a hazy expanse. Suddenly, a fierce gale swept through. Looking up, Jian Lin saw dark clouds gathering, forming a vortex accompanied by muffled thunder. She had a bad feeling.
Was this lightning going to strike her?
"Three, two, one."
As the voice in her mind fell silent, lightning split the sky, and a thunderbolt, carrying the force of splitting heaven and earth, struck the cross-shaped rack directly.
Jian Lin's entire body went numb. At the same time, memories that did not belong to her rushed into her brain. Her vision went white, and she lost consciousness.
Jian Lin, courtesy name Pei, Taoist name Musheng, was originally a cultivation prodigy with exceptional aptitude. At seven years old, she was accepted into the foremost immortal sect, Guanlan Sect, becoming the sect's most dazzling chief disciple in the cultivation world.
Alas, fate is unpredictable. As the genius child Jian Lin grew older, her spiritual energy gradually waned. She stagnated at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, making no progress for years. Under duress, she decided to delve into demonic cultivation to seek a path to advancement.
When it rains, it pours. When one is down on their luck, even drinking cold water can get stuck in their throat.
She had planted demonic energy within herself, but before she could begin cultivating, a tragic incident occurred at Guanlan Sect.
While the twelve peak masters led their Golden Core disciples into a secret realm for cultivation, a group from the demonic sect launched a surprise attack on Guanlan Sect, burning, killing, and looting indiscriminately.
Pitifully, Guanlan Sect was left with only the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled. Coupled with collaborators within the sect, Guanlan Sect had no power to resist and could only be slaughtered.
Their tragic state would bring sorrow to those who heard and tears to those who saw.
By the time the twelve peak masters returned, the demonic sect villains had already fled.
The twelve peak masters, after deep reflection, decided to investigate from within. The investigation led directly to Jian Lin.
She was the only one with demonic energy on her, the evidence was conclusive and irrefutable. Guanlan Sect resolved to execute her publicly as a warning to others!
In reality, on the day the demonic sect attacked, Jian Lin was in seclusion, cultivating diligently, and had no idea what was happening outside.
However, this was not important. She was a minor cannon fodder in this book. After Guanlan Sect dealt with the traitor, they loudly condemned the demonic sect, formed an alliance with other immortal sects, and officially declared war on the demonic sect. As chaos erupted, the male and female protagonists appeared.
Truly a minuscule piece of cannon fodder, the kind that existed only in background introductions.
Her purpose was to be brought up occasionally for admonishment, warning cultivators not to dabble in demonic energy, as there was absolutely no good outcome.
Look at the former so-and-so, who had exceptional talent and was envied by all. After dabbling in demonic energy, her soul scattered, and not even a complete corpse remained.
Yes, in the original novel, her actions angered both heaven and man. During her execution, heavenly lightning struck and obliterated her.
In reality, she was indeed gone. A bolt of heavenly lightning had saved her from the execution platform and dropped her in a small town on the edge of the demon realm.
Lying in the withered grass, Jian Lin organized her thoughts and realized she had transmigrated into a book.
A book about the war between immortals and demons, where heroes emerged from chaos. Since she had no connection to the main plot, Jian Lin was too lazy to delve deeper. She was more concerned with another question.
"I didn't have time to ask, what kind of system are you?"
The god-like voice reappeared, introducing itself emotionlessly, "This system's full name is the 'Defy Heaven and Change Fate, Scorned Person Ascends to God Tianyi System,' abbreviated as the Tianyi System. Host, you may call me Tianyi."
Jian Lin fell silent and slowly said, "You're good at avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial. Scorned person system, dare I ask how one scorns?"
"Seduce the great villain, the Demon Lord, gain his love, then betray him and gain his hatred. Only then can you ascend to godhood."
"...What a wicked system." Jian Lin commented with her sharp tongue.
"Ascending to godhood will allow you to return to your original world," the system stated proudly and coldly.
!!! Jian Lin jolted upright. Had she heard correctly? She could return to her original world!
"You're not lying to me? Ascending to godhood, I can return to my original world? How? To what time point?" Jian Lin asked with concern.
The system displayed an image in Jian Lin's mind. She was slumped over her desk, appearing to be asleep. Only she knew that she was already dead.
"You will return to this time point, wake up, and everything that has happened in this life will be like a dream."
Like a dream, how wonderful!
No one could stop her from going back! She had started her business in college and worked hard for over ten years, just one step away from the finish line. Even the King of Hell couldn't stop her; she had to go back and enjoy the fruits of her victory!
Jian Lin didn't think much further and immediately agreed. The Demon Lord was a great villain, and her seducing him was acting on behalf of heaven, so it wasn't too wicked, right?
No sooner said than done, Jian Lin stood up immediately. Looking around, she saw only waist-high withered grass, not even a small path in sight.
"Scorned person system, please kindly show me the way. Which direction should I go?"
"...You may call me Tianyi," the system replied coldly.
"Why? You also think scorning people is not good, right!" Jian Lin said sarcastically.
Although she had agreed to the system's task to return to her original world, she inwardly disagreed. Why scorn someone for no reason? It was truly wicked and heartless.
The system was silent for a moment, then abruptly changed the subject, "Host, you can open the beginner's gift package. It contains three initial choices that can send you to the Demon Lord's side."
The beginner's gift package, she seemed to recall it, almost forgot.
Jian Lin gradually got used to communicating with the system. She closed her eyes, waiting for the system to display, "What are they? Show me."
To Jian Lin's surprise, the gift package was rich in content, including various instructions and a plethora of items.
Jian Lin was accustomed to reading contracts and was not someone who neglected instruction manuals. She diligently read through all the text, finding it very beneficial.
The beginner's gift package contained three chances to escape death. She had already used one.
After planting the demonic energy, she hadn't had a chance to start cultivating. It turned out that completing daily cultivation tasks would earn points, which could be exchanged for items in the积分商城 (points mall).
Jian Lin quickly browsed, discovering that the points mall contained not only secret manuals and magic treasures but also various strange and peculiar items. She would study them carefully once she had points.
Scrolling to the end, she finally saw the initial choices. She had three identities to choose from: maid, dancer, and pet?
Huh? Pet?
"Pet?" Jian Lin asked doubtfully, "Whose pet? How does one become a pet?"
"The Demon Lord enjoys keeping rare and exotic beasts. The system can provide an opportunity to transform you into a spirit fox of equivalent level."
Jian Lin keenly sensed danger, "A spirit fox? So my appearance would be that of a fox?"
"Yes. Following the rules of this world, you cannot transform into human form until you cultivate a demon core," the system stated coldly.
Jian Lin immediately dismissed the idea. As a modern person, transmigration was already difficult enough to adapt to. To become an animal would only make things worse.
And her current body's cultivation had been stagnant for years. She didn't know when she would be able to form a Golden Core, so it was better not to take risks.
Pets were out. Between maid and dancer, Jian Lin, after careful consideration, chose dancer.
Men were visual creatures, and a beautiful appearance was the first step. She decided to go for a strong approach to achieve some results quickly.
Finishing her thoughts, she made her choice. The system emitted a mechanical sound again and began loading slowly.
The wind picked up again, swirling the withered grass into a vortex. Jian Lin, having experienced this once, extended her arms to maintain balance. Her feet then left the ground, and she landed gracefully in another location: the Demon Lord's harem.
The system directly modified her settings, placing her in the dancer's quarters of the Demon Lord's harem. Her identity was that of a pitiful soul who had fled the pursuit of Guanlan Sect and infiltrated the demon palace to survive. She was now named A'Pei and was one of thirteen dancers.
After processing all the information, the sound of a door opening came from behind her. A clear and melodious female voice called out to her, "A'Pei! What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and change your clothes and get ready. If you delay tonight's performance, I'll see how many lives you have to spare!"
Jian Lin turned around and smiled, replying, "Coming right up! Sister Yuyao, don't scare me!"
After changing and getting ready, Jian Lin stood before a water mirror to examine herself. Compared to Guanlan Sect's preference for white and simple, the demon palace's aesthetic was extravagant and vibrant.
She was dressed in a red skirt embroidered with gold and adorned with various dazzling gold ornaments, making her look charming and alluring.
Of course, the most important point was that Jian Lin, to conceal her identity, had specifically used a gift from the beginner's gift package to alter her appearance.
While the system was loading her identity, in her sea of consciousness, she had meticulously sculpted a face for herself: large eyes, a small upturned nose, a face like a popular internet celebrity, innocent and harmless, with a pitiful look in her eyes. Her goal was to leave a deep impression on the Demon Lord.
Everything was ready, just waiting for the opportune moment!
With immense excitement, Jian Lin followed her sisters to the main hall.
The banquet was already halfway through. After several rounds of drinks, the demons were tipsy, laughing and cursing at each other, creating a lively scene.
Earlier, a clownish performer had been entertaining with juggling, leaving many small firebirds flying around the hall, causing the luminous pearl chandeliers to sway back and forth.
Amidst the flickering lights and the chaotic scene, Jian Lin finally saw her target: the Demon Lord.
He was lounging on his throne, his legs crossed on the table, his posture unrestrained. He wore a luxurious dark robe embroidered with gold. His wide sleeves had slipped, revealing a sharp and handsome face.
So handsome! His sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, his nose like a hanging gall, his thin lips appearing somewhat cold and heartless. He looked like some celebrity, Jian Lin couldn't recall who, but felt he looked somewhat familiar.
At the same time, a system loading sound appeared in her mind.
Jian Lin confirmed that the world before her had frozen for a moment, and then a small box appeared above the Demon Lord's head, displaying a "heartbeat value" of 00.
Pfft, to be honest, it was a bit amusing.