Double Defiance - Chapter 1

I was the one and only Celestial Demon in existence.

And yet Immortal Venerable Shen Lingshuang had forcibly taken me as his disciple.

By all rights, a Celestial Demon’s destiny was to bring ruin upon the world, only to be cut down by the strongest cultivator of the age and become a rare bundle of experience points on that cultivator’s path to ascension.

That should have been the script written for Shen Lingshuang and me.

But Shen Lingshuang, that shameless lecher, had taken one look at my beauty back then and fallen madly in lust. He had clung to my leg, sobbing and begging me to let him take me as his disciple…

“You were five years old at the time.” Without so much as changing expression, Shen Lingshuang sealed my nonsense-spewing mouth with a leaf. “It is difficult for a normal person to fall in love at first sight with a five-year-old mud monkey.”

Tsk. Why did he have to take everything so seriously?

I tore the leaf from my mouth and rolled my eyes. “And are you normal? What normal person raises a disciple the way you do? You won’t even let me leave the sect grounds. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were hiding a beauty away in a gilded cage.”

Shen Lingshuang lowered his eyes and drank his tea. Once again, he said nothing.

A Celestial Demon was born demonic, with a wild nature impossible to tame. Even after being raised by that icy-faced Shen Lingshuang, I hadn’t become the least bit obedient. I was always itching to venture out into the world on my own.

But Shen Lingshuang refused to allow it.

“You cannot wield spiritual power proficiently and have no means of protecting yourself. The world below the mountain is too dangerous for you.”

Nonsense. That was only because he insisted on forcing me down the righteous path and refused to let me take the shortcut of demonic cultivation.

If a Celestial Demon could cultivate immortality without trouble, then stray cats might as well sprout wings where they stood.

“I don’t care. I’m bored to death.” I seized his collar and bared my teeth at him. “Either let me go down the mountain to have some fun, or find me something entertaining to do.”

Shen Lingshuang met my eyes calmly. “What sort of entertainment do you want?”

Seriously? Was he that determined not to let me leave?

I licked my lips, deliberately trying to disgust him. “Then sleep with me once, like they do in those storybooks. With a face as pretty as yours, why else would you parade around in front of me every day if not to seduce—”

Before I could finish my provocation, Shen Lingshuang pinned me facedown on the table with one hand.

…Then, shrieking at the top of my lungs, I took a brutal beating.

Yes. That was why I, exalted Celestial Demon that I was, obediently played Shen Lingshuang’s good little disciple.

I couldn’t beat him. Not even close.

Hmph!

After teaching me a lesson, Shen Lingshuang sat back down to drink his tea. “Whether you want to leave the mountain or rebel against your master, we can discuss it once you can defeat me.”

I pounded the table in protest. “Then let me practice demonic cultivation! What, are you afraid to play fair?”

Shen Lingshuang ignored me. Instead, he cast an immobilization spell that froze me with my palms pressed together in a posture of sincere apology.

He studied me for a long moment, then pinched my flushed cheek. “Do you want to leave me that badly?”

I glared at him furiously, then blinked in honest confirmation.

Shen Lingshuang pondered for a moment.

At last, he nodded. “Very well.”

…

Very well, my ass.

Shen Lingshuang left me alone on the mountain and went traveling down below by himself.

Was that what I meant?!

Enraged, I became as stubborn as an old ox and plowed across the entirety of Sword Peak—south to north, east to west.

Unfortunately, even after all that effort, I couldn’t find a single flaw in the barrier and failed to get so much as half a step beyond Sword Peak.

Still, my work wasn’t entirely fruitless.

In a collapsed mole burrow somewhere on the back mountain, I stumbled upon an unusual spiritual artifact: the Dreambell.

It was a spirit implement capable of altering another person’s consciousness through hypnosis. Because it had once become an evil object used to aid a tyrant, few people now even knew it existed. I myself had only ever seen it mentioned in miscellaneous texts.

…Who would have thought my luck could be so good that I would find something like this?

With the Dreambell to help me, I thought eagerly, the next time I provoked Shen Lingshuang, I definitely wouldn’t be completely defenseless. If I was lucky, I might even land a couple of punches.

The idea actually made me hope he would return soon.

Of course, I only wanted to hit him. It absolutely wasn’t because I missed him, okay?

Absolutely not!