A Girl Dies Every Day in Her Dream Life 235

Chapter 235: The World Behind the Door, The Sin of the Beiming

A simple door stood before Luo Xue, surrounded by the heavy weight of the past. Although Luo Xue didn’t sense any other unusual auras, for something the Beiming Clan treated with such reverence, something only those at the Saint Realm and above were privy to… it couldn’t be simple.

Was it Phoenix Venerable who left this behind, or the Phoenix Emperor, or perhaps… Ancestor Nangong?

Luo Xue reached out and, under Beiming Ling’s gaze, slowly placed her hand on the door.

“Have you made up your mind?”

Beiming Ling’s voice rang out, her usual playfulness gone, replaced by a heavy seriousness.

“Yes.”

Luo Xue nodded.

She gently pushed, and the ancient wooden door opened.

At the same time, Beiming Ling instinctively took a step back, as if avoiding something. She turned around, her back to Luo Xue.

“Don’t tell me what you see.” Beiming Ling said softly. “Everyone sees something different. What you left behind back then… is quite extraordinary.”

“Extraordinary?”

Luo Xue’s expression turned to surprise.

She looked back, seeing only Beiming Ling’s back.

And looking forward… what lay beyond the wooden door seemed… ordinary.

It was a simple, small wooden hut, with a plain bed, an old wardrobe, and a dusty dressing table.

Although simple and dilapidated, the room was tidy, and it could be seen that its owner was a woman.

Luo Xue walked in, frowning slightly. She couldn’t see anything special here.

Could Beiming Ling be tricking her?

Luo Xue considered this, then dismissed it, recalling Beiming Ling’s serious demeanor.

What was the point of tricking her? The Beiming Calamity-Averting Formation, which concerned the Beiming Clan’s very foundation, was in her hands. They should be trying to avoid offending her.

Luo Xue walked around the small room.

And as she passed the dressing table, she caught a glimpse of a blurry reflection in the mirror.

A vaguely familiar figure appeared, then the mirror became blurry again.

“Who?”

Luo Xue became alert and walked towards the dressing table, staring at the mirror.

But now, the rough, blurry mirror only showed a faint, silver-haired figure, Luo Xue herself.

“Did I… see wrong…”

“No, impossible.”

Luo Xue dismissed this thought, reaching out to wipe the mirror.

But the moment she touched it, a strong wave of dizziness washed over her.

When Luo Xue looked again, the dressing table was covered in mist.

“…You?”

A familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from behind her, carrying a hint of surprise.

Luo Xue turned around and was stunned when she saw the source of the voice.

“Xiao… Yao?”

Indeed, standing before Luo Xue was Xiao Yao, or rather, a woman who looked exactly like Xiao Yao.

But judging by her figure, it was Su Yiyao after she had grown up, at least in her twenties or thirties.

Because Su Yiyao was so fixated on finding Luo Xue, her appearance had remained that of a ten-year-old, even though she was far older. Luo Xue had never seen Su Yiyao like this.

However… the way she looked at Luo Xue, although familiar, lacked Su Yiyao’s closeness.

But this woman’s next words confirmed her identity.

“Nangong, you’re still alive? Oh, there’s something different… have you reincarnated?”

It wasn’t Su Yiyao. Su Yiyao would definitely recognize her current appearance and wouldn’t call her Nangong.

The only one who would call her Nangong was someone from the ancient era.

In other words… this must be the being of the Sea of Withering, Su Yiyao’s ancestor, the true master of the Beiming Calamity-Averting Formation.

—The Phoenix Emperor.

“Sorry, I’m not Nangong.” Luo Xue exhaled. “I’m just borrowing her soul.”

She hadn’t told the Beiming Clan the truth before because she didn’t want to reveal the existence of Nangong’s consciousness.

But since the one before her was the Phoenix Emperor, there was no need to hide it.

“Oh?”

The Phoenix Emperor was slightly stunned, stared at Luo Xue for a moment, and asked softly,

“Does she herself know about this?”

A chilling wind blew, as if threatening to annihilate Luo Xue if her answer wasn’t satisfactory.

Luo Xue quickly revealed her connection to the Phoenix Emperor’s bloodline and said,

“Of course, she gave it to me. Her consciousness is still dormant within… Do you want to… meet?”

If Nangong hadn’t awakened from the previous stimulations, she should be able to meet with this consciousness of the Phoenix Emperor now.

Unfortunately, even if Luo Xue wanted to awaken Nangong, it wouldn’t work. Nangong could probably only awaken once more, and that would be her last appearance in this world.

So, although she offered, it was probably impossible.

The Phoenix Emperor, sensing Luo Xue’s familiar bloodline, instantly knew that she was her descendant. Perhaps it was because of this that Nangong lent her soul to someone else.

Relieved, the Phoenix Emperor said,

“No need. I’m currently… in a rather pathetic state, just a wisp of consciousness remaining. I don’t want to meet any old friends.”

Luo Xue wanted to say that Nangong was also in a similar state, but considering the Phoenix Emperor’s temper, she didn’t say anything.

The Phoenix Emperor relaxed slightly, sat down on the bed, and leaned lazily against the headboard.

“Did you inherit my bloodline? Or is this the so-called inheritance arranged by Feng?”

Although the Phoenix Emperor’s true body had become the Blood Sea, the consciousness left here knew about Phoenix Venerable’s arrangements in the outside world, perhaps because she understood her sister, or perhaps it was arranged before her death.

“I’m the inheritor of the legacy, but there’s also another… who should be considered your descendant.”

Luo Xue thought for a moment and told the Phoenix Emperor about Su Yiyao, including her earlier guess that Su Yiyao might be the Phoenix Emperor’s reincarnation.

After hearing this, the Phoenix Emperor was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

“She is her, I am I. There’s no connection between us. Even if our appearances are similar, she is still not me.”

The Phoenix Emperor, as the ancient divine beast who controlled the Dao of Withering, her death had been her own choice. No one could easily kill a being who controlled an ultimate law.

Even if her later reincarnation had a new consciousness, it wouldn’t be her anymore.

“But… why are you here?” The Phoenix Emperor frowned slightly. “Did you change your mind? No… did Nangong change her mind?”

Although she knew Luo Xue wasn’t Nangong, because of their identical souls, the Phoenix Emperor still saw her as her old friend.

“Change what mind?”

Luo Xue asked, her ears perking up.

It seemed there was some gossip here…

“To have her guard the ‘gaze’ within the Beiming Calamity-Averting Formation,” the Phoenix Emperor shrugged. “Or do you want to take over? Then I can finally rest, truly rest.”

Hearing this, Luo Xue finally understood. The reason the Phoenix Emperor left a wisp of her consciousness in the Beiming Calamity-Averting Formation was to guard something…

“…I’m afraid I’m not qualified.” Luo Xue’s eyelids twitched.

The Phoenix Emperor had died in the ancient era, which meant this consciousness was from even before that.

Only someone at her level could endure such endless torment. If it were Luo Xue, she would probably collapse after a few hundred years.

“You are indeed not qualified.” The Phoenix Emperor said bluntly. “So, when are you leaving?”

Although their appearances were similar, their personalities were completely different. The Phoenix Emperor always spoke with an aloof arrogance.

Even though Luo Xue was probably the first to speak to this wisp of consciousness in countless eras, the Phoenix Emperor didn’t hesitate to dismiss her.

“…There are still some things I want to ask.”

Luo Xue, having no other choice when facing this eccentric “ancestor,” briefly explained the current situation outside, including the otherworldly demon disaster, using simple language.

After hearing this, the Phoenix Emperor’s expression didn’t change, as if she didn’t think these crises were a big deal.

“Such trivial matters, why did you specifically come to tell me?” The Phoenix Emperor frowned slightly. “A mere otherworldly demon, and just its remains at that, it’s not difficult to destroy it, hardly a great calamity.”

She paused, looked around the small room, and said,

“It’s not as dangerous as the ‘gaze’ within this room.”

“The ‘gaze’? What is that? I don’t see anything…”

Luo Xue finally couldn’t help but ask, looking around the room.

The Phoenix Emperor had mentioned this several times, as if it were something terrifying, but she said it was in the room… and there seemed to be nothing here.

Hearing this, the Phoenix Emperor sneered and said faintly,

“If you could truly see the ‘gaze,’ you would have already become a grotesque monster, just like the otherworldly demon.”

“You’re saying… otherworldly demons are created by the ‘gaze’?”

Luo Xue was confused. In the other world, there was a different, well-established explanation for deep space behemoths, which had nothing to do with any “gaze.”

“That’s not what I meant, just… similar,” the Phoenix Emperor said, slightly displeased. “After all, the Great Emperor level otherworldly demon back then was empowered by the ‘gaze’.”

“Oh…”

Luo Xue nodded thoughtfully, then she suddenly recalled the strange power she had obtained from the otherworldly demon’s remains, a power from a different system, and she blurted out,

“The ‘gaze’ you’re referring to, is it… a power completely different from the system of this world…”

Before she could finish, Luo Xue felt an intense gaze and turned to see the Phoenix Emperor staring at her.

“What… what’s wrong?”

Luo Xue asked nervously.

“You… how did you know about this?” The Phoenix Emperor’s voice, for the first time, lost its disdain, replaced by a hint of anger.

“I… I…”

Luo Xue hesitated, then explained how she analyzed the otherworldly demon’s power and conducted experiments on the puppets.

After hearing this, the Phoenix Emperor was silent for a long time, then sighed deeply.

“I didn’t expect… that my efforts back then… were all in vain.”

She stood up, and the small room around them began to dissipate.

Seeing this, Luo Xue’s expression turned to shock.

“Phoenix Emperor…”

“The mission I’ve upheld for so long… is actually this… ridiculous…”

The Phoenix Emperor chuckled bitterly, her exhaustion evident.

“What… do you mean?” Luo Xue was confused.

“It doesn’t matter,” the Phoenix Emperor shook her head and said, “The essence of the ‘gaze’… is the otherworldly power you mentioned…”

“During the peak of the ancient era, some unknowable being cast this ‘gaze’ upon the Great Thousand Worlds, and in an instant, countless Great Daos collapsed, countless worlds shattered… leading to the end of the ancient era.”

“So you…”

Luo Xue looked at the dissipating room.

“Yes, I, along with a few other Great Emperors, spent countless efforts sealing His ‘gaze’ within the Beiming Calamity-Averting Formation, but unexpectedly… it still leaked out.” The Phoenix Emperor sighed. “Perhaps I trusted the Nangong clan too much. I didn’t expect that after Nangong’s death, they would decline to this point, unable to even guard a formation.”

“Huh?” Luo Xue was stunned. “The ones guarding the Calamity-Averting Formation… aren’t they the Nangong clan?”

“Hmm?” The Phoenix Emperor was also stunned. “Not the Nangong clan? Then who?”

“The Beiming Clan…”

“I know the formation’s true name. I’m asking who is guarding it.”

“Ahem, the clan guarding the formation is called the Beiming Clan…”

Luo Xue explained everything to the Phoenix Emperor, and after hearing how the Beiming Clan had made countless modifications to her formation over the years, the Phoenix Emperor couldn’t help but curse,

“Those sons of bitches, how dare they mess with my things, I’m going to kill them all!”

Even Li Guijiao had been speechless seeing Beiming Hu’s modifications, let alone the formation’s creator.

Since the Beiming Clan took control of the Calamity-Averting Formation, such modifications had been countless, not just Beiming Hu’s doing.

However, this wasn’t the reason for the “gaze” leaking out. After calming down, the Phoenix Emperor deduced that it was probably a consequence of the Beiming Clan using the formation’s “Destroy” state during the otherworldly demon disaster ten thousand years after the ancient era.

…But in the end, it was still the Beiming Clan’s negligence that made the Phoenix Emperor’s efforts over countless eras a joke.