A Girl Dies Every Day in Her Dream Life 275

Chapter 275: A Disciple’s Defiance?!

The paper in the letter turned to ash. The silver-haired girl, Dugu Xue, cupped the ashes in her hands and gently blew them away.

Weak and frail, she leaned against a cold figure, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

“Sister.”

A beautiful figure appeared behind her, a complicated expression on her face.

“Sister Liu Lian, you’re here?” The girl turned around in surprise. “Come quickly, you can see the stars from here!”

Dugu Liu Lian slowly walked over and stood beside her.

“Is that a letter from Father?”

Dugu Xue’s expression stiffened slightly, and she sighed.

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“Just some words of concern, as usual.”

“…I see.”

Dugu Liu Lian nodded, then turned and left, her expression wooden.

Before leaving, she glanced at Dugu Xue and said,

“Sister, you should understand… he’s no longer the father we knew.”

“I… know.”

Dugu Xue averted her gaze slightly, a hint of guilt in her eyes.

Dugu Liu Lian didn’t mind. It was just a reminder. As an older sister, this was all she could do for her younger sister, whom she rarely saw.

After Dugu Liu Lian left, Dugu Xue’s expression crumbled, and she looked at the endless starry sky with worry.

This was her own personal world fragment, where time was almost frozen compared to the outside world. One day here was equivalent to one year outside, the only way to prolong her life.

And the original owner of this world fragment… was Dugu Di, the father of Dugu Xue and Dugu Liu Lian, the current destroyer of the Great Thousand Worlds.

Two thousand years ago in the outside world’s time, Luo Xue piloted a small Immortal Slaughter ship into the Primordial Chaos and disappeared.

Not long after Luo Xue’s disappearance, before the otherworldly demon disasters ended, Dugu Di suddenly launched an attack, conquering the Great Thousand Worlds.

Almost all the ancient clans were destroyed in this war, the only one to escape being the Nangong Clan, who seemed to have known something in advance. The Empress led her clan to the nine provinces and four domains.

However, although all the ancient clans were destroyed, and even the barbarian lands suffered heavy losses, the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty suffered even greater casualties. Even the Immortal Slaughter ships repaired by Li Guijiao were mostly destroyed, and Dugu Di himself was severely injured, near death.

All the remaining factions were eyeing the Great Qin Immortal Dynasty, waiting for an opportunity to seize its territories.

Things seemed normal up to this point, but then, Dugu Di summoned five massive warships from somewhere, each more powerful and terrifying than the Immortal Slaughter ships.

More importantly, these warships were like living creatures, their twisted flesh and blood, and the aura of pure evil, reminiscent of only one thing:

—Otherworldly demons.

Dugu Di had colluded with the otherworldly demons and used their power to conquer the Great Thousand Worlds, but his greedy conquest didn’t end there. He continued to target the world fragments scattered throughout the Primordial Chaos.

Even the nine provinces and four domains weren’t spared. Although they were essentially Nangong’s small world, over the long years, they had absorbed many other world fragments, growing to their current size.

Another war began, Dugu Di declaring war on all the world fragments, the nine provinces and four domains just one of the battlefields.

Fortunately, after establishing a connection with the Great Thousand Worlds, the nine provinces and four domains also broke free from the limitations of a small world, no longer having an upper limit to cultivation.

Ascension Realm cultivators appeared one after another, the most outstanding among them the ancient beings of the nine provinces and the lords of the four domains. Even Luo Huaxin reached the Sea Crossing Realm, becoming a powerful figure.

But even so, the nine provinces and four domains were still no match for Dugu Di.

If not for Dugu Di simultaneously conquering countless other world fragments, the nine provinces and four domains would have already fallen.

Even so, they were now like a flickering candle in the wind, on the verge of collapse.

However, Dugu Xue didn’t experience any of this directly.

Before the all-out war began, Dugu Di sent her to a world fragment where time was frozen, a place only those with the Dugu bloodline could enter.

And he regularly sent her letters, about once every thirty years, which was equivalent to one month within the world fragment, expressing his concern for her health and encouraging her, just like the kind father he used to be.

The gentle father in the letters and the terrifying demon described by the outside world… Dugu Xue couldn’t tell which was real, fortunately, she didn’t have to.

The people in the nine provinces and four domains were initially shocked by Dugu Di’s letters, but after getting used to it, only Dugu Liu Lian still showed some concern.

The others… had more pressing matters.

To fight against Dugu Di, Nangong Ziluan and the Twin Phoenixes had been uniting the other world fragments, just trying to survive in this endless tide of grotesque monsters.

All the factions of the Great Thousand Worlds and the nine provinces and four domains had united. Whether forced or willingly, if they didn’t want to be assimilated by the otherworldly demon, they had to work together.

The only exception was Li Guijiao, who had recently disappeared without a trace, not even leaving a message.

Judging by her personality, she probably thought that continuing to resist was a certain death, so she had run away…

This was normal. After all, for Li Guijiao to have stayed in this crisis for over a thousand years was already a miracle.

And there was another name, buried deep within her memories…

For some reason, although her memories of her were fading, Dugu Xue still remembered her soft, warm touch.

In the outside world, Master had been gone for two thousand years. It was said that there were some clues and news about her recently, but everyone was keeping it from her, even Sister Liu Lian refused to say anything.

Perhaps it was because Dugu Di, her enemy, was still pretending to be her caring father…

Dugu Xue wanted to sigh, but she didn’t know why.

She looked up at the bright, starry sky, a beautiful sight she had rarely seen in the past, even though it was just an illusion in this world fragment.

After the collapse of the Great Thousand Worlds in the ancient era, all worlds were shattered, and there was no longer a true starry sky.

As Dugu Xue gazed at the stars, she suddenly saw a beautiful spark streak across the sky, seemingly falling.

“Is that… a meteor?”

Dugu Xue was stunned, then smiled happily.

“Xue Ling, I heard that in the ancient era, there was a legend about meteors.” She leaned against Xue Ling, the puppet her father had given her, her only confidante now. “If you make a wish upon a falling star, it will come true.”

“What is… my wish?”

Dugu Xue murmured, looking at the meteor.

Was it for her father to stop?

Was it for others to accept her?

Or…

Xue Ling didn’t answer, she couldn’t. She was just a puppet.

“If it were Master, she would definitely have an answer, right?” This thought suddenly crossed Dugu Xue’s mind, then she smiled, relieved. “Yes… that’s my wish, Master… I want to see Master.”

She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and whispered,

“Oh, falling star, if you can hear me, please bring Master back…”

Under the bright night sky, the young girl prayed.

The firefly-like meteor slowly fell, but strangely, it ignited a wave of flames.

Dugu Xue felt a warmth on her skin and opened her eyes, seeing the meteor growing larger and closer.

No, that’s not right!

This wasn’t a meteor!

Xue Ling instinctively sensed danger and quickly carried Dugu Xue away from this strange, purplish-red “meteor.”

Although this world fragment was small, it was still a world, and avoiding this strange meteor wasn’t a problem.

But just then, Dugu Xue saw a familiar outline within the meteor and, looking closely, her face was filled with surprise.

“Ah, this is…”

Immortal Slaughter?

It didn’t look quite right, slightly different…

But it was definitely a celestial ship.

The purplish-red meteor streaked across the fake, starry sky, pierced the boundary between the world fragment and the Primordial Chaos, and crashed into the ground.

Xue Ling shielded Dugu Xue with her body.

“Cough… seems like there was a slight mishap…”

“Ah Chou, you really shouldn’t pilot celestial ships anymore.”

“Yeah, Sister Xue’er, we can learn…”

“…But we landed safely!”

Chattering voices echoed, and Dugu Xue heard a familiar voice among them.

She peeked out cautiously, looking towards where the “meteor” had landed.

The first thing she saw was the familiar silver-white hair, her heart skipping a beat, then the slightly childish yet resolute face beneath the hair, and she finally realized.

“It’s… Master!”

The legend was true! She had wished upon a falling star to see her Master, and her Master had actually appeared!

Dugu Xue rushed out, but her weak body couldn’t go far, stumbling after a few steps, and Xue Ling quickly caught her.

Luo Xue and the others also noticed the commotion. Su Yiyao and Ling Ling became alert, and Luo Xue, as if sensing something, turned and saw Xue Ling.

She looked down and saw Dugu Xue’s teary-eyed, excited face.

“Oh, Little Dugu, it’s you, what are you doing here?”

Luo Xue raised her hand in greeting, then, realizing something, her eyes widened slightly.

“Wait, is your illness cured?”

Before Luo Xue left, Dugu Xue’s condition had been very poor. Surviving for a few years, even a few decades, was possible, but this was… over a thousand years…

Could it be that she had solved her health problems?

“No-, not yet…”

Dugu Xue shrank back, intimidated by the two women beside Luo Xue.

Su Yiyao and Ling Ling, seeing Luo Xue’s familiarity with Dugu Xue, exchanged glances, a similar thought in their eyes.

Where did Ah Chou/Sister Xue’er find another girl…

They looked at Dugu Xue, their gazes making her want to hide behind Xue Ling.

But seeing her Master, Dugu Xue mustered her courage, straightened up slightly, and walked over, supported by Xue Ling.

“Sister Xue’er, who is this?”

Ling Ling asked, smiling at Luo Xue.

“She’s my disciple.”

Luo Xue reached out, wanting to rub Dugu Xue’s hair, but realized she was now taller and awkwardly retracted her hand.

Due to the fusion of the Eternal Withering Body and the Eternal Soul of Antiquity, even after three hundred years in deep space, Luo Xue hadn’t grown, her appearance forever sixteen.

This frustrated her. She should have waited a few more years, at least until she was as tall as Ling Ling, before merging.

Now, even Dugu Xue was taller than her, and only Xiao Yao could offer her some comfort.

“Disciple…”

Hearing this, Ling Ling and Su Yiyao’s expressions softened.

So she was a disciple, that was reassuring, not some rebellious student who defied her master.

And it made sense why Luo Xue took her as a disciple. She looked a bit like Luo Xue, if you ignored Luo Xue’s… eternally youthful appearance.

Although Luo Xue always insisted that she just hadn’t reached the age yet, Ling Ling and Su Yiyao knew that some things couldn’t be changed.

Clearly, Luo Xue didn’t have the… talent… for growth.

“Don’t be nervous, these are my good friends.” Luo Xue comforted Dugu Xue as she introduced them, “This is Su Yiyao, you can call her Sister Xiao Yao, and this is Ling Ling, just call her Sister A’Ling.”

She turned to Su Yiyao and Ling Ling. “Since Little Dugu’s name is the same as mine, to avoid confusion, I usually call her Little Dugu.”

“We don’t mind.”

Ling Ling and Su Yiyao smiled faintly and nodded at Dugu Xue.

The awkward atmosphere eased slightly.

Luo Xue’s expression turned serious; she had some matters to attend to.

Having met Dugu Xue meant they had successfully returned to the Great Thousand Worlds.

However, she needed to understand the current situation.

First, Dugu Xue.

Upon seeing her, Luo Xue’s first thought was that her illness had been cured.

But if not, how had she survived until now?

Could it be that the timeline here and that of the post-apocalyptic world fragment weren’t parallel?

“Little Dugu,” Luo Xue looked at Dugu Xue seriously, “about the current Great Thousand Worlds… there are some things I need to know.”