A Girl Dies Every Day in Her Dream Life 282

Chapter 282: The Final Battle

Similar loneliness, a bleak future.

Such days seemed to have lasted for an eternity, so long that he had forgotten the passage of time.

The years in the Great Thousand Worlds felt so short, yet eternally unforgettable.

He was an emperor, a hero, a cultivator, and a father.

The burden of his innate mission weighed heavily on him, until today, when he finally saw a glimmer of hope.

Dugu Di slowly awoke. He was no longer human. Withered, corrupted flesh-wings were fused to his back, his bloated body covered in festering tumors and bulging eyes, his grotesque mouthparts drooping, his twisted limbs embedded in the mass of flesh and blood.

This was his current form, possessing the power bestowed by a supreme god.

Most of his people had already transformed into this state before arriving in the Great Thousand Worlds, and now, he was finally the same.

Fortunately, his years of research weren’t in vain. At least, for about 30% of the time, Dugu Di could maintain his consciousness, write letters to his daughter, and command the otherworldly demon army… not completely losing himself to its madness.

Dugu Di closed his eyes, and the image of a timid, black-haired girl appeared in his mind. Her terrified expression was unfamiliar, but her aura was familiar.

It was only then that Dugu Di realized there were two “Luo Xues.” The “Luo Xue” skilled in formations was her Senior Sister, and the real Luo Xue, his daughter’s Master, had died with Wei in the Primordial Chaos.

Unfortunately, Dugu Di hadn’t had time to ask more before the black-haired girl, her expression relaxed, vanished without a trace.

However, Dugu Di didn’t mind. He hadn’t intended to kill her anyway. Her escape was a relief.

“It’s almost over, soon… it will all be over.”

Dugu Di opened his eyes, his vision covered in a dark gray mist, only living beings tinged with an alluring blood-red.

Contrary to the expectations of the remnants of the Great Thousand Worlds, Dugu Di hadn’t reached the Great Emperor Realm. His current cultivation was only at quasi-emperor.

Including the other mindless, monstrous beings and otherworldly demons, none had reached Great Emperor, the highest only at quasi-emperor.

Because in this broken world, reaching Great Emperor would attract the gaze of a god, and “Doomsday” would descend.

Before being ready to face a god, Dugu Di wouldn’t take that final step.

—Therefore, Dugu Di wasn’t a pawn of Doomsday, but its enemy, an enemy willing to destroy the entire world.

Xuangu Ship, when it crashed into this other world, carried a million cultivators and thirty million mortals. Within the complete Xuangu Ship were at least thirty thousand small worlds, some large enough to hold millions, some just residences for secluded cultivators.

But only six thousand cultivators survived the journey, no mortals could withstand the crossing of the world bubble barrier, especially since there was no Xuangu Ship to protect them on their return trip.

Of these six thousand, almost half died in the Primordial Chaos. The remaining survivors multiplied, until, through some fragmented signals, they found the five dead celestial ships, all destroyed by “Doomsday.”

The surviving crew, having lost their home, hated this god, vowing to make him pay, even if it meant destroying the world.

Driven by this obsession… the first otherworldly demon appeared among them.

Otherworldly demons weren’t from this world, but grotesque beings from another, a contaminating power of another god.

The otherworldly demons quickly spread, even corrupting the five dead celestial ships, bringing them to a grotesque life.

Just as the celestial ship’s crew thought they were facing another disaster, they discovered that this power from another god could actually resist the power of Doomsday.

The power of Doomsday within the dead celestial ships was expelled by the otherworldly demon’s power, another god appearing in this world, opposing Doomsday.

The surviving crew saw hope of revenge, but it wasn’t enough, five corrupted celestial ships weren’t enough.

They needed more power, only then could they fight against a god, only then could they have their revenge.

So they turned their attention to the shattered Great Thousand Worlds.

To Dugu Di and the other survivors, their true home was Immortal Slaughter, not this broken world.

If they could use this broken world to avenge their dead clan members and their lost home, they wouldn’t hesitate.

Therefore, even after spending the best years of his life in the Great Thousand Worlds, Dugu Di never forgot his mission… even though most of his people had become otherworldly demons, paying the ultimate price to kill a god.

Now, this heavy burden was about to be lifted. Dugu Di, controlling the otherworldly demon, had almost completely consumed the world fragments of the Great Thousand Worlds, only sparing a few, a last shred of mercy.

“My dear… Xue’er…”

This was his last letter to his daughter.

Dugu Di had several children, but most were born from political marriages, belonging to other factions. Only Dugu Xue was truly his, his most beloved.

Even carrying the burden of the Immortal Slaughter clan’s vengeance, Dugu Di still cherished this rare familial love. As a father, he had wronged his daughter, but as the one carrying this burden, he had no other choice.

By the time he finished writing, the sky had darkened, this world fragment entering night.

And Dugu Di knew that this world would also be plunged into an eternal night.

Because today, he would ascend to Great Emperor and face… God.

The final despair… was coming.

Dugu Di sealed the letter, carefully removing any traces of the otherworldly demon’s power, then used a technique to send it to the world fragment where the remnants of the Great Thousand Worlds resided.

He knew that Phoenix Venerable and the Phoenix Emperor would find it, as usual, and deliver it to Xue’er.

Sending his last thoughts and comfort, that was enough.

But just as he was about to send the letter, a familiar yet unfamiliar aura suddenly appeared, and Dugu Di’s body froze, then trembled uncontrollably, an instinctive reaction.

“…Who?”

Dugu Di’s heart tightened. This aura… wasn’t powerful, and his trembling wasn’t from fear.

He was shocked by the emotions surging within him: joy and sadness… completely opposite, yet existing together.

A snow-white celestial ship appeared out of thin air, leaving the Primordial Chaos, and slowly landed on the contaminated earth.

Its pristine hull seemed vulnerable in this corrupted world, but surprisingly, the filth avoided it.

Dugu Di, seeing this ship, was first puzzled, then his bulging eyes widened, fixated on it, his body trembling uncontrollably.

“It’s… Xuangu Ship…”

Indeed, it was Xuangu Ship!

He couldn’t be mistaken. This was his home, a memory etched deep within his bloodline.

Dugu Di had been born after the Immortal Slaughter clan returned to the Great Thousand Worlds. As a child, he had witnessed his elders’ longing for their lost home, had sensed the aura on their ancestors’ remains.

But none of those remains could compare to the snow-white ship before him.

“…Long time no see, Dugu Di.”

A small, silver-haired figure appeared above Xuangu Ship. Luo Xue looked at Dugu Di, a complicated expression on her face.

She recognized Dugu Di not because she knew him, but because of the letter in his hand, which carried a trace of Dugu Xue’s aura.

She hadn’t expected the once dignified Dugu Di to become… this.

What was the price he paid… for what?

To conquer the world?

But all she saw in Dugu Di was sadness and reluctance.

Dugu Di looked at Luo Xue, silent, then after a long time, his hoarse voice rasped,

“Long time no see, Master Luo. I’m glad to see you’re still alive.”

Ignoring his grating voice, his tone was the same as their last meeting, a mix of authority and indifference.

“But I’m not happy to see you like this,” Luo Xue said softly, “Because of you, Little Dugu is very sad. You were… her most beloved father.”

Dugu Di was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“Shouldn’t have… but… the burden I carry… can’t be changed.”

He looked at Xuangu Ship beneath Luo Xue, his gaze turning serious.

“Master Luo, may I ask… did you dismantle the Xuangu Ship in the other world… to find your way back?”

Dugu Di’s first reaction upon seeing Xuangu Ship was disbelief. He knew it was in another world, abandoned because they couldn’t bring it back.

But now… it appeared before him, piloted by Luo Xue, who had died in the Primordial Chaos…

“Yes.”

Luo Xue nodded, not denying it.

“…”

Dugu Di didn’t speak, the atmosphere turning colder.

“It was once our home.” Dugu Di said slowly, all his grotesque eyes fixated on Luo Xue. “You… destroyed it.”

“If it was truly your home… wouldn’t you have noticed?” Luo Xue sighed. “Xuangu Ship… if it could be so easily dismantled, would it have been your home?”

Dugu Di’s pupils constricted, and he was shocked.

Indeed, if it were the complete Xuangu Ship, outsiders couldn’t even enter its core, let alone dismantle it. Any attempt at forced entry would trigger a powerful counterattack, or even self-destruction.

For Xuangu Ship to be reduced to such a small vessel, there was only one possibility.

“Xuangu Ship… agreed to this?” Dugu Di asked, his voice trembling.

“That’s not entirely accurate. Actually… I am Xuangu Ship.” Luo Xue slowly landed on the ground, her hand touching the ship. “I am… the Xuan Gu Celestial Spirit.”

The aura of Xuangu Ship merged with her, a level of connection even its former master couldn’t achieve.

Dugu Di quickly realized that Luo Xue wasn’t lying.

After a long silence, he chuckled bitterly and said the same words as Luo Huaxin,

“…You shouldn’t have come back, because we… have no way out.”

All his hopes and dreams shattered, and he had no choice but to make this decision.

“If you hadn’t returned, at least one of our ships would remain, a sliver of hope…”

Dugu Di looked up, a resolute look in his eyes. “But now, I have to… ‘kill’ our ‘mother’ myself.”

If Xuangu Ship’s power, now controlled by Luo Xue, fell into the hands of the otherworldly demon, it would be the key to defeating God. Even the dead celestial ships, after being corrupted, had shown terrifying power… let alone a “living” one.

When Luo Xue appeared with Xuangu Ship, Dugu Di knew the end, regardless of whether Luo Xue was truly the Xuan Gu Celestial Spirit.

To kill God, the Immortal Slaughter clan had paid the ultimate price, there was no turning back.

Five giant, living celestial ships emerged from the Primordial Chaos, their twisted, decaying wings blotting out the sky, their gaping maws ready to devour everything.

Before these behemoths, the small Xuangu Ship seemed insignificant, and Luo Xue, like a tiny ant.

“Revenge… against God!”

Dugu Di’s voice became hysterical, his sanity fading, the obsession of the Immortal Slaughter clan consuming him.

He let out a shrill scream, carrying the memories and tears of countless clan members, the source of their long-standing hatred, an irreversible tragedy.

These bloody memories flashed through Luo Xue’s mind, and she finally understood Dugu Di’s motives.

Dugu Di wasn’t a pawn of “Doomsday,” but its sworn enemy, an enemy willing to destroy the world for revenge.

The surging otherworldly demons approached Luo Xue, their contaminating power about to consume her and Xuangu Ship.

But… it was futile.

The demonic power receded, Luo Xue still standing there, the snow-white Xuangu Ship hovering silently, untainted, like a lotus flower rising from mud.

“This… what’s going on?”

Dugu Di was stunned. This was the second time he had encountered something the otherworldly demon’s power couldn’t contaminate, the first time during his confrontation with “Doomsday.”

“You want to turn me and Xuangu Ship into otherworldly demons?” Luo Xue raised her hand slightly and looked down. “Unfortunately… I already am.”

Otherworldly demons weren’t originally from the Great Thousand Worlds, but grotesque creatures from another world, another god’s contaminating power.

Ordinary beings couldn’t withstand this power and would become twisted monsters.

Luo Xue, carrying the mark of a god, possessed the same power as the otherworldly demons, but the difference was… she could withstand it.

“No, impossible!” Dugu Di screamed, his sanity fading, his words becoming incoherent. “Your power… no… to defeat ‘Doomsday’… kill you… take… devour…”

This time, Dugu Di didn’t try to contaminate Luo Xue with the otherworldly demon’s power, but directly attacked her with the five living celestial ships, intending to tear her apart, both physically and spiritually. Once Luo Xue was dead, he could obtain her power.

—This power… with the hope of killing Doomsday.

This was the Immortal Slaughter clan’s long-held dream, the reason they had paid the ultimate price, enduring countless years of suffering.

Although Luo Xue’s power was far greater than Dugu Di’s, she and the current Xuangu Ship were no match for the five giant, living celestial ships.

But… before this meeting, Luo Xue had taken the remains of the three celestial ships from Phoenix Venerable.

Unlike the five ships destroyed in the Primordial Chaos, these three were relatively intact, only lacking the ability to repair them after the demise of the artifact refining sects.

Luo Xue, as the Xuan Gu Celestial Spirit, awakened them, controlling them with the power of another god.

As the five giant ships and countless grotesque monsters, driven by Dugu Di’s madness, attacked Luo Xue, three massive celestial ships, emitting a soft, white light, appeared in the Primordial Chaos, colliding with the five living ships.

But they didn’t truly collide. The white ships passed through the living ships like phantoms, and Dugu Di suddenly felt that he had lost control of the living ships.

The grotesque flesh and blood began to wither and fall away, revealing the dilapidated hulls beneath.

And one of the ships even transformed into a spiritual form, completely under Luo Xue’s control, becoming her ally.

This sudden change shocked Dugu Di, and he looked at Luo Xue in horror.

Although Luo Xue looked the same as before, in Dugu Di’s eyes, she had transformed.

“A god…”

Another god.

She wasn’t just carrying a god’s mark, this wasn’t something a mere mark could do.

She… was the remains of a god, a former vessel.

A god of “malice,” yet also… gentle.

…Dugu Di had lost.

Although he hadn’t completely lost yet. Besides the five living celestial ships, he still controlled almost all the world fragments of the Great Thousand Worlds, all corrupted by the otherworldly demon, some even partially transformed, his true weapons against “Doomsday.”

But Dugu Di also knew that for Luo Xue to take these was just a matter of time. Before such overwhelming power, he was helpless.

Thinking of this, Dugu Di suddenly calmed down. His mission had always been to kill God, but whoever did it… he didn’t care, neither did the Immortal Slaughter clan.

Otherwise… they wouldn’t have paid such a price.

Compared to the Immortal Slaughter clan’s mad plan, Luo Xue had a much higher chance of success.

“Master Luo… you win.”

Dugu Di said faintly, his voice still hoarse, but his tone regaining its former authority.

“You’re not continuing?” Luo Xue asked. “You’ve only lost one ship.”

“…I’m tired.” Dugu Di shook his head and said softly, “I’ve carried this burden for too long… now, I can finally… let go.”

“You’re more qualified than I am to face a god… to face ‘Doomsday’.”

Luo Xue hadn’t expected Dugu Di to give up so easily, but in the blood-soaked memories of the Immortal Slaughter clan, she saw his sorrow and his inevitable end.

Even if Dugu Di continued, he wouldn’t be able to kill the god “Doomsday.” This was the Immortal Slaughter clan’s wishful thinking, a doomed endeavor.

Dugu Di vaguely understood this, so when Luo Xue displayed the power of a god, the clan’s long-held obsession finally dissipated, because he found a reason, a justification for his and his clan’s past actions.

—To entrust everything to Luo Xue.

“I didn’t expect… this outcome…”

Dugu Di’s twisted body began to dissipate, a dejected middle-aged figure faintly appearing.

He looked at Luo Xue, his eyes filled with exhaustion and relief, a letter in his hand.

“Master Luo, I’m sorry, one last thing,” Dugu Di tossed the letter, which gently landed in Luo Xue’s hand. “Give this letter to Xue’er… and don’t tell her the truth about the Immortal Slaughter clan… let it end with me.”

Luo Xue silently accepted the letter, looking at Dugu Di with a complicated expression.

“What does she mean to you?” Luo Xue asked softly.

“She’s my daughter.” Dugu Di replied without hesitation.

“…That’s enough.” Luo Xue put away the letter and smiled faintly. “I’ll deliver it to her personally.”

“Thank you… Master Luo.”

Dugu Di’s last words echoed, and his grotesque body finally collapsed.

The surrounding otherworldly demons, losing control, began to rampage, yet they instinctively feared Luo Xue and were suppressed. Even the world fragments became restless.

Luo Xue closed her eyes, the memories of the Xuan Gu Celestial Spirit flashing through her mind.

The magnificent nine celestial ships setting sail, the falling flames of heaven, the terrifying divine disaster, the fear and unease that filled the ships, all stemming from a god’s fleeting glance.

A casual look, a mere wisp of a gaze, was the beginning of a world’s end.

When she opened her eyes again, Luo Xue’s gaze was clear, her aura surging, walking the path of the Law of Ending, towards its end.

The Eternal Withering Body, carrying the will of withering; the Eternal Soul of Antiquity, possessing the will of immortality; the former consciousness of the Xuan Gu Celestial Spirit; and the remains of a being left behind by another god…

And most importantly, she herself.

Luo Xue.

After countless eras, the ultimate Dao finally reached its end, and Luo Xue looked into the distance, a faint figure waiting for her.

“Hello… God, ‘Doomsday’.”