When Du Tianyu woke up again, he was already in a hospital ward.
The emergency doctors all felt strange. They had clearly witnessed the severity of his injuries, and he had even vomited blood twice. An ordinary person would have already quietly passed away. Yet, after examination, this fellow didn't seem to have any major problems.
The awakened Du Tianyu looked around. He was the only one in the ward. He tried to move and found that there seemed to be no issues.
"It seems I really did come back from the dead. But after merging with that guy, am I still me?" Du Tianyu couldn't help but think in his heart.
"Who am I, am I still me?" He repeatedly asked himself this question many times before finally putting his mind at ease. He felt that he was still himself.
Recalling everything, he found that there were many more memories in his mind.
These were the memories of different selves, to be precise, eight selves. Speaking of it, it was unbelievable, like a fantastical tale. But he could clearly feel them in his mind.
First life: Wu Qingfeng, a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, whose Qinghong sword stirred the four directions. Died due to betrayal by a fellow disciple.
Second life: An Shaosi, a spirit controller of the Spirit Manipulation Sect, who dedicated his life to the art of controlling spirits. Died in the mouth of an ancient demon spirit.
Third life: Mo Han, a disciple of the Pill Sect, who was obsessed with researching the Dao of pills. Encountered a thunder tribulation while refining pills and was struck dead by lightning.
Fourth life: Wen Ziren, a rogue cultivator, whose life was filled with slaughter. Died by slaughter.
Fifth life: Xia Suiyuan, a top disciple of the Grand Haotian Sect, who couldn't overcome a love tribulation and died for love.
Sixth life: Duan Jiu, a weapon refiner, who didn't forge a single good weapon in his entire life and died in frustration.
Seventh life: Xiahou Lan, a righteous person, a formation master. Fell into the demonic path and was hunted down by the righteous path for many years, heavily injured, fell into the demonic sea, and drowned.
Eighth life: Wan Bao, a treasure cultivator, obsessed with the many magical treasures in the world, resorting to stealing, robbing, and deceiving. Died in a secret realm.
Ninth life: Du Tianyu, which is now, a good-for-nothing!
These memories were very fragmented, with many gaps. For example, the experiences of the growth process were very vague, or perhaps didn't exist at all.
"Sigh! These eight lives were really a mess. Either killed or committed suicide, struck by lightning, and even betrayed. The ridiculous thing is, someone even died of frustration. How did you manage that?"
"How did I manage that? Which 'me' wasn't stronger than you? Take a piss and look at yourself. You're still a good-for-nothing."
"Big brother? Which one are you?"
"Everyone who knew my name is dead! So you'd better not know!"
"Then forget it! I won't ask!"
"Hurry up! First, find a quiet place with abundant spiritual energy, absorb the spiritual energy I brought. If you keep dawdling, the spiritual energy will almost be gone."
"Ah? What is spiritual energy? Where did the spiritual energy go?"
"I'm telling you, spiritual energy is the foundation of immortals. Watching you waste so many farts, do you know how much it hurts?"
"Immortals? Wow, am I still me? Who am I?"
"Damn it, always talking nonsense, I really shouldn't have merged with you! Hurry up."
If anyone saw Du Tianyu talking to himself, they would definitely think he was schizophrenic, playing different roles and scolding himself.
Du Tianyu vigorously patted his face, seeming to sober up a bit. He thought that this might be a hallucination.
Just as he thought this, his mouth involuntarily blurted out, "Waste! Can't you be any faster?"
Only then was he even more certain that it was indeed the eight previous lives speaking. Instead, he calmed down and asked doubtfully, "Didn't we merge? Why can you still speak?"
"How the hell would I know? Maybe you're just too useless!"
"...!"
Not daring to delay any longer, he quickly changed his clothes and left the ward.
It was already early morning. He finally managed to flag down a taxi on the street, and when he reached into his pocket, he only had fifteen yuan. After thinking about it, he knew that it was relatively close to North Mountain Park, so he said to the driver, "Master, drive north for fifteen yuan."
The driver looked at him like an idiot and asked, "Young man, are you sure you want to go north at this time of night?"
"Let's go, for fifteen yuan."
The driver muttered, "First time I've encountered someone wanting to go north for exactly fifteen yuan."
The car started, and soon the fare reached fifteen yuan. The driver stopped at the roadside as requested and kindly said, "Young man, do you not have enough money? How about I take you a bit further?"
"Thank you, master, no need." After saying this, Du Tianyu smiled and paid the fare.
The car drove away, and Du Tianyu finally understood why the driver had questioned him coming here. It was in the middle of nowhere, a foolish place for someone to wander around in the middle of the night.
Du Tianyu sighed and decided to walk. He continued forward, the night a bit eerie and lonely.
"Eight lives, are you there?" Du Tianyu asked cautiously.
"Yes! What the hell do you want to say now?"
"I wanted to ask, since you old guys merged eight people, don't you have some kind of divine skill or something? It would be so great to just fly over there!"
"With your current weak body, you can't withstand any divine skill even if you had one. Stop whining and hurry up...
Damn it, you have to hold it in! I can feel it, you want to fart again. Hurry up and walk, hold it in for me!"
Du Tianyu was seen holding his butt with both hands, running forward quickly...
He finally arrived at North Mountain, panting as he looked around.
"What am I going to do with you? You let go of two more wisps of spiritual energy. Why are you so hopeless?"
"Stop talking, I've already tried my best."
"Stop looking, let's go up the mountain. I think there seems to be more spiritual energy there."
"Can I see it?"
"Stop talking nonsense, this relies on feeling, feel, understand?"
"You even know English?"
"I'm telling you, hurry up and go up the mountain."
In the middle of the night on North Mountain, a lonely figure headed towards the summit.
…
A refreshing morning, dewdrops on the weeds sparkling and translucent. Near the summit, by a small path, was a platform, next to which stood an ancient tree that looked quite old. Directly beneath the ancient tree sat a young man, a wisp of white gas rising from the top of his head. This person was Du Tianyu, who had climbed the mountain in the middle of the night.
Du Tianyu had already refined all the scattered spiritual energy within his body and began to absorb the spiritual energy emanating from the surrounding air. In an instant, the surrounding aura surged towards him, and within a minute or two, it was completely absorbed, the surrounding trees and flowers immediately appearing lackluster.
Looking inward, the spiritual energy in his dantian surged, his realm stabilized at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
"I'm telling you, I could have reached the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, those few farts were worth a billion!"
"I think it's pretty good, take it slow, life has just begun."
"Life is unpredictable. All eight previous lives were powerful figures, and you're just a good-for-nothing."
"Addicted to scolding yourself? What's wrong with being a good-for-nothing? Aren't I working hard to improve? By the way, you said I have a mission to complete, what is it?"
"Sigh! You wasted so much spiritual energy. First, find a way to reach the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, and then you'll know what to do!"
"Can you reveal just a little bit? Let me see if I can do it. If I can't, can I choose to give up, or do it slowly, practice makes perfect? Or maybe do something simple first, and then..."
"Shut up! You're really damn long-winded! Believe it or not, I'll slap you to death!"
"Okay, you're the boss, I'll shut up!"
…
Speaking of this, Du Tianyu began to search his mind for something. After a while, he muttered to himself, "Indeed, after merging, many memories are sealed. As my strength increases, they will gradually unlock.
I'm quite clever, I even thought of this. Not bad.
Say, eight lives, didn't you bring any valuable treasures? At the very least, after living eight lifetimes, there should be some savings, right?"
"Calling you useless is really not wronging you. These things in your head, money is nothing!"
Du Tianyu patiently searched, and indeed, this time reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining had increased many memories, such as cultivation methods, Taoist arts, pill refining techniques, swordsmanship, and some basic knowledge. He couldn't help but feel great joy in his heart.
"You can use these things directly. Your body might be a bit unfamiliar, but these are all imprinted deep in your soul and need time to synchronize with your body."
"No wonder I feel like I know everything."
"Knowing is knowing, but your body is too weak, and your control is lacking. You need a familiarization process."
"Understood."
Du Tianyu stood up and stretched his muscles, feeling the difference in his body, feeling particularly comfortable all over. However, a sour and smelly odor emanated from his body. After thinking for a moment, he formed hand seals, chanted words, and suddenly spread his arms to both sides, saying a single word, "Cleanse!"
In an instant, a stream of turbid and foul air mixed with dust was seen rushing out of Du Tianyu's body and scattering in all directions. His originally somewhat old clothes and pants were all renewed, and when he smelled himself, there was no more odor, but instead a pleasant, fresh scent.
Only then did Du Tianyu reveal a satisfied smile.