In the Qiankun Continent, within a luxurious mansion of Gulai Country Capital, a young man with delicate features suddenly struggled to jump off the bed in a unique small courtyard.
However, the young man jumped too abruptly, and he didn't stand steady, tumbling directly off the bed onto the ground.
The young man seemed to feel no pain, as he quickly glanced around him, his expression guardedly surveying the surroundings.
"Child, don't move around! Don't move around at all! The injuries on your body haven't healed! If you move rashly now, you might hurt your bones!"
Just then, a plump middle-aged woman beside him shouted loudly at the young man, stopping him from continuing his frantic movements.
"Child?"
The young man lying on the ground drastically changed his complexion, a surge of shock thundering through his heart. The word "child" hit him as if lightning had struck him, causing goosebumps to rise all over his body.
He intended to struggle to stand up, but he found he couldn't even crawl up from the ground.
"Is this an illusion?"
His eyes widened in horror as he stared at the plump middle-aged woman.
"Mother?"
Soon, he recognized the plump middle-aged woman as his mother from his memories.
But over a thousand years ago, his parents had passed away, both having been executed by his enemies.
"This must be an illusion! I can't be trapped in an illusion! My entire family has already died!"
Duan Gujin wanted to struggle to his feet. However, the next moment, he realized his misfortune; all his meridians were destroyed, and he couldn't mobilize any immortal power.
"Could it be that I've become disabled?"
Sweat the size of soybeans immediately beaded on Duan Gujin's forehead. He truly wanted to stand up, but despite his efforts, he could only lay straight on the ground.
"Oh, my poor child! Don't move around! Someone go call the doctor!"
The middle-aged woman embracing Duan Gujin suddenly burst into tears, uncontrollably streaming from her eyes, quickly dripping onto Duan Gujin's face.
Hearing the mournful cries of the plump woman, Duan Gujin instantly calmed down.
He secretly pinched himself. It hurt! It really hurt!
"Could it be that what I'm seeing isn't an illusion?"
His eyes flickered, and then he sank into deep thought.
He carefully recalled how he was struck down into the Reincarnation River of the Yin Yang World by the Ultimate Demon Emperor, and his heart thumped fiercely.
"Could it be that I have truly reincarnated? Although there are legends that the Reincarnation River in the Yin Yang World can enable a cultivator to reincarnate and start anew, it is merely a legend! Besides, if I had truly reincarnated, it's impossible to retain my former memories, and even more impossible to return to a previous era!"
The horror in Duan Gujin's heart was beyond description.
If it was indeed the case, then wouldn't the world be thrown into chaos?
He intended to use his Divine Sense to inspect his body, but he failed; he then realized he had no cultivation at this moment.
"That's right, I remember before I entered Qingyun Academy, I had no cultivation!"
He forced himself to calm down.
Soon, a servant came in from outside, picked up Duan Gujin's body, and placed him back on the bed.
"Mother, I'm fine now, I would like something to drink, please bring me something!"
Duan Gujin quickly calmed down and said.
"If everything I am seeing now is an illusion, as long as I don't fall into it, I can walk out of it!" Duan Gujin thought to himself.
"Alright! I'll bring you some lotus seed soup right away!"
The middle-aged woman immediately ordered a servant to bring some lotus seed soup for Duan Gujin to nourish his body.
After drinking the lotus seed soup and regaining some physical strength, Duan Gujin hastily sent his mother away, wanting to rest properly, and his mother complied.
Looking at the vaguely familiar room, Duan Gujin gasped.
He was previously doubtful that what he was seeing was an Illusion Array. Once he got his strength back, he started to inspect everything in the room repeatedly, and even pinched himself harshly a few times, ultimately confirming that he had indeed reincarnated.
"It is said that all living creatures must undergo reincarnation after death and that all memories from their past lives are washed away before they reincarnate. But from what I see, my memories have not been erased! What about her? Could it be that she, like me, also reincarnated with her memories intact?"
Duan Gujin frowned and pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with a definitive answer.
He checked his body again and found that he had no cultivation at all.
He thought back and felt that his current physical condition was exactly the same as his from over a thousand years ago.
"I never thought I would return to myself from a thousand years ago!"
He sighed with emotion, his eyes suddenly flashing with a fierce gleam.
If he had had enough power a thousand years ago, his entire family wouldn't have been slaughtered!
If he had had enough power a thousand years ago, his sect wouldn't have been eliminated!
If he had had enough power a thousand years ago, he wouldn't have been hunted down like a dog by his enemies all over the world!
His heart was filled with too much hatred!
"If I truly have returned to the past, then I must rewrite history!"
Duan Gujin exhaled deeply; he intended to sit cross-legged to meditate, but remembering that he couldn't cultivate without awakening his Martial Soul, he refrained.
Duan Gujin carefully recalled the last moment before he was cast into the Reincarnation River, still shaken. His enemy was too powerful, the Ultimate Demon Emperor who had been cultivating bitterly for a thousand years, and a mythical legend from the past.
Thus, in that battle, both he and his companion were cast into the Reincarnation River by the Ultimate Demon Emperor.
He really wanted to know the outcome of that battle, but he knew that he was not capable of finding the answer in his current state.
After a while, he put these worries to the back of his mind.
"I wonder where she is right now and what she is doing at this moment? Could it be that she, like me, has also reincarnated? If she truly has been reincarnated, does she also carry her past life's memories? Whatever the truth may be, the only way for me to stand undefeated is to reach my Peak again, or even surpass the Peak I achieved before!"
After making up his mind, he checked his body.
A moment later, he touched his chest and suddenly noticed something unusual.
His expression changed subtly, and then he took off his clothes to examine his chest.
When he pinched his sternum, he discovered a black mark nestled among his ribs.
The mark resembled the shape of flames and was startling at first glance.
"What is this? I don't recall having such a thing on my body before!"