Slay the Undead and Prove the Dao

Qin Shan had been getting chewed out by his boss for three straight years. He couldn't keep up with the rat race, but he couldn't manage to take it easy either. He worked overtime until three in the morning, then got squeezed like a meat patty on the subway ride home. He thought this was how his life would go forever. Then he spent five yuan at a secondhand bookstall on a battered book with no title. He opened the first page, and the words came alive and burrowed into his mind. “The Golden Immortal Method of Slaying Corpse-Selves by Turning the Mortal World Upside Down”: Train in the mortal world, and cut away the distracting thoughts and obsessions in your heart. Each cut produces a clone. The next day at work, Qin Shan's boss humiliated him in front of everyone. He shook with anger. He focused his mind and cut away that resentment. A figure with his exact face stepped out of his body and patted him on the shoulder. “Brother, you've put up with this for three years. Time to tell him off.” Then the clone charged into the meeting room and cursed the boss out. Qin Shan was dumbfounded. From that day on, he cut away a little of his obsession each day: his lingering feelings for his ex, his anxiety over his mortgage, his fear of the future, even his urge to kill a certain argumentative internet troll... His clones ran all over the city, filling in for him at work, delivering takeout, running street stalls, and collecting offerings. Then one day, all nine clones sensed the same signal: Someone was trying to restart the Celestial Court. And the divine seats that had been vacant for a thousand years were now up for grabs. Qin Shan looked at the seventy-two versions of himself, each with a different personality, and swallowed hard. “Brothers, I think... we're about to become gods.”