Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

In the realm of dreams.

Du Wei looked at his other self, his gaze turning cold as well.

The same face, the same self, the same personality.

At that moment, the only thing that distinguished him from the Evil Spirit Du Wei was their temperament; otherwise, they were indistinguishable.

Du Wei and the Evil Spirit Du Wei stared at each other with an indifferent gaze, their sight locked in an atmosphere that became inexplicably gloomy.

After a long silence.

Du Wei broke the silence, "When I was giving you a personality and memory, I planted a pitfall within them. When it erupted later, you became the loser, and I successfully took back the body."

"But because of this, you also possessed all my memories, so you constructed a Lake of the Mind. I'm curious, where were you before that?"

"Moreover, I used your mechanism to kill you, why didn't you die?"

Though phrased as questions, there was a certain conviction in his tone, as if Du Wei wasn't surprised at the Evil Spirit Du Wei's survival but rather perplexed about the unknown reasons behind it.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei looked at him and said evenly, "When I trapped you in the mirror, didn't you feel yourself gradually turning into an Evil Spirit? Why are you still puzzled?"

Du Wei nodded thoughtfully, "This mechanism is actually turning me into an Evil Spirit, so it can't kill you because you are intrinsically an Evil Spirit."

The Evil Spirit Du Wei shook his head, "That's one way to understand it. The truth is, once the face-switching succeeded, turning into an Evil Spirit after that was no different from death. Because at that moment, you would lose the name Du Wei and become an Evil Spirit residing in the mask, until the next time someone puts on the mask. It would be with the same mechanism that you would re-emerge."

Pausing there, it continued, "Of course, by then, the entity that appears would be the Masked Evil Spirit, and even if someone else bestowed a personality upon you using the same method, you wouldn't be Du Wei anymore, but another Evil Spirit with someone else's memories."

It sounded almost like breeding...

The conversation between Du Wei and the Evil Spirit Du Wei lacked any tension of drawn swords or ready crossbows, feeling more like a chat between old friends who knew each other well.

Of course, such a comparison was quite inappropriate.

Because their memories were the same, their personalities matched, and their logic in doing things was identical. In a sense, this was like questioning and answering oneself.

Thus, Du Wei posed another question to "himself," "Before you, there must have been other Evil Spirits who seized other people's bodies, right? What happened to those Evil Spirits?"

The Evil Spirit Du Wei replied, "I don't know, because I am you. Our memories are the same, and what you don't know, I don't know either."

Du Wei nodded in understanding, not doubting whether the Evil Spirit Du Wei was hiding anything, for he knew himself all too well.

One cannot deceive oneself.

Then he said, "So you're not in the mask now but hidden deep within my consciousness?"

The Evil Spirit Du Wei nodded, "No... I've already told you, I am you and also an Evil Spirit. As soon as the transformation into a complete Evil Spirit occurs, you will become me. From start to finish, we've always been the same person."

Du Wei chuckled lightly, detecting an undercurrent of psychological suggestion.

"Aside from memories, you and I are conceptually different. Even with Evil Spirit Transformation, it's me turning into an Evil Spirit, not becoming you."

"Do you know Black Umbrella?"

The Evil Spirit Du Wei said indifferently, "Such probing is very trivial."

Du Wei shook his head, "Indeed trivial, but you didn't answer, did you?"

Black Umbrella was acquired recently; the Evil Spirit Du Wei couldn't deceive himself. It didn't matter whether it answered knowing or not knowing; any response would reveal some information.

To know is to know, to not know is to not know.

And not answering is essentially no different from answering.

Du Wei stood up, glanced around, and said in an odd tone, "So what you possess are just the memories from before I took back my body. You don't have the memories that came after."

"Indeed, you are me, but you are the me from the past."

"Moreover, you cannot take over my body until I die. The whole spectacle you've created is, in reality, just trying to implant within my consciousness the concept that you are me."

"But for me, that's of no use, your methods are too crude,"

"You've even exposed your weakness."

"And now, I already know how to leave this dream and return to reality,"

Having said that, Du Wei lowered his head.

At this moment, he was standing on the surface of the lake, with the Evil Spirit Du Wei below him, his face gloomy and his eyes filled with malice.

The relationship between the two could basically not be reconciled; only one could exist.

He muttered to himself, "The human subconscious harbors an inexplicable fear of the deep sea, lakes, heights, and darkness—it's a mark etched into our instincts, unshakeable."

"Even if one can face it calmly, in dreams, no one can resist this instinct."

"The reason I stand on the lake's surface is because subconsciously I do not wish to fall to its bottom, since logically, that would mean drowning."

"But this is a dream... what I fear the most is often what I do not want to confront."

After finishing his words, Du Wei took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

In the face of death, one should grant it the tranquility it deserves.

Seconds and minutes passed by.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei remained below, silent, because it knew that speaking was meaningless.

And it was unable to stop what was happening.

Although it could influence dreams, even create the Lake of the Mind, the dream belonged to Du Wei.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

As Du Wei's expression became more and more serene, his body slowly sank towards the lake's bottom.

Meanwhile, the Evil Spirit Du Wei was slowly rising.

The darkness enveloped everything, and the lake's surface divided the entire dream into two parts, reflecting only the figures of Du Wei and the Evil Spirit Du Wei.

Gurgle...

Bit by bit, Du Wei felt himself sinking towards the lake's bottom—first his legs, then his dangling arms, his abdomen, chest, and neck.

Finally, his mouth and nose.

Throughout this process, Du Wei's complexion didn't change at all; even as the wet and cold lake water seeped into his body through his ears and nostrils, he did not struggle, feeling not even the slightest desire to return to the surface.

It was as if he was drowning himself.

There was nothing more terrifying or desperate than leading oneself to sink to the bottom of the lake.

Splash...

A ripple appeared on the lake's surface.

When Du Wei had completely submerged in the water, the Evil Spirit Du Wei's body also slowly surfaced.

Now, it was on top, and Du Wei was beneath it.

It looked at Du Wei sinking to the bottom of the lake with a cold expression, free from anger, exuding only a deathly stillness.

A long time passed.

Only then did the Evil Spirit Du Wei speak in a chilling voice, "When you sink to the bottom of the lake, you indeed escape from here and return to reality, but at the same time, I also acquire your current memories."

"The Massas Uninhabited City, hm? I'm looking forward to it too..."