Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

When Du Wei uttered the last sentence.

The atmosphere around him changed drastically.

A dense malice emanated from the Golden Scales.

The enormous statue seemed to look down upon Du Wei, its indifferent mask filled with inhuman fear.

The air became oppressively heavy.

Du Wei felt a genuine sense of crisis.

He could barely breathe.

A sharp ringing sound buzzed in his ears.

Intense pain emanated from his heart.

He could even hear each beat of his heart, the sound of his blood flowing faster through his veins.

Du Wei bent over, clutching his chest and groaning.

Blood dripped down from the mask ceaselessly, soaking his collar.

But this wasn't the most painful part.

The most agonizing was the sound of clock hands spinning wildly in his mind.

Tick, tick, tick...

The Antique Clock seemed to know what he was about to do next.

It was stopping Du Wei in another way.

Du Wei clenched his teeth, clutching his head as he let out a pained roar.

The sound was too ferocious.

So much so that even the shadows dared not approach.

The Envelope couldn't understand what was happening; it could only hover beside Du Wei, flashing various texts.

[Master, your condition is terrible, what exactly has happened?]

[If this continues, you will die...]

[You must not die!]

Du Wei, biting his teeth, looked through the mask's eyes, filled with coldness and reason.

No...

To describe it simply as reason would be incorrect.

For within it, there also lay a hint of madness.

Fate is fickle...

Everyone has cried out in denial of fate at some point.

And Du Wei's personality made it easier for him to take things to the extreme.

He had a premonition that all his struggling and survival up to this point had been propelled by the Antique Clock.

When he fell into a deadly situation, it showed him visions of death.

When he was safe, it again showed him visions of death, making him want to solve those problems and people subconsciously...

"Why?"

Du Wei gnashed his teeth, growling each word.

He had seldom experienced the beauty of the world; one could almost say never.

Fate had inflicted too much torment upon him.

And after coming to this world.

Fate was just as cruel to him.

His only girlfriend ended up being Marked.

He himself was always overshadowed by the Demon God.

No one could help him from the beginning to the end.

The next second.

Another voice arose from the depths of Du Wei's heart.

Cold and elegant.

It said, "Give me your body."

When this sentence ended.

Time seemed to pause.

The scene before Du Wei's eyes suddenly blurred.

When everything became clear again.

He found himself at the Heart of the Lake.

The other Du Wei, dressed in Priest's attire just like his, was sitting on a black throne, looking at him with an indifferent expression.

"Long time no see."

Du Wei looked at it and said in a deep voice, "My Evil Spirit self?"

It shook its head and said, "No, I am you."

"To be precise, I am your past."

Du Wei rejected it, "No, you're not my past, my past isn't like this."

It said, "Why can't it be? You've always been refusing, always denying, never fearing any hardship, not even Du Wei the Evil Spirit."

"The only thing you don't want to face is your past."

"And I am precisely your past."

"Give your body to me, and I'll personally slaughter those so-called Demon Gods one by one."

"As long as you're willing to accept, willing to acknowledge that part of your past, everything troubling you now will be trivial."

Du Wei looked coldly at this version of himself, saying nothing.

Yet the other continued, "Humanity, love, friendship, bottom lines, so-called morality, values, all will become the shackles that bind you."

"Think about your past self; would you have been bound by these things back then?"

"You wouldn't, but what about now?"

"What made you so weak, struggling mightily to survive in the shadow of the Demon God, what are you truly after?"

"People can be like that, but you should not, and cannot..."

Slap...

Slap...

Slap...

Du Wei clapped his hands one after another.

He said indifferently, "How interesting. If I hadn't merged with the Evil Spirit me, I would have really thought it had resurrected."

The other remained silent.

After a long while, they finally spoke, "Is that the reason?"

Du Wei sneered, "That's sufficient. Your acting is terribly poor. Its memories, personality, thought patterns are all the same as mine. To me, your flaws are everywhere!"

"So, let me think, what are you? A replica made by the Golden Scales?"

"How laughable, do you think something like you could replace me?"

After speaking, he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again,

The scenery around had returned to what it was before.

He knelt on the ground, his chest soaked with fresh blood.

Next to him, another replica looking exactly like him stood on the other side, with another shadowy figure, Envelope, at its side, and floating nearby were a flintlock gun, two black Joker Cards, dice, coins, and other items.

It looked more like Du Wei than he did.

In contrast, Du Wei's current state was extremely wretched.

Only the shadowy figure was at the forefront, confronting the Evil Spirits.

The Envelope was anxiously circling around him.

[Master, you've finally woken. Envelope knew that a villain like you could not possibly die that easily.]

Du Wei glanced at the Envelope, then at his replica, as a deep killing intent gradually emerged in his eyes.

He bowed his head.

He reached out and lifted the mask.

The face revealed was so pale that it was devoid of any color.

The tip of his nose and corners of his mouth were smeared with blood.

Even the corners of his eyes were bleeding.

Hehe...

Du Wei kept sneering coldly, wiping the blood away, and then stood up straight.

"Rahmer's Bell wants to turn me into its puppet."

"The Golden Scales want to create a replica to replace me, no... what it really wants is the Evil Spirit Du Wei."

"You two ghostly things, do you really think I wouldn't dare to flip the table on you?"

After speaking,

Du Wei, holding the mask, said to the shadow, "Come back!"

The next second,

The shadow instantly appeared before Du Wei.

Then, without any hesitation, took a step forward as Du Wei placed the mask back on his face.

Shadow possession...

Du Wei looked at the replica, his voice harsh, "Although I don't know how you were made, and how you've come to look more and more like me, you will definitely die a miserable death."

After speaking,

Du Wei took out the Joker Card that represented making a wish, and said coldly, "From now on, my true name will be concealed. I can be Du Wei, I can be the Duke, or I can be Evil Spirit Du Wei."

A cold, deep breath came from his fingertips, stronger than ever before.

It seemed that this wish had touched upon the bottom line of some existences.

Wish fulfilled.

The replica opposite seemed to think of something and immediately pounced over, with the likewise replicated shadow, Envelope, and Joker Cards also charging at Du Wei.

The Envelope circled anxiously around him.

While Du Wei once again drew out the Joker Card that represented the gamble.

At the same time, he activated his Marking Ability.

In this period, how many Evil Spirits had Du Wei marked?

No one was clear.

Not even he could remember anymore.

The "inheritance" Alvin Dowqui left him after his death was quite rich.

Nearly two hundred Evil Spirits, plus the ones Du Wei originally marked, and now also including those bizarre entities trapped behind the door by the shadow.

In an instant,

The entire altar was filled with countless Evil Spirits, swarming together densely.

Their collective chilling presence was almost tangible.

The malice surged so fiercely that it stopped the replica in its tracks.

Du Wei looked at it and said coldly, "This is a gamble, but my opponent is not you; it's the Golden Scales. You have no right to confront me, but I said I would give it a chance."

"You want to become me? So be it! Your wish is granted!"

"I will turn the death scenes I see into reality."

"Only you will be the one to die in my place."

"Now, let the gamble begin! Let's switch identities!"