Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Midnight.

A man wearing a raincoat, dagger in hand, walked through the dark alley.

Not far behind him followed Du Wei, carrying a black umbrella and dressed in a trench coat.

He had been walking for about half an hour.

During this time, the Evil Corpse consistently headed southeast.

As he thought, the Evil Corpse was much quicker at locating the people from the Veda Sect than locating himself.

What he found strange, though, was that after entering this alley, the pace of the Evil Corpse had noticeably quickened.

This area was not far from his home, with some rather unofficial small hotels around, which got relatively chaotic after nightfall.

It looked like they were about to reach their destination.

...

Meanwhile.

In a room of a certain hotel.

Bishop Ruth of the Veda Sect had finished her prayers, opening her eyes and slowly breathing out.

She had joined the Veda Sect over twenty years ago.

In all that time, rising from a common cultist to her current position as a bishop, she had lost count of how many innocent lives she had taken.

The doctrines of the Veda Sect were chaotic and evil.

All followers killed ordinary people as sacrifices to the Vedas, which to them was a means of redemption.

When Ruth became a bishop, she could already come into contact with the Vedas she worshipped.

She could hear the instructions of the Vedas, choosing the appropriate sacrifices.

Du Wei was one of them, and of course... he was a target that must be killed.

Ruth felt the near-whispering, fragmentary voices from the bottom of her heart, her gaze turning somewhat cold.

She thought that after the Evil Corpse killed that psychologist, the Vedas would be even more pleased with her.

"Praise the Vedas..."

Uttering this, she undid her clothes and walked into the bathroom.

Her skin was different from that of normal people, a grayish pallor, with some veins showing black and purple, like a dense mass of tattoos emerging in many places on her body.

Ruth looked at her body in the mirror, her expression unchanged. In fact, she could no longer make much of an expression, and she didn't even feel she had anything to do with people anymore.

"The body is just torment one endures in this world; only the liberation of the soul is true freedom."

Suddenly...

She said expressionlessly, "I sense the Evil Corpse nearby. It seems to have killed the psychologist and is on its way back."

The warm water from the showerhead rained down on her, relaxing her muscles.

Then she twisted her mouth into a ferocious smile.

...

On the other hand.

Du Wei had arrived at a couples' cafe that was still open for business.

Apart from him, there was also a young black couple sitting together, chatting about interesting topics and laughing from time to time.

The soft music was very comforting, making one involuntarily relax.

Du Wei ordered a cup of coffee and sat by the window. From his angle, he could see the entirety of a hotel right across the street.

As for the Evil Corpse, it had already silently walked inside.

So what he needed to do next was just wait and watch.

The Evil Corpse and the Black Shadow were going to give the people of the Veda Sect a thorough surprise.

...

Catherine had been somewhat insomniac recently.

She hadn't been with the Veda Sect for long, and although her mind was gradually becoming twisted, she wasn't yet acclimated to this way of life like the other cultists.

After recently coming to the North Brook District, she even had the urge to break away from the Veda Sect.

But she knew that such a thought could only be suppressed within her heart; she could no longer turn back.

To join the Veda Sect meant having people's blood on one's hands.

And she had already killed two innocent people.

He sighed silently in his heart.

Catherine glanced at her companion sleeping on the other bed, her expression somewhat unusual.

Since everyone who took the same car as Nerella last week had died, Bishop Ruth no longer allowed anyone to live alone.

Whether it was eating or going to the bathroom, they had to do it in pairs.

She looked around the room and was about to switch off the light to sleep.

But just then, suddenly, she saw an indistinct shadow at the window.

It looked as though something outside was blocking the light, but due to the drawn curtains, the shadow seemed somewhat distorted.

It looked like a person...

Catherine felt a bit strange and hurriedly woke her companion, "Hey, Harley, get up, something's not right."

Her companion, Harley, was a light sleeper and sat up drowsily upon hearing this, "What's the matter?"

Catherine pointed at the shadow by the window and said, "Look, there seems to be someone outside."

As soon as Harley heard there was someone outside the window, she was wide awake. She said in a low voice, "We're on the fifth floor, are you sure you saw it right?"

As she spoke, she looked towards the window.

The next second, Harley exclaimed, "By Veda... what is that thing outside?"

She hastily got out of bed and observed carefully.

The shadow was bulky, but one could vaguely see the outline of a person, only distorted by the refraction of light, looking as if it were bent in the middle.

Her gaze moved upward.

And she saw part of the shadow.

Which meant that there really was someone standing outside the window.

After the last incident, the people of the Veda Sect had been on high alert.

Fearing that their companions would all die at the hands of the Evil Spirit.

Harley glanced at her phone and, finding no signal, had to give up the idea of calling Bishop Ruth.

"Catherine, we need to find Bishop Ruth, only she can handle this kind of Evil Spirit incident."

"Evil Spirit?"

Catherine's voice trembled as she quickly shut her mouth and cautiously walked with Harley towards the door.

Their footsteps were very light.

But when they reached the door, they inevitably had to face the noise made by opening it.

In certain moments, that could be deadly.

Harley gestured to Catherine while slowly twisting the doorknob.
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Throughout this process, Catherine kept her eyes on the shadow at the window.

But what was strange to her was that the shadow never changed; it was as if its owner stood outside without any intention of coming in.

But just then, she looked down at her feet and her face turned instantly pale.

By that time, Harley had already turned the doorknob; all they needed to do was to pull open the door and rush out quickly to make it to Bishop Ruth's room on the sixth floor.

Then everything would be over.

She took a deep breath and then pulled hard on the door.

No sound of the door opening...

Harley's body went rigid because she was terrified to discover that the door wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she tried.

"Catherine... help me ram the door, quick..."

"Catherine? Catherine? Didn't you hear me?"

Harley was already scared out of her wits, and even though she was a cultist accustomed to murder, knowing the horror of the Evil Spirit didn't mean they weren't afraid.

The more they knew, the more they feared the terrible nature of the Evil Spirit.

She turned around angrily, but when she saw the scene before her, her expression froze instantly.

A man clad in a raincoat was emerging from the shadow at her feet, and the dagger he held in his hand had already slit Catherine's throat.

Thud...

The dull thump of a body falling to the floor, blood gushing out immediately.

Harley recognized the identity of the Evil Corpse, her face filled with disbelief.

"Why..."