Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

In the room.

Time seemed to have ceased momentarily.

After Du Wei put on the mask without features, he appeared to have become a completely different person.

Chillingly eerie.

If the previous mask could grant him an identity of an Evil Spirit,

then this new mask was like putting on a new shell, one belonging to the Masked Evil Spirit.

It must be noted that within the new mask resided an Evil Spirit created by Du Wei's own hands.

At this moment,

although Du Wei was wearing the featureless mask, he could still "see" the shadowy presence.

The shadow, standing behind the sofa, halted abruptly as its vague hands nearly touched the mask.

No malice remained.

The shadow's pause was not because Du Wei, with the mask on, was powerful enough to contend with it; instead, it was more akin to confused loss, having no target to pursue.

And now, Du Wei was experiencing something profoundly familiar.

After putting on the new mask, the Evil Spirit within seemed to have possessed him.

It was remarkably similar to the initial emergence of Evil Spirit Du Wei because he was observing from the perspective of a third party.

The difference was that Du Wei could fully control his body without the Masked Evil Spirit taking over.

"It seems I've become Masked Du Wei... but there's something slightly different,"

"It's more like the original me is hidden inside a brand-new Masked Evil Spirit, and if I remove the mask, the hidden me will reemerge."

"It's somewhat similar to another mask's Evil Spirit identity, but even more thorough because the current me is clearly not the target of the shadow. It won't strike at me unless I deliberately look at the picture."

"But it still needs to be verified."

After pondering for a while in his mind, Du Wei waved his hand in front of the shadow.

The shadow did not react.

It appeared to be unable to find Du Wei, aimlessly casting glances around.

It began to appear and disappear incessantly within the room's shadows.

Each time it appeared, it looked at the current "Du Wei" in confusion before vanishing again.

The hands of the Antique Clock on the wall also seemed to sense something, slowing down their movement, and an extremely oppressive aura of terror began to pervade the room.

The light dimmed by a degree.

Though the sun was high and the heat intense outside the psychotherapy clinic, inside, it was pitch black and gloomy as if it were hell on earth.

This was the first time the Antique Clock had spontaneously undergone such an abnormal change.

It was as if, like the shadow, it completely lost Du Wei as its target.

Then,

an extremely horrifying sensation emerged within Du Wei's heart.

Instinct told him that if he didn't remove the mask soon, the Antique Clock would assail him, and when that happened, something incredibly dire would occur.

After some thought, Du Wei slid the two Joker Cards into his pocket, grabbed the Black Umbrella with his left hand, and walked beneath the Antique Clock.

In the Spirit Vision perspective, he didn't need to enter a state of Spirit Vision at all.

Moreover, this manner of "seeing" was even simpler and more direct than Spirit Vision, leaving no anomalies hidden.

The shadow continued to appear and disappear within the room, playing a game of hide and seek with Du Wei, unable to find his presence, oblivious to Du Wei standing right under the Antique Clock with the mask on.

Looking up, Du Wei calmly observed the Antique Clock.

Through his view, the clock exuded an indescribable evil and strangeness, grey mists emerging along with the movement of the hands, slowly diffusing.

Annabelle, in the cabinet beside, seemed agitated, ramming repeatedly against the cabinet door, making thudding sounds.

Yet, she couldn't break free.

Suddenly...

Du Wei's heart was shrouded in a layer of shadow, the evil extent of the Antique Clock was beyond his comprehension.

Everything remained peaceful when he didn't wear the mask, although he was certainly its target, it never took action.

But once he put on the mask, wrapping himself in a shell of the Evil Spirit, the situation spiraled out of control immediately, with a strange transformation occurring on the spot.

What was most terrifying was that until now, it was the Antique Clock causing trouble, yet the Evil Spirit had not appeared.

Unless it itself was the Evil Spirit, but if that were the case, another serious problem arose.

The clock and the mask each imprisoned a ring and the Golden Brooch.

Both masks harbored the presence of an Evil Spirit, yet they were masks of indeterminate material.

If the clock itself was the Evil Spirit, then it seemed to be extremely special.

Unless the mask, as an object, was created in imitation of it.

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Du Wei, feeling the increasing intensity of the suffocating sensation and the aura of terror until he was almost unable to breathe, looked at the clock with a complicated expression and silently took off the mask.

Click...

The hands of the clock hesitated for a moment.

His field of vision distorted for an instant.

The gray fog and the pitch-black scene disappeared in an instant.

The room returned to its former state.

In the shadowy corner of the room, the black shadow that was about to vanish turned its head abruptly, appearing directly behind Du Wei.

The balance within the house had been broken without notice.

Du Wei didn't pay attention to the black shadow behind him; instead, he stared at the Antique Clock and put on the mask again.

But this time, the strange transformation that had just occurred did not happen.

The black shadow didn't lose its target either, just standing behind Du Wei, ready to strike at any moment.

"It seems that even wearing the shell of the Masked Evil Spirit only works the first time, the second time the Evil Spirit won't be deceived," he said.

"But if I'm facing other evil spirits, as long as I keep the mask on, I can continue to deceive them, making them lose sight of Du Wei as their target."

As he spoke, Du Wei turned his head and looked at the black shadow.

Man and Evil Spirit were almost face to face.

In the interlocking gaze, the bloodshot eyes of the black shadow refused to move away, and even though it did not attack again, the lingering faint malice wrapped around the mask.

It had gained another target.

Du Wei said calmly, "Shall we gamble?"

He didn't take out the Joker Card; it was just a verbal suggestion.

But the black shadow trembled uncontrollably, as if torn by indecision.

In the end, it looked at the white mask void of facial features, turned, and disappeared into the shadows.

The house became very quiet.

Watching the spot where the black shadow vanished, Du Wei spoke with an inexplicable tone, "Is it my imagination? The black shadow seems smarter than before, or did it witness the gambling game with Annabelle and decide not to be fooled?"

"Are Evil Spirits afraid of losing too?"

Du Wei shook his head in wonder, although he had no plans to gamble with the black shadow, he had already tested the mask's new ability.

Wearing the mask, one could don the shell of an Evil Spirit...

Until the mask is removed, the Evil Spirit will lose sight of you as its target, but if you remove and wear the mask again in front of the Evil Spirit, this ability to hide your identity will no longer work.

One can deceive an Evil Spirit once, but not a second time.

However, sometimes Du Wei only needed to deceive it once...