Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

What are the Vedas?

They are the deities worshipped by the cultists.

Then do they respond to the believers?

The answer is no.

But the Evil Spirit Du Wei was different.

In this sacrificial ritual,

The Evil Spirit Du Wei walked into the midst of the cultists.

It stood in the center of the hexagram Array, indifferently surveying everything.

As if it didn't care at all.

All the cultists were unable to perceive its presence, and so was Akaret.

For the Evil Spirit Du Wei,

It disliked the cult, which is why it had previously turned all members of the Veda Sect into Evil Spirits, becoming one of the sources of its power.

And now, it was preparing to do something similar to before, yet also different.

To replace the so-called Vedas.

To twist their concept and transfer it to itself.

In simpler terms, it was Armored Divinity Ascension.

This had been an idea in the Evil Spirit Du Wei's mind ever since it learned that the Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods were born out of primitive worship.

Sending the shadow to kill the cultists, to disrupt the ceremony that would awaken the Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods, was just a prelude.

A prelude to let them feel that their deity was displeased.

So,

At this moment,

The lighting at the entire sacrificial scene suddenly dimmed.

Great swathes of shadow began to spread from the feet of the Evil Spirit Du Wei, flooding over the cultists like a tide.

Akaret was the first to bear the brunt.

As the leader of the Veda Sect,

He immediately felt an inescapable chill penetrating his skin, reaching his entrails and instinctively shivered.

In the Veda Sect, Akaret's name meant prophet.

But now, Akaret sensed only confusion about the future.

He saw nothing but darkness.

In that darkness, it seemed there was a massive black throne, and a man dressed in black sat leisurely atop, with one hand propping his chin, his indifferent gaze looking down from on high, overseeing him.

The man's visage was obscured by darkness, utterly indistinct.

Yet even so, it instilled an overwhelming terror in Akaret, an urge to worship.

"What's happening?"

Doubts flooded Akaret's mind; he suddenly felt something was wrong with the sacrificial ritual.

To be precise, it had strayed from his expectations right from the beginning.

The other cultists also became panicked.

"I saw a pair of eyes."

"I seem to have heard a voice."

"Didn't someone just say they encountered a Demon Spirit? Inside the red balloon on the Demon Spirit, there was an eye, right?"

"This is too horrifying, oh Vedas... please grant your devout followers some revelation..."

Upon hearing these words,

Akaret's expression subtly changed, and he quickly spoke with a solemn tone, "The Vedas have given me a revelation, our deity watches us from the darkness, sitting on a throne, observing our every move."

"Therefore, we should continue with this sacrificial ritual, awaken the Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods, and please it."

After these words were spoken,

The rest of the cultists ceased their panic, having already been brainwashed.

Each of them had grown accustomed to blind obedience.

If Akaret said so, then it must be true.

Thus,

The sacrificial ritual continued.

Accompanied by the gathering of fresh blood, corpses were placed within the grand hexagram.

The solemn and dignified chanting began to rise.

Akaret was thrilled at heart.

The reason he wanted to awaken the Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods was actually to study the power of those beings. If he could understand it, he might be able to extract a part of it.

It was a mad and bold notion.

If successful, perhaps he could transform into some sinister entity as well.

Indeed...

Unlike all other cults, the Veda Sect was very keen on research.

Studying the creation of Evil Spirits, studying the creation of Demon Spirits.

And in what appeared to be the Victorian Era, they wanted to research Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods.

However, this was simply impossible.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei watched the progress of the ritual with great interest.

Gradually.

It truly felt as though a terrifying will had slightly fluctuated.

It was as if something at the darkest and most fearsome bottom of the deep sea was beginning to rise.

"Is this Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods?"

The Evil Spirit Du Wei said to himself.

It habitually compared the strength gap between itself and the other.

It was far too weak, entirely incomparable.

After all, what it now faced was not the Demon Nun, nor the Golden Scales, the Antique Clock that was related to Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods.

It was directly facing the Demon God.

However, the sources of things like the Antique Clock were supposed to be more terrifying than the Demon God Du Wei was currently encountering.

Because the former was undetectable, with no qualification to interact with it.

The latter could truly feel its presence.

The Evil Spirit Du Wei pondered for a moment and looked down at his right hand.

The pattern of the Golden Scales became clearer and clearer on the back of his hand.

This thing had not yet been completely assimilated by it.

But it was almost there.

"The time isn't right yet."

A cryptic meaning flashed in the eyes of the Evil Spirit Du Wei.

It was almost unable to suppress the killing intent arising from deep within it, aimed solely at Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods.

But its cold-bloodedness and reason allowed it to maintain patience.

Waiting for that day to come.

And that day wouldn't be far away...

Suddenly.

At this moment, Akaret felt that inexplicable sense of fear arising inside him once more.

The image of the man sitting on the throne in the depths of his heart became clearer.

Instinctively, he felt that something was amiss.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what had happened.

"Could it be that the Vedas are dissatisfied? Do they not wish to awaken Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods?"

The Vedas would surely not be discontented.

But the Evil Spirit Du Wei would be.

Having obtained the information it wanted, it naturally wouldn't allow Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods to be truly awakened.

"In the future, I am your God."

"So, when I come to this era, you should know that this will be my era."

"You will hear only one voice."

"And that will be my voice."

The Evil Spirit Du Wei lifted its head and looked coldly at all the surrounding cultists.

The ominous aura emanating from it was no longer suppressed.

All the cultists were affected.

Their consciousness began to warp at an imperceptible speed.

This was the Evil Spirit Du Wei intentionally slowing down the process.

Otherwise, it could have turned everyone into puppets in an instant.

And then.

Akaret actually heard the voice of the Evil Spirit Du Wei.

"Kneel down..."

The voice was traceless, and the presence that emerged at the bottom of his heart became even clearer.

Yet, he couldn't ever make out the face of the Evil Spirit Du Wei.

Unlike Akaret, the other cultists had long formed the contours of a pair of eyes in the depths of their hearts, as if a God was watching them coldly.

Thump...

All the cultists kneeled in unison.

Akaret, however, was pale and trembling, his legs bent, still stubbornly resisting the consciousness in his mind.

"This is not the Vedas..."

"This is not our God..."