Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

In the corridor illuminated red by the light.

Du Wei's steps grew more and more hurried, but his eyes were calmer than before.

Even without looking back, the oppressive feeling brought by the nun grew even stronger, and it was all-encompassing.

One could say, as long as it was within the range illuminated by the fire-like light, it was under the influence of the nun possessing Marilyn Manson.

And this nun, who jumped out from Marilyn Manson's dreams, was much more dangerous than the one in his own dreams, to the extent that it was clearly targeting him.

Du Wei knew that he was walking a tightrope, trying to dance on the edge of a knife. A single slip-up would mean certain death with no place to be buried.

But the more critical the situation became, the less he was swayed by emotions, maintaining an exceedingly rational state throughout.

It was just like when he was trapped inside the mirror before.

He was quietly waiting for an opportunity…

If handled well, he would possess the power to delay or even combat the curse.

...

Crack…

The lightbulb at the stairwell corner ahead suddenly exploded, scattering broken glass everywhere.

Following that, Du Wei's vision was affected.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The previously lit corner plunged into darkness instantly.

An unsettling surprise emerged from the shadows.

Under Spirit Vision, Du Wei saw the nun standing amid the darkness, eyes devoid of anything but white, a dead silence, filled with suffocating despair.

"It seems I've become its main target…"

Du Wei furrowed his brows. He wanted to turn around and leave, descend the stairs from another place, but after thinking it over, he abandoned the thought.

Escaping was no use after being targeted by the Evil Spirit, not to mention the nun who was far more terrifying.

So, he took out the lighter that could counter the Evil Spirit and took a step toward the nun…

He gently pressed it.

The lighter ignited in an instant, emitting a red flame…

The nun standing in the shadows stared straight at Du Wei as if sensing something, slowly receding further into darkness.

It was as if the power of the lighter had driven it back.

But seeing this, Du Wei's vigilance did not wane, but instead, it intensified greatly.

Father Tony had said that the previous owner of this lighter was a retired teacher. After death, it was collected by the church, suspected to be a medium for an Evil Spirit.

Such an object, like the broken mirror before, James's camera, and the rope of Harry, all had the ability to combat Evil Spirits.

But the nun was not a mere Evil Spirit; it was a higher existence. Even if this nun was not the initial source, it should not have been so obviously driven back by the lighter.

"Does it intend to make its move when I descend the stairs?"

With a cold gaze, Du Wei pulled out a bottle of Bone Powder from his backpack and descended the stairs without hesitation.

There was no turning back, either leave the building or die inside.

The nun would definitely not switch targets midway.

...

Meanwhile, a blazing fire erupted in the mental hospital.

The downpour not only failed to suppress the flames but made them burn even more intensely.

Beneath the bell tower.

Homier and Harry helped James sit on the ground not far from the door and carefully checked his injuries.

The clothes of the three were completely soaked, clinging tightly to their bodies and extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm fine, I'm not going to die… just yet."

James spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood, clutching his chest with a look of agony on his face.

Fortunately, when that corpse suddenly dropped and smashed down towards him, because the distance wasn't great, and Harry had pushed him, it didn't cause too much injury.

Having looked at him, Harry said with an ugly expression, "We need to leave here quickly. The fire is everywhere now. Things have gotten out of our control. This time, the Church must send more exorcists."

Upon hearing this, Homier let out a wry smile and said, "But the Church is focused on the Uninhabited City of Massas. Even with what has happened here, it can't be more terrifying than the Evil Spirit incidents there."

After saying that, she seemed hesitant and added, "Many exorcists have already died. If the Church sends more people over, it will make things more troublesome…"

Harry was silent. He knew Homier was right.

Massas City was five hundred kilometers from New York, located in the most desolate northwest part. It was once the most developed area for heavy industry with the richest reserves of minerals and steel.

However, after nearly a century of frenzied mining, the surrounding mountains of the entire city, even the underground, had been hollowed out.

And because the economy was focused on heavy industry, other industries such as the entertainment sector couldn't develop. When heavy industry could no longer sustain itself, the entire city's economic chain broke.

Without any industries to keep people there, and because the area was originally suitable for tourism but got destroyed due to the development of heavy industry, the situation deteriorated.

It was like a vicious cycle; Massas City was completely ruined.

More and more people moved away from the city, streets became deserted, houses empty, and with no water or electricity, but for a few homeless people, Massas had become a City of the Dead.

Yet, a few months ago, Massas had a series of extremely strange incidents. Everyone who entered the city disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again.

After the Church received the news, they sent some exorcists to investigate. However, the information they got was that there were signs of Cultist activities, and some horrible things had been awakened…

This was the most severe incident of the century. Even though there were few casualties thus far, it was alarmingly low, and everyone knew when it erupted, it would cause significant impact.

Therefore, after the Church communicated with the relevant parties, they completely cut off Massas's communications and roads and kept sending exorcists in waves in an attempt to nip the danger in the bud.

This was also why there were so few exorcists in New York.

Thinking of this, Harry sighed helplessly.

He looked at James and then at Homier, saying, "Although what you said is very true, I think we should first leave this place and then figure out a solution to the problem."

"Moreover, our other partner's life and death are still unknown. We can't let James get into more trouble."

He meant that James, who was injured now, should be taken to the hospital first; otherwise, staying in the psychiatric hospital, he might die at the hands of the Evil Spirit.

Yet, James shook his head and said, "Perhaps we have no way back." Read new chapters at empire

Upon hearing this, the expressions on Harry and Homier's faces turned very ugly.

They did not know that the dream had already been shattered and everyone, along with the nuns, had leaped back to reality.

After all, except for Du Wei, the instigator, without entering the Third Phase of Spirit Vision, they couldn't detect the abnormal changes.

Suddenly…

The firelight from the patient building afar caught the attention of the three of them.

Harry looked at the staircase entrance where flames had begun to rise and immediately his face turned pale.

"Did someone light a large amount of Bone Powder?"

Then, he saw a figure wrapped in clothes emerge directly from the fire, still with some flames on the body.

Luckily, the moment he emerged, he lay flat on the ground, allowing the puddles to extinguish the flames, and it seemed he was not hurt.

But immediately after that, a terror too ghastly to describe with words flooded out.

The flames at the staircase entrance seemed to be suppressed and were furiously extinguished.

The nun appeared at the entrance in an instant, her dead and pitch-black eyes looking over at Harry.