Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Either push the door open and walk into Hell's Gate,

or tear the door down.

This was something Du Wei couldn't do.

Yet, the reason why the Evil Spirit Du Wei dared to say so

was because it didn't think that Hell's Gate posed much of a threat, and it truly could dismantle the door into parts.

The danger lies in what comes after pushing the door open.

Not right now.

But Hell's Gate didn't give any indication whatsoever.

It was still resisting fiercely.

Evil Spirit Du Wei took a deep breath and withdrew his right hand that had been pressing on the door.

Its pupils contracted.

The whole door to Hell's Gate began to levitate, as if a pair of invisible hands firmly grasped it.

Creak…

Creak…

Hell's Gate emitted a sound of being unable to bear the load, and cracks appeared on its surface, with many pieces of wood breaking off and scattering.

The tightly closed door was forcibly pried open to reveal a gap.

Seeing this, the Evil Spirit Du Wei reached out to grab it.

Eeek…

The gap grew wider and wider.

A lot of black mist seeped through the gap, so dense, it seemed less like mist and more like water flowing to the ground, spreading toward the Evil Spirit Du Wei.

However, it ignored the mist altogether and instead took a step forward.

The mist that had been spreading suddenly got suppressed and flowed backward.

Evil Spirit Du Wei clasped his hands backwards and plunged them into the gap of the door.

Then it said with utter indifference, "You should feel fortunate because I still need to go in right now, to get the answers I want, but if I said I'd tear you apart, I will certainly do it."

Having said that,

the Evil Spirit Du Wei pulled hard.

With a loud bang,

the entire Hell's Gate was indeed torn down to nothing but its frame.

Clang…

Evil Spirit Du Wei casually threw the dismantled door onto the ground.

In front of the door frame, nothing but pitch darkness lay.

The mist resembling flowing water remained still.

But it knew that it was actually because the mist was churning wildly, too fast for it to seem motionless to an observer.

However,

this wasn't worth its concern.

Dusting off its hands,

the mask's pattern faded, and the pattern of pointers resurfaced.

"How interesting, it actually fears me, the Evil Spirit, more."

This time, it was Du Wei who spoke.

He felt somewhat puzzled.

Right now, he had three identities, setting aside the Duke for the moment, but put together, Du Wei and Evil Spirit Du Wei had each caught the attention of two of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods.

Valak and Rahmer's Bell were known to be the most terrifying so far.

On Evil Spirit Du Wei, only the Golden Scales were somewhat apparent, but the unknown existence that had its sights on it had yet to reveal even the slightest clue.

Du Wei and Evil Spirit Du Wei had already merged.

Although they used different identities, if one traced the source of these issues, they would all end up on him.

Quite a headache.

Du Wei turned his head to look behind him.

It was completely empty.

But somehow, Du Wei had the illusion that the problems afflicting him were far more serious than he had anticipated.

"Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods of Solomon..."

"You all really disgust me."

Du Wei turned around and walked into the door without any hesitation.

The mask, Joker Card, Envelope, and such, all revolved around him, following closely.

The black mists that resembled water currents, however, showed no disturbance.

Sinking into it…

Only, after quite some time,

the remaining door frame suddenly shattered…

...

In the darkness.

It was like walking in water,

sticky to the touch.

Utterly turbid.

Time trickled by slowly.

Du Wei could no longer remember how long he had been walking, it felt like a century had passed, yet it seemed just a moment.

All he could see was darkness.

The path ahead appeared to be endless.

The way behind had also vanished.

Du Wei could only rely on his senses, continuing forward in one direction non-stop.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In New York City.

Inside Du Wei's house, the entire hall had plunged into darkness.

Light could not penetrate in.

The antique clock hung alone on the wall; its overlapping hands mechanically moved, emitting a clicking sound.

Suddenly...

As if stimulated by something.

The overlapped hands separated.

The hour hand, the minute hand, and the second hand each pointed to a different time.

6:26:31...

The scene seemed as if it had frozen.

The entire living room appeared to have cleaved from the outside world.

This place was like hell.

Those furnishings, documents, all began to levitate, clinging tightly to the ceiling.

And among the decorations within the home, a crucifix had inverted itself.

Following that.

A pale arm stretched out from the antique clock, on the back of the hand was a marking identical to Du Wei's.

Except.

This marking was an exact match to the clock's hands.

The same time.

Then, that hand pressed on the face of the clock.

The markings began to invert.

The hands of the antique clock also incessantly reversed.

Round and round they turned.

The suspended furniture and documents affixed to the ceiling started to spin wildly.

Click, click, click...

No one knew how much time had passed.

Suddenly, the hand stopped, and slowly it vanished from sight.

The hands of the antique clock pointed as before.

But in fact, this was the outcome after an unknown number of counterclockwise rotations.

All returned to calm.

Crash...

The furniture heavily smashed onto the floor, shattering into pieces.

The documents scattered across the ground.

...

"Huff..."

Du Wei exhaled a murky breath.

After entering through the door surrounded by mist, he had walked for quite some time.

And now, finally, some changes appeared ahead.

A faint light was revealing itself.

This slightly relieved Du Wei.

Being in a dark environment for a long time takes its toll on a person.

Although he was already used to it.

He disliked the unknown.

Heading towards the light.

Du Wei's view then opened up before him.

As he passed through the bright light.

All at once.

His expression turned extremely vivid.

With another turn of his head, the mist behind him had already disappeared without a trace, replaced by a narrow alley paved with cobblestones.

"Is this the world beyond Hell's Gate?"

Du Wei's tone was incredibly surprised.

Turning his head again, he saw carriages passing by, the cobblestone pavement damp as if it had just rained.

The surrounding buildings bore no resemblance to modern styles, clearly exhibiting a distinct gothic style.

The sky, however, was dim, exuding a different kind of oppressive feeling.

"What's going on?"

Du Wei was at a loss.

At this moment, a cacophony of footsteps grew rapidly closer.

Du Wei narrowed his eyes and with a flick of his hand,

items such as masks retreated into his overcoat.

Soon after, about a dozen men dressed in tailcoats wearing top hats hastened over.

Their attire exuded the ambiance of a bygone era.

And they were hunters...

Instantly.

An ominous thought flashed through Du Wei's mind.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, caressing the flintlock gun, watching the other party warily, silent.

Keeping calm.

But what the dozen or so hunters said next stunned him.

The men respectfully said, "His Excellency the Duke, please forgive us for our late arrival."