Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

"Master, the Envelope got it wrong! The Envelope never expected that in your heart, its status would actually be higher than that of the Shadow."

"Rest assured, your orders will be carried out with all of the Envelope's might."

"Even in death, the Envelope will bring all the Duke's information to you."

"As for the Shadow, please don't be so kind to it, it's an idiot, completely brainless. Even if you grant it wisdom, its brain would not be as sharp as the Envelope's."

"Master, the Envelope will now go into hiding! Wait for the good news from the Envelope!"

...

As Du Wei's most loyal lackey, the Envelope quietly left.

It would hide in the shadows, collecting all information related to His Excellency the Duke and feeding it back to Du Wei.

And Du Wei, with that information,

Would use it to fill out his identity as the Duke.

By then, to deceive Matthew and set a trap for him should be no problem.

Yes...

Du Wei could leave.

After the Envelope had completely disappeared.

Du Wei pulled out the oil painting from the inner layer of his clothes.

Namely—another door.

On the painting, the pattern of Hell's Gate was clearly visible.

Whenever he wished, he could push that door open and leave.

Of course, doing so would mean appearing within the reflection of the city, and then, based on his luck, he was one hundred percent certain that a bus and the Horror House would be waiting outside.

"Is it my bad luck, or have I simply made too many enemies? I always feel the world holds malice against me."

Du Wei asked himself this question.

Honestly, he always felt his luck wasn't too bad.

But ever since he had contact with the Evil Spirit, he seemed to encounter enemies wherever he went.

Even after entering Hell's Gate and arriving inexplicably at a place that seemed to belong to the Victorian era, full of oddities, there was the Veda Sect, which bore a grudge against him.

Though he didn't have any grudges now.

He would in the future…

"And also, there's definitely something wrong with this world. I entered Hell's Gate, but ended up in this damned place, and I can still leave."

"Plus, His Excellency the Duke, why does this person look exactly like me?"

"I find it a bit incomprehensible…"

Du Wei was feeling quite troubled now, his thoughts in disarray.

What he saw, encountered, and knew after entering Hell's Gate was like a tangled mess that he simply couldn't sort out.

Even, Du Wei had an illusion.

Perhaps he really was His Excellency the Duke.

But how could that be…

At this moment.

There came a knock at the door from outside the room.

"Your Excellency the Duke, may I come in now?"

"Please come in."

With the creaking of the door as it opened,

Corrine Dowqui pushed the door and walked in, holding a stack of documents in her hand.

As soon as she entered, she bowed her head in respect towards Du Wei, "Your Excellency the Duke, I have brought you the information you wanted but regarding the records of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods, the Church doesn't have detailed accounts because those entities are conceptual and can easily cause trouble."

"Of course, your understanding of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods must be far more extensive than that of the church; perhaps I shouldn't even be saying such things to you."

Upon hearing this, Du Wei shook his head slightly, "The more we face unknown entities, the more we must maintain a heart of reverence. If you ever think that understanding is a trump card that justifies your pride, then you have already failed."

His words subtly guided the other party.

Corrine Dowqui looked at Du Wei with increasing reverence, "Your thoughts are thought-provoking. It would be wonderful to follow by your side and learn from your teachings."

This was the truth.

However, Du Wei became even more vigilant in his heart.

These hunters were not weak, though they had not reached the level of Matthew in later days or the members of the Vanity Sect, they were still stronger than the hunters from the Dusk Bell Church.

Such a person held His Excellency the Duke in such high regard.

Clearly, the person who looked exactly like him was truly extraordinary.

Now that everyone thought he was that man, where exactly was the man from this era?

He could not stay too long.

With a lighter tone, Du Wei said to Corrine Dowqui, "There will be an opportunity in the future."

After saying that, he added, "By the way, I had an Evil Spirit Envelope out gathering information—if you encounter it, make sure not to attack it."

Corrine Dowqui nodded, "Understood, Your Excellency."

Then, he handed over a stack of documents to Du Wei.

"These are the pieces of information you wanted. I'll head down now. If you have any other requirements, please feel free to let me know."

Du Wei hummed in response, "Alright."

Thereafter, Corrine Dowqui withdrew, closing the door behind him.

And Du Wei then began to carefully go through the stack of documents.

What caught his eye was the title—[The Secret Key to Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods].

He turned to the first page.

[They do not exist.]

[But they are right beside us.]

[Past, future, present, when they appear, no one has ever been able to escape their influence. We can only continuously resist, resist, and resist until the end of our lives.]

[People like you and me are mere expendables. We are not heroes, nor saints. We are but walking corpses beneath the sun, our hearts penetrated by bone-chilling cold.]

This was a preface, yet it also sounded like a lament.

Du Wei continued to read without expression.

[The appearance of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods can no longer be traced, but their presence brought about the existence of Evil Spirits in the world.]

[Luckily, there weren't many Evil Spirits at first, nor were there many living people, so we had the chance to catch our breath, until hunters emerged, signaling the symbolic beginning of our resistance.]

...

The middle section was also filled with a lengthy introduction.

All this information was something Du Wei had already come to understand.

The text further down read.

[The horror of Solomon's Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods is beyond our imagination, but those symbolic acts of resistance by our predecessors have left us with a lot of useful information.]

[The Demon Gods are conceptual, yet they too have disagreements, and may even combat one another. However, this is not good news because, after prolonged exposure, we have discovered a hierarchy among the Seventy-Two Pillars Demon Gods.]

[According to the hierarchy, they are ranked as Emperor, Grand Duke, Minister, General, King, Duke, Marquis, Earl, President, Noble Son, demons, familiar spirits.]

[Yet there should not be a hierarchy, as it serves as proof of their existence.]

[The further forward in the hierarchy the Demon God is, the more terrifying they are, but thankfully, those most fearsome have not truly taken shape. We still have an opportunity to catch our breath.]

[Therefore, what we can encounter includes only those Demon Gods ranked from King and below.]

[As you read this, you might feel fear or despair, but remember, we are not without the ability to resist, because the masked man has slain many a named Demon God.]