Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

What kind of person was Du Wei? The shadow should have had the most say, followed by the envelope. He never took action unless he was certain, and even the plans he had set in advance could be altered at any time. Calm and rational, he almost never made mistakes. But now, as the pattern of the pointer automatically appeared on the back of his hand and he saw the same pattern on the stele while in the Spirit Vision state, Du Wei surprisingly wasn't very cautious and wanted to go straight in to observe and study. This was very odd. "This stele has influenced me…" Du Wei stood at the entrance and immediately made an accurate judgment. Then, two thoughts flashed through his mind. First, was it necessary to make contact with the stele. Second, what kind of benefits could touching the stele bring to him? Du Wei felt that since the pattern of the pointer was influenced by the Antique Clock, and the Antique Clock was so mysterious, being unclear about what exactly it wanted to do even now, then the appearance of the same pattern on the stele was bound to be of some help to him. At the very least, it wouldn't be too great a loss. Of course, everything had to be based on his own safety. As a result, he turned to look at the scholars behind him and his father-in-law, thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the stele that resembled a coffin. As he walked closer, the feeling of being influenced grew stronger, and the eerie whispering in his ears seemed like demonically charming music, forcefully stuffing itself into his head. Du Wei, expressionless, stopped just as he was about to touch the stele and pulled out an envelope from his pocket. And he directly pulled out the paper inside to prevent the envelope from drifting aimlessly through the air and scaring others. The envelope itself didn't know that this would be its first time in battle. It licked earnestly from the depth of its heart. [The stars were brilliant last night, yet the envelope could not sleep, because your teachings were too profound and difficult to understand. The envelope could only pray to appear before you again and listen to your teachings.] [To think, I would meet you again so soon! Surely you have me in your heart!] Du Wei couldn't be bothered with it and he spoke softly, "Look at this stele, there is something on it just like the pattern on the back of my hand. Feel it for me." [??? Stele? What stele? Where is there a stele?] Du Wei narrowed his eyes: "Do you think playing dumb will work?" [No, Master, the envelope really didn't see any stele!] This time, it was Du Wei's turn to be stunned: "You can't see it?" By now, the envelope had become one of his most loyal subordinates, bound by the Indenture Contract; it couldn't betray him or conceal anything. As it repeatedly claimed it couldn't see the stele, it could almost be certain that it was not lying; rather, it indeed couldn't detect the stele. Right away, Du Wei spoke quietly, "Since you can't see it, then you can't see it. Anyway, I will help you feel it." [Master, please don't… I'm really scared!] However, Du Wei disregarded its pleading, grabbing the envelope and pressing it onto the pattern. But then he felt it wasn't quite safe, so he took out a pair of white gloves from his pocket, put them on, and then proceeded. Immediately after… A strange occurrence unfolded. As soon as Du Wei pressed the envelope onto the pattern, whoosh, the entire envelope burst into flames and turned to ashes. It didn't even have time to react, completely unaware of what had occurred. At the same time, an inexplicable chill filled Du Wei's heart. He quickly stepped back, drew his flintlock gun, and aimed it at the stele. In that instant, while in the Spirit Vision state, Du Wei thought he saw something vague and unclear flit before his very eyes. It wasn't human… But it wasn't an evil spirit or anything else either. Du Wei was extremely cautious in his heart, but what puzzled him was that the eerie episode had only existed for an instant before it disappeared and did not occur again. The scholars behind him showed surprise when Du Wei drew his flintlock gun. Someone asked, "Mr. Lawrence, what does your son-in-law do? Why does he carry a gun with him?" Someone else was speechless, "And why does he draw his gun so proficiently?" Lawrence's mouth twitched, "I'd like to know that myself." Among those present, apart from Du Wei, were mostly ordinary people; they did not have Spirit Vision and therefore couldn't see what had just happened. To them, Du Wei's actions seemed like a magic trick. He burned a piece of paper, then drew his gun, ready to shoot... It was all rather strange. At that moment, Du Wei looked hesitant. The envelope that had turned to ash in his pocket had come back to life. And the pointer pattern on the stele was still flashing. The seductive whispering voice continued without stopping. It was still summoning him. Should he try again? Suddenly, with effort, the envelope poked its head out from the pocket, unfolding itself, and the first line of text on it read—[Master... leave quickly, the envelope is locked... Rahmer...] The text only got that far before Rahmer's word was quickly replaced by the pointer pattern, which was then covered by more unintelligible symbols. A chill flashed in Du Wei's eyes as he turned and left. There was something wrong with that stele; it wasn't something he could deal with now. All the onlookers were puzzled by his actions. The scholars were clueless as to why Du Wei, who had entered so quickly, was leaving after just a few minutes. Lawrence looked thoughtfully at Du Wei. "Something's not right?" "Yes..." Du Wei gave Lawrence a meaningful look and then turned to the other scholars, "You must not have any substantial contact with this stele in the future, but if you decode any information related to Rahmer and Solomon, please be sure to tell me." The scholars seemed slightly skeptical. But Lawrence said gravely, "What my son-in-law means is what I mean. Whatever he wants to do, you must comply." The scholars then had no choice but to reply, "As you command, Mr. Lawrence." Du Wei, watching this scene, breathed a sigh of relief and then hurriedly stepped away. The envelope in his pocket now was like dead, not daring to let out the slightest breath. As if it had touched some unknown entity. ... After leaving the mountain gate, Du Wei deliberately avoided Lawrence, walking alone on the mountain road. "Come out..." His voice was cold. The next second, the envelope came out. A piece of paper floated in the air, with many complex and chaotic symbols rapidly emerging on it. They were almost identical to those on the stele. It looked as if the envelope had been tainted by some evil curse. Without hesitation, Du Wei said, "Envelope? Can you hear me?" Instantly, those symbols vanished, to be replaced by normal text. [Master, the envelope can hear you, but it seems the envelope isn't clean anymore. Any information related to that entity turns into different symbols. This is too terrifying]