Exiting the store, Situ He let out a long sigh of relief.
He looked at the fog up ahead of him and turned on the flashlight in his hand.
The light of the flashlight hit the fog, illuminating a clear path.
He knew that as long as he kept going along this pathway, he could leave this place and return to reality.
Hence, he strode forward.
Slowly vanishing into the mist...
...
Han Li walked out of the fog and immediately turned off the flashlight.
Because she wasn't sure at all how long the battery of this flashlight would last. How long would its bulb remain functional? Could its parts be replaced?
Therefore, she realized that she must cherish it to the greatest extent.
However, as soon as her toes stepped out of the fog, the ravings in her ears returned.
But she was no longer afraid.
Because she already knew how to alleviate the torment inflicted by these ravings.
Han Li looked down at the book she was holding tightly in her hands.
The book was thin, yet it seemed very heavy.
The text on its cover had gotten distorted.
Han Li flipped open the pages of the book and studied the dreadful knowledge written within it.
Soon she'd learned a method, or perhaps it was called a technique, to exercise her mind. It was called Mind-Condensing.
This was a method for exercising the mind, designed by an ancient and terrifying existence for his kin.
The purpose was to enable his mentally weak kin to serve him and his descendants.
And Mind-Condensing was the most basic of his techniques.
It was a way to improve one's Mind Energy and resistance by condensing one's own soul.
It was very suitable for Han Li in her current situation.
Because she had consumed a handful of evil spirits.
Her Soul Energy was sufficient.
Therefore, Han Li found a fairly clean house in a dilapidated street nearby.
She sat down.
She placed the book in front of her.
From the pages of the book, a hazy image emerged.
It was extremely cold, and a blizzard howled as it swept across the world.
A group of people were crawling on the ground.
In the sky, an enormous snowball emerged. It was indescribable and dangerous.
All the clouds turned the color of sulphur.
People began to offer sacrifices because of their enormous fear. They pledged their loyalty to this great immortal being.
He was very satisfied.
Hence, he made them his kith and kin.
He was the Deathwalker.
A terrifying existence who served the even greater, semi-eternal Kaiser in Yellow.
Looking at this hazy image, Han Li learned the authentic use of the Mind-Condensing technique as recorded in this book.
She finally understood.
She realized that this book of hers would never yield any effects if given to anyone else in the world.
At the very instant that those besides her who came into contact with this book saw the appalling texts written within it, they would immediately be driven into insanity by all the crazed wills and twisted thoughts contained in the texts.
She was the only one who could read this book without going mad.
She had gained the permission of the master in the mist. Now she could never be harmed by those crazed wills and twisted thoughts.
She could successfully use this secret technique of Mind-Condensing without sustaining any form of injury.
Except for her, even those humans who were recognized as kith and kin by the Deathwalker would eventually go down the inevitable path of madness.
Because these crazed wills and twisted thoughts were not suitable for humans at all.
After taking a deep breath, Han Li began to slowly temper her mind little by little according to the methods recorded in this book.
The souls of the evil spirits that she had devoured were dragged out by her imperceptibly and condensed into her own soul to be genuinely and completely digested.
It wasn't just that she was simply putting them into her soul.
As she condensed her mind, Han Li's body gradually plumped up.
She no longer looked like a young girl of 17 or 18 years of age.
She had now picked up the maturity of a lady around 24 or 25 years old.
This was because as her soul grew stronger, the traits belonging to the succubus would also affect her body.
At last, as the sun rose, Han Li had completed her first time Condensing.
Her soul was at least one-third stronger than before.
The ravings in her ears now had much less of an effect.
"If this goes on…," Han Li said to herself, "...it may not be long before I can free myself from the torture of these ravings altogether!"
"Perhaps very soon, I can attempt to hunt down a lichen and make the Elixir of Ascension."
However…
For some unknown reason, Han Li felt extremely restless.
In a sort of trance, she felt that something terrible and horrifying seemed to have noticed her through the barriers of countless worlds.
It didn't seem like it was the Deathwalker that she had seen in images.
Its vibe and scent were completely different.
The Deathwalker she'd seen in images was evil, terrifying, and powerful.
The feeling that she'd gotten from the Deathwalker was like a cloud in the sky and a breeze in the universe. It had no specific shape or fixed size.
His nature was moody and changeable.
Now, however, the one who had noticed her dreadfulness across the barriers of countless worlds was like an evil that had existed since the beginning of time.
A crazed and terrifying Diablo...
He'd come from the depths of the ocean; he existed in the realm of dreams. He was a born destroyer!
Imperceptibly but inexorably, Han Li had an overwhelming feeling.
If she were to continue to use the knowledge within the Spiritual Sacrifice of the Deathwalker to strengthen herself, sooner or later, that crazed Diablo would come to her after descending into this world.
He would try to completely annihilate her, along with the entire world!
After taking a deep breath, Han Li looked at the book.
She knew that she had to make a choice.
Should she continue or give up?
If she were to continue, one day, that crazy Diablo would surely locate her just as she arrived at a certain critical juncture.
Then, in the twinkling of an eye, he could descend into this universe, bringing madness and destruction to all the living in the world.
If she gave up…
Han Li suddenly raised her head. Her expression became resolute.
"How can I possibly give up?" she asked herself.
"And how could I be bold enough to give up?"
Giving up didn't only mean suicide, because she would be tortured to death by the ravings in her ears and even twisted into a terrifying, unknown monster.
More important, she would also disappoint the master in the mist.
Betraying one's promise and not walking on the proper path...
Among humans, such behavior was the definition of a despicable person that everyone would dislike.
In the eyes of the bookstore owner in the mist, what kind of image would she and the whole world assume?
Han Li knew the answer to that question.
She would certainly be labeled as useless, cowardly, and garbage.
Han Li was very clear about mankind's attitude toward useless waste. Useless tools would be recycled and re-molded, and, as for discarded materials, they would be either thrown into the trash or thrown into a furnace.
Thinking of this, Han Li vanquished her fears.
She knelt down and picked up the Spiritual Sacrifice of the Deathwalker from where she had placed it on the ground.
Then she strode toward the door.
That Diablo, that crazed Diablo, if he desired to come to her, so be it.
Han Li refused to believe that her master in the mist would just let her be destroyed by the Diablo.