One-Eyed Monster

Igor felt he was being too courteous to the guys residing within him.

Inviting them without response, only to force them out, these guys really were too full of themselves. Igor felt that he must teach these guys a lesson today; it was clear they were too arrogant, always thinking they could control him, not realizing that Igor was not a pushover! He needed to stand strong, showing those guys that he wasn’t someone to be easily manipulated.

Whatever it took, he needed to show those guys some color.

The last time he had actively sought them out in the Inner World, but this time he wanted those guys to take him into the Inner World; he would not enter it proactively again.

They weren’t coming out when invited, so might as well force them out.

According to Igor’s understanding, these guys should all be spirits, and these awakened spirits had a fatal weakness, which was that they couldn’t leave a person’s breath.

When a person without breath approached the Eternal Tranquility Realm, these spirits would fall asleep and wait for another person to wake them up.

But what if a person intentionally hid their breath?

This method was somewhat risky, but to clarify the abnormalities on himself, he had to take the risk. Even if hiding his breath caused him to enter the Eternal Tranquility Realm, he wouldn’t regret it.

Because this was his own decision; rather than living in confusion, he’d rather clearly head to another place.

Hiding one’s breath sounded mysterious, but in reality, it was just holding one’s breath.

Normally, people can only hold their breath for a short moment, about one to two hundred Gudu Times, but Igor had once bet with Teacher Hadi that he could hold his breath for about a quarter of an hour. Of course, a quarter of an hour might be an exaggeration, but Igor did have a much longer breath-hold time than most people.

This resulted from his mischievous childhood; back then, he practiced holding his breath to catch fish underwater, which over time enabled him to hold it for a long time. That time on Guru Mountain, he demonstrated his extraordinary breath-holding ability in the cold water, but compared to Kadi, who moved effortlessly in the water, his breath-holding was nothing.

Igor held his breath to force those guys out and have a face-to-face talk; he wasn’t necessarily seeking a result, but felt it was inappropriate for them to use him without his knowledge.

He wanted to make those guys understand that if they wanted to influence him, they must be honest, and not treat him as a tool. He wouldn’t be like the Soul Devourers who sold their own spirit for power. Despite the help those guys had given him, it was a different matter. If one day they had a bad mood and made him do wrong deeds, would he have to obey? Obviously not; he would never do something against his conscience.

Igor knew he couldn’t lure those guys out by merely holding his breath as usual; the Scale of Faith from that old granny had been in his body since he was very young, and she knew him quite well. He had to break his routine to truly surprise those guys and make them communicate with him proactively.

It sounded mysterious, but Igor had to try it; after all, he wanted mutual trust and equal treatment, rather than being kept in the dark and following their directions blindly.

Igor held his breath, determined to break his own breath-holding record.

Dozens of Gudu Times passed with no response.

Another few dozen Gudu Times passed, and Igor’s face began to redden.

Unknowingly, nearly a quarter of an hour passed, yet there was still no reaction from those guys on Igor.

This was a test of endurance! Igor was wrestling with those guys.

Let’s see who could outlast whom.

Unknowingly, Igor had already held his breath for a quarter of an hour, surpassing his previous records, yet he still hadn’t noticed any reaction from those guys on him.

It wasn’t enough; he had to hold longer to make those guys feel a sense of crisis.

So Igor continued holding his breath, and at that moment, his face was turning gradually purple…

”Hey, what is this all about!”

Finally, perseverance paid off; a familiar voice emerged again.

It wasn’t the voice of the old granny from the Scale of Faith, but the voice of the Spirit Book.

”Why are you tormenting yourself like this?” the old granny’s voice came again. This time, Igor’s efforts were not in vain; everyone who should’ve appeared did appear.

Igor let out a sigh of relief, having reached his limit with the long breath-hold, and his breathing was rapid once he relaxed.

”Why are you doing this, is it necessary, really!” The Spirit Book sounded anxious.

”He is determined to have a showdown with us!” the old granny’s voice was still kind.

”Aren’t you supposed to be with that Spirit Book!” Igor said while panting, referring to the Spirit Book’s voice. This was the moment he had been waiting for, a moment he considered quite remarkable.

”Well, it is what it is, and I am myself. Although my appearance has something to do with it, I’m a bit more reliable than it, you know!”

Igor remained noncommittal towards the Spirit Book’s words.

”I called you out, not expecting you to tell me everything. I think even if I wanted that, you couldn’t do it.”

”Then why do this to yourself, is self-harm any fun?”

”I just hope we can be honest!” At that moment, Igor was finally back to himself, and this was all he wanted.

”What do you mean?” The Spirit Book sounded a bit anxious.

”I understand his intention, we should trust each other, and there are certain things we should tell him,” the old granny said, always kindly.

”Such communication is much simpler. I know you must have difficulties, but since you chose to work on me, you need to tell me something. I can’t be left in the dark and manipulated by you, and in any case, I’m not that easy to manipulate either!” Igor declared decisively and with authority.

”Yes, you’re absolutely right.” The old granny continued in a kindly voice, ”Often we underestimated you; at the time, we wondered how someone like you could wake us. Though it was unsettling, over time we realized that being awakened by you was indeed a blessing.”

”Wasn’t it you who chose me?” Igor was a bit incredulous.

”It’s mutual; you awakened us, and we chose you. There is no contradiction.”