The aura of decay emanating from the old man filled the scarecrow with disgust.
It moved away from the two elderly figures and walked to another side, lifting the second burlap sack.
Under the moonlight, a blonde woman with voluminous waves, dressed in a police uniform, was bound face-to-face with another person, her face a mask of terror.
The two squirmed like fish stranded on a beach, their movements inadvertently dislodging their wigs.
Both were men.
The scarecrow stirred once more.
Its steps were no longer as sluggish as before; it swiftly arrived before the final piece of burlap.
Its sickle swung down, slicing the cloth cleanly in two.
Revealed below were a terrified old woman and a woman, completely blackened, with blood smeared at the corner of her mouth.
Female… male…
The conditions for the sacrifice were now met. It could finally enjoy this offering meant for itself.
But just as the scarecrow prepared to act, the pitch-black woman abruptly thrust her hand, piercing the heart of the old woman opposite her!
The scarecrow suddenly emitted a heavy, grating exhale, the red glow in its eyes intensifying violently.
From the plantless soil, sharp roots abruptly erupted, impaling everyone on the ground!
Repeatedly mocked and deceived, the scarecrow was now enraged to its core.
Only the complete slaughter of all living beings here could quell its fury!
“Why aren’t you eating the offering prepared for you?”
“What a waste of food.”
A voice suddenly rang out from not far away.
“Not just wasting food.”
“Do you even know that biology doesn’t define a person’s true gender? Everyone has the right to choose their own gender.”
“Your actions just now were discrimination against transgender individuals.”
A young man with black hair had, at some point, appeared behind the scarecrow.
The scarecrow spun around violently, the sharp tip of its sickle aiming directly for Su Fan’s temple, only for the latter to casually sidestep it with a half-step back.
“You, coming from the Nordics, are far too incorrect.”
Su Fan quickly raised his hand and fired a bullet at the scarecrow.
The large-caliber revolver packed a tremendous punch, but it merely staggered the creature without any further effect.
Not only incorrect, but even the ‘American quick-draw’ was ineffective. Clearly not a local.
The Astrologer Ghost suddenly materialized, charging forward to engage the scarecrow in close combat.
Unlike the vampire, this evil god, having accepted human worship and life offerings, could inflict real harm on the Astrologer Ghost.
The latter could no longer attack as recklessly and relentlessly as it had against the vampire.
Even so, the Astrologer Ghost still managed to gain the upper hand.
The Sword card pinned the scarecrow firmly to the ground while other illusions kept it occupied.
The Devil card manifested the illusion of a Hellgate, immediately igniting the scarecrow’s body. Flames roared, soaring several meters high in the blink of an eye!
The elemental advantage inflicted severe damage on the scarecrow.
It ceased its attacks, instead trying to find the nearest water source to douse the flames.
But the Astrologer Ghost clearly wouldn’t give it that chance.
Multiple illusions worked in concert to trap it, preventing any escape.
The fire gradually consumed the scarecrow’s form, burning fiercely for nearly several minutes before finally beginning to die down.
The Wan’e God finally disintegrated, turning into endless black ash.
Su Fan couldn’t help but sigh.
Even with such a clear elemental advantage, it still took this long to deplete its power.
Those years of offerings definitely hadn’t been in vain.
A legendary endurance burner.
Dean had said that to truly eliminate it, the sacred tree serving as its source of power had to be burned.
In other words, even though the scarecrow was now ash, as long as the sacred tree remained, it could await an opportunity to resurrect.
According to the confession of the deceased town policeman, the so-called sacred tree was in the orchard—a massive, sturdy apple tree.
Extending his spiritual sense, Su Fan quickly located the target. With a casual flick, he unleashed Dan fire, completely incinerating it.
As the sacred tree was destroyed, the Wan’e God was utterly erased.
The once-vibrant fruit trees visibly began to wither and weaken.
Presumably, soon after this, the farms here would also fail, unable to provide sufficient economic returns, just like the surrounding areas.
But this was the hardship they were meant to endure.
The bounty gained through human lives had come to an end.
The firelight illuminated Su Fan’s calm expression. Just then, the phone in his pocket buzzed with an incoming call.
Answering, he heard Dean’s voice from the other end.
“Su, are you free right now?”
“Yes, I am. What’s up?”
“That Meg from before… she was indeed possessed by a demon.
We’ve managed to trap her, but we can’t force it out for now.
The situation is a bit complicated. Better to explain when you get here.
Sam and I are waiting for you at the motel on the edge of town.”
Su Fan hung up, watched the giant tree burn to ashes, then casually summoned a gust of wind with a wave, scattering the remnants.
[You commanded your subordinate ferocious ghost to slay an evil god sustained by human sacrifices, gaining further insight into the path of soul mastery.]
The prompt that surfaced in his mind didn’t garner much attention from Su Fan.
He took a step, his figure vanishing from the spot in an instant.
The town road was deserted, especially at night. With focused haste, he reached the motel Dean mentioned in just a few minutes.
After inquiring at the front desk for the room number, Su Fan soon pushed open the door to their room.
Inside, Dean and Sam were tending to their wounds, looking quite battered. The floor was a mess.
In the center, Meg—whom they’d seen during the day—stood frozen. Above her on the ceiling, a mysterious talisman array held her trapped.
“You got here fast.”
Dean, seeing Su Fan arrive, tried to say more but winced from the pain of his bleeding shoulder wound.
“As you can see, it’s a bit of a mess.”
Sam shrugged.
The two briefly recounted the process of capturing Meg.
Basically, they had Sam initiate conversation, invite her to the room to ‘talk,’ while Dean ambushed and threw holy water…
“At first, I thought about using salt, but she actually summoned wind and blew it all away. Luckily, we had a backup plan.”
“I had a backup plan.”
Dean pointed at himself for emphasis.
“Alright, you did.”
Sam conceded.
“She’s not very talkative. Didn’t get much useful info after asking for a while.”
Dean gestured towards Meg.
“We wanted to exorcise her back to Hell right away, but she destroyed our Latin bible.”
The lengthy incantation, in hard-to-recite Latin… neither of them had it memorized yet, leaving them helpless against Meg.
“So you just had to wait for me to get here.”
Su Fan finished the thought, stating the awkward truth.
It was then that Meg, trapped within the array, spoke.
“I didn’t leave any clues. They shouldn’t have been able to figure out my identity. The only logical explanation is you.”
“But we only met once. Tell me, young exorcist, how did you see through it?”
She looked at Su Fan, a hint of wariness in her tone.
The demon possessing Meg, of course, didn’t know that Su Fan’s ‘Tongyou’ supernatural sight could see through falsehoods.
Her little act could only fool the Winchester brothers, who lacked such special abilities.
“Being confined, you’re in no position to question me. If anyone asks questions, it should be us.”
Su Fan addressed Meg.
“It seems the esteemed Eastern exorcist has no desire for conversation.”
Meg, within the array, remained unflustered, even smug.
“Actually, I don’t need to know your secrets. Things that pose a threat… you just eliminate them.”
“Hey, take a look at your situation. Can’t even move, and still running your mouth?”
Dean mocked.
But the next second, Meg pulled from her bag an ornately carved, large cup and a bag of blood.
The blood bag ruptured on its own, spilling into the cup. Instantly, a sinister, terrifying aura erupted within the room!
From the shadows cast by the lights, a black, ghostly figure materialized.
Cloaked in tattered rags, it floated, gliding along the room’s walls, its hands ending in sharp, elongated claws!
“Situation’s gone south!”
Seeing the shadowy figure lunging towards them, Dean ignored his wound, yanking Sam down to the floor!
Almost simultaneously, the creature’s claws swept through the space where their shadows had just been.
The motel sofa’s cheap leather upholstery was instantly shredded!
But that wasn’t the end!
After attacking the brothers, the shadowy figure immediately damaged the talisman array inscribed on the ceiling!
With its help, Meg was free in an instant.
“What the hell is that thing?!”
Sam, seeing their hard-captured Meg released, felt a mix of shock and anger.
Just as the shadowy figure prepared to attack again, a surge of black energy erupted from Su Fan’s pocket.
In that split second, the roiling darkness tore through the room’s wooden wall!
Dean and Sam leaped from the second floor, landing and rolling to disperse the impact, then immediately sprinted towards where their car was parked.
There were weapons in the trunk!
As for Su Fan, he stood facing Meg in the ruined room.
“Interesting. Is that a malevolent spirit you keep?”
Meg observed the imposing Astrologer Ghost beside Su Fan, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
“I sensed a powerful evil aura on you back then.”
“You used it to deal with the pagan god worshipped here, didn’t you?”
“A shame it’s still a step below the Dark Lord I command.”
Dark Lord.
Su Fan’s lip twitched.
Quite the edgy name.
He knew its origin.
A devil from Zoroastrianism, lurking in shadows, known to devour the organs of its victims.
Followers of the faith fearfully called it the Dark Lord.
Beside them, the death god-like specter from the shadows bared its claws.
The Astrologer Ghost emanated black energy, illusions flickering in and out, eerie and unpredictable.
In one instant, the black energy and the shadow simultaneously expanded, colliding with each other!
