A priest in North America, what the hell is the Demon Gate system?

Li Ang stepped into the dense forest. The moonlight was completely blocked by the tree canopy, and it was pitch black all around. With a thought, red light appeared at Li Ang's fingertips. He activated the Blood Light Spell, which instantly illuminated everything nearby.

I glanced at the tracking compass; the needle was still pointing straight ahead.

After walking for about five minutes, the view suddenly opened up to a clearing. All the weeds and shrubs on the ground had been cleared away, revealing dark brown soil.

The soil surface had charred marks that radiated outwards, with the central part sunken into a shallow pit. Some dark red powder remained, and it smelled faintly of sulfur.

There were some twisted patterns around the shallow pit, as if they were drawn with blood, but they had been destroyed. However, they were somewhat similar to the patterns that Fernéus used to summon the Earth Brothers.

"The remnants of a summoning circle..." Li Ang analyzed.

Li Ang spread his divine sense, like an invisible net, and quickly detected a faint trace of residual energy.

It feels very similar to the feeling I get from Fernandes, but I'm referring to the energy level, not the tactile sensation.

"As expected." Li Ang stood up and brushed the powder off his hands.

Meanwhile, Li Ang discovered several footprints, which should belong to an adult male, but no other clues were left.

But Li Ang already had the answer in his heart.

"Jacob Bayle".

No one would willingly send their monster to the graveyard unless it was for the purpose of summoning something.

Thinking about these causes and consequences made Li Ang somewhat irritable. For a fleeting moment, a thought flashed through his mind:

Let's go straight to Jacob and forcibly search his soul! Who cares about alerting the enemy or the demons behind him? Let's dig out what's in this old guy's head first.

"He's just a mortal after all..."

The moment this thought popped into his head, Li Ang was stunned for a moment.

"The malevolent aura has intensified again."

Li Ang could sense that from the moment he began refining the abyss crystal, that violent energy had been subtly influencing him, but...

It doesn't matter.

"Anyway, with Fernéus around, the malevolent energy can be released periodically, can't it?"

Li Ang sneered. He still vividly remembered the fish's mouth when he used a large cucumber as bait to catch fish.

He put away the Bloodlight Curse and blended into the night.

-----------------

The next morning, the sky was overcast, and a heavy rain was clearly coming. A rooster crowed, waking up the hardworking Amish people.

When Leon came out of the barn hut, he ran into Jacob coming out of his house.

The old man was still wearing the same dark gray vest, his beard was neatly trimmed, and he was carrying a wooden bucket, seemingly on his way to fetch water from the well.

"Good morning, Elder Bailer," Li Ang greeted with a smile.

Jacob turned around, saw it was him, and nodded: "Good morning, Mr. Lyon. Did you sleep well last night?"

"It's alright, but I think I heard some noise in the middle of the night." Li Ang scratched his head.

Jacob carried the bucket and walked steadily toward the well, his voice calm: "It's not surprising that there are coyotes in the woods sometimes. Just make sure to lock the doors and windows at night."

"Old Deng, you're quite the actor..."

Li Ang followed him, and the two walked together to the well. It was an old-fashioned hand-cranked well, and the cast iron pump head was rusted.

Jacob hung the barrel on the hook and began to crank the handle, the creaking sound carrying far.

Li Ang stood to his side and slightly behind him. With a thought, the Soul-Hooking Bell slid from his storage ring into his palm.

An almost imperceptible fluctuation quietly spread out.

The ripples swept over Jacob, but he didn't react. The old man's movements didn't stop at all; he continued to crank the handle, and the wooden bucket slowly rose from the bottom of the well.

Li Ang withdrew his divine sense, understanding dawning on him.

"As expected, this is no ordinary old man. He must be under some kind of demonic influence. We have to strike hard..."

Jacob picked up the bucket, ignored Li Ang, and left.

Leon watched his retreating figure until he went into the house and closed the door before turning and walking towards Seror's house.

Ten minutes later, Sergio came out of the house rubbing his eyes. Seeing Leon standing in the doorway, he immediately snapped awake: "Mr...Mr. Leon! What brings you here?"

"Find a reason to get Elder Jacob away, for at least an hour," Li Ang ordered directly.

Seror hesitated for a moment, then nodded vigorously: "Leave it to me!"

Li Ang watched his thin back, then went around to the back of Jacob's house and found a secluded corner to squat down.

He activated the Concealing Breath Technique, and his entire being seemed to melt into the shadows of the wall.

About twenty minutes later, Jacob came out of the house, with Serreol beside him, gesturing wildly and talking urgently. Leon couldn't hear what he was saying, but he could see Jacob's brows furrowing more and more tightly.

Finally, the old man nodded and left with Serio.

Once the two figures had completely disappeared, Li Ang emerged from the shadows.

The door to the wooden house was unlocked; in the Amish community, almost every household leaves their doors unlocked.

The living room was small, with very little furniture: a long table, a few chairs, a fireplace, and a wooden cross hanging on the wall.

The floor was covered with a hand-woven carpet, which was badly worn and the edges were frayed.

Li Ang didn't stay on the first floor, but went straight up to the second floor.

There are three rooms on the second floor. The largest one is the master bedroom. The door is open, and inside there is a large bed, a kerosene lamp, and a Bible on the bedside table.

Next to it was a small room with the door closed. Li Ang pushed it and found it unlocked. He opened it and discovered it was a study.

A desk was placed by the window in the study, with several books and some papers piled on it.

Opposite the desk was a bookshelf filled with various books, mostly religious, with some about agriculture and carpentry.

Li Ang walked to the desk and began to look through the things on it.

The papers were mostly accounts, recording the community's income and expenditure, grain production, and livestock numbers. The handwriting was neat and precise, showing that the writer was very serious.

When he turned to the last page, Li Ang's finger stopped.

It was a piece of letter paper with a short passage written on it:

"Lord, please guide me. The land in our community is becoming more and more barren each year. Children are leaving one by one, and those who remain see no hope. I don't know what to do, but I am willing to take on anything, as long as the community can survive."

The handwriting was somewhat messy, as if it had been written when the author was emotionally agitated.

Li Ang put the letter back where it was and continued searching.

The desk drawer was locked, but the old-fashioned wooden lock was no different from paper to Li Ang. He pinched the latch with his fingers, applied a little force, and with a click, the latch popped open.

There was only one leather notebook in the drawer.

"A diary? Who writes a diary?" Li Ang muttered under his breath, then immediately started reading without further ado.

"I talked to Miller about the land today. He said the corn harvest on the north plot is 30% less than last year..."

Li Ang flipped through the pages.

"Elijah's son went to Philadelphia and said he wouldn't be coming back. Jacob, your son has left too. With all the children gone, how long can the community hold on? Perhaps we really are getting old and can't keep up with the times."

The words are filled with anxiety and helplessness.

When Li Ang turned to the middle section, the handwriting began to change.

"Today, while I was tidying up my tools behind the barn, I met a man who said he was a messenger who had come to help us. He said he knew our plight and was willing to give us strength to make the land fertile again and to prevent our livestock from getting sick."

"I know this is wrong, but I want to try. Even if it's the devil, I'm willing to make a deal with him if it can save the community."

Li Ang frowned and continued flipping through the pages.

"The messenger showed me the magic to make the land fertile and the miracle to heal the livestock..."

"If I want to keep this power, I have to offer my sincerity to God. At first, it was poultry, then livestock... and later, it was my children..."