Land of Demons

The next day, Yichen took Katsuya, Natsuki, and the Outer Path Statue Fragment and flew away from Iwagakure.

The Land of Demons, the capital city.

To show respect, Yichen did not fly directly into the capital of the Land of Demons, but instead chose to land some distance away from the capital.

Yichen led Katsuya, Natsuki, and two small Tailed Beast into the capital of the Land of Demons, immediately attracting the attention of the common people of the Land of Demons.

Although Yichen wasn't wearing the flamboyant Tsuchikage, the Iwa Ninja forehead protector on the heads of the three of them still told everyone that they were ninjas. Coupled with the two strangely shaped Ninja Beast, the common people of the Land of Demons naturally felt fear.

Not long after Yichen and his group entered the Land of Demons, a guard appeared before them.

The leader bowed to Yichen and asked, "I am Touei, the leader of the Miko's guards. May I ask if you Lord Tsuchikage of Iwagakure?"

"I am Yichen," Yichen nodded in reply.

The guard leader, named Touei, quickly said, "Lord Tsuchikage, this way please. The Miko and your village's Tomoko Megumi, are currently at the Miko's residence."

Yichen nodded and said, "Thank you."

Led by Touei, the group arrived smoothly at the entrance of the Miko's residence, where the current Miko Miroku was holding the Miko Shion from the original story, and was standing with Tomoko to welcome Yichen.

Yichen quickly stepped forward and spoke first, "Yichen from Iwagakure greets Your Lady Miko."

Miroku said, "Lord Tsuchikage, you're too kind. Please come in."

After exchanging pleasantries, Yichen got straight to the point. "Your Lady Miko, I believe Tomoko has already explained my purpose to you. I wonder if Your Lady Miko has given a clear answer?"

The Miko Miroku nodded and said, "Just as I told Advisor Tomoko before, if Lord Tsuchikage can help us completely eliminate the Moryo, then our Land of Demons is willing to follow the example of the Land of Snow and agree to allow Iwagakure to establish a branch here."

Yichen nodded and said, "I understand."

After a pause, Yichen continued, "As far as I know, the Moryo and the Miko are originally one; the Moryo is the soul, and the Miko is the body, is that correct?"

The Miko Miroku shuddered. Little Shion, who was crawling on her lap, looked up at her mother with a strange expression, and then turned her curious gaze to Yichen —the two little Tailed Beast beside her.

Little Rhino Dog and Little Chōmei were also looking at Little Shion. If the atmosphere hadn't been so tense, the two Tailed Beasts would have already run towards Little Shion.

Taking a deep breath, Miroku both shocked and somewhat expectant after hearing Yichen's words.

What's shocking is that Yichen actually knows this secret that only the Miko of each generation knew. What's hopeful is that since Yichen knows this secret, and still dares to propose annexing the Land of Demons, perhaps there really is a way.

So Miroku asked, "Lord Tsuchikage is right. The Moryo and the Miko are originally one. The so-called seal is to suppress the Moryo with the power of the same origin. And the price for sealing the Moryo each time is the Miko's life."

Tomoko, standing nearby, listened in stunned silence. Neither Yichen nor the Miko had told her this. She had thought the Moryo was a monster similar to Tailed Beast; it turned out there was this kind of relationship between the Moryo and the Miko. No wonder sealing the Moryo was the Miko's mission. But how did Teacher Yichen know all this?

Tomoko suddenly recalled her first encounter with the Miko Miroku. Miroku hadn't welcomed her arrival; she had only offered polite hospitality out of diplomatic courtesy. When she brought up the idea of Iwagakure, Miroku had directly rejected it.

However, after Tomoko relayed a sentence from Yichen, Miroku hesitated.

Tomoko clearly remembered what Yichen had said, "Tomoko, if the current Miko doesn't agree, ask her: Does she want her daughter to face the same choice in the future?"

Tomoko didn't understand the deeper meaning behind those words; she simply repeated them verbatim.

Unexpectedly, after hearing these words, Miroku's originally firm attitude immediately disappeared, and he began to waver.

Afterwards, Miroku invited Tomoko to stay, and his expression and tone clearly showed that he was struggling with his decision.

About a month later, Miroku finally made up his mind and agreed to Iwagakure's request.

Now, Tomoko understood somewhat: if Miroku couldn't completely eliminate the Moryo, then the responsibility would fall on the adorable little princess beside her.

Yichen nodded and said, "Your Lady Miko, now that we have reached a consensus, our interests are aligned. I will do my best to seal the Moryo, and I hope Your Lady Miko fully cooperate."

"How does Lord Tsuchikage require my cooperation?" Miroku asked.

"I need all the information about the Land of Demons Moryo, as well as all the information about the Sealing Jutsu of the Miko lineage. Later, when sealing the Moryo, we will need the Lady Miko 'Miko Power," Yichen replied.

Miroku hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. If the Moryo could be completely eliminated, then all these things would no longer be of any meaning.

However, when Miroku had box after box of books brought out, Yichen was dumbfounded. He swallowed hard and said in disbelief, "So many?"

Miroku sighed and said, "Our lineage of Miko has been sealing away Moryo for many generations. These are records left behind by Miko of each generation. They contain the cultivation methods and insights of the Miko, as well as all the information about Moryo."

Yichen nodded, then began sorting books with his disciples. Tomoko hadn't come alone this time either; she had brought three of her second batch of disciples. The four of them joined Yichen, Natsuki, Katsuya You in sorting the books.

Miroku didn't just stand by and watch the fun; instead, he stepped forward to help everyone study the materials.

Yichen is very good at handling large amounts of documents.

After a simple classification, Yichen gave the content related to Moryo or Yin Release to Katsuya and Natsuki, and the content related to the cultivation of Miko Power by successive generations of Miko to Tomoko and her disciples.

Yichen himself chose to read the important records of the Miko of past generations.

Miroku, meanwhile, was explaining things to everyone.

Little Shion played with Little Rhino Dog and Little Chōmei Tenten day. Little Shion's constant laughter made the tedious research process for Yichen and the others seem less unbearable.

There was too much data, and it took longer than Yichen had expected.

It took the group nearly ten days to organize the materials.

Finally, Yichen and the others compiled a small pile of potentially useful information.

Yichen spent another day carefully reviewing these materials.

Yichen didn't go directly to find Moryo, but instead, together with Natsuki and Katsuya, carefully analyzed Moryo's information.

By drawing inferences from one instance to another, Yichen and the other two felt they had gained a lot, and their skills in Yin Release had all improved.

And so, it took more than ten days before Yichen and his group officially began their journey to the sealed land of the Moryo.

In the original story, the Moryo wreaked havoc and was eventually sealed Miroku in the Land of Swamps by Miroku at the cost of his life.

However, the place where the Moryo is currently sealed is not in the Land of Swamps, but in the Land of Demons.

Yichen had read about this in the records; this was the fixed location where Miko Seal Moryo. To put it more accurately, Miko of all generations only needed to go there to reinforce the seal.

Miroku, carrying Shion, led Yichen, Tomoko, Natsuki, and Katsuya You to the place where the Moryo was sealed.

This is a valley with a natural cavern in it, where the Moryo is sealed.

However, when the six people reached the edge of the valley, Miroku's expression immediately changed. He quickly ran towards the natural cave in the valley.

Yichen and the others quickly followed.

"The seal has malfunctioned." It was Yichen who spoke.

Although the seal used by the Miko lineage differs from the conventional seal, Yichen's skill level allowed him to easily discover the problem.

Miroku did not reply, but quickly entered the cave.

Upon seeing the intact seal inside the cave, Yichen and Miroku breathed a slight sigh of relief. The seal was still there, only with a small gap.

"It's impossible for the Moryo to break free of the seal with just such a gap. However, the Moryo's form is special, so a part of its soul must have escaped from this place," Yichen said.

Upon seeing that Miroku wanted to reinforce the seal, Yichen said, "No rush, let's study it first."

Miroku took a deep breath and did not insist. What's done is done, and even if the seal is strengthened now, the part of the Moryo's soul that broke free cannot be retrieved.

Yichen carefully examined the gap in the seal and said, "Someone volunteered to act as a vessel for the Moryo, taking a portion of Moryo soul with them as they left this place!"

Upon hearing this, Miroku blurted out, "Impossible. Who but Miko could withstand the power of Moryo?"

Yichen said, "Others naturally cannot fully withstand the Moryo, but it is not impossible for them to withstand a portion of them."

Miroku was somewhat flustered at this moment. She hugged Shion tightly and asked Yichen, "Lord Tsuchikage, what should we do next?"

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "Two things. First, deal with the main body of the Moryo that is still here. Second, find and dispose of the soul portion of the Moryo that has already escaped."

"We have no clue about the second matter right now, so we can only deal with the first one first. Your Lady Miko, please calm down. The more unexpected things happen, the more composed you need to be. Your current mindset will not help you deal with the Moryo later."

"Actually, the Moryo has lost part of its soul might be a good thing for us. At least it will make dealing with that part of the Moryo's main soul much easier."

Miroku nodded, still feeling somewhat uneasy.

Yichen thought for a moment and said, "The Moryo's goal is definitely to break free. Although we don't know what the part of its soul that it separated is going to do, it will definitely come back and release its main body."

"So, if we wait here, we might just catch those souls returning."

Hearing this, Miroku finally felt a little relieved.

From the perspective of a sealing master, Yichen carefully observed the seal that had a hole in it.

As Yichen observed, he would ask Miroku for help when he encountered something he didn't understand. However, although Miroku could set up the seal, he didn't quite understand the underlying principles and couldn't offer Yichen much assistance.

The Miko Seal Moryo was more of Hon, much like the Kekkei Genkai through bloodlines. Once awakened, they would use it, but the underlying principles remained unclear.

Yichen mostly speculated, and then discussed his guesses and analyses with Natsuki Katsuya You.

Miroku originally thought that Yichen was just checking the seal, but to his surprise, the three of Yichen studied it together for several days without sleep.

What Miroku didn't know was that Yichen and the other two had made great progress in their research on Yin Release through this seal.

This seal, combined with the previously compiled data, constitutes a systematic theory related to the soul.

This is different from the shrine that Yichen moved back to Iwagakure. The shrine was merely an instance related to the soul, but it lacked a theoretical basis.

Therefore, when Yichen and the other two were researching the seal, they almost forgot about the Moryo.

A few days later, the three, who had all made progress in Yin Release techniques, looked energetic despite their exhaustion.