Ten minutes earlier.
Having obtained the Demon-Sealing Jade, Lin Qing carefully sensed the ghostly divine power contained within it and concluded that the feudal lord of the Country of Demons had most likely been possessed.
Combined with how Priestess Shion had sat beside the feudal lord like a puppet during their previous meeting, silent and motionless.
It was obvious that their strategy of placing all their hopes in the seals of successive generations of priestesses had backfired.
The evil demon Mōryō, which had caused countless bloody disasters centuries ago, had most likely escaped long ago. It was hiding within the feudal lord of the Country of Demons, having become the supreme ruler of this nation.
"No wonder everyone in the Feudal Lord's Mansion, from servants to samurai, looked like fake people. Their souls have probably all been tainted by the evil demon. They may look alive, but they're already half-dead."
If this continued unchecked, the entire Country of Demons would become Mōryō's "granary," while the dead would become the immortal army of wraiths depicted in the murals.
Lin Qing put away the Demon-Sealing Jade.
He had come to the Country of Demons for the Masked Man, only to fail to find him and instead discover the nation's secret ahead of time.
From the most rational—and cold-blooded—perspective, Lin Qing could absorb ghostly divine power and convert it into Ripple. Letting Mōryō slaughter and grow within the Country of Demons, then refining it the instant it had grown fat enough, would be the most beneficial outcome for Lin Qing.
It might even help him break through to the next realm of Ripple in one fell swoop.
But...
Lin Qing recalled the ordinary people in the murals, endlessly howling under the torment of ghostly divine power, suffering a fate worse than death.
"Better