The master's room was quite spacious, but it was hung with black cloth everywhere, even the moonlight outside the window was blocked. Only a few candles illuminated the corners, which looked a little weird.

Butler Lu was not surprised at all, obviously he was used to it. He walked into the inner room, which also had a large bedroom with a black curtain. Only a skinny figure could be vaguely seen inside through the candlelight.

"The head of the family."

Butler Lu bowed.

The thin figure behind the curtain spoke, his voice like a broken gong, hoarse and terrifying:

"Did you find the third brother?"

Steward Lu bowed his head and replied, "We have sent people to search all three cities and twelve towns, but we still can't find any trace of the Third Master."

"What?"

The hoarse voice sounded again, filled with anger.

Steward Lu said quickly: "But we found some clues in Yunling Town."

He then told the clues that the black-clad messenger had found, which included Pei Daoyu and Qin Gengyun.

After hearing his words, there was silence for a moment behind the black curtain, and finally he said:

"Let the fifth and fourth brothers go. After all, Chang Chunzi is from my Chang family. Even if he doesn't live up to his expectations, he should be taught a lesson by my Chang family. It's not the turn of others."

"yes."

Steward Lu bowed his hands in response, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice:

"Master, the husbands and fathers of those female cultivators came to the door crying again, but I persuaded them to leave."

The skinny figure behind the curtain said calmly: "I will send someone to comfort them tomorrow. After all, they are all people of my Chang family."

"Yes! Patriarch, according to your instructions, we captured two more female cultivators with earth spirit roots yesterday. They are both from outside the town and will not be noticed by others."

"Well, it takes me a month to digest the essence and spirit consciousness I absorb once. Send another one over at this time next month."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

Butler Lu left the room and went out of the master's courtyard. The road became narrower and narrower, and he entered a forest. After passing a hidden magic circle, an iron gate appeared in front of him.

He took out the key, opened the door and went in, only to find himself in the basement of the Chang family's immortal palace.

After walking down the dark ladder for a while, I heard bursts of women crying in front of me.

Butler Lu walked over and saw a dungeon in front of him.

The cells are divided into three rooms, each capable of accommodating dozens of people.

What is shocking is that there are more than ten female practitioners imprisoned in these three cells.

Most of these female nuns wore ordinary dresses or robes. It was obvious that they were not prostitutes, but decent women.

At this moment, some of these female practitioners were sobbing quietly, some had lifeless eyes, disheveled hair, and their bodies were covered with scars from being whipped.

Steward Lu was already used to this, so he walked straight to a guard and asked calmly:

"Have these women stopped making trouble?"

The guard replied respectfully, "According to your instructions, those who dared to make noise have been punished with the Thorn Whip. Now everything is much quieter."

The Soul-piercing Whip is a special instrument used to torture monks. There are barbs on the whip that can not only pierce the body to cause external injuries, but also whip the monk's mind, causing him to suffer excruciating pain.

However, this torture device was banned in Dongxiu a hundred years ago because it was too cruel.

But I didn't expect him to appear again in the secret dungeon of the Chang family.

Steward Lu said coldly: "The cultivation method that the master practices requires attracting the essence and consciousness of a female cultivator every month. You should be careful when you attack them and do not hurt their consciousness."

"yes!"

The guard nodded, hesitated, and said:

"Butler Lu, we gave the female cultivator we captured yesterday a beating as usual. Everyone else was crying and wailing, but she didn't show any pain at all. I'm afraid there's something strange going on."

"Oh, which one?" Butler Lu was also a little surprised.

The ancient torture instrument, the Whip, is extremely cruel. Although it will not cause serious injuries to the victim, it will directly pierce the mind. In mild cases, the victim will wail and twitch, while in severe cases, the soul will be scattered.

This was the first time Butler Lu had heard of someone who had no reaction after being hit by the Thorn Whip.

"That's it."

The guard pointed to a cell where more than a dozen female nuns were lying limply on the ground, except for one who was sitting cross-legged, facing the wall.

She was wearing a plain white robe, her body was straight, her long hair was tied into a ponytail and fell to her waist. Although there were bloodstains on her body, she had an upright and neat temperament.

Steward Lu narrowed his eyes slightly, "The one in Yunling Town?"

"Yes, that's her."

"Tell her to come over. I have something to ask her."

"yes."

The guard agreed and shouted at the female cultivator:

"Hey, sit there, come over here!"

But she ignored it and continued to sit cross-legged, as if she was practicing.

Butler Lu smiled: "She can actually practice cultivation? This female cultivator is quite interesting."

The guard was so embarrassed that he picked up the Thorn Whip, poured spiritual power into it, and the whip was like a spirit snake that penetrated through the bars of the cell and hit the female cultivator with a snap.

The barbs on the whip immediately pierced into the flesh, bringing up a puff of blood.

But the female cultivator did not move at all, as if she felt no pain.

The guard was furious. He swung his arms and kept whipping the female cultivator with the Thorn Whip. Blood soon appeared on her white robe, but her slender back remained straight.

"Okay."

Butler Lu spoke, and the guard had to stop. Butler Lu smiled and said to the nun:

"My fellow Taoist, I heard that you are from Yunling Town?"

The female cultivator remained motionless, and Steward Lu continued, "Yunling Town is not big, and there are only a handful of alchemists above the third level. I wonder if you have heard of a third-level alchemist named Qin, his name is... Qin Gengyun."

Hearing this name, the female cultivator who had been stagnant despite being pierced by the Divine Whip finally took action.

She turned her head, revealing a heroic face. Her features were not delicate, but she had a sunny and bright temperament.

There is an orchid embroidered on her left shoulder, which, combined with her heroic face, makes her even more heart-stirring.

Seeing the female cultivator's reaction, Butler Lu's eyes lit up: "Do you know him?"

The woman shook her head, turned around and continued to face the wall, sitting cross-legged and practicing.

"This bitch is so rude!"

The guard was about to whip her again, but Steward Lu said, "That's enough. I just beat someone to death a few days ago, and I haven't settled the score with you yet!"

"Butler Lu, please calm down. We will be careful about what we do."

The guard stopped in fear and dared not fight anymore.

Butler Lu took a deep look at the female cultivator's back, then finally turned and left.

The guards also returned to their posts, and the deep dungeon finally returned to silence. Only the occasional sobbing of a woman could be heard, but she was quickly scolded by the guards.

In the cell, the slender female cultivator opened her eyes, and an orchid-like smile appeared on her blood-stained and stained face.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, have you become a third-level alchemist? That's great."

…

Two days later.

Yunling Town.

Caifeng Street.

A brand new plaque was hung on the gate of a spiritual vein immortal palace, with three large characters written on it:

Qinhe Garden.

This is the name Qin Gengyun gave to his new home.

At this time, the Qin He Garden was full of guests.

Qin Gengyun's former colleagues at Lingdanfang, neighbors in Zhaiyuxiang, and the "sisters" that Qiu Zhihe met while buying groceries every day gathered together today to celebrate the joy of Qin Gengyun and his wife's new home.