You're just a single demon beast? I have a whole army of beast tamers!

When the news reached the inner courtyard of the Shui family, the family patriarch had just seen off an elder who had come to pay his respects.

He stood before the desk, listened to the deacon's report, his expression unreadable, and asked only one question: "When was it discovered?"

"Today."

The steward bowed his head. "The protective barriers in her courtyard are still intact, but she is nowhere to be found."

The water clan leader slowly walked to the window and looked into the distance:

"When she went out, she was discovered by the people of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, and she returned to seclusion to heal her injuries."

If the injury was truly severe, it's impossible for the breath to have dissipated.

There's only one possibility now that the courtyard is empty.

She had already planned this before she returned: under the guise of healing, she would collude with someone in her clan and use their magical treasure cave as a hiding place.

He paused, then turned his head and instructed, "Please summon the Third Elder of the Mu family."

Half a day later, an old man dressed in a gray-blue robe came to the inner residence of the Shui family.

The man was thin and gaunt, with slightly sunken eyes, and held an ancient mirror in his palm, its surface covered with wood grain carvings.

The Shui family patriarch greeted him politely, but without exchanging pleasantries, he took out a jade bottle containing a faint fragrance, which was something Shen Liuli had once used.

"Please trouble yourself, Third Elder," said the head of the Shui family.

The third elder of the Mu family nodded, opened the jade bottle, and guided two fingers into the bottle, releasing a fragrance that fell into the ancient wooden mirror.

He closed his eyes and focused his energy for several breaths. The patterns on the ancient mirror lit up layer by layer, like countless twigs growing, as if trying to point to a certain direction.

No matter how the light changed, the mirror remained a blurry mess.

How strange.

The third elder of the Mu family opened his eyes and said, "This woman has either already left Wucang Immortal City, or her aura has been concealed by an extremely powerful treasure."

"This old man's Heaven-Gazing Wooden Mirror can even detect some traces of ordinary immortals, yet it can't even give me a vague direction right now."

The Water Clan Chief frowned: "We can't even find our senior?"

"Cannot be found."

The third elder of the Mu family shook his head. "That aura seems to have been wiped off the face of the earth. Chief Shui, I'm afraid I can't do anything about it."

The Shui family patriarch remained silent for a while before saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

The third elder of the Mu family didn't linger. He took the ancient mirror and left.

After seeing off the third elder of the Mu family, the head of the Shui family stood alone in the hall for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and sent out a communication talisman.

Before long, an old man in gray robes walked out from the back hall. He had a thin face and a sinister look in his eyes. He was the True Immortal Elder who had been keeping an eye on Shen Liuli for many years.

"Who has Shen Liuli been in contact with during this period?" the Shui family patriarch asked.

The gray-robed elder cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the clan leader, when this woman first entered the Shui family, she only had contact with a few female cultivators sent by the clan."

Later, he was assigned to participate in clan affairs and also came into contact with some members of collateral branches.

After that, after returning from outside, he went to the alchemy hall, saying he was asking for medicine.

In addition, he had two conversations with Mizuki Shiori.

"The Alchemy Hall?"

The Shui family patriarch's eyes flashed. "Besides a few alchemists, who else has she seen?"

"Qin Gongfeng was not present that day."

The old man in gray said, "She only met two old alchemists, sat for a short while, and then left."

"Investigate all the non-Buddhist monks who have had contact with her in recent years."

The Water Clan Chief turned around. "She couldn't have just vanished into thin air."

Without outside help, she, an injured pseudo-immortal, would certainly not be able to escape the city's defenses.

It's highly likely that some cultivator possessed a hidden treasure cave and hid her inside.

"Yes," the gray-robed old man replied.

"Wait a minute," the Shui family patriarch called out to him, "Don't go too far with Qin Gongfeng."

He is a distinguished guest of the clan, and also the most useful alchemist in my Shui family.

Just ask as usual, don't disturb them.

The old man in gray agreed and left the hall.

Over the next few days, the gray-robed elder, under the pretext of checking the city's entry and exit records, secretly visited one by one the non-clan cultivators who had contact with Shen Liuli in recent years.

There were guest advisors, alchemists, bodyguards who traveled outside, and even several sons-in-law from collateral branches.

He held a palm-sized red copper immortal mirror in his hand. Whenever he saw someone, he would slightly activate it with his immortal spiritual power to sense whether the other person possessed any hidden treasures.

The result was nothing.

That evening, he arrived at Qin Shou's villa.

Qin Shou was drying herbs in the courtyard, Shui Rou was helping him sort them, and Shui Yingyue was sitting on the veranda holding a child.

Shuiyao is not here; it is said that she went to the competition venue and has not returned yet.

"Master Qin, excuse me for disturbing you."

The old man in gray entered and bowed.

Qin Shou looked up, his hands still moving, and smiled faintly:

"What brings you here?"

"The clan has been ordered to investigate Miss Shen's whereabouts. Since she visited the alchemy hall before leaving, all the cultivators on duty during those days must go there."

As the gray-robed elder spoke, he took out the crimson bronze immortal mirror. "This mirror is called the Illuminating Mirror. It can reveal traces of grotto-heaven treasures and spatial artifacts. Please forgive me, Elder Qin."

"It's alright." Qin Shou patted the medicinal leaves in his hand. "I have quite a few storage items on me. How do you plan to check them?"

"Just stand still and let me take a picture," said the old man in gray.

Qin Shou nodded, making no attempt to hide his agreement.

The gray-robed elder shone the magic mirror in front of Qin Beast, and crimson light swept across it like flowing water.

Qin Shou felt a slight coolness sweep across his body, as if it were trying to probe into his sea of ​​consciousness and dantian.

His expression remained calm, but in reality, he had already enveloped his sea of ​​consciousness and gourd space with the laws of heaven, and Zhenyuan Immortal Mansion was even suppressed in the deepest part of the gourd space, with two more layers of heavenly mystery mist on the outside.

The crimson light circled around him three times, but ultimately there was no reaction.

"How is it?" Qin Shou asked.

"Nothing unusual." The gray-robed elder put away the magic mirror, his face still expressionless. "If Elder Qin remembers anything in the future, he can send someone to inform me at any time."

"Okay." Qin Shou turned around and continued spreading the medicine, seemingly not taking it to heart at all.

The old man in gray glanced around the courtyard again, and seeing that Shui Rou and the others were busy with their own things, he excused himself and turned to leave.

The Qin beast did not turn around.

Only after the man had walked quite a distance did he slowly turn over a silver-leafed ginseng, his fingers steady as ever.

Only he knew that the moment that illusory mirror swept over him, a bead of cold sweat on the back of his neck was slowly sliding down his collar.

Shen Liuli was hidden in the gourd space, which was a world apart from her.

Furthermore, Zhenyuan Immortal Mansion itself possesses shielding capabilities, and the Heavenly Secrets Laws further obscure it, making it impossible for the Illuminating Mirror, being merely a first-grade immortal artifact, to detect it.

But in the end, this kind of thing is a gamble with one's life.

As night fell, Qin Shou returned to his quiet room and his divine sense sank into the gourd space.

Several spirit lamps were lit in Zhenyuan Immortal Mansion. Shen Liuli sat at the jade table, quietly reciting a wood-type incantation to Qin Jiuqing.

The baby girl slept soundly in her arms, the fine lines between her eyebrows barely visible.

"Have the Shui family come?" Shen Liuli looked up, her voice calm.

"They've arrived, but they haven't found anything."

Qin Shou sat down opposite her. "You can sense it?"

"This immortal abode is now connected to your divine consciousness. There are people watching you from outside, and I can sense them to some extent."

Shen Liuli said, "It's good that we don't go out these next few days."

"Let's discuss the secret realm again once things have calmed down."

Qin Shou nodded. He gazed at his daughter's sleeping face, remained silent for a while, and then said, "The trip to the secret realm needs to be brought forward."