Warning! A hidden dragon has emerged!

After a moment, the golden needle stopped moving.

The scorpion and the butterfly slowly opened their eyes.

Their eyes were dazed, but the excruciating pain throughout their bodies brought them back to their senses instantly.

The howling wind blew in my ears, and before me was Qin Quan's face, as cold as a demon.

"I...I'm not dead?"

The scorpion's voice was hoarse and unbelievable.

He clearly remembered that Qin Quan had beaten him so badly that his internal organs were ruptured and he was completely lifeless. How did he come back to life?

"Die? It's not that easy."

Qin Quan's lips curled into a wicked sneer, his voice as cold as the winds of the deepest hell.

"Now, I'll ask you questions, and you'll answer. If you answer in a way that satisfies me, I'll let you die a quick death; if you dare to lie or conceal anything, I'll make you taste what you just experienced again."

The butterfly trembled and quickly said:

"Please...please ask! We promise to answer everything we know!"

She was already terrified by Qin Quan's ruthlessness and only wished to suffer less and die a quick death.

"it is good."

Qin Quan nodded and got straight to the point.

"Ten years ago, why did you set fire to my Qin family and wipe them out? And who ordered you to attack Old Madam Lin?"

"Yes...yes..."

Just as Scorpion was about to speak, a heart-wrenching pain suddenly shot through his mind, as if countless steel needles were piercing his soul.

He was in so much pain that he clutched his head with both hands, his body convulsed, his face contorted, and he let out a piercing scream.

"Ouch! That hurts! My head!"

"Soul-capturing technique!"

Qin Quan's expression changed drastically; he immediately saw through the symptoms.

"Someone has planted a forbidden curse deep within your souls!"

This forbidden spell is like a Trojan virus; once the key information is triggered, it will immediately suffer a backlash, or even be erased.

Like a central control center that has been remotely compromised by hackers, it is doomed.

Qin Quan dared not delay. He quickly raised his hand, his fingertips surging with spiritual energy, and once again manipulated the golden needles, trying to forcefully break the soul-capturing curse using acupuncture.

But as soon as the golden needle pierced the scorpion's Baihui acupoint, the scorpion's pain intensified instantly. Blood flowed from its seven orifices, and its whole body was unbearably itchy, as if thousands of spiders and insects were gnawing at its flesh and devouring its soul.

He screamed incessantly, appearing as if he had gone mad.

"Oh shit!"

Qin Quan cursed under his breath, his eyes filled with solemnity and resentment.

The mastermind behind the scenes was more ruthless and powerful than he had imagined. With his current medical skills, he couldn't find the weakness of this forbidden curse, let alone break it.

"Don't waste your energy."

The butterfly clenched its teeth, its voice weak and tinged with despair.

"He planted a seed in the depths of our souls, a seed that no one in this world can unravel."

She paused, her eyes filled with fear.

"We're just his underlings, we've never even seen his true face. His power is far beyond your imagination, you're no match for him at all."

Qin Quan's eyes were icy cold, and his killing intent surged again. He knew that to break the Soul-Seizing Curse, he had to find the caster and kill him.

Otherwise, we would never learn the truth from the scorpion and the butterfly.

He suppressed his anger and coldly pressed for an answer:

"I won't ask who he is, I'll only ask you, is he in China or abroad?"

Qin Quan had no choice but to change his strategy, probing indirectly to extract the most crucial clues from the chaotic information.

They gradually approached the mastermind behind the scenes, a man rife with bloodshed.

"I don't know his true identity, but he has an extremely high status in Flowing Gold Valley. The White Eagle Alliance, the Wind and Rain Tower, and the Persian Ming Cult all treat him as an honored guest."

Butterfly spoke very slowly, carefully considering each word. She dared not mention the other person's name, much less reveal their background, for fear of triggering the soul seed and ending up like the scorpion.

Qin Quan's eyes suddenly lit up. He ignored the scorpion writhing in agony on the ground and fixed his gaze on the butterfly, continuing to ask questions.

What are his distinctive features?

"He was in his sixties, had a goatee, and a three-inch-long scar on the side of his face."

"Go on!"

Qin Quan was surrounded by surging spiritual energy, exuding a powerful sense of pressure.

The two engaged in a question-and-answer exchange, much like a spy battle, and quickly pieced together the basic outline of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Name unknown, male, over sixty years old, with a goatee and a scar on his face, he frequently visits Flowing Gold Valley and has close ties with the White Eagle Alliance and Wind and Rain Tower. His strength is unfathomable.

"Is he Master Qin from Kyoto?"

This is the issue that Qin Quan cares about most.

Based on the investigation over the past few days, Qin Wuye is the most likely candidate.

Butterfly shook her head. "No, but he has a very close relationship with Fifth Master Qin."

Upon hearing this, Qin Quan's heart sank.

This person is most likely a cultivator, and their cultivation level may have already reached the Golden Core stage.

Such a person couldn't possibly be nameless or faceless. Ask your beautiful master; perhaps she'll know.

But he really couldn't understand why this person would take action against a small family like the Qin family.

What secrets does the Qin family hold?

"Did he ever say why he attacked the Qin family? What was his purpose in setting fire to and wiping out the entire family?"

Qin Quan took a step forward, staring intently at the butterfly, his eyes filled with overwhelming hatred and bewildered confusion.

"Legend has it that the Qin family possessed an ancient pre-Qin text, the Yin Fu Jing!"

boom!

As soon as the words were spoken, it felt as if Butterfly's brain had been struck by a heavy hammer.

Without any warning, his eyes rolled back, blood gushed from his seven orifices, and his body fell straight to the ground, dying instantly.

Qin Quan didn't even have time to reach out and help her; he could only watch helplessly as she died.

"Letting you die so quickly is too good for you."

Qin Quan's eyes were cold, and his tone was indifferent.

"However, revealing the truth before you die is also a merit of yours."

Given his temperament, even if Butterfly revealed everything, he would have made her wish she were dead. Unexpectedly, a single recitation of the Yin Fu Jing caused her to trigger a forbidden curse and die on the spot.

"When has my Qin family ever possessed the Yin Fu Jing?"

Qin Quan frowned, full of doubt, and turned to look at the scorpion on the ground that was still howling like a ghost.

He knew that the man's soul was damaged and his mind was unclear, so he could no longer get any useful information from him.

He glanced at the scorpion indifferently, then turned and walked down the mountain without the slightest hesitation.

"Master Quan!"

Xie Honglong was still waiting at the foot of the mountain. When he saw Qin Quan coming, he quickly bowed to greet him, bending so low that his waist almost touched the ground, and he didn't dare to breathe.

"Go up and scatter the butterfly's dead body."

Qin Quan coldly ordered, "If Scorpion can live, make him suffer a fate worse than death; if he can't live, exterminate him as well."

"Yes, sir!"

Xie Honglong bowed and clasped his hands in greeting, overjoyed.

The fact that Qin Quan was willing to give him a task meant that his life was temporarily spared.

He dared not delay, and in a flash, he sped toward the pavilion on the mountaintop.

When Xie Honglong, a ninth-rank Grandmaster, saw the scorpion in excruciating pain and convulsing, he couldn't help but gasp.

"Damn, this is the first time I've ever seen such torture!"

After looking around and confirming that there was nothing unusual, he proceeded to dismember the scorpion alive.

They then lit a fire, burning the two bodies to ashes, which were scattered by the wind across the entire Tianlu Mountain, leaving no trace.

……