Fox Demon: The villain at the beginning

Chapter 402 Conditions
Within Ironstone Valley, numerous Deng family disciples wept bitterly. Their mournful cries echoed through the valley, transforming the once vibrant place into a desolate, hellish abyss.

Seeing their reaction, Jin Renfeng looked displeased.

Judging from the way these members of the Deng family act, they seem like villains.

Just as the ten people were about to be burned to ashes, two figures flew in from outside the valley.

One of them was thin, wearing a long red robe, with a goatee and an old face.

The other person was a young man dressed in purple with a long sword hanging at his waist.

Upon seeing the newcomers, the Deng family members guarding the valley entrance hurriedly went to greet them.

"Senior Brother Deng Hong! You're back!"

"The situation inside the valley is dire; you'd better go check it out quickly!"

The young man named Deng Hong stopped and interrupted the group.
"I came here to resolve this matter!"

"What's the situation inside the valley now?"

"The patriarch and all the elders were imprisoned in a fireball by that villain."

“That villain refuses to release the people no matter what. Right now, all the elders have reached their limit and may be burned to ashes at any moment.”

The guard disciple said with concern.

Upon hearing this, Deng Hong frowned and, not daring to delay any longer, immediately flew towards the valley.

As soon as the two stepped into the valley, they looked up and saw the blazing sun hundreds of feet high in the sky.

Upon catching sight of the ten figures within the blazing sun, the red-robed elder sighed and flew towards the sun first. Deng Hong followed closely behind.

Two streaks of light, one purple and one red, arrived in front of Jin Renfeng and the others in an instant.

Sensing someone approaching, Jin Renfeng turned his head and saw two familiar figures.

"Elder Li, Brother Deng Hong, what brings you two here?"

Jin Renfeng looked surprised and spoke.

Among the newcomers, the elderly man standing at the front was none other than Li Jing'an, the head of the Li family.

The young man was General Deng Hong, who had fought alongside Jin Renfeng in the Southern Frontier and risen to the rank of general together.

"Father, what brings you here?"

Upon seeing the old man, Li Muchen was also surprised and flew over.

Upon seeing this, Huai Zhu also took a few light steps and bowed respectfully.

"My purpose in coming here is naturally to see the head of the Deng family and his elders."

Elder Li sighed, then looked up at the blazing sun in the sky and slowly said,

"When we sent you here to take on this challenge, we wanted you to make a name for yourselves and broaden your horizons, but we never expected it to turn into such a huge spectacle."

"If someone hadn't informed me, I would still be completely in the dark!"

"So, it was Brother Deng Hong who invited Elder Li over?"

Jin Renfeng realized what was happening and glanced at Deng Hong.

"I also received a message from my family, so I went over to invite Elder Li over to help me mediate."

Deng Hong explained, his eyes slightly narrowed, his hands clasped in a fist.

"Brother Jin, I never expected that after so many years, things would turn out like this."

"If Brother Deng knew the inside story, he would understand that these people deserved to be imprisoned here by me."

Jin Renfeng, the old god, is always present.

"The family's letters also describe what happened."

Deng Hong sighed and said calmly,

"However, the contents of the letter are somewhat biased, and I am also unclear about the situation. I hope you will tell me the truth as soon as possible."

Jin Renfeng glanced at him with surprise, but seeing that he meant no harm, he gave a casual account of what had happened after entering the valley.

"In that case, it is truly the fault of the patriarch and the elders!"

After hearing the details, Deng Hong nodded and sighed.

"On behalf of all the elders, I apologize to Brother Jin."

He then clasped his hands together and bowed deeply.

Seeing his mannerisms, Jin Renfeng couldn't help but nod.

Leaving aside the Deng family patriarch and the elders, Deng Hong was actually a sensible person.

“Brother Deng, there’s no need to apologize on their behalf. With my divine fire above, they will be reduced to ashes in no time.”

"Using his life to repay the debt is enough; you don't need to worry about it."

Upon hearing this, Deng Hong immediately realized that the other party was determined not to stop.

For a moment, he froze, and the words of pleading that had been stuck in his throat disappeared.

Seeing this, Elder Li Jing'an spoke up.

"Nephew Renfeng, could you please, for my sake, temporarily quell the flames?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Renfeng said calmly,
"If Elder Li is asking for something else, this junior will naturally agree."

"But these treacherous villains are truly despicable. I will not rest until they are completely destroyed."

"Father! Those guys not only twisted the truth and insulted the idiot, demanding he kneel and apologize, but they also gathered a group of elders to bully the weak and abuse their power. Why should we let such wicked people go?"

Li Muchen was furious.

“I know you have been wronged here.”

Elder Li sighed and said in a deep voice,
"There's nothing wrong with taking revenge; I won't stop you."

"However, we still need to consider the influence of the Dao Alliance in our methods of action."

In fact, Li Jing'an didn't want to come at first either.

In his view, Jin Renfeng and his children were kind-hearted by nature and not at all the type to cause trouble.

His anger this time must be because he has been wronged.

To intervene in such a situation would be both unfair and disheartening.

It's a thankless task!
However, considering that the election for the leader of the alliance will be held in two years.

If the heads and elders of the Shi family were to be killed here at such a critical moment, it would surely cause dissatisfaction among the various aristocratic families.

Since it involved a struggle between two factions, he ultimately stepped forward to mediate.

"What good impact could there be?"

Li Muchen looked annoyed and said with dissatisfaction.
"We were just acting in self-defense. Are we just supposed to be bullied by these old bastards?"

"There's no problem with taking action in self-defense."

Elder Li said.

"However, this was still a bit too much."

"To have so many elders of powerful families die here for no reason will surely cause controversy among the Dao Alliance families."

"How will you establish yourselves in this Dao Alliance in the future?"

What they think is none of my business.

Jin Renfeng said coldly,

"At worst, we'll settle things with our fists."

Now that he possesses the Purple Gold Gourd, there are few aristocratic families in the entire Dao Alliance that he takes seriously. Any criticisms or rumors are nothing but fleeting clouds in his eyes.

"Even if you don't consider your own reputation, shouldn't you at least think about your teacher?"

The head of the Li family said.

"What does this have to do with my master?"

Jin Renfeng looked puzzled.

"Your master, as the leader of the Dao Alliance, is a role model for the Dao Alliance."

The head of the Li family tapped Jin Renfeng's chest.
“As his disciple, your every move is related to Brother Dongfang.”

"To refine a patriarch of a powerful family here in broad daylight—do you know how much pressure that will put on him? How many attacks from powerful families will he have to face?"

Jin Renfeng remained silent.

In his anger, he forgot all about that.

Although their actions were despicable, the Deng family was still one of the top-tier families in the Dao Alliance. If these people were truly refined to death here, the entire Dao Alliance would likely consider it an order from their master.

Since their lives and fortunes are at stake, the heads of those powerful families, feeling the same way, are very likely to join forces to target Master Dongfang Guyue.

At that time, all the pressure will be borne by the master.

It seems unlikely that he will become the next leader of the alliance.

Thinking of this, he turned to look at Huai Zhu, only to find her eyes calm and her gaze serene.

It seems that Junior Sister had already considered the impact of this matter on Shenhuo Mountain Manor and Master, but she was concerned about her own feelings and therefore did not speak up to dissuade her.

Seeing Jin Renfeng waver, Deng Hong clasped his hands in a fist salute and pressed on with the iron track while the iron was hot.

“Brother Jin, although my patriarch and the nine elders secretly plotted to surround you, they never intended to kill you. They only wanted to capture you here.”

"Even if it's just an eye for an eye, you've refined them for three days and three nights, that's enough to settle the score!"

"Even though they are despicable and shameless, and their actions are vile, they ultimately do not deserve to die!"

These words, however, pushed Jin Renfeng's wavering attitude further in the opposite direction.

A gentle breeze swept by, swirling up a few fallen leaves. The rustling of the leaves was clearly audible.

There was silence.

Everyone remained silent, waiting for Jin Renfeng to make a decision.

Deng Hong and his fellow Deng family members were extremely anxious, but no matter how anxious they were, they dared not make any rash moves.

At this moment, the man's next words will determine the life or death of those ten elders.

In such a life-or-death situation, no one dared to utter a word of disturbance.

Time seemed to stretch out at that moment.

"That's it! That's it!"

After an unknown amount of time, a long sigh rang out.

Jin Renfeng sighed and looked up at the crowd in front of him.
"For Elder Li's sake, letting them off the hook is not out of the question."

"Great!"

Upon hearing this, the Deng family members were overjoyed, as if granted a pardon, and cheered.

"Thank you for your understanding, Brother Jin!"

Deng Hong was overjoyed and quickly expressed his gratitude.

"Don't rush to thank me. If you want me to let them go, they need to agree to a few conditions."

Jin Renfeng changed the subject.

"Otherwise, I still won't let them off the hook."

"Brother Jin, rest assured, after this experience, the patriarch and the elders will surely have a plan in mind."

Deng Hong assured,
"They will agree to whatever the conditions are."

With Deng Hong's promise, Jin Renfeng nodded.

He turned around, flicked his sleeve, and the fireball that had been as bright as the sun immediately dimmed.

Then, the hundred-foot-long golden sphere transformed into wisps of clouds, lifting the ten people before Jin Renfeng.

After being refined for three days and three nights, the Deng family patriarch and all the elders were on the verge of death, looking like corpses.

His clothes were burned to ashes. He could barely stand and had to rely on others for support to keep his balance.

Seeing their elders rescued, the Deng family members all breathed a sigh of relief. Several of them even took out clean clothes to cover the injured.

"Thank you for your mercy in letting us out."

Upon seeing Jin Renfeng again, the Deng family patriarch was no longer arrogant as before and behaved with great respect.

"No need, I haven't agreed to let you go yet."

Jin Renfeng waved his hand, his expression indifferent.
"It was only after Elder Li and Brother Deng Hong persuaded me that I temporarily extinguished the flames."

"If you cannot meet my conditions, I will still send you back to that fire barrier."

Upon hearing the name "barrier," the head of the Deng family looked terrified and hurriedly said...
"Please speak freely, Your Excellency. We will certainly agree to anything that is within our power."

"That's right! We can agree to any conditions."

Several elders quickly chimed in.

"They agreed so readily; it seems these guys are really terrified of being roasted."

Seeing the Deng family head's reaction, Jin Renfeng understood.

Seeing the others' expressions, Li Muchen, who was standing to the side, also revealed a gloating smile.

"Since you agreed so readily, I won't beat around the bush and will get straight to the point."

Jin Renfeng said calmly,

"My first condition is that I need you to announce this to the world, publicize the details of this matter, and clarify the situation."

At this point, he raised his eyes and glanced at the group of elderly men.
"You are probably already clear about the truth of this matter and who is at fault."

"With things escalating to this point, it will inevitably cause controversy among many prominent families afterward."

"I don't want to be stigmatized for no reason."

"Since you caused this, you are also responsible for resolving it."

"nature!"

The head of the Deng family nodded repeatedly and bowed, saying...

"This is entirely my fault, and you should not bear the blame."

"Clarifying the truth can be considered an act of atonement for our sins."

Jin Renfeng nodded, seemingly satisfied with their attitude. He then spoke again,

“Previously, Brother Deng Hong advised me that although you and others used underhanded methods and bullied others by relying on your power, you never intended to harm me and your crimes do not warrant death.”

"After thinking about it carefully, I realized that it makes some sense. That's why I let you out."

"However, some price should still be paid."

Jin Renfeng stepped forward, stood in front of the Deng family patriarch, and looked down at the several withered old men.

“I remember when you attacked me, you demanded that I kneel down and apologize.”

Such humiliation must be repaid.

"Today, you lot, kowtow to me three times!"

Upon hearing this, Deng Hong looked shocked.
"How could you possibly expect the patriarch and the nine elders to kowtow?"

The Deng family members also made a commotion.

"What? Don't agree?"

Jin Renfeng's expression grew cold. He opened his palm, and flames rose from his palm.

"Kowtowing is a trivial matter, I'll kowtow right now! I'll kowtow right now!!"

Upon seeing the flames rise again, the Deng family patriarch and the nine elders were terrified and immediately stammered their agreement.

The ten men bowed down in unison, and under the shocked and complicated gazes of the Deng family members, they trembled and prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing three times.

The heads made soft thuds as they hit the ground. Seemingly worried that Jin Renfeng might change his mind, everyone banged their heads together with great force.

"I wonder if you are satisfied?"

With his head covered in dust and traces of blood faintly visible, the head of the Deng family stood up and asked.

"You know what I mean!"

Jin Renfeng snorted coldly.

He flipped his palm and put away the flames in his palm.

The elders breathed a sigh of relief as the flames disappeared.

"The following is the third condition!"

Jin Renfeng continued,

"When you attacked me before, you used your Deng family's Ten Buddha Formation."

"I've seen it. This formation is truly excellent. It's powerful and ingenious. It's probably among the best even in the entire Dao Alliance."

(End of this chapter)