Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Young man, I truly have no way to repay your life-saving grace this time!"

"I am deeply grateful for your great kindness, brother. On behalf of my father and all the surviving villagers of Lychee Village, I kowtow to you...!"

Just as Lu Feng was pondering how to deal with the Wusheng Sect's retaliation, the Li father and son, supporting each other, slowly walked over and then made a gesture as if to kowtow to him.

"It's just a trivial matter, nothing to worry about."

Lu Feng glanced at the Li father and son, then waved his hand, his face still calm. "Old man, what that Wusheng Sect martial artist Zhang Huchen said is right. If you want to preserve the last remaining bloodline of Lychee Village, you'd better leave here as soon as possible."

"Young man, you are absolutely right. I will go and arrange for everyone to depart immediately..."

Despite his injuries, Li Yu ignored Lu Feng's reminder and immediately turned to leave.

"Wen'er!"

Li Yu glanced at Li Wen, who was following closely beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a deep voice, "Later, take a few of the surviving young men and find a spacious place to bury Zhang Gou'er. That way, he can be laid to rest in peace..."

"Father, how could you still treat these members of the demonic cult...!"

Seeing that Li Yu was going to collect the body of Zhang Huchen, the murderer who massacred the village, Li Wen was slightly stunned, his face full of confusion, but the next moment his words were interrupted by the former raising his hand.

"Zhang Gou'er's current predicament is entirely his own fault, but it's also a cruel twist of fate. If his wife were still alive, perhaps he wouldn't have been brainwashed by the Wusheng Demonic Sect and ended up on this path of no return..."

Li Yu glanced at Zhang Huchen's gradually cooling corpse at his feet, frowned slightly, and then sighed heavily, as if recalling the events of twenty years ago.

In the past, Zhang Gou'er was not only extremely timid and cowardly, but also very kind-hearted. He would never even kill a chicken, let alone a human.

The fact that the other party has become like this is clearly due to fate and the cruel twist of destiny, which is why Li Yu feels regret.

"Tch! I know..."

Gritting his teeth, Li Wen, though quite displeased, did not disobey his father's orders. He immediately called upon several surviving villagers from Lizhi Village to carry away Zhang Huchen's body from the ground.

"village head...!"

"Waaaaah, my man is dead! He was killed by those damned members of the Lifeless Demonic Sect...!"

"It's all gone! Everything's gone! Village chief, what are we supposed to do now...!"

After Li Wen and the others left, the surviving villagers of Lizhi Village crowded around them, most of whom were elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and young women. For a time, there was constant crying, and the atmosphere was desolate.

"The dead cannot be brought back to life. Since we are still alive, we cannot let the dead down. Let's all cheer up...!"

Looking at the group of villagers from Lizhi Village who were crying and complaining, Li Yu felt bad too, but could only comfort them gently.

In the past, in order to resist the invasion of Zhang Huchen and a group of Wusheng Sect martial artists, almost all the adult men in Lychee Village came out. As for the fate of these people, they were all killed or injured. In the end, only Li Wen and his son and a few young men survived.

"Village chief, now that the village is gone, who knows if those members of the Lifeless Demonic Sect will come back? Even if we survive, where can we go next...?"

One of the older peasant women stepped forward and then complained to Li Yu, a look of despair appearing on her wrinkled face.

"this...!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu was speechless for a moment.

"Old man, why don't you all move to the area around Shanggu Town and live there? This town is one of the important border towns of the Western Qin Kingdom. Given the way those Wusheng Sect people act, they probably wouldn't dare to attack an important border town in public."

Lu Feng, standing nearby, also offered his own advice.

Although he didn't know much about the Wusheng Sect, he wasn't completely ignorant of it either.

About fifty years ago, a new force called the Wusheng Sect suddenly rose to prominence. It was rumored that the Wusheng Sect not only recruited a large number of landless refugees and poor people, but also taught these people survival skills for free. As a result, it expanded rapidly. In less than ten years, its followers exceeded ten million, and its influence covered most of the Eastern Xuan Region. It was at the height of its power!

However, the rapid rise of the Wusheng Sect also aroused the fear of a group of righteous forces in the Eastern Xuan Region. In the end, under the siege of the major righteous forces in the Eastern Xuan Region, it gradually came to an end. Not only did the former sect leader's fate and whereabouts become unknown, but also many experts in the sect suffered heavy casualties and never regained its former glory!

"Young hero, you are absolutely right, but... this old man cannot do that!"

Faced with Lu Feng's reminder, Li Yu gave a wry smile and then shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

Lu Feng was also taken aback for a moment, then his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Young hero, you may not know this, but our Lychee Village is not only poor and small, but we also rely entirely on growing lychees for a living all year round, and we simply cannot afford to pay the high agricultural taxes levied by the imperial court..."

Sighing again, Li Yu looked troubled. "So, even if we move to the vicinity of Shanggu Town, the imperial government won't care about the lives of our entire village. As for those martial arts masters from the Yunfu Sect, there's no need to say more..."

"Is it because your Lychee Village can't pay its agricultural taxes that the Western Qin court is abandoning you and letting you fend for yourselves?"

Hearing Li Yu's explanation, Lu Feng was also somewhat surprised, and his brows furrowed again the next moment.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why the Wusheng Sect could rise to prominence overnight and attract countless refugees to join. There must have been a reason behind it all.

"Yes...!"

Li Yu gave a wry smile. "Back then, Zhang Gou'er led a group of Wusheng Sect followers to besiege Lychee Village. The Western Qin court didn't care about our lives. I originally wanted to accept my fate and lead the villagers to join the Wusheng Sect, but in the end, I gave up..."

"Why?" Lu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Young hero, you may not know this, but in the past, some ordinary people, having exhausted all other options, chose to join the Wusheng Sect. However, without exception, they all vanished without a trace, their fates unknown to this day..."

"Besides, the Wusheng Sect is also a demonic sect, which is not tolerated by the major righteous forces. Even if we, a group of people, manage to survive by following Zhang Gou'er, our final fate will probably be death...!"

Li Yu shook his head, his old face full of helplessness.

"Old man, here's a thousand taels of gold. That should be enough to settle you and your son, as well as the rest of the villagers. Take this money and go find a way to make a living elsewhere..."

Hearing this, Lu Feng didn't waste any words. He immediately took out a large package from his pocket and threw it to Li Yu opposite him.

"One thousand taels of gold...!"

He hurriedly opened the package and found that it was indeed filled with glittering gold. Li Yu's pupils widened in shock, and his old face was filled with astonishment, as if he had never seen so much money in his entire life.

"Young hero, this gold is far too valuable. We, the old man and the villagers of Lychee Village, simply cannot afford it!"

"Why are you talking so much nonsense, old man? Just take it. I don't need this little bit of money, understand?"

Lu Feng glanced at Li Yu, whose face was full of shock, and simply crossed his arms, remaining calm and composed.

After all, he is now a martial arts practitioner and cultivator of immortality, and worldly gold and silver treasures are of little use to him!

Moreover, Lu Feng possesses the Treasure Basin, and with its ability to "turn stone into gold," he can obtain as much gold as he desires with ease. What is a mere thousand taels of gold?

"Heh heh, Lu family lad, I didn't expect you to be so kind-hearted, actually showing compassion for these mortals. This is quite different from your previous ruthless and decisive self..."

Just as Lu Feng was showing off, a mocking, aged voice suddenly emanated from the treasure basin deep within his dantian, causing him to shudder. "This voice is... ancient?!"

"Ancient, you have finally awakened...?!"

Without time to think, Lu Feng immediately sent a telepathic message to the treasure basin, his tone excited and his whole being brimming with indescribable excitement.