Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"No!"

Shaking his head, Shen Tianzhong also took a large gulp of fine wine. His expression was now solemn. "To be honest! That bastard Liao Fusheng is not only elusive, but also as cunning as a fox. After he wiped out the Shen family, he disappeared without a trace..."

The Shen family was wiped out?

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng's expression turned slightly strange.

After all, the other party was not only a wanted criminal of the Western Qin Kingdom, ranking third on the list of villains, but also the culprit who wiped out the Shen family in the past.

Therefore, upon hearing Shen Tianzhong's "thief crying 'stop thief'" remarks, Lu Feng naturally found it difficult to remain calm.

"Heh, could it be that Brother Lu, like those mortals outside who believe everything they hear, thinks that I was the one who slaughtered my entire clan and used their bones as nourishment for cultivating evil arts?"

Noticing the fleeting surprise on Lu Feng's face as well, Shen Tianzhong slowly wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth and said with a hint of self-deprecation.

"Could this person truly be innocent?"

Seeing that Shen Tianzhong did not shirk his responsibility, Lu Feng raised his eyebrows slightly, as if deep in thought.

Clearly, the case of the massacre of the Shen family was not as simple as the rumors outside made it out to be!

Otherwise, Elder Liu Lanyu of the Scripture Hall would not have overruled everyone's objections and agreed to Shen Tianzhong's request for admission without hesitation. There must be something else going on behind this matter!

"It seems that Fellow Daoist Shen carries many family feuds and blood grudges that I am unaware of..."

Thinking of this, Lu Feng couldn't help but calm himself down and look at the other person again.

"Twelve years ago, I was sent by the clan elders to a remote mountain village on the border of the Western Qin Kingdom to carry out a mission. The mission itself was not difficult; it was simply to capture a traitor who had defected to the Wusheng Sect and bring him back to the clan. However, I never imagined that this would be the fuse that led to the extermination of the Shen family..."

Facing Lu Feng's probing gaze, Shen Tianzhong made no attempt to hide anything. He immediately downed the wine gourd in his hand and then said in a low voice, "After I left the family, the Wusheng Sect suddenly attacked the Shen family. The leader of the attack was none other than Liao Fusheng, one of the four protectors of the Wusheng Sect, the Poison Protector!"

"Although the Shen family is a renowned cultivation family in the Western Qin Kingdom with considerable resources and over a hundred martial artists within the clan, they still couldn't withstand the fierce offensive of the Wusheng Sect..."

"After breaking into the Shen family, that bastard Liao Fusheng did not kill all the Shen family warriors. Instead, he used them as test subjects to cultivate some kind of strange poison."

"As for these Shen family martial artists who were drugged, their final fate was extremely tragic. They either suffered from the backlash of the poison and died on the spot, or they were reduced to terrifying monsters that were neither human nor ghost...!"

At this point, Shen Tianzhong gritted his teeth, and his fists clenched tightly under his sleeves. Clearly, he was still furious and wished he could tear Liao Fusheng to pieces right now!

"Was the Shen family attacked by the Wusheng Sect in the past, and many of the clan's experts were used as test subjects for medicine?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he had suddenly understood something. He couldn't help but look at Shen Tianzhong opposite him again, "Fellow Daoist Shen, could it be that your past massacre was only for...?"

"That's right...!"

Nodding, Shen Tianzhong's tone remained solemn. "Although I still don't know how that bastard Liao Fusheng managed to turn living humans into monsters that are neither human nor ghost, those surviving Shen family martial artists have already been poisoned to the bone, beyond cure, and have completely lost their minds..."

"Therefore, I had no choice but to give them a quick death!"

After learning about Shen Tianzhong's past, Lu Feng also looked moved.

It turns out that the other party did not kill the Shen family to cultivate evil arts, but only to clean up the mess left by the Wusheng Sect. As for the real culprit behind this, it was Liao Fusheng and others from the Wusheng Sect!

"By the way, since the mastermind behind the attack on the Shen family is the Wusheng Sect, why did you end up as a wanted criminal in the Western Qin Kingdom, even ranking third on the list of villains? Could it be that this was also done by those demonic members of the Wusheng Sect?"

Seemingly remembering something, Lu Feng asked with a hint of confusion.

"It's not surprising that they're shifting the blame eastward."

Without denying Lu Feng's guess, Shen Tianzhong said unhurriedly, "Back then, in order to track down that bastard Liao Fusheng, I also infiltrated the Wusheng Sect under an assumed name, but in the end, my identity was exposed, and I was hunted down by the Wusheng Sect."

"Besides, these demonic cult members also framed me for the massacre of the Shen family in the past. Coupled with the lingering poison of the demonic energy from the Judgment Blade, my mind sometimes becomes uncontrollable, which is why I ended up like this...!"

"Fellow Daoist Shen, I never expected your ordeal to be so truly tragic..."

Hearing this, Lu Feng shook his head, his face full of sighs.

After all, not only was his entire family wiped out, but he himself became the third most wanted criminal on the list of villains, and was even targeted by the Wusheng Sect, putting his life in danger at any time. It was truly a tragic situation!

"Brother Lu, all of that is in the past. I have now found the whereabouts of that bastard Liao Fusheng. If you are willing to lend a hand, I have a 90% chance of killing that scoundrel!"

"As for the head of this monstrous creature, it is worth a thousand gold pieces, equivalent to five hundred thousand yuan worth of spirit stones, and it is a rare, mid-grade spirit stone!"

With another flick of his sleeve, Shen Tianzhong, panting heavily, spoke, seemingly more concerned with Liao Fusheng's head and avenging his fallen clansmen than with the spirit stones.

"Fellow Daoist Shen, rest assured, since I have agreed to help, I will absolutely not go back on my word."

With another grin, Lu Feng asked, "When do we set off?"

"Half a month later, I, Shen, will be waiting for Brother Lu in Luoxing Town at the foot of Cangmang Mountain. I wonder what Brother Lu's opinion is?"

"Can."

Lu Feng nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Although this operation is quite risky, as the target is Liao Fusheng, one of the four protectors of the Wusheng Sect and known as the Poison Protector, the reward is also very tempting, amounting to 500,000 mid-grade spirit stones!

In addition, Shen Tianzhong is willing to pay an extra reward if Liao Fusheng is successfully killed, so Lu Feng does not want to miss the opportunity.

"Brother Lu is indeed a straightforward man! In that case, I'll take my leave now. We'll meet again in Falling Star Town in half a month!"

Seeing Lu Feng nod in agreement without hesitation, Shen Tianzhong was also slightly pleased. He cupped his hands in greeting and then turned to leave.

"Two weeks later... wait! It seems that Ren Xuanfei's coming-of-age ceremony is also in two weeks...?"

Lu Feng rubbed his chin, then suddenly realized something, his pupils shrinking. "Oh no! How could I have suddenly forgotten about that...!"

"Damn! Who should I choose now...!"

Faced with this difficult choice, Lu Feng couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, and his face showed his distress.

After all, if he agreed to Shen Tianzhong's request, he would have to let Xuanfei stand him up.

Given Ren Xuanfei's willful temper, and the fact that Lu Feng had only recently angered her, the consequences of him not attending Ren Xuanfei's coming-of-age ceremony would be unimaginable!

Conversely, if Lu Feng were to be blinded by lust and abandon Shen Tianzhong, things wouldn't end well either.

After all, he had made his word beforehand, and what the other party was asking for was a matter of life and death!