Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Well...!"

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Feng finally woke up from his coma.

"Damn it! That woman... ugh, she stinks!"

Before Lu Feng could finish speaking, he sensed a foul, rotting stench emanating from the surroundings, causing him to frown deeply. "Are these the remains of Bai Ze and the others?"

The valley was completely silent. There was no trace of the bandits from the Evil Village. Bai Ze and his servants had all turned into bones and corpses. Only Bai Qianqian, the eldest daughter of the Bai family, was nowhere to be seen.

"The remains were undamaged, and the bloodstains nearby were still wet..."

His gaze shifted to the remains of Bai Ze and the others at his feet, and his brows furrowed deeply. "These people should have been dead for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. How could this be...?"

Lu Feng was filled with doubts.

Because, under normal circumstances, even if a corpse decomposes very quickly, it is impossible for it to turn into a pile of bones in just half an incense stick's time, not to mention the bloodstains on the side that are still wet!

Now that Bai Ze and the others have died, they have turned into a pool of white bones and corpses in such a short time, and even the bloodstains are strangely black. In the end, there is only one possibility!

"These people aren't normal living people; they've been dead for many years...!"

A bold idea suddenly popped into Lu Feng's mind, and he subconsciously clenched his fists, his face showing fear.

Clearly, Bai Ze and the others were merely empty shells, "resurrected" by some means, and were essentially no different from corpses, lacking intelligence, thought, and even the five senses of pain!

This also explains why Bai Ze, even after losing half his head and his entire left arm, and even after being stabbed more than a dozen times by Yin Wei, the second-in-command of the Evil Village, could still struggle to get up without showing any pain on his face, and remained fearless in the face of death.

After all, how could a dead person feel pain, let alone be afraid of death!

"Bai Qianqian, did you do all of these things...?"

Thinking about this, Lu Feng couldn't help but become even more curious about Bai Qianqian's background.

Given that the other party clearly possesses such "mysterious and unpredictable" methods, why would they pretend to be a defenseless newlywed girl, and even use a group of "corpses" to send her off as a bride?

Besides, Lu Feng was completely baffled as to what Bai Qianqian's true intentions were and why she had previously "ambushed" him.

"Young Master Lu, are you alright?"

Just as Lu Feng was filled with mixed thoughts, Gu Canyang, who had been hiding inside the treasure basin, appeared out of thin air and landed beside him.

"ancient?"

Lu Feng paused for a moment, then shook his head slightly, "I'm fine...!"

"However, I still don't quite understand what Bai Qianqian's real intentions are behind all this trouble..."

"Hehe, in my opinion, it's better to avoid trouble."

Seeing that Lu Feng was still hesitating, Gu Canyang stroked his long beard and then smiled faintly, "Young Lu, you've barely escaped this calamity, and that strange woman who could control corpses is gone. Why should we continue to wade into this mess?"

"No, I can't leave...!"

However, faced with Gu Canyang's "advice," Lu Feng remained silent for a few moments, then shook his head. "Regardless of what Bai Qianqian is up to, now that we're here, wouldn't it be a wasted trip to leave empty-handed?"

"Besides, those bandits from the villainous stronghold aren't exactly saints either. They've probably amassed quite a fortune through robbery and plunder over the years. And since I'm a bit short on cash right now, I might as well borrow some money from them..."

At this point, Lu Feng's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile.

"Hey! Lu family brat, what are you doing...!"

Gu Canyang was somewhat taken aback, seemingly not expecting the other party to be so stubborn.

After all, the fact that Evil Village has been able to establish itself in Death Valley for so many years suggests that it must have a strong foundation and many experts!

Aside from Yin Wei, the second-in-command who just led the robbery of the Bai family's wedding procession, most of the bandits under their command are experts at the eighth level of the Spirit Soul Realm or above. As for the legendary leader of the Evil Man's Stronghold, he has yet to appear, and his strength is only increasing!

Therefore, in Gu Canyang's view, Lu Feng's solo trek into the villain's stronghold is undoubtedly extremely risky, and he may even never return!

"Don't worry, Old Gu, I've already considered this...!"

Seeing Gu Canyang's confusion, Lu Feng didn't say much, only waved his hand, and then released his Yuan Power to sense the area again, "The Yuan Power aura around here hasn't completely disappeared. It seems those bandits from Evil Man's Stronghold haven't gone far... Just what I wanted!"

Calming his mind, Lu Feng raised his hand and released a wisp of Yuan Qi flame, burning all the remains of Bai Ze and the others on the ground to ashes, burying them in peace. The next moment, he turned and rushed in the direction where the bandits of the Evil Village had retreated.

"Young Master Lu, I'm telling you, you weren't tricked by that woman named Bai Qianqian, and you're still upset about it, which is why you insisted on going to the Villain's Stronghold to get revenge on her, right?"

During their journey, Gu Canyang's curious voice came again, but Lu Feng looked embarrassed and did not reply.

"Hmph, I knew you were going to be like this, kid...!"

Upon seeing this, Gu Canyang's beard trembled slightly, and a hint of mockery flashed across his aged face.

...

Meanwhile, outside the stronghold of the villains...

"Hey, did you hear? The second-in-command has taken a bunch of brothers out to 'mooch' again..."

"Of course I've heard! And this time, the second-in-command has his eye on the Bai family's wedding procession from Jinling City. Not only is the dowry quite generous, but even the maids carrying the sedan chair are all incredibly beautiful. They're practically a fat sheep delivered right to our doorstep...!"

"Those noble families outside are all used to a life of luxury. They ignore the proper main road and dare to detour through the Valley of Death. They're simply not taking our Evil Fools' Village seriously at all..."

All around was deathly silent, except for two bandits from the villainous stronghold who were on guard duty, whispering to each other, seemingly bored out of their minds.

Shh...!

Suddenly, a gust of wind came from the valley not far away. The next moment, Yin Wei led his hundreds of bandits and a group of captured Bai family women to the scene, as if they had returned victorious and were quite impressive.

"Welcome back to the stronghold, Second Boss!"

Upon seeing this, the two bandits from the villainous stronghold who were originally on guard duty immediately shut their mouths and knelt down to pay their respects to Yin Wei, the second-in-command.

"You lot, take these young women to the cellar inside the village first. I have some important matters to report to the chief."

Ignoring the two kneeling figures, Yin Wei waved his hand, signaling several of his men to take the captured Bai family women away. He then strode towards the main hall of the village.

"Yes, Second Boss!"

Upon hearing the order, several bandits from the Evil Village also unceremoniously grabbed the captured Bai family women and then escorted them to the Evil Village cellar.

Meanwhile, outside the stronghold of the villains, behind a huge rock...

"This must be the lair of the villains..."

Lu Feng slowly peeked out, his gaze falling on the villain's stronghold a hundred meters away. "Although there aren't many bandits guarding the gate, only a handful, and their strength isn't particularly high, most are around the seventh or eighth level of the Spirit Soul Realm..."

"However, this valley is about a hundred meters away from the entrance to the Villain's Stronghold, and there is also an open, unobstructed plain in between. It is almost impossible to sneak into the Villain's Stronghold silently right now..."

Lu Feng looked thoughtful, as if he was considering how to infiltrate the villain's stronghold.

"I've got it...!"

Suddenly, Lu Feng had a flash of inspiration and snapped his fingers, as if he had thought of another brilliant plan.