"What's going on?"
The sudden attack took everyone by surprise.
I couldn't figure out where this energy came from at all.
The head of the Zheng family looked at the large hole in his chest with a look of horror.
Only the city lord and a few other innate realm martial artists suddenly turned their heads and looked in a certain direction.
A hundred meters away, atop a large tree, a figure stood proudly, holding a longbow in his hand.
Who else could it be but Lu Qing?
"What do you mean by this, Your Excellency?" the refined old man asked in a deep voice.
"When I killed that old woman from the Zheng family, I said that I would destroy the grave of her eldest son so that he would never be reincarnated. What, do you have a problem with that?" Lu Qing said calmly.
The refined old man paused for a moment, unsure how to respond.
Seeing that he dared not respond, Lu Qing felt somewhat disdainful.
He then looked at the city lord: "Your Majesty, the irrefutable evidence is here. The Zheng family has lost all conscience and has privately carried out such a cruel practice of human sacrifice. I think you should know what to do, right?"
"Of course I know," the city lord nodded.
"Very well, I hope you can handle this impartially and severely punish the Zheng family, otherwise, I don't know who I will point my arrow at next."
After Lu Qing finished speaking, he jumped off the treetop and disappeared.
From beginning to end, he never mentioned the Zheng family patriarch, as if in his eyes, he was nothing more than an insect that could be crushed at will, not worth mentioning at all.
Watching Lu Qing disappear, the city lord and the others did not make a move, letting him leave.
However, they were all secretly shocked.
Before Lu Qing made his move, none of them realized when he had followed them there.
It was as if their innate senses were nothing but decorations in front of him, utterly useless.
Such bizarre and unpredictable methods, coupled with Lu Qing's previously displayed formidable combat strength.
The fear that the several experts at the Innate Realm had for Lu Qing increased significantly once again.
This scene, witnessed by the leaders of other major families and forces, undoubtedly caused a huge shock.
They never expected that someone would dare to openly kill someone in front of several innate realm experts, and even make sarcastic and threatening remarks.
More importantly, the city lord and his entourage not only did not get angry, but even showed signs of apprehension.
Who exactly is that young man, that he has such a formidable presence!
Moreover, judging from what he said, it seems that he also killed the patriarch of the Zheng family!
This caused a huge uproar in the hearts of the leaders of various powerful families.
"Lord City Lord, what should we do next?"
The man with a face as white as jade asked, glancing at the already dead Zheng family patriarch beside him.
"What else can we do? We'll handle this officially," the city lord said calmly.
The man with the fair complexion felt a surge of joy, knowing that the Zheng family was now completely finished.
The crime of human sacrifice is too grave, especially since the old lady of the Zheng family and the head of the family are both dead.
Not to mention the prefectural capital, even in the entire Cangzhou, the Zheng family no longer has a foothold.
Upon hearing the city lord's words, many of the leaders of the other families and factions showed strange expressions, their thoughts unknown.
...
In the prefectural capital, Lu Qing was moving rapidly.
After destroying the tomb of Zheng's eldest son and killing the head of the Zheng family, he did not linger there any longer. He activated the Earth Scroll and left the Zheng family cemetery, sneaking back into the prefectural city.
He already knew what would happen to the Zheng family without even having to guess.
After he killed the old woman of the Zheng family, the fate of the Zheng family was already sealed.
Not to mention that he was exposed in public for blatantly violating the prohibitions of the sacred mountain and the capital.
Having lost the backing of a cultivator at the Innate Realm, they also lost their overall influence.
The prefectural capital is prosperous, but it is also incredibly complex, with numerous powerful forces, wolves lurking everywhere, and fierce and brutal competition.
The Zheng family is now nothing more than a huge piece of fat meat.
It was destined to be divided up by the forces within the city.
However, Lu Qing did not want anyone else to eat the fattest and most delicious part of this piece of meat.
Soon, Lu Qing entered the Zheng residence.
At this time, the Zheng family mansion was filled with panic.
The news of the ancestor's death has spread throughout the entire mansion.
Although the guards and servants in the mansion were both afraid of and terrified of this old matriarch.
But it cannot be denied that the ancestors were the heavens of the Zheng family.
As long as she was alive, the Zheng family would be one of the most powerful families in the prefecture.
No matter who they are, they should be treated with respect.
Now that their ancestor is dead, the Zheng family's world has collapsed. Even the family head has been taken away by the city lord to open the tomb. How could they not be terrified?
If the Zheng family hadn't always been known for its strict rules and severe punishments, things would probably have descended into chaos by now.
Lu Qing sensed the atmosphere of fear, but he didn't care.
He activated his supernatural ability and began searching the mansion.
With the concealment of the soul talisman and his formidable strength, Lu Qing could walk freely in the Zheng residence without anyone noticing him.
He quickly found the place he was looking for.
With a flick of his wrist, Lu Qing flicked out two steel needles, taking out the two guards at the door. He then drew his long sword, slashed open the lock, and pushed the door open to enter.
"As expected of a prestigious family, with a profound heritage, the collection in this storeroom is truly abundant."
Upon entering the warehouse, Lu Qing looked at the rows of shelves filled with a dazzling array of collectibles. He felt as if he were surrounded by a red glow, occasionally interspersed with wisps of gold, and couldn't help but admire it.
He walked forward slowly, a light screen appeared in his hand, and with a thought, he quickly put the items in the warehouse into his Qiankun Yiqi Bag.
Time is of the essence, and the refined old man and his companions will likely return to the city soon.
Lu Qing didn't have time to use his special ability to examine each treasure in the warehouse, so he simply put them all away.
Anyway, the space inside the Qiankun Qi Bag is quite large, so there's no worry about not having enough room.
Before long, Lu Qing had looted the entire huge warehouse.
It was fortunate that his spiritual power was strong; otherwise, even an ordinary innate realm cultivator with a Qiankun Qi Bag would probably not have been able to take so many things with him.
After all, activating the Qiankun Qi Bag to store things also consumes a certain amount of divine soul power.
After looting the warehouse, Lu Qing felt something was amiss.
Although there were many treasures in the warehouse, their quality was still somewhat lacking.
He had just glanced at it and the highest quality one was nothing more than a red light mixed with a trace of golden supernatural energy.
Logically speaking, a family like the Zheng family, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, should have some decent treasures.
"It seems that the Zheng family must have an even more hidden treasure trove."
Lu Qing stroked his chin, thinking to himself.
He had just stepped out of the warehouse when he suddenly heard a stern shout: "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the warehouse!"
Lu Qing looked up and saw a middle-aged woman with her eyebrows raised and her face full of murderous intent staring at him. She was accompanied by two guards and a green-clad nanny.
Lu Qing's eyes lit up as he looked at the information appearing on the middle-aged beauty.
"You've come at the right time; I was just worried about not having anyone to show me the way."
When the middle-aged woman met Lu Qing's gaze, for some reason, a chill rose in her heart.
Before she could do anything, the green-clad old woman beside her stood in front of her, her face grave.
"Madam, be careful, this man is not simple."
The two guards also drew their swords, because they saw their two colleagues lying at the warehouse entrance.
However, as soon as their swords were drawn, they felt a sharp pain in their chests, and all their strength drained away like water, causing them to collapse to the ground.
After easily dispatching two guards, Lu Qing was already in front of the middle-aged beauty in the next instant, reaching out to grab her.
The green-clad nanny was shocked. She hadn't expected Lu Qing to be so strong that two guards at the Inner Strength Realm couldn't stop him at all.
Sensing the oppressive aura emanating from Lu Qing, the green-clad nanny dared not hold back in the slightest. A chilling aura emerged, and with a sudden flick of her wrist, a silver light burst forth from her sleeve, hurtling towards Lu Qing's throat.
"Soft sword, master-level swordsmanship?"
Lu Qing was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that this old woman, whose blood and qi were not strong and who was only at the minor stage of internal organ cultivation, would have such swordsmanship.
However, with his current strength, even master-level swordsmanship is no match for him.
With a flick of his fingers, Lu Qing deflected the soft sword aimed at his throat. Then, he clenched his fist, his right hand, which had been grabbing at the middle-aged woman, forming a fist. With a burst of blood and qi, he unleashed a ferocious punch.
boom!
Faced with Lu Qing's fist technique, which had already grasped the essence of the fist, the green-clad nanny was powerless to resist. She was instantly punched in the chest, sent flying backward, and crashed into a huge pillar.
His chest collapsed, his eyes were unfocused, and it was clear he was not going to survive.
"Although your swordsmanship is good, I find your aura quite annoying."
With a single punch, Lu Qing rendered the green-clad nanny barely breathing, and said calmly.
Sensing the chilling aura emanating from the other woman, he knew without even using his special abilities that this old woman had likely taken many lives, all of them tortured to death.
Lu Qing's gaze lingered on the corpse for a few moments, and he realized that the green-clad nanny was actually the personal maid who had served the old woman of the Zheng family for many years.
Moreover, she also played a part in the tragic case of human sacrifice that year.
"They really are a den of snakes and rats; the Zheng family is utterly rotten."
Lu Qing looked at the middle-aged beauty, who was already trembling with fear. She suddenly knelt down.
"Hero, spare my life! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
Its voice was mournful, and it looked quite pitiful.
"So you're the matriarch of the Zheng family? If you want to live, take me to your Zheng family's treasury. If the contents satisfy me enough, I might spare your life," Lu Qing said indifferently.
The middle-aged beauty originally wanted to argue that the Zheng family only had this one treasure trove.
But when she met Lu Qing's indifferent gaze, which seemed to see right through people, she felt a chill in her heart and dared not try to be clever in the slightest.
“Good sir, I only know that in the manor, there might be a treasure vault in the place where the old ancestor lived. As for the rest, I don’t know anything else. I’m afraid Granny Green knows more than I do.”
Green Granny is naturally the old nanny who was just beaten to death by Lu Qing.
However, Lu Qing did not regret it.
A maid who has served that old woman for so many years must be not only cunning and shrewd, but also utterly loyal.
Even if she's willing to give directions, it's still uncertain whether she'll actually do it.
If you keep it, you might get scammed.
With a flick of his wrist, Lu Qing sent a pill into the mouth of the middle-aged woman. Before she could react, he tapped her throat, making her swallow it.
Under the terrified gaze of the middle-aged woman, Lu Qing said calmly, "What I gave you was a poison I made myself. If you don't get the antidote within two hours, you will surely die from intestinal perforation. You should understand what that means, right? Now lead the way."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman's face turned ashen, and she could only nod resignedly.
Lu Qing took off the clothes of one of the guards and put them on, then threw several corpses into the storeroom and closed the door.
Although such a crude method wouldn't be able to cover it up for long, he didn't care, as long as it could buy him some time.
Let's go.
After completing his disguise, Lu Qing said.
It must be said that the Zheng family is indeed in chaos now.
The fight between Lu Qing and the green-clad old woman just now did cause some noise, but no one has come to check on it yet.
Having witnessed Lu Qing's ruthless methods, the middle-aged woman had completely lost the will to resist and led Lu Qing in another direction within the mansion.
With someone pointing out the direction, plus Lu Qing's powerful spiritual perception ability.
The two of them arrived at the courtyard the middle-aged woman had mentioned without disturbing anyone along the way.
Seeing that Lu Qing seemed to have a premonition and avoided everyone along the way, this strange scene made the middle-aged woman even more awe of Lu Qing.
"This is the courtyard where our ancestor lived. I once heard my husband say that there was a secret entrance to a vault in our ancestor's room, but I have never been inside. In the entire Wei family, apart from our ancestor, only my husband, Zheng Shihao, and Zheng Yu have ever been inside."
At this point, a hint of hatred flashed in the middle-aged woman's eyes.
Even that good-for-nothing Zheng Yu could get into the secret vault, but her son, as the eldest son, was never allowed to go in.
That old man is truly hatefully biased.
Lu Qing sensed the hatred in the middle-aged woman's tone, but he didn't care.
There are countless sordid things happening in wealthy and powerful families, and he had no interest in knowing about them.
Leading the middle-aged beauty into the old woman's room, he quickly found a hidden door using his supernatural abilities.
To his surprise, the information his supernatural abilities revealed indicated that there seemed to be no traps or mechanisms behind the door.
The old woman must have been confident that no one would break into her bedroom.
However, Lu Qing was not careless.
The hidden door was made of steel and was almost integrated with the wall. Lu Qing knocked on it and found it to be very thick.
Without a way to open the door, it will be very difficult to get in.
However, this did not stump him. In front of the middle-aged beauty, Lu Qing took out a long knife from his Qiankun Yiqi Bag and slashed it several times, smashing the iron gate to pieces.
Lu Qing kicked open the hidden door and walked in with the pale-faced middle-aged woman.
The passage behind the hidden door wasn't long. Lu Qing carefully explored it and found that there really were no mechanisms inside.
Soon, the two arrived at a small, dark room.
The dark room was brightly lit by a luminous pearl used for illumination.
However, this did not surprise Lu Qing, because he was immediately attracted by something in the dark room, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.
