He is the "Western Venom" of the Five Greats of the wulin (martial artists' community) during the Song dynasty, alongside Wang Chongyang, Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi and Duan Zhixing.

In the first novel, he is depicted as a ruthless villain who resorts to all sorts of unscrupulous means to achieve his goal of becoming the most powerful martial artist in the jianghu.

He participated in the first martial arts contest held on Mount Hua, emerged as one of the top five champions, and earned himself the nickname "Western Venom" (西毒; xī dú).

After a competition involving three rounds of tests between the two young men, Guo Jing wins the contest but incurs the displeasure of the Ouyangs.

When Ouyang Feng realises that Guo Jing has memorised the Nine Yin Manual, he attempts to con and coerce him into writing a copy for him.

However, acting on Hong Qigong's suggestion, Guo Jing deliberately writes a corrupted version of the manual for Ouyang Feng, with verses written in reverse manner.

After leaving the island, Ouyang Feng practises the Nine Yin Manual obsessively since he believes that the copy Guo Jing gave him is genuine.

At the end of the novel, Ouyang Feng becomes insane due to practising the manual's skills wrongly, but his prowess in martial arts has also improved tremendously, and he defeats Guo Jing, Huang Yaoshi and Hong Qigong at Mount Hua.

The next morning, he asks Yang Guo to perform for Hong Qigong, who is shocked when he sees that Ouyang Feng has overcome his most powerful skill.

Notable actors who have portrayed Ouyang Feng in films and television series include Lo Lieh (1983), Tony Leung (1993), Leslie Cheung (1994), Chu Tit-Wo (1994), Richard Low (1998), You Yong (2003) and Elvis Tsui (2008), Zong Fengyan (2014), Heizi (2017), and Alex To (2021).