"What?"
Seeing that his elder brother, who had taken the initiative to attack, not only failed to injure Chu Fan but was instead grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air like a chick.
The two behind them were stunned with fear.
Realizing they had bitten off more than they could chew today, the two didn't hesitate to grab the woman and attempt to flee.
"Hmph!"
Chu Fan let out a cold snort. With a flick of his wrist, the leader, whose neck had snapped, was sent flying like a sandbag, crashing heavily into one of his companions.
*Swish...*
A sound echoed through the air as Chu Fan appeared before the man holding the woman hostage.
"Y-you, don't come closer!"
"If you come any closer, I'll kill her!"
The man was shocked by Chu Fan's speed and even more terrified.
But his reaction was not slow. He instinctively grabbed the woman's throat, knowing Chu Fan's target was the woman and wanting to use her as a threat.
"Are you sure you want to use her to threaten me?"
"Release her now, and I'll spare your life!"
Chu Fan's expression was calm, making the man hesitate.
With his two brothers easily subdued, Chu Fan's strength was unquestionable.
The man couldn't be sure if Chu Fan would spare him if he released the woman.
The invisible pressure made him extremely hesitant.
"I..."
"You don't need to decide, I'll decide for you!"
Just as the man was about to ask a few questions to confirm if Chu Fan would keep his promise, Chu Fan spoke first.
Immediately after, the man's vision blurred, and Chu Fan was right in front of him.
Before he could react, he felt a needle-like prick on his neck, his whole body went numb, and then his vision went black.
After escorting the woman to the side of a tree, Chu Fan walked towards the man who had been knocked to the ground and was struggling to get up.
Suddenly a prisoner, the man deeply regretted his earlier arrogance and glibness.
He felt that if he hadn't spoken up, Chu Fan would have left long ago and not stopped.
"I... I was wrong, please, I don't want to die!"
His two companions were now completely still, their life or death uncertain. The man could only beg for mercy.
Chu Fan crouched opposite him and said, "It's simple to stay alive, just answer my questions truthfully."
Regarding the sudden appearance of treasure in this area, Chu Fan was initially not interested at all.
But what had just happened piqued his interest.
His intuition told him that this matter was likely true.
When he was in the Eternal Hall, Chu Fan had studied metaphysics and knew that some things were opportunities.
He had no initial curiosity about any treasure; he was simply wandering around looking for the Five Elements Veins when he unexpectedly encountered a woman who knew the truth about the treasure and begged for his help.
Chu Fan considered this a coincidence.
A fateful coincidence was bound to be destiny.
Since destiny had come knocking on his door, how could he give up?
Therefore, Chu Fan decided to spend some time to see what this so-called treasure was all about.
To save his life, the man spilled everything like a bamboo tube pouring out beans when Chu Fan questioned him.
Indeed, a treasure had appeared in the mountains.
However, this treasure was fleeting. It was discovered by accident by someone, and that person was the woman's husband.
Regarding the specifics of the treasure, according to the information investigated by the Bashhen Sect behind the man, it was called a "secret realm" left behind by an ancient family from a long time ago.
Secret realm, Chu Fan had encountered relevant information about it in the Eternal Hall.
A long time ago, there were extraordinary individuals in the world who could fly and move freely. The strength level of these individuals was the realm that ancient families and martial arts families currently pursued, commonly known as the realm beyond Grandmaster, the Innate Realm.
Due to environmental pollution and resource scarcity, in this era, Grandmasters were already rare.
The powerful beings in the Innate Realm had long since disappeared without a trace.
Secret realms were generally places where Innate powerful beings lived.
They were often concealed by intricate formations, hidden very deeply.
Some ancient families also stored their accumulated treasures within these secret realms.
What was inside the secret realm that appeared this time was not yet known.
The reason the man and his companions captured the woman was that the secret realm was accidentally triggered by the woman's husband when he went into the mountains to gather herbs. Only her husband knew the specific location to trigger the hidden formation of the secret realm.
The forces attracted by the phenomenon of the secret realm being triggered, after extensive searching, learned that only the woman's husband knew the exact location.
He had been captured long ago.
The other forces that had not caught up, such as the Bashhen Sect, had shifted their attention to the woman.
They believed that after her husband triggered the secret realm and returned home, he would have immediately told his wife about what happened in the mountains, so the woman might also know the general location.
The woman, who had long sensed danger, had been hiding in the mountains.
Before encountering Chu Fan, unable to bear the hunger, she secretly ran out of her hiding place, only to run into people from the Bashhen Sect.
As soon as she fled, she bumped into Chu Fan, and then the subsequent events unfolded.
Seeing Chu Fan deep in thought, the man, who had somewhat recovered, quietly got up and tried to escape.
Chu Fan picked up a small stone from the ground with his hand and flicked his finger. The stone whistled through the air and hit the back of the man's head.
The man collapsed to the ground with a thud, motionless.
He had promised the man he would let him live, but he hadn't promised to let him leave intact.
Chu Fan didn't know the specifics of the Bashhen Sect, but he could infer that it was a force composed mainly of martial artists.
If he let him go, within half an hour, the Bashhen Sect would likely be pursuing him.
Chu Fan wasn't afraid of the Bashhen Sect, but he was too lazy to attract trouble.
Therefore, the man wasn't dead, but when he woke up, his mind would be completely disoriented, and even if the Bashhen Sect wanted to track anything, they wouldn't be able to.
Afterward, Chu Fan walked to the woman's side and gently pressed a pressure point on her head, causing her to wake up.
"Y-you saved me?"
Seeing the three people lying on the ground, the woman was very surprised.
On one hand, she was surprised that Chu Fan, despite his young age, was fighting against three people without any injuries.
On the other hand, he had ignored her pleas at first, so why did he end up lending a hand now?
"Let's go, the others will probably find this place soon!"
The woman didn't want to fall into anyone's hands again. She knew very well what awaited her if she were captured, and she hurriedly got up to follow Chu Fan.
Just five or six minutes after the two left, six or seven people rushed over from a distance. Seeing the three people lying on the ground, they quickly reported to the leader of the Bashhen Sect, and at the same time, more personnel were gathering to search for the woman.
The woman hadn't eaten for a long time. Chu Fan took her to a late-night snack stall and quietly watched her fill her stomach.
After eating and drinking her fill, the woman's wariness towards Chu Fan finally completely dissipated.
Otherwise, throughout their journey, although she followed Chu Fan, her eyes were still full of vigilance.
"You saved me because you wanted to know about the treasure, didn't you?" the woman suddenly asked.
Chu Fan didn't hide it and nodded, saying, "There is that reason!"
"The more important reason is that they were too annoying and brought their own demise!"
The woman pondered for two seconds, then looked up at Chu Fan and asked, "Do you really want to know about the treasure?"