Facing the woman's gaze.
Chu Fan knew she wanted to negotiate terms with him.
He chuckled lightly and replied casually, "If you want to talk, talk. If not, I have my own ways to get the information I need!"
Upon learning that the mountain treasure was related to a secret realm, Chu Fan's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.
He knew that within the so-called secret realm, he might find the elixir he sought.
Only elixirs refined from ancient times could clear the strange toxins in his body.
Therefore, the treasure had to be investigated.
However, after talking with the informant, Chu Fan was well aware that the information the woman possessed, even before she shared it, was not extensive.
Receiving it or not would not significantly alter the overall situation.
This was because many people were already investigating.
With his exceptional strength, he could easily obtain the information from other investigating factions.
In his growth thus far, no one had ever been able to fully coerce Chu Fan with conditions.
The woman was clearly taken aback.
She had not expected that while others would fight tooth and nail to obtain information about the treasure from her, Chu Fan would be so nonchalant.
Nevertheless, she said, "Seeing as you're a good person, I'll tell you!"
"But I have one more request!"
Seeing Chu Fan neither agree nor disagree, but merely smile, the woman felt a surge of helplessness and continued, "I hope you can help me rescue my husband."
His primary focus was on the secret realm.
Rescuing someone held little interest for Chu Fan.
Therefore, he said, "Regarding your husband, if I encounter him, I can help him out. But to actively search for and rescue him, that's impossible; I don't have the time!"
Realizing she couldn't leverage the treasure information to control Chu Fan, the woman no longer struggled. She nodded, and then shared the information she knew.
The location of the secret realm was in the mountains to the east, a place locals called Sky Sword Mountain.
Beneath a towering peak was a deep ravine. The woman's husband, while gathering herbs, accidentally slipped and fell in. By chance, he discovered a cave. Upon entering, he triggered something that caused a blinding light.
At the time, he vaguely saw what appeared to be ancient pavilion-like structures built deep within the cave.
Mistaking it for an ancient tomb, he was about to venture deeper for a closer look when a force surged towards him from the front, knocking him unconscious.
When he awoke, he was lying in the ravine, and the cave he had discovered was nowhere to be seen.
Fearing Chu Fan might not believe her, the woman continued, "My husband is certain he wasn't mistaken; there must be structures hidden deep within the cave!"
"It's just that for some reason, the cave vanished after he regained consciousness!"
Chu Fan was not surprised by this.
A secret realm, by its very nature, was a hidden place.
The formations of qi men dun jia arrays around it would cause normal people who encountered them to experience visual illusions, as if their eyes were being deceived.
When the man first stumbled into it and triggered the protection of the qi men dun jia array, upon regaining consciousness, he naturally found the cave gone.
Chu Fan also knew that the man was fortunate, as most qi men dun jia arrays possessed considerable lethality.
An ordinary person stumbling into one would face almost certain death.
However, there was no doubt that the secret realm was hidden beneath Sky Sword Mountain.
Considering that other factions had captured the woman's husband and likely already interrogated him for the secret realm's location, Chu Fan immediately got up, preparing to head to Sky Sword Mountain.
According to the woman's description, Sky Sword Mountain was easy to find; it was the highest peak in a hundred-mile radius. One only needed to cross the first mountain range near the city to see it.
However, as he took his first two steps, the woman followed him.
Chu Fan furrowed his brow and asked, "Why are you still following me?"
The woman looked troubled and muttered softly, "I don't know where to go, and there are still many people looking for me, I..."
Before she could finish, the woman began to cry.
She was well aware of how many people were searching for her. Staying by Chu Fan's side offered the least guarantee of safety.
Without Chu Fan's protection, she might be captured by others the moment she turned back.
Seeing the woman's pitiable state, Chu Fan no longer drove her away, allowing her to follow.
As the two turned towards the entrance to the mountain path, a rustling sound echoed from all around, and then over twenty people emerged, surrounding Chu Fan and the woman.
Through the insignia on their chests, Chu Fan recognized them as members of the Eight Divine Gate.
A gap appeared in the crowd, and a bald man with a fierce scar on his head stepped forward.
"It was you, kid, who crippled three of my brothers?"
Three men had pursued the woman, resulting in two deaths and one injury.
Now that the woman was with Chu Fan, it was not difficult to infer that he was the one who had acted.
Facing these opportunistic forces, whose strongest members were only at the Master level, Chu Fan had no inclination to say much and was too lazy to waste time on them. He said coldly, "If you don't want to die, disappear immediately!"
"Hahaha..."
The surrounding individuals burst into loud laughter.
A young man in his early twenties, facing over twenty of them, dared to speak so arrogantly?
"Brother, this guy is really arrogant!"
"Yes, Brother, it's the first time I've encountered someone so defiant!"
"Dare to tell us to disappear immediately? Kid, why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror to see who you think you are!"
...
Bullying others with their numbers was a common practice for any faction.
The members of the Eight Divine Gate, chattering amongst themselves, were all reprimanding Chu Fan, completely unaware that their actions were akin to provoking a sleeping dragon.
The bald man's attention remained fixed on the woman.
He nodded to two of his brothers beside him. They immediately moved towards Chu Fan, intending to restrain him and seize the woman in the process.
Seeing that deterrence was useless.
Chu Fan shook his head with great weariness.
He turned his head to the woman and said, "If you're scared, you can close your eyes!"
The woman, already on edge, was like a cornered beast.
Meeting Chu Fan's calm gaze, for some reason, her previously frantic heart suddenly quieted.
With an inexplicable intuition, she nodded and closed her eyes.
The next second, Chu Fan moved.
The two men who had just reached Chu Fan's front felt a blur before their eyes, and their bodies felt as if they had been hit by a massive truck. They were sent flying upwards.
The leader, the bald man, being the strongest among everyone, reacted swiftly enough to prepare a defensive stance.
Little did they know that at this moment, they were merely lambs awaiting slaughter.
Chu Fan, on the other hand, was a hungry wolf.
A wolf among sheep, the consequences were predictable.
The bald man's defense was as fragile as tofu in front of Chu Fan. Chu Fan slapped him on the forehead, and his knee suddenly let out a crisp crack, his leg bone shattering as he knelt stiffly on the ground.
Silence descended suddenly, so profound that only the faint sound of wind echoed.
The Eight Divine Gate members, who had been full of arrogance just a moment ago, stared blankly at their leader, who had been killed with a single blow.
They could not comprehend how their Master-level leader could be so easily defeated by Chu Fan.
"Run..."
Someone shouted, jolting everyone awake.
Seeing that it wasn't a dream and their leader had truly been killed by the young man they looked down upon with a single blow, everyone around them panicked and scattered.
Chu Fan's eyes flickered, and a cold aura emanated from him.