The girl wanted to catch Ye Fan off guard, but because she was too arrogant, thinking she had gained trust in front of Ye Fan, she was counterattacked by him, leaving her utterly unprepared.
At this moment, Ye Fan’s entire body was emitting a green glow, standing tall and sturdy, as if weighing a thousand pounds.
If the girl had seen Ye Fan’s strength at this moment, she would definitely not dare to court death. The only thing she wanted right now was to preserve her life and not let her soul scatter.
"Master, I originally planned to bring this Magic Artifact to you, but I didn’t expect you..."
The girl was very cunning, even now trying to make excuses, but even she didn’t believe these lies.
Ye Fan was already holding a magic sword, walking step by step towards the girl. She was lying on the ground, her inner Spiritual Energy completely disrupted by Ye Fan’s strike, making her weaker than an ordinary girl.
Ye Fan had already pointed the magic sword at her throat.
The girl was frightened, suddenly bursting into tears, saying, "Master, it was my fault. From a young age, I had to rely on hunting others’ Spiritual Energy to survive, I had no choice. The magic treasures I’ve acquired over the years are all yours; in the future, I’ll serve you diligently, not daring to disobey. Please spare my life, sob...sob..."
As she spoke, she revealed all the magic treasures in her storage bag, scattering them across the ground.
Perhaps the girl had a hoarding tendency, most of the magic treasures she collected were just ordinary low-grade artifacts. These artifacts were of every kind, pots and pans included. Some looked decent, but even a few medium-grade ones held no significance to Ye Fan because he couldn’t use them.
But Ye Fan knew the girl was still hiding something from him.
Ye Fan asked, "How did you hide your cultivation, fool me in the beginning?"
The girl froze, looking like she had no words to explain. When Ye Fan moved the magic sword two inches closer to her throat, she broke into a cold sweat and quickly explained, "Master, there’s an...heirloom left by my mother..."
Ye Fan’s long sword gestured slightly, suggesting she take it out.
The girl closed her eyes, tears streaming down, but honestly took out the treasured artifact she had kept hidden from her storage bag.
It looked like a small banner, resembling a flag, with some peculiar patterns on it, a mini version of the fabric banners used by ancient traveling doctors and fortune-tellers.
But this banner was not made of wood and fabric; it used a material Ye Fan had never seen before, similar to plastic, yet nearly indestructible.
From the first glance at this little banner, Ye Fan felt a strong suction force, seemingly trying to absorb all surrounding Spiritual Power, almost creating a vacuum area within a three-foot radius around the banner.
On the other side, however, a gentle force was emanating in the opposite direction.
Ye Fan, though unsure of the exact tier of this artifact, guessed it was at least a low-grade treasure level. Perhaps the reason the girl could reach the late Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age was entirely due to this artifact.
"What kind of Magic Artifact is this?" Ye Fan inquired.
The girl, trembling, answered, "This is the Zhenlian Banner, left by my mother. She died to protect it, and back then, I was very young..."
Ye Fan knew this girl was skilled at playing the emotional card, exploiting a man’s instinct to protect the weak, as he had sworn not to kill women. It was only at the end that the girl stated, "The Zhenlian Banner allows me to absorb more Spiritual Energy from Loose Cultivators. While they can absorb up to two-tenths from others with the same Spirit Root and body meridians, I use the Zhenlian Banner to absorb more than four-tenths from everyone... because my Spirit Root is unique; it’s a Yin-Yang Root, and most Loose Cultivators’ Spiritual Energy is compatible with mine..."
Ye Fan nodded, saying, "No wonder you had such impressive cultivation at such a young age. While others can only absorb up to two-tenths from unique individuals, you can almost absorb four-tenths from everyone. Unfortunately... your heart is malicious and harmful to others, and I cannot let you stay in this world."
Seeing that even after all this talk, and even revealing her life-saving Magic Artifact, she could not gain Ye Fan’s forgiveness, the girl was thoroughly panicked. She hastily said, "Master, I am willing to serve you my entire life. If you don’t believe me..."
The girl suddenly condensed the Spiritual Energy within her body. Ye Fan thought she might launch a counterattack, but in her severely wounded state, she had no power to counterattack.
Instead, her Spiritual Energy was continuously released, being absorbed by the Zhenlian Banner. The Spiritual Energy emitted from another side of the banner was incredibly pure, even easier for cultivators to absorb than the Spiritual Energy found within Pan Gu’s secret realm.
"Master, this is my... sincerity, please accept it..."
The girl, almost heartbroken, released the Spiritual Energy she had absorbed over the years, like a river bursting its banks, flowing faster and faster.
The Zhenlian Banner converted the Spiritual Energy within her body, dispersing it into the surrounding air for Ye Fan to absorb.
Ye Fan showed no interest in absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Energy, letting it dissipate slowly. The girl, desperate to survive, ignored any heartache.
Once she had released half of her body’s Spiritual Energy, Ye Fan used the long sword to flick the Zhenlian Banner into his storage bracelet, stopping the leakage of Spiritual Energy from her body.
The girl, feeling relieved, was already exhausted, her lips and face pale.
Just that brief moment caused her cultivation to regress back to the Qi Cultivation Stage, the foundation of her inner Golden Core completely vanished, and with the Zhenlian Banner taken, she would never have the chance to advance again.
"Sob...sob..." Lacking strength, the girl lay on the ground sobbing.
Due to her greed, she lost not only the Magic Artifact but also her cultivation. Now, whether she could keep her life was uncertain. Even if she survived, she would have to try her best to avoid being hunted by others, turning from a Hunter into prey, living a life of hiding.
"Get up, take me to find the Immortal Destiny Monument. Dare to play tricks again, and I will no longer spare you!"
Ye Fan’s tone carried an undeniable authority.
The girl struggled to get up from the ground, looking at the scattered Magic Artifacts around, wanting to gather them up again. But she dared not disobey Ye Fan, so she had to endure the pain, closing her eyes to avoid looking at her collected "treasures."
Ye Fan thought, perhaps because she was lonely and helpless, she’d developed such a strong sense of collection and possession, but he couldn’t sympathize with her for she carried too many Loose Cultivators’ lives on her shoulders, making her a fiend.
"Once I find the Immortal Destiny Monument, I’ll let you go," Ye Fan stated, then asked, "What’s your name?"
The girl slowly walked ahead, stammering, "My name is Bai He, a name my mother gave me, hoping I would be like a lotus, but I don’t know what a lotus looks like."
Ye Fan mused, her mother hoped she could be like a lotus, unstained from the mud. Yet because of the Zhenlian Banner, she was more poisonous than a viper, a deep irony.
But in a world where the strong prey on the weak, it couldn’t be said she was wrong; if not a Hunter, only prey. She might be more tragic.