Chapter 518 - 515: Hypocrisy

He Jincheng’s expression changed at these words. He turned his head and shot a frigid glare at Qin Hai.

Only the He Family and the Qin Family knew about this matter.

The He Family certainly wouldn’t have spread this information. The only other possibility was the Qin Family.

But what He Jincheng couldn’t understand was, what did the Qin Family stand to gain from this? It didn’t benefit them in the slightest.

"Don’t look at me. We didn’t do it. We’re not stupid enough to just hand over the benefits to everyone else." Qin Hai’s expression had also turned incredibly foul.

He had never imagined this would become common knowledge.

At this rate, wouldn’t everyone try to stick their oar in and get a piece of the pie?

When that happened, a chaotic free-for-all over the bounty would be inevitable.

As if in response to Qin Hai’s thoughts, a series of whooshing sounds cut through the air. Many familiar faces appeared before him, half of whom were prominent figures from Yunfeng City.

The other half were powerful experts from the forces of other Sub-Palaces.

Their target was one and the same: Gu Peng!

The only thing that gave Qin Hai a sliver of comfort was that, for now, only his Qin Family knew that the person with the bounty on their head was Mo Qi, who was standing right there disguised as Qian Duoduo.

’Looks like I’ll have to find a chance to abduct him in secret!’

"Everyone, Gu Peng is a disciple of my Gu Family. The intelligence he possesses naturally belongs to my Gu Family as well. I will be taking him with me now, so please make way."

The slightly chubby old man cupped his fist to the crowd in a gesture of courtesy and was about to leave, pulling Gu Peng along.

But would the others let them leave?

The answer was obviously no.

A series of tyrannical auras blocked their path.

"Gu Weitian, keeping all the food for yourself isn’t a good habit." He Jincheng was at the forefront of those blocking the Gu Family’s ancestor.

For him, avenging He Jinbo was optional, and ownership of the Desperate Mountain Range could be forfeited, but the Void Spirit Flame was a must-have!

"That’s right! Just make that brat Gu Peng reveal the bounty’s whereabouts. At worst, we can all compete for it fairly."

"Yeah, being so greedy looks ugly. Just have him spit it out."

The crowd of experts blocked off all of Gu Weitian and Gu Peng’s escape routes. Grotto Heavens hovered in the air above, emitting powerful waves of Energy, sealing off the space as they stood guard.

Gu Weitian was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

In fact, he had already figured it out on his way here.

Since the news had been sold and spread so widely, monopolizing the prize was clearly out of the question.

It would be impossible to even try and secure a slightly larger share for himself.

He was certain that if he refused their demands, they would all attack him as one.

Two fists are no match for four hands.

There was only one path left for him: share the intelligence and share the whereabouts of the person with the bounty!

"Gu Peng, speak. Where is the person with the bounty?" Since it was unavoidable, Gu Weitian could only suppress his rage and try to speed things along.

"Reporting to the Ancestor, I do not know," Gu Peng said, lowering his head and bowing.

Mo Qi had saved his life. Even when facing his own ancestor, he was unwilling to betray Mo Qi.

This was his bottom line, a principle he would not compromise.

’Hm? He doesn’t know?’

Never mind the others; even Gu Weitian didn’t believe him.

At their level, even if their Cultivation was suppressed, their perceptiveness and experience remained.

Gu Peng’s meager life experience was insignificant in their eyes; they could tell whether he was lying with a single glance.

"Gu Weitian, this descendant of yours is really something else! He lies through his teeth, daring to deceive even you! Hahaha."

The crowd roared with laughter, and Gu Weitian’s face instantly darkened.

A murderous intent had already appeared in his eyes as he looked at Gu Peng.

Being forced into a corner by outsiders was one thing, but to be deceived by his own descendant was the greatest humiliation!

"I’ll give you one last chance. Do you really not know?" Gu Weitian asked coldly. As he spoke, he released his aura, bearing down on Gu Peng’s mind and putting him under immense pressure.

How could Gu Peng withstand such a thing? With a muffled groan, he collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from his seven orifices.

Under the immense pressure, countless bones in his body must have fractured, but he still clenched his teeth and enunciated each word, "Reporting to the Ancestor, this disciple... does not know!"

Gu Weitian had lost his patience. He had lost an enormous amount of face. He decided to perform a Soul Search on Gu Peng directly.

Compared to a descendant with decent talent, he valued his own prestige and the potential profits in the Desperate Mountain Range far more.

Just as Gu Weitian gripped Gu Peng’s head, preparing to perform the Soul Search, Mo Qi stepped forward.

"That’s enough. Let him go. I’m right here."

As he spoke, Mo Qi reverted to his original appearance.

Everyone was stunned. Different people had different expressions and reactions.

The young people who had previously surrounded Mo Qi, vowing to protect him to the death, scattered in an uproar.

Some of them had conflicted expressions, unsure how they should face Mo Qi.

On one hand, they wanted the reward money; on the other, they felt they owed Mo Qi.

Others showed unconcealable glee, secretly gathering their strength as they fixed their sights on Mo Qi.

For them, the moment Mo Qi revealed his identity, any debt of gratitude turned to dust. All they could think about was the bounty.

Qin Hai and the others were utterly baffled. They couldn’t figure out why Mo Qi would expose himself.

Surrounded and targeted by so many experts, he had absolutely no chance of escape.

And yet, he had still stepped forward.

Why?

Could it really be just to save Gu Peng?

Did such a noble person really exist in this world?

The rest of the crowd was excited and thrilled, their eyes on Mo Qi as if they were staring at a massive treasure trove.

Burning and greedy.

They didn’t care about the process; they only cared about the final result.

"No... you shouldn’t have revealed yourself!" Gu Peng was utterly crestfallen. Just moments ago, he had been prepared to sacrifice himself.

But it was all for naught.

"Hmph, you traitorous little whelp! I’ll deal with you later!" Gu Weitian snorted coldly, casually shattering Gu Peng’s Dantian before tossing him aside like a dead dog.

At that moment, with the exception of a hesitant few, everyone’s attention was fixed on Mo Qi.

Seeing this, Mo Qi grinned, revealing his signature simple-minded smile.

He wasn’t panicking at all.

’Anyway, as long as we’re in the Desperate Mountain Range, no one can use more than Peak Void Realm Cultivation. Plus, I already anticipated the possibility of my identity being exposed and have prepared adequate countermeasures. You want to kill me? Then you’ll have to pay the price!’

But before that, Mo Qi wanted to confirm a few things.

"Are you all going to make a move against me, too?"

Mo Qi looked at the group of people who had once beaten their chests, vowing to repay the life debt they owed him.

The vast majority lowered their heads, not daring to meet Mo Qi’s gaze.

But a radical minority didn’t care at all, not even bothering to hide their killing intent.

"Sorry. You may have saved our lives, but we stand on different sides."

"That’s right. The family wants you dead, so we have to kill you. We can only apologize."

"Don’t put up a pointless struggle. As thanks for saving my life, I can give you a quick death."