Watching the friction between the two sides grow worse, Gu Jiuheng felt a headache coming on.
If this continued, forget cooperation—they might not even remain friends.
He hurried forward and stepped between them.
"Fellow Daoist Han! Using this expedition into the Secret Realm to poach someone right in front of us is rather unseemly, isn't it?"
A note of displeasure had already crept into Gu Jiuheng's voice.
Whatever else could be said, Yang Fan was practically half a member of the Gu Family.
Although mutual interests had brought the two sides together, Gu Le and Yang Fan were already husband and wife. Naturally, he could not side with Han Qing.
Ultimately, he had pushed so hard for this cooperation only to maximize his own gains.
Without Lu Mingshi's help...
Their only option would be to consider selling the Secret Realm's coordinates to more powerful gods.
That would certainly bring them an immediate windfall.
But it would also mean forfeiting any chance of claiming this Secret Realm for themselves.
Compared with a one-time payout, a source of resources that provided steady, long-term returns was naturally more tempting.
Han Qing took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed her anger.
"My apologies. Since Fellow Daoist Lu has no interest, I won't bring it up again."
With that, she gave another soft huff and turned her head away.
In truth, Han Qing had her own calculations as well.
She had originally thought Lu Mingshi would have no reason to refuse the terms she offered.
As long as he agreed to join her company, their interests would become intertwined.
At that point, she could even shut Yang Fan and his family out entirely.
An annual income of ten trillion divinity points was no small sum.
Yet she had never imagined that Lu Mingshi and Yang