Chapter 1081: Chapter 676: Betrayal

Over the desolate wilderness, the wind howled.

Three figures swiftly flew across the sky, with spiritual energy swirling around them, leaving long white trails like sharp blades carving out three distinct scars in the azure sky.

The ground below rapidly retreated, hills, rivers, and barren forests, transforming into indistinct patches of color in their view.

Dongfang Haoyue flew at the very front, his robes rolling in the air current, eyes crossing the distant horizon and gazing into the grey-toned faraway, his expression profound and calm.

"Young Master."

At this moment, a burly man with a crew cut spoke up beside him.

This man was sturdy, with broad shoulders and a thick back, his nostrils flaring twice as if trying to catch some scent in the air.

"I smell the stench of Stele Demon ahead. Not many in number but they are closing in on us, they must have detected our whereabouts."

His voice was steady and sharp, carrying the experience of many battles, "Should we circle around them? Or shall I go and deal with them?"

"You go." Dongfang Haoyue withdrew his gaze and said flatly, "Be quick about it, don’t waste too much time."

"Yes."

The crew-cut man nodded heavily, then his body shook as dark yellow spiritual energy erupted from within him like a volcano. His speed suddenly increased, his whole being launching forward like a cannonball, the air beneath his feet forming concentric ripples.

After the man departed, Dongfang Haoyue and a nearby man in the blue robe also slowed their flying pace.

The man in the blue robe was lean-faced and slender, silently maintaining a half-step distance behind Dongfang Haoyue.

"Wei Dong."

Suddenly, Dongfang Haoyue spoke casually as if chatting about everyday matters: "How is your brother Wei Hai’s health?"

Wei Dong was slightly taken aback, not expecting the young master to ask this at such a time, but quickly regained his composure, hurriedly saying, "Thanks to the young master’s help, Xiao Hai has successfully passed the danger period, is in recovery now and should be fully healed in about a week."

"Hmm, good." Dongfang Haoyue nodded and then asked, "And your sister? Is she adjusting to school?"

Wei Dong’s expression softened considerably at the mention of his sister, a smile involuntarily curving his lips: "Xiaorou is doing well too, getting along happily with classmates, and people around her are taking care of her. She recently told me she ranked in the top three in exams, she was ecstatic."

"Hmm, it seems your brother and sister are doing quite well."

Dongfang Haoyue’s voice remained calm, yet he suddenly shifted the tone, "But what I’m eager to know—after spending so much effort cultivating you, putting much thought into supporting your brother and sister, why did you betray me?"

The air solidified abruptly at this moment.

Wei Dong’s pupils suddenly contracted, his body nearly stiffening mid-flight. His eyes widened, a look of disbelief painted across his face, as if he’d heard something completely incomprehensible.

"Young Master, why would you say such a thing?" His voice shook slightly with a trace of fear, "My life was saved by you, how could I possibly betray you?"

Dongfang Haoyue hovered in mid-air, coming to a complete stop.

Turning, he fixed his gaze on Wei Dong, eyes not sharp yet carrying a penetrating force that chilled Wei Dong to his core.

"Indeed, your life was saved by me, your family taken care of by me. Logically, you should be the least likely to betray me."

Dongfang Haoyue’s voice remained even, as if discussing something unrelated to him, "Yet your ambition has driven you constantly upward. For you then, a Holy Blood Clan member was your lifeline, someone capable of altering your fate. So at that time, you were loyal to me and shielded me from numerous surreptitious surveillance and assassination attempts."

He paused, then continued, "However... as your strength grew, so did the breadth of your contacts, your vision expanding. A Holy Blood Clan side branch member had lost the halo in your eyes. You started feeling that if you stayed with me, your life might stagnate here. Coupled with being constantly swept into the vortex of assassination over the years, always in danger, made you weary, made you wish to leave. Thus, you wavered, and you chose them."

At this point, a trace of coldness flashed in Dongfang Haoyue’s eyes: "Wei Dong, you were too impatient. After entering the Secret Realm, you have constantly leaked my whereabouts, causing me to endure multiple assassination attempts. But you should know, among those attempts, only a handful knew the specifics—exclude suspicions is easy. Maybe you thought I should have died in the earliest attempt but you see me survive each time, and you... got exposed."

Wei Dong’s face maintained the appearance of being wrongly accused, speaking urgently and sincerely, "Young Master, I truly haven’t betrayed you! What you mentioned, it really wasn’t me! I swear to God—"

"Is that so?" Dongfang Haoyue interrupted him indifferently, "And this time?"

His gaze calmly settled on Wei Dong’s face: "This time at the Ice Extreme Pass, I only brought you and Han Xu, not even A Yu knows my exact whereabouts. Yet they... still accurately tracked us."

Dongfang Haoyue turned to look into the distance, several fast-approaching black shadows already visible.

He turned back, looking at Wei Dong anew: "Do you think, how did they know my itinerary? In a situation where multiple return main routes are available, how did they precisely pinpoint my location? If not you—could it possibly be Han Xu’s doing?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.