The Betrayer is Ultimately Betrayed

"That bitch Wang Yuyao actually lent him these high-grade magic artifact shoes!"

The moment Liang Chen and Qian Yu saw the familiar pair of shoes, the same thought flashed through their minds.

In the next instant, both shoes exploded simultaneously.

A violent storm of energy erupted, instantly engulfing the two of them.

Liang Chen fared slightly better, as his spiritual palm technique blocked the blast for a brief moment, leaving him with lighter injuries.

Qian Yu, however, was not so lucky—he was sent flying by the explosion. His clothes hung in tattered strips, and his skin was scorched black.

Meanwhile, Niu Shouren and Chen Jiaojiao, the weakest among them, suffered the least damage since Liang Chen and Qian Yu had taken the brunt of the blast. They were merely thrown back by the residual shockwave, escaping mostly unharmed.

When the storm subsided, the four regrouped.

But by the time they looked ahead, Wang Jianqiang had already vanished without a trace.

Liang Chen, Qian Yu, and Niu Shouren all wore grim expressions.

Strangely, Chen Jiaojiao seemed to exhale in relief.

……

"Liang Chen and Qian Yu, was it? Your grandpa here won’t forget you two."

"And those two backstabbing scum, Niu Shouren and Chen Jiaojiao."

Over ten miles away, Wang Jianqiang suppressed his aura as he moved through a field of frost-covered vegetation.

After the earlier battle, the last remnants of his spiritual energy had been completely drained.

He popped a Spirit Restoration Pill into his mouth.

His energy recovery was agonizingly slow.

"No good. I need to find a safe spot to recover properly."

"At this rate, even the slightest danger could finish me off."

His gaze swept the surroundings before landing on a cluster of icy hills up ahead. His eyes lit up.

The hills stood over a dozen zhang tall, their bases densely covered with ice grass as tall as a person.

Behind the grass was a pitch-black cave entrance.

If not for the perfect angle of his position, he might never have spotted it.

"This’ll do."

Without hesitation, he quickened his pace and slipped inside.

The cave entrance was narrow—less than a zhang in diameter.

But once inside, he was surprised to find the space far more spacious than expected, roughly the size of a small house.

Even more astonishing was the presence of an ancient formation set up within.

The formation appeared long unused, its markings dull and worn.

Wang Jianqiang experimentally inserted a few spirit stones into the formation’s core.

To his surprise, it activated without issue.

"It still works!"

"And it’s a concealment formation!"

A grin spread across his face.

With the formation active, the cave entrance vanished completely.

The cave now existed as if isolated from the outside world.

Even a peak Qi Refinement cultivator’s full-powered spiritual sense wouldn’t detect its presence.

With this formation in place, the cave’s safety was guaranteed.

For the first time in a while, he finally allowed himself to relax.

Sitting cross-legged, he swallowed a Perfect Spirit Restoration Pill and began his recovery.

As he focused on refining the pill’s energy, a cooling current spread through his limbs and meridians.

Wherever it passed, strands of spiritual energy rapidly regenerated.

His depleted meridians refilled at a speed thirty times faster than before.

Two hours later, Wang Jianqiang slowly opened his eyes.

His spiritual energy had fully recovered.

The thought of Liang Chen and Qian Yu brought a cold glint to his gaze.

A true man never leaves a grudge unsettled.

He was no saint.

When he had detonated the magic artifacts earlier, he had tampered with them beforehand.

A trace of his spiritual sense had mingled with the explosion’s force, clinging to the two men.

With this marker, he could track their locations within a certain range—rendering them unable to hide.

"Daring to mess with me? I’ll make sure you don’t live to see tomorrow!"

……

While Wang Jianqiang recovered in the cave, Liang Chen and the others had scoured a radius of dozens of miles.

Yet, thanks to the concealment formation, they found no trace of him.

"Impossible. That old bastard’s too weak to have gotten far," Niu Shouren muttered bitterly.

Liang Chen remained silent for a moment before his gaze slid over Niu Shouren and Chen Jiaojiao—lingering particularly on the latter.

His eyes burned with undisguised lust, making Chen Jiaojiao shift uncomfortably.

Frowning, she instinctively crossed her arms over her chest and took a step back.

Liang Chen smirked meaningfully at her before turning to Niu Shouren. "But the fact remains—Wang Jianqiang has escaped."

His leer had been blatant, and Niu Shouren, standing right beside her, saw it all.

His expression stiffened before he subtly stepped in front of Chen Jiaojiao, forcing a smile. "Brother Liang Chen, don’t worry. The secret realm’s only been open for a month. We’ll have plenty of chances later."

Liang Chen chuckled darkly. "Oh, Brother Qian Yu and I will have plenty of chances. But whether you two do… well, that depends on how cooperative you are."

Niu Shouren’s heart sank. "What do you mean by that, Brother Liang Chen?"

"Brother Niu, stop playing dumb."

Liang Chen sneered, his greedy eyes raking over Chen Jiaojiao again. "If not for your lovely wife here, do you really think someone of your pathetic strength would be worth our time?"

"Brother Qian Yu and I have a well-known fondness for… sharing the company of our friends’ wives. Don’t tell me you were unaware?"

"You accepted our pills knowing that. Doesn’t that count as consent?"

"You took their pills?!" Chen Jiaojiao stared at Niu Shouren in disbelief.

She hadn’t known Liang Chen and Qian Yu well before—only that her husband had suddenly befriended them recently.

She’d hoped this connection would elevate their status, never imagining this hidden agenda.

Niu Shouren’s face twisted with guilt. "Jiaojiao, believe me, I did take their gifts, but I never meant to betray you—"

"Ridiculous!" Liang Chen cut in coldly. "If you knew our reputation, why take the pills unless you were willing?"

"Did you think you could freeload off us? Do you have a death wish?"

"I—"

Niu Shouren’s mouth opened and closed.

He had known their nature.

But the offer had been too tempting, and they hadn’t explicitly stated their intentions—just claimed they wanted friendship. He’d taken the pills, hoping to avoid consequences.

Those very pills had helped him reach the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

Yet now, they’d brought disaster.

As Niu Shouren hesitated, Liang Chen’s voice turned icy. "You have two choices now. Die—or step aside and enjoy the show."

The killing intent in Liang Chen’s voice sent a chill down Niu Shouren’s spine.

Faced with death or betrayal, he chose the latter.

As Niu Shouren stepped back, Chen Jiaojiao's heart was filled with despair. "Niu Shouren, with my looks, I could have easily found a Qi Refinement Perfection cultivator as my Dao companion, but I never did."

"Not only that, but every time I received resources from Wang Jianqiang, I shared half with you."

"Be honest—without me, would you have achieved what you have today?"

"I remained loyal to you, yet you betrayed me for mere profit. May you die a wretched death!"

At that moment, she suddenly thought of Wang Jianqiang.

In the past, she had despised him for being weak and infamous.

But now, looking back, she realized he had never treated her poorly.

It was only after she pushed him too far that his personality changed drastically.

Now, she too had been betrayed.

Finally, she understood how Wang Jianqiang must have felt.

Regret flooded her heart.

She shouldn’t have severed ties with him, nor should she have schemed against him!

But now… it all seemed too late.

As Liang Chen and Qian Yu closed in on her, a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.

She had her pride.

Though she was no virtuous woman, she refused to let these two schemers succeed.

With a flick of her wrist, a flying sword materialized in her palm.

Then, without hesitation, she drove it straight into her chest.