Taiyi Dao Fruit

Dark light pierced through the wind and rain as if tearing through a dark curtain, and more than ten feet away, a figure suddenly materialized, with searing electric light flickering over their body.

"Crack!"

When the two thunder forces collided, one was fierce and wildly aggressive, while the other was dark and sharply sinister, emitting flickering thunder light, which scorched a patch of black onto their vestment robe.

"Hmph!"

With another cold snort, "Rapidly as the Law Order."

Lips wriggling, the thunder light surged violently, with the brazen thunderbolts flashing continuously. The Yin Thunder ultimately could not withstand the assault and was completely extinguished.

But his location was completely exposed, and Jiang Li's goal was achieved.

Realizing this, the person's Thunder Technique Qi Mechanism erupted, and through the curtain of rain, a gloomy young face could be seen.

'Not Eighth Rank, but Seventh Rank,' Jiang Li estimated silently.

If it had been Eighth Rank, it wouldn't have been so easy to extinguish his Yin Thunder.

Meanwhile, the big man who was blown away by the thunderbolt had already gotten up. His towering form still upright, with only a scorched area on his chest, however, his vigorous life force was undamaged.

"Junior brother, this big man should also be Seventh Rank, probably a Seventh Grade Moving Mountain Warrior," Gongsun Qingyue whispered.

The Dinghu Sect's Divine Attribute Dao Fruit was already focused on developing thick skin and strong flesh, but compared to the Taiping Sect, it was still far from extreme.

The Eighth Rank Yellow Turban Warriors, Seventh Rank Moving Mountain Warriors, and the Sixth Rank Sea Stepping Warriors; their Dao Fruit abilities were all focused on the physical body, extremely strengthening physique and strength, with absolute purity at the top level.

This big man in front of them was a Seventh Rank Moving Mountain Warrior; his physical strength was so formidable that he could withstand the Thunder Technique without dying, or even without sustaining serious injury.

Of course, in public, big men like him were still referred to as Yellow Turban Warriors, just as the Divine Travel Grand Protector, regardless of higher ranks, would still refer to themselves as such, which was also considered a form of corporate culture.

Having extinguished the Yin Thunder, the young man's sleeves fluttered slightly, covering the scorched marks. True Qi fluctuated on his body, warding off the wind and rain, and he said mockingly, "You're using these malicious tactics, I've truly experienced the ways of the Dinghu Sect, Mr. Cao Yuanlong of the Taiping Sect."

"Not as vicious as your sect," Jiang Li looked up at the sky, "altering heavenly phenomena, pouring rain, travelers have no choice but to stop and seek shelter in roadside inns and taverns. I originally thought this was aimed at us, but now it seems, you all are intercepting people returning from Yong Province."

Therefore, there was the divination that suggested those who continued forward would be safe, whereas those returning would face danger.

They were intercepting people coming from Yong Province, but those going to Yong Province were basically unharmed. If Jiang Li and the others hadn't pointed out the crucial details and continued forward, the Taiping Sect's men would undoubtedly have let them pass without creating any obstacles.

This assassination wasn't prepared for them, but for the folks from the Escort Agency.

If Jiang Li and the others had arrived just a bit later, the tavern might very well have witnessed a scene of a shady innkeeper poisoning travelers.

"Intercepting those returning from Yong Province, and with this heavy rain..." Gongsun Qingyue furrowed her eyebrows, "Has there been a drought in Yong Province?"

Even in a supernatural world, the rules of the water cycle must be followed; rain cannot appear out of nowhere. An increase in rainwater in one place will likely lead to less rain, or even none, in another place.

If a drought occurs in one area, even cultivators who harness the Rain God or Thunder God Dao Fruits can only transport rain clouds from elsewhere; they cannot magically create rainwater.

That's why in myths, the Jing River Dragon King was executed for disobeying the decree about when to bring rain.

Gongsun Qingyue, as a possessor of the Warlock Dao Fruit, was knowledgeable in astronomy and geography. After framing the actions of the Taiping Sect as a conspiracy, she quickly reached this conclusion.

[And judging by the change in Cao Yuanlong's expression, there indeed appears to be a drought in Yong Province, and it's highly likely that the Taiping Sect is involved.]

Karma Collection affirmatively hammered the correctness of this moment.

"Junior brother, let's go back," Gongsun Qingyue decisively said.

At this moment, the urgency was not to go to Yong Province but to return to the nearest city, summon the Divine Travel Grand Protector, and expose the conspiracy of the Taiping Sect.

If they could stop it in time, the drought in Yong Province might be contained, and countless lives might be saved.

"Go back? Do you think you can return?" Cao Yuanlong sneered.

Electricity zigzagged through the storm one bolt after another, and in a brief moment, nearly twenty bolts had arrived.

Each bolt represented a Powerful Warrior.

Simultaneously, several enormous figures braved the wind and rain to approach.

Powerful Warriors, Yellow Turban Warriors, all of Eighth Rank; Cao Yuanlong and the Big man were of Seventh Rank.

On Jiang Li's side, he himself was Eighth Rank, but had Seventh Rank combat power; Gongsun Qingyue was Seventh Rank, Qi Changsheng was at Seventh Grade Realm but with Eighth Rank combat power. The remaining two were one Eighth Rank and one Ninth Grade.

Seventh Rank vs. Seventh Rank, the outcome was uncertain, but being entangled was a certainty. If they were held up, Taiping Sect members would continuously arrive.

They aimed to intercept those returning from the drought-stricken areas, and it was certain that not only this path was ambushed—there were untold numbers of Taiping Sect members rushing here from around the area.

Unless they played their trump card, from the looks of it, the best result for Jiang Li and the others would be being forced to proceed to Yong Province.

Using a trump card for this minor affair would be foolish.

Jiang Li watched as figures appeared one after another, then suddenly burst into loud laughter, "Your Excellency indeed has a significant advantage, but what if, I mean, if I had already spread a colorless and odorless poison in the surroundings, what then would you do?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Cao Yuanlong scoffed disdainfully, about to signal his men to attack.

Putting aside where you, a person from a reputable sect, learned such a poisonous skill, this pouring rain is enough to make most poisons difficult to spread.

If poison was to be used, it should be those who set up the trap that would do it, not Jiang Li and other travelers.

However, at that moment, one of the forefront Big men suddenly saw a blur before his eyes, his enormous body swayed, teetering as if about to fall.

"Bad... there's..." He struggled to stand straight, gasping out, "Poison—"

He'd barely gotten the word "poison" out when Jiang Li laughed, "It's also, it's also."

The Big man collapsed to the ground with a thud.

His fall was like a signal; one by one, the Yellow Turban Warriors and Powerful Warriors dropped like harvested leeks, and even Cao Yuanlong himself began to feel a numbness in his mouth and nose, spreading quickly throughout his body.

Fortunately, he activated his power in time to resist, and his Seventh Rank power managed to withstand the poison.

But those of Eighth Rank didn't have the strength to resist the poison, and in the blink of an eye, those from the Taiping Sect who had just arrived fell until only Cao Yuanlong and the original Yellow Turban Warriors remained.

Even the people by Jiang Li were starting to feel the numbness, but luckily, Jiang Li timely injected them with a thread of Innate Qi, neutralizing the poison.

"You!" Cao Yuanlong resisted the numbness, his eyes widening as he stared at Jiang Li, "Despicable!"

Who was the one ambushing and killing on the road? They hadn't used poison, yet it turned out to be used by the ones being ambushed.

An unexpected move that completely broke the encirclement.