Purple Qi Coming from the East

"Blocking their way?" Gongsun Qiong muttered to himself, a sudden surge of inexplicable irritation rising in his heart.

"President, I'm going out to take a look." Zhao Xiaodao said, getting up.

"Let's go together. I had a feeling this journey wouldn't be peaceful, and it seems we've arrived anyway," Gongsun Qiong sighed, standing up as she spoke.

Zhao Xiaodao hurriedly lifted the curtain, and Gongsun Qiong bent down and stepped out of the carriage.

Along the vast official road, lush greenery lined both sides, with towering trees and occasional exotic birds flying by, chirping and chattering.

The caravan of over a hundred people was thus stuck on the official road. Ahead, a large tree lay fallen in the middle of the road, and a man in black wearing a straw hat sat with his back to them, blocking their way.

Chu Hongyuan and Thunder Saint stood at the very front of the caravan, their faces serious as they stared at the man in black; clearly, this man in black was putting a lot of pressure on them.

Gongsun Qiong, accompanied by Zhao Xiaodao, walked towards them. Thunder Saint sensed Gongsun Qiong's presence and said in a deep voice, "Guild Leader, please wait. This person is very dangerous."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Qiong stopped in her tracks, looked at the man in black sitting in the tree, frowned slightly, and said, "Are you a member of the Phantom Organization?"

"It's really uncomfortable to have your inner thoughts read like this!" The man in black, sitting down, casually broke off a tree branch and sighed.

"It seems you've identified me as your target," Gongsun Qiong said coldly.

It is said that Detect everything in the world, but in reality, one can only Detect a person's thoughts at this moment. If the person is not thinking about anything and is in a state of emptiness, then it is all in vain.

The man in black before her was in this state; Gongsun Qiong could see nothing except that he was the target.

Clearly, this is someone who has done research on themselves.

"The organization got a job, and the target happened to be you. Unfortunately, I got the job, so I had no choice but to come." The man in black seemed confident of victory and wasn't in a hurry at all, chatting casually with Gongsun Qiong.

"I'll give you ten million to drop this deal," Gongsun Qiong said softly.

The man in black paused, shook his head, and said, "It's very tempting, but the organization's rules require me to refuse your Captivate. I'm truly sorry."

Having said that, the man in black stood up, and a crescent-shaped longsword appeared out of thin air in his hand.

'Hoo~'

A sudden gust of wind arose all around, rustling the leaves on the trees on both sides.

'Hmph! Arrogant and conceited!' Thunder Saint had been holding back for a long time. Seeing this, he immediately gathered lightning in his palm and struck directly at the man in black.

'Boom~'

Two powerful auras shot into the sky, and the two of them flew into the air.

'Click~'

A bolt of lightning struck the sky, causing wind and clouds to surge. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy began to rage wildly, and aftershocks erupted from the sky. Some cultivators with lower cultivation levels in the caravan were unable to withstand these aftershocks and were blown away.

Chu Hongyuan had already retreated to Gongsun Qiong's Gongsun Qiong, using his own Spiritual Power to protect her from the aftershocks.

"President, let's retreat first. Thunder Saint is no match for him," Chu Hongyuan said anxiously.

The man in black exuded an overwhelming aura, his strength at least at the Spirit Saint Fifth Stage realm; while Thunder Saint's cultivation was only at the Spirit Saint Second Stage realm. The difference in their realms was too great, and even though Thunder Saint cultivated the extremely powerful and yang-based lightning technique, he had no chance of winning.

"Take the president away quickly!" Suddenly, a voice came from the sky.

This was Thunder Saint's voice, his tone somewhat urgent, clearly indicating that he was nearing his limit and hurriedly reminded Gongsun Qiong below to leave as soon as possible.

Gongsun Qiong glanced at the caravan behind her, somewhat hesitant.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaodao quickly advised, "President, we can't worry about others now. Chu Hongyuan, take the president away quickly."

Upon hearing this, Chu Hongyuan nodded and grabbed Gongsun Qiong's arm.

'Pop~'

A halo of Spiritual Power enveloped Gongsun Qiong, and then the two transformed into a streak of light and flew directly towards the capital.

'Bang!'

However, before the streak of light had traveled a hundred meters, it crashed into a wall of air, revealing Chu Hongyuan and Gongsun Qiong, who were then blasted away.

"They even set up an array!" Chu Hongyuan, who had been knocked back to his original position, supported Gongsun Qiong with one hand and clutched his chest with the other, and said in a deep voice.

His face was rather pale, clearly indicating that he had been injured by the rebound from the formation.

Gongsun Qiong, who was standing nearby, was unaffected.

'Boom!'

Another loud bang echoed in the sky, and a figure shot down from the heavens.

It slammed hard into the ground with a 'bang'.

"Thunder Saint!" Gongsun Qiong exclaimed.

Chu Hongyuan was even more shocked. He stared solemnly at the black-clad man in the bamboo hat floating in mid-air, his whole body surrounded by Spiritual Power, protecting Gongsun Qiong beside him.

'Whoosh~'

Thunder Saint flew out of the pit and came to Gongsun Qiong's side. There was no blood on his body, and his clothes were clean. There was lightning around him, but everyone could feel that Thunder Saint's aura was not as strong as before.

Clearly, when facing opponents at the Spirit Saint Fifth Stage realm or above, only Thunder Saint, at the Spirit Saint Second Stage realm, suffered a great loss.

"President, I'm no match for him. Let me take you away." Thunder Saint said in a slightly hoarse voice, his back to Gongsun Qiong.

He had already suffered serious injuries in the fight, as the opponent's Spiritual Power had already seeped into his body. If he didn't hurry to get rid of the man in black and heal his wounds, he might perish here as well.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Qiong shook his head and said, "His target is me. I don't want to implicate you. You should leave quickly."

"President!" Chu Hongyuan and Zhao Xiaodao called out anxiously.

Even Thunder Saint turned around, his tired face showing surprise as he looked at Gongsun Qiong and asked, "President, do you know the mission you bear?"

Gongsun Qiong raised her hand to stop Thunder Saint from continuing, looked up at the black-clad man in mid-air, and said, "If the Dao is to be followed, it is fate; if the Dao is to be abandoned, it is also fate. If Heaven truly intends to take my life, Gongsun Qiong, even if I escape this calamity, I will not escape the next. What mission can I then speak of? Enough said, you should leave now."

"President, you can't take things out of context! That's not what Confucius meant at all." Zhao Xiaodao was almost in tears. Had his president gone mad from reading the Analects? What was the point of believing in fate at a life-or-death moment? Wasn't the world of cultivators all about defying fate? There was no such thing as believing in destiny.

But no matter how Zhao Xiaodao tried to persuade him, Gongsun Qiong simply wouldn't listen.

At this moment, Thunder Saint gave Chu Hongyuan a look, and Chu Hongyuan understood, clasped his hands in a fist and said to Gongsun Qiong, "Please forgive my rudeness."

Having said that, he was about to knock Gongsun Qiong unconscious.

"Chu Hongyuan!" Suddenly, a powerful aura erupted from Gongsun Qiong, directly forcing everyone around to retreat, including Thunder Saint.

"How is this possible!" Thunder Saint, who had been knocked back, stared at Gongsun Qiong in shock.

At this moment, Gongsun Qiong's aura was completely different from before. A white aura surrounded him, and his powerful momentum soared into the Yunxiao. His face was solemn and dignified, and he exuded an indescribable aura, as if it were 'righteousness'?

Even the black-clad man in mid-air changed his expression, looking at Gongsun Qiong below in surprise.

However, this imposing aura quickly vanished, and Gongsun Qiong instantly collapsed, only to be caught by Zhao Xiaodao, who rushed over.

"President, President!" Zhao Xiaodao held Gongsun Qiong in his arms and found that she had fallen into a coma.

"Thunder Saint, quickly take the president away!" Chu Hongyuan shouted from afar.

Upon hearing this, Thunder Saint's eyes flashed with electricity, and he instantly rushed towards Gongsun Qiong.

'Whoosh~'

A sharp beam of light descended from the sky, forcing Thunder Saint to stop in his tracks.

'When!'

A long sword was plunged into the ground, and the man in the black robe and straw hat slowly descended.

"It's over!" Zhao Xiaodao, Chu Hongyuan, and Thunder Saint all felt a chill in their hearts.

"What a pity." The man in the black hat shook his head and sighed as he looked at the unconscious Gongsun Qiong.

With a 'whoosh,' the long sword flew into the black-clad man's hand.

'Da~'

'Da~'

The man in black walked step by step toward Gongsun Qiong.

Everything seemed to be set in stone.

'Hoo~'

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew by.

The man in the straw hat and black clothes was startled and turned to look up at the sky.

Purple clouds gathered in the east, their shapes strange and unusual, resembling dragons and snakes soaring through the sky, rolling westward with unstoppable force.