The Baishui River, a long river that relies on the capital city for survival, flows rapidly, with sails stacked in layers, bustling.

  Meng Qi and his group were standing on the banks of Pei Shui, gazing out at the dense rows of shops on the opposite shore, as well as the distant city gate.

  "It's been nine years since we last met, and yet the prosperity of the capital city seems just like yesterday." Lu Guan was half nostalgic and half sighing.

  "If the Western bandits come south, such a prosperous scene will no longer exist. Please, General Lu, take care of your body for the sake of the people and the world." Hu Dao-ren said sincerely.

  He glanced at Meng Qi and sighed, "Meng Xiao You, although I don't know your background, but this time it's all thanks to you and Ruan Gongzhu for helping. People in the world fear the power of the treacherous and the strong men around him, only you two have justice on your heads. Although I can't thank the people of the world on their behalf, I can thank you both on my own."

  Lu Guan nodded slightly: "Heroes emerge in youth, the kindness of the two young friends, Lu has etched it in his heart, hoping to repay them someday."

  "We are fighting for justice, not personal favors. If General Lu can drive away the Western barbarians, that would be the best reward for us." Meng Qi still had the same cold and stern expression of a swordsman.

  "Expel the Western Barbarians and forever eliminate future troubles; this is the lifelong aspiration of Lu."

  The capital city is in sight, and he feels a surge of pride and pressure in his heart. After boarding the ship, he remains silent, gazing at the rushing river waters and the crowds on the shore.

  "Yue Xi and the capital city are like heaven and earth." Lu Zhongqi visibly relaxed a lot, after crossing the Pei River, he arrived at the opposite bank, where he could find the post station, take out the imperial edict, and then the danger would be over.

  So he had a mood to appreciate both banks of the Ba River and the outskirts of the capital.

  "Hmph, I don't have much feeling about this, but I suddenly miss the champion red of De Sheng Building. Just thinking about it makes my stomach's wine worms start to churn."

  All along the way, he actually held back and didn't drink because he was afraid of making mistakes.

  Meng Qi felt the river breeze, nodded slightly, and indeed this part of the capital was more grand and prosperous than Xuanwu, but there were far fewer heroic figures with swords at their waists, while scholars and elegant ladies strolled under the willows on both banks.

  A barge drifted down the river, passing in front of a ferry boat with five people on it. The shadow loomed over, as if the sky had darkened.

  Suddenly, a figure flashed over from the building ship, extremely fast, with almost no residual shadow left.

  He spread his sleeves, fluttering in the wind, like a hawk swooping down on its prey. With the rolling waves of the river and the slow-moving boats, and the shadows between them, he formed a perfect whole. Whether it was the angle or the posture, everything blended together exceptionally well. It seemed as if he had brought the surrounding heaven and earth to his palm, making Meng Qi feel like he was being rejected by the boat, the water, and the shadows. The vastness of the world seemed to have no place for him anymore.

  This is an indescribable feeling, Meng Qi seemed to be single-handedly challenging the heavens, his aura weakened, not daring to make a rash move, as if pulling one hair could move the entire body.

  The air is filled with tension, the heart is in a fierce battle. Meng Qi's understanding of these eight words has deepened at this moment. It's not just about various psychological techniques, creating an atmosphere and momentum, but also about having some insight into the natural world and the way of nature.

  Perhaps this is an inevitable path to becoming a scenery... Meng Qi suddenly had an epiphany.

  The incoming person slapped down with one palm, seemingly without using any force, empty and hollow, growing bigger and more unbearable.

  Clang!

  Meng Qi's icy sword flashed out of its scabbard, launching a direct assault. If he retreated now, under the entanglement and pressure of this momentum, he would immediately fall into a disadvantageous position from which it would be impossible to recover.

  The long sword slanted, its tip trembling with uncertainty, covering all the vulnerabilities of the incoming attacker.

  The sword light has just risen, the attacker is slightly stagnant in mid-air, the palm technique changes, and the flaw unexpectedly disappears first, becoming a trap that leads Meng Qi's long sword into the net.

  Meng Qi's wrist shook, and his long sword pointed at the throat of the incoming person.

  The long sword had just changed direction when the opponent took the lead again. With a single misstep of their palms, a scorching coldness whirled in, sending the long sword flying askew.

  Undying Seal Technique!

  Meng Qi suddenly understood the other's identity and also understood why his Du Gu Nine Swords had been ineffective for two consecutive moves!

  Undead Seal Method is good at using true energy to probe the enemy, spiritual detection of the enemy. His own sword method has not been used yet, but he has already inferred one or two from muscle reactions, and can naturally change first and set up traps!

  Meng Qi took a deep breath, his long sword spinning and slashing out in a diagonal motion, constantly changing, as if endless.

  With a loud "peng" sound, Meng Qi's long sword finally came into contact with his opponent's palm. At first, it was fierce and violent, but then suddenly gentle and soft, as if trying to pull Meng Qi over and make him feel so uncomfortable that he wanted to vomit blood.

  However, Meng Qi had anticipated this and, as if he had reached a new level in the Du Gu Nine Swords, predicted the enemy's move. With his long sword turning with the momentum, he took advantage of the moment when yang was about to give way to yin and slashed horizontally, seemingly wanting to cut through empty space.

  The long sword had just changed, and the opponent's palms also changed, coincidentally located here, as if coming to the door by itself!

  This time, even if he could detect Meng Qi's change in swordsmanship ahead of time, it would still be impossible to dodge!

  Suddenly, the attacker's right palm shot out in a vertical and horizontal motion, releasing ring after ring of air circles that "encircled" Meng Qi's sword tip.

  Meng Qi felt a sense of emptiness and lack of strength, as if the opponent's realm was real, and his long sword was slanted.

  His Breaking Air Style hasn't even reached the entry level yet!

  Meng Qi was originally a right-handed swordsman, but at this moment, his left hand stretched out and pulled out a pitch-black long knife. With a reversal of the usual feeling of not being stained by smoke and fire, he chopped out with a strong sense of killing intent.

  A gleam of steel flashed, and a burst of electric sparks illuminated the shadows, instantly shattering the harmony between man and nature.

  Splitting mountains and opening roads, filling seas and creating land, this is the way of survival in the mundane world, this is the path of all kinds of desires in the red dust!

  The other party was taken aback, his aura dissipated on its own, and his eyes turned slightly red, as if he had thought of his own imperial ambitions, and the dominance of the Demon Gate.

  With a flash of his sword, he suddenly came to himself, and with an inhuman leap, he somersaulted in mid-air, the force of his sword entering his body like a mud cow entering the sea, leaving no trace.

  He pressed the tip of the knife with one palm, and his whole body flew back.

  The Lou boat passed the small ferry, the shadow disappeared, and the sunlight reappeared, bright and radiant. The suffocating battle earlier seemed like a bewildering dream.

  Meng Qi turned his head to look at the building boat, just in time to see a middle-aged scholar with a wide belt and a Confucian robe standing at the railing, looking at him with his hands behind his back. The two men's eyes met, and it seemed as if sparks were flying between them.

  The evil lord Guan responded... Meng Qi's sword returned to its scabbard, cold and calm.

  Jingshen Sword Xiao Meng... Guan Ying's temples were slightly grayed, with a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth, exuding an air of elegant refinement that was hard to put into words.

  The two boats drifted further and further apart, Meng Qi suddenly recited:

  "The grand plan of life is discussed with laughter and ease, but in the end, it's just one intoxicating experience."

  Guan Ying's gaze changed slightly, and he stood with his hands behind him, gazing out at the distant river water. His figure gradually disappeared into the overlapping sail shadows.

  "Unable to win at life's one intoxication, good, good! I like this poem!" Hu Dao Ren laughed loudly, unexpectedly finding that Xiao Meng had such talent and breadth of vision.

  Just now, Meng Qi and Xie Jun's exchange was swift and fleeting, and except for Ruan Yushu, everyone else didn't notice, thinking that Jing Shi Shengjing had always been cold and aloof, even Meng Qi was excited about poetry.

  Meng Qi smiled slightly, covering his mouth with his right hand, and coughed lightly. He took a peek inside, where there was a lump of dark red.

  Just now, under the unyielding印法, my true qi was stirred up and I suffered some internal injuries. Fortunately, due to the golden bell's transformation of my meridians and internal organs, which have become quite robust, the injury has had little impact. If it were someone else, they would probably need to rest for a while to recover.

  However, Xie Jun was also not unscathed!

  Meng Qi drew out the evil-warding dagger and saw that its tip still had a faint bloodstain, which appeared slightly charred under the electric light.

  One knife for one palm, and they parted with a draw! Meng Qi's heroic emotions were stirred, inspired by the unyielding Seal Technique. Suddenly, he had an epiphany about the essence of the Heavenly Knife.

  In harmony with the natural world, one must feel the corresponding way. The undying seal method is to borrow the mutual assistance of true energy and spirit, blending in harmony, only then can there be external divine phenomena. Only when the ancestral orifice between the eyebrows is slightly open, the soul is elevated, and the primordial spirit is strong, can one respond to heaven and earth and enter the realm of subtlety.

  Along the way, Meng Qi listened to their discussion and roughly understood the general boundary division: ordinary, inner family expert, earth boundary, heavenly boundary, entering subtlety, enlightenment.

  So, his own Phantom Apotheosis could take its essence and help Tian Jian cultivate.

  Ruan Yushu seemed to have felt Meng Qi's heroic spirit, and lightly stroked the guqin, with a majestic and powerful melody, and a profound and distant realm.

  The ferry arrived at the shore, and five people stepped onto the dock, heading for the post station.

  Under the arrangement of the postal officials, iron cavalry soon escorted Lu Guan and Meng Qi into the capital.

  Before long, the group arrived outside the city. Meng Qi looked up at the towering city gate, watching as the gate slowly unfolded like a scroll painting. In his heart, he thought: Demon Emperor, National Master, Evil Lord, Ghost King... I'm here!

  "Successfully escort Lu Guan into the capital, main task one is completed, each person will be rewarded with 200 good deeds. After settling down, go to Xiao Xiang Lou and meet up with Luo Shengyi to start main task two."

  The majestic and solemn voice of the master of the six paths of reincarnation echoed in Meng Qi's and Ruan Yushu's minds.

  …………

  In a dignified mansion, an old man with a good appearance looked at the person in front of him with a hint of astonishment: "Lü Guan is alive and has entered the capital?"

  "Master Xiang, please forgive me. I really didn't expect that there would be an expert no less than Gui Wang by Lu Guan's side." The person in front of him was sweating coldly on his forehead.

  "Who is this expert? Didn't they say that Evil Lord had also made a move?" The old man calmed down.

  The person reporting shook his head: "Evil Lord doesn't know where he is. That young master is very young and is called 'Surprising God Sword' Xiao Meng."

  "Xiao Meng..." The old man repeated this name.

  In the fragrant courtyard, a slender woman in a veil suddenly stood up: "Liu Guan didn't die?"

  "Yes, it's rumored that Evil Lord himself took action, but Lu Guan is still alive because he has a very powerful expert by his side, who is said to be 'Surprising Sword' Xiao Meng." The reporting woman showed a bit of fear and disdain when mentioning Evil Lord.

  "Hmph, isn't he known as the number one immortal in the world of martial arts... 'Surprising Divine Sword' Xiao Meng, who exactly is he..." The veiled woman paced back and forth.

  Inside the Stargazing Pavilion, a white-haired old man looked at the star chart in front of him and frowned at his disciple: "Lü Guan was supposed to die, why did a shooting star pass by and change the omen?"

  "My disciples don't know." His disciples were completely bewildered.

  An old man with white hair muttered to himself: "Jīng Shén Jiàn Xiǎo Mèng..."