After standing up, Meng Qi only discovered that the old man was tall and strong, even in his old age, he still looked majestic. He turned around, revealing a face full of scars from the wind and frost, with deep wrinkles and age spots all over, but his bright and spirited eyes did not seem dull like normal people of this age, clear and calm as if they could reflect Meng Qi and Ruan Yu Shu's figures.

  His hand, which drew out the long sword, was steady without a single tremble, as if repeating the action of thousands of hammerings, every moment's snapshot, except for the different distance, was exactly the same, shocking.

  Feeling this, Meng Qi's expression became increasingly solemn. This was the strongest enemy he had faced since his martial arts skills were accomplished! Compared to him, An Guo Xie and You Huan Duo may not be inferior in terms of physical strength, internal energy, and techniques, but their realm was far apart. They didn't have this kind of feeling where every move conformed to the principles of the Tao, with harmony and balance between movement and stillness.

  Meng Qi vaguely had a kind of enlightenment, this old man was only one layer of window paper away from opening the Miao Xin Xuan Guan, and after opening it, he could immediately merge the internal and external worlds, that is to say, the boundary was here, and he could directly cross the half-step outer scene.

  Is it Guoshi or Jianhuang?

  He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus his energy and spirit. If he hadn't sensed the old man's murderous intent, he would have already launched a full-force attack in the sequence of Red Dust, Yan Luo Tie, Sheduan Jue, and Duan Qing Jing to seek an opportunity to escape with his life.

  Still, he didn't dare to be even slightly careless, for someone like him could easily conceal his murderous intentions.

  Meng Qi grasped his sword with his right hand and swung the hilt of his knife back and forth with his left, signaling to Ruan Yushu that after he made his move, he should immediately jump off the stone bridge and dive into the river to escape first.

  When facing an enemy of this level, you can't afford to be distracted!

  Ruan Yushu remained expressionless, neither surprised nor fearful, and didn't know what kind of program it was.

  The old man walked forward slowly, his long sword slashing out casually. The moves seemed simple, but they appeared to be constantly changing, with openings shifting and flowing unpredictably, making it impossible to grasp.

  Meng Qi put his whole body and mind into this one sword, the words about the General Formula and Broken Sword Formula rising and falling in his mind, analyzing and combining.

  Here!

  Meng Qi counterattacked without retreating, his long sword stabbing straight and true, landing seven inches to the left of the old man's sword.

  The unpredictable sword move collapsed, but suddenly yin and yang separated, the long sword quickly slashed left and right, yin and yang collided, a whirlpool suddenly formed, and Meng Qi's long sword was trapped in an instant!

  Is it a trap? The real flaw, the only flaw, is actually a trap!

  Meng Qi suppressed his shock, his wrist shook, and the long sword spun along with the whirlpool, doubling its speed as it pierced through the past, stabbing straight into the old man's chest.

  At this moment, the tip of Lao Zhai's sword was placed on Meng Qi's side road, allowing the long sword to pass through, as if he automatically bumped his wrist up!

  Another trap?

  Meng Qi's body leaned forward, forcing a change in his move, the long sword thrust out, flashing past the tip of the sword, slantingly pointing at the old man's throat.

  The old man calmly and unhurriedly shifted his body slightly, causing Meng Qi's long sword to fall empty, while the sword in his hand remained still, as if waiting for Meng Qi to actively offer up his chest and abdomen.

  The real trap?

  Meng Qi's mind was filled with countless thoughts, but in the end, he sheathed his sword and avoided confrontation.

  The old man gained momentum and showed no mercy, his long sword unfolded with countless changes, as if weaving a spider web, layer upon layer, flaws connected to traps, traps connected to flaws, making people's eyes dizzy.

  Meng Qi saw several obvious flaws, but didn't dare to draw his sword easily, fearing that he would fall into the trap again like before, and even possibly this sword was also a part of the follow-up trap after the previous one!

  He felt a strong sense that every move he made seemed to come from his heart, but was actually influenced by various changes and situations, making the responses the old man had hoped for, and under his guidance, fell into the trap, trapped in a web of heaven and earth!

  Meng Qi exerted himself to break through, but felt that the old man's swordsmanship was getting tighter and tighter, as if his own struggles had led him deeper into trouble.

  His forehead gradually broke out in cold sweat, even when facing the evil lord, he could sense his enemy's moves, know their spirit, and from his own muscle reactions, true energy circulation, etc. know what his next move should be, his own Du Gu Nine Swords didn't have this kind of desperation, as if being led by the nose, even if he broke through the opponent's sword move, he fell into an even more treacherous situation.

  At this moment, Meng Qi didn't dare to completely go against his own judgment and make a move, or else he would be leaving himself wide open and voluntarily offering his head on a platter.

  Clang!

  The sound of the water, the music entered his ears, Meng Qi's restless heart suddenly disappeared, and the formula for breaking the sword reappeared. The accumulation of these days surged into his mind.

  In his eyes, the infinite variations of sword moves disappeared, no longer lingering in his mind. What he saw, what he saw, was the simplest slash, chop, sweep, and thrust... one stroke at a time, filling his field of vision.

  No matter how they are combined or changed, they always follow some basic principles, and all changes are based on the same underlying truth!

  Meng Qi suddenly had an epiphany, his spirit was stirred, and a long sword appeared across his chest.

  Ding!

  The sword shadows vanished into thin air, and for the first time since they began fighting, their two swords clashed.

  Meng Qi's heart was filled with joy, waiting for a counterattack, but the old man drew his sword and stood up, saying calmly:

  "You have returned to defend your sword."

  Meng Qi was as if struck by lightning, his whole person stunned on the spot. The things he thought he understood were actually also in the opponent's sword move trap?

  He laid down layer upon layer of traps, using a single, real weakness to lure in, just to defend against one move with his sword?

  If he really launches a full-scale attack, what will happen to himself?

  It's probably still necessary to rely on the Golden Bell Cover, using the Falling Red Dust, Yan Luo Letter, Selfless Technique, and Breaking Clear and Clean One Wheel to launch a strong attack, looking for an opportunity to escape, showcasing the style of Lei Dao Kuang Seng and Meng Jin Gang.

  "This is one of the subtleties of my swordsmanship, and you can block it, which means you have already made contact with the swordsmanship and have some understanding. At your age, it's indeed astonishing and extraordinary. When I was at your age, I had just touched the realm of true energy and controlling the sword with my heart." The old man sheathed his long sword and stood with his hands behind his back.

  Meng Qi slightly improved, originally if he didn't have a little understanding of the sword way, he might not even be able to defend against the returning sword and would lose.

  The old man didn't mention the purpose of blocking the road, and continued to talk about swordsmanship: "The way of swordsmanship is no more than two kinds. One is from complexity to simplicity, and the other is from simplicity to complexity. The former is that one move and one style are the ultimate principle of swordsmanship, cutting off the opponent's sword moves lightly and easily. The latter is to derive all methods, exhaust all changes, calculate layer by layer, making people tired of running around, hard to escape and break."

  "These two are not separate paths, but rather the yin and yang aspects of the way of the sword, complementing each other."

  His clear eyes looked at Meng Qi: "But whether it's from complexity to simplicity, or from simplicity to complexity, the matter of swordsmanship ultimately takes 'me' as the master, rather than taking others as the foundation. I cherish talent, so I remind you of this."

  In an instant, Meng Qi's mind was as if a flash of lightning had illuminated all sorts of accumulated things and drove away the layers of shadows.

  He sheathed his sword and bowed: "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

  This is not only beneficial for the digestion and absorption of Dugu's Nine Swords, but also has a good effect on the deviation of one's own swordsmanship, and allows oneself to have a different perspective on "Tian Dao".

  The old man's gaze turned to the side, ignoring Meng Qi's courtesy, and said with some emotion: "You have a good talent, but the realm of swordsmanship still needs to be stepped through one step at a time. For example, it wasn't until eight years ago that I re-picked up my long sword and got the title of 'Sword Emperor'."

  It's indeed the Sword Emperor... Meng Qi wasn't surprised, but instead asked curiously: "Senior, didn't you abandon your sword before?"

  "There is none, it's just that at that time I had forgotten 'the sword and me'. The Sword Emperor said calmly, "No sword in the heart, but a sword in hand; no sword in hand, but a sword in heart. Not limited to physical objects, all things are my long sword; the sword is me, I am the sword... After crossing these, I picked up this sword again, it's still it, and finally understood the way of the sword."

  "When you see a mountain, it is a mountain; when you see water, it is water. When you do not see a mountain as a mountain, and do not see water as water, then you see the mountain as a mountain, and the water as water."

  The Sword Emperor nodded slightly: "It's good that you understand, but this kind of thing can only be considered as entering the door when one truly realizes it themselves."

  He turned around, walked slowly, shrunk into inches, and disappeared into the darkness, leaving only one sentence:

  "Tell Lu Guan that whoever becomes emperor will have to drive out the Western Rong, and it's inevitable that he'll be used. Be patient and wait, don't rush to attach yourself."

  He let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, Jian Huang didn't have any malicious intentions; otherwise, he and Ruan Yushu would be in trouble.

  "It's best to remain neutral for now." Ruan Yushu suddenly spoke up as he stood quietly by the side.

  Meng Qi glanced at her, feeling a slight stir in his heart. She had just chosen not to escape on her own: "Right, this is also my idea. Luo Shengyi wanting to help the Third Prince is his business, it has nothing to do with me."

  In this matter, Luo Shengyi made a decision without any discussion or hesitation, which really annoyed Meng Qi.

  However, his choice was not due to dissatisfaction, but rather a careful consideration of the situation, with his goal being to support Lu Guang and not specifically which prince would ascend to the throne.

  So, no matter how unpleasant it is, it won't affect his meeting with the Third Prince tomorrow - at least he has to observe this prince in person to provide a basis for the final decision.

  "We don't have any experience with the intrigue of the imperial court, we should ask Lu Guan." Ruan Yushu said calmly.

  "It is." Meng Qi nodded slightly, this kind of thing should be asked to an "expert", he himself had no experience with these things.

  …………

  Inside the inn, after listening to Meng Qi's account of the current situation in the capital and the message from Jian Huang, Lu Guan smiled bitterly: "I only have the Iron Mountain Army's loyalty towards me, what can I use to intervene in the struggle for the throne? I will seek an audience with the Right Prime Minister as soon as possible, become a staunch supporter of the emperor, whoever succeeds to the throne, support whoever."

  He hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, it's not that anyone who ascends to the throne has to use me. If any of the princes have already secretly reached an agreement with the Western Barbarians and the situation is alleviated, I'm afraid I'll be idle again. However, this is also good, as all the people will be spared from the disaster of war, just hoping that they won't give in too much."

  Meng Qi slightly furrowed his brow, yes, if it were a normal situation, the struggle for the throne would be just a matter of several princes and their backing forces. However, with the Western Rong army stationed upstream of the Pei River, ready to march south at any moment, their choice would also affect the change in the throne.

  The envoy of Xi Lu and Tan has already entered the capital, where is he now? Who is secretly colluding with him? Meng Qi suddenly stood up and decided to sneak out at night to investigate.