The night was silent, only the wind disturbed his heart. Mo Hou's body was in front of Meng Qi, but it gave him a feeling of emptiness and absence.

  "Good swordsmanship." The hoarse, enchanting voice slipped into his ears, plucking at the strings of his heart. Meng Qi was in the midst of "Duan Qing Jing"'s counterattack, and couldn't help but have his mind shaken.

  At this moment, the sound of the guqin changed, and the high mountains and flowing water cleared up the emotions. Meng Qi suddenly restrained his emotions, drew back his sleeve, and raised "Ice Threshold" in a presenting gesture, so close that it seemed to say: Look, what else can you do!

  The long sword was just raised, and the demon queen's slightly worn-out eyes floated up with a hint of sigh, her left hand lightly waved.

  Meng Qi only felt that his body seemed to be entwined and pulled by something, being forcibly dragged to the side, making it difficult for him to form a sword stance, and hastily unable to make a move!

  Dark energy, heavenly net!

  Although the golden bell shield protected his body, the yin and yang energy could not invade Meng Qi's flesh, directly manipulating his true energy and muscles, but it could wrap around him like invisible threads, affecting Meng Qi's movements.

  Once trapped in the range of Tian Luo's technique, it was like being a prey on a spider web, the more you struggled, the tighter you were entwined!

  And the demon queen was a poisonous spider quietly preying on its prey!

  The demon queen's right palm probed forward, her five fingers slightly curved, grasping towards Meng Qi's head. Her fingertips fluttered like blooming flower petals, changing unpredictably, making it hard to anticipate, but the fierce wind was sharp and layered, as if substantial, with an explosive force brewing inside, enough to kill anyone who got in its way.

  Ordinary masters of the open period can also produce palm winds and sword energies, but the effect of injuring people is not obvious. Often, a few steps away, it's equivalent to a strong gust of wind blowing in one's face, with no lethality at all. Unless it's a specialized technique like cleaving empty palms, even if the distance is quite close, if the opponent's strength is not much different, they can still withstand it and suffer only minor injuries and interference. Therefore, their battles are still mainly about close combat, with palm winds and sword energies serving as auxiliary tools at most.

  As the number of openings increases and internal strength grows, the lethality of palm wind and sword energy also increases. By the time one reaches the Demon King realm or surpasses the Half-Step External Scene, their physical body is comparable to that of a Grandmaster. They can release true energy externally, forming a protective aura around themselves. Their palm winds and finger winds become terrifyingly abnormal, capable of taking someone's life with just one palm strike from over ten steps away!

  Against their powerful inner strength and terrifying palm wind finger winds attacks, ordinary moves are useless because they can't even get close!

  At first, You still had many offensive sword moves that were unpredictable, but his internal strength was crippled. He thought about using a palm to split Meng Qi in two from outside the long sword, but ended up being tricked by Meng Qi's perfect martial arts skills and his Arhat Breaking Precept Blade Technique.

  The wind was like a knife and a sword, shooting from afar, exploding with hidden power, layer upon layer, making it difficult for Meng Qi to see the flaws in Mo's technique, even if he wanted to strike back with his long sword, the strong wind made it hard to penetrate.

  The demon queen's speed was not fast, as if she was carrying the darkness around her forward, slow and heavy but unstoppable!

  The sound of the qin was clear and distinct, Meng Qi's heart skipped a beat, he forcibly restrained himself, not to be suppressed by this momentum, nor disturbed by the spiritual interference, he circulated the Adnan Broken Blade Heart Method, letting his mind stay in the empty and agile state before drawing the sword.

  Although he had recovered his energy after a period of rest, and just now normally used "Duan Qing Jing", but now to think about coming again with a knife, he must operate the Shelife Secret Art. However, he was assisted by heart method, maintaining his mental state, so as not to collapse suddenly in the midst of air machine collision.

  His muscles bulged, his night clothes puffed out, and dark gold flowed, just about to break free from the entanglement of "Yin Qi Tian Luo".

  Suddenly, he had a change of heart and stopped this attempt. His spirit extended outward along the soft, gentle energy that wrapped around him!

  His serene and peaceful soul, like the surface of the water, reflected the scenes around him. Intangible threads of yin energy swirled in all directions, some entwining his arms, others encircling his ankles, and some forming a net nearby.

  They all originated from the body of the demon queen, still under control. So Meng Qi borrowed the silk rope wrapped around himself, reversed his spiritual exploration, and sensed the distribution of the demon queen's true energy, changes in her movements, and the mysteries of her five fingers!

  His mind was like a still pond, reflecting everything. The law of the circulation of the protective aura around his body, the strong and weak distribution of the layers of wind force, were all clearly revealed.

  At this moment, the words "Po Qi Style" emerged in Meng Qi's mind, and suddenly he had an epiphany. It turned out that to practice this move, one must have a spiritual realm or the ability of Wu Xing Quan to sense the enemy, inspect the enemy with true energy.

  He drew his long sword, and in the midst of a thousand threads of soft, dark energy, it "walked" crookedly, as if guided by some unknown intention, piercing through the past, striking precisely at the weakest point of the wind that was also the link between what had come before and what would follow.

  Puff, the finger wind dissipated, Mo Hou lightly hummed a sound, five fingers bent, and leisurely plucked, beautifully posturing to pluck the tip of Meng Qi's sword, sending it flying.

  Suddenly, the sound of the qin changed, becoming sharp and piercing, as if even the strings had snapped. A fierce gust of wind shot out, striking the demon king.

  The demon queen's sleeve fluttered, and the soft, mysterious energy connected, opening up this strong wind, letting it hit the trees beside, leaving deep scars with a thud.

  Ruan Yushu still has this move? Is there something strange about the zither?

  Meng Qi didn't have time to be surprised, seized the opportunity, and swung his long sword out.

  The sword light was pure and condensed, like a summons from the nine underworlds, shooting towards Mo Hou's brow, the timing and position were just right, it was exactly where her protective aura was circulating and had a flaw!

  The demon queen hummed softly and reached out with her right hand, gathering countless strands of soft, dark energy that swirled around her brow, forming a cocoon of gentle power.

  With advance but no retreat, with forward but no return, the speed of the sword seems to contain a principle of law, and before the air sac is fully formed, the long sword has already arrived.

  Bang!

  Soft and gentle aura burst open, the forward momentum of the long sword was blocked. The demon king's left hand index finger touched the tip of the long sword, and a powerful energy overflowed in all directions.

  Due to the wrapping of true energy and also due to the momentum of "Yan Luo Tie" being destroyed by the air cocoon, her jade-like white fingers did not have a single wound.

  Her veil suddenly split in two, slowly floating down, revealing a face that seemed to have been untouched by the passage of time, with delicate features and stunning beauty. Time had only added a hint of melancholy and fatigue to her eyes, and a hint of mature charm to her demeanor.

  "Good swordsmanship." The Demon Queen praised in her hoarse voice once again.

  Meng Qi gritted his teeth and was about to use the Shedding Body Technique, desperately unleashing a "Falling Red Dust" move. Borrowing the true energy flow and silk distribution he sensed earlier, he slightly pushed back the demon and turned around to escape!

  At this moment, the body of the demon who had his fingers on the tip of the sword floated up, like a paper man, and fell under a big tree in the distance with the night wind, blending with the darkness, trees, grass and stones to form an intact whole, as if it existed or not.

  It turned out that she hadn't even used her full strength just now... Meng Qi suddenly realized that Mo Hou had only casually grabbed a move.

  Meng Qi's hair was blown about in strands because he didn't have a golden bell cover to protect him, and he was affected by the pointing wind.

  "Do you want to sneak into the imperial palace and figure out the old man's true condition?" The Demon Queen didn't make another move, but instead looked at the two with a dull and worn-out gaze.

  When she asked this, Meng Qi's mind was slightly determined, but he didn't dare to dispel his battle intent. At present, the two sides were still entangled in their auras, and if he lost his battle intent, Mo Hou might take advantage of the situation and strike.

  Meng Qi drew his sword and assumed an attacking stance, saying coldly: "Do you want to cooperate?"

  "This throne can't find anyone as skilled as you, nor anyone with your stealth skills." The Demon Queen said calmly.

  She had witnessed the whole process of our hijacking Lu Huasheng? How could it be so coincidental? And wasn't Gui Wang relying on her? One by one, doubts arose in Meng Qi's heart, and he calmly asked: "What do you want to do? Why should I believe you?"

  "If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't have escaped tonight." The Demon Queen said calmly and flatly, still confident after their earlier exchange. "You want to confirm the old man's situation, and I also want to confirm it. On this matter, we have a common goal and interest. As for later, whether we are allies or enemies, no one knows."

  "At latest by tonight, at earliest now, we sneak into the imperial palace. I'll be in charge of luring away and holding off Wang Dejian, you guys sneak into the bedroom to confirm the old man's situation."

  "Are you not afraid I'll deceive you about the result?"

  "Once confirmed, no matter what state the old man is in, there will be corresponding changes. You don't need to say it, I can also know the result." The Demon Queen didn't have a single change in her emotions.

  "Alright, but I need to ask Lu Shuai first. If he doesn't know the Emperor's situation, then we'll sneak into the palace tomorrow night." Meng Qi nodded in agreement.

  Moreover, I've been continuously using my sword tonight, so my energy consumption is relatively high.

  The demon queen nodded slightly, took a step back and disappeared into the shadows, in harmony with the times, the rhyme was long and lingering.

  Meng Qi turned his head, looking at Ruan Yushu who had re-tied the strings on his qin, and felt a slight sense of relief that it was just his hair that had fallen loose earlier, rather than his wig falling off: "I didn't think you could still play a tune with true energy?"

  She just drew out a gust of wind as sharp as a sword!

  This is simply equivalent to a sword aura that can hurt enemies from a distance, the daughter of a noble family is indeed not to be underestimated!

  "My father was quite doting and gave me this guqin." Ruan Yushu still had that calm and collected demeanor.

  "How many have you opened?" Meng Qi couldn't help but ask.

  Ruan Yushu said calmly: "Four."

  A guy who's about my age, or maybe even younger... Back then, Jiang Zhiwei was only around this level at this age - she relied on the Tiancong pill, but to be honest, with her talent, in another month or two, she would have normally opened up her ears too... Meng Qi thought to himself as he checked his own body, discovering that the Golden Bell Cover, which had been lacking just a bit, finally succeeded in entering the gate under the pressure and invasion of the Dark Sky Net earlier, and he finally stepped into the ranks of the sixth level, able to condense the nasal aperture!

  Returning to his own courtyard, Meng Qi didn't rush to ask Lu Guan, but instead planned to calm down and stabilize himself.

  "Why don't we look for Jian Huang?" Ruan Yushu suddenly asked.

  Upon hearing this, Meng Qi turned his head and smiled slyly: "You've been holding back this question for a long time, didn't you? You wanted to ask just now, didn't you?"

  Ruan Yushu raised his head and turned around, then walked away.

  Meng Qi hastily said: "Because the Fourth Prince is an enemy of unclear intentions, it's extremely dangerous to find the Sword Emperor. The Demon Empress, at least, can be considered a reluctant ally."

  "An ally?" Ruan Yushu stopped in his tracks and asked uncertainly.

  "I suddenly decided to capture Lu Huasheng, but it turned out that Mo Hou was just a bystander all along. Do you think that's just a coincidence?" Meng Qi asked with a smile.

  Ruan Yushu's delicate eyebrows furrowed: "Luo Shengyi?"

  He sold himself out for two people?

  "No, if Luo Shengyi sells out, Mo Hou won't need to risk being discovered by lurking around, he just needs to wait for his report." Meng Qi said with a bit of pride, "There's another person who knows where we're going."

  "The Third Prince?" Ruan Yushu suddenly understood.

  Meng Qi nodded slightly: "Yes, the third prince. The one who really colluded with Mo Hou was not the seventh prince, but the third prince! Because if the collusion with Mo Men is exposed, all the officials in the court will oppose it, so he deliberately let Mo Hou take action against Luo Shengyi, creating a false impression, and also made Luo Shengyi no longer suspicious."

  "Just now, Empress Dowager herself said that there is no one under her as skilled as I am. If she supports Seventh Prince, then Ghost King is not much worse than me."

  "The Demon King is the Demon King, and the Demon Queen is the Demon Queen. The Demon King submitting to the Seventh Prince does not mean he has submitted to the Demon Queen."

  And it was only with the support of the secretly deployed Mo Gate for many years that the intelligence network of the Third Prince could be so efficient!

  Ruan Yushu's expression slightly fluctuated: "Mang Jinggang also has a clever side..."

  Meng Qi's slightly stiff smile froze on his face.