Chapter 139: Snake Valley, Divine Eagle?

This time he came, of course, for the Sword Tomb inheritance outside Xiangyang City.

If one were to say whose martial strength is the greatest in this world, it would probably be this hidden mysterious big shot—the Sword Demon Du Gu Qiubai.

Having roamed the jianghu for over thirty years, slaying all foes, defeating every hero, there is no one left in the world to match him; helpless, he only retreats to a deep valley, taking eagles as companions. Alas! To have sought a rival all his life and never found one is truly a lonely and unbearable fate.

After turning forty, he no longer clings to material things; grass, wood, bamboo, and stone can all become swords. From then on he refined himself, gradually advancing toward the realm where the swordless surpasses the sword.

He progressed the sword realm from hard sword to soft sword, then to heavy sword, then to wooden sword, and finally to swordlessness.

"Swordless surpasses sword… swordless surpasses sword… it must be sword intent, right? Fighting with the mind, killing without form, this seems like spiritual cultivation."

"Is it the innate realm, or… hiss~ no! Even the innate realm seems unable to reach this level…"

Walking through the dense forest, Niu Dingtian thought as he walked, recalling that in the original work, Yang Guo first saw the Divine Eagle to the northwest of Xiangyang City.

The text reads: Yang Guo slept until midnight, when suddenly he heard a series of eagle cries from the northwest, the sound slightly hoarse yet soaringly bleak, with a grand momentum. Curious, he lightly leapt down from the rope and followed the sound.

But the cries came intermittently, far louder than the Twin Eagles' cries on Peach Blossom Island. He walked lower and lower, entering a valley; at that point the eagle's cry was not far ahead. He softened his steps, quietly pushed aside a thicket, and was greatly astonished.

Before him stood a massive eagle, its size enormous, taller than a person, grotesquely ugly, its feathers sparse and falling off as if half had been plucked, its plumage yellow‑black and filthy, bearing a faint resemblance to the Twin Eagles of Peach Blossom Island, yet its ugliness and handsomeness were worlds apart.

This ugly eagle had a hooked, curved beak and a large blood‑red flesh lump atop its head; among countless birds in the world, none had ever been seen like this archaic, rugged, magnificent raptor.

He later saw the Divine Eagle again after losing an arm; with the Divine Eagle's help he was able to master the Heavy Sword technique.

But where exactly in the northwest? After searching for most of the day, Niu Dingtian's head began to throb.

This first valley in the northwest already consumed nearly a whole day, and ahead lies an endless expanse; how long must he search?

However…

Given the Divine Eagle's size, there must be many mountain villagers and hunters who have seen it when it roams the hills, right?

And the Busi Qu Snake,

this blood‑sealing poisonous snake, its body faintly glows gold, a flesh horn sprouts on its head, it moves like the wind, and is extremely hard to catch.

The exact places they appear, the old mountain folk should know best!

Thinking this, Niu Dingtian left the dense forest and headed back the way he came…

At first, when he first entered the valley, he saw several wooden huts, likely the dwellings of villagers or hunters.

When Niu Dingtian returned to this spot, it was nearing evening, and a wisp of cooking smoke rose from the roofs of several huts.

He leapt to the nearest doorway, looked up, and saw that the two wooden sheds on either side were neatly stacked with split firewood.

One contained rotten branches and decayed wood; the other was all clean pine.

It must be a woodcutter who lives by chopping firewood, Niu Dingtian thought silently; ordinary mountain folk would not spare such uniformly clean wood for burning.

Looking at the open front door and sensing a breath of aura inside, Niu Dingtian called out, "Anyone there?"

After a moment, a weak voice came from inside: "Looking for whom?"

Then a hunched, hunchbacked old man missing half a leg, leaning on two wooden sticks, staggered out tremblingly.

His cloudy eyes looked at Niu Dingtian, then hoarsely said, "My family is all dead; now only I remain. Young master, do you have business?"

Seeing the old man's right calf seemed freshly broken, Niu Dingtian said little and asked, "Sir, are you familiar with the terrain of this great mountain?"

The old man's face seemed numb as he muttered, "I've lived in these mountains for most of my life, and have roamed them for half my life; I'm familiar with nature, but I don't know what the young master wants…"

Niu Dingtian felt a surge of joy and bowed, asking, "Sir, in all these years have you seen any unusually shaped large raptors in these mountains?"

The old man pondered briefly, then suddenly froze as if recalling, saying, "I've spent most of my life chopping firewood here; I've seen many mountain raptors."

"If I must name the most unforgettable, it was a few years ago while chopping wood, a giant eagle swept past me. When its wings unfolded…"

At that point, awe filled his eyes; he trembled and pointed to the two wooden sheds on his left, saying, "As big as those two sheds!"

Niu Dingtian instinctively compared left and right, then was bewildered—two or three zhang wingspan? How could a bird be that size?

"Sir, do you recall where it was?" Niu Dingtian pressed.

The old man shook his head, pointing not far away, sighing, "Just on the mountainside ahead. Unfortunately I never saw it again; such a wondrous raptor has likely become a spirit, not something ordinary mortals can casually encounter."

Hearing this, Niu Dingtian felt a bit disappointed and continued, "Sir, have you seen a poisonous snake in the mountains whose body glows gold and has a flesh horn on its head?"

The old man's face changed dramatically, as if recalling something terrifying; he staggered backward on his stick, eyes filled with fear.

Niu Dingtian felt a stir, swiftly moved, steadied the old man's body, infused him with a surge of true qi, and softly asked, "Sir, have you seen it? Do you recall where?"

Perhaps sensing the change within, the old man calmed considerably, yet his aged face still bore a lingering dread.

Then, as if recalling a painful memory, a few cloudy tears fell from his eyes; he stared blankly at his broken leg, hoarsely saying, "Of course I've seen it. That monster is called Busi Qu Snake; this leg of mine was bitten by that snake."

"Thirty li to the northwest lies a deep valley where the flora is especially rare and lush, but the entire valley is infested with a horde of monstrous snakes, ferocious and extremely fast, their venom sealing throats with blood; thus no one dares to set foot there."

"It's also my fault for coveting the good firewood there; at the start of the year I took my son, hoping to gamble, but instead it cost him his life. Had I not cut off my own arm, I might not have survived to return."

After speaking, the old man's eyes were full of remorse, and he still harbors lingering fear.

But Niu Dingtian felt a surge of joy upon hearing this, though he did not show it openly.

Having spent a day searching and finally pinpointing the location, unwilling to linger, he took out several silver coins, handed them over, and bowed, "Thank you, sir,"

"But living in these mountains is unsafe; you should take the silver and descend. If you wish, you may also seek lodging in Xiangyang City."

"Take care!"

He then headed toward the northwest.

"Young master, never act rashly! The toxins there can be deadly!" Regaining his senses, the old man hurriedly shouted after Niu Dingtian's retreating figure.

"Understood." Niu Dingtian did not look back, swiftly disappearing onto the mountainside.

Now that he had the exact location, his speed naturally increased; in just two quarters of an hour he arrived before a valley.

Gazing at the towering, dense foliage and the hidden golden glimmers in the shadows, he knew this was the Snake Valley where the Sword Tomb lay.

Grabbing a handy branch, Niu Dingtian gathered internal force, turning wood into a sword, slashing the brambles before him, and stepped into the valley.

Outside the valley the sun shone brightly, the lingering heat of the autumn tiger still present, but after a few steps in, the surroundings turned dark and damp.

Where his eyes fell, life thrived, with towering trees that blocked the sky.

And the rotten branches and leaves beneath his feet had piled into a thick mound; a single step sank past half his calf.

Extending his thoughts, Niu Dingtian stepped, leaving footprints, as he probed deeper into the valley.

At first, the golden snake shadows hiding in the dark merely continued to conceal themselves silently, and Niu Dingtian paid them no heed, simply pressing on as if they weren't there.

When he had gone less than a li, a rustling sound suddenly arose in the forest.

Focusing his gaze, he saw golden snake shadows darting out rapidly from beneath the fallen leaves and onto the branches, astonishingly fast!

When they darted near him, Niu Dingtian narrowed his eyes; with a sweep of his hand, a phantom flashed past, cleaving a dozen-odd golden Bosi Qu Snakes in half at the waist, which fell stiffly to the ground.

Looking closely, he saw that each snake's head bore a pair of fleshy horns, a very peculiar sight.

"What a waste," Niu Dingtian muttered ruefully: "I should have brought the old turtle."

In his view, everything before him was a great tonic; for the old turtle, it was likewise a rare delicacy.

Eating the Bosi Qu Snake not only greatly boosts inner and physical strength, but also clears the meridians throughout the body—truly a divine aid for cultivation.

But before his regret could linger, an even denser rustling sound reached his ears.

At that moment, golden snake shadows surged from all directions, rapidly closing in on his position.

If it were only a dozen or twenty, that would be fine, but this time several hundred burst out in a dense swarm, making Niu Dingtian's scalp tingle and gooseflesh rise.

Then,

He no longer had time to feel regret, directly unleashing his aura; a domineering qi burst erupted from his body, instantly overturning the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground.

But after the first batch was blasted dead, another batch kept surging forth from behind, wave after wave, endlessly rushing toward him.

Hummm—hummm—hummm—hummm—

Seeing this, Niu Dingtian slightly opened his lips and teeth, emitting waves of strange humming sounds from his mouth, one ring after another, continually spreading outward through the forest.

Wherever the sound passed, birds and beasts fled in panic, while the Bosi Qu Snakes that had surged earlier lay stiff and motionless on the ground.

After a quarter hour,

The forest suddenly fell dead silent, with not a trace of breath detectable; seeing this, Niu Dingtian tossed aside the branch in his hand, clapped his hands, and continued pressing deeper into the valley.

During the subsequent journey,

The Bosi Qu Snakes in the valley seemed to have learned a lesson; before Niu Dingtian even approached, they desperately writhed their bodies and fled far away.

Gradually,

the sky grew dark as well.

Although tonight's sky was clear with bright stars and moon, the dense treetops seemed to canopy the heavens, splitting the night into two separate worlds.

After dawn,

Niu Dingtian continued searching deeper, but after two straight days he hadn't even seen a bird's shadow.

After some thought, he seemed to understand: the Divine Eagle feeds on the Bosi Qu Snakes of the Snake Valley, often appearing where snakes are plentiful.

And now, wherever he went, the snakes and insects all retreated, so naturally he could see no trace of the Divine Eagle.

The following days passed in a flash, and soon another three days went by; although Niu Dingtian kept searching, he ultimately found nothing.

"Could the Divine Eagle have taken the path I walked?" Niu Dingtian lay on a tree trunk, thinking silently to himself.

By now he had searched most of the valley; if nothing unusual were happening, it would be impossible not to find even a single feather.

After thinking it over, the only explanation was that he and the eagle had perfectly missed each other's routes.

Finally,

Niu Dingtian decided to wait for the enemy to tire; thus he found a lofty peak in an open clearing and sat cross‑legged on its summit to observe the surroundings.

Time slipped by quietly; for four consecutive days he remained seated there without moving half a step.

On the fifth day at noon,

"Did I come to the wrong place, or has the Divine Eagle already spotted me and is deliberately avoiding me?" Niu Dingtian's thoughts fluctuated.

Huh?

Just as he was about to give up, a barely audible "goo-goo" sound suddenly drifted on the mountain wind into his ears.

Has it come?

Niu Dingtian's eyes snapped open, and he jerked his head toward the source of the sound.

At a glance he saw, on a tree trunk one li away, a giant eagle with golden‑brown plumage, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on two golden giant pythons in the distance.

The pythons were about as thick as a person's calf, bore fleshy horns on their heads, and emitted a faint golden glow; at that moment they lay entwined belly‑to‑belly in the shade, resembling a twisted braid.

It seemed……

that they were mating.

Meanwhile, the giant eagle on the trunk gripped the bark with its talons, its gaze sharp, its beak curved like a hook, merely staring intently.

Not long after, as the two pythons clung desperately and gradually intertwined, the eagle's legs slowly bent, assuming a posture of wings spread for a swoop.

"Could it still fly?" Seeing this scene, Niu Dingtian couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

"It's not the ugly form it will have decades later; its appearance is still decent, its plumage quite full—it ought to be able to carry a person." After a closer look, Niu Dingtian felt quite satisfied.

He remembered that the Divine Eagle decades hence would be too heavy, its feathers sparse, losing even its innate abilities.

Worst of all, from constantly eating poisonous snakes, it would develop a blood‑red large tumor on its head—nothing like the handsome look it has now. (End of chapter)