Chapter 141: Casualties, Wine and Meat

"Careful, Eagle Brother!" Niu Dingtian looked up to the sky and let out a loud shout.

Although the Divine Eagle's swooping speed was extremely fast, if he wanted to dodge, he could easily evade this fierce attack.

But this guy is extremely arrogant; if he simply dodged, he would probably be despised by it in his heart.

For someone who takes pride in his own strength, the best way to make him submit wholeheartedly is to defeat him with pure strength; only then will he acknowledge you.

Moreover, having said he would use only ninety percent of his internal force, he would use exactly that—even using a bit more would count as his loss today!

Thus, Niu Dingtian moved without the slightest hesitation, having gathered one tenth of his internal force, he thrust both fists simultaneously toward the sky; the fist wind reached, the energy shot out unmatched, domineeringly meeting the black shadow that covered the sky and pressed down swiftly!

"Boom!"

With a booming explosion, the blast suddenly detonated in the mountain valley; the violent airflow produced by the collision swiftly swept outward, scattering grass and trees everywhere, leaving a scene of utter chaos.

Soon, the surroundings returned to calm, but countless shredded leaves continued to drift down slowly.

"Huh~ Where's Eagle Brother?"

After the flying dust and grass scraps settled, Niu Dingtian reached into his hair and pulled out a few rotten leaves; whether intentionally or not, he muttered to himself while searching around for the Divine Eagle's traces.

"Eagle Brother?" After looking around and seeing no sign of the bird, Niu Dingtian called out again.

At this moment, his clothes and hair were somewhat disheveled; the freshly flung dirt had splattered all over him—his clothes, face, and hair were all littered with many withered twigs and rotten leaves, looking exactly like a beggar who had just joined the Beggars' Sect.

Originally, with his strength, he should not have ended up so sorry-looking, but he had truly unleashed one tenth of his internal force onto the bird's body, and he had no mind to worry about his appearance.

Furthermore, this pure clash of strength gave him a sudden feeling of exhilaration; hehe, if the Divine Eagle were unharmed, he would actually like to do it a few more times.

"Co~"

"Co~"

Suddenly, a weak, feeble cooing came from a pile of broken twigs and grass not far away—it was the Divine Eagle's voice.

Then, the grass heap swayed slightly a few times, after which a huge, disheveled wing tremulously emerged from within.

"Eagle Brother, are you alright?" Niu Dingtian exclaimed in alarm and hurried over, quickly raking his hands through the grass pile.

Upon seeing the large bird with tangled feathers below, he somewhat exaggeratedly let out a breath, muttering: "As long as it's not dead, as long as it's not dead."

At this moment, the Divine Eagle bore no trace of its former handsome appearance; its golden-brown feathers were in utter disarray, luster dim, mixed with large amounts of dirt, grass scraps, withered twigs and rotten leaves—far more disheveled than Niu Dingtian's state.

More importantly, its former proud and unruly demeanor had completely vanished; its eyelids slightly rolled back, it drooped its head weakly, resembling a giant rooster that had just lost a fight.

"Eagle Brother?" Niu Dingtian leaned in and called softly, somewhat worried that this fellow might have been knocked stupid.

Seeing the Divine Eagle listless and unresponsive, Niu Dingtian patted its head and comforted: "Eagle Brother, don't be so disheartened; failure is the mother of success—you've only just lost one battle, there's no need to take it to heart."

"How about… we cancel this bet for now? Eagle Brother, you rest well today; tomorrow we'll have another match—as long as you still have strength, persevere, and maybe you'll win next time."

"Coocoocoo~" the Divine Eagle muttered a few low coos unhappily, its eyes showing some hopelessness.

After slightly turning its head, it lay listlessly in the grass heap, seeming too lazy to move at all.

"What? Eagle Brother also thinks that way?" Niu Dingtian, seemingly unaware, suddenly showed a delighted expression of "great minds think alike" on his face.

He then patted the dirt off its feathers and urged: "Come on, Eagle Brother, get up already! I and Eagle Brother become friends through fighting, and we also feel an instant rapport; if you don't mind, let's go to your place now to chop off a chicken's head and become sworn brothers—tomorrow we'll keep fighting!"

Actually, Niu Dingtian had never been so earnest toward any male creature before, but this time coming to Snake Valley, he is determined to obtain the inheritance in the Sword Tomb, even if he has to resort to deceitful tricks.

As for being even harsher, frankly, what ill intentions could a spiritually aware giant bird that accompanies humans have? With no grudge, he wouldn't stoop to harming it.

Niu Dingtian now has a vague guess that Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai is at least a strong cultivator of the Innate Realm, perhaps even at the peak of Innate, or a Half-Step Heaven-Man Realm expert.

The reason is simply Dugu Qiubai's overwhelming sword intent that wins without moves and kills invisibly.

Thinking of sword intent, Niu Dingtian involuntarily recalled the three realms of qi, spirit, and intent within the Innate Realm that Master Yi Deng had mentioned earlier.

He now has the feeling of the Qi Realm, of being one with heaven and earth; he also has the perceptive ability of the Spirit Realm; only the intent within the Spirit Realm and the mental cultivation involved in the Intent Realm remain elusive to him for now.

Sword intent, sword intent—in Niu Dingtian's view, it must certainly be related to intent or mental cultivation.

But even though he has now reached Half-Step Innate, he cannot imagine a scene where he simply stands there, releases a thought or spiritual attack, and the opponent dies.

Thus, Niu Dingtian boldly inferred that Dugu Qiubai very likely achieved the Great Perfection of Innate, or perhaps Half-Step Heaven-Man Realm; reaching even higher into the Heaven-Man Realm is also not impossible.

For such a mysterious master's inheritance, and possibly the sword intent left on the stone wall, he is determined to go witness it himself.

"Coocoocoo~"

As for the Divine Eagle, seeing Niu Dingtian so enthusiastic, its gaze suddenly shifted evasively; after letting out a few coos, it raised its wing and shoved Niu Dingtian away.

But Niu Dingtian didn't care at all about this fellow's aloofness; he familiarly grabbed both of its wings, pulling outward while chiding: "Eagle Brother, Eagle Brother, I've told you failure is the mother of success—why do you still act like this, you bird?"

"It's just losing a match; could Eagle Brother still hold a grudge against me? We hit it off at first sight, so I disregard species boundaries and sincerely befriend you. If it were another bird, not to mention becoming sworn brothers, even calling me grandpa, I, Niu Dingtian, would be happy!"

"It's just that my punch was a bit stronger than I expected, I didn't mean to beat Eagle Brother up like this—but I didn't use even a bit more internal force; I said I'd use ninety percent and I used exactly ninety percent!"

Saying this, Niu Dingtian ignored the Divine Eagle's struggling wings, lifted it to stand beside him, and only then reluctantly let go of his hands.

"Let's go, Eagle Brother, you lead the way." Niu Dingtian patted the Divine Eagle's wing and said heartily: "The mountain chickens in the valley are ready to go; after draining their blood we'll roast them, then I'll fetch some fine wine later—tonight we won't return until we're drunk!"

"If Eagle Brother still wants to look for a few… hehe… a few small female birds, I'll go later and help you catch some pretty ones, guaranteed to satisfy you; in short, I'll handle things, Eagle Brother, rest easy!"

Seeing Niu Dingtian pulling more and more without restraint, the Divine Eagle stood on one leg, motionless in place, its expression becoming extraordinarily vivid.

"Let's go?"

Niu Dingtian turned his head and urged.

He also wondered in his heart, this fellow used to be arrogant but is no longer; the whole bird suddenly fell silent—could that punch really have knocked it silly?

"Huh?"

Just then, Niu Dingtian realized the Divine Eagle was actually performing a golden eagle stance; at that moment, one leg barely supported its huge body while the other leg was tightly curled up, making it unclear exactly what was happening.

"Eagle Brother, what is this…" Niu Dingtian asked doubtfully, then bent down and reached out to pull at the leg the Divine Eagle had drawn in.

But the Divine Eagle hastily flapped its wings, hopped away, and its eyes seemed to become somewhat annoyed, appearing even more unnatural than before.

"Something's up…" Niu Dingtian concluded in his mind; thinking back to the fierce clash of one man, one eagle, one fist, one claw, he suddenly felt a bit enlightened.

Afterward, inevitably somewhat worried, lest it be broken, he gazed concernedly at the eagle's eye and softly asked: "Broken?"

Upon hearing this, the Divine Eagle's already unnatural small gaze froze for a moment, as if it had been discovered in an extremely embarrassing situation.

"Coocoocoocoo~"

Immediately after, it let out a few rapid gurgling sounds from its mouth, shaking its head repeatedly.

Now Niu Dingtian had no doubt at all, but he hadn't expected the creature to be so concerned about saving face.

A minor injury would be fine, but if he truly broke the creature's leg completely, he would feel somewhat guilty.

So, disregarding the Divine Eagle's resistance, he forced open its bird leg and said, "Quick, let me see. If we can treat it promptly, don't show off! If you miss treatment and end up a one‑legged great eagle, don't blame me!"

After a thorough examination,

The final result couldn't be called good, but it wasn't terrible either; it was just a comminuted fracture.

There's still a chance of saving it!

Thus, Niu Dingtian forcibly plucked all the feathers from the Divine Eagle's thigh, infused Nine Yang True Qi to treat it, applied some herbal paste, and then tightly bound two wooden boards to secure it.

Looking at the honestly wounded creature before him, Niu Dingtian couldn't articulate the strange feeling, patted its wing, and said:

"Eagle brother, rest here for a while; I'll go into the city and be right back. Since I promised to treat you to wine, meat, and a bit of hen today, even though the hen part fell through, the wine and meat I will definitely keep my word!"

Then, Niu Dingtian put the Divine Eagle into a nearby cave and, without turning his head, hurried away.

He never imagined there would be a day when he'd have to care for a bird, but since the promise had already been blurted out, it was better to fulfill it quickly.

Leaving Snake Valley, Niu Dingtian flew at full speed, and soon reached the main road. Half an hour later, he arrived at the Drunken Immortal Hall in Xiangyang City.

The manager of the shop, Niu Xun, was absent; now the loyal insiders of the manor had gradually withdrawn from the business world, shifting to roles in the former Moon Divine Sect and the Xiangyang garrison.

So, Niu Dingtian went straight to the new shopkeeper and ordered: "Roast chicken, roast duck, roast goose, and braised beef; prepare ten servings, pack them, and also ready two jars of premium Immortal Wine; I'll take them away shortly."

Seeing the owner's disheveled appearance, the shopkeeper, though surprised, didn't ask further; he was a professional manager selected through multiple rounds at Drunken Immortal Hall, and he knew instinctively what to ask and what not to.

"Where does the proprietor intend to send them? The items are many; should I dispatch two waiters to run errands?" the shopkeeper asked respectfully.

Niu Dingtian waved his hand and said, "Just bind them together, make sure they're secured tightly; I'll fetch them myself later."

"Then, proprietor, please rest and have some tea; the items will be ready soon." The shopkeeper served a pot of fine tea and several plates of exquisite snacks, then hurried to the back kitchen to wait.

Niu Dingtian sat on an empty seat on the first floor, sipping clear tea, nibbling snacks, and pondering.

Du Gu Qiubai's Way of Sword Intent was so crucial that he now devoted his attention to the Divine Eagle.

If it were before, Niu Dingtian wouldn't have thought the Sword Tomb inheritance could be so formidable; whether it was the Solitary Nine Swords or the Heavy Sword Method, they seemed only of modest value, otherwise he would have already surpassed them years ago.

But since reaching his current realm, his thoughts have gradually changed, and he has gained a deeper understanding of Du Gu Qiubai's awesomeness.

However, if he wants to locate the exact site of the Sword Tomb quickly, he must rely on the Divine Eagle; otherwise, after searching the valley for days, he should have already found some clues.

As Niu Dingtian's thoughts rose and fell, the pot of tea had already been emptied.

At that moment, the shopkeeper, accompanied by two waiters, hurried over; the waiters carried the dishes one ahead of the other, and after the shopkeeper bowed before him, said, "Proprietor, everything you requested is ready."

"Thanks for your effort," Niu Dingtian nodded slightly, saying with a smile.

The two large wine jars before him were now firmly secured on the wooden rack, and beside them a huge stack of side dishes was also tied down.

Ten servings seemed enough for each person and their eagle to enjoy tonight, Niu Dingtian thought.

Actually, he didn't come solely to entertain the Divine Eagle; he himself had been hiding in the deep mountains for several days, alternating between roasted meat and wild fruit, and both his mouth and stomach were already fed up.

Seeing the two waiters still trying to carry the wine and dishes out of the hall, Niu Dingtian raised his hand to stop them: "It's almost mealtime; the guests are increasing, you all go attend to your duties."

Saying that, he lifted the wooden rack with one hand, as if it were weightless, and leisurely left the Drunken Immortal Hall.

When walking through the streets of Xiangyang City, pedestrians came and went incessantly, the noise never ceased. But after seeing Niu Dingtian, they all glanced at him, and he pointed a few times.

Outside the city, Niu Dingtian broke into a run, sprinting full speed toward Snake Valley. (End of chapter)