The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 56 Rapid Progress, The Condor's Recollections

When the wind blows, the bushes and weeds rustle, as if hundreds of snakes are slithering about.

Zhou Yan dared not relax, and used his straight knife to search and inspect the surroundings.

It turned out to be a false alarm. Apart from the slain Bodhi serpent, there was no other living creature around. The valley was spacious, but there wasn't even a bird's song. It was quite desolate, like "all paths are deserted and birds have vanished from a thousand mountains".

The bundle contained well-maintained spare bowstrings.

He removed the broken string, first stringed a new one, put the bowstring on the bow arm, then stepped on the lower bow tip with his left foot, pressed the bow belly onto his right thigh, held the bow handle with his left hand, bent the upper bow tip with his right hand, and finally pushed the bowstring to the upper bow tip and hung it.

Zhou Yan strung the bowstring, drew it to test its strength, and found it easy to handle without any problems. Then he wandered around and found a naturally formed, deep cave that he crawled into.

He sprinkled snake repellent at the cave entrance, sat cross-legged, took a large, light purple snake gallbladder, put it in his mouth, and gently bit it. The outer skin immediately broke, and his mouth was filled with bitter juice. He endured the fishy taste of the juice and swallowed it.

Zhou Yan had consumed the blood of Liang Ziweng's Great Treasure Snake, so he figured the snake gall had similar effects. He was adept at sensing the energy, and in just a moment, the thick blood and energy nurtured by the snake gall began to boil. Blood is the mother of energy, and energy is the commander of blood. Blood and energy carry pulse energy, and when pulse energy moves, it transports blood and energy, which in turn stimulates internal force.

Zhou Yan began cultivating his inner energy. In just a few dozen breaths, his dantian suddenly stirred, and a surge of pure inner energy emerged, equivalent to nearly two or three days of arduous practice of the Quanzhen Inner Strength Method.

He was overjoyed and continued his cultivation, using the method of circulating blood and qi to temper his inner strength.

Half an hour later, no more internal energy was generated in his dantian, but Zhou Yan was full of energy and all the soreness in his body had disappeared.

He persevered, swallowing the remaining three snake gallbladders and continuing his cultivation.

As the sun dipped westward, a curtain of light slowly entered through the cave entrance. Zhou Yan then swallowed the deep purple snake gall. He continued his cultivation according to the prescribed method. After several dozen breaths, his body became intensely hot, his blood surged, and his vital energy flowed like a tidal wave, coursing through his limbs and bones, repeatedly cleansing each joint. Strands of internal energy rose warmly from his dantian, converging into a single stream that circulated through his meridians. As he cultivated, he felt his meridians constantly stretching and expanding with each breath, becoming wider, stronger, and more robust.

Zhou Yan was delighted because this powerful internal force was circulating through his meridians, which was like a form of tempering.

As the sun dipped below the cliff top, Zhou Yan absorbed all the nourishing effects of the snake gall on his blood, qi, muscles, and bones. He now possessed the internal energy accumulated over nearly six years of arduous cultivation, making him appear as vigorous and powerful as a dragon and a tiger.

He pressed on with his energy, tempering the Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang, easily solidifying forty-four acupoints and opening up this vital meridian.

The Foot Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian connects to the internal organs, belongs to the gallbladder, and connects to the liver. The liver and gallbladder are internally and externally related, which can improve eyesight and hearing. Zhou Yan also clearly felt the improvement in his vision and hearing.

Five snake gallbladders brought about a transformation from the outside in.

Zhou Yan pondered that his current internal strength cultivation was no less than that of the likes of Lingzhi Shangren and Sha Tongtian. As for the Three-Headed Flood Dragon Hou Tonghai, he was no longer a threat, provided that the other party was still alive.

He was refreshed and, upon reaching the cliff, took five snakes and returned. He then gathered some dry branches to start a fire and roasted the snake meat to fill his stomach. The taste was rather ordinary, unlike the delicious Da Bao snake that Liang Ziweng had raised with medicinal herbs.

After resting in the cave all night, Zhou Yan changed his clothes and left the cave to continue his exploration as dawn broke. Now that he was in Snake Valley, he figured he wasn't too far from Dugu Qiubai's "Sword Tomb".

……

As the mist that had been hanging over the valley dissipated, a gigantic eagle, taller than a man and ugly in appearance, appeared at the valley entrance and swaggered in.

In the height of summer, the eagle would not be like this; the bushes, treetops, and rock surfaces of the valley are teeming with snakes of all sizes. However, it is winter now, and except for a few fierce nemesis, the rest have all burrowed into their caves to hibernate. The eagle is well aware of this.

The giant eagle was extremely sensitive to the scent of the Bosqu snake. It suddenly stopped while moving forward, sniffing the air continuously. After a few strides, it reached a rocky outcrop. With a loud thud, a rock weighing tens of kilograms rolled away, and a snake as thick as a thumb came into view.

The eagle extended its beak and pecked fiercely, its aim and speed as precise as a martial arts master striking a pressure point with lightning speed. The eagle killed the Bosphorus snake, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed the venomous snake whole. Then it continued deeper into the valley.
Along its journey, it always manages to find venomous snakes hidden in crevices of rocks, caves, and piles of dead leaves. It either flaps its wings to knock rocks away or digs through the soil with its giant claws, effortlessly capturing and devouring the snakes.

Just as Zhou Yan stepped out of the cave, the giant eagle appeared at the spot where he had killed the five snakes.

The eagle first looked habitually at the tree where the venomous python was coiled, but seeing no enemy, it became alert, looking around with a confused expression in its blood-red eyes.

"Where did the snake go?" the eagle asked, becoming agitated.

It and the venomous python that Zhou Yan killed were sworn enemies, neither of them able to defeat the other. The eagle was intelligent, and over time, teasing, luring, and hunting with defensive measures became part of its life. Now that its enemy was suddenly gone, how could the eagle not be anxious?

It rushed into the valley.

In the sunlight that pierced through the clouds and mist, Zhou Yan and the Great Eagle met by chance.

Zhou Yan searched all the way, but didn't see a single snake. Instead, he ran into a giant eagle.

The moment the eagle saw Zhou Yan, its fur stood on end and its gaze turned hostile. It then smelled the several pieces of roasted snake meat that Zhou Yan had wrapped in oil paper and placed in a bundle.

"Brother Eagle, you've come too?"

"Wow!"

The giant eagle charged forward, its massive body creating a thunderous roar as it moved at terrifying speed.

Zhou Yan was quite skeptical, wondering if the Condor Heroes only recognized Yang Guo.

Based on the strength shown by the giant eagle when Yang Guo practiced the heavy sword, Zhou Yan did not believe he could defeat it, but he was not afraid. No matter how intelligent it was, it was still a beast. With his current strength, he had plenty of ways to devise a plan to kill it.

But Zhou Yan did not want to be enemies with the giant eagle.

A mythical beast guarding the remains of Dugu Qiubai—its loyalty alone is enough to make many people ashamed.

The giant eagle chased after him, and Zhou Yan turned and ran towards a large tree behind him.

With the man in front and the eagle behind, in the blink of an eye, the man was under the tree. The eagle flapped its wings at Zhou Yan, who leaped up and stomped on the tree trunk a few times, quickly rising into the air.

The giant eagle's wings slammed down on the tree trunk at Zhou Yan's feet, instantly shattering large chunks of bark into pieces. The tree shook violently, and withered branches fell like rain.

Zhou Yan, who was above, flipped over and landed behind the giant eagle, then ran wildly towards the valley entrance.

"Screech!" The eagle's cry was slightly hoarse, intense and desolate. The eagle turned and chased after him. As Zhou Yan charged forward, he flipped open the bag cloth, took out his bow, drew out a long arrow with a lime bag tied to it, and suddenly turned around and shot the arrow.

Arrows like shooting stars, wings like fans.

With a bang, lime filled the air.

The giant eagle hurriedly jumped to one side.

Zhou Yan said, "Survival of the fittest. I respect you as a living creature and do not wish to harm you. You should not be unreasonable and relentless, otherwise I will kill you."

As he finished speaking, he lowered his bow and arrow and slowly retreated, while the giant eagle stopped in place, its blood-red eyes revealing a look of reminiscence.

The eagle thought of its master.

In a daze, the giant eagle saw the shadow of its master in Zhou Yan.

Unyielding spirit stands tall on the barren hill, its gleaming edge defies snow and frost.

(End of this chapter)