Chapter 51

When Su Yichu first arrived at the Sword Tomb, it was the golden autumn season. Now, outside the cave, everything was a pure white, with the snowflakes swirling in the fierce north wind, forming one small tornado after another. The world was silent, as if all life had ceased... Such a heavy snowfall was something Su Yichu had never encountered in either his past or present life.

It had been more than four months since Su Yichu arrived at the Sword Tomb. During this time, he had been fully engrossed in the practice of the Nine Swords of Dugu. Apart from a brief trip to Xiangyang City to replenish some daily necessities, he had not left the valley for a single step. Now, the Nine Swords of Dugu were finally at a preliminary level of mastery.

The Nine Swords of Dugu have no fixed moves, so the requirements for the practitioner's insight are extremely high. Moreover, during practice, it is easy to fall into a rut, and one must be fed various sword techniques from the world to avoid this. Otherwise, the so-called Nine Swords of Dugu, which can break all martial arts, would become a sword technique that only specializes in defeating one type of martial art. When Linghu Chong learned the Nine Swords of Dugu in later generations, Feng Qingyang used various sword techniques from the Five Mountains to feed him.

Others had the blessing of their predecessors, but Su Yichu did not have such good luck. Fortunately, he had once seen Zhang Sanfeng teach Zhang Wuji the Tai Chi Sword Technique in a book, trying to forget all the moves and clear his mind, which turned out to have a similar effect.

To be able to bring the Nine Swords of Dugu to a preliminary level of mastery in just four months, it must be said that Su Yichu was a lucky cat catching a dead rat.

Now, with the heavy snowfall, the snow on the ground was thick enough to bury a person's knees. Not to mention practicing sword techniques, even walking was extremely difficult. He decided to rest in the cave for a day.

The divine雕 (carved bird) was also sitting obediently in the cave. In the dead of winter, all kinds of snakes were hibernating, and fierce birds and beasts were resting in their homes. Even if it went out to hunt, it wouldn't find any decent prey.

If it were in previous years, it would have had to go out to find food to survive, but now, with Su Yichu, he had brought a cart of supplies from outside Xiangyang City, including various meats. In the cold winter, there was no worry about the meat going bad.

Looking at the snow outside the cave, countless snowflakes were falling. In Su Yichu's eyes, each snowflake had its unique shape, whether pentagonal or hexagonal, each different. He could see them all clearly, indicating that the Nine Yang True Qi had made significant progress!

After a long time, a sigh echoed. Su Yichu sighed, "I never thought that, as a young master, my first New Year in this world would be spent with a bird, and without even a decent meal. As a noble prince, I should at least have a grand banquet with a hundred or eighty tables to celebrate. This life is really unbearable..."

This was the Nth time he had sighed like this. Since the New Year's Eve he spent in the Sword Tomb over a month ago, he had been constantly thinking about that frugal New Year's Eve, as if it had wronged him.

Of course, this was not a complaint about the divine bird. Su Yichu was simply not someone who could endure loneliness. The reason he could stay in the Sword Tomb for so long was purely because the Nine Swords of Dugu were too profound, and he was so engrossed in studying them that he forgot the passage of time.

Through the practice of the "Forget the Sword" method, Su Yichu had now reached a preliminary level of mastery in the Nine Swords of Dugu. To make further progress, it was no longer enough to just practice in seclusion... Moreover, after the New Year, Su Yichu's restless heart became even more active. If it weren't for the heavy snow blocking the mountain, he would have already left the Sword Tomb to explore the world.

Moreover, Su Yichu was very eager to test his current sword skills against Qiu Chuji. Possessing an unparalleled sword technique but having no one to test it against was as boring as wearing fine clothes at night. Su Yichu couldn't help but feel a deep sense of frustration.

The divine bird had long grown tired of Su Yichu's nagging. It had become smart and decided to ignore him. It lay lazily in the corner of the cave, mumbling incoherently, with a large jar of strong liquor under its right wing, almost empty. It was clearly drunk.

Su Yichu glared at the divine bird in dissatisfaction, looking at the snow outside, and suddenly felt a surge of inspiration. He let out a long whistle, leaped out of the cave, and drew the Qingming Sword, dancing it in the falling snow.

Su Yichu's current sword skills were extremely profound, and he wielded various sword techniques with ease. The sword seemed to transform into a thousand forms, and there was no longer any trace of the previous Shadow Sword Technique or Quanzhen Sword Technique. Or rather, he was no longer using sword techniques at all, but rather moving freely and spontaneously. The dense snowflakes fell, but none could penetrate the impenetrable web of sword movements to touch his body.

At the end of his practice, Su Yichu couldn't help but let out a long, loud cry.

"Ah~~~~~"

His current internal strength was immense. With his loud cry, the snow that had already fallen was instantly blown back into the sky, and the dry branches, bowed under the weight of the snow, suddenly straightened up, free from the snow's pressure.

This long cry lasted for several cups of tea, showing no signs of weakening, as if it were endless. The divine bird, which was in a daze, was startled awake by the cry. Seeing Su Yichu standing in the snow, it mumbled a few words, turned over, and went back to sleep.

After the long cry, Su Yichu felt a sense of clarity in his heart. He smiled slightly, looked at the divine bird with a hint of reluctance, and made a decision. It was indeed time to leave the mountain!

He couldn't really spend his whole life in the mountains with a bird, could he? No matter how much he admired Dugu Qiu, he couldn't follow his way of life. Even if he wanted to live in seclusion in the mountains, he should at least find a cute girl, not a bird. What kind of situation is that?

Thinking about the strange preferences of his predecessors, Su Yichu could only sigh inwardly. Indeed, they were truly great people, even in choosing a partner, they were different from others. A great person who could spend a lifetime with a bird was not something ordinary people could compare to!

Turning back into the cave, Su Yichu was still clean and dry, not a single snowflake on him. During his sword practice, his movements were so tight that the snow couldn't penetrate, and later, the Nine Yang True Qi in his body surged, melting the snow before it could get within three feet of him.

Kicking the drunk divine bird, Su Yichu said, "Brother Bird, I've decided to leave the Sword Tomb. Are you coming with me? Are you coming with me? Or... are you coming with me?"

He naturally hoped that the divine bird would go with him. Wouldn't it be cool and awesome to have the title of "Divine Bird Hero"? Since the title originally belonged to his son, now that Yang Guo had disappeared, he had no reason to be polite about it...

The divine bird raised its head, looked at Su Yichu with an unfathomable gaze, and showed no surprise at his decision to leave. It seemed that, although it was a bird, it had long sensed Su Yichu's intention to leave.

After a long silence, the divine bird nodded toward the direction of Dugu Qiu's grave and made two cooing sounds.

Su Yichu said, "You're worried that someone might desecrate Dugu's grave if you're not around?"

The divine bird nodded.

Seeing the divine bird refuse to go with him, Su Yichu felt a sense of reluctance. After spending so much time together, he had developed a deep bond with the bird. Suddenly having to part ways was hard for him to accept.

The divine bird made two more cooing sounds.

"Are you asking me to buy enough strong liquor for you?"

"Goo..."

Su Yichu burst into laughter, and the sense of reluctance and parting immediately dissipated. Indeed, why be so sentimental?

"Brother Bird, let's drink until we're both drunk. Tomorrow, I'll buy all the fine wine in Xiangyang City for you!"

Su Yichu picked up a jar of fine wine, broke the mud seal, and took a big gulp.

After a mouthful, he passed the jar to the divine bird, which drank a large mouthful from Su Yichu's hand. They took turns drinking, enjoying themselves immensely!