This sort of task was something Xuan Yuan  wouldn’t let Huang Rong handle.

With a single palm strike, a torrent of heat surged forth, scorching winds howled through the cave. Huang Rong hurriedly raised her hands to press down her fluttering skirt—and in that moment, the stone mound was gone without a trace.

What lay exposed before them was a skeleton—its bones stark white, its clothing tattered and in ruins.

Amid the scraps of garments draped over the skeleton, Xuan Yuan  ’s sharp gaze caught a glimpse of silk tucked beneath the ribs.

He stepped forward and carefully drew the silk from among the bones. With a flick of his hand, the cloth unfurled—just as he expected: painted across it were numerous miniature stick-figures performing sword techniques, and beside them, in minuscule cursive script, were the distilled essences of the Dugu Nine Swords.

«Here, Rong’er.»

With a gentle push of his palm, the silk fluttered toward Huang Rong. She giggled lightly and stuffed it inside her robe.

Then, Xuan Yuan  reached into his storage ring and took out a stone coffin.

Huang Rong’s eyes widened in disbelief.

«Xing-ge, you even prepared this?»

«I figured the sword manual would be inside Dugu Qiubai’s tomb. Since I’d have to open it to retrieve the manual, it was only right to prepare accordingly. To receive a legacy and yet leave the senior’s bones exposed to the elements—how could that be proper?»

«Senior, forgive this offense in disturbing your spirit.»

With that, Xuan Yuan  gently collected the bones of Dugu Qiubai, laid them inside the coffin, and sealed the lid. He then hefted the coffin onto his shoulder and turned to Huang Rong:

«Let’s go. We’ll give the senior a proper burial.»

The two emerged from the cave. Xuan Yuan  , balancing the coffin on one hand, slapped the ground with the other—causing a massive crater to explode open in the earth.

Huang Rong was dumbfounded. With such profound internal force, had she not watched his entire journey with her own eyes, she would never believe Xuan Yuan  had been cultivating for just over a month.

After burying the coffin and raising a burial mound, Xuan Yuan  searched the surroundings and found a massive boulder. With one hand acting like a blade, he struck and shaved the rock—sparks flying, radiant light scattering, and surging waves of force bursting outward. In a matter of moments, the enormous stone had been shaped into a tombstone—entirely by hand.

Using his finger as a sword, Xuan Yuan  inscribed large characters onto the tombstone:

«Grave of the Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai.»

Then, with a firm motion, he planted the stone before the mound and finally let out a long exhale.

At that moment, a sharp, high-pitched eagle cry pierced the sky. A powerful gust swept through the air, and Xuan Yuan  and Huang Rong looked up just in time to see a massive bird descending from above, landing before them.

The celestial  Eagle’s form was colossal—taller than a human, its appearance hideous and primitive. Its feathers were sparse, as though someone had plucked out over half of them. Its dirty, mottled plumage was yellow and black, giving it a filthy look. Atop its head sat a large, blood-red fleshy growth. Among the myriad species of birds, neither Xuan Yuan  nor Huang Rong had ever seen such a wild and ancient-looking raptor.

Huang Rong was a girl with a love for beauty and elegant things. She had originally been curious about the celestial  Eagle after hearing its story, but upon seeing it in person now, she couldn’t help but show a trace of disdain on her face.

«S-So ugly, Xing-ge…»

Xuan Yuan  , on the other hand, was not surprised. The celestial  Eagle shown in television dramas had obviously been glamorized. In the original novel text, this celestial  Eagle had always been this ugly.

He didn’t mind at all—in fact, he found it even more intriguing.

«Rong’er, don’t look down on it. It wasn’t implanted with a chip by Nuwa, yet it has human-like intelligence and can even teach swordplay. This is no ordinary bird.»

Sensing the celestial  Eagle’s caution—and even faint hostility—Xuan Yuan  pointed at the freshly made grave and said:

«Dugu Qiubai has been properly buried here by me.»

The celestial  Eagle seemed to understand… or perhaps not. It slowly approached the grave, rubbing its beak against the mound, as if confirming something. When it looked again at Xuan Yuan  , its earlier hostility had vanished.

«It really does understand human speech?» Xuan Yuan  ’s eyes lit up. He waved at the eagle, beckoning it. «Come here, come on.»

The celestial  Eagle waddled over. Xuan Yuan  reached out and placed a hand on its head—then suddenly, his brows furrowed.

«Huh? This eagle… it has internal energy?»

«Huh?» Huang Rong was stunned as well. She had never heard of a beast developing internal energy.

She hurried forward, carefully laying a hand on the celestial  Eagle. Her face grew perplexed.

«There really is inner force… though weak. But it doesn’t feel self-cultivated. Xing-ge, could it be that Senior Dugu infused it with his own internal energy?»

«That must be it. Its extraordinary intelligence must be linked to the internal energy within its body.»

Curious, Xuan Yuan  wondered—what if he injected his mutated Nine Yang celestial  Skill inner force into it?

At the thought, warmth flared in his palm. The celestial  Eagle suddenly let out a loud cry.

Its original, faint internal force was immediately overwhelmed by the Nine Yang energy—crushed like rotted wood, engulfed and assimilated. The now vastly more powerful Nine Yang force followed the original circulation path, surging through the eagle’s body.

Suddenly, Huang Rong noticed—the celestial  Eagle’s eyes began to glow with a faint golden light!

Moments later, Xuan Yuan  withdrew his hand, and the eagle curled up, collapsed to the ground, and fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing it wouldn’t wake anytime soon, Xuan Yuan  thought for a moment and turned to Huang Rong:

«How about we take it back to the Eastern Imperial Palace and have Nuwa help take care of it?»

«But… Do you think Sister Nuwa might install one of those brain chips in it?»

«We’ll just remind her not to. This celestial  Eagle was born with sentience. It doesn’t need any of that.»

With the decision made, Xuan Yuan  immediately activated the Mysterious Radiance Pendant again. Carrying the sleeping celestial  Eagle with him, he and Huang Rong returned to the Eastern Imperial Palace.

Not seeing Nuwa around, Xuan Yuan  simply found a quiet place to settle the eagle, left a message for her, and then returned to the world of Return of the Condor Heroes with Huang Rong.

«Xing-ge, where are we heading next?» Huang Rong asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

This trip back to the martial world had one primary goal: to gather as many martial arts as possible.

Nuwa had deduced that Xuan Yuan  ’s current state—filled with wild, flying special effects—was likely limited by a lack of data. So now, Xuan Yuan  would gather more for her to analyze.

Seeing him deep in thought, Huang Rong offered:

«Shall we head to Peach Blossom Island? Zhou Botong has the full version of the Nine Yin Manual, doesn’t he?»

At this time, the Old Mischief Monk was still imprisoned on Peach Blossom Island, with the complete Nine Yin Manual in hand.

«No rush.» Xuan Yuan  gently patted her hand. «We’ll visit Shaolin first, then swing by Zhongnan Mountain—Quanzhen Sect.»

Huang Rong immediately understood Xuan Yuan  ’s plan.

«You’re aiming for Shaolin’s Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques and Quanzhen’s scriptures?»

«Not just that. I’m also interested in the Duan Family’s One Yang Finger, and North Beggar Hong Qigong’s skills. The tricky part is how to get them.»

Xuan Yuan  chuckled.

«Who knows—maybe once I learn Dragon Subduing Palm, like Nuwa joked, I’ll start entering scenes with my own sound effects.»

Just the thought gave him a headache. Flashy effects were one thing, but entering with built-in background music? That was too much.

He couldn’t help but remember a line often repeated by cosmetics-obsessed players in his previous life’s game, JX3 (Jian Wang 3):

«Paying for outfits won’t make you stronger… but it sure makes you flashy.»

Xuan Yuan  , at least, had it slightly better—he got stronger and flashier.

«Forget it. Let’s start with the Seventy-Two Supreme Techniques and the Quanzhen classics.»

Huang Rong nodded.

«Alright then, Xing-ge. Let’s go buy two horses—um… Xing-ge?»

Xuan Yuan  silently took a flying imperial carriage from his storage ring and tilted his head at her.

«Horse? What horse? Rong’er, what are you talking about?»

Huang Rong instantly blushed red.

Her thinking had been too grounded—she’d forgotten that they could now freely traverse between this world and the Eastern Imperial Palace, and that Xuan Yuan  ’s ring was now full of powerful treasures.

Ride horses? What for?

With a carriage at hand, riding horses would be downright silly.