Heaven-Sent Talent

Dark clouds blanketed the entire mountain range, and before autumn rain came, there was always a piercingly cold wind.

When Ruan Su woke from her nightmare, her eyes flew open. Her bloodshot vision was stained with terror as she stared blankly at the pitch-black "blood-red" sky.

She had dreamed that Little Yi had left, just as he had once abandoned those younger brothers and sisters. No matter how she begged him, he never looked back. He had simply walked away so coldly, leaving her all alone where she stood...

It was a dream, right...

Ruan Su trembled as she turned her gaze toward the little house the two of them had built brick by brick. The door stood open, and the interior was pitch-black. The crosswind wailed endlessly, yet not a single sound of life could be heard.

Terror made the girl overlook the pain surging through every part of her body. Carefully, she curled herself up and wrapped her arms around herself. Her lips pressed together lightly as she sniffed hard. The blood staining her thin clothes had already crusted over and stuck to her body, rustling as the mountain wind tugged at it.

It began to rain.

Night had already fallen. The bonfire beneath the roasting rack had gone out, yet she still lay where she was.

The first raindrop struck the corner of the girl's eye and slid down her fair cheek. Then, gradually, the rain intensified.

The boundless woods and fields were stirred. The autumn rain fell soundlessly, while the wind seemed full of intent. Only a hoarse, trembling murmur slipped from her throat.

"I'm... sorry..."

"It's... Sister's fault for being useless..."

"I'm... sorry..."

"Big Sister... can't culti... vate..."

"..."

"...Are you crying?"

As though it were an illusion, a sigh sounded, followed by that familiar childish voice from nearby, calm enough to set her at ease.

"If it hurts, then stop talking."

"..."

Ruan Su's eyes instantly widened. Even the faint trembling of her body stopped, as though she feared it was merely another illusion from her dream.

Yet the childish voice did not stop. It came again, steady and calm.

"Don't move around. Just turn over slowly."

"..."

Bit by bit, Ruan Su twisted her body and looked behind her, only to find Little Yi lying motionless about ten feet away.

Qin Yi did not look at Ruan Su. Moving even slightly hurt. He gazed up at the rain falling from the sky, his expression so indifferent that one would never think he had suffered injuries severe enough to leave him completely unable to move. He said casually,

"I was the one who told you to cultivate that technique. You ended up like this because of me too, so there's no need to be surprised."

The truthfulness of those words was practically nonexistent.

At least, that was the case for Ruan Su.

Her instincts told her outright that this was an absolute lie. He must have collapsed beside her because of some uncontrollable, unknown factor.

But Ruan Su told her instincts that his words could not possibly have been more genuine.

Little Yi had not thrown her away...

Little Yi had saved her...

She was the one who had gotten Little Yi badly hurt...

The girl stared unblinkingly at the blood-soaked profile of the boy beside her, her dark eyes flickering with anxious self-reproach.

Time trickled by.

The autumn rain pouring from the heavens grew heavier. Water ran down the tiger's charred legs, and the dying embers beneath the firewood hissed and went out. The rain swiftly drenched the entire mountain range, filling it with the hazy veil of mist and rain.

Rain struck his cheeks, washing away the bloodstains. Qin Yi half narrowed his eyes, feeling the body he could not move.

This autumn rain had come at a truly terrible time.

He did not know what would happen to Ruan Su, but if he lay here all night, hypothermia was inevitable. And according to Compassion Mountain's usual autumn rains, this drizzle would continue for several days.

Rustle, rustle...

A faint rustling sounded by his ear. Qin Yi glanced sideways and saw the girl struggling to crawl toward him through the curtain of rain. The burned half of her face radiated stubbornness.

She looked utterly miserable.

So miserable that it was hard to imagine she had kicked a Killing Ape more than ten feet tall to death here just two days ago.

What was she trying to do?

The instant their eyes met, Qin Yi understood what she was thinking. He watched her for several breaths, then gently shook his head.

"Don't waste your strength. If crawling is already this hard, don't even think about dragging me into the house."

"..."

Ruan Su's body stiffened. A little blood spilled from the corner of her lips, but she continued crawling toward the boy.

Qin Yi exhaled softly.

"Stop... I'll think of something."

Only then did the girl stop moving.

Qin Yi had awakened earlier than Ruan Su, and had noticed sooner the devastating effect this seemingly insignificant autumn rain could have on them in their current state.

He had tried moving his body, but every slight movement sent piercing agony through his limbs and bones.

If that were all, Qin Yi would not have cared.

He was not afraid of pain.

The crucial point was that he would bleed, and his injuries would worsen at an alarming rate.

It felt as though wounds that had only just clotted were being torn open again.

He had originally thought Ruan Su's self-healing ability would be stronger. Perhaps once she woke up, she could drag him back into the house. But now, that plan seemed to have fallen through as well.

Ruan Su was more badly injured than he was.

This recovery speed was clearly not enough.

If he did not do something soon, their weakened bodies would be swallowed by this seemingly insignificant, desolate autumn rain.

There was no need to wonder whether anyone would come to their little courtyard. The old master had given Ruan Su leave to rest, and Granny Meng had only come last night to look at his jade pendant. They could not possibly gamble on her coming again tonight, could they?

Since his body could not move, he could only find a solution through cultivation.

The dying words left by that wealthy young lady had said that she could directly sever an ancient tree. In other words, the Spirit Resonance absorbed into the body could be released and physically interfere with the world.

The question was how to do it.

The Disrupted Scripture only described how to absorb Spirit Resonance. It did not teach any method of releasing it.

Qin Yi silently recalled every piece of information he could use.

Time trickled by. The temperature of late autumn continued to fall, while rain continuously washed away the last remnants of warmth in the brother and sister's bodies.

Seeing that the boy had not spoken for a long time, the girl began growing restless again.

Though she was overwhelmed by the immense sensation of being on the brink of death, she felt that her condition should still be enough to support her as she dragged the boy before her into the house. Yet at that moment, she noticed that the boy who had been "playing dead" all this time suddenly moved.

His hand.

It was a hand seal—the Illumination Ascension Seal.

He wanted to enter Cultivation Sight?

Though Ruan Su did not know much about cultivation, she instinctively felt that this was dangerous. Her red lips parted.

"Little... Yi, don't..."

"Quiet."

The fine rain pattered down.

Qin Yi replied softly, then began adjusting his breathing rhythm.

He hated risks. After what had happened that afternoon, he knew that cultivating recklessly could get one killed. But once he confirmed there was no other way, even if the chance of death was nearly absolute, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

In his mind, he recalled the diagram of meridian circulation he had seen within his body through Cultivation Sight.

So-called meridians were somewhat like blood vessels, but they should not exist on the physical level. At least, Qin Yi had never seen any organ resembling meridians within a human body.

That included the Calamity Seed.

The Spirit Resonance meridians in the palm were among the densest parts of the human body, and they should also be the most unique.

When he formed the Illumination Ascension Seal, merely touching his fingertips together connected two meridians, forming a brand-new Spirit Resonance circuit.

That had been an input circuit. If he could reverse it, he should be able to release the Spirit Resonance within his body.

And the breathing method of the Disrupted Scripture should have evolved from martial inner force techniques. Since the Illumination Ascension Seal worked, other inner force hand seals should work as well.

Lesser Yang Seal, Yin Halberd Seal, Merit Officer Seal, Great Thoroughfare Seal, Heavenly Dipper Seal...

Which hand seal could transform the Disrupted Scripture's Spirit Resonance input into an output?

His mind raced as Qin Yi carefully recalled every trace of sensation brought by the flow of Spirit Resonance.

One hundred and fifty breaths passed in the blink of an eye.

The moment blue halos appeared before his eyes, Qin Yi abruptly changed his hand seal—but it was not one recorded in any ordinary inner force manual.

His body could not withstand any further damage. Rather than gamble on the effects of existing hand seals, Qin Yi trusted his own bodily sense of meridian circulation more.

Silently, the ever-thickening curtain of rain reduced visibility to less than thirty feet. Yet amidst that hazy gloom, within the silent little courtyard, a faint glow suddenly lit up...