Heaven-Sent Talent

Dark clouds blanketed the entire mountain range; before autumn rain came, there was always a biting, frigid wind.

When Ruan Su woke from her nightmare, her eyes flew open at once. Terror stained her scarlet vision as she stared blankly at the pitch-black "blood-colored" sky.

She had dreamed that Xiao 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 only a dream, right...

Trembling lightly, Ruan Su lowered her gaze toward the small house the two of them had built brick by brick and tile by tile. Its door stood open, but the interior was pitch-black. The crosswind wailed ceaselessly, and not a sound 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 softly, and she sniffed hard. The blood staining her thin clothes had already clotted, sticking to her skin. Tugged again and again by the mountain wind, it rustled faintly.

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 drop of rain struck the corner of the girl's eye and slid down her fair cheek. Then the rainfall gradually intensified.

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

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

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

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

"It's because Sister... can't cultivate..." ...

"...Are you crying?"

As if it were an illusion, a familiar childish voice came from beside her with a sigh, calm enough to put her at ease:

"If it hurts, don't talk."

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

But the childish voice did not cease. It came again, even and calm:

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

Ruan Su turned her body bit by bit and looked behind her, only to find Xiao Yi lying motionless beside her, about ten feet away.

Qin Yi did not look at Ruan Su. Moving even a little hurt. He gazed up at the rain falling from the sky, his expression so indifferent that it was hard to believe he had suffered wounds severe enough to leave him utterly 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 don't be surprised."

The truthfulness of those words was practically nonexistent.

At least, that was how it was for Ruan Su.

Her instincts told her outright that it was an utter 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 be more genuine.

Xiao Yi had not thrown her away...

Xiao Yi had saved her...

She was the one who had gravely injured Xiao Yi...

Without blinking, the girl stared at the blood-soaked profile of the boy beside her. Guilt-ridden unease flickered in her dark eyes.

Time trickled by.

The autumn rain pouring down from the heavens intensified. Water streamed down the charred tiger leg, and the remaining embers beneath the firewood hissed and died. The rain swiftly drenched the entire mountain range, filling it with the hazy blur of mist and rain.

Rain struck his face, washing away the bloodstains. Qin Yi half-squinted as he sensed his body, which he could not move.

This autumn rain had come at a terrible time.

He did not know how Ruan Su would fare, but if he lay here all night, hypothermia was inevitable. And judging by Compassion Mountain's usual autumn rains, it would probably drizzle for several days.

Rustle, rustle...

A faint rustling sounded by his ear. Qin Yi glanced sideways and saw the girl struggling through the curtain of rain, crawling toward him. The burned half of her face was filled with stubbornness.

She looked utterly bedraggled.

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

What was she trying to do?

The moment their gazes met, Qin Yi understood her intentions. He watched her for several breaths, then gently shook his head and said:

"Don't waste your strength. If even crawling is difficult, don't 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 let out a soft breath.

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

Only then did the girl halt.

Qin Yi had awakened earlier than Ruan Su, and had noticed earlier than she had just how devastating this seemingly insignificant autumn rain could be to the two of them in their current state.

He had tried moving his body, but the slightest motion sent piercing pain through all four limbs and every bone.

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

He was not afraid of pain.

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

It felt like 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 seriously injured than he was.

This recovery speed was clearly not enough.

If they did not do something soon, his and her weakened bodies would be swallowed by this bleak, unremarkable autumn rain.

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

His body could not move. He could only find a solution from the cultivation side.

The rich young lady's final words had said that she could directly sever an ancient tree. In other words, the Spirit Resonance absorbed into one's body could be released and physically affect the outside world.

The question was how to do it.

Disrupted Scripture only explained 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 the rain constantly washed away the last remnants of warmth in the siblings' bodies.

Seeing that the boy had said nothing for a long while, the girl began to grow restless again.

Though an overwhelmingly powerful sense of impending death hung over her, she felt her physical condition should still be enough to support her as she dragged the boy before her into the house. But at that moment, she noticed that the boy, who had been lying there like a corpse, suddenly moved.

His hand.

It formed 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:

"Xiao... Yi, don't..."

"Quiet."

Fine rain drizzled down.

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

He hated risks. After what had happened that afternoon, he knew that reckless cultivation could kill a person. But once he confirmed there was no other way, even if he faced almost certain death, 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 inside a human body.

That included Calamity Seeds.

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

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

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

And the breathing method of Disrupted Scripture should have evolved from martial arts internal cultivation. If the Illumination Ascension Seal worked, the other internal cultivation 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 turn Disrupted Scripture's Spirit Resonance input into output?

His mind raced at high speed as Qin Yi carefully recalled every trace of bodily feedback brought by the flow of Spirit Resonance.

One hundred and fifty breaths passed in an instant.

When blue halos appeared before his eyes, Qin Yi abruptly changed his hand seal—but not to any of those recorded in ordinary internal cultivation.

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

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