At the cave entrance, sand and stones suddenly blasted outward like an eruption.
A white head tumbled among the rubble.
Xue Kui hit the ground, rolled several times, and lay there with his rear sticking up. He groaned, then staggered to his feet and jogged toward a nearby stream.
The water reflected a bruised and dirt-streaked face.
Not just his face—his clothes had tears everywhere, revealing scrapes and bruises across his body. For a yaksha, superficial wounds like these were nothing. Whatever giant being inside the cave was, it clearly hadn't meant to kill him.
It had only thrown him out.
And really, wasn't that partly his fault?
He had started whacking it with an ice-forged hoe.
From that one glimpse, he realized what he thought was a "stone wall" was merely the corner of a massive horn—and the horn belonged to something he couldn't even classify as a creature. No flesh, no heartbeat, no pulse.
It was pure, condensed Geo elemental energy with its own will.
No wonder he couldn't sense its presence. Compared to living beings with blood and breath, this was something fundamentally different.
Xue Kui flicked a fish-scale off his cheek, watching it ripple in the stream.
He frowned.
Stone Brother needed those herbs.
But going back to that cave… the big thing would just knock him out again.
He touched his bruised cheek.
He'd lost that fight—no shame in admitting it.
The aura around that being was of the same nature as Morax and Guizhong.
A godlike existence.
"…Huh?"
In the reflection, his bruises were fading—visibly—right before his eyes.
Normally, that would be unremarkable.
But after spending time among humans, something finally clicked.
Why did his wounds heal so fast?
Why did humans heal so slowly?
Was physical toughness the only variable?
If he could understand the difference, maybe—just maybe—he could help Shichen heal faster.
With no hesitation, Xue Kui formed a thin ice blade and sliced his forearm.
Warm blood welled up.
He focused, monitoring every change.
The wound closed in seconds.
He frowned—and cut again.
Elemental perception pulled inward—
blood flow, slow and steady heartbeat, and—
elemental energy pouring into the wound.
If Morax or Guizhong had seen this, they would have been stunned.
The little brat had just discovered inner cultivation instinctually.
Xue Kui's eyes snapped open—then he leapt to his feet.
It was elemental energy.
Yaksha were spirits born from the world's pure elements—
given flesh, but still half elemental beings.
His body didn't just contain Cryo.
Cryo was part of what he was.
When wounded, his body instinctively guided elemental energy to repair the damage.
He lay back in the grass, suddenly listless.
He had solved the mystery—but it didn't help Shichen at all.
Humans had no elemental energy.
Guizhong had told him that humans who absorbed too much elemental force would be corroded, even fatally harmed.
So using elemental energy to heal a human was impossible.
But—
He shot upright again.
Another thought.
He cut his arm a third time.
Then again.
And again.
In the darkness, the Cryo blade flashed, over and over.
Cut—heal.
Cut—heal.
He ignored the pain. Pain was nothing.
The sun sank behind the trees, leaving only night.
Xue Kui's cyan eyes glowed brighter and brighter.
The aura around him shifted—
reminiscent of Morax and that cave being.
Except those two carried the weight of rock.
Xue Kui's energy… was harder to define.
At last—
He felt it.
For a heartbeat, he witnessed the transformation:
Cryo lost its form—
became pure energy—
and then burst into vitality.
Life force.
His eyes widened.
The wound vanished completely.
"Oh?"
Night had fallen.
The ice blade in his hand had already begun melting.
A small, sharp chirp drew his attention.
He walked toward the sound and found a sparrow lying on pebbles near the stream.
Its wing was twisted—broken.
The same sparrow that had mocked him earlier.
Xue Kui grinned.
"Well, that's karma."
But it wasn't dead yet. It still had a chance.
He held out his hand.
Cryo gathered in his palm.
He paused—
Then dispersed most of it, leaving only a sliver.
He'd learned something crucial:
He was capable of converting elemental energy into life force.
Not magic—instinct.
He grasped the feeling he'd found earlier.
Cryo dissolved—
life sprouted—
A warmth—so unlike his usual cold—spread through his palm.
He placed his hand gently over the sparrow's wing.
Crack. Crack.
The bones aligned.
He lifted his hand.
The sparrow hopped, then flapped its wings—
and soared up to perch on his shoulder, nudging his cheek affectionately.
Xue Kui shoved it away, clicking his tongue.
"Hmph. Just mutual benefit."
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