Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

Qin Lu stood in absolute silence, his gaze coldly dissecting the horde of evil cultivators before him. He quickly identified the “Brother Ge” and “Brother Pan” that the Blood Demon had mentioned earlier.

But his eyes lingered on a particularly grotesque figure among them—a creature with the stature of a child, yet radiating a sinister aura.

This was the Weird Dwarf. He carried a bamboo basket on his back, his skin a sickly, bloodless pale. The only splash of color on his face came from his lips, which were painted a jarring, unnatural crimson. He looked less like a human and more like a painted doll brought to life by a curse.

Judging by his warped physique and peculiar attire, there was no doubt: this was a Demonic Cultivator.

Demonic Cultivators were a distinct breed among the wicked. They didn’t just command Demon Beasts; they lived among them, sleeping in their dens and adopting their savage ways. Some, after prolonged exposure to bestial energies, even underwent physical mutations.

Driven by their twisted cultivation techniques, their bodies would warp to mimic the beasts they revered. Some grew snake scales across their faces; others sprouted the twisted limbs of goats.

This Weird Dwarf was likely the result of a technique derived from a small, nimble species of Demon Beast.

They were fundamentally different from Blood Cultivators. While Blood Cultivators drained the essence and blood of their victims to fuel their power, Demonic Cultivators feasted on the raw flesh and physique of other cultivators to bolster their own strength.

Regardless of their methods, to the righteous sects, they were all monsters to be hunted down and exterminated on sight.

“Ridiculous!”

Jiang Ge let out a snort of pure disdain. He pointed a trembling finger at the leader of the pack. “Blood Demon, I’ll admit your scheme to herd these beasts was clever. But I advise you to scram immediately. To tell you the truth, my clan’s Patriarch is already en route. If you don’t flee now, you scum will die without a burial place!”

The defenders behind him seized on the bravado, desperate for hope.

“That’s right! If you don’t run, you’ll all perish here!”

“When the Golden Core Patriarch arrives, you’re finished, Blood Demon!”

“Filthy scum!”

Jiang Ge’s declaration stirred a wave of righteous indignation. The defenders pointed their weapons at the thirty-plus enemies, shouting curses to mask their fear.

It had been an hour since the beast tide began. By Jiang Ge’s earlier calculations, the Demon Slaying Sect’s reinforcements—and their Patriarch—should indeed be arriving to clean up this farce.

But Jiang Ge knew the grim reality. His men were exhausted. If a melee broke out now, they would be slaughtered. He had to gamble on the terrifying reputation of a Golden Core expert to scare these jackals away.

“Hahahaha!”

The Blood Demon threw his head back, his laughter manic and filled with genuine amusement. He laughed until he was breathless, then lowered his head, staring levelly at the defenders with a mockery of pity.

“Great Market Master Jiang… we’ve been enemies for years. Do you still not understand my temperament? Do you truly think I am so stupid that I would march up to your gates without preparation?”

His grin widened, revealing teeth that looked too sharp.

“Hehe! Let me enlighten you. Your Patriarch Xie Jian will definitely not be coming to the White Jade Market today! Prepare yourselves… you are nothing but food on our plates.”

Jiang Ge’s face drained of color. “What did you say?! That’s impossible…”

“Hehe!” The Blood Demon curled his lip, slowly raising his right hand high into the air. “I have planned this for months. With the help of my brothers, we deliberately exposed our tracks across the region to scatter your forces. We lured your strongest away from the nest. It was all for this moment!”

He clenched his fist. “This is the classic tactic: ‘Luring the tiger away from the mountain’!”

The revelation hit the White Jade Market defenders like a physical blow. The Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been shouting insults moments ago turned ghastly pale, panic seizing their eyes.

Their only hope had just been extinguished.

The Blood Demon’s arm swung down like an executioner’s blade. “Brothers! Eat them all!”

“Jiejiejie!”

Instantly, the horde of evil cultivators erupted into eerie, shrieking laughter. Shapes of various nightmares—some hulking, some shadowy—pounced toward the exhausted defenders.

“Slaying evil is our unshirkable duty! Fellow Daoists, follow me!”

In the face of despair, Jiang Ge roared to the heavens. He did not retreat. He charged.

“Kill!”

Zou Chang, his face twisted into a mask of frenzy, swung his giant hammer and followed Jiang Ge into the jaws of death.

Seeing their leaders charge, the remaining cultivators swallowed their terror. Grief and indignation fueled their limbs as they raised their Magical Artifacts and rushed to meet the enemy.

Against evil cultivators, surrender was not an option. There was no mercy, only consumption. They had been backed to the river’s edge; the only path left was to fight until the last drop of blood was spilled.

Amidst the chaos, Qin Lu’s heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum. His hand gripped his sword hilt so tightly his knuckles turned white, trembling uncontrollably.

This feeling… it’s been a long time.

He exhaled a long, shaky breath. It wasn’t just fear. It was the electric jolt of adrenaline, the boiling of his blood.

In his recent battles, he had always held the upper hand, carefully concealing his true power, playing the cautious observer. But now? The safety net was gone.

The enemy had over thirty fresh, bloodthirsty elites. His side had a dozen exhausted men. The disparity in strength was the difference between heaven and earth.

If he held back now, he would die. It was that simple.

A red-robed blood cultivator with a ferocious, twisted smile broke from the pack, heading straight for him.

Qin Lu’s eyes hardened into cold steel.

He didn’t retreat. instead, he shot upwards, hovering in the air. He pulled his arm back, his Spiritual Qi flooding his meridians in a torrent of power.

He channeled everything into a single, devastating concept.

[Fire Emperor]!

The air screamed as a colossal fireball, over 100 meters in diameter, manifested out of thin air. It was like a second sun had descended upon the battlefield, turning the night sky into a blinding crimson day.

With a roar of exertion, Qin Lu smashed the miniature star down toward the charging horde!

Since leveling the [Ignition Technique] to its maximum, transforming it into the [Fire Emperor], Qin Lu had always throttled its output. He had never dared to unleash its full apocalyptic potential.

Until now.

As the massive sphere of destruction descended, the charging evil cultivators faltered. The weaker ones froze, terror etched on their faces as the heat blistered their skin before the flames even touched them.

“Petty tricks!”

The Blood Demon, leading the charge, didn’t even slow down. He sneered, extending a single finger toward the descending sun.

Bang!

A thread of crimson light, thin as a hair but redder than fresh blood, shot from his fingertip.

It struck the fireball dead center.

Sizzle!

The red line pierced the [Fire Emperor] effortlessly. The Blood Demon flicked his finger, and the thread whipped through the air, slicing through the massive structure of Spiritual Qi.

The colossal fireball destabilized instantly, shattering into a thousand smaller clusters of flame that rained harmlessly onto the ground below.

“A skill similar to my [Cutting Technique]…” Qin Lu’s expression turned grave. His strongest AoE attack had been dismantled in seconds.

“Kid, you’re a bit arrogant! Let me teach you a lesson!”

Qin Lu’s spectacular display had painted a target on his back. Four evil cultivators immediately broke formation, changing course to rush him.

Leading them was the red-robed cultivator from before.

Qin Lu gripped the [Silver Sand Sword]. As the four enemies closed in, the adrenaline that had been shaking his hands suddenly vanished. His heart rate slowed. His mind became a placid lake.

He watched them approach with an eerie calmness.

“Hehe! Is this kid scared stupid?!”

“Kill him! His essence and blood look incredibly rich!”

“Jiejiejie~”

The evil cultivators laughed, their voices grating and shrill. To them, the frozen boy was already a corpse.

But in the next microsecond, the world turned white.

A blinding, searing flash of light erupted from Qin Lu without warning!

It was instantaneous. There was no chant, no telegraph.

The red-robed cultivator, having survived Qin Lu’s tricks before, instinctively threw a hand up to shield his eyes the moment he sensed the Qi fluctuation.

The other three were not so lucky.

Their eyes went blank white. The intense flash burned their retinas, plunging them into temporary blindness.

Their Foundation Establishment instincts kicked in immediately, Spiritual Qi rushing to their eyes to heal the damage and filter the light. They would be blind for less than a second.

But for a swordsman like Qin Lu, a second was an eternity.

A cold light flickered in the whiteness.

Slice!

A head flew high into the air, spinning amidst a fountain of blood.

“Hey!”

“You…!”

“How?!”

As vision returned to the survivors, they gasped in shock.

Qin Lu stood before them, his face a mask of indifference. He flicked his wrist, shaking a line of fresh blood from the blade of the [Silver Sand Sword].

His Killing Intent surged, suffocating the remaining three.

He had used the [Bright Light Technique] to kill a cultivator of the same realm with a single sword strike!