Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

Chapter 258: Divine Miracle Descends from Heaven

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, radiating an unbearable, blistering heat.

Qin Lu stood at the bow of the spirit boat, gazing down at the sweeping landscape with a faint, unconscious smile on his lips. Having recently broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, the surging, boundless Spiritual Qi within his core left him deeply captivated. As his cultivation soared, his state of mind grew increasingly relaxed. Overwhelming strength naturally bred absolute confidence.

Whoosh!

The spirit boat streaked across the vault of the sky like a shooting star. Several days had passed since they departed the market. The three younger disciples, having burned off their endless energy playing all morning, were currently sound asleep in the cabin. Gu Can sat alone by the central array, idly feeding Spiritual Qi into the Magical Artifact to maintain their trajectory.

Qin Lu stretched lazily on the deck. Just as he turned to head back inside, his footsteps faltered. He squinted into the distance, a brow arching in surprise.

The terrain ahead had undergone a drastic, unnatural shift. The lush, vibrant greenery abruptly gave way to cracked, parched earth.

A localized drought? Qin Lu mused. Such extreme, isolated aridity usually implied something unnatural at play—a disruption in the leylines, massive soil erosion, or perhaps something tampering with the region’s weather patterns.

“Hmm?” He lowered his gaze, focusing his enhanced vision on the official dirt road winding below.

A dense trail of black dots crawled along the path. Mortals. Thousands of them.

A mass exodus to escape the disaster, he realized, assessing the bleak scene. Looking at the dust-covered refugees shuffling through the heat, a rare pang of pity stirred within him.

“Xiao Can,” Qin Lu called out over his shoulder. “Drop the altitude. Let’s see what’s going on down there.”

Gu Can glanced up from the array. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a massive column of refugees below. Bring us down.”

“On it,” Gu Can replied, instantly shifting the array’s dials. The massive spirit boat banked sharply, swooping toward the earth.

As they descended, the blurry dots resolved into hollow-eyed, exhausted humans. Families dragged their meager belongings along the dusty road. Men, women, children, and the elderly—all of them shared the same cracked lips, sunken cheeks, and glazed, vacant expressions. They moved like a procession of walking corpses.

The sudden appearance of a colossal, floating ship descending from the clouds sent a shockwave of panic and awe through the refugees.

“Look! Up there!”

“Heavens above… what is that?!”

“It’s a miracle! The Immortals have descended! Kneel, quickly, kneel!”

“The Immortal Masters have come to save us!”

Like a wave crashing over the road, hundreds of exhausted mortals dropped to their knees in the dirt, kowtowing frantically toward the hovering hull. The commotion roused the three disciples from their naps, and they scrambled out of the cabin, rushing to the railing to peer over the edge.

Qin Lu stepped off the edge of the deck. Instead of falling, he floated in mid-air, suspended by his Foundation Establishment power. He projected his voice with Spiritual Qi, allowing it to boom across the plains like rolling thunder.

“I am a passing cultivator. Why do you flee your homes?”

The mortals stared up at him in pure stupefaction. Seeing a man hovering unaided in the sky was beyond their comprehension. Intimidated by his godlike presence, they exchanged terrified glances, too afraid to speak. Finally, as if by silent consensus, the crowd parted, turning their gazes toward an ancient, trembling man leaning on a walking stick. He appeared to be the village elder.

Realizing the burden fell to him, the elder shakily pushed himself to his feet. He bowed deeply, his voice wavering with fear. “A-answering the Immortal Master… we are mountain folk from Dragon Gate Village. We are migrating to escape the great drought…”

“Look at the horizon,” Qin Lu said, gesturing into the distance. “Just a few miles away, the lakes are full and the forests are lush. There is no widespread drought. Why is this specific region reduced to parched earth?”

The elder’s face turned bitter. “This land was fertile in previous years, Immortal Master. The rains fell when they should. But… ever since a monstrous entity laid claim to the river, the skies have dried up. It hasn’t rained a single drop since.”

A monster? Qin Lu rubbed his chin, his interest piqued.

“So there really is a sinister creature harming the innocent!” Gu Can’s hot-blooded voice suddenly boomed from above.

He leaped from the spirit boat, dropping rapidly before coming to a halt right beside Qin Lu. He flashed the mortals a brilliant, eager grin. “What exactly is this thing? Tell us everything!”

Startled by the sudden appearance of a second flying Immortal, the elder nearly collapsed. He quickly gathered his wits and began to explain, with other villagers chiming in to add details.

As he listened, Qin Lu slowly pieced together the puzzle. Near Dragon Gate Village flowed a massive body of water known as the Peace River. For generations, rumors of spirits and specters haunting its depths had circulated among the locals. Villagers often claimed to see strange silhouettes gliding beneath the surface, or eerie figures standing upon the water in the dead of night.

Yet, despite its ominous reputation, the river had never claimed a life. Over time, the villagers began to worship whatever dwelled in the depths, believing it to be a benevolent River Spirit watching over their valley.

But two years ago, everything changed. Without warning, the Peace River turned violently turbulent. Massive, unnatural waves began capsizing merchant ships, splintering hulls, and dragging sailors to the bottom. Soon, no one dared to set foot near its banks. Worse still, the day the river turned hostile was the exact day the rains stopped falling on Dragon Gate Village. It was as if the local Dragon King had deliberately cursed their land.

The village’s wells ran dry, the crops withered, and the land cracked open. The stubborn mortals had endured the brutal conditions for an entire year before finally admitting defeat. With no other choice, they packed up their entire village and began this desperate exodus.

Gu Can cracked his knuckles, a righteous fire burning in his eyes. He turned to Qin Lu with a wide grin. “Brother Qin, we stumbled right into this. We can’t just walk away and leave them to die, right?”

Qin Lu let out a quiet mental sigh. I knew he would say that. Still, a rogue monster manipulating the weather could yield valuable materials or bounties. He assessed the potential profit. “Agreed,” he nodded smoothly. “Let’s investigate.”

“Old man, today is your lucky day!” Gu Can laughed boldly, looking down at the crowd. “We’re going to chop that Specter in half so you can all go home!”

Tears streamed down the villagers’ dusty faces as they slammed their foreheads into the dirt, weeping in gratitude.

“Alright, enough kneeling! I need someone who knows the way,” Gu Can said, scanning the crowd. He pointed at the elder. “You’ll do.”

With a flick of his wrist, he enveloped the old man in a cushion of Spiritual Qi, lifting the terrified mortal into the air, and flew back toward the spirit boat.

Qin Lu shook his head and began to ascend. But as he glanced down one last time, the sight of hundreds of parched, desperate faces gave him pause.

“You are out of water,” Qin Lu announced, his voice echoing with authority. “I shall bestow a gift upon you. Prepare yourselves.”

With a flick of his sleeve, a yellow slip of paper shot into the sky like a bullet. It was a Cloud Rain Talisman. As his Spiritual Qi ignited the runes, the talisman detonated high above the road. A massive shockwave of white mist rapidly expanded outward, weaving together to form heavy, dark storm clouds.

In the span of two breaths, a torrential downpour cascaded from the heavens.

The mortals screamed in disbelief.

“Rain! It’s raining!”

“A true divine miracle!”

“Quick! Bring out the wooden buckets! Get the bowls! Save every drop!”

“Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you!”

Hundreds wept openly, tilting their heads back to let the life-saving water wash over their cracked faces. Others frantically scrambled to set up buckets and tarps to capture the sudden bounty.

Having done his good deed, Qin Lu didn’t linger. He landed lightly on the deck of the spirit boat.

“Let’s go,” he ordered.

“Hold on tight!” Gu Can yelled, violently flooding the control array with Spiritual Qi. The ship’s engines roared to life, shooting the vessel forward like a cannonball directly toward Dragon Gate Village.