Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

A high moon presided over a tapestry of stars.

The Green Leaf Boat cut through the night, its exhaust trail a streak of luminescence against the void, before finally shuddering to a halt. The distinct hum of the vessel died down, leaving only the whistling wind of the high altitude.

Five days of travel ended here.

“Stick to the plan,” Li Qingdu’s voice boomed from the cabin, leaving no room for argument.

Thirteen silhouettes poured out of the vessel like hornets leaving a hive. Spiritual light flared as flying artifacts were summoned, and the group split into four distinct formations, scattering toward the cardinal directions. Each squad was anchored by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Qin Lu drifted toward the northeast, flanked by the Gu siblings.

After flying for perhaps fifteen minutes, the trio descended upon a jagged mountain peak. The summit was a maze of towering boulders and dense thickets of ancient pine—perfect natural cover.

They wasted no time. Finding a vantage point with clear sightlines, they planted their array flags.

Hum.

The formation activated. A ripple of distorted light washed over them, expanding outward to form a dome that blended seamlessly with the night air. To any outside observer—even one using spiritual sense—the mountaintop was empty rock.

This was a high-grade concealment array provided by Li Qingdu specifically for this ambush.

Gu Can stretched his arms until his joints popped, letting out a groan of relief. “Array’s up. Now we wait. My ass is numb after five days on that boat.”

This was the kill zone. They were hunting Yang Zhen.

Qin Lu stood near the edge of the barrier, his gaze fixed on the northern horizon. That was the direction of the Immortal Crane Sect. If Yang Zhen truly intended to view the “Inferno Falls”—that rare spectacle where the waterfall reflected the sun like liquid fire—he would have to fly past this very peak.

Gu Yue glided to Qin Lu’s side. She followed his gaze, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “Qin Lu, why the long face? You’ve looked like you’re marching to your execution for days.”

Qin Lu let out a heavy sigh, feigning a look of helplessness. “Do you two lack the gene for anxiety? You Ye is a mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert. He isn’t a training dummy. One slip up, and we’re dead.”

“Bah! What’s there to be scared of?” Gu Can strode over, slapping Qin Lu heavily on the shoulder. He grinned, a ferocious light in his eyes. “He’s mid-stage? So is Li Qingdu. We’ve got three Foundation Establishment cultivators on our side. It’s a three-on-one gank. We’ll crush him like a bug.”

Gu Yue nodded elegantly. “My brother is right. The logic holds.”

Qin Lu rolled his eyes, dropping his voice to a whisper. “This is enemy territory. If the fight drags on, the noise will attract other sects. We could be surrounded before we know it.”

“Hahaha, you overthink everything!” Gu Can laughed. “Who can react that fast? By the time they realize something’s wrong, we’ll have killed him, looted the corpse, and vanished. We’ll be back in Wuji Market counting the loot before the blood dries.”

“Exactly,” Gu Yue agreed, her expression serious. “Hit and run.”

Watching the siblings echo each other in perfect, violent harmony, Qin Lu felt a headache building behind his eyes. He threw his hands up in defeat. “I hope you’re right.”

The night deepened.

It was the dead hour, a time when sensible cultivators were deep in meditation. The trio sat in a circle on the mossy rocks to pass the time.

Gu Can, restless as ever, suggested a sparring match to kill the boredom. Qin Lu and Gu Yue immediately shut him down; creating spiritual fluctuations inside a stealth array was suicidal stupidity.

Denied his violence, Gu Can sulked, and the conversation drifted to idle gossip.

Qin Lu suddenly recalled the interaction on the spirit boat earlier that week—specifically how polite the victims of Gu Yue’s past crimes had been. He looked at her, curiosity piqued.

“By the way… don’t Wu Zheng and Shen Changbai know you used to be the ‘She-Devil’ of the market? You robbed their family stores blind, yet they treated you like an old friend on the boat.”

Gu Yue’s smile vanished the instant the words ‘She-Devil’ left his mouth. Her temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.

“Do you think everyone is like you?” she asked coldly. “Do you think the whole world knows my secrets?”

Qin Lu rubbed his chin, analyzing the situation aloud. “It’s not exactly a difficult puzzle. The She-Devil vanishes, and immediately after, you announce your successful Foundation Establishment. Everyone knew the She-Devil was at the peak of Qi Refining. The timing matches perfectly. Anyone with half a brain could figure out you’re the She-De—”

Gu Yue’s eyebrow twitched. Her voice cut through the air like a glacial wind. “I will say this once. Do not call me that name. Call me Senior Gu.”

“Right. Yes. Understood,” Qin Lu said quickly, straightening his posture. He had forgotten that the ‘gentle lady’ guise was just a thin veneer over a ruthless nature.

“Hmph.” Gu Yue smoothed her robes. “Even if they know, so what? Would they dare turn on a Foundation Establishment cultivator over a few paltry Spirit Stones?”

Qin Lu nodded. “Fair point. A few hundred stones aren’t worth a blood feud with a Senior.”

“And more importantly…” Gu Yue waved her hand dismissively, a look of disdain crossing her face. “They were the ones who asked me to steal it. Why would they be angry?”

“Huh?” Qin Lu froze. He stared at her, dumbfounded. “What? They asked you to rob them?”

“Correct,” Gu Yue said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Why would they want their own stores robbed?” Qin Lu asked.

“Yeah, Sis, is that true?” Gu Can leaned in, looking equally confused. “You never told me that part.”

A cunning gleam flashed in Gu Yue’s eyes. She leaned back, looking satisfied with her own cleverness. “It’s a long story. But essentially, every time I hit a shop, it was pre-arranged with the owners.”

“Owners?” Gu Can scratched his head. “Which owners?”

“The Foundation Establishment clans that run the Wuji Market, of course,” she replied casually.

Qin Lu’s eyes widened. A bolt of lightning struck his mind, illuminating the entire scheme. A line from a famous drama he had seen in his past life echoed in his memory:

When the money comes in, the gentry get theirs back in full. The commoners’ money? We split that three-to-seven.

“I see…” Qin Lu murmured, his expression shifting from confusion to amazement.

Gu Yue looked at him with interest. “You figured it out?”

Qin Lu looked her in the eye. “If I’m not mistaken, you partnered with the ruling clans of the market. Your targets were the other shops, right?”

Gu Yue remained silent, smiling slightly, urging him to continue.

“In Wuji Market,” Qin Lu analyzed, “aside from the shops owned by the ruling clans, there are many storefronts owned by subsidiary sects of the Wuji Sect, and branches of external merchant houses like the ‘Ancient & Modern Hall.’

“You used the She-Dev—uh, your thief identity—to hit everyone. Then, you returned the stolen goods to the ruling clans in full, creating the illusion of a crime wave. But the money you stole from the external merchants… you split that with the clans.”

Qin Lu shook his head. “You people are genuinely evil.”

“Not evil. Efficient.” Gu Yue’s eyes sparkled with appreciation. She covered her mouth as she laughed softly. “You’re smarter than you look.”

“Seriously? That’s how it worked?” Gu Can gaped.

“Yes. The former Market Master, Sun Jing, came up with the plan,” Gu Yue explained. “Back then, we were all splitting the profits. It was a golden era. Sadly, Sun Jing was killed by some random youth in black robes for no reason, and the operation fell apart…”

Qin Lu looked at Gu Yue—beautiful, soft-spoken, and utterly corrupt. A chill ran down his spine. Truly, you can never judge a book by its cover.

“That explains everything,” Qin Lu said, realization dawning fully. “No wonder you weren’t afraid of retaliation when you announced your advancement. No wonder they came bearing gifts. You weren’t their enemy; you were their bagman.”

“Hehe…” Gu Yue beamed. “You really are sharp. One hint and you see the whole board.”

Qin Lu rested his forehead in his palm, shaking his head with a wry smile.

Of course I figured it out, he thought cynically. I know this script. I’ve seen this movie before.