Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

Chapter 212: Fighting Side by Side

Back when he fled the Wuji Market years ago, Qin Lu had passed through a mortal dynasty plagued by ghostly disturbances. That journey had ended with the defeat of a corrupted Emperor and the acquisition of a strange, three-legged bronze pill furnace.

Now, staring at the carnage of his shop, the pieces clicked into place.

The “Strange Child”—the demonic cultivator standing before him—was none other than Emperor Lie Wen. The man who had been consumed by alchemy and transformed into a vengeful ghost had somehow survived, twisted his soul into a demon, and cultivated to the late stage of Foundation Establishment over the last century.

He hadn’t come for the war. He had sensed the aura of his lost treasure and come to reclaim it.

And because Qin Lu had taken that furnace, Feng Xi was dead.

“Damn it!”

Fury detonated in Qin Lu’s chest. He didn’t waste breath on words. He launched himself forward, the Silver Sand Sword screaming as he thrust it straight at the demon’s heart.

HUM!

The blade glowed with the sharp, cutting edge of the [Cutting Technique], enhancing its lethal potential.

“Interesting,” the Strange Child sneered, his voice scraping like rusted iron. “If you want to play, let’s play!”

He didn’t dodge. Instead, he crossed his steel claws and slashed. Two crescent waves of dark Spiritual Qi erupted, crossing in the air to form a lethal ‘X’ that rushed toward Qin Lu.

Qin Lu’s eyes narrowed. The power behind the strike was immense; a standard [Spirit Shield Technique] would shatter on impact.

Dodge.

He slammed his foot into the floorboards, channeling the lightness of the [Soft Wind Technique] to twist his body at an impossible angle. The cross-slash hissed past his ear, carving deep gouges into the stone wall behind him.

“Oh? You’ve got moves,” the demon remarked, raising a hairless eyebrow.

Skreee!

Qin Lu skidded to a halt and immediately slapped his palm against the ground. Spiritual Qi surged from his dantian, tunneling through the earth like a subterranean viper.

“Heh! Not bad!”

The Strange Child sensed the disturbance instantly. He kicked off the ground, backflipping away just as the floor beneath him exploded.

BOOM!

A pillar of searing magma erupted from the stone—the [Earth Fire Technique].

Though the demon dodged the direct hit, the intense heat licked at his protective barrier, causing it to glow an angry red. His relaxed expression vanished, replaced by a flicker of genuine caution.

This wasn’t just some angry shopkeeper. This kid was fast, powerful, and fought with the precision of a veteran.

Whoosh!

The Strange Child didn’t hesitate. He shot into the air, putting distance between them. He had lived for two hundred years by being paranoid. Why fight a risky one-on-one duel when he had an army outside? He would retreat, grab two lieutenants, and crush this boy with numbers.

But Qin Lu wasn’t about to let him leave.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

Qin Lu launched himself into the sky, chasing the retreating demon.

Just as the Strange Child gained altitude, a crimson blur shot out from the side. A long spear, wreathed in lethal intent, thrust toward his throat.

It was Gu Yue. She had followed Qin Lu into the fray, her eyes cold and focused.

Caught between the sword below and the spear above, the demon was forced to engage. He parried Gu Yue’s strike with his claws, the metal ringing out like a bell. The impact killed his momentum, leaving him hovering in mid-air.

That was all the opening Qin Lu needed.

He surged upward, joining Gu Yue in a pincer attack.

Clang! Clang! Boom!

The sky above the ruined shop became a whirlwind of steel and magic. Qin Lu fought with a berserker’s rage, his sword strikes heavy and relentless, weaving max-level spells into every gap in the demon’s defense. Gu Yue was the perfect partner, her twin blades—she had switched from the spear to her mother-child daggers—dancing around the demon’s guard, supplemented by a constant barrage of second-grade Talismans.

They moved in perfect sync, a deadly harmony forged in blood.

Despite being a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert, the Strange Child was being overwhelmed. He parried a lightning bolt only to take a dagger to the thigh. He dodged a wind blade only to have his barrier cracked by a talisman.

“Enough!”

The demon roared, his aura exploding outward. The bamboo basket on his back burst open, releasing a cloud of white mist. From within the fog, thousands of grayish-brown quills shot out like a storm of needles.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

“Shields!” Qin Lu shouted, instantly layering a [Spirit Shield Technique] over himself. The quills hammered against his barrier, chipping away at its integrity.

He glanced at Gu Yue and his heart skipped a beat. She had been half a second too slow. A quill was embedded deep in her shoulder, blood blossoming across her white robes.

“Heheh!”

The demon saw blood and grinned. He slashed his claws, sending two waves of dark energy hurtling toward the injured woman.

“You dare!”

Qin Lu roared, twisting in mid-air and throwing himself between Gu Yue and the attack.

BANG!

Gu Yue managed to activate a Defense Talisman just in time, absorbing the brunt of the impact, but the force still knocked her back.

Qin Lu landed in front of her, his sword a blur as he deflected the remaining quills.

“Steel claws… quills… short stature…” Qin Lu sneered, piecing it together. “You fused your soul with a hedgehog Demon Beast, didn’t you? Disgusting.”

“Heheh! Smart kid!” The demon laughed, manipulating the quills in the air to circle back for another volley. “Now die like one!”

The sky darkened.

Qin Lu ignored the quills. He stared at the demon, his eyes burning with cold, electric fire. He raised the Silver Sand Sword high.

Rumble…

Dark clouds materialized out of thin air. A bolt of purple lightning, thick as a tree trunk, smashed down from the heavens, striking Qin Lu’s sword. The blade didn’t shatter; it drank the energy, glowing with a blinding, violet light.

[Lightning Strike Technique]—Max Output.

Crack!

Qin Lu vanished.

Empowered by the lightning, his speed transcended the limits of his cultivation. He was a streak of purple light, tearing through the storm of quills.

The Strange Child’s eyes widened in horror. He tried to pull his quills back for defense, but it was too late. The pressure radiating from that sword was suffocating.

Thud-thud-thud!

Dozens of quills pierced Qin Lu’s multi-layered spirit shields, turning him into a pincushion of light, but they couldn’t stop him. He didn’t even flinch.

He closed the distance in a heartbeat.

The Silver Sand Sword, wreathed in lightning, slashed horizontally.

Flash!

The world turned white. The thunderclap followed a split second later.

As the light faded, Qin Lu stood behind the demon, his sword dripping with blood.

Behind him, the Strange Child’s body remained suspended in the air for a moment. Then, slowly, his head slid from his shoulders.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment hedgehog demon was dead.