Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

Chapter 217: Life and Death Together

Upon hearing the Blood Demon’s arrogant proclamation, the defenders’ faces darkened. The blood-colored avatar was still radiating terrifying power, suggesting the villain wasn’t bluffing about his stamina.

Whoosh!

Qin Lu hurled another hundred-meter fireball, using the explosion as cover to transmit his voice to Jiang Ge.

“Shopkeeper Jiang! Take the others and fall back. I’ll buy you time! If you can reactivate the market’s defensive formation, we might still have a chance to hold them off!”

Jiang Ge hesitated, glancing at Qin Lu. The plan was sound. In their current state, a direct confrontation was suicide. Their only hope lay in the mountain-protecting formation. But asking Qin Lu to serve as the rear guard against a pseudo-Golden Core monster?

It was a death sentence.

Yet, Jiang Ge had seen Qin Lu’s power. If anyone could survive this, it was him.

Jiang Ge nodded solemnly. He swiftly relayed the plan to the others via telepathy.

Qin Lu met his gaze, eyes hard with resolve.

“Retreat!” Jiang Ge roared.

The defenders broke formation instantly, streaming back toward the White Jade Market like arrows.

At the same moment, Qin Lu exploded into action. He channeled his Spiritual Qi to the limit, his arms blurring as he cast the [Ignition Technique] seven times in a single breath.

Seven miniature suns crashed down, turning the battlefield into an inferno.

“Hmph! Running away?”

The Blood Demon saw through the tactic immediately. He snorted, maneuvering his avatar to weave through the firestorm. He had grown accustomed to the bombardment; the flames couldn’t hurt him, only slow him down.

Qin Lu gritted his teeth, backpedaling while maintaining a constant stream of fire. His job was to delay, not win.

The plan was working. Jiang Ge and the others were already halfway to the market. The Blood Demon was stuck in the mire of explosions.

But then, a streak of crimson light tore past the retreating defenders, moving in the wrong direction.

It was Gu Yue.

“Fellow Daoist Gu!” Jiang Ge shouted, reaching out to grab her, but she was too fast.

She ignored him completely. Her face was twisted in fury, her eyes burning with righteous indignation. She gripped her spear so hard her knuckles were white.

“Cowards!” she screamed at the fleeing backs of her allies. “Abandoning a comrade to save your own skins? You disgrace the name of cultivators!”

Steam rose from her skin as she activated the Gu Family’s life-burning technique again. She was a meteor of rage, charging straight past Qin Lu.

Qin Lu’s heart stopped.

She had misunderstood. She thought they had abandoned him.

“Don’t!” Qin Lu screamed, cutting his spellcasting instantly to avoid hitting her. “Gu Yue, stop!”

“Heh! Another suicidal fool!”

The Blood Demon sneered. The blood avatar raised a massive hand and swatted at the incoming speck of red light.

Terror, cold and absolute, seized Qin Lu.

In that split second, all thoughts of caution, of conservation, of survival strategies evaporated. The fear of death that had always lurked in the back of his mind vanished, replaced by a singular, overwhelming imperative.

Save her.

“MOVE!”

Qin Lu ignited his own Spiritual Qi, pushing the [Soft Wind Technique] beyond its limits. He became a blur, catching up to Gu Yue just as she reached the avatar.

They arrived together.

Spear and sword struck as one.

BOOM—!

The collision sent a shockwave rippling through the air. The avatar’s palm was solid as diamond, and the impact jarred Qin Lu’s bones, draining the blood from his face.

Even combined, two mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators were nothing against a pseudo-Golden Core entity.

But Qin Lu didn’t retreat. His mind was blank, save for the image of Gu Yue dying.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

He swung the Silver Sand Sword like a madman, abandoning defense for pure, unadulterated offense. Sword Qi rained down in a torrent. Beside him, Gu Yue fought with equal desperation, her spear creating a wall of shadow and steel.

In the distance, Jiang Ge and the retreating defenders skidded to a halt, dumbfounded.

“What is happening?”

“This wasn’t the plan!”

“They’re fighting it head-on… are they crazy?”

One of the younger cultivators turned to Jiang Ge, panic in his eyes. “Master, what do we do? We’re almost at the formation!”

Jiang Ge looked at the shimmering safety of the market, then back at the two figures fighting a hopeless battle against a giant of blood.

He clenched his fists.

“We are cultivators,” Jiang Ge growled. “We do not live as cowards! Those with guts, follow me!”

“Right!” Zou Chang stepped up, his aura flaring. “If we die today, at least it’ll be a good story!”

“Let’s go!”

Just as they prepared to charge back into the fray—

BOOM!

A figure crashed down from the sky, landing directly in front of them with the force of a meteorite. Dust billowed outward, obscuring their vision.

As the cloud settled, a young boy stood up, dusting off his robes.

He looked to be seventeen or eighteen, thin and unassuming. He wore a faded red robe patched at the elbows and knees, looking more like a beggar than a warrior.

He grinned, revealing two rows of blindingly white teeth.

“Hey, uncle!” the boy chirped, looking at Jiang Ge with sunny, unbothered eyes. “I heard the noise from miles away! What kind of fun is happening here?”