Chapter 30: Shrinking the Earth into Inches

Three days later.

Lu Yang wore a fitted robe, his back stick-straight, with an excited smile on his face from finally memorizing the contents of the golden parchment.

"Recite it once for me to hear."

"A thousand miles exist as if before the eyes, released to unfold again..." Lu Yang recited smoothly without a single pause, making it clear that he had committed the words to heart.

Yun Zhi nodded; the mnemonic was obscure, each word dense with profound meaning, and reciting it was extremely draining on the mind, so Lu Yang's proficiency proved the sheer depth of his effort.

"This mnemonic serves as an induction; when you are unfamiliar with the spell in the early stages, chanting it silently helps you succeed, but once you can proficiently use the Spatial Compression, the mnemonic becomes useless."

"Spatial Compression belongs to space spells, and it is slightly early for your cultivation, but since you are a disciple under Master, and Master learned this spell at your current cultivation level, perhaps you can too."

"The most important thing in practicing space spells is safety; once space becomes misaligned, one ends up decapitated or severed at the waist, which is why there is an unwritten rule in the cultivation world that practicing space spells requires the guidance of an elder well-versed in space."

Yun Zhi became rarely solemn, and seeing this, Lu Yang also pulled back his smile, listening intently to Yun Zhi's lecture.

"The principle of Spatial Compression is to compress land into the size of inches, allowing the caster to easily step across, traversing endless distances to reach another place; the more proficient the application, the larger the compressed area, and the longer the distance crossed, and once mastered completely, though the Central Continent is vast, it cannot impede your steps."

"It must be noted that practicing spells requires comprehension; you have never touched space spells before, so whether you succeed or fail, you must be mentally prepared."

"A cultivator should remain unfazed by favor or disgrace, avoiding extreme joy or sorrow."

Yun Zhi taught by personal example, imparting her cultivation insights to Lu Yang.

Lu Yang nodded, feeling that his Eldest Senior Sister was the most qualified to say this, as he had never seen her experience violent emotional fluctuations.

He was somewhat lacking in this regard.

At first, Lu Yang saw that Eldest Senior Sister always wore the same expression and thought she had no emotions, but after spending time together, he discovered she did have emotional ripples, only they were too small.

Now, Lu Yang had a certain probability of judging Eldest Senior Sister's mood through her subtle facial changes.

For instance, right now... well, he couldn't tell.

"I will demonstrate it for you first."

Yun Zhi did not know what Lu Yang was thinking; she tossed out a red flag, throwing it onto the opposite mountaintop, and before Lu Yang could even see clearly, she took a light step forward, suddenly disappearing and suddenly appearing, holding that red flag in her hand.

"Just like that; practice a few more times after succeeding, and you can be as proficient as I am."

Lu Yang froze on the spot, blinking his eyes once, then blinking them again.

What just happened?

In Lu Yang's eyes, it looked as if Yun Zhi had tossed the red flag and casually retrieved it, without even clearly seeing if the flag had landed on the opposite mountain, completely devoid of any trace of using a spell.

Yun Zhi frowned rarely; she remembered that when Master taught her, he had demonstrated it just like this, and she had learned it in one try.

Fearing Lu Yang could not understand, Yun Zhi demonstrated it once more.

Thus, throwing the flag, stepping forward, returning, all in one smooth motion, leaving him entirely bewildered.

"..."

Sure enough, there were times when even Eldest Senior Sister could not be relied upon; learning this kind of thing still ultimately depended on oneself.

Lu Yang met Eldest Senior Sister's gaze, and this time he could see her mood.

She anticipated that he would succeed.

But Eldest Senior Sister, you must know that with your teaching level, no one could ever learn.

Lu Yang sighed secretly, knowing Eldest Senior Sister was no longer a source of hope, and cast the spell according to his own understanding of Spatial Compression.

"A thousand miles exist as if before the eyes, released to unfold again..." Lu Yang tightly closed his eyes while casting, forming hand seals and chanting.

"Compress!" Lu Yang shouted loudly, and instantly his figure vanished, the surrounding scenery changing into a pitch-black void, as if he had landed in an alternate space.

Lu Yang felt a surge of joy, having actually succeeded on his very first try.

He truly was a genius!

Lu Yang had heard Senior Sister say that the principle of Spatial Compression was to twist and fold space, allowing the caster to walk in an alternate space that formed a straight line, reaching the destination in the shortest time.

Just as Lu Yang wanted to laugh out loud, he found the surrounding black matter pouring into his mouth, his body trapped by the black matter, unable to move his limbs, and the alternate space seemed to lack air, making it exceptionally difficult to breathe.

After a brief and calm contemplation, he recognized one fact:

He had compressed himself into the dirt.

Now Lu Yang had a piece of good news and a piece of bad news.

The good news was that he had learned half of Spatial Compression—the compression.

The bad news was that he had only learned half.

On the ground above, Yun Zhi did not know what to say; she had watched Lu Yang cast the spell with her own eyes, only to see him sink into the dirt, mastering the Earth Evasion technique instead.

How did a space spell deviate into a Five Elements spell?

As the Eldest Senior Sister of the Seeking Sect and the primary disciple of the Sect Master, Yun Zhi's cultivation and talent ranked first among all disciples, writing cultivation methods casually and mastering spells at a glance with supreme comprehension rare since ancient times, making any genius pale before her, which was utterly terrifying.

Even she completely failed to understand the principle behind Lu Yang's spellcasting.

These were clearly two unrelated spells.

With a muffled pop, Lu Yang cast Spatial Compression again, his head drilling out from the ground like a mole popping out of the dirt, giving one the sudden urge to hit him with a hammer or step on him.

Lu Yang coughed once, trying to dissolve the awkwardness.

No matter how thick Lu Yang's skin was, he could hardly withstand such an embarrassing situation.

Yun Zhi expressionlessly pulled Lu Yang out of the dirt, shaking loose a pile of mud.

Just like pulling a radish.

"That was an accident just now, I will try one more time."

Lu Yang felt he was about to find the knack.

"A thousand miles exist as if before the eyes, released to unfold again..." Lu Yang formed the seals and chanted again, even faster than the last time.

"Compress into inches!" Lu Yang shouted loudly, and a change occurred once more.

Yun Zhi was tall, but still half a head shorter than Lu Yang; normally Lu Yang could see the top of Eldest Senior Sister's head, but now it was different.

Yun Zhi's body gradually grew taller, and Lu Yang went from looking down, to looking level, to looking up, and finally turned completely into craning his neck back forcefully.

From Lu Yang's angle, he could not even see Eldest Senior Sister's face.

Yun Zhi resembled a titan supporting the heavens, her head touching the sky and her feet treading the earth.

"No, it is I who have shrunk!"

Lu Yang cried out, seeing the half-person-high pebbles on the ground and realizing where the problem lay.

The three-inch-tall Lu Yang hopped and skipped on the ground, his speaking voice much smaller than before.

He had learned a new spell—Shrinking.

Lu Yang's spell talent was likewise terrifying; a genius like Yun Zhi had only learned Spatial Compression when studying it, yet Lu Yang had learned two distinct spells: Compression and Shrinking!

Yun Zhi squatted down to observe Lu Yang, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed, seemingly failing to understand which step had gone wrong.