Three days later, Lu Yang was dressed in a tight outfit, standing tall with an excited smile on his face, having finally memorized the contents of the golden paper.
“Recite it for me to hear.”
“Thousands of miles exist, currently clear, release and then relax…” Lu Yang recited smoothly without a pause, showing that he had truly memorized it well.
Yun Zhi nodded. The chant was complex, with every word carrying deep meaning. Reciting it consumed a lot of mental energy, so Lu Yang being able to recite it this well proved he had put in a lot of effort.
“This chant is an introduction. When you are not skilled with the spell at first, silently reciting it can help you succeed in casting. Once you become proficient in the Shrinking the Earth to an Inch spell, this chant will no longer be needed.”
“Shrinking the Earth to an Inch is a spatial spell. You are still a bit early in your training, but since you are a disciple of my master, and your level is similar to when my master learned this spell, you might be able to do it too.”
“The most important thing when practicing spatial spells is to pay attention to safety. If the space gets misaligned, you could end up in a dangerous situation, like being cut in half. Therefore, there is an unwritten rule in the cultivation world: when practicing spatial spells, you must have an elder who is skilled in space beside you to guide you.”
Yun Zhi became unusually serious. Seeing this, Lu Yang also put away his smile and listened attentively to her lesson.
“The principle of the Shrinking the Earth to an Inch spell is to shrink the land to a tiny size, allowing the caster to easily step over and cross great distances to another place. The more skilled you become, the larger the area you can shrink, and the farther you can travel. When mastered, even the vast Central Continent cannot stop your steps.”
“However, it’s important to note that practicing spells requires comprehension. If you have never dealt with spatial spells before, be mentally prepared for success or failure.”
“A cultivator must remain calm in the face of praise or blame, avoiding extreme joy or sorrow.”
Yun Zhi taught Lu Yang through both words and actions, sharing her experiences in cultivation.
Lu Yang nodded, feeling that his senior sister was the most qualified to say this. He had never seen her show extreme emotional reactions.
He realized he was lacking in this aspect.
At first, Lu Yang thought his senior sister had no emotions because she always wore the same expression. But as they spent more time together, he discovered she did have emotional fluctuations, just very subtle ones.
Now, Lu Yang could somewhat gauge her mood through her slight changes in expression.
For example, right now… Hmm, he couldn’t quite tell.
“I’ll demonstrate it for you first.”
Yun Zhi didn’t know what Lu Yang was thinking. She threw a red flag to the top of a mountain across from them. Before Lu Yang could clearly see, she stepped lightly, suddenly disappearing and then reappearing, holding the red flag.
“Just like that. After you succeed, practice a few more times, and you’ll be as skilled as I am.”
Lu Yang stood there, blinking in surprise.
What just happened?
To Lu Yang, it looked like Yun Zhi threw the flag and then casually retrieved it, not even letting it land on the opposite mountain. There was no sign of her using a spell at all.
Yun Zhi frowned slightly, recalling how her master had demonstrated it to her back then, and she had learned it in one go.
Worried that Lu Yang didn’t understand, she demonstrated again.
So, she threw the flag, stepped, and returned in one smooth motion, leaving Lu Yang completely confused.
“…”
It seemed even the senior sister had moments of being unreliable. Learning something still depended on oneself.
Lu Yang met his senior sister’s gaze and could see her mood this time.
She was hopeful that he could master it.
But senior sister, you should know that your teaching skills might not be effective for everyone.
Lu Yang sighed to himself. He couldn’t rely on his senior sister and decided to try casting the spell based on his own understanding of Shrinking the Earth to an Inch.
“Thousands of miles exist, currently clear, release and then relax…” Lu Yang closed his eyes tightly as he performed the hand gestures and recited the chant.
“Shrink the Earth to an Inch!” Lu Yang shouted, and instantly, he vanished, the scenery around him changing to a pitch-black void, as if he had fallen into another space.
Lu Yang felt a surge of joy; he actually succeeded on the first try.
He really was a genius!
He had heard his senior sister say that the principle of Shrinking the Earth to an Inch was to twist and fold space, allowing the caster to walk through a different space, which was a straight line, reaching the destination in the shortest time.
Just as Lu Yang was about to laugh, he noticed black matter pouring into his mouth, and his body was trapped by the black substance. He couldn’t move his hands or feet, and it seemed there was no air in this space, making it hard for him to breathe.
After a brief moment of calm thought, he realized one thing:
He had shrunk into the ground.
Now, Lu Yang had some good news and some bad news.
The good news was he had learned half of the Shrinking the Earth to an Inch spell—shrinking.
The bad news was he had only learned half of it.
On the ground, Yun Zhi didn’t know what to say as she watched Lu Yang cast the spell and then shrink into the ground, accidentally learning the Earth Escape technique.
How did a spatial spell end up becoming an Earth element spell?
As the senior sister of the Asking Dao Sect, the top disciple of the sect leader, her cultivation level and talent were the highest among all disciples. She could create techniques effortlessly and learn spells in a flash, with an extraordinary comprehension that was rare throughout history. Any genius would pale in comparison to her.
Even she couldn’t understand Lu Yang’s method of casting.
These were clearly two unrelated spells.
With a muffled sound, Lu Yang cast Shrinking the Earth to an Inch again, his head popping out of the ground like a mole, making people want to either hit him or step on him.
Lu Yang coughed to ease the awkwardness.
Even with Lu Yang’s thick skin, he couldn’t handle this embarrassing situation.
Yun Zhi expressionlessly pulled Lu Yang out of the ground, shaking off a pile of dirt.
It was like pulling up a carrot.
“That was just an accident. I’ll try again.”
Lu Yang felt he was close to finding the trick.
“Thousands of miles exist, currently clear, release and then relax…” Lu Yang once again performed the hand gestures and recited the chant even faster than before.
“Shrink the Earth to an Inch!” Lu Yang shouted, and the change happened again.
Yun Zhi was tall, but now she seemed to grow even taller than Lu Yang, who could usually see the top of her head. Now, he was looking up at her.
Yun Zhi’s body gradually grew taller, and Lu Yang went from looking down at her to looking at her at eye level, and finally, he had to tilt his head back to see her.
From Lu Yang’s perspective, he couldn’t even see her face anymore.
Yun Zhi looked like a giant holding up the sky, with her head touching the heavens and her feet on the ground.
“No, wait! I shrank!”
Lu Yang shouted, realizing the problem as he saw the pebbles on the ground towering over him.
At three inches tall, Lu Yang bounced around on the ground, his voice much smaller than before.
He had learned a new spell—becoming an inch.
Lu Yang’s talent for spells was also terrifying. While a genius like Yun Zhi only learned the Shrinking part of the spell, Lu Yang had learned both the Shrink and Become Inch spells!
Yun Zhi squatted down to observe Lu Yang, her brows furrowed, as if she couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong.
(End of Chapter)