Shrinking the Earth to Inches

Three days later. Lu Yang stood with a straight back in tight-fitting martial attire, a thrill of excitement gleaming in his smile now that he had finally memorized the contents of the golden paper. "Recite it for me." "A thousand li held within, vivid before the eyes, released to unfold anew..." Lu Yang recited it fluently without the slightest pause, making it clear that he had committed every word to memory. Yun Zhi nodded. The mnemonic was obscure, every syllable packed with profound meaning, and reciting it placed an immense drain on one's mental energy. That Lu Yang could recite it to such a degree proved just how hard he had worked. "This mnemonic serves as an invocation. In the early stages, when you are not yet proficient with the spell, reciting it silently will help you cast it successfully. Once you achieve mastery over Shrinking the Earth to Inches, this chant will no longer be needed. "Shrinking the Earth to Inches is a spatial spell. It is somewhat early for you to practice it, but since you are Master's disciple—and Master mastered this art at your level of cultivation—perhaps you can as well. "Above all else, cultivating spatial spells requires utmost caution. Once space misaligns, the consequence is having one's head severed or one's waist cleaved in two. For this reason, an unwritten rule exists in the cultivation world: anyone practicing spatial spells must have an elder proficient in spatial arts guiding them from the side." Yun Zhi grew uncharacteristically grave. Seeing this, Lu Yang put away his smile and listened attentively to her lesson. "The principle of Shrinking the Earth to Inches lies in compressing vast swathes of land into mere inches, allowing the caster to easily step across infinite distances to reach another location. The more proficient you become, the greater the expanse of land you can compress, and the farther the distance you can cross. At complete mastery, vast as the Central Continent may be, it cannot hinder your steps. "Keep in mind, mastering spells demands innate comprehension. Having never touched spatial arts before, you must be mentally prepared for either success or failure. "A cultivator should remain unperturbed by favor or disgrace, avoiding wild swings between joy and grief." Yun Zhi taught by both word and deed, sharing her personal cultivation insights with Lu Yang. Lu Yang nodded, thinking that Eldest Senior Sister was the person best qualified to say such words; he had never once seen her display any violent stirrings of emotion. He still fell short in that regard. At first, seeing that Eldest Senior Sister always wore the same expression, Lu Yang had assumed she was devoid of emotion. Only after spending time with her did he realize that she did experience emotional ripples—they were simply minuscule. By now, Lu Yang had a slight chance of discerning her mood through tiny shifts in her expression. For instance, right now... Well, he couldn't tell at all. "I will demonstrate it for you once." Unaware of what Lu Yang was thinking, Yun Zhi tossed a red flag toward the opposite mountain peak. Before Lu Yang could even track its trajectory, she glided forward a single pace. In a flash, she vanished, and just as suddenly reappeared, holding the red flag in her hand. "Just like that. Once you succeed, practice a few more times, and you will be as proficient as I am." Lu Yang stood frozen in place, blinking once, then blinking again. What just happened? To Lu Yang's eyes, it looked as though Yun Zhi had merely tossed the flag out and effortlessly retrieved it in the same motion. He hadn't even seen whether the flag reached the opposite mountaintop, let alone detected any sign of spellcasting. Yun Zhi gave an uncharacteristic, subtle frown. Back when Master had taught her, he had demonstrated it the exact same way, and she had mastered it on the first try. Worried Lu Yang hadn't caught on, Yun Zhi demonstrated once more. And so: tossing the flag, stepping forward, returning—all done in a seamless breath, leaving him entirely bewildered. "..." Sure enough, even Eldest Senior Sister had her unreliable moments. In matters of learning, one truly had to rely on oneself. Lu Yang met Eldest Senior Sister's gaze, and this time he managed to read her mood. She was expecting him to succeed. *But Eldest Senior Sister, you have to understand—your teaching style couldn't teach a single soul.* Lu Yang sighed inwardly. Knowing he couldn't count on her, he decided to cast the spell according to his own understanding of Shrinking the Earth to Inches. "A thousand li held within, vivid before the eyes, released to unfold anew..." Lu Yang shut his eyes tight as he formed hand seals and chanted the invocation. "Shrinking the Earth to Inches!" Lu Yang bellowed. Instantly, his figure vanished, and the scenery around him shifted into pitch-black darkness, as though he had plunged into an alternate dimension. Lu Yang felt a surge of joy. He had actually succeeded on the very first try! He truly was a genius! He had heard Senior Sister explain that the principle of Shrinking the Earth to Inches involved warping and folding space so that the caster traveled through an alternate spatial corridor in a straight line, reaching the destination in the shortest possible time. Just as Lu Yang was about to burst into laughter, he found black matter pouring into his mouth. His body was pinned tight by the dark substance, leaving him unable to move his hands or feet. Worse still, this alternate dimension seemed devoid of air, making breathing exceptionally difficult. After a brief moment of calm, rational reflection, he came to a clear realization: He had shrunk right into the dirt. Now Lu Yang had good news and bad news. The good news was that he had mastered half of Shrinking the Earth to Inches—the "shrinking into the earth" part. The bad news was that he had only mastered half. Above ground, Yun Zhi was at a loss for words. She had watched with her own eyes as Lu Yang cast the spell, only to burrow straight into the soil, mastering an Earth Escape Technique instead. How had a spatial spell veered off into five-element magic? As the Eldest Senior Sister of the Dao Seeking Sect and the Sect Master's foremost disciple, Yun Zhi stood unrivaled among all disciples in both cultivation and talent. She could compose cultivation methods at will and master any spell at a glance. Her supreme comprehension was exceedingly rare throughout history, casting a shadow over every genius before her to a terrifying degree. Even so, she couldn't begin to fathom the underlying mechanics of Lu Yang's casting. These were clearly two entirely unrelated arts. With a muffled *pop*, Lu Yang cast Shrinking the Earth to Inches once more, poking his head out of the ground like a mole popping from a burrow, practically tempting anyone watching to strike him with a hammer or stomp on him. Lu Yang gave a dry cough to smooth over the awkwardness. No matter how thick-skinned he was, this was excruciatingly embarrassing. Expressionless, Yun Zhi yanked Lu Yang out of the dirt, shaking off a shower of mud in the process. Just like pulling a radish. "That was an accident. Let me try again." Lu Yang felt he was close to grasping the knack of it. "A thousand li held within, vivid before the eyes, released to unfold anew..." Lu Yang formed hand seals and recited the chant once more, speaking even faster than before. "Shrinking the Earth to Inches!" Lu Yang shouted, and the transformation struck again. Yun Zhi was tall, yet she was still roughly half a head shorter than Lu Yang. Normally, Lu Yang could look down at the crown of her head, but things were different now. Yun Zhi's figure seemed to steadily soar upward. Lu Yang went from looking down, to looking straight ahead, to craning his neck, until finally he had to tilt his head back as far as it would go just to see her. From his angle, he couldn't even see Eldest Senior Sister's face. Yun Zhi looked like a heaven-propping titan whose head brushed the sky while her feet planted upon the earth. "Wait, no—I've shrunk!" Lu Yang cried out. Catching sight of pebbles beside him that reached halfway up his body, he realized what had gone wrong. Standing a mere three inches tall, Lu Yang hopped about on the ground, his voice far tinier than usual. He had mastered a brand-new spell: Becoming Inches. Lu Yang's talent for magic was equally terrifying in its own right. A genius like Yun Zhi had merely learned Shrinking the Earth to Inches when studying the art, yet Lu Yang had mastered two separate spells instead: Shrinking Earth and Becoming Inches! Yun Zhi crouched down to inspect Lu Yang, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, seemingly unable to fathom which step had gone awry.