Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 524: Spatial Compression Formation

"Hum!"

Xu Ping’an’s sword strike was so powerful that time and space itself seemed to slow, and the space was directly cleaved.

"Clang."

The ground was instantly torn apart, leaving behind a gigantic sword mark over a hundred meters in length.

"Such a strong sword move, it actually fused the great momentum of both time and space," Situ Lie exclaimed in surprise.

Facing Xu Ping’an’s sword move, even Situ Lie felt a profound threat.

It was simply unimaginable that Xu Ping’an had integrated the momentum of time and space into a single sword move.

"King Lie, you flatter me. It was a fortunate coincidence that allowed me to merge these two great momenta. However, my understanding of these two momenta is not profound. If it were deeper, the power would certainly be much greater," Xu Ping’an responded with a smile.

Over the course of three days, he had been comprehending this move, and now at last, he had achieved some results.

However, this move was still in its initial form and needed continuous refinement.

"For you to create such a sword move at your age is already quite impressive. If Xingfeng had even one-tenth of your talent, I would truly be content," Situ Lie sincerely lamented.

Xu Ping’an just smiled and did not reply.

"By the way, King Lie, there was an elder from the Heavenly Spirit Realm who came to look for you before, did he ask you to repair something?" Xu Ping’an asked.

"Are you talking about Elder Xu? He had once shown me great favor in the past, so when he came to me to study a spatial formation, I agreed," Situ Lie answered.

"However, with my limited spatial comprehension, I’m totally unable to decipher that spatial formation, only to disappoint the elder," Situ Lie sighed.

Upon hearing this, Xu Ping’an immediately understood the situation.

The spatial formation appeared to be something that his former master esteemed greatly, to the point of personally descending from the Heavenly Spirit Realm to find Situ Lie.

Those who study both formations and space in the Heavenly Spirit Realm are extremely rare.

That was why Xu Tianfeng approached Situ Lie.

Unfortunately, Situ Lie’s comprehension in both formations and space was limited, so he was unable to make any breakthroughs.

"King Lie, may I take a look at the formation pattern?" Xu Ping’an inquired.

He had some research on formations as well.

In his previous life, although he wasn’t as skilled in formations as in artifact refining, he still knew more than Situ Lie.

"You understand formations?" Situ Lie asked.

"A bit. I’m very curious, and to tell you the truth, that elder also has some connection with me. I want to see if I can help him," Xu Ping’an replied.

"I see. In that case, it wouldn’t hurt to let you take a look," Situ Lie responded.

After saying this, he took out a scroll of the formation pattern.

It was a scroll, not very old, it seemed to be a rubbing.

It was covered in dense and complex formation patterns.

Upon taking a glance, Xu Ping’an was astounded.

"Is this... the legendary Spatial Compression Formation?" Xu Ping’an exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh, Young Master Xu, you recognize this formation?" Situ Lie asked in astonishment.

Xu Ping’an nodded and replied, "I know a little bit, but not much. I’ve only heard rumors about this formation."

"Oh? Do tell," Situ Lie expressed keen interest.

"This Spatial Compression Formation is an ancient formation used to compress space. It can compress an expanse of space, like a small world, I can compress into a pearl, where everything inside remains the same, but to the outside world, it appears only the size of a pearl," Xu Ping’an explained.

"Isn’t that just like a storage ring?" Situ Lie asked, puzzled.

"It’s different, the storage ring utilizes a ’Nastone’ to embed the entrance to an ownerless sealed space within it. The actual space does not reside within the storage ring itself," Xu Ping’an explained.

"I see, so the storage ring is merely a gateway to an ownerless space, and it’s likely the same for those secret worlds and secret realms," Situ Lie nodded and said.

"Exactly, most of those secret spaces are like this, even the Heavenly Star Palace is the same; in reality, it hasn’t achieved the concept of ’one flower, one world’," Xu Ping’an responded.

"To truly compress a space without destroying its internal structure and reduce it to the size of a bead, how could that be possible?" Situ Lie asked in surprise.

"It’s possible, someone actually accomplished this feat once, but it’s merely legend. This Spatial Compression Formation was created by that person," Xu Ping’an replied.

He had once read about these matters in an ancient book.

"What is the use of this Spatial Compression Formation? Although it’s not really carrying that space with you, as long as you control the entrance, it’s practically no different from spatial compression, right?" Situ Lie asked after thinking for a moment.

"There is a big difference. This kind of spatial compression ability can be very useful. Storage is just one of the most insignificant applications. For instance, if I compress such a space and suddenly release it, causing it to explode, what do you think would happen?" Xu Ping’an replied.

"A spatial explosion? The power would be immeasurable," Situ Lie gasped.

What if someone truly detonated a compressed space of ten thousand square meters right in front of you? The power would be terrifying.

"Also, compressed space can ensure that your possessions are not stolen. Even though the spaces connected by storage rings are within the Endless Void, that does not guarantee that these spaces can’t be discovered by others," Xu Ping’an said.

"Indeed, that’s true," Situ Lie nodded in agreement.

"There are many such methods, for example, establishing spatial barriers, creating spatial shields, and even spatial illusions, fabricating false spaces," Xu Ping’an said.

Situ Lie was profoundly shocked by these words.

It seemed that the ability to compress space indeed had many uses.

For instance, a spatial shield—you could compress a space that is one hundred thousand meters long into a shield.

An attack on your shield would have to travel one hundred thousand meters within it before emerging from the other side.

By the time the attack comes out, you flip the shield, making the attack essentially rebound back.

This defensive strategy was unprecedented.

Of course, you could also solidify space; what kind of attack could penetrate a shield that is one hundred thousand meters thick?

"This Spatial Compression Formation is so heaven-defying and powerful, could it really be realized?" Situ Lie found it unbelievable.

"I’m not too sure, these are just rumors," Xu Ping’an said, his face showing a trace of solemnity as he looked at the formation patterns on the scroll.

He found these formation patterns complicated.

They involved much about space that even Xu Ping’an could not understand yet.

"Lord King Lie, can I make a copy of this rubbing?" Xu Ping’an inquired.

"Of course, it would be great if you could decipher it," Situ Lie replied.

Xu Ping’an nodded, transferring the contents to a jade slip for further slow contemplation.

If he could understand this formation diagram, it would be a great help for his future spatial cultivation.

"By the way, there are eight days left until the ceremony. During your closed-door cultivation, many visitors came seeking an audience with you, and I turned them all away. However, there is a banquet tomorrow that you might need to attend," King Lie suddenly said.

"What banquet?" Xu Ping’an asked in surprise.

"A royal banquet, the Flame Emperor has specifically asked to see you, and I couldn’t decline," King Lie said.

"The Great Flame Emperor?" Xu Ping’an was taken aback.

But he quickly understood the situation.

With a Seventh Rank cultivation making it into the top five, how could he not attract attention?

"Alright, then I shall accompany you at that time," Xu Ping’an responded.

King Lie also nodded, and then the two of them discussed many insights into the Spatial Momentum.

Both benefitted greatly.