Chapter 2039: A World Apart at Arm's Length

"This isn't a Secret Realm; you don't need to worry about time, use it as you wish!"

The Book Demon was less than a li away from him and said to Ye Liuyun, "If you can reach me, it will prove you're not too stupid!"

"Such a short distance?"

Ye Liuyun saw the distance was very short; at his current realm, a single bound would get him there.

But since the Book Demon used this as a test, it clearly wasn't that easy.

"Let's try first, then talk!"

Ye Liuyun thought of that and leapt straight toward the Book Demon.

However, that leap didn't close the gap at all.

"Huh?"

"Let's try Spatial Power again!"

Ye Liuyun immediately switched tactics.

This time, he intended to pass straight through the void.

Because the distance was short, he entered the first layer of void and stepped forward.

But when he emerged from the void, he realized his position was only one step ahead of where he started.

"This..."

Ye Liuyun was now a bit bewildered.

If Spatial Power still wasn't usable, he truly didn't know any other method.

"Even one step is fine! Let's try a higher layer of void!"

Thinking that, he entered the second layer of void again and took a step forward.

But after emerging this time, he found he had still only moved one step.

"One layer higher!"

Ye Liuyun this time entered the sixth layer of void directly.

By his usual experience, that should have let him cover thousands of li, yet when he came out, he had only advanced one step.

Then he began to sprint wildly within the sixth layer of void, but this time when he emerged, it was even worse—he hadn't moved at all.

"This truly is 'a world apart at arm's length'! What on earth is happening?"

Ye Liuyun began to ponder in his mind.

"He wants to test my comprehension, which means it certainly can't be passed by brute force.

But this last time, why did I not move a single step!"

The Book Demon opposite smiled warmly at him.

"Since he uses distance to test me, it must be related to Spatial Power! Yet I've already entered the sixth layer of void; could he be in an even higher tier of void?"

Ye Liuyun thought for a moment, then activated his Golden Pupil and looked at the Book Demon.

The Book Demon then gave a slightly satisfied nod.

Ye Liuyun also noticed that the space around the Book Demon differed from each layer's space.

It was a space where the first, second, and third layers of void overlapped.

The Book Demon's position was also standing at the convergence point of the various voids.

Although Ye Liuyun discovered the problem, he had no solution, so he sat down slowly and began to think.

Logically, he should be able to reach the Book Demon from any layer of void.

He could even get there by walking directly without using the void.

"But why can't I reach it?

Even after passing through the sixth layer of void, I still can't! What kind of special space is this?"

According to Ye Liuyun's understanding, if a higher-tier void intrudes into a lower-tier void, it compresses the lower space into nothingness.

Different spaces cannot overlap.

Thinking of this, he began to attempt spatial compression.

Sure enough, as he thought, the lower spaces were directly squeezed into oblivion.

"That won't work either!"

Ye Liuyun wrestled with his thoughts, then again used his Golden Pupil and Divine Sense to scrutinize the Book Demon, carefully analyzing the spatial structure around him.

At the same time he recalled that he had moved one step in the first, second, and sixth layers of void, so why, after re-entering the sixth layer and traveling so far, did he not move a single step?

Afterward, he repeatedly entered the void, feeling the Spatial Power around him, hoping for a hint.

"How can I appear simultaneously in multiple layers of void?"

His entire body and mind were immersed in studying Spatial Power.

The Book Demon patiently waited for him, somehow produced a chair, sat down, and watched Ye Liuyun struggle.

Suddenly, Ye Liuyun thought, "My previous single-step advances were jumps from lower to higher layers, but that last time was within the same sixth layer."

Thus, Ye Liuyun followed this line of thought and began experimenting.

Sure enough, each time he jumped from a lower to a higher layer of void, he could move forward one step.

But adding the three steps he had already taken, he had only moved six steps total.

Repeating it again no longer worked.

At this moment, the Book Demon kept nodding, looking expectantly at Ye Liuyun.

Only Ye Liuyun, absorbed in his research, didn't notice its expression.

He suddenly felt that although his Spatial Power had been cultivated for so long—enough to enter the sixth layer of void—the practical applications had mostly been for hurrying or escaping, with few true uses of Spatial Power.

That was also because no one had guided him.

But at this moment, after receiving the Book Demon's hint, he began to study the application of Spatial Power.

He decided to start with Space Translocation, moving a large stone beside him into the first layer of the void and throwing it forward.

The stone reappeared at a position that was also directly in front of Ye Liuyun.

He then translocated the stone into the second layer of the void, and indeed it moved forward a bit more.

Thus, Ye Liuyun began to experiment with the stone.

"From low to high!"

Ye Liuyun was suddenly inspired.

"Since compressing space from high to low annihilates the lower layer, what about the reverse?"

He tried to push lower-layer space into higher-layer space.

He directly forced the stone and the surrounding space toward the first layer of the void.

But similarly, together with the stone, the entire space vanished.

"Hold it and try!"

Ye Liuyun continued to try, finding another stone; this time, he used his Spatial Power to support the space surrounding the stone.

With his current Spatial Power, achieving this was no problem at all.

And the result actually caused the space where the stone was to merge with the first layer of the void.

He translocated the stone forward by one step, then returned the stone to the present space.

"So far!"

The outcome surprised Ye Liuyun greatly; when the stone fell, it landed a hundred paces away.

The Book Demon smiled approvingly at that moment.

Ye Liuyun immediately translocated the stone again, using Spatial Power to hold it, merging it into the first layer of the void; then, using Spatial Power again, he held it and continued merging it into the next higher layer, translocating it up to the third layer of space to see the effect.

But this time, the stone appeared directly above the Book Demon's head.

The Book Demon reacted quickly; with a finger, the stone instantly appeared above Ye Liuyun's head.

Ye Liuyun, astonished by the translocation's effect, hadn't even reacted before the stone struck him directly.

Fortunately, his Physical Body was strong, and he felt no pain.

"Hahaha!"

He laughed instead.

Having found the method, the rest became simple.

He used Spatial Power to merge himself and the surrounding space into the first layer of the void, then into the second and third layers.

No need to merge into higher layers; when he reappeared, he would already be standing before the Book Demon.