Lin Mu knew that now that there was no direct exit to the plane, they may very well have to traverse the void to get out. This was a task more dangerous than anything that Lin Mu had ever done till now and he did not want to do it just yet.
Lin Mu had learned the dangers of the void very well from senior Xukong. While the ring gave him a very big advantage with spatial manipulation, it was still not enough. Lin Mu remembered what senior Xukong had said to him once in the Sleepscape.
’That ring is an immensely powerful artifact, but that is also your shackle. Even if a baby is given a sledgehammer, it is not like they would be able to use it properly. It is the same with you, the ring is powerful and fortunately restricts its level according to you.’
The mysterious ring may eventually allow Lin Mu to traverse the void safely but now was not the time. Even at the Nascent Soul realm, he was far too weak for it. Even Immortal Ascension realm cultivators died like ants if they were careless with the void, not to mention a Nascent Soul realm cultivator.
Jing Luo had been watching Lin Mu and the complex expressions that had appeared on his face. From that, he knew they may have been in an even more difficult position than he had originally thought.
’There must be something... something we are missing...’ Lin Mu thought hard to find a solution.
"Wait, I’ve heard that the Ripple Mist sect has its sacred trials every ten years. You’ve been here for over fifty years, right? Then you should have seen or sensed some change then." Lin Mu asked.
"Hmm... when I first came here, the sacred trials had just ended. After that ten years passed before the next trial’s happened. I did see some changes in this plane... the beasts seemed to be restless and the spirit Qi in the air would fluctuate greatly." Jing Luo answered.
"Spirit Qi would fluctuate?" Lin Mu muttered.
He looked around and felt the high concentration of the spirit Qi here.
"If there is such high concentration of spirit Qi then there must be some source of it right? If this plane was cut off from the sacred ground, there should have been no spirit Qi after one point, but the concentration is still maintained.
It must be coming from somewhere, right?" Lin Mu questioned.
"I think there is a spirit stone mine here below the peak there. The Concentration of spirit Qi is quite stronger there. I’ve tried to get to it since I wanted more materials for making spirit tools and formations, but I could not break through the tough rock there." Jing Luo answered.
"There might be a way!" Xukong suddenly spoke.
"What senior?" Lin Mu asked hurriedly.
"We may be able to link this fragment with the sacred grounds of the Ripple mist sect for a short time. But it will be difficult... and will also need the right opportunity." Xukong replied.
Lin Mu thought over it and realized that this may be the only option for them now. He had no better ideas and even Jing Luo, who had been here for over fifty years, was clueless.
"How will we do it, senior?" Lin Mu questioned.
"We will be... collapsing this entire fragment of the minor plane," Xukong revealed.
"Collapse? But won’t that kill us too? How will we escape it?" Lin Mu questioned, feeling confused.
"Yes, there is a chance that it will kill you. That’s why I said it will be hard and will need the perfect time to do it.
Think of the Ripple mist sect as an Island in the sea while the sea is the lesser void. If that’s true then the Sacred grounds are like a ship floating in the sea while the fragment we are in currently is like a lifesaver. While the lifesaver is floating in the sea independently, there is still a link with the main ship.
Before the ship was anchored to the island and the lifesaver was floating in at the shore of the sea. It would bob and move, which let you see the illusion of the mountain before when you were at the Ripple Mist sect.
Then came the heavenly tribulation which disturbed the spatial fabric and that combined with you using the ring to open a portal to there, it pushed the fragment deeper into the lesser void. So now getting back to the shore is difficult.
But... you can still go to the ship since there is still a tether. But to do that is not as simple as this example." Xukong explained.
"Please tell me the method senior." Lin Mu requested, fully ready for anything.
"What you will need to do is to create a vacuum in this place... but not just any vacuum but rather a vacuum of spirit Qi." Xukong spoke.
"A vacuum? How will I be doing that?" Lin Mu asked.
"By absorbing it, of course! Basically, you will take up all or most of the spirit Qi of this minor plane which will cause its borders to get weak. The lesser void will exert pressure on it and will make it collapse.
Now here comes the tough part... when this collapse happens, the force of the lesser void will also push the fragment to the sacred grounds but for a very brief moment. It will be like a ball striking a wall, you will have to cross over when that ball is touching the wall or it will bounce away.
That will be your moment to act. You will use the ring and hopefully latch on to the sacred grounds, before jumping there." Xukong answered.
Lin Mu listened to the entire explanation carefully, making sure to not miss any points, and once Xukong was done with everything, Lin Mu closed his eyes thinking over it and assimilating the information.
"Alright... I think I got it. I will be using Well of slumber, won’t I?" Lin Mu spoke.