The three took no time to enter the field of cracks and rifts. They cautiously maneuvered around the portals sucking in space, making sure not to get pulled in.
Each crack was like a door to an unknown place, it could lead back to the 7 provinces, or a whole other dimension. However likely it was, those dimensions overlapped with this world, if one attempted to use them to escape the Landfill it might be possible but might not. It was easy to forget that this prison was made by a being beyond understanding, whatever it might be.
It could seal part of the Dream Realm to contain the Three, why couldn't it make interdimensional travel impossible?
With these suspicions lingering in his head, Cain decided not to try his luck. Out of all their memories, his other self made sure to keep some of the System and "One" fresh in Cain's mind. Fear was a good cage, one that was keeping Cain from using these rifts to haphazardly escape.
Hours passed. Getting through the field was hard, not only were the cracks different in size and shape, but they also overlapped, causing the local space to destabilize. These areas especially made it hard to travel. Luckily, Ren Xing had some experience with overlapping rifts and the group made it past these obstacles.
"What's that?" Ren He pointed to a small lump of purple. It looked like a tiny sprite, it moved through the void easily, not being unaffected by the rifts and cracks.
Ren Xing exclaimed, "A Space Spirit!"
Space Spirit? Who didn't know of Space Spirits!? They were one of the rarest spirits under heaven! There was once an Enlightenment Stage Master who used Space Spirits to create a city behind a curtain of reality! The Space Spirits allowed the city to exist in another dimension, needing people to reach it through specialized transfer arrays. This city was why many people would explore the void even if they knew there was not much of anything inside!
Space Spirits were one of the 4 Boundless Spirits, these spirits being: Time, Space, Heaven, and Dao! These Spirits were called the 4 Boundless Spirits due to their applications, as they were many, far more than any other spirit!
Time Spirits could go to the past or future, they could allow the cultivator to live longer, and they could even take time from things!
Space was also amazing! The cultivator would teleport and create pocket spaces, these were how Space Rings came into being, being extremely rare due to the lack of Space Spirits. Not only that, Space Spirits could open spatial cracks and act as compasses in the void!
As for the Heavenly Spirit and Dao Spirit, no one has much information on either. People say Heavenly Spirits don't even exist, but for Dao Spirits, there are some rumors. People say Dao Spirits allow the user to connect with the Dao, helping them reach a farther stage in their path, it also allows the cultivator to mess with the natural order of laws.
Nevertheless, just finding a Spatial Spirit was amazing! Low-level ones could only be turned into Space Rings due to lack of potency but if it was a Tier 5 or above it would mold a path to greatness! It was something thousands of cultivators would die for, just for the chance to have it!
Beads of sweat squeezed out of Cain's skull as he stared at the purple spirit moving about. Before he could act, he must not scare the spirit and find out its Tier, if it was a Tier 5 Spirit or less, it would not be worth provoking the Ren siblings.
"Sister, is it really a Space Spirit? Does that mean we'll be rich?! The Weapon Master Sect will pay a fortune, and then some!"
Ren He was about to chase after the Spirit before his sister pulled him back. "Idiot, don't frighten it! Space Spirits are the hardest to catch second to only Time Spirits! We have to draw it in or else it will escape into a portal! Not to mention our speed is highly lacking!"
"She's right." Cain backed up Ren Xing, he didn't want Ren He to ruin this. Even if he doesn't get the spirit, Ren Xing should compensate him appropriately.
...
Trekking behind the trail of the Space Spirit, several days had passed. With no way to catch it, the only thing the group of three could do was follow it in hopes of getting lucky.
They had to swerve around cracks and rifts and sometimes get so close if they slowed down for a second they would get sucked in. Following the Space Spirit was by no means easy, even more so, it was heading deeper into the field of spatial distortions.
"Ugh! Sister, how much longer will we follow?! We've already spent so much time here, our absences will raise questions!"
Ren Xing calmed her brother, "I know dear brother. But think of it this way, if we get this spirit then when we return, even if someone has taken our place as rulers of Jilian City, we will have the power to take it back, financial or otherwise."
She caressed her brother's face and chuckled, it gave Cain a weird feeling. He ignored it and followed the two.
Cain couldn't go back, the golden lines that tethered the group to the portal they came from were snapped due to the spatial distortions. At this point, the Space Spirit was one of the only ways out of the void.
Suddenly, the Space Spirit's purple body glowed and its form began to distort. In less than a second it disappeared.
"..."
"Damn it! Why! Why did it teleport!? How am I going to find it now!" Ren Xing clutched her head in frustration, she was the first to realize before Cain and Ren He noticed.
Cain was also in a distraught state, 'With it gone, how am I going to get out of here?!'
Ren He was screaming and yelling, he was having a temper tantrum, and he was prone to anger, especially when they lost such a rare opportunity. Yet after a few minutes, he stared off into the distance with a strange expression.
"Hey, do you guys see that?" Ren He's eyes glistened as he moved with great speed through space. His sister called out to him but it was like he was entranced, heading ever closer to what he saw.
"Damn it!" Ren Xing immediately gave chase.
"I suppose I can only follow." Cain let out a sigh and picked up speed, he was more cautious than the other too in his pursuit.
Ren He flew for a while, and the cracks around him became smaller and more spread out as he continued. In the wake of this change, there was something new.
"Just what....."
Cain and Ren Xing caught up, they began to slow down as Ren He continued forward. There were no longer any rifts, instead, they were met with massive veil. It looked like a fissure in space, yellow and red fog of different shades cascaded down like a massive door. The giant tear was the size of a large village at least, the farm Cain worked on could be covered by half if the fissure was above it.
"The Ancient City of Marble....."
Cain turned to Ren Xing, she muttered a tale every cultivator knew all too well.
The Ancient City of Marble, the city hidden in space, its last entrance said to be hidden in the void. Created by one of the most powerful people in history, the city marked the golden years of cultivation, when resources were abundant and all people were thriving.
"We actually found it? That should be impossible."
Ren Xing became crazed, "Nothing's impossible! Everything is achievable! Haha!" She rushed after her brother to the veil hiding a whole world behind it.
'I have a bad feeling....'
Cain could only extinguish the feeling in his gut and followed behind like always, only this time he kept his distance wide, he was so far that even if anything bad happened he would be safe.