Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

73: Chapter 73: Inside the Hundred Knowledge Pavilion and the Glimmer of StarstoneThe ”Hundred Knows Pavilion” was not a large shop; its furnishings were ancient, and it was permeated by a faint scent of books and the clear fragrance of Spiritual Plants. Behind the counter, a Goatee Old Man seemed to be sleeping soundly, letting out light snores and showing no reaction to the customers entering the door.

Inside the shop, there were also two or three Cultivators flipping through Jade Slips or talking in low voices. Their cultivation levels were not high, and they did not pay much attention to the cloaked Su Muxue.

However, Lin Mo’s entire attention was focused on the pendant around the old man’s neck. Although the obscure stellar fluctuations were restrained as much as possible, they produced a clear resonance with the nirvana star core inside him. There was no mistake!

This thing definitely had a connection to the Star Palace! In this remote White River City, why would a seemingly ordinary shopkeeper possess such an item?

Was he friend or foe? A descendant left behind by the Star Palace? Or... the feelers of ”them”?

Su Muxue also felt Lin Mo’s vigilance. She calmly walked to a wooden shelf displaying Jade Slips of regional legends and monsters, pretending to browse while actually on full alert, her peripheral vision locked onto the dozing old man the entire time.

Time passed bit by bit.

The customers in the shop left one after another, until finally, only Su Muxue remained.

Just then, as if he had timed it perfectly, the Goatee Old Man’s snoring stopped. He stretched his back and leisurely woke up. He rubbed his bleary eyes and yawned, only then appearing to notice Su Muxue in the shop.

“Oh, a customer? My apologies, my apologies. When one gets old, it’s easy to get drowsy.” The old man spoke with a smile, his eyes narrowed into two slits, looking very kind. His gaze swept over Su Muxue without lingering too long. “What would Fellow Daoist like to look at? Don’t look at how small this shop is; the gazetteers, Sect genealogies, and records of strange tales within a ten-thousand-mile radius of this White River area are all somewhat collected here.”

His voice was raspy yet gentle, sounding completely non-threatening.

But Lin Mo’s Perception captured that the moment he woke up, the pendant’s fluctuations became extremely subtly active for an instant before quickly falling silent again. This old man was definitely not as simple as he appeared on the surface!

Su Muxue suppressed the doubts in her heart and intentionally made her voice low and raspy, saying, “I have just arrived here and wish to purchase a detailed regional map. The more detailed, the better—ideally one that marks the spheres of influence of major Sects as well as dangerous lands and Forbidden Grounds.”

“A regional map, yes, yes!” The old man smiled and fished out a slightly worn Jade Slip from under the counter. “This is the ‘white river records of wind and cloud’ meticulously drawn by this shop. I wouldn’t dare say it covers everything, but the large and small powers, mountains, rivers, geography, and even some ancient legends and ruins of this frontier land are all somewhat marked. It only costs ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.”

Su Muxue took the Jade Slip but did not investigate it immediately. Instead, she continued to ask, “In addition, I would like to ask the shopkeeper about something.”

“Oh? Please speak, Fellow Daoist. Old me has lived in this White River City for over a hundred years. While I can’t claim much else, I am fairly well-informed.” The old man stroked his goatee, still smiling.

“May I ask how far the distance is from here to the ‘Tianyan Sect’ of the Central State Continent? Has any news from the Central State arrived recently?” Su Muxue asked the question she cared about most.

Hearing this, a very subtle flash of surprise crossed the old man’s eyes, vanishing in an instant. He pondered for a moment and said, “The Central State... that is quite far away indeed. It’s feared to be several million miles from here, separated by endless wilderness and several major dangerous lands. If an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator does not have a secure route, it would likely take several years of flying. As for news...”

He shook his head. “This frontier small city is isolated. By the time news from the Central State Continent reaches here, it’s often old news from over a year ago. I haven’t heard any special news recently. Why, is Fellow Daoist a native of the Central State?”

Several million miles! News delayed by over a year!

Su Muxue’s heart sank slightly. This distance far exceeded her expectations; returning to the Sect would be no easy task. Moreover, with so much time having passed, what was the Sect’s current situation, and Senior Brother Nangong’s whereabouts... she almost didn’t dare think deeply about it.

“I am not from the Central State, but I have an old acquaintance in the Tianyan Sect and wish to seek them out.” Su Muxue gave a vague explanation, suppressing her surging emotions. Her tone suddenly shifted as she asked seemingly at random, “Shopkeeper, your necklace is quite unique. I wonder where you obtained it? It seems to contain a trace of unique Stellar Power, which appears beneficial for cultivation?”

She asked abruptly, her gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping across the depths of the old man’s collar.

The smile on the old man’s face stiffened for a split second. Although he immediately returned to normal, that instant of subtle change did not escape Su Muxue and Lin Mo’s Perception.

He subconsciously touched the pendant under his collar with his hand and gave two dry chuckles. “Fellow Daoist must be joking. It’s just an ancestral piece of stubborn stone. I wear it for the sake of sentiment because it looks unusual. Where would there be any Stellar Power? Fellow Daoist must have perceived it incorrectly.”

Denial! He was deliberately hiding something!

Lin Mo’s thought immediately came through: “He’s lying! The fluctuations of that pendant are definitely not from an ordinary stone!”

Su Muxue understood in her heart and did not press further, so as not to alert the enemy. She placed the ”white river records of wind and cloud” Jade Slip on the counter and took out ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

“It was my intrusion. I will take this Jade Slip then.”

Seeing this, the old man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He hurriedly collected the Spirit Stones, his smile becoming natural again. “Safe travels, Fellow Daoist. If you need to inquire about any more news, you can come to this shop anytime.”

Su Muxue nodded, picked up the Jade Slip, and turned to leave the Hundred Knows Pavilion.

Until she walked out the shop door, she could still feel a faint gaze following her from inside the shop... She found a quiet inn to stay in and set up a simple soundproofing Restriction.

Su Muxue immediately sank her Divine Sense into the ”white river records of wind and cloud” Jade Slip.

The information inside the Jade Slip was indeed quite detailed. It not only marked mountains, rivers, Sects, and cities, but also recorded many ancient legends and suspected locations of ruins.

Among them, a detailed map of the area surrounding ”White River City” caught the attention of the two!

In an extremely inconspicuous corner of the map, a place name was marked three hundred miles west of the city—Luoxing Slope. Beside it was a small line of annotations:

【Ancient name. Rumored that Star Remains fell here. Suspected to be an ancient Sect sacrificial site. Now abandoned, with occasional strange lights. Enter with caution.】

Luoxing Slope! Star Remains falling! Ancient Sect sacrificial site!

Combining these few terms instantly made the two think of the Star Palace!

Could that be another ruin of the Star Palace? Was it related to the pendant of the Hundred Knows Pavilion shopkeeper?

What made Lin Mo care even more was that when his power of Perception focused on the location of ”Luoxing Slope” on the map, the nirvana star core in his body actually sent out a clearer and stronger resonance than when he had sensed the shopkeeper’s pendant earlier!

There is definitely something there! And it is very likely related to the Star Palace Core!

“Go to Luoxing Slope!” Lin Mo’s thought was decisive. “That shopkeeper definitely knows something, but he won’t tell us easily. The answer might be right there!”

Su Muxue looked at the location marked ”Enter with caution” on the map, a sharp glint flashing in her ice-blue eyes.

Danger often coexists with opportunity. To unravel the mystery and obtain the power to break the situation, one must take risks.

“Alright.” She put away the Jade Slip. “We set out tonight at the hour of the Rat, under the cover of darkness.”

However, not long after they made their decision.

Outside the inn window, an extremely obscure, tiny Talisman Bird that almost blended into the shadows silently flapped its wings and flew up, quickly heading toward a certain direction in the center of the city.

Its direction was impressively—the City Lord’s Mansion!