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

74: Chapter 74: Nighttime Investigation of Xingpo and the Shadow of the City LordMidnight was approaching, the moon was hidden, and the stars were sparse.

White River City had fallen into a deep sleep, with only the night watchman’s clapper echoing through the empty streets, adding a touch of silence.

Inside the inn room, Su Muxue slowly opened her eyes, a sharp light flashing in her icy blue pupils in the darkness. After several hours of meditation and with the help of the remaining power of that drop of Taiyin Origin, her injuries had recovered by fifty to sixty percent. Her newly acquired Sword Intent had also become more harmonious. Although her strength had not yet reached its Peak, it was no longer comparable to during the day.

She glanced at the light sphere of Lin Mo in her arms, which was still silent but with its light slightly more solid, and whispered, ”It’s about time.”

Lin Mo’s consciousness came through, carrying a hint of alertness: ”Just now, there seemed to be an extremely faint sense of being watched, but it vanished in an instant, and I couldn’t trace the source.”

Su Muxue’s icy brows furrowed slightly: ”It seems this White River City is even more complicated than we imagined. Let’s finish this quickly, get the clues, and leave immediately.”

The two did not hesitate any longer. Su Muxue’s figure was like a wisp of light smoke, quietly pushing open the window and blending into the thick night. She did not leave through the city gate but chose to leap directly over the city wall.

For a Mortal, the city wall was insurmountable, but for Su Muxue, whose cultivation had mostly recovered, it was like walking on level ground. With a few taps of her toes on the wall’s masonry, her figure glided over the top like a night owl and landed in the dark wilderness outside the city, without alerting any Guards.

According to the Jade Slip map, Luoxing Slope was located three hundred miles west of the city. This distance was unreachable for a Mortal, but for a Cultivator, especially one with a mission, it wasn’t far.

Su Muxue pushed her movement technique to the limit. Guided by Lin Mo’s Perception, she avoided nocturnal Yao Beasts and scattered mountain villages, speeding toward Luoxing Slope like a ghostly shadow.

The closer they got to Luoxing Slope, the stronger the resonance produced by Lin Mo’s nirvana star core became. It was a peculiar feeling of desolation and deathly silence, yet it contained some kind of ancient calling.

At the same time, he also clearly perceived that within the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of this area, there was a trace of extremely thin, yet corrupt aura that shared the same source as that drop of toxic blood! Although it was so faint it could almost be ignored, it could not hide from the keen Perception of his nirvana star core!

”Be careful, this place is indeed strange. Although that corrupt aura is weak, it definitely exists,” Lin Mo warned.

Su Muxue nodded, slowing down slightly and observing her surroundings more vigilantly.

About an hour later, a peculiar landscape appeared before them.

It was a massive, bowl-shaped crater. The center of the slope was sunken and barren, consisting only of grayish-white, strange rocks that looked as if they had been scorched and melted by high temperatures. On the periphery of the crater grew a type of eerie forest where the leaves were an ominous dark purple, rustling in the night wind like whispers.

The entire area was permeated with a heavy Death Qi, completely out of place with the surrounding vibrant mountain forests.

This was Luoxing Slope.

Rather than a slope, it looked more like a giant crater formed by a meteorite impact!

”Such dense residual Stellar Power... and... Death Qi,” Su Muxue said softly. She could feel the massive residual energy field here; even after being washed away by time, it was still heart-palpitating.

Lin Mo’s Perception went even deeper: ”At the bottom of the pit... there’s something! The energy reaction is very strong, sharing the same source as the Star Palace, but it seems to be polluted and sealed by some kind of power!”

His consciousness pointed toward the very center of the circular pit.

Su Muxue took a deep breath, gripped the zhenyuan remnant sword, and cautiously descended toward the bottom of the pit.

The further down she went, the heavier the aura of deathly silence intertwined with stars became. Faint, ghostly blue light particles even began to float in the air, like will-o’-the-wisps—a phenomenon caused by the combination of highly condensed Stellar Power and Death Qi.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the pit.

At the center of the pit was not the meteorite wreckage they had expected, but a severely damaged ancient stone palace half-buried underground!

The style of the stone palace was exactly the same as the ruins they had seen in the ancient forest before—built of the same light-absorbing black giant stones, but on a larger scale and more dilapidated. Most of it was buried by soil and lava-like substances, with only a small part of the entrance and broken stone pillars exposed.

And that strong source of resonance, as well as the feeling of being polluted and sealed, came precisely from deep within this half-buried stone palace!

The remaining cracked doors of the stone palace were like the mouth of a giant beast, emitting an unsettling aura.

”Should we go in?” Su Muxue looked at Lin Mo. Her intuition told her it was extremely dangerous inside.

Lin Mo was silent for a moment. The resonance and warning from the nirvana star core reached their Peak simultaneously.

”Go in! But be absolutely careful! There’s a very strong energy conflict inside, and... the source of that corrupt aura seems to be in there too!”

Su Muxue nodded. Profound Yin Qi protected her body, and Lingxiao Sword Intent was ready as she walked step by step toward the pitch-black palace doors.

Just as she was about to step through the palace doors—

”Tsk, tsk, tsk. The younger generation is truly formidable. To dare visit such a perilous place in the middle of the night?”

A slightly playful yet majestic voice suddenly rang out from not far behind them!

Su Muxue’s whole body stiffened, and she whipped her head around!

On the upper edge of the circular pit, several figures had quietly appeared at some unknown time!

The leader was a man wearing a dark purple brocade robe. He had a refined appearance, but his eyes flashed with sharp light as they opened and closed. The aura around him was as deep as the sea—he was actually a Late Golden Core Stage grand Cultivator! On the cuffs of his robe, a unique emblem was embroidered with silver thread—a city shrouded under stars!

Behind him stood four Guards with condensed auras and sharp eyes, all with cultivations above the Late Foundation Establishment Stage! What made Su Muxue’s heart turn cold was that the Goatee Old Man she had seen at the Hundred Knows Pavilion during the day was now standing flatteringly beside the middle-aged man in purple, pointing at them and whispering:

”City Lord, it’s them! They were inquiring about news of the Central Province and even pried into this old man’s family heirloom necklace. They are definitely here for this ’Starfall Land’!”

The City Lord?! City Lord Bai He!

He had actually come in person! And by the look of it, he had been waiting here for a long time!

That so-called Hundred Knows Pavilion was simply the eyes and ears of the City Lord’s Mansion! That old man’s pendant was just bait!

”Starfall Land?” The purple-robed City Lord—City Lord Bai He—let his gaze fall on Su Muxue, then glanced at Lin Mo’s light sphere in her arms, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. ”It seems you two know more than I imagined. Tell me, who are you? Where do you come from? And how do you know the secret that my Bai family has guarded for generations?”

Although his tone was calm, the pressure of the Late Golden Core Stage was like an invisible mountain, slowly descending and firmly locking down the entire bottom of the pit.

Su Muxue’s heart sank to the bottom.

It was a trap!

Not only was the opponent prepared, but they had also deployed their strongest forces. A Late Golden Core Stage expert, plus four Guards at or above the Late Foundation Establishment Stage—with her current condition, there was absolutely no chance of winning!

Lin Mo’s consciousness also came through urgently: ”We’re in trouble! This City Lord’s aura is very strange. It seems... to faintly harmonize with the Stellar Power at the bottom of this pit, but it’s also mixed with a trace of uncomfortable coldness!”

A desperate situation had descended once again!