As soon as the man in the brocade robe finished speaking, seeing that Lin Zhou's expression had not changed but rather showed a hint of inquiry, he changed the subject.
His tone softened somewhat: "However, if you really want to go to Falling Star Village, it's not like you don't have a chance."
He raised his hand to straighten the star patterns on his brocade robe. “My family happens to have an invitation to Falling Star Village. If you don’t mind, you can come back to the Shen family with me first. Once we have our luggage ready, we can set off together tomorrow or the day after.”
Lin Zhou's heart stirred slightly. He didn't want to force his way in, so being able to enter Falling Star Village openly and legitimately with the invitation was naturally the best option.
He looked up at the man in the brocade robe and saw that although there was some probing in the other man's eyes, there was no malice. So he nodded slightly and said, "In that case, thank you very much, fellow Daoist."
“No problem.” The man in the brocade robe smiled and turned to walk out of the city. “My name is Shen Jinhao. You can call me Jinhao.”
The two had only walked a few steps when they heard hushed whispers coming from the side of the street.
"Isn't that Shen Jinhao, the young master of the Shen family? Why is he traveling with a strange cultivator?"
"Keep your voice down! The Shen family is one of the four great families in the Lingxiao Star Region. They control half of the spirit mines in the region and can even get an invitation from Luoxing Village. They're not people we can talk about!"
"I heard that Young Master Shen recently broke through to the mid-stage of the Beginningless Realm. I'm afraid his trip to Falling Star Village is to seek an opportunity for innate energy for his family?"
Listening to these discussions, Lin Zhou understood. It turned out that Shen Jinhao was the young master of the Shen family, one of the four major families in the Lingxiao Star Region. No wonder he was able to get an invitation from Luoxing Village; his identity was indeed extraordinary.
He followed Shen Jinhao discreetly, passing through the teleportation array of Meteor City and flying towards the Lingxiao Starfield.
As they walked, Shen Jinhao explained, "The Shen family is located in the western part of the Lingxiao Star Region, not far from Meteor City; it only takes half a day to get there."
"Falling Star Village is only open once every three years, and only those with invitations are allowed to enter each time. This time, my father specially obtained an invitation for the family, originally intending to take me to broaden my horizons. Now that there is one more fellow Daoist, it is just right."
Lin Zhou would occasionally respond, but most of the time he simply listened quietly, his divine sense subtly spreading out to probe the surrounding movements.
He could sense that although Shen Jinhao seemed casual, he had been secretly observing his aura, clearly still wary of him, this "suddenly appearing cultivator".
In half a day, the two arrived at the Shen family's residence.
The Shen family mansion was built on a floating sacred mountain, with a huge character "沈" (Chen) carved at the mountain gate.
The guards at the gate were all cultivators at the Creation Realm. Upon seeing Shen Jinhao return, they all bowed and greeted him: "Young Master!"
Shen Jinhao nodded slightly, leading Lin Zhou through layers of courtyards, and finally leading him to an elegant little courtyard.
Several laurel trees were planted in the courtyard, and an exquisite tea set was placed on the stone table. There was also a small spiritual spring in the corner of the wall, with spiritual energy several times richer than that outside. It was obviously a place where the Shen family entertained distinguished guests.
"Fellow Daoist, please rest here for now. I will go and inform my father and also retrieve the invitation."
Shen Jinhao cupped his hands to Lin Zhou, his tone tinged with apology, "Wait a moment, I'll be back soon." With that, he turned and quickly left.
Lin Zhou watched Shen Jinhao's figure disappear behind the courtyard gate before slowly walking to the stone table and sitting down. His fingertips lightly traced the teacup, but his gaze subtly swept across the courtyard.
The next second, a faint smile appeared on his lips. This courtyard looked quiet, but in reality, someone was hiding there.
Behind the osmanthus tree in the east corner, a cultivator dressed in black was hiding, his aura extremely low. If Lin Zhou's divine sense hadn't far surpassed that of ordinary people, he wouldn't have been able to detect him at all.
A faint fluctuation of spiritual energy emanated from beneath the window sill of the west wing, clearly indicating that someone was observing him through the window crack.
Outside the courtyard gate, two faint footsteps could be heard pacing back and forth, seemingly on patrol, but in reality, they were guarding the gate to prevent him from leaving at will.
"They are cautious, indeed."
Lin Zhou picked up his teacup, poured in some spiritual spring water, and took a small sip.
These three strangers were clearly sent by the Shen family to monitor him, fearing that they might be spies sent by other forces or plotting against the Shen family's invitation.
Lin Zhou didn't expose him. He just sat leisurely by the stone table, looking at the laurel in the courtyard with a calm expression. He never intended to take action against the Shen family. This surveillance was just a minor disturbance.
What he was more concerned about now was the true purpose of the Shen family receiving the invitation, and whether there were any other secrets hidden in Falling Star Village besides the innate energy.
Before long, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate, and Shen Jinhao reappeared, holding a brocade box in his hand, a hint of joy on his face: "Fellow Daoist, you've kept me waiting! My father has agreed, and we will set off for Luoxing Village early tomorrow morning. This is the invitation; please keep it safe." As he spoke, he took out a golden invitation card from the brocade box and handed it to Lin Zhou.
Lin Zhou accepted the invitation, and the moment his fingertips touched it, he felt a faint aura of origin—this invitation was actually made of material containing a trace of innate energy, which meant that the foundation of Falling Star Village was even deeper than he had imagined.
Lin Zhou's divine sense had already spread out silently, like a fine spider web, covering the entire Shenfu and even extending to the core area of the Lingxiao Starfield.
His divine sense was formless and intangible; not to mention the cultivators of the Shen family, even a Dao Realm expert would find it difficult to detect.
This is a power far exceeding the current realm level, allowing one to glimpse ordinary secrets as easily as taking something out of a bag.
Lin Zhou stopped his investigation when his divine sense swept over the main study deep within the mansion.
The atmosphere in the study was so oppressive it was almost frozen.
A middle-aged man dressed in a black brocade robe with python patterns sat in the main seat, his face bearing a seven-tenths resemblance to Shen Jinhao.
Yet he appeared even more imposing, his brows conveying the oppressive aura of someone long accustomed to a high position; he was none other than Shen Yuan, the head of the Shen family.
He tapped the jade slip on the table with his fingers, his sharp gaze sweeping over Shen Jinhao, who was standing bowing below, and said in a low voice: "The cultivator who came back with you just now, was the outside help you found?"
Shen Jinhao lowered his head, his face no longer showing the composure he had when he was out, but only a hint of bitterness. He nodded slightly: "Yes, Father. He claimed to be a traveling cultivator who happened to be inquiring about Luoxing Village, so I invited him to come along."
"A wandering cultivator?"
Shen Yuan snorted coldly and threw the jade slip on the table. "Do you know what this trip to Falling Star Village is about? This time, you and Shen Jing are going together, and your final gains and performance will directly determine who will become the head of the family."
"You're hiring someone of unknown origin as an outside helper? Are you trying to gamble the Shen family's future on a stranger?"
These words struck Shen Jinhao's heart like a heavy hammer.
He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with resentment, yet also with a hint of helplessness: "Father, I didn't want this either!"
He took a deep breath, his voice slightly hoarse, "These past few days, I've searched for all my acquaintances, but they've either been bribed by Shen Jing with spirit ore and cultivation techniques, or they've been secretly threatened by him."
"They said if anyone dared to team up with me, they would cut off their family's spiritual vein supply. In the entire Lingxiao Star Region, no one dared to travel with me!"
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