Mortal: Starting by joining the Falling Cloud Sect

He was stunned to find that the jade slip contained absolutely nothing.

He subconsciously thought that Sun Ke might have taken the wrong jade slip, so he asked Sun Ke telepathically. Faced with this question, Sun Ke was completely confused and truthfully reported everything that had happened in the secret realm.

It was specifically emphasized that: "After I snatched the jade slip from the people of Baiqiao Academy, I immediately rushed out of the secret realm. Although I did not check the contents of the jade slip beforehand, I can guarantee that this jade slip is the same one that was in the ancient cultivator's cave."

Upon hearing this, the short old man fell into deep thought.

"Sun Ke wouldn't lie, and the expressions of those people from Baiqiaoyuan didn't seem fake either. Could it be that they didn't know the jade slip was empty, or that the jade slip didn't even have any content to begin with? What exactly is going on?" The short old man was completely baffled.

"No! There's another possibility!" The short old man suddenly seemed to have thought of something. "If that Luoyun Sect disciple arrived at the ancient cultivator's cave first, and if he had already succeeded beforehand, leaving behind the real brocade robe and the fake jade slip—a mix of truth and falsehood—he threw out bait to make our Hundred Swords Sect and Hundred Crafts Academy fight, while he reaped the benefits! If that's the case, then this kid is incredibly cunning!"

Although the elders of the Ancient Sword Sect had a vague idea of ​​the truth, they did not make a fuss and continued to pretend that they had gained something.

For him, losing the treasure was a small matter, but the face of the Ancient Sword Sect could not be lost!

The three elders each harbored their own secrets, but showed nothing on their faces. Zhou Qing, who knew all the details, couldn't help but marvel at the depth of these old monsters' cunning.

Just then, a sudden change occurred within the secret realm, and an extremely powerful surge of spiritual energy emanated from it.

The restrictions on the secret realm suddenly strengthened at this moment. The passage, which the elders thought could be maintained for at least half an hour, began to gradually close up.

Upon seeing this, the elders of the three factions immediately sensed something was wrong and leaped up, attempting to cast spells to stabilize the passage.

This time, however, despite their best efforts and various methods, they were still unable to prevent the passage from closing.

Seeing that the passage had been completely closed, the short old man was the first to stop: "Everyone, please stop. This strange change in the secret realm seems to have greatly strengthened the restrictions. This is no longer something that we can handle. Let's return to our sects and report to our respective elders."

Upon hearing this, the other elders felt it made sense. Only Elder Xin wanted to try again, but seeing that everyone else had stopped, he had no choice but to give up.

As soon as they finished speaking, the elders of Baiqiaoyuan and Gujianmen left with their disciples.

As for that bet, no one mentions it again!

With the other two sects gone, the Luoyun Sect naturally wouldn't linger any longer. Elders Feng and Xin, along with Zhou Qing and Xiang Zhili, once again mounted the Azure Light Eagle and returned to the Luoyun Sect.

Standing atop the Qingguang Sculpture, Zhou Qing's thoughts were churning.

As far as he knew, since the three sects joined forces to open the Yunmeng Secret Realm, the restrictions of the secret realm had never changed. How could this have happened this time?

Moreover, this happened after Xiang Zhili came out.

Zhou Qing began to have doubts.

If it was indeed Xiang Zhili who made the move, Zhou Qing was certain that even if all the Supreme Elders of the three sects gathered together, they would not be able to open the secret realm again.

Why do this?

This is tantamount to sentencing those twenty-one disciples to death!

Zhou Qing felt a chill run through her body, and her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

At the same time, he secretly rejoiced. If he hadn't decisively rushed out of the secret realm at the first moment, he might now be like those disciples, quietly waiting for death in the secret realm.

As it turned out, Zhou Qing's guess was correct.

After returning to their respective sects, the three elders immediately informed the supreme elders of the sects about the enhanced restrictions on the secret realm.

Subsequently, several senior elders personally went to the entrance of the secret realm, but they were still unable to break through the restriction and reopen the passage.

The instigator of all this, Xiang Zhili, has long since disappeared, because he didn't even receive a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Upon returning to the courtyard on White Phoenix Peak, Zhou Qing immediately handed the Black Spirit Lotus to Song Yu. He had already accelerated its growth to five hundred years in the secret realm, thus fulfilling his promise to Song Yu.

He then returned to his cave to prepare for the Foundation Establishment process and look forward to what rewards the sect would give him.

This time, he received three Foundation Establishment Pills as a reward from the sect just for the spiritual herbs he handed over. With the addition of one from the Cloud Dream Assembly, he now has four Foundation Establishment Pills.

With these four Foundation Establishment Pills, Zhou Qing believed that the probability of successfully establishing his foundation this time was at least 99%.

Therefore, he naturally did not intend to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills through any other means.

One morning, Zhou Qing received a telepathic message from the sect leader, Wei Yiming, instructing him to go to the Dan Ding Pavilion immediately.

Zhou Qing was puzzled. Elders usually summoned disciples in the council hall or the sect leader's hall, and he had never heard of it being done in the Pill Cauldron Pavilion. However, since Wei Yiming had personally sent a telepathic message, he still had to be cautious.

So Zhou Qing quickly closed the courtyard gate, released the Ink Scale Boat, boarded it, and headed straight for the Pill Cauldron Pavilion.

With the speed of the Ink Scale Boat, Zhou Qing arrived at the Pill Cauldron Pavilion in no time.

The Dan Ding Pavilion was still just as Zhou Qing had seen it when he first arrived, bustling with people.

As soon as Zhou Qing landed on the platform, he heard a voice in his ear.

"Come up to the top floor."

Zhou Qing was taken aback, but quickly realized that a senior had sent him a telepathic message, so he strode into the Dan Ding Pavilion and went up to the top floor.

The top floor was simply furnished, and there were no other disciples in sight, suggesting that disciples were not allowed to come up here at will.

"Come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, a wooden door in front of Zhou Qing suddenly opened.

Zhou Qing looked closely and saw that behind the wooden door was an old-fashioned and messy alchemy room. The light was dim, with only the central furnace fire illuminating the surroundings, and an iron pot hanging above the furnace fire.

Many medicine gourds and dried grass branches hung from the ceiling, and various cloth bags, herbs, minerals and other materials were scattered on the table, making it look casual and messy.

Beside the fire was a wooden recliner, where an old man was resting, occasionally fanning the fire with a palm-leaf fan.

As the fire blazed, a medicinal fragrance wafted from the iron can, gradually spreading to Zhou Qing's side.

Upon smelling it, Zhou Qing felt refreshed and invigorated, even more comfortable than if he had taken a magic pill.

Zhou Qing recognized the old man; he was Cheng Tiankun, whom he had met by chance in the library. Cheng Tiankun was the Supreme Elder of the Luoyun Sect and a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stages.

He strode into the alchemy room and respectfully bowed, saying, "Disciple Zhou Qing greets the Supreme Elder!"

"Oh, it's you. This is our second meeting, isn't it?" Cheng Tiankun looked up, saw Zhou Qing, and then gently waved his palm-leaf fan and said in a soft voice.

"Yes. This disciple had the honor of meeting the Ancestor once at the Cloud Pavilion."

Since it was a face-to-face conversation with a Nascent Soul cultivator, Zhou Qing appeared somewhat reserved and dared not say too much.

Seeing this, Cheng Tiankun smiled slightly: "Since this is our second meeting, there's no need to be so nervous. Just think of it as keeping this old man company for a chat."

"Your disciple obeys!"

"I heard that you obtained two ancient treasures in the Yunmeng Secret Realm, making a great contribution to the sect. Can you tell me where and how you obtained them? Don't rush, tell me slowly, we have plenty of time."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat, but he still maintained a calm expression and recounted the events that had occurred in the ancient cultivator's cave, omitting the beginning and end. Of course, Zhou Qing didn't mention that he had discovered the Heavenly Crystal Ants, the Azure Phoenix Egg, and the two jade slips.

Cheng Tiankun listened quietly the whole time, without interrupting or asking any questions, until Zhou Qing finished explaining the whole story. Then he slowly said, "It seems that the anomaly in the secret realm's restrictions is unrelated to your actions in the cave."

After hearing this, Zhou Qing couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. How could he possibly have that ability?

"Let's talk about you. I heard you studied alchemy on your own before you entered the sect?" Cheng Tiankun shifted the topic to Zhou Qing.

"Reporting to the Ancestor, I am a rogue cultivator, and I know that my talent is mediocre. Therefore, in addition to cultivation, I have been learning some alchemy techniques on my own. I thought that once I learned them, I could refine some pills myself and make my cultivation speed faster," Zhou Qing replied truthfully.

"You're quite honest. Here's what we'll do: I have some questions about alchemy. Answer as much as you can," Cheng Tiankun said calmly.

"This disciple will certainly do his utmost!" Zhou Qing replied respectfully.

Then Cheng Tiankun asked Zhou Qing a question.

With Cheng Tiankun's mastery of alchemy, the questions he asked, though not particularly profound, all pointed directly to the core of alchemy, and were definitely not questions that an ordinary disciple who was just beginning to learn alchemy could answer.

Zhou Qing listened and also found it very difficult. Fortunately, he was quick to understand and had a flexible mind. Although he could not speak fluently and answer questions freely, he could still offer some insights into most of the questions.