Mortal: Starting by joining the Falling Cloud Sect

On his way back to Liuying Courtyard, Zhou Qing pondered which mountain peak to choose to build his cave dwelling on.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, he unexpectedly saw Song Yao about to leave from outside his courtyard.

"Song Yao, what are you doing here? Is there something you need?" Zhou Qing called out to Song Yao.

Song Yao turned around and saw Zhou Qing, her face lighting up with joy. As soon as Zhou Qing activated the array outside the courtyard, she pulled him down into the courtyard.

"Brother Zhou, where have you been all this time? I've come here looking for you so many times, but I haven't seen you even once," Song Yao asked in a clear voice.

Zhou Qing, hearing Song Yao mention coming several times, grew suspicious: "I've been in seclusion in the Earth Fire Chamber of the Pill Cauldron Pavilion lately, so I'm not in the courtyard. If you need to find me, you can send me a message talisman. I'll see it when I get back to the courtyard and naturally come to find you; there's no need for you to come in person every time. However, I'm quite curious, what important matter do you have with me? It's not that you want me to accompany you in refining pills again, is it?"

Ever since Song Yao learned that Zhou Qing knew how to refine pills, she had been pestering him, begging him to teach her how to refine pills.

Zhou Qing couldn't refuse, so she went once.

This one time, Zhou Qing was exhausted, not physically but mentally. To put it another way, it was comparable to teaching her children to do their homework in her previous life.

In the early stages, remain calm and communicate gently; in the middle stages, gradually break down emotionally and become mentally exhausted; in the later stages, feel mentally drained and overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness.

Given this situation, Zhou Qing dared not go again. No matter how much Song Yao pleaded, his heart remained as hard as a rock, unwavering, and he simply said, "I won't go."

"No, that's not true!" Song Yao shook her head, then quickly walked to Zhou Qing, turned around, and bowed respectfully to him with an unexpectedly serious expression: "Senior Brother Zhou, I have no way to repay your life-saving grace. Song Yao will remember it for the rest of my life!"

"What's this?" Zhou Qing quickly helped Song Yao up, initially puzzled, but then he understood and said, "Could it be that the five-hundred-year-old Black Spirit Lotus was for you to consume?"

"Exactly! Senior brother, you may not know this, but when I was young, I was accidentally poisoned by a strange demonic beast, which damaged my meridians and made it impossible for me to establish my foundation for life. My sister has been searching for a cure to save my path of cultivation. She finally managed to gather all the auxiliary medicines, but the key ingredient, the five-hundred-year-old Black Spirit Lotus, was nowhere to be found. Senior brother found it for me in the secret realm. Although it was just a transaction on the surface, I will never forget this kindness!" Song Yao said with a determined look on her face.

Zhou Qing nodded slightly, but quickly smiled and said, "I see. There's no need for any talk of gratitude between us. I'm happy to have helped you, so don't worry about such a small thing anymore."

After finishing speaking, Zhou Qing intentionally ended the conversation, so he joked, "Also, you've got it wrong to call me 'Senior Brother.' You should call me 'Uncle-Master' now! Haha!"

"Uncle-Master?" Song Yao was taken aback when she heard this. She had been thinking about how to sincerely thank Zhou Qing and hadn't noticed anything else. When she looked closely and met Zhou Qing's teasing gaze, she exclaimed "Ah!" and realized what was going on.

"Brother Zhou, you've successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage! Congratulations!"

"Sigh, it seems I won't be able to hear that 'Uncle-Master' greeting," Zhou Qing sighed, feigning regret.

"Oh dear, Brother Zhou, you're still young, only 22. I'm afraid calling you old will make me sound old." Song Yao grabbed Zhou Qing's arm and shook it gently, sounding like a younger sister coaxing her older brother, trying to gloss over the matter and unwilling to change her address.

A faint smile appeared in Zhou Qing's eyes as he said, "You're quite clever. If you really called me 'Master Uncle,' I might feel a little awkward. It's better to call me 'Big Brother' as before."

After exchanging a few more jokes, the two went inside and sat down, gradually steer the conversation toward the location of Zhou Qingdong's residence.

Song Yao had been a disciple of the sect longer than Zhou Qing, and knew some of the rules in more detail. After a moment of contemplation, she slowly said, "Brother Zhou, you should know that although the sect grants Foundation Establishment disciples the right to build their own cave dwellings, it also stipulates that the location of the cave dwelling must be within the Luoyun Sect. Compared to those ordinary peaks, the spiritual energy on the sect's six extraordinary peaks is definitely more abundant. If Brother Zhou wants to build his own cave dwelling, building it on White Phoenix Peak would be the best option."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing nodded silently. He knew this rule; he had seen it in the "Luoyun Chronicles" and had heard it again when he went to pay his respects to his senior brother, the sect leader.

He had actually weighed the pros and cons in his mind about this.

If one cannot build their cave dwelling outside the sect, then it doesn't really matter which mountain peak they build it on within the sect, as it's difficult to achieve complete seclusion and cultivation regardless.

Given the current conditions, it would be better to build on White Phoenix Peak. White Phoenix Peak is far from other main peaks, and there are rules that male disciples cannot enter without important matters, making it more private than other peaks.

However, there is still one condition he has not yet met, which is to become the personal disciple of the main and deputy peak masters of Bai Feng Peak.

He must meet this condition before he can build his own cave dwelling on Baifeng Peak; otherwise, he can forget about it.

Zhou Qing remembered that Song Yu had promised to introduce him to the peak master, Fairy Yaoyin, after he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so that he could become Fairy Yaoyin's disciple. He wondered if it would actually happen, and whether Song Yu had that much influence.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing said calmly, "Whether I can build a cave dwelling on White Phoenix Peak ultimately depends on whether I can become a disciple of a Core Formation elder on the peak. It's too early to say now. Well then, since you've expressed your gratitude, go back first. I'll think about how to become a disciple."

"Alright, but don't worry, I'll go back and ask my sister, maybe she'll have a solution." With that, she rushed out of the house like a gust of wind, waved goodbye to Zhou Qing behind her, stepped onto the magical artifact, and left.

As Zhou Qing watched Song Yao's departing figure gradually disappear, he closed the courtyard gate and the house door, then went inside.

As for the matter of becoming an apprentice, we can only wait for news from Song Yu for now. Let's do something else for the time being.

Sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed, Zhou Qing took out the emerald green jade slip he had obtained from the ancient cultivator's cave. Back then, his divine sense was too weak to break through the restrictions in the jade slip.

Now that he has established his foundation, his spiritual strength has increased significantly, so it's time to give it another try.

Zhou Qing placed the jade slip on his forehead, concentrated intently, and used his divine sense to break through the restrictions within the jade slip.

At first, Zhou Qing felt as if his divine sense had hit an invisible wall and he couldn't get through it no matter what he did. Finally, he mustered all his strength and concentrated all his divine sense to rush over like a monstrous wave.

Suddenly, a "crack" sounded, as if something had split open.

Zhou Qing quickly looked and was shocked to find that the jade slip was shattered. He couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that the triggering method was incorrect?"

He examined the jade slip several times, but apart from noticing that it seemed to be much longer than the jade slips of today, he couldn't figure out anything else. He was already feeling a little guilty for being too rash.

It wasn't until he looked through the crack in the jade slip that he noticed its internal color seemed to have changed.

He hesitated for a moment, then stood up and paced around the room several times before finally making up his mind. He slapped his hands together and shattered the jade slip completely.

Now Zhou Qing could see everything clearly; hidden within was a piece of silk as thin as a cicada's wing.

On the silk, a secret technique was written, called the "Heavenly Valley Inner Landscape Scripture".