Mortal: Starting by joining the Falling Cloud Sect

As soon as the two reached the courtyard gate, a cultivator from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance came to greet them. This person seemed to know Chen Qiaoqian and immediately released the outer layer of restrictions.

Chen Qiaoqian introduced Zhou Qing to the cultivator from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance. Zhou Qing then bowed respectfully, and the man was also very polite, greeting Zhou Qing with a smile.

From this person's self-introduction, Zhou Qing learned that his name was Wu Zhuozi, and he came from the Qingxu Sect, and was also a disciple of one of the original six sects of the Yue Kingdom.

Moreover, this person looks young, yet already possesses the cultivation level of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, making him a noteworthy individual in Zhou Qing's eyes.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Qing and Chen Qiaoqian bid farewell to Wu Zhuozi and continued walking into the courtyard.

After walking through a winding corridor, Zhou Qing was led by Chen Qiaoqian to a quiet pavilion by the water, where many cultivators from various sects had gathered, all of whom were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

As Zhou Qing walked along the waterfront corridor, he could already hear some cultivators talking in hushed tones. Some were admiring magical artifacts, while others were appreciating spiritual herbs.

"It seems this trade fair is quite large." Zhou Qing glanced at the surrounding cultivators, noting that there were at least several dozen of them.

"The border is different from the interior. There are no markets for cultivators to buy and exchange goods on a daily basis. If cultivators stationed at key locations on the border lack something, they can only try their luck at these regularly held trade fairs. Gradually, more and more cultivators have gathered at these trade fairs," Chen Qiaoqian explained softly.

As they walked, Chen Qiaoqian explained some of the rules of the trade fair to Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing calmly followed, listening quietly to the sounds around him. His gaze swept casually across the surroundings, seemingly enjoying the scenery, but in reality, he was observing the various cultivators around him.

Suddenly he sensed someone probing him with their divine sense. It wasn't a fleeting, tentative probe, but a blatant spying, as if someone was assessing his depth.

Zhou Qing felt displeased and immediately turned his head to look. He saw a young cultivator in brocade robes with his hair tied up standing under a pillar, staring at him with hostility.

Chen Qiaoqian noticed Zhou Qing's unusual behavior and followed his gaze. She immediately recognized the young cultivator and her expression turned cold.

When the young cultivator saw Chen Qiaoqian looking over, he immediately stepped out from under the pillar, his voice filled with deliberate surprise: "Junior Sister Qiaoqian, it's been a long time. I didn't expect you to come to the trade fair today."

The young cultivator strode up to Zhou Qing and Chen Qiaoqian, looking at them with delight, as if the two had known each other for a long time and were very familiar with each other.

He completely ignored Zhou Qing, who was standing to the side, and didn't even give him a second glance.

At this moment, Zhou Qing, who had sharp eyes, noticed that Chen Qiaoqian had clearly taken half a step back, as if she was deliberately trying to create some distance between herself and the young cultivator.

Then Chen Qiaoqian said coldly, "Senior Brother Zhao, we are not very familiar with each other. It is inappropriate for you to address me as your junior sister. Please do not use it again."

He then secretly transmitted his voice to Zhou Qing, saying, "This person is Zhao Jianming from the Huayi Sect of the Nine Kingdoms Alliance. His cultivation level is mid-Foundation Establishment. He has been pestering me for a long time, and even after I have rejected him many times, he still won't give up. Ignore him!"

Zhou Qing naturally understood and continued to observe quietly from the sidelines.

Upon hearing Chen Qiaoqian's cold words, Zhao Jianming frowned slightly, and his gentle smile instantly froze.

He wouldn't argue with Chen Qiaoqian in public, so he turned his attention to Zhou Qing.

He had already assessed Zhou Qing's cultivation level, which was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

He was still feeling ashamed and angry because Chen Qiaoqian had embarrassed him in front of everyone, and he was thinking of taking it out on Zhou Qing.

"And who is this junior brother?" Zhao Jianming asked in a feignedly polite manner.

"Zhou Qing of the Luoyun Sect." Zhou Qing replied calmly, his expression unchanging.

He had absolutely no interest in saying anything more to this seemingly polite but inwardly narrow-minded and selfish guy.

He had already formed a bad impression of Zhao Jianming from his actions and unfriendly gaze when he used his divine sense to observe him.

"So it's Junior Brother Zhou from the Falling Clouds Sect of the Heavenly Dao Alliance." Zhao Jianming chuckled, and seeing that Zhou Qing wasn't from the Nine Kingdoms Alliance, he cared even less.

He then deliberately said, "I just saw a junior sister in the trade fair venue. She also said she was from the Luoyun Sect. Perhaps she is someone you know."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow. He was already wary of this person, so he didn't immediately respond, but simply glanced at him indifferently.

At this moment, Zhao Jianming's eyes also turned to Zhou Qing with a smile, a sinister glint in his mouth, and a strange glint in his eyes.

The moment their eyes met, Zhou Qing felt the scenery before him change drastically, as if he had fallen into an endless hell. He heard the howls of vengeful ghosts and the mournful cries of the dead, and his mind was about to break down!

But the next moment, Zhou Qing's Heavenly Valley Inner Landscape Sutra started operating on its own, his mind immediately became clear, and the illusion and mystery in front of him vanished in an instant.

"It's an illusion!"

Zhou Qing immediately reacted, his eyes suddenly turning cold. He activated the Heavenly Valley Inner Landscape Scripture, his divine sense suddenly strengthening, and stared directly at Zhao Jianming.

Zhao Jianming originally intended to take advantage of Zhou Qing's distraction and use illusion magic to directly intimidate Zhou Qing.

Although this illusion cannot harm the physical body, it can affect the mind of the person affected, making them restless and unsettled.

If Zhou Qing is unable to break free from the attack in a short period of time, his mind and spirit will be severely damaged due to the prolonged impact, which will have a huge negative impact on his future cultivation.

Its insidious nature is self-evident.

However, despite all his calculations, he never expected Zhou Qing's spiritual technique to be so profound, breaking through his illusion in an instant. This shocked Zhao Jianming, and he even felt a slight fear of Zhou Qing in his heart.

Seeing that things were not going well, Zhao Jianming hurriedly tried to look away and forcibly cut off the illusion, but found that he could not do it at all.

It turns out that he had only recently begun practicing this illusion technique and had not yet fully mastered it. He had only used it forcibly in order to harm Zhou Qing.

The next moment, Zhao Jianming's figure suddenly swayed. His mind was already shaken, and suddenly everything went black before his eyes. He heard eerie ghostly sounds and realized that he had been suddenly attacked by his own illusion.

With a "pfft," Zhao Jianming spat out a mouthful of blood. He lost his footing, his legs went weak, and he staggered back several steps, crashing heavily into the pillar behind him.

Perhaps the intense pain of the impact jolted Zhao Jianming out of his chaotic mind, or perhaps he finally managed to forcefully sever the illusion, and the backlash from Zhao Jianming's cultivation technique came to an abrupt end.

Zhou Qing could tell that although Zhao Jianming hadn't fainted on the spot, he was definitely seriously injured. Without five to ten years of recovery, he wouldn't be able to advance his cultivation any further.

Zhao Jianming snapped out of his daze, hurriedly grabbed a pillar to steady himself, his face ashen, and he was filled with lingering fear.

"Hmph! Fellow Daoist Zhao, it's best not to resort to such underhanded tricks lightly. If you attack without provocation, next time the consequences won't be as simple as a backlash from your own techniques!"

Zhou Qing snorted coldly, his gaze falling icyly on Zhao Jianming. After uttering a single sentence, he turned and left.

He was filled with rage. He had only come to attend a trade fair, yet he had encountered such a treacherous and venomous person.

If this place were not a strategically important location in Tiantai Valley, and if he could avoid revealing the inner workings of Tiantai Valley, even though Zhao Jianming had already learned a considerable lesson, he would never have allowed this person to continue living in the world, and would have certainly exterminated him!

Meanwhile, Chen Qiaoqian glanced at the disheveled Zhao Jianming, a hint of surprise flashing through her mind, and quickly followed Zhou Qing.

At this moment, she was unaware of the details and could only vaguely guess, based on the previous events, that there might have been a secret contest between Zhou Qing and Zhao Jianming.

However, what she didn't expect was that Zhao Jianming suffered a crushing defeat in this secret contest.

For the first time, she felt she couldn't see through the junior brother in front of her.

"Is he really only good at alchemy?" Chen Qiaoqian wondered.

Only after Zhou Qing and Chen Qiaoqian disappeared from sight did Zhao Jianming dare to reveal his resentful gaze. Under the strange looks of those around him, he stumbled away from the place.