Mortal: Starting by joining the Falling Cloud Sect

On the other side, Zhou Qing and Chen Qiaoqian walked one after the other and soon saw a simple and elegant pavilion.

Zhou Qing saw many cultivators walking in twos and threes, so it seemed that the venue for this trade fair was inside the pavilion.

He stopped, turned to Chen Qiaoqian, and asked in an extremely calm tone, "Senior Sister Chen, do you know where that Fellow Daoist Zhao is stationed?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qiaoqian's eyes narrowed, and she suddenly looked at Zhou Qing. Zhou Qing smiled calmly and met her gaze without any change in expression.

"That fellow Daoist Zhao just now tried to harm me with illusions, but he was unfamiliar with the technique and ended up being harmed by it, suffering serious injuries. It's common for such a villain to hold a grudge if he fails to harm me, so I always have to be careful around him."

Zhou Qing slowly recounted the illusion that had just occurred, and provided a reasonable explanation for it.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qiaoqian's expression changed slightly. She had only seen Zhao Jianming coughing up blood and looking disheveled, and guessed that the two might have had a secret contest. However, she did not expect that this person would be so vicious as to use illusion magic to ambush her on the spot. A sense of lingering fear immediately swept through her heart.

She hesitated for a moment, then replied softly, "Zhao Jianming is stationed near Tiantai Valley."

"Oh, that's certainly safe enough." Zhou Qing smiled coldly and replied indifferently.

Zhou Qing didn't say anything more after that, and it's unknown what he was thinking.

However, he was unaware that after learning of Zhao Jianming's despicable actions, Chen Qiaoqian had also begun plotting against him.

Although she hadn't known Zhou Qing for very long, she had already quietly come to regard him as a close friend.

She knew that Zhou Qing was in trouble because of her, so she couldn't stand idly by.

Moreover, in her opinion, since Zhao Jianming's death would benefit both her and Zhou Qing, it would be better for Zhao Jianming to die.

Although they had different motivations, they shared the same idea and entered the trade fair together.

Upon entering the venue, Zhou Qing was taken aback; it was more like a market than a trade fair.

Dozens of wooden tables made of huanghuali wood were densely arranged around the four sides of the venue.

The wooden table was covered with various items, including talismans, magical artifacts, and spirit ores.

Some wooden tables had very few items on them, while others had a lot of items on them, almost filling the entire table.

However, the quality of the items is still a factor. Some wooden tables had only a few items on them, yet they still managed to attract the attention of all the cultivators who passed by.

At this moment, several cultivators gathered around a wooden table very close to Zhou Qing, discussing a wooden escape talisman on the table.

"This is a free trading session before the official trade fair, a new addition in recent years. The main reason is that there are too many cultivators attending; it's impossible for every cultivator to go on stage and explain their needs at the trade fair. So, we allow cultivators to trade on their own for a period of time before the official start of the trade fair."

Chen Qiaoqian explained to Zhou Qing, then pointed to the room on the right side of the venue and continued, "Those who want to participate in the formal trade fair need to register there and go on stage in order later."

Immediately afterwards, Chen Qiaoqian led Zhou Qing into the room and gave them their names.

Back in the venue, Zhou Qing followed the flow of people and carefully examined the items on the wooden tables.

Sure enough, while these things were good, they were far from precious. If they were in Tiancheng, they could be bought in any large shop.

……

Fifteen minutes later, three monks in brocade robes came out of the house.

These three were the ones who had been recording the names of the cultivators who had taken the stage in the room. All three had the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage, and Zhou Qing had a vague feeling that their strength was unfathomable when he first entered.

Upon seeing the three brocade-clad cultivators, the cultivators in the venue who were not setting up stalls stepped aside, while those who were setting up stalls on wooden tables quickly packed them up and moved all the wooden tables to the far end of the venue.

Soon the entire venue was almost empty.

One of the brocade-clad cultivators stood in a corner of the venue, touched a mechanism, and then flew to the center of the venue with two other brocade-clad cultivators.

The ground of the venue suddenly began to shake, and then rose in concentric circles and layer upon layer, transforming the originally flat venue into a tiered grandstand.

In the center of the venue, a circular stone platform rose up, and three monks in brocade robes stood on it.

The stands were ready, and the cultivators in the venue took flight and each chose a seat.

As cultivators participating in the official trade fair, Zhou Qing and Chen Qiaoqian were allowed to sit in the first three rows, where the view was better and they were closer to the circular stone platform, making it easier to go up on stage.

One of the monks in brocade robes took out a bell-shaped magic artifact, tapped it lightly, and the sound of the bell reverberated in all directions, officially marking the start of the trade fair.

"This trade fair will still be hosted by the three of us from the Huayi Sect. A total of twenty-six fellow Daoists have signed up to come up on stage. I won't say anything more, so please welcome the first fellow Daoist to the stage."

The three monks in brocade robes left a stone table on the stage and then stepped down.

Soon after, a middle-aged male cultivator dressed in a moon-white robe leaped onto the stage.

At this moment, Chen Qiaoqian introduced the rules to Zhou Qing. Each cultivator who went on stage had to take out all the items that could be exchanged, and then announce the price and the items they wanted to exchange.

If a cultivator in the audience happens to have the corresponding item, the transaction can be completed on the spot.

On the other side, as soon as the middle-aged male cultivator stepped onto the stage, he quickly took off a storage bag from his waist and dumped all the items onto the stone table.

"One Flying Talisman, one Earth Escape Talisman, two Water Prison Talismans, two Golden Silk Talismans, two Firebird Talismans..."

This middle-aged male cultivator was quite interesting; almost everything he took out was a talisman, but these talismans were all of a high level, at least high-level beginner talismans.

However, Zhou Qing had no interest in these talismans at all, and what this person wanted to exchange was the hide of a level four demon beast, which could be said to be extremely rare.

Not only Zhou Qing didn't have any, but many Foundation Establishment cultivators present also remained silent, seemingly indicating that they didn't have any either.

After letting out a sigh, the middle-aged male cultivator put away all the talismans and prepared to leave the stage.

Just then, a cultivator in blue robes suddenly spoke up: "Fellow Daoist, are you interested in selling these talismans? I can offer a high price."

Just as the middle-aged male cultivator was about to reply, he heard the brocade-clad cultivator below the stage say, "If you are willing to purchase with spirit stones, please go down to the stage to complete the transaction."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged male cultivator said nothing more, stepped off the stage, and went to privately talk to the cultivator who was willing to pay a high price for his talisman.

As soon as the white-robed cultivator left, the next yellow-robed cultivator quickly stepped onto the stage.

However, he didn't reveal many things this time, only two: a Tianhua Stone and a Xinghua Fruit that was three hundred years old.

What I want to exchange is a bottle of foundation-strengthening pills suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage, which are pills that can increase magical power after consumption.

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Zhou Qing was familiar with both of these items.

Tianhua Stone is a material used to refine top-tier earth-attribute magic weapons, and can also be used to refine some earth-attribute magic treasures with less demanding requirements.

Starflower Fruit is one of the main ingredients for refining True Essence Pill.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, both are rare and precious treasures, and many cultivators present wanted to acquire them.

Unfortunately, the yellow-robed cultivator wanted to exchange for pills that could enhance magical power. Not to mention whether the many cultivators present had them, even if they did, they were unwilling to give them up in exchange.

In this border region, a bottle of mana-enhancing pills is extremely valuable. Zhou Qing didn't understand this when he first arrived in Tiantian City, but after living in this border region for a while, he fully realized it.

Many cultivators are hoping for a bottle of pills to help them break through the bottleneck that has been holding them back for years.