Just like that, Zhang Qing shuttled through various Qi of Chaos clouds, specifically seeking out those dense with chaotic energy to absorb. Time has no meaning in the chaos, and after an unknown period, Zhang Qing never encountered another chaotic being. At this moment, he was happily absorbing energy inside a large Qi cloud, controlling his sword form.
Suddenly, he felt the sword body vibrate, emitting a crisp, clear chime. The sword grew as translucent as jade, and a powerful aura emanated from it, dispersing the surrounding Qi of Chaos. Zhang Qing figured that if he were to fight those two he encountered initially right now, he would definitely win.
With this substantial increase in strength, he finally possessed a tiny bit of self-preservation ability. One must know that after that mighty deity cleaved the chaos to form the Primordial World, various figures with immense magical powers would emerge endlessly. Leaving aside the legendary Dao Ancestor Hongjun, even those who later achieved sagehood were each tougher than the last.
For the sake of his little life, he had better obediently absorb the Qi of Chaos and cultivate. Once the heavens were opened, there would no longer be such a favorable environment; by then, the Qi of Chaos would turn into Primordial Spiritual Qi, a grade significantly lower than before. To survive well in a realm where Golden Immortals walked everywhere and Daluos were as common as dogs, clinging to a powerful patron was one aspect, but personal strength was far more important.
Thus, Zhang Qing buried himself in hard work again. Whenever he grew tired of cultivating, he would fly around. It was said that treasures were numerous in the chaos, but why had he never encountered a single one? Forget about those famous treasures; he hadn't even found a single formed one. They were all liars indeed.
Anyway, time was abundant now, and Zhang Qing was not in a rush, so a sword darting around erratically appeared within the chaotic space. Wherever it passed, it churned the masses of Qi of Chaos, sending them scattering and surging everywhere. One day, as Zhang Qing was flying out of boredom, a burst of firelight suddenly erupted from his body, beyond his control.
"What's going on? Could that fire not have been fully absorbed? Has it reignited from the ashes? That shouldn't be right either... I don't feel any scorching heat, but rather a warm, cozy sensation." A flame-specific aura flowed through the sword body, entirely outside his control. Zhang Qing couldn't figure out the reason. Since there was nothing amiss for the moment and he couldn't expel it, he had no choice but to leave it be for now.
Yet having a force inside his body beyond his control was ultimately no good thing. Therefore, in the days to come, Zhang Qing added a new task: trying to control that warm current of flame. First, he attempted to control it a sliver at a time, carefully capturing a thread of it and slowly refining it. But despite its usual gentleness, the moment he tried to control it, this energy would instantly become violently explosive.
Judging by this appearance, he had to refine it as soon as possible. A single thread of energy was already this "temperamental"; if the whole thing ever rebelled one day, wouldn't he be completely doomed? Zhang Qing worriedly thought.
He had to figure out a way. Wasn't it explosive? Wasn't it untouchable? Then he would surround it! Thus, Zhang Qing tried to slowly draw out a thread of fiery energy, controlling the Qi of Chaos within his body to surround it, leaving not the slightest gap, closing in little by little. As time passed, this thread of fire was finally refined by him.
Zhang Qing was instantly overjoyed. With the first thread, could the second be far behind? Just like that, Zhang Qing tirelessly chipped away, little by little, at this suddenly reignited flame force.
It seemed that back then he had only preliminarily absorbed it without completely refining it. Unbeknownst to him, time passed. Once more than half of the flame force was refined, the subsequent refining speed gradually picked up, and he believed it wouldn't be long before this hidden trouble was thoroughly resolved.
While refining the flame force and absorbing the Qi of Chaos, he had just finished absorbing a mass of Qi of Chaos one day and was thinking of switching to a slightly larger cloud. He thus manipulated the sword body, rapidly darting through the chaotic space.
Suddenly, his path was blocked by a huge tree. If not for Zhang Qing's quick braking, he definitely would have crashed straight into it. He had finally discovered a physical object again! Ever since those two perished together, this was the first thing with a physical form, though he didn't know if it had consciousness.
Zhang Qing cautiously retreated, wanting to move further away to take in the full appearance of this tree. But the moment he moved, the tree actually shrank on its own, and in a short while, it turned into something resembling a staff. "So it's not a tree? This is a staff?" Zhang Qing wondered aloud.
"I am not a staff, but the staff is me," a stiff thought was transmitted from the staff. Zhang Qing was startled; it actually had consciousness and could even communicate, and its temper didn't seem all that violent. Thus, he tried to send out a thought: "I am Zhang Qing, how should I address you, Daoist friend?"
The staff spun around for a bit, and suddenly, a green figure appeared from behind it. Its hair was green, its eyebrows were green, even its beard was green; it wore a green Daoist robe and reached out to grasp the staff.
Zhang Qing was so frightened that he retreated far away. At this moment, the figure transmitted another thought: "Greetings, Daoist friend. I am the Law of Life, styling myself Daoist Lingmu. I observe that Daoist friend is of the body of a chaotic sword spirit, and actually contains the Law of Fire within your body as well. It is quite bizarre."
"The Law of Fire? Could it be that flame force inside my own body?" Zhang Qing thought to himself. It was rare to run into an "indigenous" being he could communicate with; he needed to hurry and ask for guidance. He immediately asked: "This was a ball of fire I accidentally sucked into my body while watching a red figure and a black figure fight each other. May I ask Daoist Lingmu, what other laws exist within this chaotic space?"
Daoist Lingmu was silent for a moment before replying: "As far as I know, there is the Law of Might, the Law of Time, the Law of Space, the Law of Chaos, the Law of Immortal Dao, the Law of Life, the Law of Five Elements, the Law of Yin and Yang, and the Law of Destruction. I am the Law of Life among them, and the flame absorbed by Daoist friend is the Law of Fire from the Five Elements."
Zhang Qing was stunned upon hearing this. He hadn't expected there to be so many concepts, and this was just what Daoist Lingmu of the Law of Life knew; there should be quite a few more he wasn't aware of. He never expected the flame he inadvertently absorbed to actually be the Law of Fire, which sounded rather formidable.
"Then how should one control this power of the law?" Zhang Qing asked again. "Unknown. I was born with the ability to control the power of my own law, so I cannot tell Daoist friend. However, seeing that Daoist friend has already refined more than half of it, just continue refining and you will naturally know in due time," Daoist Lingmu replied.
"Many thanks, Daoist friend. Can we travel together from now on? In this vast chaos, it is not easy to encounter someone with whom one can communicate." Following Daoist Lingmu's phrasing, Zhang Qing also addressed him as a Daoist friend.
After a good long while, Daoist Lingmu transmitted a thought: "My true form is transformed from a spiritual tree, and Daoist friend harbors the Law of Fire, which are naturally mutually restraining. Therefore, I cannot travel with Daoist friend." Without waiting for Zhang Qing to react, a green flash vanished in an instant, fast beyond imagination.
It seemed this person's cultivation realm was much higher than Zhang Qing's. Only then did he feel a lingering fear. Although fire restrains wood, when the disparity in cultivation realm was too vast, it was hard to say who restrained whom. Fortunately, this was an owner of the Law of Life and wasn't so violent; otherwise, it truly would have been dangerous.