After parting ways with Daoist Lingmu, Zhang Qing continued his wandering journey. After an unknown length of time, he suddenly noticed that the power of flames was no longer restless; he had completely refined it and thoroughly mastered the Law of Fire. Zhang Qing instantly felt a profound warmth wash over him, as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
A profound and mysterious sensation flooded into his consciousness, filled with all manner of fire-related incantations and techniques. Every single method flowed as smoothly as his own thoughts, readily available at his fingertips, becoming completely inseparable from him.
Happily, Zhang Qing shuttled back and forth among the clusters of the Qi of Chaos, venting his inner excitement. When he grew tired of playing, he continued to absorb the Qi of Chaos. Such a fine opportunity would be hard to find in the future, and there was no telling when that mighty figure wielding the Heaven-Opening axe might split it all apart.
At that time, the Qi of Chaos within the chaotic space would become exceptionally violent and no longer suitable for ordinary people to absorb. Cluster after cluster of the Qi of Chaos was absorbed at an increasingly rapid pace. A massive mass of the Qi of Chaos was pulled over by Zhang Qing and swallowed up completely in a single instant.
During this period, he did not encounter any other chaotic living beings. Zhang Qing practiced in a state of oblivious self-forgetfulness. However, suddenly one day, Zhang Qing discovered that no matter what he did, he could no longer take in even the slightest wisps of the Qi of Chaos. He was startled, but upon sensing his own condition, he realized he had already met the conditions for taking human form. Zhang Qing was overjoyed. Finally, he would no longer need to fly around carrying a sword on his head all day; for a long time, he had longed to be like Daoist Lingmu, possessing his own body—a true physical form.
Zhang Qing drew in a tremendous amount of chaotic energy, surrounding himself within it. First, to conceal himself, and second, because he would still need a vast amount of energy to consolidate his physical body after taking form. As time continuously passed, the surrounding Qi of Chaos suddenly contracted inward all at once, completely absorbed by the sword body.
With a loud crash, the sword body shattered into powder. Zhang Qing guarded his mind closely, recalling the appearance from his past life, and manipulated the shattered sword body, mixing it with the massive torrent of chaotic energy as it slowly condensed. When not a single trace of the Qi of Chaos could be seen in the surroundings anymore, a flawless physical body appeared in the void.
There stood a young man in his early twenties with tight muscles, graceful lines, and an aura bursting with explosive might. A cyan magic robe was conjured up by Zhang Qing, with a fiery red cloak draped over his shoulders, which Zhang Qing had condensed using the Law of Fire. "Ha ha ha ha, I, Zhang Qing, finally have my own body. From now on, I, Zhang Qing, shall style myself Daoist Qingling."
From then on, the first hearty laugh of Zhang Qing echoed through the chaotic space. With a body, he could once again absorb the Qi of Chaos, and his absorption rate was even faster than before. Sometimes, when he was too lazy to absorb them cluster by cluster, he would simply open his arms and sweep them across the surroundings, instantly drawing countless wisps of the Qi of Chaos toward him to form a giant egg around Zhang Qing. Thus, Zhang Qing sat cross-legged, closing his eyes in meditation.
As time elapsed, a massive amount of the Qi of Chaos was absorbed until one day, Zhang Qing opened his eyes. Sword flashes seemed to flicker within them, alongside dancing flames. Zhang Qing stood up and stretched lazily, a series of cracking pops echoing through his bones.
From the Law of Fire, he learned that the cultivation realms from lowest to highest were divided into: Qi Refinement Realm, True Immortal, Earth Immortal, Celestial Immortal, Mysterious Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, Daluo Golden Immortal, Quasi-Saint, Sage, Heavenly Dao, and Great Dao.
Through this round of cultivation, Zhang Qing had finally entered the ranks of the Taiyi Golden Immortal. His next goal was to achieve the realm of the Daluo Golden Immortal. Boundless heroic spirit welled up within Zhang Qing, and with a hearty laugh, he streaked away into the distance.
While wandering through the chaos, he searched for his own opportunities. Perhaps his luck had improved after taking form, as from time to time he would encounter various innate materials for alchemy and artifact crafting, as well as some spiritual fruits and spiritual roots. All of them were stowed away by Zhang Qing using the technique of Heaven and Earth in My Sleeve.
These would all become divine materials in the future, as finding them after the Primordial World would no longer be easy. Just like now, no sooner had Zhang Qing stowed a clump of chaotic fine gold into his sleeve than he suddenly sensed waves of fluctuations coming from ahead, scattering the Qi of Chaos in all directions. What had happened? Zhang Qing reached out to summon a mass of the Qi of Chaos, concealed himself within it, and drifted toward the source of the fluctuations.
The fluctuations grew increasingly intense, and he could faintly see a massive battle taking place ahead. Zhang Qing hurriedly halted his momentum, strained his eyes to look over, and saw a dense mass of chaotic living beings surrounding and attacking a muscle-bound giant.
The giant stood thousands of feet tall, wielding a massive axe. With every swing of his axe, tracing a profound and mysterious trajectory, a chaotic living being would be injured or perish.
As soon as one was struck down, another stepped up to take its place. The giant relentlessly hacked and slashed away. Those profound trajectories were caught in Zhang Qing's eyes and engraved in his heart. As he comprehended the trajectory of each axe strike, it felt like an initiation of divine enlightenment, and the techniques he had comprehended from the Law of Fire were instantly mastered in a flash of thorough understanding.
That horde of chaotic living beings seemed to be manipulated by someone, completely devoid of consciousness, knowing only how to swarm and attack. Zhang Qing felt a jolt of alarm, controlling the invisible clump of chaotic Qi to drift slowly backward.
Because the scene looked more and more familiar—could the giant wielding the giant axe in the middle be the very one who would later split open the chaos? Zhang Qing gave an involuntary shudder, his retreat becoming even more resolute. While observing the axe techniques was certainly important, saving his own little life was even more crucial.
As for these chaotic living beings surrounding him, they must have been deluded by the Great Dao and were being wiped out by that figure's hand; otherwise, how could there be any room left for acquired living beings after Heaven-Opening?
Watching the ever-gathering crowd of chaotic living beings rushing forward like moths to a flame, Zhang Qing shuddered once more. Everyone had gone mad here! They were too formidable to provoke; every single one of them possessed at least the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal.
As for the giant wielding the giant axe in the center, Zhang Qing could not discern his cultivation level—could he have already become a Sage? Zhang Qing muttered inwardly. Life was precious, so he had better slip away quickly. If he were discovered, Zhang Qing did not believe he could withstand a single axe blow. Moving faster and faster, the fluctuations behind him gradually grew fainter until they vanished entirely.
Only then did Zhang Qing wipe a non-existent cold sweat from his forehead. It was too terrifying! "Is this meant to wipe out all chaotic living beings at once? But that doesn't right—why wasn't I deluded? And what about the Demon Race's Luohuo and the master of the Law of Space, the Hollow Willow, passed down in later generations? Didn't they all come from within the chaos?"
It seemed not all chaotic living beings could be deluded. The reason they were not deluded might be because their cultivation levels were high. But what about himself? A mere Taiyi Golden Immortal—what sort of situation was this? He could not figure it out, but Zhang Qing knew he still was not far enough away. Therefore, unleashing his cultivation to the fullest, he sped away into the distance once more.
Who knew if those madmen might change battlefields as they fought? Who knew if they would immediately start Heaven-Opening after wiping out those living beings? That giant axe could cut open even the chaos with a single strike. If he stayed too close, he would not even know how he died when the time came.
He had no idea how long he had flown before the aura of the distant battle could no longer be sensed even in the slightest. Only then did Zhang Qing slow down. He needed to find some life-preserving items as soon as possible. Since that figure had already appeared, the Heaven-Opening must not be far off. Zhang Qing felt that relying solely on a cloak condensed from the Law of Fire draped across his back was not secure enough.
When Zhang Qing had gathered enough of the Essences of the Five Elements, he began his first artifact crafting. He wanted to forge a suit of battle armor for himself—a defensive battle armor. The Essences of the Five Elements drifted around him one by one. Zhang Qing stirred the Law of Fire, slowly melting them. True to their nature as divine materials of the chaos, it took him a very long time to refine them.