Within the immortal mountain, two spiritual apes and two red-crowned cranes were quite extraordinary. While Zhang Qing was cultivating, they would from time to time bring him spiritual herbs and fruits, brimming with innate intelligence. One day, Zhang Qing suddenly felt that being completely alone was rather dull, with no one to converse with, so he decided to take in a few attendants on his domain.
Thus, he summoned the two spiritual apes and two red-crowned cranes, awakened their spiritual wisdom, refined the transverse bones in their throats, and transformed them into attendants of about fifteen or sixteen years of age. Upon taking human form, they immediately reached the Earth Immortal Realm. The spiritual apes consisted of one male and one female, and the red-crowned cranes were likewise a male and a female, all to serve at his beck and call. Delighted, the four attendants fell to their knees, kowtowed, and repeatedly addressed him as "Master" to express their gratitude for his enlightenment.
Hearing this, Zhang Qing burst into hearty laughter and quickly said, "Very well, very well. You are innate beings of this Primordial World, and your original forms are apes. From now on, you shall be called Yuan Ren, and you shall be called Yuan Ling." As he spoke, Zhang Qing pointed respectively at the two attendants transformed from the spiritual apes. Then, turning to the crane attendants, he said, "Your original forms are red-crowned cranes. From now on, you shall be called Heming, and you shall be called Hewu."
Overjoyed, the two once again kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Master, for bestowing our names." "There is no need to kneel at every turn from now on; simply keep respect in your hearts. Cultivate diligently and strive to reach the Celestial Immortal Realm as soon as possible. Today, I shall preach the Dao to all the living beings on the island, and you shall listen together." The four attendants bowed and said, "We obey your command, Master."
Then, Zhang Qing's voice echoed throughout the entire Fangzhang immortal mountain: "Tomorrow, I shall preach the Dao here. All those who possess intent may come and listen." Every conscious living being throughout the Fangzhang immortal mountain instantly surged with excitement, rushing in twos and threes toward the place whence the voice came.
For the following year, Zhang Qing sorted through his insights while preaching the Dao to the living beings on the island. What he lectured on were the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of Fire, which he understood most profoundly. Although there were no falling heavenly blossoms or golden lotuses springing from the ground, it still left the island's inhabitants overjoyed. Zhang Qing himself also reaped immense benefits; cultivating on one's own and preaching to others were entirely different matters.
After finishing his discourse on the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of Fire, Zhang Qing briefly considered lecturing on the "Dao De Jing," but quickly dismissed the thought. Firstly, his own understanding was still insufficient, and secondly, he feared the backlash of Karma would be too great, as he could not afford to provoke that figure in the Zixiao Palace later on.
When the preaching concluded, the living beings on the island each returned to their respective places to cultivate. Growing restless after such a long period of tranquility, Zhang Qing felt a stirring desire to venture out and witness the Primordial World for himself, wondering what the situation was like beyond. He summoned the four attendants and said, "Today, I intend to go out on a journey. The four of you shall guard the mountain gate." The four attendants bowed in unison and agreed.
With a single flash, Zhang Qing appeared outside of Fangzhang. He felt the air thick with moisture and permeated with spiritual Qi. In the East Sea, mountain-sized monstrous fish chased after one another, and in the distance came wave upon wave of dragon roars. Zhang Qing used concealment to approach and take a look, only to find a hundred-meter-long Black Dragon engaged in a fierce battle with a giant, fire-engulfed bird.
This left Zhang Qing slightly stunned. How did this fire bird end up in the ocean? As he pondered this, he suddenly heard the fire bird cry out, "You black swamp-eel, how utterly discourteous! I am a fire eagle under the command of the exalted Yuanfeng, dispatched on a mission to invite your Dragon King to discuss matters of importance, yet you actually attempted to devour me."
The Black Dragon also spoke up, letting out a cackling laugh: "Gagagaga, since I cannot catch a phoenix, I suppose I'll just have to settle for making a light snack out of you, feathered creature!" With that, it lunged straight at the fire eagle. Before long, only a few burning feathers drifted down onto the water's surface as the massive fire eagle was swallowed whole by the Black Dragon.
This spectacle left Zhang Qing clicking his tongue in amazement. True to its reputation, the Primordial World was indeed utterly chaotic. After consuming the fire eagle, the Black Dragon actually sat down right there to cultivate, blocking Zhang Qing's path. It was only during this cultivation that Zhang Qing saw clearly that the Black Dragon was merely at the Golden Immortal Realm. Was he not currently in need of a mount? Striding across a Black Dragon to travel through the Primordial World sounded like a rather fine choice.
Thus, he materialized before the Black Dragon and pressed a palm directly onto the center of its head, channeling his Daluo Golden Immortal Realm Divine Sense surging massively into the colossal dragon skull.
The Black Dragon was in the midst of digesting the fire eagle it had just swallowed and never expected to fall victim to Zhang Qing's stealthy move. By the time it wanted to resist, it was already too late, for Zhang Qing's brand had already been planted deep within its Divine Sense.
Unless its cultivation level surpassed that of Zhang Qing, it would never harbor any thoughts of rebellion for the rest of its life. It could only consider itself unlucky; originally, there were no other cultivators in this vicinity and it should have been quite safe, yet who could have known it would be subdued with a single palm strike by the abruptly appearing Zhang Qing.
Zhang Qing vaulted up and sat cross-legged between the dragon's two horns. The massive dragon head was roughly the size of a room, more than spacious enough for Zhang Qing to sit upon. Sensing Zhang Qing settling atop its head, the Black Dragon irritably shook its massive head, only to quiet down obediently after receiving another slap from Zhang Qing.
"I am Daoist Qingling, the master of this Fangzhang immortal mountain. From now on, you shall serve as my mount. Come, take me on a tour of the mainland," he said, giving the Black Dragon's huge head a pat. Powerless to refuse, the Black Dragon let out a resonant roar, wrapped itself in a bank of clouds and mist, and flew toward the mainland.
Indeed, this was far more comfortable than flying by oneself. Across the boundless sea, there was little scenery worth gazing at, so he sat upon the dragon's head with his eyes closed to cultivate. The Black Dragon could sense wave after wave of Taiyi Golden Immortal pressure bearing down from above, which startled it so profoundly that it flew even faster.
He knew not how long he had spent cultivating when a dragon roar finally roused Zhang Qing from his meditation. "What are you roaring for? It's not as though you cannot speak," Zhang Qing said, slapping the dragon's head once more. The Black Dragon aggrievedly muttered, "I'm just used to it, that's all... Um, Master, we have reached the mainland."
Having just been subjugated, and possessing the cultivation of a Golden Immortal, the Black Dragon still uttered the word "Master" with palpable reluctance. Zhang Qing paid it no mind, focusing his vision to survey the surroundings. Everywhere he looked stood lush, towering trees, with dozens of meters in height being a common sight. Various beasts darted through the forest; though their cultivation levels were not exceptionally high, every single one possessed a tremendously robust physical body.
Aviation predators soared through the air from time to time, unfolding wings that spanned a dozen meters, while the larger ones measured scores or even hundreds of meters across. Some of them even possessed the cultivation of Golden Immortals—goodness gracious, the Primordial World truly lived up to its legendary reputation.
Not wishing to invite unnecessary trouble, Zhang Qing unleashed his full Taiyi Realm cultivation to deter the restless, giant monsters lurking in the surroundings. He patted the Black Dragon's head and bade it continue flying forward.
After soaring over a mountain towering a thousand zhang high, they entered a vast plain. On the plain stood several strange beasts with sheep-like heads, wolf-like hooves, and multicolored coats. They stood roughly a zhang tall, with bodies resembling musk deer, tails like that of an ox, dragon scales, and a single horn upon their heads. "Eh? Why does this appearance look so familiar? Aren't these practically identical to the Qilin depicted in New Year pictures?" Zhang Qing thought to himself.
Accordingly, he asked the Black Dragon, "What kind of strange beasts are those down below?" Glancing downward, the Black Dragon looked puzzled and replied, "Does Master not recognize the Qilin? These four-legged beasts are thoroughly obnoxious. The beasts of our East Sea generally do not come onto the mainland, or else they will be hunted down and killed by them."
In later eras, the Qilin were regarded as auspicious beasts; why did they sound so ferocious here? Coupled with what the fire eagle—which had previously fought the Black Dragon—had said about "Yuanfeng," could it be that they were still living in the era of the Dragons and Phoenixes?
That must be the case. Therefore, he asked again, "Which clan leader currently rules your Dragon Clan?" The Black Dragon answered, "Replying to Master, the Ancestor Dragon currently leads the Dragon Clan. The Dragon Clan is divided into Black Dragons, White Dragons, Golden Dragons, Yellow Dragons, and others, among whom the Ancestor Dragon belongs to the Golden Dragon clan, followed by the White Dragons. We Black Dragons are the least favored within the Dragon Clan, which is why I was out hunting alone when I happened to encounter Master."