By a stream deep within a mountain.

Zhou Yuan squatted by the stream as he drank two mouthfuls of water. It had been half a day since he encountered Wu Huang. The former had most of the time travelling at full speed without stopping for a single break.

It was difficult for even Zhou Yuan to manage such a high pace.

"But I should now be free of him." Zhou Yuan wiped away the water at the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowing slightly as a fierce look flitted across them.

He did not feel that running away from Wu Huang was humiliating. The latter’s strength far surpassed his own, a lead that had arisen due to various reasons.

What he needed to do now was to shrink that gap with all his might, not fight to the death while knowing that he was clearly outclassed because that was not bravery, but foolishness.

One’s path cannot be smooth sailing forever, and there were times when it was essential to patiently bear with the situation. This was not weakness, but similar to a spring, shrinking back not due to fear, but in preparation for the moment when one would let loose the strongest blow.

The vast Saint Remains Domain was filled with opportunities, and this was where Zhou Yuan’s chance lay. He needed to grasp some of these opportunities and strengthen himself till he reached the level that allowed him to oppose Wu Huang.

When that time finally came, Zhou Yuan would naturally no longer harbor even the tiniest thought of retreating.

"I wonder how Yaoyao and the rest are doing..." Zhou Yuan stood up and swept his gaze about his surroundings. The Saint Remains Domain was just too huge, and he did not know how to find them.

While scanning the area, he eyes suddenly froze. He had seen a giant black beast walk out of the forests to his front, its beady beast eyes tightly glued to him.

The giant black beast looked like a lion, but a flame burned on its tail. Fire also raged within its enormous mouth.

"Mid Heaven Gate strength..." Zhou Yuan was a little amazed by the sight of the black lion. It was likely a Genesis Beast of the Saint Remains Domain and was pretty strong too.

"It seems that I’ve been categorized as prey again."

Zhou Yuan chuckled as his hand reached towards his waist and pulled out the Heavenly Yuan Brush. The brush swiftly expanded, its snow-white hairs twisting into a sharp spear tip.

He raised the tip of the brush and pointed at the blazing black lion.

"After being forced to flee for so long, I’ll be more than happy to use you as an outlet for my frustration."

Roar!

The blazing black lion roared in response to Zhou Yuan’s provocation. In a flash, it transformed into a blur of black as it dashed forward, its sharp claws tearing through the air, viciously slashing at Zhou Yuan.

Dark gold Genesis Qi exploded from Zhou Yuan’s body as the Heavenly Yuan Brush shivered slightly. Deep green light gathered at its tip, revealing an incomparable sharpness.

"Auraflare technique."

Zhou Yuan’s toes pushed off the ground as his body abruptly rocketed forward, and the two figures crossed above the stream.

The blazing black lion’s sharp claws slashed at Zhou Yuan’s shoulder, but instead of blood, all it could draw was sparks from the green scales that had appeared on his skin.

While the blazing black lion’s claws scraped across Zhou Yuan’s shoulders, the brush tip that pulsed with a green aura pierced the former’s throat.

Fresh blood spurted out like a fountain.

Zhou Yuan and the blazing black lion had exchanged places, but the latter’s enormous body soon crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Zhou Yuan turned around and looked at the fallen blazing black lion, only to be stunned. He had just caught sight of a wisp of faint white Qi rise from its corpse.

A string of white surged towards Zhou Yuan, splitting into two. One half homing in on Zhou Yuan, while the other swam towards the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand.

Zhou Yuan cautiously observed the strands of white Qi. His Spirit senses reached out, but did not detect any danger. Instead, he could feel extremely pure Genesis Qi contained within them.

It was even purer than the Genesis Qi here.

"What’s going on?" Confusion colored Zhou Yuan’s eyes. He hesitated for a few moments, before very carefully absorbing the strand of pure Genesis Qi.

Once it entered his body, it flowed through his eight meridian channels, before ultimately arriving in his Qi Dwelling where it was subsequently transformed into a sliver of Omin Python Qi.

This process was smooth, without a single hiccup occuring. So smooth that it was even more effortless than his usual training.

In addition, it was also more effective. The gains from that single strand from earlier was approximately equal nearly two hours of training.

Zhou Yuan mumbled to himself, "Why do the Genesis Beasts in the Saint Remains Domain possess such pure Genesis Qi?"

His gaze flickered in thought. It was a long time later before he arrived at a conclusion.

"The Saint Remains Domain originated from a Saint’s blood, and the same is likely true for these Genesis Beasts within it. That’s why their bodies contain extremely pure Genesis Qi, Genesis Qi that probably originated from the fallen Saint."

"Only then does it explain how such a tiny sliver can have such a huge effect on my cultivation."

Zhou Yuan’s eyes grew increasingly bright. If this conjecture was true, hunting Genesis Beasts in the Saint Remains Domain would be an extremely effective training method.

In addition...

He lowered his head and looked at the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand. After absorbing the strand of Genesis Qi from earlier, the third ancient rune on its mottled body had become a little brighter.

The absorption of the white Qi was clearly extremely beneficial to the Heavenly Yuan Brush.

At this rate, it would not be long before the third rune of the brush was awakened, and there was a high chance that it would reach the high grade Black tier level.

Most importantly, every awakened rune would bestow a new ability unto the brush, an ability that would surely become a powerful support to Zhou Yuan.

For the sake of gaining the power to contend against Wu Huang, the current Zhou Yuan needed to raise his battle power from every avenue possible.

"As expected of the Saint Remains Domain."

Zhou Yuan sighed as his gaze gradually filled with excitement and anticipation. He knew that this information would soon be known by all of the prided geniuses that had entered. When that happened, the competition would become much fiercer.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"I’ve gotta take advantage of this time to act!"

Zhou Yuan tightly gripped the Heavenly Yuan Brush and looked towards the mountains before him, from which the faint cries of beasts could be heard. No longer hesitating, his figure moved, transforming into a shadow that charged straight in.

Zhou Yuan’s entry broke the peace of the mountain. Majority of the Genesis Beasts here had the strength of grade 3, and were comparable to the Heaven Gate stage, making them very appropriate opponents for someone of his level.

It only took a day for Zhou Yuan to reach the deeper parts of the mountain where he finally encountered some resistance.

...

In the depths of the mountain.

Zhou Yuan eyes fell upon the over ten feet tall golden ape before him as it released a deafening roar. At this moment however, there was an extremely strange look in his gaze as his stared at the creature.

The latter’s strength had reached the peak of grade 3, and was comparable to an advance Heaven Gate practitioner.

But what made Zhou Yuan puzzled was not the golden ape’s strength, but the fact that... it actually knew a Genesis technique!

The last Genesis Beast he had seen using one was Tuntun.

But Tuntun was an extraordinary existence. Could it be? Did this golden ape possess a special bloodline like Tuntun?