Chapter 142: White Airflow

By a stream, deep within a mountain range.

Zhou Yuan squatted by the stream and drank a few sips of water. More than half a day had passed since he encountered Wu Huang, and during that time, Zhou Yuan had traveled at full speed without any pause. Even he was beginning to feel exhausted from such intense travel.

"But now, I should have shaken off that guy," Zhou Yuan said, wiping the water droplets from the corners of his mouth. His eyes narrowed slightly with a sharp glint.

He didn't consider it shameful to escape from Wu Huang now, as the latter's strength was indeed far superior to his, a superiority gained through various circumstances. What he needed to do now was to do everything possible to narrow the gap between them, rather than fighting desperately when he knew he was outmatched. That wouldn't be bravery, but reckless foolishness.

One's path is rarely smooth; sometimes, patience and endurance are necessary. But that isn't weakness; it's like a spring. When it recoils, it's not out of fear, but because it's preparing and accumulating power to unleash its strongest force. The Saint Remains Domain was vast and full of opportunities. This was Zhou Yuan's chance; as long as he could seize some of these opportunities, he could strengthen himself until he could truly contend with Wu Huang. At that point, Zhou Yuan would naturally not have any thought of retreating.

"I wonder how Yaoyao and the others are doing..." Zhou Yuan stood up and looked around. The Saint Remains Domain was too vast, so he didn't know how to find them.

As Zhou Yuan's gaze swept across the area, his eyes suddenly stopped. He saw a massive black beast emerge from the forest ahead of the stream, its beastly eyes fixed intently on him. The black behemoth resembled a lion, but its tail burned with black flames, and flames also surged between its large jaws.

"A Heaven Gate stage middle-level strength..." Zhou Yuan was slightly surprised to see this black lion. It must be a Genesis Beast from the Saint Remains Domain, and its strength was quite good.

"Looks like I'm the prey again."

Zhou Yuan smiled, then drew the Heavenly Yuan Brush from his waist. It rapidly expanded, its snow-white bristles converging into a sharp spear tip. He raised the spear tip, pointing it at the flaming black lion.

"I've been chased so far; I'll use you to vent some frustration."

The flaming black lion sensed Zhou Yuan's provocation and immediately let out a roar. The next instant, it swiftly transformed into a black streak, shooting forward, its sharp claws tearing through the air as it fiercely swiped down at Zhou Yuan.

Dark golden Genesis Qi burst forth from Zhou Yuan's body. The Heavenly Yuan Brush vibrated slightly, and a deep azure light condensed at its tip, exuding an incredibly sharp aura.

"Profound Ray Art."

Zhou Yuan pushed off with his toes, his figure suddenly shooting forward. The two figures intersected above the stream. The flaming black lion's sharp claws raked across Zhou Yuan's shoulder, but instead of drawing blood, sparks flew. Azure scales had appeared on his skin. And as the flaming black lion's claws swept past Zhou Yuan's shoulder, the flickering azure light from his brush tip simultaneously pierced the beast's throat.

Blood splattered.

Zhou Yuan's figure moved past the flaming black lion, but the latter's massive body crashed to the ground. Zhou Yuan turned to look at the fallen flaming black lion and suddenly paused, seeing a faint wisp of white airflow rising from its corpse. The white airflow drifted towards Zhou Yuan, then split into two: half flowed towards him, and the other half moved towards the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand.

Zhou Yuan watched the wisp of white airflow cautiously. He sensed it with his spirit, but detected no danger. Instead, he felt that this wisp of white airflow contained incredibly pure Genesis Qi. Its purity was far greater than the Genesis Qi found in the world.

"What's going on?" Zhou Yuan's eyes were filled with surprise and doubt. After a moment of hesitation, he cautiously absorbed that extremely pure wisp of Genesis Qi into his body. As soon as the Genesis Qi entered his body, it flowed along his eight meridians, finally pouring directly into his Qi Mansion and transforming into a trace of All-Heaven Profound Python Qi.

The process was so smooth it encountered no obstruction whatsoever, even smoother than his usual cultivation. Furthermore, it was far more efficient. According to Zhou Yuan's estimation, that single wisp likely provided the same effect as nearly an hour of his normal cultivation.

"Why do the Genesis Beasts in this Saint Remains Domain possess such pure Genesis Qi?" Zhou Yuan muttered. His eyes flickered, and after a while, he seemed to have guessed something.

"This Saint Remains Domain was formed from a Saint's sacred blood, and these Genesis Beasts within it must be the same. Therefore, they all possess an extremely pure wisp of Genesis Qi, which likely originates from that fallen Saint. Only this can explain why such a tiny wisp can yield such a significant cultivation effect."

Zhou Yuan's eyes grew brighter. If this were true, then hunting Genesis Beasts in the Saint Remains Domain would be an extremely efficient method of cultivation.

Moreover...

He looked down at the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand. After absorbing that wisp of white airflow, the third ancient Genesis Rune on the brush's mottled body had become even brighter. Clearly, absorbing that white airflow also greatly benefited the Heavenly Yuan Brush. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before the Heavenly Yuan Brush's third Genesis Rune awakened, and its quality would very likely reach the level of a High-Grade Profound Genesis Weapon. Of course, most importantly, each time a Genesis Rune awakened, the Heavenly Yuan Brush would gain a new ability, which would be a great help in boosting Zhou Yuan's combat power. Now, to gain the strength to contend with Wu Huang, he had to improve his combat power from every possible angle.

"As expected of the Saint Remains Domain."

Zhou Yuan sighed, his eyes gradually becoming fervent. He knew that this matter would likely soon be discovered by all the chosen ones who had entered the Saint Remains Domain, and then the competition would intensify.

"So, while I have the chance, I should act quickly!"

Zhou Yuan gripped the Heavenly Yuan Brush, gazing at the deep mountains before him, from which faint beast roars emanated. Without hesitation, he moved, transforming into a shadow as he dashed in. Zhou Yuan's intrusion shattered the tranquility of this mountain range. Most of the Genesis Beasts within the mountains were around Grade 3, comparable to the Heaven Gate stage, a level Zhou Yuan could handle.

In just a single day, Zhou Yuan ventured deep into the mountain range, only encountering an obstacle when he reached this point. Deep within the mountains, Zhou Yuan looked at the golden ape, ten zhang tall, before him. The ape let out a deafening roar, but Zhou Yuan's gaze at it was extremely peculiar. The ape's strength had reached the peak of Grade 3, comparable to the late Heaven Gate stage. However, what truly astonished Zhou Yuan was not the golden ape's strength, but the fact that... this golden ape actually cultivated Genesis Arts! The last Genesis Beast he had seen cultivating Genesis Arts was Tun Tun. But Tun Tun was clearly extraordinary. Could it be that this golden ape before him was also like Tun Tun? Possessing an extraordinary bloodline?