Yao Yao had recommended he go to the mountain near the middle of the Domain, telling him that there was something potentially very valuable to his Cultivation there, along with a dear friend of hers called Tuntun.
Apparently, he was a Genesis Beast of some sort, a very feisty one at that. He was supposedly with Yao Yao most of the time, which was surprising since he hadn't met him yet.
Perhaps he was off hunting when Julong was around?
The mountain wasn't difficult to find in the slightest. Along with being in the centre of the Domain, it was also the largest mountain in the whole mystical land. Though he did feel a little lied to as he approached the mountain. It seemed like more of a cultish volcano if he was honest.
It quite literally had over a dozen Grade 4 Genesis Beasts who were all worshipping a small yellow dog-like creature who was sitting on a stone throne picking his took with a bone.
As he landed on top of the mountain he could sense there was definitely something special about it. Thanks to his Ancestral Dragon Spirit, he was able to determine that it was the famous Golden Pool of the Domain. It wasn't hidden very, it was just very well guarded which was why no one had claimed its blessings yet. Though that wasn't the only thing he determined. He determined that these Genesis Beasts were not friendly.
They were just about to jump at him when the small yellow dog on the throne growled, signalling them off. It looked at him with a sense of familiarity.
Why did Julong get the feeling that this was the friend that Yao Yao had spoken of?
"Are you Tuntun?"
It nodded its head sceptically.
Of course...
"Yao Yao said you would be here."
At the mention of Yao Yao, despite never hearing the name, he seemed to brighten up, knowing exactly who he was talking about.
He shook his head at the little Beasts behaviour. What a weird creature.
It jumped up onto his shoulder, almost like he was expecting to hear news of her.
"I'm sure you want to hear of Yao Yao, right?"
It only nodded in response to his question.
"To put it bluntly, she was ambushed by 6 people and injured."
He clenched his fist as he spoke, also feeling anger emanating from the creature on his shoulder.
"Luckily I got there before they could do anything more. I would have killed them had they not used some token to escape. They should still be gravely wounded from my onslaught."
Tuntun seemed to give an approving nod toward Julong and his story.
"Other than that, she told me to come here for the Golden Pools blessings to aid in my Cultivation."
Tuntun gave a small growl of understanding, jumping off his shoulder and waving his paw, telling him to follow.
Huh... Intelligent.
Tuntun led him through a path in the mountains they were on. It was an upwards route, filled with sharp twists and turns. Despite the long travel, eventually, they ended up at a pool filled with gold liquid.
Before any action could proceed, he looked at Julong with a face as if to say, 'I wouldn't usually do this...'
"Is there something familiar about me, perhaps?"
It nodded.
"I had a feeling you weren't generally this nice to people."
It shook its' head.
Yeah, he could read this little creature like a book.
Taking his robes off, he quickly got inside of the pool, followed by a small splash from Tuntun who swam up beside him and began relaxing.
"This pool is incredible. I can feel my Qi Dwelling growing at an incredible rate. My Qi is even getting stronger too."
He nodded and gave Julong a look of, 'Imagine only just finding that out now, loser."
Yeah. While he was supposedly being nicer to Julong, he was still an annoying little critter.
"Well excuse me as I begin."
He didn't wait for a response from Tuntun, immediately diving into the middle and swimming to the bottom.
As he reached the bottom of the pool he spotted something. It was a broken piece of a tablet.
A Saint Rune Tablet?
Julong had no desire to go touch it. He had no intention of staying in the Cangxuan Heaven eternally after all. Taking a Saint Rune would benefit him in the present, it would not in the future thanks to the obligations associated with them and the fact that people who had the other Saint Runes would eventually come after him. It would be better suited to Zhou Yuan who would be more willing to take on such a responsibility for the Heaven. Julong wasn't even from the Cangxuan Heaven after all.
Instead of pondering on it, he ignored the fragment completely, closing his eyes and beginning his Cultivation.
He could immediately feel the exponential expanse of his Qi Dwelling. He was looking forward to seeing how much progress he would make.
After about a week of Cultivating at the bottom of the Golden Pool, using Genesis Qi to assist with his breathing, he could feel a Perfect Breakthrough into the Advanced stage coming on. Quicker than expected it washed over him, creating an undulation of Qi in the pool, which he revelled in.
That's when he felt a poke on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked around, finally spotting Tuntun after a few seconds. He had a troubled look on his face, it was a look that was telling Julong to follow. So he nodded at the small Genesis Beast, accepting his request. Taking a small break from Cultivation after a breakthrough was healthy after all.
Once out, Tuntun lead him back to where he had originally stepped foot on the mountain. In the distance, there was a multitude of figures. Most of them were rather powerful. It seemed as though Tuntun wanted his help in defending the mountain.
Well, it was the least he could do after having been allowed into the Golden Pool.
The two watched as the figures got closer. As they did, it was more easily seen to be a chase of sorts, and the ones being chased were of course none other than Zhou Yuan and Lu Luo. They had another white haired person with them, but that was unimportant because he could finally distinguish who it was that was chasing them.
Wu Huang and Ye Ming!