Chapter 2035: Reappearance of Beast Warriors

At their current location, the entire fleet wasn’t too far away from Shang Xia’s Dipper Star Formation.

Shang Xia had originally intended to borrow the help of the Dipper Star Formation to attempt a breakthrough and comprehend his martial intent. Unfortunately, it ended in failure.

Because of that, he had been forced to rely on formations and the power of their Stargazers to help him suppress the excess energy that was about to spiral out of control.

The power of the stars that spilled out from the Spirit Ark surrounded it, turning it into a giant light source in the void, as if a great star had been born.

On the nearby Star Ships of the Blizzard Pirates, any cultivator with a bit of common sense understood that it was a rare opportunity for all of them. They hurriedly tried to absorb and refine the excess energy that spilled out from the Spirit Ark to raise their cultivation.

Meanwhile, aboard the Spirit Ark, Tian Mengzi, who had just become a third tier True Immortal, smiled and said to Chu Jia, "Doesn’t this scene feel strangely familiar to you?"

Chu Jia nodded with a smile. "It reminds me of the breath of a Heavenly Field we encountered while passing through the cracks of the Star Curtain."

Tian Mengzi agreed. "Although even now we cannot fathom the methods of the Star Origin Lord back then, Sage Shang can clearly already be compared to him now."

Back then, the Star Origin Lord had not rebuilt his body but had instead tried to merge with and assimilate the Essence Ping World’s Will in order to open his path to the Martial Eternity Realm. Back then, he stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Martial Void Realm and commanded nearly the full power of the Essence Ping World.

Precisely because of that, and the remnants left behind by the Heaven Observation Sect, the Star Origin Lord had been able to seal and conceal the Heaven Observation Field.

Chu Jia did not continue the conversation, but the slight upward curve of her lips carried a proud smile.

After the brief episode, Yuan Qiuyuan and Chu Jia both returned to the large Star Ships of the Blizzard Pirates. The fleet soon set off again, their speed much faster.

But as the fleet left behind the outermost edge of the Chaotic Sea of Stars and plunged deeper into the boundless sea of stars, the accidents and risks they encountered grew ever greater.

Sudden void storms, twisted and shattered regions of space... Those were nothing out of the ordinary.

Asteroid collisions became constant, and there were storms so dense that the cultivators on board could not intercept them quickly enough.

In such circumstances, they could only rely on the defensive formation of each Star Ship. At times like that, the sturdiness of the formations modified by Chu Jia became obvious.

Not only were the barriers harder to break, but once damaged, they could recover or be repaired far more easily.

Even so, after long periods of enduring repeated impacts, some of the small and medium Star Ships’ defenses eventually collapsed completely from repeated shattering.

Fortunately, no lives were lost. Before the Star Ships became unsalvageable, their crews had already been transferred to other vessels.

Even so, the Blizzard Pirates, who had once commanded over 30 Star Ships, had their numbers reduced to 21, with no small ships remaining at all.

On one of the large Star Ships, after some time together, Cai Zhuifeng finally mustered the courage to ask Yuan Qiuyuan, who had just descended from the observation platform, "True Immortal Yuan, where exactly are we headed next?"

When Yuan Qiuyuan, who had been deep in thought, turned his gaze toward him, Cai Zhuifeng quickly added, "Of course, if it is not convenient, you need not say more."

Yuan Qiuyuan replied calmly, "There is nothing inconvenient about it. We have been tracking the traces of a rank seven bird emperor. We are preparing to hunt it down."

"Oh... Huh?!” Cai Zhuifeng’s reaction was delayed. The brief sense of reassurance at being given an answer was instantly overwhelmed by the shock of what it represented.

"Hunting... Your’re hunting a rank seven beast emperor?!"

One could hardly blame the chief of the Blizzard Pirates for his astonishment. He had truly never imagined that a rank seven beast emperor existed within the Chaotic Sea of Stars, and one that bore the title of a Sage.

If such a beast emperor existed, then surely other beast emperors must also exist.

Cai Zhuifeng immediately thought of the Giant Ape King aboard the Spirit Ark, seated only below Shang Xia, whose vast and overwhelming aura could make even a fifth tier True Immortal like him tremble.

Seeing that Yuan Qiuyuan was not so difficult to talk to, the pirate chief quickly seized the chance and asked, "Then the purpose of hunting the bird emperor is..."

Yuan Qiuyuan glanced at him and raised his eyebrow. "Naturally, it is to prepare for the Giant Ape King’s advancement to a rank seven Giant Ape Emperor! Haven’t you already met him?"

"Yes, yes, yes! So that’s it!” Cai Zhuifeng nodded rapidly, feigning sudden understanding. "So... spiritual beasts must kill higher-tier creatures in order to advance?"

Yuan Qiuyuan gave him a look, shook his head, and left without answering.

Meanwhile, on another large Star Ship, Cai Yingxue carefully said to Chu Jia, "True Immortal Chu, now that the fleet has no small Star Ships, I fear even some of the weaker medium Star Ships won’t hold out much longer. What do you think..."

Chu Jia waved her hand. "Don’t try to pry anything from me. It won’t be long before we reach our destination."

With that, she left before Cai Yingxue could ask more.

Fortunately, moments later, Cai Yingxue received a message from Cai Zhuifeng, who told her about the plan to hunt the rank seven bird emperor. To say the least, she was astonished. But just as she was about to return to her cabin to rest, she suddenly noticed the protection barrier of the lead large Star Ship blazing with radiance. It was a sign that its defenses had been pushed to the limit, which usually also meant a great crisis was upon them!

Cai Yingxue hurried to the bow. Before she could send a message to ask what had happened, she saw Chu Jia rushing out of the cabin she had just entered.

"There is a swarm of Star Beasts and Beast Warriors attacking the fleet!"

"Beast Warriors?" Cai Yingxue exclaimed, her expression full of shock.

Star Beast swarms were nothing unfamiliar to Star Pirates, many even took on bounties to hunt them down. But Beast Warriors were something different altogether.

In the Chaotic Sea of Stars, Beast Warriors were universally reviled. Their practice of fusing themselves with star beasts, and even spiritual beasts, violated the very nature of humanity and was loathed by all.

Yet their presence had always been extremely secretive, often hiding in remote worlds. Whenever discovered and attacked, their true source had never been uncovered.

Because of that, many speculated that their backing was extraordinary, so much so that even the Star Origin Lord himself had once been suspected by Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue.

But after long pursuit by many powers, more and more evidence suggested that Beast Warriors might not originate from the eight Star Regions of the Chaotic Sea of Stars at all, but from beyond its borders, from the deeper reaches of the void.

Ever since signs of invasion from foreign Star Fields began appearing across the eight Star Regions, Beast Warriors had seemed to vanish altogether. Even the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field no longer received reports of their activity.

Now, however, the sudden assault of Beast Warriors upon the Blizzard Pirates fleet seemed to confirm, at least in part, those long-held suspicions about their origins.