Chapter 2038: Retrieval and Discovery

In the void where the Blizzard Pirates’ fleet had fought.

The chaotic flows of origin qi, dyed by countless attacks, had already dispersed. The turbulent void was gradually calming. Wreckage from fallen and destroyed Star Ships drifted about, occasionally colliding with dull echoes. Aside from that, there were only the corpses of dozens of Beast Warriors floating in the void, and dozens of Star Beasts of various sizes whose bodies were turning to stone.

On the 19 remaining Star Ships, whether they were from the Blizzard Pirates or elite cultivators from the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, the lingering fear on their faces had faded, replaced by expressions of shock.

For in the depths of the void where all their gazes converged, a massive figure pulled out a stone rod from the body of a Beast Warrior, slung it over his shoulder, and swaggered casually back through the void.

"You guys can clean this up!" The Giant Ape King shifted the stone rod across his shoulders, his hands resting upon it as he walked past Cai Zhuifeng and the others, then returned to the Spirit Ark without so much as a glance back.

"Th-This..." Cai Zhuifeng, a dignified fifth tier True Immortal, actually stammered when he spoke.

Standing beside him, Yuan Qiuyuan said, "That is the Giant Ape King. It’s at the grand completion stage... You already knew, though?"

"I know." Cai Zhuifeng mumbled, but disbelief was still evident in his voice. "I have seen other grand completion stage True Immortals before, but, but..."

Having personally witnessed the Giant Ape King suddenly appear and, with his stone staff, smash three True Immortal-level Beast Warriors and five rank six Star Beasts into pulp, while sweeping aside countless lesser foes, changing the entire course of the battle almost single-handedly, Cai Zhuifeng, the great pirate chief, felt his brains exploding.

He was a fifth tier True Immortal and had always been confident in his own strength. Though there were two minor realms between the fifth tier and the grand completion stage, the gap in power should not have been so vast!

Judging from what the Giant Ape King had just displayed, Cai Zhuifeng reckoned that even four or five of himself might not be a match for the spiritual beast!

It was terrifying and extremely unsettling!

"Brother, this Giant Ape King..." Cai Yingxue’s voice came from behind.

From her tone alone, it was clear that the second-in-command of the Blizzard Pirates was equally shaken.

Cai Zhuifeng waved his hand, about to speak, when suddenly the Giant Ape King’s voice came again from the deck of the Spirit Ark. "Oh, one more thing. Prepare an Azure Ark to receive and collect the Star Beast Nest.”

The siblings’ eyes lit up at once.

A Star Beast Nest was considered a treasure in the Chaotic Sea of Stars. Even among major Star Pirate Groups, it was not something often encountered.

A complete Star Beast Nest not only nurtured heavenly materials and treasures through the breeding of Star Beasts but could also be cultivated as a spiritual field.

Thus, in some worlds, sects would directly develop Star Beast Nests into secret realms, Holy Lands, or even Elysiums.

Of course, Star Beast Nests varied in size and quality.

But judging from the number of Beast Warriors and Star Beasts that had just attacked, a Star Beast Nest capable of containing them could not be small.

"No matter what, after such heavy losses, at least we’re seeing some returns!"

While commanding the fleet to adjust formation, Cai Yingxue detached an Azure Ark from the fleet and sent it to receive the Star Beast Nest mentioned by the Giant Ape King.

Cai Zhuifeng glanced at Cai Yingxue. He knew, as she did, that the Blizzard Pirates no longer truly belonged to them. The so-called returns would not really benefit them much. Still, years of habit made them feel joy at discovering and securing a Star Beast Nest.

"But where will it be? We can’t just wait here and try to find it. Shouldn’t we go and meet it halfway?" Cai Zhuifeng asked. He had actually been addressing Chu Jia, who had accompanied Cai Yingxue.

But before he could say more, he noticed that Chu Jia’s eyes were fixed on the void behind him.

Cai Zhuifeng instinctively turned to look, and saw a rippling distortion in the void. A floating island slowly emerged, revealing the Star Beast Nest.

"Hurry and store this Star Beast Nest in the Ark. We’ve already delayed too long!" The voice of Shang Xia rang in the ears of Chu Jia and the other True Immortals present. None of them had seen his figure, but all knew he had returned to the Spirit Ark.

"The Sage is able to carry such a massive Star Beast Nest through the void... Isn’t this just like when he moved the Spirit Ark above us?" Cai Yingxue whispered Cai Zhuifeng’s ear, her tone full of shock.

Cai Zhuifeng was already overseeing the preparations to receive the floating island. The frown on his face was deep as he growled, "That’s not the same. Don’t forget, the Star Beast Nest is far larger than the Spirit Ark, and this is no longer the Chaotic Sea of Stars. The void here is far less stable!"

Cai Yingxue cast a glance at Chu Jia and Yuan Qiuyuan, who had walked off, then asked again, "So... How strong do you think

that

Sage is?”

Cai Zhuifeng said after some thought, "It is beyond us to judge. But I would say he should be a high-level Sage at the very least.”

Cai Yingxue didn’t seem surprised. She followed up immediately, "So that means his identity can be confirmed?"

Cai Zhuifeng nodded, a smile flickering in his eyes. "He is Shang Xia, the Sage of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field. Looks like our luck isn’t too bad.”

Seeing that the Azure Ark was safely recovering the Star Beast Nest, Cai Yingxue said, "Enough of this. You stay here. I’ll check how they’re handling the Beast Warrior and Star Beast corpses. After all, their bodies are high-grade materials."

Inside the Spirit Ark, the Giant Ape King was repeatedly tempering the stone rod that had shrunk into a short stick with his bloodline essence.

Chu Jia entered, glanced at him, then turned directly to Shang Xia. "Did you find it?"

Shang Xia shook his head. "Only some traces. The Star Beast Nest had long been abandoned. But you might be able to enter its interior and explore. Perhaps you’ll find some unexpected gains."