Chapter 2045: Bird Hunting Pt.4

In the depths of the boundless sea of stars, in a region that contained a nebula, Shang Xia’s figure remained suspended in the void. His gaze was fixed on everything happening within.

Although the nebula had an extremely strong disruptive and suppressive effect on one’s divine soul, it seemed to have little effect on Shang Xia. He already appeared to know exactly what was happening within.

With a faint smile on his face, Shang Xia shifted his eyes away from the nebula.

Turning to Yuan Qiuyuan beside him, he said, “Let’s leave matters here to them. Come with me and we’ll see what else is hidden in the depths of the boundless void.”

Yuan Qiuyuan hurried to follow, but could not help asking, “How... How is the battle inside?”

Without looking back, Shang Xia said, “Defeating and slaying a rank seven bird emperor will not be easy. But since I have already left this matter to them, it all depends on whether they can seize this opportunity.”

Yuan Qiuyuan mumbled, “I originally thought you would have me remain in the fleet to assist Hall Master Chu and the others.”

Shang Xia replied casually, “Since the battle formation was deployed, your presence there as a third tier True Immortal would not make much difference. Better to follow me a little deeper into the depths of the void where we might find a chance for you to advance another level...”

Yuan Qiuyuan’s eyes widened in shock and he quickly responded, “Thank you!”

Shang Xia waved his hand, simply signaling Yuan Qiuyuan to keep up. By then, they had already passed the nebula and had gone deeper into the boundless void.

When Yuan Qiuyuan glanced back, he could no longer see the nebula that had once covered such a vast expanse.

Yuan Qiuyuan felt a jolt of shock, but he quickly sensed that there had to be even greater dangers hidden in the surroundings.

Where they were, he couldn’t afford to stray too far from Shang Xia.

With that thought, Yuan Qiuyuan turned and hurried to catch up, not daring to let his attention wander for even a moment.

As if Shang Xia had already noticed his movements, he suddenly asked, “Do you know why the rank seven bird emperor set its ambush in that nebula earlier?”

Yuan Qiuyuan thought for a moment and answered, “It wanted to seize the geographical advantage?”

Shang Xia smiled. “Not only that. There were two other reasons. First, it never knew my true cultivation realm from the beginning, so it took a gamble. Second... By the time it reached that place, it no longer dared to go deeper.”

Though Yuan Qiuyuan was usually a man of few words, he could not help but gasp in fright. “Then we...”

Shang Xia laughed, “I want to see with my own eyes what might be hidden in the boundless void that would make that bird emperor afraid to venture farther.”

Hearing Shang Xia’s explanation, Yuan Qiuyuan quickly moved two more steps to close the distance between them, as if only by doing so could he feel safer.

Glancing in the direction Shang Xia was heading, he mumbled softly, “Then... What do you think we will encounter?”

Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in surprise. However, he didn’t stop walking. “You’re the Stargazer. Why are you asking me?”

Only then did Yuan Qiuyuan suddenly realize what he should be doing.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Of course, he knew why Shang Xia had brought him along. It was just that Shang Xia’s movements had been too swift, and the purpose revealed had momentarily unsettled him, making him forget his role.

Yuan Qiuyuan quickly performed his stargazing techniques while following behind Shang Xia.

Although the extent of his techniques would be limited without a proper Star Observatory, with his mastery, it would be more than enough to simply point them in the right direction.

In the very next instant, however, Yuan Qiuyuan suddenly felt as though at least several hundred fireballs had blotted out all his senses. The vast, domineering light seemed as if it would melt his eyeballs if he continued staring into the void.

“ARGH!” Yuan Qiuyuan clutched his eyes in panic. He quickly stopped his technique, and pale blood soon seeped through the gaps between his fingers.

“Are you all right?”

Shang Xia turned back to see Yuan Qiuyuan’s sorry state, and his heart sank slightly as his figure halted in the void. In such cases of backlash, Yuan Qiuyuan was not completely helpless. It was just that what had happened was too sudden, and the backlash had erupted with such violence that even he, a Grand Stargazer, could not compose himself for a moment.

Hearing Shang Xia’s question, he quickly said, “The blazing light from several stars scorched my eyes. I’ll rinse them with Starlight Essence and it will be alright.”

As he spoke, he reached to his waist to rummage for the jade vial containing the Starlight Essence he brought with him.

As a rank six Grand Stargazer of the Tongyou Institution, Yuan Qiuyuan naturally did not lack treasures of that level. Other than the Starry Tree on the institution’s Star Observatory that could condense such Starlight Essence on its own, the inheritance of the Stargazing Hall also contained detailed secret methods for preparing such treasures.

Of course, as a very high-level spiritual treasure with wide applications while still being really scarce, what Yuan Qiuyuan carried on him was still very little.

Yet before he could take out the vial, Yuan Qiuyuan suddenly sensed a strange change in the starlight within the surrounding void. Before he could analyze what had happened, he heard a faint rustling sound, and the hand still covering his eyes felt slightly damp. Droplets of Starlight Essence seeped through his fingers into his eyes and quickly suppressed the burning pain.

As the moisture increased, Yuan Qiuyuan simply lowered his hand and let the Starlight Essence wash his eye sockets, thoroughly cleansing the heat before flowing down his cheeks.

By then, Yuan Qiuyuan’s vision had gradually returned. When he opened his eyes, what met them was a small stream formed entirely of condensed Starlight Essence.

“How... How did you do this?”

Watching high-level Starlight Essence falling through the void, Yuan Qiuyuan could not help but want to collect it all. Shang Xia had been somewhat surprised by the scene himself, and when he heard Yuan Qiuyuan’s question, he smiled. “Although the power of the stars here is chaotic, it is extremely dense. I just tried using a secret art that allows me to solidify origin qi and use it on the power of the stars. I didn’t expect it to gather so easily.”

Yuan Qiuyuan, a little helpless, gave up trying to collect the Starlight Essence. “The power of the stars here is indeed dense, but it cannot be casually condensed. If it were another Sage, they would not be able to do this. This definitely has something to do with your unique martial path.”

Shang Xia smiled in response and changed the subject. “By the way, what exactly happened when you used your stargazing technique earlier?”

Yuan Qiuyuan’s expression tightened at once, and he quickly said, “We mustn’t go any deeper. When I performed the art earlier, at least a hundred stars flooded my vision. And I faintly felt even more stars hidden even deeper. I did not have time to observe more details before my eyes could no longer bear it. If I had been a moment slower to react, I fear that even a single extra glance would have cost me my vision forever.”

“A hundred stars?” Shang Xia muttered softly as he turned to stare in the direction he was heading. No matter how he looked, he couldn’t see anything.

With fear lingering in his heart, Yuan Qiuyuan said, “I also hope I saw wrong. The limit of my technique wasn’t small, but there is no way it could fit a hundred, or even more stars. With so many stars crammed together, even the slightest misstep could set off a chain of collisions...”

Before Yuan Qiuyuan finished, he saw that Shang Xia had already started moving forward again, his pace even faster than before.

“Sage Shang... This...” Yuan Qiuyuan did not understand why Shang Xia would still advance, knowing there was extreme danger ahead. But seeing that a moment’s hesitation had already opened the distance between them again, he felt a jolt of alarm and hurried to catch up.

“Why are we...”

Before he could finish, Shang Xia cut him off. “Don’t you want to see the spectacle of stars crowding together? Don’t you want to see what exactly is happening?”

Without turning his head, Shang Xia spoke as his pace quickened further.

Yuan Qiuyuan could clearly feel the surrounding void flowing backward as he followed Shang Xia deeper.

Their progress was clearly not ordinary. Each step Shang Xia took seemed to compress a segment of void beneath his feet.

More remarkably, Yuan Qiuyuan obviously had no such method. He was being carried forward by Shang Xia with each step.

Before long, after traveling god knew how far in the void, Yuan Qiuyuan suddenly felt Shang Xia stopping in place. Instinctively, he raised his head to look past Shang Xia’s figure. What he saw caused him to freeze in shock.

“This...”

...

The Giant Ape King’s stone rod had been seized by the bird emperor, yet it showed no regret or dejection. Instead, it howled with excitement and charged over with renewed vigor.

No matter what... Even if the bird emperor had been greatly suppressed by the battle formation, it was still a seventh rank beast emperor!

With Shang Xia having previously instructed everyone that they could only suppress the bird emperor, allowing the Giant Ape King to fight it alone, it would not be easy to defeat such a prey. Much less now that its weapon had been seized. Clearly, the Giant Ape King still had other trump cards.

Allowing the bird emperor to snatch its weapon might just be a scheme!