The Saintess’s dwelling stood at the very center of the tribe and was even more luxurious than the chief’s.
Within the tribe, the Saintess’s status was also far higher than the chief’s.
The Saintess possessed absolute authority, while the chief was responsible only for leading the male beastmen of the tribe.
Yunyang had already inferred as much from Nuo Xiao’s words back on the abandoned planet, and now it seemed that her judgment had indeed been correct.
But at the moment, she had no time to think about it. She simply followed the Saintess inside.
“Please, sit.”
The Saintess brought over a wooden chair, but before she could place it in front of Yunyang, Pei Wenye took it from her.
He set the chair down, and only after Yunyang had taken her seat did he bring over another chair and place it across from her.
The Saintess did not sit down. Instead, she turned and walked into one of the inner rooms. It was a long while before she came back out.
She appeared to have been searching for something. When she emerged, she was holding a thin piece of “glass.”
Yunyang stared at the piece of “glass” for a moment before quickly recognizing it.
Her gaze froze.
What the Saintess was holding was… an optical brain?
Every beastman in the Federation was fitted with an optical brain from birth.
When worn on the wrist, it caused no discomfort at all. It felt as though it had merged with the skin, and unless one paid close attention, it was impossible to notice.
However, when a beastman died, the optical brain would automatically sever its connection to its owner, and the system would be completely locked. Only the terminal administration center had the authority to access the data inside.
The “glass” in the Saintess’s hand was clearly an optical brain left behind by a deceased beastman.
Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be the same model used by the Fifty-Third Generation warship—one that had been in use by the Federation more than two thousand years ago.
Yet Yunyang had noticed after entering the Snow Owl tribe’s territory that none of the beastmen here, whether female or male—not even the Saintess or the Snow Owl chief—wore optical brains.
In the Federation, every beastman was required to be registered to an optical brain, even wandering beasts whose parents and clansmen were no longer around.
That had been the rule since the Federation was first established.
Therefore, Yunyang still could not be certain whether she had truly traveled back to the Federation of two thousand years ago.
If she had not, why were there warships and optical brains from two thousand years ago here?
But if she had, why was this place completely different from what Federation history recorded?
Yunyang desperately wanted to know the truth.
“Lady Saintess, where did you get this optical brain?”
The Saintess answered slowly, “It was left behind by our ancestor.”
“Our ancestor founded the Snow Owl tribe. The tribe’s spacecraft, spatial hubs, and various detection instruments were all left behind by our ancestor as well.”
“Our ancestor told us that our roots did not lie here—that we were beastmen who had been forgotten.”
“Lady Yunyang, you possess an optical brain like our ancestor’s. Do you know where our roots are?”
The Saintess had not said much, but those few words were enough to make Yunyang suddenly understand.
The Federation had once sent people to explore the outer galaxies. Yet the moment any beastman entered the outer galaxies, their optical-brain signal would disappear. None of them ever returned to the Federation.
Yunyang had suspected from the beginning that she and Pei Wenye had been sent to the outer galaxies by a wormhole.
It was only after the appearance of Nuo Xiao and the Fifty-Third Generation warship that she formed another theory and mistakenly believed that she had traveled back more than two thousand years to the Federation.
But after hearing the Saintess’s words, and recalling that the Xingxiao date matched the time displayed on the optical brain exactly, Yunyang became certain once more that this was the outer galaxy.
The Snow Owls, the Frost Wolves, and all the other tribes here were descendants of the beastmen who had once explored the outer galaxies.
Those beastmen had lost their optical-brain signals, could no longer contact the Federation, and had no way to return.
That was why they believed they had been forgotten by the Federation.
They could only put down roots on one outer planet after another, passing down to each generation the knowledge that their true roots lay elsewhere.
For more than two thousand years, they had failed to find a way back to the Federation.
The supplies they had brought with them must have run out long ago. The remaining beastmen had been forced to return to their former way of life, living in tribal communities and hunting together for survival.
The Fifty-Third Generation warship and the optical brain from more than two thousand years ago were both “legacies” left behind by those explorers.
The entire Snow Owl tribe possessed only one spacecraft, so they had kept repairing and patching it over the years. That was why Nuo Xiao’s skills at repairing spacecraft were so exceptional.
There was no optical-brain signal in the outer galaxies. Even if the explorers’ optical brains were left behind, they were useless and could only serve as tools for keeping track of time.
Yunyang opened her mouth.
Of course, she knew how to answer the Saintess. But even if she told the Saintess the truth, what good would it do? Yunyang herself did not know how to return to the Federation.
“I know,” Yunyang said slowly. “You are beastmen from the Federation. This place lies beyond Federation space.”
“The Federation?”
The beastmen of the outer galaxies had been separated from the Federation for far too long. As their memories were passed down orally from generation to generation, much of the information had inevitably been lost.
The Saintess had never heard the word “Federation.”
Seeing the confusion on her aged face, Yunyang still decided to tell her the truth.
The Saintess remained silent for a long time after hearing everything.
She had never doubted the words left behind by their ancestor. She had always believed that they had been forgotten.
But it turned out that was not the case.
They had simply gotten lost.
The people at home could not find them, and they could not find their way home.
“Lady Yunyang, if you pilot the tribe’s spacecraft, can you leave this outer galaxy?”
They did not know the direction of the Federation. The outer galaxies were far larger than Federation space, and faced with an endless sea of stars, even if they had a spacecraft, they would not know where to go.
Yunyang shook her head. “I’m not sure. We were brought here by a wormhole, so we have no way of determining the exact direction of the Federation.”
The Saintess’s eyes brightened slightly.
“If we knew the direction, would it be possible to return to the Federation?”
Yunyang’s instincts told her that it would not be so simple.
The explorers from more than two thousand years ago must have known the direction of the Federation, yet they had still been unable to return. There had to be some obstacle between the Federation and the outer galaxies that they did not yet understand.
But she was willing to give the Saintess hope.
“Perhaps.”
The Saintess’s aged eyes grew brighter still, and she rose to her feet.
“The ancestor of the Black Jiao tribe achieved dragonhood on Mercury. The dragon race is a very special one. After a jiao transforms into a dragon, it undergoes a second awakening and gains a special ability.”
“That ancestor’s special ability was spatial manipulation. He used that ability to establish contact with the other tribes.”
“The Black Jiao tribe is the one most likely to know the direction of the Federation.”
By the time she finished speaking, the Saintess had already realized what it meant.
The ancestor of the Black Jiao tribe might have known the direction of the Federation, yet had not led the tribe back. That alone was enough to explain everything.
But she still held on to the faintest trace of hope.
The Beast God had not abandoned them.
They would surely find a way home.
A spatial ability.
Yunyang suddenly grabbed Pei Wenye’s hand.
If Pei Wenye transformed into a dragon, would he awaken a spatial ability as well?
With her mate’s innate talent, the spatial ability he awakened after transforming into a dragon would surely be at least SS-rank.
By then, if they found the direction of the Federation and piloted the spacecraft to the boundary between the Federation and the outer galaxies, they would certainly be able to use his spatial ability to leave this place!
