Death... and me

"Nicely done, Luan." Rean praised the boy as they moved along the river's side. Well, Luan didn't really have time to feel happy with all the attacks coming from everywhere. At his level, he couldn't even see them coming before they were already intercepted by the twins and Kentucky. Perhaps they had already dodged it.

Kentucky couldn't help but mention, though. "Even so, we won't be able to keep this up for long. Each of these creatures has an attack power similar to a Void Tempering Realm enemy. The only difference is that it seems like they don't have any intelligence. Sure, we may be using the Divine Stones to replenish our energy, but it won't last for long."

Rean, who had just defended against a snake-like white powder creature, shook his head, saying, "It's not like we have a choice in this. Just keep flying upstream, and let's see what we can find."

The reason they were going upstream was quite simple. Its origin was supposed to be in that direction. They would find the river's source there and probably understand the reason why this white powder came to be. Of course, that also had its risks. First, the concentration of white powder might be even higher there. However, since the same might apply in the other direction, they decided to head upstream first.

Surprisingly, the cave extended almost endlessly. Even after flying at full speed upstream for over three hours, the twins' group still hadn't found where it started. Then again, Rean's group wasn't surprised by that. To be able to cover the entire Salt Canyon with white powder, its source had to be large. The only problem was that their Divine Energy was starting to run low at this point. Sure, they were using the Rank Two Divine Stones nonstop to replenish their Divine Energy, but their expenditure surpassed how much they could recover. Well, to be more specific, the white powder creatures didn't even give them the time necessary to properly absorb the Divine Energy from the Divine Stones.

However, it was then that Luan called their attention. "Dad, uncle Rean, the concentration of Divine Energy in the white powder is increasing a lot."

Rean and Roan were taken aback to hear that. Even though Luan said that to them, the power of the white powder creatures didn't change at all. Weren't they supposed to get stronger in that case? "Are you sure? We can't feel any difference in the creatures' attack power."

Luan then focused his eyes on the creatures that were still taking form. "That's because the Divine Energy in them hasn't changed. When they take on those demon beast forms, they only absorb the same amount of Divine Energy as the previous ones."

Rean pondered in silence for a bit, eventually saying, "There are two possibilities. They're doing it to wait for the right moment to attack with full power. Or they just can't take more than that exact amount of Divine Energy when they take form. If it's the first one, then things aren't looking good for us."

Kentucky asked back in response. "Should we turn around,  then?"

Roan immediately denied that idea, telling him, "We can't. Our Divine Energy won't last that long to reach where we came from. Let alone go further than that. We can only continue forward at this point."

With that, the twins and Kentucky could only keep fighting as they flew further and further upstream. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the scenery changed at all. The river continued on their side as the creatures continued to attack relentlessly. All of the creatures always used suicide attacks and shattered as soon as they hit. If they missed, they still crumbled soon after. It was as if they couldn't live for more than a few seconds.

The twins finally began to get a bad feeling, and so did Kentucky. Their Divine Energy reserves were running really low, and they couldn't see any change that could help their situation. Going up wouldn't help either. Along the way here, Kentucky had left the riverside and flew to the ceiling to try and break it several times. However, the natural formation protected the entire thing even up to this point. They also tried to break through the sides of the cave and even excavated downwards, ignoring the white powder on the ground. However, everything seemed to be protected by the natural formation as well.

Luan obviously tried to see if he could find any escape route with his eyes. Unfortunately, the huge amount of Divine Energy and mixed elements made it impossible to see beyond the walls of the cave or the river.

Eventually, the situation turned even more critical when suddenly, one of the creatures broke through their defenses as if it was nothing.

*Bang!*

Kentucky was once again hit head-on. His blade feathers and scales broke instantly before the white powder creature shattered, leaving a huge hole behind.

*Arrrrgh!*

At that moment, the twins were struck by a foreboding feeling. Just now, the creature passed through their Reversive Arcs way too easily. It wasn't that the Reversive Arcs didn't reduce its power, but that the creature itself was much stronger than any of the others that attacked them so far.

Luan was alarmed as he looked at one of the white powder creatures taking form below. "Dad, uncle Rean, the Divine Energy inside the creatures increased! They have more than double the Divine Energy from before!"

Rean immediately understood. "So they really were biding their time to attack us at full power."

Realizing that, things just got even worse. That's because the injury on Kentucky's body wasn't just hindering. The white powder that made the creature who damaged Kentucky immediately began to transform Kentucky's body. Just like it happened to Rafatia before, that transformation also muddled Kentucky's mind as a result.

"Wake up, Kentucky!" Rean could only aim at the injury and forcefully cut the transformed part... or so he tried. Unfortunately, Kentucky's body was too sturdy! In short, Rean failed to cut it off.

*Bang!*

*Ahhhh!*

Suddenly, Roan and Rean looked in Luan's direction. The shattered parts of one of the creatures hit him, lodging themselves deep into his body. After all, Luan was just too weak to defend against something like that. Immediately after, he also began to transform into a salt statue, and it was from inside out.

With that, the situation had just gone from bad to worse.