Death... and me

Sister Orb was correct about the first thing about Divine Energy. Rean's group could tell that it moved a lot easier in their meridians. However, because it was a higher type of energy, it was also more powerful. That being said, their dantians and cores couldn't hold more than a third of the amount they could keep before with Spiritual Energy.

Roan then raised his hand and used the Divine Energy to gather Dark Element. Immediately, he noticed the difference, saying, "My speed is just a tenth of what I could do before."

Rean and the others tried to do the same thing and noticed the same issue. "Indeed. It's so hard to gather elements now."

[That's one more restriction of the Realm of Gods' Divine Energy. You must understand that although it's higher quality energy, it's definitely harder to control and use. On the other hand, you definitely can't surpass the Transition Realm without it. In fact, you four are already doing very well for your cultivation level, especially Rean and Roan, who have the system's support.]

Sister Orb gave some good news after that, continuing, [However, there is something good about Divine Energy. The fact that you need a lot less of it than you would need Spiritual Energy to breakthrough. How long do you think you would take to enter the Peak Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm back in the Realm of Mortals?]

Roan pondered in silence for a bit before answering, "Considering all the help we had with Celis's abilities, I believe it would take around four to five years."

[Hehe! I'll be surprised if you don't break through in less than a year now,] Sister Orb replied with confidence.

Kentucky was happy to hear those words. "That fast? Perhaps it isn't all that bad to come to this place."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Celis asked.

[I don't think so. If I remember anything, I'll let you know.]

Everyone nodded as they quickly jumped on Kentucky's back. In the end, having the Minokawa with them still allowed their group to fly. "Try to go very high, Kentucky. We want to check where we are at the moment."

Kentucky nodded as he flapped his wings. However, it was a lot harder to leave the ground than usual. "So difficult...I feel like my body is being pulled down with a lot more strength."

Roan wasn't surprised by that. "That's because the gravity is a lot higher as well. It's at least twice as high compared to what we felt in the planets in the Realm of Mortals. This is a good thing for physical training, though."

[Oh, right. It's good that you said that. The Realm of Gods' gravity isn't the same everywhere. Some places might be hundreds of times worse, while others would feel akin to moving in space. Of course, you'll need to travel a ridiculously long distance to start feeling the difference between areas, so don't worry about it happening all of a sudden.]

Kentucky kept going higher and higher, finally allowing the twins' group to see more of the place where they landed. "So, we landed in the middle of a wasteland, huh?"

The region they were in seemed to be completely arid. There were a few small plants here and there, but those ones were native to such environments. With the Minokawa's greater vision, Kentucky could spot something in the distance. "There's movement far ahead. Wanna get close to check?"

Rean, Roan, and Celis checked their surroundings a bit more before nodding. "Sure, go ahead."

Sometime later, they finally got close to the creature. It looked like an armadillo but had three tails and a horn. It was also several times bigger than a normal armadillo. As soon as the armadillo noticed the arrival of Rean's group, it began to excavate before disappearing into the ground.

Rean's group didn't mind it too much, saying, "Well, at least it served to test out Divine Sense."

Celis agreed as he could not help but say, "Indeed. Divine Sense makes us view our surroundings a lot clearer. However, I couldn't see more than ten or so meters ahead of myself. It was good that Kentucky got close enough before it left completely."

Rean and Roan were a little better. After all, everyone knew that Spiritual Sense, or Divine Sense, in this case, had never been the forte of demon beasts. "We can see as far as 15 and a half meters, but nothing more than that. I wonder if a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator can see anything at all."

[Hmm...I would say they can see up to half a meter if they have very strong souls.] Sister Orb mentioned as they asked that question.

Kentucky once again took to the skies and flew forward, trying to find anything else. Eventually, it spotted something in the distance. "I think I can see a lake there."

"A lake? Here? It's probably an oasis then, no?"

Kentucky shook his head, saying, "I don't know. I'll get closer to take a look."

As Kentucky flew in the lake's direction, he began to see more. "There seems to be a lot of demon beasts around it. Can't tell what their levels are, though."

Roan then noticed something else. "They seem to be waiting for something."

Indeed. All the demon beasts waited outside of the water, looking at the lake and nothing else. Even when Kentucky approached, their attention didn't focus on the newcomers. Yes, they completely ignored the arrival of Rean's group. "Seems like it's normal for more competition to appear as they don't seem to care about us."

The majority of the demon beasts were either at Stage Two or three. At least that was as far as their Divine Sense could check. However, it didn't matter as their group quickly noticed that this place didn't only have demon beasts. On the other side of the water... "Oh! There's a caravan there."

"A caravan?" The attention of Rean's group was immediately piqued as they looked where Kentucky was pointed. "Hey, there're humans here as well. Let's go there take a look."

However, just as Kentucky was about to fly above the water, Rean and Roan saw the red color of killing intent.