Death... and me

Kentucky, surprisingly, had been teleported together with Celis elsewhere. "Seems like we're in it together."

Celis nodded, saying in response, "Indeed. I wonder if this is some kind of trial or whatever since it separated us from the Zasfins and the Divine Demon Beasts. We both have the same cultivation, so we ended up in the same place."

Kentucky shook his head, though. "I don't think so. Otherwise, why would Rean and Roan not be here as well?" However, Kentucky had a better reason to say that. "Besides, I can feel Rean's presence in that direction, but I can't tell where Roan is. They were definitely separated."

Only then did Celis remember the connection between the Minokwa and the twins he had heard about before. "I see...in that case, let's try to meet up with Rean."

Kentucky agreed with Celis for a moment when suddenly, both of them stopped in place. Soon after, the two jumped as high as they could before Kentucky flapped his wings and grabbed Celis's shoulders.

*Boom!*

Following that, the ground they were standing on just a moment ago caved in, revealing what seemed to be a giant worm. Even though Kentucky and Celis were quite big, they looked more like ants in front of that thing. "Fly!"

Kentucky nodded and immediately darted into the skies. The worm didn't give up and curled its body before extending outward to jump after the two.

Fortunately, the restriction on flying abilities worked for the residents of this realm as well. Kentucky dodged the worm's attack at the very last moment before he kept flapping his wings to soar even higher. As a Demon Bird, as long as there was air, he would be able to fly. Eventually, the worm began to fall down, not being able to stop its descent.

*Bang!*

The enormous worm hit the ground, making the entire area tremble due to its weight. In any case, its strength was more than enough for it to not suffer any damage whatsoever. Instead, it looked in the direction where Kentucky and Celis were heading, as if calculating whether or not it could capture them. Well, 'looking' would be the wrong way to say it since the worm didn't have eyes. It's just that it had some way of telling where those two were located.

Kentucky increased his altitude even more before the giant worm on the ground finally gave up. It knew that it wouldn't matter how high it could jump. It wouldn't be able to capture Kentucky and Celis anymore. It then started to dig underground and disappeared from the duo's vision a few moments later.

Celis couldn't help but comment, "That thing sure is strong. If I was at my peak, I could get rid of it. However, with my Late Stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, such a thing is simply impossible. It would be more like a suicide mission with no good outcome whatsoever."

Kentucky immediately asked, "Could it be that you can tell that worm's cultivation level? I'm trying to spread my Spiritual Sense and even Soul Power, but they aren't leaving my body at all."

Celis shook his head as he replied, "I can't. However, I'm very experienced, remember? I've seen way too many things during my life. I'm pretty sure that thing is equivalent to an Initial or maybe Middle Stage Seven Demon Beast." Celis had hit the mark. The worm's cultivation really was at Stage Seven, which was equivalent to Saint Realm cultivators.

Kentucky sighed after hearing that. "We just arrived, and we've already attracted the attention of a Stage Seven Demon Beast. We can't let our guard down at all." After that, he turned in the direction where he could feel Rean. "Let's try to regroup with Rean first. I'll bring us there while flying to avoid the ground."

Unfortunately, Kentucky would soon understand that the skies weren't that safe either.

*Creee!*

*Creee!*

*Creee!*

Several black shadows appeared across the horizon, heading in Kentucky and Celis's direction. "We have company!"

Kentucky immediately turned around and flew away. Judging by the speed of the Demon Birds coming in his direction, they weren't more than Stage Four Demon Beasts, with the leaders being at Stage Five. However, there were thousands of them! There was simply no way Celis and Kentucky could fight that many.

"Are you sure this is the right direction? Isn't this opposite the direction where you could feel Rean?" Celis asked as they fled.

"It is," Kentucky confirmed. "However, if you want to try to pass through those guys, just tell me, and I'll drop your body from here. Otherwise, I'm going to fly in the opposite direction no matter what."

Celis didn't like the idea. "No need. I'll just be shredded to pieces if you leave me here." However, Celis quickly noticed that Kentucky was still slightly faster than the demon birds in pursuit. Especially since the leaders within those birds weren't leaving the pack. "I think we can outrun then while still making a semicircle. That way, we will eventually fly in Rean's direction."

Kentucky looked behind and had to admit that Celis was right. "Okay. I'll give it a try." With that, he changed his straight course of flight and began to do a wide 180-degree turn. Upon seeing the demon birds being left behind, Kentucky could not help but say, "It seems like it's working."

Celis was happy to hear that. "Good! Now then, you said that Rean was in this direction. How far is it, and how long would it take?"

Kentucky pondered over it for a bit as he focused on his connection with Rean, eventually responding, "Because I can't use Spiritual Energy to assist with my flying speed, we'll probably take a day. At most, it'll take around two."

"Are we really that far?" Celis could tell that Kentucky was still flying quite fast with his wings alone. For them to take that long showed just how big this place is.

Kentucky couldn't do anything about it. "I can go a little faster, but that will put a lot more strain on my muscles. I prefer to stay at this speed since I can stay in peak condition if a fight ever breaks out."

Celis couldn't find any fault with that, so he replied, "Alright, just do what you want."