The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, after a quick cleanup, the escort team set out again.
By evening, a canyon appeared ahead.
Talon suddenly spoke: "Once we pass through this canyon, we'll camp on the other side. Also, stay alert while crossing—don't let any fierce beasts ambush us!"
"Yes!"
Everyone replied in unison.
The canyon was long—at least a hundred kilometers. Even for Divines, it would take nearly a quarter hour to cross on foot.
Both sides of the canyon were damp rock walls, with a wild forest overhead. As they walked inside, the roars of fierce beasts could be heard from the forest above.
Everyone grew more vigilant, even Talon, the Upper-Rank God, was no exception.
Halfway through the canyon, Talon suddenly raised his hand, signaling everyone to listen. Instantly, tension gripped the group.
"Form the battle array!"
Suddenly, Talon shouted, his expression grim.
Immediately, more than two hundred Divines sprang into action, forming a rough battle array.
Gavin Summers and his servant were surrounded at the center of the formation.
"Chitter chitter!"
At that moment, a piercing sound rang out. Hearing it, the blond Divine Aubrey North's face changed: "Not good, it's Heaven-Devouring Demon Rats!"
Heaven-Devouring Demon Rats are pack-type fierce beasts. Individually, they're not strong—ordinary rats are only early-stage Lower-Rank Gods, elite rat generals reach mid-stage, and the Rat King barely makes late-stage Lower-Rank God.
But when they move out, there are always at least a thousand of them.
After Aubrey North called out the name, the other Divines who knew about the Heaven-Devouring Demon Rats also turned pale. Only Ian Song stayed calm—not because he didn't know what they were, but because he was confident in his own strength.
He simply trusted his own power.
Sure enough, in less than ten breaths, two swarms of gray rats—each the size of calves—came surging up from the canyon floor. Each group numbered over a thousand.
"Damn!"
Talon muttered, then shouted, "Everyone, move forward with me!"
Before the two swarms could close in from both sides, this was the best chance to break through.
Hearing Talon's command, the two hundred-plus Divines kept their formation and charged forward with him.
"Ian Song, are you scared?"
Jade Shaw asked softly.
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Ian Song chuckled.
As they spoke, Talon was already less than ten meters from the nearest rat swarm. At that moment, a black longsword appeared in his hand.
"Slash!"
A jet-black blade light shot from his sword, forming a blade arc more than ten meters long.
"Boom!"
The blade arc slammed into the rat swarm, carving a straight path through the crowd. At least a hundred Heaven-Devouring Demon Rats fell to his blade.
"Upper-Rank Gods really are powerful!"
Ian Song thought to himself.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Talon kept swinging his blade—each strike wiped out nearly a hundred rats. In moments, the front swarm was mostly cleared. Then he retreated, slashing at the group closing in from behind.
After a few more swings, hundreds more Heaven-Devouring Demon Rats were slain. He kept urging everyone to hurry—after all, blood attracts fierce beasts, and if they lingered, the forest above might flood with more monsters.
Talon had already killed seven or eight hundred rats from the front swarm, so the survivors couldn't threaten the escort team.
Everyone pressed forward quickly, cutting down any Heaven-Devouring Demon Rats that lunged at them.
With their accelerated pace, the group soon crossed the entire canyon. Behind them, wild beastly roars echoed—clearly, the blood had drawn scores of fierce beasts from the forests on both sides.
For a moment, everyone felt relieved—they were lucky to have escaped early; otherwise, trapped by those beasts, many wouldn't have made it out alive.
Ian Song nodded to himself.
This was the benefit of having experts guard the team. If it had been a private hunting party, they'd probably have been wiped out.
Because of unknown beasts in the canyon, camping nearby was no longer safe. So Talon led everyone hundreds of kilometers further before finally setting up camp on an open plain.
During camp setup, a One-Star God-Demon mentioned the rat corpses, regretting that each Heaven-Devouring Demon Rat was worth at least ten god-crystals. Nearly two thousand corpses were just left in the canyon.
"What's more important, your life or god-crystals?"
A Two-Star God-Demon sneered, "Your life or god-crystals—make your choice!"
"You're right, sir. I was just saying."
The One-Star God-Demon quickly put on a flattering expression.
When Talon brought out formation disks and set up a defensive array, everyone finally relaxed and began to rest or cultivate.
Maybe it was just habit.
As Ian Song sat cross-legged, Jade Shaw naturally came over to sit beside him. "Will you keep telling me about the Immortal Realm?"
"Sure!"
Ian Song didn't refuse and continued telling stories about the Immortal Realm.
Seeing this, Gavin Summers secretly gritted his teeth. Along the way, he'd already asked about Ian Song—a newcomer to the God Realm with no real backing.
How could a guy like that win Jade Shaw's favor, while he—a proud scion of the Summers Family—was ignored?
"Figure something out for me. I want to teach that kid a lesson!"
Gavin Summers sent a voice transmission to the old servant.
The old servant thought for a moment and made a suggestion. Gavin Summers' eyes lit up, and he stood, calling out to the crowd: "The night is long and boring—let's play a challenge game! Whoever can withstand three moves from my old servant will earn fifty god-crystals. Ten moves gets you a hundred, and if you defeat him, I'll reward you with five hundred god-crystals!"
At Gavin Summers' announcement, Talon raised his eyebrows but quickly returned to normal.
Gavin Summers' old servant was a late-stage Mid-Rank God.
Lasting three moves against him wouldn't be easy, but plenty of people were tempted—after all, three moves meant fifty god-crystals, and this whole mission only paid eighty.
"I'll give it a try!"
A late-stage Lower-Rank God, who was also a One-Star God-Demon, stepped forward.
Soon, the two sides began to spar.
Unfortunately, the challenger didn't last three moves—he was sent flying on the second.
"Who's next?"
Gavin Summers asked with a smile.
Soon, another One-Star God-Demon stepped forward. He was also a late-stage Lower-Rank God, but clearly stronger than the first—he managed to last three moves, and Gavin Summers promptly handed him fifty god-crystals.
Seeing this, many Divines' eyes flashed with excitement.
After that, quite a few One-Star God-Demons stepped up to challenge, though the Two-Star God-Demons remained unmoved.
Compared to the One-Star God-Demons, they had much deeper pockets.
In no time, over thirty people had finished the challenge, with five earning the fifty god-crystal prize.
Suddenly, Gavin Summers turned his gaze to Ian Song and called out, "Hey, God-Demon—aren't you going to try? You're a Mid-Rank God. Don't tell me you're less gutsy than a Lower-Rank God!"