"Elder! Elder!"
Calls rang out from within a valley. Collapsed, shattered rocks buried the ground, and a faint scent of blood still lingered in the air.
The Prefecture Lord and Mountain Lord arrived with quite a few people. This was precisely where the Grand Elder had been sent flying.
A blast answered their calls. The Grand Elder, with a bloody hole in his chest, blasted apart the rubble and emerged, looking utterly bedraggled.
"Elder!"
Seeing that the Grand Elder had actually been injured, the Prefecture Lord immediately stepped forward, concern showing on his face.
"It is nothing, merely a minor wound."
The Grand Elder waved his hand. His aura surged, shaking away the dirt and dust clinging to him, but lingering fear remained in his eyes.
He swiftly circulated the Spirit Qi within his body, and his wound began healing at a rapid pace.
Though cultivators did not possess the terrifying immortality of Outer-Realm Demons, Spirit Qi naturally carried the power to restore life. Healing injuries was no difficult matter.
Only after seeing the Grand Elder recover did the Prefecture Lord and the others finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Elder Yang is still entangled with that monster. He was the one who held it back, allowing us to escape."
The Prefecture Lord spoke with deep guilt.
Even the Grand Elder had suffered such an injury from a single strike of that monster. Yang An, who had not yet reached the Tribulation Crossing stage, was likely no match for it.
The Mountain Lord at the side was likewise unable to hide his guilt. All his usual arrogance had vanished.
"That is not a monster. It is a demon! An Outer-Realm Demon!"
The Grand Elder immediately corrected them, confirming the giant bird's identity.
The moment those words came out, everyone's expressions