Qing Chen stared intently at Deng Ziyue, who was drenched in blood, his aura in disarray. A powerful sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
His brows knitted so tightly they seemed capable of wringing out water. He asked gravely, "What exactly happened? How did you get hurt this badly?"
Deng Ziyue raised his head with difficulty, his face as pale as paper, and struggled to speak:
"My lord, I... we encountered powerful demon beasts on the trial island."
Qing Chen's expression grew even graver. "Demon beasts? With your strength, even a first-tier peak demon beast shouldn't have left you in such a sorry state."
Panting, Deng Ziyue slowly said, "After Gao Yuliang and I met up, our original plan was to set up a formation and join forces to kill two Peak First Tier demon beasts.
"But we never expected a third demon beast to suddenly spring out just as we finished setting up the formation! And it lunged straight at our formation!
"The three demon beasts were far too powerful. Before the formation broke, the two of us exhausted our spirit talismans and only barely managed to kill one, but I was wounded too."
Qing Chen's heart sank. A first-tier peak demon beast could be somewhat stronger than even a cultivator at peak Qi refining.
He pressed, "What happened after that?"
Deng Ziyue's breathing grew even more labored as he continued, "Once the formation broke, we had no choice but to fight them head-on.
"I gave it everything I had and used the Life-Exchange Technique before I finally managed to wound one demon beast badly enough to bring it down.
"But I was gravely wounded myself, so I could only crush my Teleportation Command Token and teleport out. I don't know how Senior Brother Gao is doing now..."