Chapter 172: Narrowly Avoiding Capture

Nudi heard this and curiously leaned forward.

She took the waterskin, drank a few mouthfuls, and smacked her lips.

"Hmm... it's alright."

Zhang Yi felt ashamed at once.

This was spirit spring water, after all.

It contained rich spiritual energy, yet it only received a rating of "it's alright"?

Fine, she is the high and mighty Nudi; I won't argue with her.

"I didn't find anything at all."

Nudi returned the waterskin to Zhang Yi.

Just at this moment.

A thick wave of Demon Qi surged over like a tide, instantly shrouding the surroundings.

A suffocating sense of oppression permeated the air.

It felt as if even breathing had become difficult.

Zhang Yi and Nudi exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that things were looking bad.

The two of them had just wanted to flee, but they discovered that the Demon Qi was like an invisible cage, trapping them firmly so they could not move.

Then, a figure slowly emerged from the Demon Qi.

It was a tall man.

He was dressed in a black robe embroidered with golden dragon patterns, appearing noble and majestic.

His face was handsome, yet carried a hint of coldness.

A pair of golden eyes flickered with a daunting light.

Two black dragon horns on his head emitted a faint black glow.

This set off his powerful demonic strength.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his entire body radiating a heart-palpitating pressure.

He looked down at the two people before him.

"Who are you people? How dare you trespass into the Yao Di Fu!"

Zhang Yi's heart sank.

He knew that this time, things were likely dire.

The person before them was none other than the master of this Yao Di Fu—the Demon Emperor!

"We..."

Zhang Yi just wanted to start explaining, but was stopped by Nudi.

Nudi took a step forward and looked directly at the Demon Emperor without the slightest fear.

She said in a calm tone: "We merely stumbled into this place by mistake and have no ill intentions."

The Demon Emperor let out a cold snort, clearly not believing Nudi's words.

"Stumbled in? This Yao Di Fu is heavily guarded; is it a place you can enter and exit as you please? Speak, what exactly is your objective!"

The heavy Demon Qi, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression, trapped Zhang Yi and Nudi firmly.

However, at this critical juncture, the Demon Emperor's gaze froze on Nudi.

A flash of unusual emotion flickered within his golden eyes, which had originally been full of majesty.

He thought to himself: This girl is quite pretty, different from all those other painted, vulgar women.

If I were to choose her to be a consort for this Demon Emperor, that wouldn't be bad at all.

Facing the Demon Emperor, Nudi was not afraid in the slightest, her gaze fixed straight on the other party.

It was as if she and the Demon Emperor were on equal footing.

Zhang Yi was secretly anxious; what time was it, and this girl was still playing it cool!

Big sister, the person standing in front of you is the Demon Emperor.

We were caught stealing things on someone else's territory.

Can you lower your noble head and soften your stance? Our lives are at stake here!

He wished he could rush up and slap this girl to make her wake up.

Suddenly, Zhang Yi noticed that the way the Demon Emperor was looking at Nudi was a bit off.

In that gaze, there seemed to be a hint of affection.

And that girl Nudi clearly hadn't noticed yet.

Zhang Yi's heart stirred, and a plan came to mind.

Taking advantage of the moment the Demon Emperor was dazed, he directly unleashed a divine ability and escaped into the ground with Nudi.

The Demon Emperor stood stunned in place, looking at the spot where the two had disappeared.

The corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift, and he muttered to himself: "Interesting."

He looked back at the spring water spilled by the clear spring, then looked at the ground where Nudi had vanished.

A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.

This girl has some guts, actually daring to escape right in front of this Emperor.

And she even stole this Demon Emperor's spirit spring.

However, the more she is like this, the more interested this Emperor becomes in her.

If you were to follow this Demon Emperor, in the future, I would let you use this spirit spring water until you couldn't use it all.

"Someone come!"

At the Demon Emperor's order, several guards immediately appeared before him, kneeling on one knee to await instructions.

"Go, find out the identities of these two people, especially that woman."

"Take note, you must not harm her."

"As you command!"

The guards accepted the order and left, quickly disappearing into the night.

At this moment.

Zhang Yi and Nudi had already left the Yao Di Fu.

The light of the earth-escaping technique extinguished.

Zhang Yi and Nudi stumbled and fell onto a patch of damp, foul-smelling mud.

Nudi's exquisite dress was covered in sludge, and a stench rushed straight into her nasal cavity, making her unable to help but retch.

"Cough, cough... what kind of hellhole is this!"

She covered her nose while stomping her feet in disgust, trying to shake the silt off her shoes.

Zhang Yi looked around.

He discovered they were beside a massive fish pond.

The fish pond was packed with all sorts of strange-looking marine creatures, emitting a pungent fishy odor.

"Quetzalcoatlus, are you out of your mind! Why choose to meet in a place like this!"

Nudi roared at the Quetzalcoatlus circling in mid-air, unable to contain her rage.

The Quetzalcoatlus landed slowly.

Its massive wings stirred up a gust of fishy wind.

It explained in a muffled voice: "There are many eyes here; even if the people from the Yao Di Fu pursue us, it will be difficult for them to find us."

Although Nudi was dissatisfied in her heart, she also knew that the Quetzalcoatlus spoke the truth.

She had no choice but to endure the nausea and walk over to a relatively clean rock to sit down.

Zhang Yi counted the group; besides the two of them, there were Mother Jubiao, Xiao Pu, and the Earth Dragon.

He opened his mouth to ask: "How is it, what did everyone gain?"

Mother Jubiao helplessly spread her hands, indicating she had gained nothing.

The two little ones, Xiao Pu and the little Earth Dragon, were holding a few shiny stones and playing by themselves.

It seemed they hadn't found anything of value either.

The Quetzalcoatlus said: "I discovered a spirit tree covered in fruit, but there were at least a hundred guards of the Demon Emperor watching it; it was impossible to get close."

Zhang Yi sighed and took a white jade bottle from his bosom, which contained the spirit spring water stolen from the Yao Di Fu.

He said helplessly: "It seems I am the only one who managed to get something."

The spirit spring water in the white jade bottle emitted a faint spiritual aura.

"This bit of water isn't enough; with so many of us, this isn't even enough to fill the gaps between our teeth."

The Quetzalcoatlus spoke the truth.

Zhang Yi understood this as well.

He had originally planned to steal more spirit spring water, but the appearance of the Demon Emperor had disrupted his plan.

Now, this bit of spirit spring water was merely a drop in the bucket for them.

"If things continue like this, we still cannot leave the Yinhai territory."

"Let's rest here for now and make plans tomorrow."

Zhang Yi proposed.

Everyone nodded in agreement, finding places to sit down one after another and beginning to close their eyes to rest.

The stench in the fish pond remained pungent, but they had gradually grown accustomed to it.

They stayed here for the night.

Zhang Yi and the others already had a bit more of the local aura on them.

Every time the wings flapped, Nudi would dodge far away.

She also pinched her nose, looking disgusted, "Stop shaking, it stinks to death."

Nudi was the one who could least stand the fishy smell.

Zhang Yi ignored her, glanced at Nudi, and suddenly laughed.

"Look at the fur on your body, it's a complete mess."

Nudi looked down and saw that it was indeed very messy.

She had always been the most attentive to her own image.

Thus, she hurriedly began to groom herself.

After everyone was settled, they followed the Demon Beasts once more, heading toward the Yao Di Fu in a grand procession.

Today, the second round of screening was still to be conducted.