Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

“???”

Hearing what Ao Yiner said, Xu Ming looked up.

Sure enough, he found that the Dragon Empress’s gaze had been fixed in his direction the entire time.

And she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

Good grief… Even if I were your long-lost lover, you can’t just stare at me like this in front of so many people, right? Everyone’s watching you!

Xu Ming had no idea what to say.

He was worried people might get the wrong idea.

Anyway, once the Four Seas Grand Ceremony was over, he was going straight to the North Sea Abyss, grabbing that Linglong Pearl, and making a run for it!

“Maybe she just thinks you’re too good-looking,” Xu Ming said casually, taking a sip of his drink.

Hearing Xu Ming’s compliment, Ao Yiner straightened her back, lifting her chin proudly, looking quite pleased with herself.

She completely believed what Xu Ming said.

After all, this young lady is beautiful~

Seeing Ao Yiner puff out her chest and hold her head high, Xu Ming chuckled.

“Miss Ao, sometimes I really envy you.”

“Hmm?” Ao Yiner blinked. “Envy me? What for?”

“I envy how you have such a clear understanding of yourself and never struggle internally,” Xu Ming said.

“???”

Ao Yiner tilted her head.

She understood every single word Xu Ming just said, but why did they make no sense when put together?

“Xu Ming, are you insulting me?”

Even though she didn’t quite grasp the meaning of his words, she just felt like he was insulting her.

“I’m not,” Xu Ming shook his head. “Why would I insult you out of nowhere? But really, Miss Ao, your personality is great—make sure to keep it that way.”

“Of course!” Ao Yiner got smug again. “This young lady has always had a great personality~”

“Goddamn it! That damn bastard is flirting with my sister again! Damn land-dwellers! Always full of sweet-talking nonsense!”

Behind Ao Yiner, Ao Jin downed a cup of wine in one gulp, feeling the urge to kick Xu Ming away.

If Xu Ming ever dared set foot in the Eastern Sea, forget about seeing his sister—he’d kick the guy so hard he’d be flying across the ocean!

“Forget it, forget it, just endure it for now. There are only a few days left anyway, and they won’t be able to do anything in that time. No way in hell am I letting my sister get involved with Xu Ming. The priority is my plan.”

Ao Jin took a deep breath, calming himself down.

For him, compared to the matter of his sister and Xu Ming, his biggest concern was the Dragon Empress.

He was feeling anxious—had the Dragon Empress discovered something?

Why else would she keep looking in his direction?

“No way!” Ao Jin shook his head, steadying his mind. “There’s no way she knows!”

As for Yu Wenxi and the others—or rather, anyone sitting in Xu Ming’s direction—they all straightened their backs and started speaking louder.

Even though they knew the Dragon Empress couldn’t hear their conversations, they had to put on an air of confidence and eloquence.

After all, the Dragon Empress was looking their way!

What if she was paying attention to them because of something special?

While the Dragon Palace was filled with music and dancing, outside, in the outer palace, Zhou Wanfeng arrived at Xu Ming’s residence.

Looking at the bed, the table, and the windowsill, she recalled the events of the previous night. Her throat felt a little dry.

She also felt a bit regretful.

She had prepared quite a few… fun outfits, planning to surprise Xu Ming once he returned from the Four Seas Grand Ceremony.

But now, there was no time. She had to leave in a hurry.

“I’ll miss you, little brother Xu~”

Zhou Wanfeng squeezed her legs together. She hadn’t even left yet, but she was already starting to miss him.

It had to be said—Xu Ming wasn’t just exceptionally talented, blessed by the heavens, but he was also a warrior who fully maximized his natural gifts.

If someone like him ever stepped foot in a brothel, those girls would probably throw themselves at him. After experiencing him, they might not even feel anything serving other customers anymore.

After leaving behind a letter, Zhou Wanfeng departed from the courtyard and headed toward the outer palace.

Walking through the streets of Longdu (Dragon Capital), she made her way to the northern city gate.

Once she passed through the gate and flew straight ahead, it wouldn’t take more than a month to reach her destination.

“Hey, what the hell? Trying to take advantage of me?”

Just as she was stepping out of the city gates, a man walking too fast bumped into her.

“Apologies,” the man said, quickly picking up the wine gourd she had dropped and handing it back to her.

“Watch where you’re going!” Zhou Wanfeng snatched the gourd from him.

At that moment, her gaze was drawn to the back of the man’s hand.

There was a tattoo resembling two fish intertwined.

The man quickly walked ahead without looking back.

Zhou Wanfeng frowned, watching his retreating figure.

She suddenly felt a faint warmth on her wrist.

Raising her bracelet for a closer look, she noticed it was glowing with an unusual light.

“Interesting.”

Silently, she began tailing the man.

Her bracelet was capable of sensing objects with an extremely high concentration of spiritual energy.

She often used it for treasure hunting.

For something to trigger a reaction from her bracelet, it had to be of extraordinary quality.

This bracelet had already led her to quite a few rare treasures.

If the man was simply carrying some precious artifact, she wouldn’t care much—after all, she wasn’t a bandit who robbed people at the sight of valuables.

What truly caught her attention was the twin-fish tattoo on his hand.

She was far too familiar with that symbol.

Whenever it appeared, trouble was sure to follow.

Zhou Wanfeng activated a concealment spell, shrouding herself from sight as she continued tracking the man.

She followed him all the way north of Longdu (Dragon Capital) to a rugged coral mountain.

Though the mountain was steep and jagged, its peak had a flat clearing.

There, Zhou Wanfeng spotted a formation inscribed into the ground.

She had lived for thousands of years, and while much of that time had been spent imprisoned within the Tianxuan Sect, she still had considerable knowledge.

Not to mention, back in her younger days, she had extensively studied formations.

Analyzing the runes carved into the ground, she could tell with certainty—this formation belonged to the “Engraving” type.