Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts-Chapter 422 - Undersea Prison.

After leaving that pool of water,

Xu Ming had just stepped out of the mist when he saw Xiao Lan standing on the other side, waiting for him.

“Miss Xiao Lan.”

Xu Ming cupped his hands and bowed to her.

Xiao Lan nodded and smiled at him. “Lord Xu, you came out so early?”

“There are some matters I need to attend to, so I came out early. Besides, Her Majesty just wanted to see me for a brief moment.”

As he said this, Xu Ming felt extremely guilty.

Thinking back on what had just happened between him and the Dragon Empress, it all felt like a dream.

No—actually, even in a dream, he wouldn’t dare to imagine something like that.

And yet, reality had proven otherwise.

The mighty ruler of the Northern Seas, the eternal Dragon Empress, the woman who had dominated the Beauty Rankings for millennia, had actually knelt before him and played a flute melody just for him.

If he were to tell anyone about this, they wouldn’t just doubt him—they’d think he had gone insane, deluded by his infatuation with the Dragon Empress.

But the truth was, this had indeed happened to him.

Xu Ming still couldn’t understand why the Dragon Empress was so insistent that he was the reincarnation of her old lover.

At this point, though, whether he was or wasn’t might not even matter anymore—he might just have to be.

Unless he could reach the same level of power as the Dragon Empress and have the strength to resist her pursuit, his current relationship with her was something that mere gratitude for saving her life could never resolve.

Xu Ming felt an intense headache coming on.

He had done nothing. In fact, he had been deliberately keeping his distance.

Yet every time, the Dragon Empress would close that distance again.

“Lord Xu, your face looks quite red.”

Xiao Lan smiled as she gazed at Xu Ming. Even though she didn’t know exactly what had happened, she could make an educated guess.

After all, Her Majesty had been bathing there, and Lord Xu had gone to see her—something must have happened.

“Maybe I stayed in that hot spring for too long,” Xu Ming replied.

Naturally, there was no way he could tell Xiao Lan what had actually happened in that pool.

If he did, she might think he was insulting her mistress. She might even come after him in rage.

“There is something I’d like to ask Miss Xiao Lan for help with.”

Xu Ming spoke politely.

“Lord Xu, you may speak freely. There is no need for such courtesy,” Xiao Lan replied with a nod.

“It’s like this—would Miss Xiao Lan be able to take me to see Ao Jin?”

“Of course, that won’t be a problem. Lord Xu may see whomever he wishes. Please, follow me.”

Xiao Lan agreed without hesitation.

As the Dragon Empress’s personal attendant, she naturally had an idea of Xu Ming’s connection to her mistress.

At this point, Xu Ming could be considered half a master of the Northern Seas.

As long as his request wasn’t something truly outrageous, there was no reason for her to refuse.

“I’ll be troubling you, then, Miss Xiao Lan.”

“You are too polite, Lord Xu.”

Xiao Lan turned and led Xu Ming toward the Northern Sea’s dungeon.

The two arrived at a deep underwater fissure, and Xiao Lan leaped down with Xu Ming following her.

“This place is the Northern Sea Prison. Its structure is actually quite similar to the Northern Sea Abyss.

The Northern Sea Abyss is in a unique geographical location, with natural formations that help suppress the being sealed beneath it.

This trench, in a way, is like the abyss—it also contains natural formations, allowing it to restrain certain prisoners.”

As Xiao Lan led Xu Ming deeper, she explained things to him along the way.

Xu Ming followed behind, nodding as he familiarized himself with his surroundings while continuing to descend.

Before long, he began to hear the sharp cracks of whips and various roars and screams.

Finally, when Xiao Lan brought Xu Ming to the seafloor, he was met with the sight of a massive iron gate.

This gate had to be at least a hundred meters tall, and on either side of it stood two enormous dogs, each with three heads—resembling the legendary Cerberus. Their bodies were massive and imposing.

Xiao Lan approached the gate and released her draconic aura.

The two three-headed dogs immediately submitted, not daring to resist. They obediently lay down on the ground.

However, Xiao Lan did not push open the gate right away. Instead, she placed her hands in front of her and called out toward the inside.

“Warden, open the gate.”

Her voice echoed throughout the abyss.

As soon as her words fell, the massive gate slowly creaked open.

Xu Ming followed Xiao Lan as they stepped forward.

Beyond the gate lay rows upon rows of dark, eerie prison cells.

The prisoners bound inside them displayed mixed emotions upon seeing Xu Ming and Xiao Lan—fear, anger, and deep-seated hatred.

“The criminals imprisoned here are all vicious and ruthless individuals—there’s no need to feel any pity for them,” Xiao Lan said indifferently.

“The only value they have in being here is to use their spiritual energy to nourish the spirit flowers and herbs growing within this trench.

Once they lose their value, they are simply disposed of.

Like that one, for example.”

Xiao Lan’s gaze landed on a short, filthy man.

A thin strand of spiritual energy shot from her fingertip and pierced through his forehead.

In less than a second, his body exploded into a mist of blood.

The moment he died, the entire prison fell into a tense silence.

None of the remaining prisoners dared to look at Xiao Lan, terrified that this ruthless woman might turn her attention to them next.

Many of them still wished to live.

“My, my, Xiao Lan, your temper is as violent as ever.”

At that moment, a deep male voice rang out from the front.

A tremendous pressure bore down on Xu Ming, making him instinctively tense up.

He looked up and saw a colossal figure approaching step by step.

When Xu Ming got a clear look at the man’s face, his brow furrowed slightly.

The figure before him was nearly ten meters tall, grotesquely obese—like a moving mountain of flesh.

Heavy chains draped over his massive body, and in his left hand, he carried a giant axe. His back was covered with a thick layer of blue scales.

“Greetings, Warden,” Xiao Lan said, offering a respectful bow to the hulking figure before her.

The Warden gave a small nod. “What brings Lady Xiao Lan to my prison today? Are you here to deliver another prisoner?”

“You should be careful with those words,” Xiao Lan said with a smirk. “If Her Majesty were to hear that, I’m afraid your life wouldn’t be guaranteed. This is Lord Xu, a distinguished guest of our Dragon Palace—the man who saved Her Majesty’s life.”

“Oh?”

The Warden shifted his gaze to Xu Ming, scrutinizing him carefully before withdrawing his attention.

“Then, Lady Xiao Lan, is this visit just for a tour?”

“Lord Xu wishes to see Ao Jin.”