Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 178

“Your Majesty, a total of 1,100 virgin boys and girls have been delivered.”

The soft voice of the palace maid reached the Dragon Empress’s ears.

At that moment, the stunning figure resembling a flawless sculpture finally moved.

The Dragon Empress slowly rose to her feet.

The clam maiden before her was already quite tall, but the Dragon Empress stood a full head taller—approximately five and a half feet, as tall as Xu Ming himself.

Even with the loose imperial robe draped over her, it couldn’t conceal her strikingly graceful figure.

“Let’s go.”

The Dragon Empress didn’t open her mouth to speak, yet her ethereal voice echoed through the garden.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A quarter of an hour later, the Dragon Empress arrived at a palace in the outer court.

Inside, 1,100 boys and girls stood obediently, looking around nervously. Their faces were tense with fear, uncertain of what fate awaited them.

Next to these children stood shrimp soldiers and crab generals, each armed and vigilant.

“Her Majesty arrives.”

A pleasant, melodious voice rang out in the palace.

The children, still unsure of what was happening, saw the weapon-wielding monsters kneel on one knee, facing the entrance.

For a moment, the children panicked, unsure whether they should kneel as well.

The next second, they saw a woman step inside—someone so breathtakingly beautiful that she seemed like a celestial figure straight out of a fairy tale.

Even the oldest among the children, no more than nine years old and devoid of any romantic notions, thought to themselves: This big sister is incredibly beautiful.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

The kneeling soldiers and generals shouted in unison.

The Dragon Empress paid them no mind, her long legs elegantly striding forward as she approached the crowd.

Standing before the group of children, she towered over them.

The little ones had a second thought: This big sister is so tall!

Her amber, slit-pupiled eyes scanned every single boy and girl, one by one, as if searching for something important.

But it was clear that the Eternal Dragon Empress hadn’t found what she was looking for.

After half an incense stick’s time, the Dragon Empress shook her head gently. Her amber eyes betrayed a trace of disappointment so profound that it made everyone present—though unconnected to her thoughts—feel an inexplicable sense of guilt and regret.

“Distribute these boys and girls among the islands. Find them good families to raise them,” the Dragon Empress instructed the palace maid beside her.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the maid replied.

She was no stranger to this task.

In the past, batches of boys and girls would be sent to the various islands of the North Sea, each child placed with a family to be raised properly.

Yet, the maids couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Why did their Empress keep summoning so many boys and girls, only to glance at them briefly before sending them away?

The Dragon Empress waved her hand, dismissing the maid and the shrimp soldiers. Together, they escorted the children out of the palace.

These boys and girls would grow up well, cared for by their new families.

But barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would never leave the North Sea.

Once the children were gone, the vast palace became eerily empty.

The Dragon Empress ascended the steps to the throne at the very front of the hall. She sat upon the dragon throne, her delicate head bowed slightly, her long, slender, fair fingers gripping the armrests.

“Why? Why haven’t I found it yet?”

She murmured to herself, her heart filled with confusion and an overwhelming sense of loss.

“Your Majesty,” a palace maid entered and knelt before the Dragon Empress.

“What is it?” The Dragon Empress collected her thoughts and raised her head.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, in a fiefdom belonging to Prince Qing of Wu Kingdom, there is a river called the Yellow Sand River. A flood dragon in that river has been loyal to our North Sea Dragon Palace. We have just received word that the flood dragon in the Yellow Sand River is dead,” the maid reported directly.

“Dead is dead,” the Dragon Empress’s voice echoed through the palace.

Across the world, many flood dragons pledged loyalty to the dragon kings of the Four Seas.

The flood dragon of the Yellow Sand River had been persuaded to submit by the Dragon Empress’s emissaries.

Its only obligation was to send a pair of virgin boys and girls to the North Sea each year, in exchange for modest rewards from the Dragon Palace.

Such arrangements were handled by her subordinates. The Dragon Empress had never met this flood dragon and had even forgotten its existence.

The flood dragon’s actions were of no concern to the North Sea Dragon Palace. Whether it committed good or evil, the palace would neither interfere nor defend it.

Thus, the death of the Yellow Sand River flood dragon was inconsequential. However, the nearby Shijia Village was an important settlement. It would be necessary to either send someone from the palace or persuade another flood dragon to take its place in the Yellow Sand River.

“Your Majesty, there is… another matter,” the maid hesitated before continuing. “At the exact moment the flood dragon in the Yellow Sand River died, the Nine Dragon Pillar in the Yunsheng Hall displayed strange behavior.”

The Dragon Empress narrowed her eyes, her tone turning cold. “Why was this not reported sooner?”

“This servant is guilty! This servant is guilty!” The maid banged her head against the floor three times, the sound ringing through the hall. “At first, this servant believed it to be a mere malfunction in the formation. But who could have known—the anomaly in the Nine Dragon Pillar has not ceased to this day!”

The Dragon Empress stared at the maid, her intent to kill flickering dangerously in her amber eyes.

But as certain words echoed in her mind, her chest rose and fell sharply. She suppressed the murderous intent within her heart.

“Half a year’s salary docked. Go to the Ice Cavern and reflect for half a month!”

As the Dragon Empress’s words fell, the dragon throne at the front of the hall was already empty, yet her voice continued to resonate within the chamber.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life! Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life!” The maid hurriedly turned and kowtowed three more times toward the door.

The Dragon Empress used her technique of shrinking the earth to a single step. Within three breaths, she arrived at a forbidden area within the inner palace.

This place was surrounded by layer upon layer of defensive formations. At the heart of the formations stood nine towering pillars.

The nine pillars formed a circular pattern, with their centers connected by grooves through which blue liquid flowed.

Nine royal palace attendants tasked with guarding the formation immediately prostrated themselves upon seeing the Dragon Empress. “This servant greets Your Majesty!”

The Dragon Empress waved them off without a word, striding directly to the center of the Nine Dragon Pillars. Her gaze locked onto the southwestern pillar, which was glowing intermittently.

She extended a hand, her sleeve brushing against her snow-white wrist.

With a light touch of her finger, the pillar burst into a beam of dazzling light, piercing through the depths of the sea, breaking through the surface, and surging straight into the clouds!

The North Sea roared, waves towering high. The Dragon Empress closed her eyes as the ocean currents surged. Her imperial robes clung tightly to her graceful figure, highlighting her unmatched beauty.

“Crash!”

Suddenly, the pillar of light vanished. The waves subsided, and calm returned to the North Sea.

The Dragon Empress slowly opened her eyes.

“Shijia Village,” she murmured, her heart repeating the name over and over.

Her amber eyes glimmered with uncertainty, and her delicate lips pressed into a tight line.