Cat Overlord and Fat Orange broke through their realms. The Three Little Ones held a celebration for them in Jingyang Palace, and Niu Niu, who usually just loafed around during cultivation, also got to enjoy a good meal.
Li Xuan watched silently from the side.
These two girls and three cats were all the power they had in Jingyang Palace.
Although their power was still very weak, Li Xuan believed that one day it would be filled with people and cats.
By then, whether in the palace or outside, no one would dare to underestimate their Jingyang Palace.
...
A few days later, it was again the time of the month for Li Xuan to suffer.
A Little Cat, after all, always had a few days each month where he felt uncomfortable.
The Ice-Cold Breath within Li Xuan's body was full again, and it was time to absorb the coldness for Ankang Princess.
Ankang Princess had already mastered the Ling Xu Finger Strength, which he had just taught her last month, to a respectable degree.
Even the exceptionally talented Li Xuan felt ashamed at the terrifying speed with which she picked up this cultivation method.
If Ankang Princess could cultivate every day like a normal person, Li Xuan couldn't imagine how high her achievements would be.
"Ordinary ninth-rank cultivation methods only need to be practiced three times to reach completion. What kind of monster is this?"
"Could it be that no matter what rank of cultivation method, she only needs to practice it three times to reach completion?"
"If I could find a first-rank cultivation method..."
Li Xuan quickly shook his head, driving this dangerous thought out of his mind.
Right now, just teaching Ankang Princess a ninth-rank cultivation method, it was already so difficult for him to absorb the coldness.
Even if Ankang Princess could cultivate a first-rank cultivation method now, Li Xuan would absolutely not dare to let her cultivate it.
Because by then, Ankang Princess might only need three times to cultivate a first-rank cultivation method to the completion realm.
But before that, Li Xuan and Ankang Princess would definitely be further engulfed by the surging coldness that erupted.
Long ago, Li Xuan had already speculated that the coldness erupting within Ankang Princess's body should have a great deal to do with the cultivation method she was currently practicing.
This was also why, even though Ankang Princess's physical quality had already reached the ninth-rank realm, Li Xuan still dared not let her cultivate an eighth-rank cultivation method.
"Unless all ninth-rank cultivation methods become ineffective, I absolutely cannot easily raise the rank of the cultivation method unless it's absolutely necessary."
Li Xuan thought firmly.
After Ankang Princess finished her cultivation, the person and the cat familiarly climbed onto the bed, burrowed into the covers, and prepared for a good night's sleep.
Ankang Princess held Li Xuan, who was lying on her stomach, and gently stroked him, feeling Li Xuan's silky smooth fur.
"Li Xuan, we'll see each other later~"
Ankang Princess said softly, slowly unable to resist the heaviness of her eyelids, and unconsciously fell into a deep sleep.
"Meow~"
Li Xuan also let out a soft meow, then silently closed his eyes, concentrating his mind and calming his breath, preparing to face the upcoming severe cold.
"It's okay, Ling Xu Finger Strength is still useful, the cultivation method hasn't completely reached completion yet, the coldness in Ankang's body won't erupt further..."
Li Xuan kept muttering to himself in his mind, trying to relax as much as possible.
And in the next moment, the coldness in Ankang Princess's body erupted as expected, surging into Li Xuan's body.
"Grumble—"
Li Xuan subconsciously let out an unbearable groan, then felt his consciousness gradually blur, the Ice-Cold Breath in his body rapidly depleting, and the defenses within his body collapsing.
...
"Woo—"
When Ankang Princess opened her eyes again, she couldn't help but let out a comfortable groan, then stretched a big yawn on the bed.
But then Ankang Princess felt a lump on her stomach, and this familiar sensation quickly made her realize what it was.
"Li Xuan~"
Ankang Princess called out Li Xuan's name in a sweet, soft voice, her two small hands rummaging under the covers.
Soon she touched Li Xuan's body, and her touch felt a chill.
At this moment, Ankang Princess couldn't help but frown, and her eyes immediately filled with a mist of water, but she bravely held it back.
"Li Xuan, are you alright?"
Ankang Princess's voice was full of grievance, knowing that she had dragged Li Xuan down again.
If it weren't for her, Li Xuan wouldn't have to suffer like this every month.
But remembering that these things had already been agreed upon last month, Ankang Princess quickly forced herself to cheer up.
She had no way to stop Li Xuan from doing these things for her, so she could only recover as soon as possible and no longer make Li Xuan work so hard.
But Ankang Princess couldn't help but wonder if she would truly have the day she recovered her health.
Ankang Princess picked up Li Xuan, letting his head stick out from under the covers.
Li Xuan was still sleeping, his body curled into a ball, wishing he could bury his head in his stomach.
Ankang Princess looked at Li Xuan's current sleeping posture and couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
She tucked him in, then hugged him tightly, lying together on the bed.
Ankang Princess reached out and stroked Li Xuan's head, then played with his small ear with her finger, and whispered:
"Li Xuan, you need to wake up quickly, and then we'll go out and play together, okay?"
It was almost dusk when Li Xuan groggily opened his eyes.
"The Ice-Cold Breath has been depleted again..."
Li Xuan felt a wave of weakness as soon as he woke up.
He tilted his head and found Ankang Princess holding him, lying beside him, blinking a pair of lively and beautiful light blue eyes, staring straight at him.
Seeing him wake up, a mischievous smile gradually appeared on Ankang Princess's face.
"Hehe, Li Xuan, you can really sleep~"
"What a little piggy!"
Ankang Princess laughed and gently scratched Li Xuan's head, which Li Xuan bit in protest.
"Meow! (Who are you calling a little piggy!)"
Seeing Li Xuan's reaction, Ankang Princess couldn't help but burst into laughter, burrowing under the covers, her small hands restlessly beginning to tease Li Xuan.
She patted his butt on the left, rubbed his belly on the right, relying on her arms and hands being more flexible than Li Xuan's, intending to bully her own little piggy.
As a result, Ankang Princess was only proud for a moment before Li Xuan immediately pinned down her hands, unable to move anymore.
Pat pat pat—
"Oh, Li Xuan~"
"I won't dare again, please spare me!"
"I won't call you a little piggy anymore, is that okay?"
After being slapped on the butt several times by Li Xuan's tail, Ankang Princess immediately begged for mercy repeatedly, losing her previous arrogance.
Li Xuan proudly raised his head, then slapped Ankang Princess's butt three more times, teaching her a good lesson before releasing her hands.
Li Xuan had actually just discovered that his current state was much better than before.
Although the Ice-Cold Breath in his body was completely depleted, the Yin-Yang Power had become exceptionally active.
The activity of the Yin-Yang Power made Li Xuan's body, which had been ravaged by the coldness, feel much better, and the recovery of the Ice-Cold Breath was also stimulated to be much faster.
"Oh, it seems that the existence of Yin-Yang Power has greatly enhanced my recovery ability."
"In that case, my actual consumption isn't as great as I imagined, and I'll be able to recover to a very ideal state soon."
"It's just that Ankang's Ling Xu Finger Strength will probably reach perfection next time."
"I don't have much time left…"
Just as Li Xuan was pondering these things, he suddenly felt a great force on his backside, pushing him directly headfirst into the quilt.
Li Xuan angrily turned his head to look, only to see the back of Princess Ankang hastily fleeing the scene, with only bursts of suppressed laughter.
"You naughty girl, just wait until I get my hands on you!"
Li Xuan hadn't expected Princess Ankang to be so mischievous today; after several lashes of his tail as punishment, she still dared to touch his backside.
He immediately let out a "Meow!" and jumped off the bed, intending to get revenge on Princess Ankang.
Princess Ankang, who had run into the courtyard, saw Li Xuan chasing her and quickly shouted with a smile:
"Sister Yu'er, help!"
"Li Xuan is rebelling!"
"Who's going to manage this Little Pig Cat?!"
"Meow? Meow! (You still dare to call me a Little Pig Cat, do you? Just you wait and see!)"
After some playful chasing and teasing, Princess Ankang finally surrendered wholeheartedly under Li Xuan's mighty presence.
"Sister Yu'er, you didn't even help me."
Princess Ankang whined, feigning pitifulness.
Yu'er sat by the stone table, wiped clean a freshly washed pear, and then handed it to Princess Ankang.
Princess Ankang didn't stand on ceremony, taking a crisp bite, the sweetness of the pear juice lingering in her mouth.
"Speaking of which, it was Your Highness's fault."
"Even if Li Xuan is truly fat, Your Highness shouldn't call him a Little Pig Cat to his face."
"Li Xuan will be sad to hear that."
Yu'er immediately acted as a mediator.
But the more Li Xuan listened, the more something felt off.
"Is Yu'er hinting at something?"
Li Xuan couldn't help but look down at his belly, finding that it hadn't bulged at all.
His belly was still far from being like Fat Orange's.
"Two scrawny, stinky girls, what do they know."
"To have a good figure, you need some meat."
Li Xuan thought angrily, his paws tucked in, sulking.
Princess Ankang, eating the pear, regained some strength and mischievously began to pull at Li Xuan's tucked-in cat paws again, looking as if she was asking for another scolding.
Li Xuan immediately gave Princess Ankang a look, letting her understand the implications.
Princess Ankang immediately sat up straight, not daring to be mischievous anymore, lowering her head to concentrate on eating the pear, only occasionally glancing at Li Xuan to check his reaction.
Li Xuan shook his head with a silent smile; every time he helped Princess Ankang absorb the coldness from her body, the girl would always act a bit crazy for a while.
He hadn't expected her to be exceptionally mischievous today, even provoking him.
But at that moment, Princess Ankang suddenly said something astonishing:
"Li Xuan, I feel much better."
"How about we skip next month for now?"
Princess Ankang cautiously probed.
Yu'er also put down what she was doing and looked nervously at Li Xuan.
Only then did Li Xuan realize what Princess Ankang was trying to do.
"Is she worried about me?"
Li Xuan smiled, then shook his head.
"Why?"
Princess Ankang asked, puzzled.
"My body is getting better and better; there's no need to help me absorb the coldness from my body so frequently, right?"
"My body getting better and better also proves that I can definitely live longer than Imperial Physician Xue predicted, right?"
"How about we invite Imperial Physician Xue over again to examine me? The diagnosis will surely be much better than it was back then."
Indeed, what Princess Ankang said made sense.
But Li Xuan just silently wrote three words in the air with his tail.
"What if?"
Seeing these three words, Princess Ankang and Yu'er both fell silent.
Yu'er's feelings were the same as Li Xuan's; she also didn't dare to gamble on the complete absence of such a possibility.
Because she, like Li Xuan, was unwilling to lose Princess Ankang no matter what.
Faced with these three words, Princess Ankang didn't know what to say.
"No wonder I felt strange when I woke up today."
Li Xuan sighed inwardly, but he could also understand Princess Ankang's thoughts.
Presumably, she must have noticed the pattern of her physique by now.
Next time, Ling Xu Finger Strength should reach perfection.
After Ling Xu Finger Strength reaches perfection, the coldness within Princess Ankang's body will further erupt.
Previously, Li Xuan had just happened to break through to the Qi Sensing Realm and completed the cultivation of the Lower Three Ranks, which allowed him to successfully suppress the eruption of coldness.
But this time, Li Xuan's cultivation in the Qi Sensing Realm was clearly not as fast as before.
Princess Ankang and Li Xuan had been together day and night, so she had naturally noticed the difficulties Li Xuan faced in his Qi Sensing Realm cultivation long ago.
Therefore, Princess Ankang was truly afraid that Li Xuan wouldn't be able to withstand the next further eruption of coldness within her body.
And that time might be less than two months away.
In less than two months, could Li Xuan truly advance his strength further and withstand the coldness eruption after Ling Xu Finger Strength reached perfection?
Princess Ankang held a pessimistic attitude towards this, which was why she wanted Li Xuan to slow down.
According to Princess Ankang's idea, as long as her body was fine, she would rather Li Xuan help her absorb the coldness from her body according to the progress of his own cultivation, instead of eagerly helping her absorb the coldness as soon as the Ice-Cold Breath in Li Xuan's body recovered, as he did now.
They could both fully understand each other's thoughts.
But it was precisely this understanding that made them unwilling to compromise.
Because they were both sincerely thinking only of the other.
Finally, Li Xuan still assured Princess Ankang:
"Don't worry."
"I won't be reckless."
"I still want to be by your side for a lifetime."
Li Xuan looked at Princess Ankang gently and slowly wrote.
Princess Ankang pressed her face against Li Xuan's head and then said:
"You said it, you can't go back on your word."
"Next time, if my Ling Xu Finger Strength reaches perfection."
"If you want to help me absorb the coldness again, and I don't see any progress in your strength, I will absolutely not agree."
"Even you can't force me to cultivate."
Princess Ankang stubbornly spoke these words.
Li Xuan immediately felt a headache.
"This girl…"
But what Princess Ankang said was true; if this matter didn't have Princess Ankang's cooperation, Li Xuan couldn't force her either.
Moreover, Princess Ankang's words also reminded Li Xuan of something.
Now that Princess Ankang's health had improved quite a bit, perhaps it was truly possible to have Imperial Physician Xue diagnose her thoroughly again; perhaps a turning point had already appeared.
Even if no turning point appeared, using Imperial Physician Xue as a pretense to free Princess Ankang from the confines of the wheelchair should also be put on the agenda.
"However, inviting Imperial Physician Xue must be kept hidden from the Two Chief Eunuchs of the Internal Affairs Bureau."
"Otherwise, Emperor Yongyuan will certainly find out."
"At that time, if they dig deep, it will be troublesome."
Li Xuan pondered these thoughts, already having a plan in mind.