Yin Yang True Qi, when used individually, possessed astonishing power, and when combined, it was even more outrageous.
Moreover, Li Xuan also discovered that the recovery speed of his Yin Yang True Qi was astonishing; at the intensity he had just used it, it could almost recover as it was being used, completely without consumption.
Li Xuan could vaguely sense that the Yin Yang True Qi within his body could restore itself by absorbing any elemental energy from the outside world.
As long as it existed in the form of energy, no matter which of the five elements it belonged to, it could be absorbed and utilized by Li Xuan.
"Why do I feel like I always have an elemental advantage in any situation?"
Li Xuan swallowed with a gulp, a bold guess forming in his mind.
He had only experienced the tip of the iceberg of Yin Yang True Qi, and it was already astonishing; no wonder so many human geniuses had come one after another over the years, just to achieve a feat rarely accomplished in thousands of years.
"It wasn't for nothing that I went through so much trouble in between."
Li Xuan silently clenched his Meow Meow Fist, feeling incredibly excited.
It was truly like parting the clouds to see the sun, waiting for the clouds to clear to see the moon.
"Meow, woo! (Yin Yang True Qi, achieved!)"
Li Xuan raised his Meow Meow Fist high, proud of his accomplishment.
"After consolidating my Qi Sensing Realm cultivation, I'll move on to the next stage of cultivation."
"I wonder what kind of realm the Fifth Rank is."
Li Xuan was already looking ahead, wanting to cultivate to the next stage right after cultivating True Qi.
Now that he had cultivated True Qi, he was considered to have entered the Middle Three Ranks.
According to the two Qi Sensing Realm cultivation methods he had previously practiced, the entire Middle Three Ranks revolved around the application of True Qi as its core.
Li Xuan had seen Xu Lang, a Fifth Rank cultivator, make a move before; with a single palm strike, he could materialize his True Qi, making his moves not only flashy but also incredibly powerful.
Li Xuan guessed that since the Sixth Rank was about cultivating True Qi, then the Fifth Rank should be about how to apply and strengthen True Qi.
After all, with the faint Yin Yang True Qi in his body now, trying to materialize anything would be extremely difficult.
It would probably not be easy to materialize a water dragon like the one Xu Lang conjured.
"Oh, right."
"No one has cultivated Yin Yang True Qi for so many years; could it be that even the cultivation methods have been lost?"
Li Xuan couldn't help but feel a little worried.
But he immediately shook his head: "No, no, that's the Imperial family's Thousand Stars Pavilion; there must be advanced cultivation methods for Yin Yang True Qi there, otherwise Elder Ye wouldn't have recommended those two Qi Sensing Realm cultivation methods to me."
"It's just that there's still some time until I can go to the Thousand Stars Pavilion again…"
Li Xuan had tasted the joy of breakthrough and now wished he could immediately begin cultivation for the next rank.
And just at this moment, a call suddenly came from behind him.
"Li Xuan?"
Li Xuan was startled and instantly turned his head, only to find Chief Steward Shang standing on the roof ridge behind him.
Chief Steward Shang overlooked the courtyard, his brow slightly furrowed as he looked at the pile of dust not far away.
"Li Xuan, was that commotion just now caused by you?"
Chief Steward Shang floated down in front of Li Xuan and asked.
Li Xuan had not noticed when Chief Steward Shang arrived at all.
His previously somewhat complacent mood due to the breakthrough was instantly dispelled, allowing him to regain a humble mindset.
"Sigh, there's still a big gap."
Li Xuan sighed inwardly and nodded his head in acknowledgment.
Chief Steward Shang squatted down, reached out a finger, and gently stroked Li Xuan's head, teasing, "You're quite diligent, coming out to practice so early."
"It's just that you don't consider this old man; my sweet dreams were disturbed so early in the morning."
Li Xuan chuckled somewhat sheepishly.
It was indeed quite early, but he had gone to bed early and confusedly last night, so there was nothing he could do about it.
However, as Chief Steward Shang touched Li Xuan, his expression subtly changed.
"Li Xuan, you…"
Chief Steward Shang sensed that something had changed in Li Xuan's body, but he couldn't quite make it out.
Until yesterday, there had never been such a situation.
Chief Steward Shang's mind raced, his pupils contracted, and he had a bold guess.
But a voice immediately sounded in his mind, refuting it.
"Impossible!"
"How long has it been?"
Chief Steward Shang was well aware that Li Xuan had not even been cultivating the Qi Sensing Realm methods for a full three months.
Three months per rank seemed like a very slow pace to Li Xuan.
But to Chief Steward Shang, this was a major event that should be recorded in the history of human cultivation.
"Could it be that beast races are more suitable for cultivation?"
Chief Steward Shang, despite his advanced age, couldn't help but start doubting his life.
Li Xuan saw Chief Steward Shang suddenly freeze, standing dazed on the spot, and guessed that his breakthrough had been noticed by Chief Steward Shang.
He didn't hide it either; he immediately took two steps back, raised his two cat paws, and each condensed Yin and Yang True Qi.
Chief Steward Shang looked at the two black and white spheres of light on Li Xuan's paws, his hand trembling as he pointed, his mouth agape but unable to utter a single word.
It was the first time Li Xuan had seen Chief Steward Shang so agitated, and he felt secretly pleased.
He then played another trick, bringing his two cat paws together; the two spheres of light were immediately attracted to each other, converging in the space between his paws to form a slowly rotating Yin-Yang symbol, though it was much smaller and more miniature than the one inside Li Xuan's body.
The moment he saw the Yin-Yang symbol, Chief Steward Shang's half-squatting body suddenly went limp, and he knelt before Li Xuan, his hands cupping Li Xuan's cat paws.
"Yin-Yang… True Qi…"
Chief Steward Shang had never imagined that one day he would witness this legendary True Qi with his own eyes.
He felt the True Qi slowly emanating from his palms, then flowing into the Yin-Yang symbol.
"It really is Yin Yang True Qi."
Chief Steward Shang murmured to himself, his expression complex, making it difficult to discern his emotions.
Li Xuan also discovered that the Yin-Yang symbol between his paws could actually absorb Chief Steward Shang's True Qi, though the absorption speed was very slow, and for Chief Steward Shang himself, it was a negligible consumption.
"So Chief Steward Shang has water-attribute True Qi."
As the Yin-Yang symbol absorbed Chief Steward Shang's True Qi, Li Xuan clearly sensed the attribute of Chief Steward Shang's True Qi.
Li Xuan had originally thought that Chief Steward Shang might cultivate a mutated attribute outside of the five elements, but he hadn't expected it to be the simple and unadorned water attribute.
However, this water-attribute True Qi was extremely rich, like a vast ocean.
"Feng'er was right."
"Li Xuan, you truly are a divine omen for our Great Xing!"
Chief Steward Shang suddenly said excitedly.
"Good, good, good!"
"Heaven bless Great Xing, Heaven bless Great Xing!"
Li Xuan noticed that Chief Steward Shang's eyes were slightly red, with tears glistening in them.
"This…"
Li Xuan hadn't expected his breakthrough to make Chief Steward Shang so emotional.
"Li Xuan, this matter needs to be reported to His Majesty."
"Today, don't go anywhere; come with me to the palace to meet His Majesty."
Chief Steward Shang stood up abruptly, pacing back and forth, making arrangements.
It was the first time Li Xuan had seen Chief Steward Shang so flustered.
Just then, Chief Steward Shang suddenly remembered something, and then earnestly instructed Li Xuan:
"Li Xuan, you must keep the matter of you cultivating Yin Yang True Qi a strict secret. Do not let anyone with ill intentions find out, otherwise, a great disaster may befall you!"
"As for who can know, that will become clear when you meet His Majesty later."
"Before that, for the safety of you and the Princess, you absolutely must not reveal it casually."
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan immediately extinguished the Yin-Yang Fish and reabsorbed the Yin Yang True Qi back into his body.
Chief Steward Shang nodded and continued, "I'll go make the arrangements now. You go back and accompany the Princess first."
After Chief Steward Shang finished speaking, he hurriedly left, clearly to prepare for the imperial audience.
Li Xuan, on the other hand, obediently returned to the room and climbed back onto Princess Ankang's bed.
The joy of his breakthrough gradually cooled down at this moment.
"Chief Steward Shang also said earlier that my cultivation of Yin Yang True Qi is a blessing from heaven to Great Xing, a sign of auspiciousness."
"But can such a good thing also bring disaster?"
"So is this because they can't stand Ankang, or can't stand Great Xing?"
"Or both?"
Li Xuan helplessly found that as he grew stronger, the world he saw became clearer, yet also more ambiguous.
What was clear was the essence of this world, bringing him closer and closer to the source of power.
What was ambiguous was also this world, those various people living in it, and their intricate forces.
"When can I break free from these restraints and roam freely with Ankang and Yu'er in this world?"
Li Xuan sighed.
He suddenly realized that this was, on the contrary, the most difficult thing in the world, much harder than cultivation.
"Hmm..."
At this moment, Princess Ankang let out a murmur, waking up groggily from her sleep.
Without even opening her eyes, she fumbled on her head, immediately found Li Xuan, and then pulled the soft, warm Little Cat into her arms.
"Li Xuan, Li Xuan..."
Princess Ankang called Li Xuan's name, rubbing her face against Li Xuan's smooth fur, and mumbled, "What should I eat for breakfast?"
"How strange, I'm hungry as soon as I wake up..."
The little girl slept and ate, ate and slept, truly a lazy little pig.
Listening to her muttering the breakfast menu, Li Xuan felt exceptionally at ease and no longer worried about anything else, seriously discussing with Princess Ankang what to have for breakfast later.
...
In the morning, after eating the breakfast they had decided on, the Three Little Ones took a carriage, escorted by Chief Steward Shang leading a group of Flower-Clothed Eunuchs, to the palace for an audience.
Everything on the way was orderly, and the Three Little Ones soon followed Chief Steward Shang to the front of Ganlu Hall.
After a notification, Princess Ankang and Yu'er were led to a side hall, while Li Xuan followed Chief Steward Shang into Ganlu Hall.
Princess Ankang was originally a bit reluctant for Li Xuan to leave her, but facing her Imperial Father, she could not disobey.
Moreover, when Princess Ankang came, she was not without anticipation of meeting her Imperial Father.
She could no longer recall the appearance of Emperor Yongyuan, and thought this would be an opportunity, but she couldn't even enter Ganlu Hall.
Li Xuan nodded to the somewhat dejected Princess Ankang, assuring her not to worry about him.
Princess Ankang immediately returned a smile to Li Xuan, then obediently followed Yu'er to the side hall.
Actually, Li Xuan also didn't quite understand why Emperor Yongyuan wouldn't meet Princess Ankang even when she was at the door; it wouldn't kill him.
But Emperor Yongyuan seemed very averse to meeting his own children.
Almost no Imperial Prince or Imperial Princess had ever come to his Ganlu Hall for an audience.
Li Xuan followed Chief Steward Shang into Ganlu Hall and saw Emperor Yongyuan.
Today, Emperor Yongyuan was more relaxed; he wasn't busy with any official duties, but was casually draped in his crimson dragon robe, slowly practicing some health-preserving cultivation method.
Emperor Yongyuan's movements were slow, but each one was quite steady.
Li Xuan hadn't noticed before, but now he found that Emperor Yongyuan also had True Qi in him.
However, the strength of this True Qi made Li Xuan a bit uncertain.
It seemed very strong, yet also very weak.
Li Xuan had just broken through to the Qi Sensing Realm, and some of the uses of Yin Yang True Qi were still unfamiliar to him, so he didn't pay too much attention to this detail.
"Yin Yang True Qi has many wonderful uses; I still need to develop them more in the future."
But just the ability to perceive the opponent's True Qi, and even its attributes, was very practical and could qualitatively transform Li Xuan's reconnaissance capabilities.
"I didn't expect Emperor Yongyuan to be so busy, yet still find time to cultivate."
Li Xuan looked around and found that they were all familiar faces.
Wang Xi, the Lantern Eunuch by Emperor Yongyuan's side, was short and stocky, looking like a small potato, with thick black hair and a perpetually cheerful smile on his face, a vibrant old eunuch.
In addition, there were Elder Ye, Zhao Feng, and Chief Steward Shang, who had brought him in.
All of Emperor Yongyuan's close confidants were old eunuchs from the palace.
Seeing Li Xuan brought in by Chief Steward Shang, Emperor Yongyuan stopped his cultivation, directly ended his practice and sat down, then asked Li Xuan:
"Li Xuan, I heard you cultivated Yin Yang True Qi, is that true?"
In his memory, it was the first time Emperor Yongyuan had been so direct, which made Li Xuan realize that his breakthrough was not as simple as he thought.
"No matter how rare this Yin Yang True Qi is, I'm only in the Qi Sensing Realm, having just cultivated True Qi."
"Why are they so concerned?"
Although Li Xuan was puzzled, he still nodded.
"Come up, let me take a closer look."
Emperor Yongyuan patted his imperial desk, the eagerness in his eyes undisguised.
Li Xuan didn't dally, immediately jumped onto the imperial desk, and as before, condensed a small Yin-Yang Fish again.
The moment the Yin-Yang Fish appeared, Ganlu Hall suddenly fell silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Emperor Yongyuan and the Grand Eunuchs stared intently at the tiny, tiny Yin-Yang Fish.
After a long while, Emperor Yongyuan suddenly burst into laughter:
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"The very destiny of Great Xing is actually tied to a cat."
"Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!"
Li Xuan quietly put away the Yin-Yang Fish, looking at the discomposed Emperor Yongyuan before him.
It was the first time he had seen Emperor Yongyuan so emotional.
"Sigh, can you guys stop being riddle-tellers and quickly tell me what exactly is going on?"
Li Xuan sighed, turning to see the Grand Eunuchs looking at each other with complex expressions, then silently lowering their heads, avoiding looking at Emperor Yongyuan above.
At this moment, after his laughter, Emperor Yongyuan suddenly picked up Li Xuan and held him high.
"Li Xuan, as long as you are willing to be the Protector Divine Beast of Great Xing, I will ensure Ankang a lifetime of peace and happiness."
"I can even help her ascend the throne and become the Empress of Great Xing. There is no problem."
"What do you say?"