20: Chapter 20 The Second Child, Daughter of the Moon

The rebellious faction of Wei Yong was purged with iron-fisted ruthlessness.

The Extraterritorial Blood Demons he colluded with were wiped out by Li Xuan with a flick of his finger.

The gloom that had hung over the Great Xia Divine Dynasty for decades had dissipated.

The national fortune became clear and bright.

The Golden Dragon of Fortune above the imperial palace had become somewhat more solid.

A dragon roar echoed, filled with satisfaction.

The Capital of Great Xia was in the midst of a jubilant celebration, rejoicing in having survived the disaster.

Everyone was chanting the name of the Retired Emperor, their eyes burning with fervor.

In the imperial court, the Emperor, Li Zhan, had changed.

His childishness was gone, replaced by the dignity of an emperor.

Holding the list given to him by Li Xuan, he wielded it like a butcher's knife.

With bold and decisive actions, he uprooted the malignant tumors one by one.

The guillotine at the vegetable market never stopped.

Countless heads fell, and blood stained the streets.

The common people were not afraid; on the contrary, they clapped and cheered.

With the fall of Wei Yong and his cohorts, the confiscated assets piled up like mountains, and all exorbitant taxes and levies were abolished.

The lives of the common people suddenly became much better.

Everyone knew that all of this was the credit of that Retired Emperor.

Li Xuan was very satisfied.

This grandson of his finally looked like an emperor; his efforts had not been in vain.

These past few days, he had been living leisurely.

He would tease his eldest son, Li Changsheng, who could already crawl all over the floor and wanted to slash a sword whenever he grabbed something.

Then he would go to Yue Chan's palace; the second child was arriving soon.

Life was extremely comfortable.

One day, at night.

Li Xuan sat cross-legged in the Dragon Imperial Hall.

He practiced his Cultivation Technique, consolidating his cultivation at the first level of the Marquis Realm.

A wisp of his Divine Thought silently monitored the entire imperial palace.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

His gaze shot toward the depths of the inner palace.

The direction of the Qingyue Palace.

A unique aura of life was rapidly growing there, about to be born.

That aura was completely different from the sharp and overbearing nature of Li Changsheng.

It was cold, quiet, and profound.

A chill, carrying a sense of lofty loneliness.

"Is the birth beginning?"

Li Xuan smiled, full of anticipation.

Just then.

A celestial phenomenon descended!

Outside the imperial palace, the moonlight in the night sky dimmed in a strange way.

The moonlight seemed to be erased by an invisible force.

The entire world instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness.

Countless commoners looking up at the night sky let out cries of terror.

"The Heavenly Dog is devouring the moon!"

"What is happening? Why has the moon disappeared!"

This darkness lasted for less than three breaths.

Boom!

A cold moonlight, a hundred times brighter than before, poured down from the zenith!

Everyone looked up in shock.

A massive silver moon appeared out of thin air.

It was so huge that it occupied half the sky, emitting a bright and cold radiance.

This was not the real moon.

It was a projection.

It was a manifestation of the Bright Moon, condensed from pure energy.

A layer of silver halo surrounded it.

The temperature between heaven and earth plummeted.

But this cold was not bone-piercing; instead, it made people feel refreshed.

"What... what is this?"

"A miracle! It's a miracle again!"

"Good heavens, what has been happening to our Great Xia recently? Miracles appear every other day; first the Ten Thousand Swords Paying Homage, and now the Bright Moon in the Sky—is this going to ascend to heaven?"

The commoners in the capital went from terror to numbness, and finally to wild joy.

This must be the work of His Majesty, the Retired Emperor.

It's best to get used to it.

Inside the imperial palace, the phenomenon was even more astonishing.

The radiance of that massive bright moon did not shine upon the whole earth.

It transformed into a silver pillar of light, pouring down from the sky.

It poured precisely, all of it, onto the roof of the 'Qingyue Palace' in the inner palace!

The viscous Lunar Power formed a massive silver vortex, surging into the palace.

All the exotic flowers and plants in the inner palace, touched by the Lunar Power, began to grow wildly.

Those plants belonging to the Yin element went even crazier, blooming and bearing fruit at an astonishing speed.

Countless palace maids and concubines, bathed in the moonlight, felt refreshed, their internal ailments and fatigue swept away, and their skin became smooth and delicate.

They rushed out of their sleeping quarters, kneeling and kowtowing to the massive bright moon in the sky, filled with both shock and joy.

A loud cry of a baby emanated from within the "Qingyue Palace".

This cry was clear and ethereal, not like a sound of the mortal world.

It seemed to contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.

The crying sounded.

The massive silver energy vortex in the sky found an outlet.

It suddenly accelerated.

It all submerged into the palace.

In an instant, the Qingyue Palace shone with brilliant silver light, the radiance almost blowing off the roof.

The projection of the bright moon above the firmament had completed its mission; with a flash of light, it dissipated.

The night sky returned to its original state.

But that cold and sacred aura still lingered over the capital, lasting for a long time.

Inside the Dragon Imperial Hall.

Li Xuan stood quietly to the side, having watched this celestial phenomenon, his face full of satisfaction.

"Good heavens, this spectacle is not one bit inferior to that kid, Changsheng."

As expected of my, Li Xuan's, offspring!

Giving birth to a child is like Undergoing Tribulation; truly, no one can compare.

The familiar System notification sound rang in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the Host, your second offspring has successfully arrived in the world!]

[Detected that this offspring is born with the "Lunar Holy Body", triggering the "Bright Moon in the Sky" celestial phenomenon! The Luck is overwhelming; she has the potential of an Empress!]

[System comprehensive evaluation: S+ grade!]

[Now distributing rewards:]

[One: Congratulations to the Host for a surge in cultivation, increasing from "Marquis Realm Level 1" to "Marquis Realm Level 4"!]

[Two: Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the supreme Body Refining technique—the "Great Sun Furnace Scripture"!]

Boom!

The System notification sound ceased.

A massive surge of energy emerged within his body!

It was more massive and vast than any time before, and ten thousand times purer.

This energy came from the Void Realm of a higher dimension, appearing out of thin air, irresistibly scouring his limbs, bones, and Meridians!

"Ugh!"

Even though Li Xuan had the Everlasting Immortal Body and a powerful Physical Body, he couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.

It was too fierce!

It was really too fierce!

His newly consolidated Dao foundation was rapidly expanding, solidifying, and elevating!

The cave heaven world within his body shook violently.

Under the infusion of this energy, the original sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, plants, and trees became more realistic and vivid, faintly giving birth to a trace of true "World Power"!

The "Array" Law he grasped was also perfecting and sublimating.

Peak of Marquis Realm Level 1!

Breakthrough!

Marquis Realm Level 2!

Bottleneck?

Non-existent.

In front of the System's energy, the Realm barrier was merely a formality.

The torrent of energy did not stop, continuing to surge upwards!

Peak of Marquis Realm Level 2!

Breakthrough!

Marquis Realm Level 3!

It wasn't over yet!

The energy was endless, pushing his cultivation to climb all the way up!

Only when his cave heaven world was about to explode did that energy subside.

His cultivation steadily stopped at Marquis Realm Level 4!

Li Xuan exhaled a long breath of scorching white air.

That breath of white air shot out, causing the space in front of him to twist slightly.

He clenched his fist.

As he clenched his fist, the air in his palm emitted an explosive sound.

The power within his body was more than ten times stronger than before!

Before, he was a novice in the Marquis Realm; now, he had stepped into the ranks of veteran powerhouses!

With his current strength, if he were to face that Elder Qian Kun of the Ziyang Holy Land again, he would probably be able to turn the other party, along with their cave heaven, into ashes with just a single thought!

"Refreshing!"

Li Xuan felt satisfied in his heart.

Is this the joy of spreading one's branches and leaves?

He loved it immensely!

The rewards for giving birth to children were much more powerful than any sign-in or monster-killing rewards.

It seems he will have to work harder in the future.

For the future of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty, and for his own cultivation, this harem of three thousand is imperative!

His mind submerged into the second reward.

"Great Sun Furnace Scripture".

Countless pieces of information flooded into his mind.

"Heaven and earth are the furnace, creation is the craftsman, Yin and Yang are the fuel, and all things are the copper!"

The very first sentence showed absolute dominance!

This was a supreme Body Refining technique that was extremely Yang and extremely rigid.

It turns oneself into a heaven and earth furnace, devouring all things, and refining the light of the sun, moon, and stars for one's own use!

When practiced to the extreme, the Physical Body becomes an eternal great sun, shining upon the heavens, indestructible through all kalpas!

Li Xuan understood the terror of this technique and actually felt a bit of toothache.

It was too strong.

It was also too coincidental.

His daughter was the extremely Yin Lunar Holy Body.

The System rewarded the extremely Yang Great Sun Furnace Scripture.

One Yin and one Yang.

Interesting.

"Is the System trying to play a cultivation game? Or is it setting up some father-daughter Dual Cultivation package? Pfft, pfft, pfft, it's Yin and Yang complementing each other!"

Li Xuan shook off these messy thoughts.

Thinking about this was too early.

The urgent task at hand was to go and see the precious daughter who had delivered such a great gift.

With a thought, he disappeared without a trace.

In an instant, he had quietly appeared in the sleeping quarters of the Qingyue Palace.

The palace maids and imperial physicians were still in shock; no one noticed him.

On the bed, Yue Chan had just finished giving birth, yet she showed no signs of fatigue.

She had absorbed a massive amount of Lunar Power, and her entire being had been reborn.

Her skin was like snow, and she was glowing with health.

Between her brows, there was a hint of cold sanctity, and she was peerlessly beautiful.

Seeing Li Xuan, her cold face instantly blossomed into a gentle smile.

"Xuan-lang, you are here."

"You have worked hard."

Li Xuan walked to the bedside, his voice very soft, his eyes full of tenderness and pity.

Yue Chan shook her head, gently picked up the small baby wrapped in a brocade quilt beside her, and handed her to Li Xuan.

"Take a quick look; it's our daughter."

Li Xuan gently took the child.

She felt cool and smooth to the touch.

This tactile sensation was not like an infant.

It was like top-grade cold jade.

He looked down.

The baby girl in the swaddling clothes was very quiet, neither crying nor fussing.

She kept her eyes open, watching Li Xuan without blinking.

What kind of eyes were those?

Her eyes were as deep as the starry sky.

The pupils were pure pitch black, with two small silver moons floating within them.

Just by making eye contact for a moment, Li Xuan felt his soul captured by them.

Good heavens!

Even natural alluring bones wouldn't be this powerful!

If she grows up, what will happen then?

He looked with his Heavy Pupils.

Inside his daughter's small body, the Origin of Lunar Power was perfectly fused with her flesh, Meridians, and bones, forming a perfect structure that was close to the "Dao".

This was the "Lunar Holy Body"!

Born in harmony with the Lunar Dao, her future was limitless!

The more Li Xuan looked, the more he liked her.

He extended his finger and tapped his daughter's small face.

The little one didn't dodge; she watched him quietly, and then, her small mouth opened, revealing a shallow smile with a cold, clear hint of amusement.

With this smile, Li Xuan's heart warmed.

"Xuan-lang, we haven't named our daughter yet," Yue Chan reminded him softly from the side.

Li Xuan looked at his daughter's moon-like eyes and recalled the celestial phenomenon at her birth.

He smiled.

"She was born in the Qingyue Palace and triggered the Bright Moon in the Sky phenomenon; why not call her..."

"Qingyue."

"Li Qingyue."