Qi Yu, with her little belly sticking out, slept exceptionally soundly.
Yan Hua gently poked her small belly with another dragon claw, and as expected, Qi Yu rolled over and curled up.
"Sister is asleep," Si Qing gestured to An Nuo and Shao Feng, signaling them to be quiet.
Seeing this, An Nuo and Shao Feng immediately leaned in, gathering around Qi Yu.
Qi Yu's eyes were closed, and she was sleeping deeply, still smacking her lips in her sleep.
It seemed like she was dreaming of eating something delicious.
"This girl is sleeping so soundly," Shao Feng reached out and ruffled Qi Yu's head.
Qi Yu hugged his arm and let out a snort and a snore.
An Nuo looked at Qi Yu with affection, sighing as she watched, "She loved sleeping even before she became the Heavenly Dao. Sometimes, after a little fuss, she would fall asleep. Back then, I thought it was just because she was young, but now it seems it has nothing to do with age. She hasn't changed this habit even after becoming the Heavenly Dao."
Si Qing nodded as well, "It's hard to say about Sister's energy. Sometimes it feels like she has endless energy, but other times, after just a little bit of fuss, she gets tired and wants to sleep."
"Let's not talk about that for now. Aren't you going to do something about her? She's been sleeping in my arms for almost half an hour," Yan Hua said, still in her dragon form, holding Qi Yu. She couldn't help but pat the ground with her tail as she spoke, "Although holding her is no difficulty for me, I can't be expected to hold her like this forever. Anyone would get tired, let alone a dragon."
Despite Yan Hua's complaints, her movements didn't slacken. In fact, she even occasionally used her sleeve to cover Qi Yu in her palm.
With this warmth, Qi Yu slept even more soundly. Because of her deep slumber, the skies of the Three Realms all emitted a faint white glow.
To humans, this was merely the reflection of sunlight.
But to other beings besides humans, it was the benevolent blessing caused by the Heavenly Dao unconsciously radiating spiritual energy while in slumber.
The previous Heavenly Dao never did anything so unrestrained. Therefore, for the inhabitants of the Three Realms, this could be considered a rare event, occurring perhaps once in a thousand or ten thousand years. Many high gods, high immortals, and even beings from other races from beyond the Thirteenth Heaven, including the Ninth Heaven, emerged. They all looked up at the sky, hoping to receive more spiritual blessings.
Qi Yu was completely unaware of this.
Si Qing, however, noticed it. But firstly, this spiritual blessing was within Qi Yu's capabilities. Secondly, Qi Yu was supposed to periodically bestow blessings or offer good wishes to all beings in the Three Realms.
Since Qi Yu, as the new Heavenly Dao, had been rather un-dedicated since taking office, she hadn't done these things. Therefore, using this opportunity of her sleeping to have Qi Yu bestow blessings a few more times was considered a good thing.
An Nuo looked at Yan Hua, "Oh, Lord Yan Hua, please be more accommodating. I envy you. I wish I could hold Qi Yu like you do, but unfortunately, I'm not of the dragon race and can't transform into such a large original form. I simply can't hold her."
An Nuo spoke with a look of regret, feeling that she had only held Qi Yu in her hands when she was just a dragon egg, or cradled and soothed her when she was a tiny hatchling.
But unfortunately, that period was very short, only a few months. After a few months, these two cubs grew up, and she never experienced it again.
The more An Nuo thought about it, the more melancholic she became.
She felt that the time before was the most beautiful.
Yan Hua glanced at An Nuo, "You are already the Empress of the Ninth Heaven, have you not reached the stage of being able to enlarge your form yet?"
An Nuo looked at him with disbelief, then sighed and shook her head, "Cultivation can't advance that quickly. Even ascending to the Ninth Heaven, cultivation progresses at its usual pace, with no acceleration whatsoever."
An Nuo felt a headache whenever she spoke of cultivation. Since ascending to the Ninth Heaven, she had been busy with work and the internal affairs of the Ninth Heaven.
She simply couldn't find time for cultivation.
Therefore, it was perfectly normal for her cultivation to stagnate.
However, An Nuo could never understand how the previous Heavenly Emperor's cultivation had also increased during his reign. How did he manage it?
Although she was the Empress, not the Heavenly Emperor, the principle was probably similar.
Yan Hua looked at An Nuo, "Although you're too busy in the Ninth Heaven to improve your cultivation, there are other methods, such as accumulating merit."
An Nuo and Shao Feng looked at each other, and then both assumed a posture of eager listening.
An Nuo asked Yan Hua curiously, "I've heard of accumulating merit, but I've never had the opportunity. How does one accumulate merit?"
Normally, she was either in the Ninth Heaven or working. The little free time she had was all used for rest or other matters.
Under such circumstances, to do something that would earn merit, one would have to descend to the mortal world.
But she didn't have time. This brought her back to square one.
"Accumulating merit doesn't necessarily have to be done in the mortal world or other realms. You can still gain it in the Ninth Heaven, it just depends on your method," Yan Hua enlightened An Nuo and Shao Feng. "Merit is not a small matter, and besides saving lives, there are many other ways to obtain it. For example, there are so many high gods in the Ninth Heaven, and how many of them have been demoted to the mortal realm due to a single mistake, leading to many calamities, even affecting the mortal world and causing widespread disasters."
"If you and Shao Feng are willing, pay more attention to these matters. Preventing one more tragedy will earn you more merit. Over time, your cultivation will gradually increase."
An Nuo's face showed a look of sudden realization.
Shao Feng immediately rolled up his sleeves, "That makes sense. So that's how that old fellow, the former Heavenly Emperor, increased his cultivation. I finally understand. I'll do the same. Come, let's go back and check the recent situation in the Heavenly Court. If there are any opportunities to accumulate merit, we'll seize them quickly. This way, by accumulating little by little, our cultivation will grow."
An Nuo was influenced by his enthusiasm and nodded. The couple ran off hand in hand.
Qi Yu was still lying on the dragon claw, sleeping soundly.
Si Qing, bored, didn't know what else to do, so she deliberately turned her head and poked Qi Yu's shoulder.
Qi Yu, in her sleep, lightly flicked her arm, indicating displeasure, and then continued to snore.
Si Qing was not discouraged and continued to poke Qi Yu.