# Chapter 255: Heavenly Lake Giant Beast (Part 1)
Yun Che and Xia Qingyue traveled together. They were undoubtedly the strongest combination among the younger generation of the Cang Feng Empire. The two journeyed northward... or to be precise, they didn't know which direction lay ahead. All they saw along the way was an endless expanse of snowfields and blizzards. They found nothing, encountered no danger, and didn't even catch a glimpse of any profound beasts.
Yun Che kept chattering incessantly, asking Xia Qingyue all sorts of questions, then going on about Xia Yuanba's situation since she left. Xia Qingyue's responses remained extremely indifferent, with only the occasional faint reply. Her hands continuously brushed aside the ice and snow on the ground, but she found nothing.
"Qingyue wife, don't you have anything you want to ask me? Like... how I've been doing since you left me, where I've been, whether anyone has bullied me..."
"With your personality, as long as you don't bully others, that's already good. Who could truly bully you?" Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyes gazed ahead as she spoke without any emotion. Then, her gaze flickered, and she finally took the initiative to ask him a question: "But I want to know, how did you grow so strong during this time?"
Xia Qingyue had finally initiated a question. Yun Che's expression immediately turned serious. "This is my secret. I definitely wouldn't tell anyone else, but since you're my wife, that's a different matter. Hmm... I met a master. She made me rebuild my profound veins and taught me all sorts of things. Coupled with some special experiences I've had during this time, that's how I am today."
"Your master?" A trace of surprise flickered in Xia Qingyue's eyes. "To be able to make you reach such heights in such a short time, your master must be an extraordinary person."
Yun Che waited for a while but didn't hear her continue asking. He said, "Don't you want to ask who my master is?"
"That's your private matter. I have no right to inquire." Xia Qingyue replied indifferently.
"Hmm..." Yun Che pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "My master is indeed an extraordinary person, but you would never guess what makes her 'extraordinary.' She's even more formidable than you think and has completely changed my fate. However, she's definitely not a good master, because strictly speaking, she never really taught me anything. She just stuffs things directly into my mind and lets me comprehend and practice on my own. But as her disciple, I've never let her down. Every time she stuffs something into me, I grasp it thoroughly in a very short time, which is why I am where I am today."
"Hmph, narcissist!" In his mind, Mo Li's disdainful voice sounded.
At that moment, a strange feeling came from Yun Che's left palm. He immediately raised his hand and saw a green light flickering on his palm — the light of the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
This was...
The Heavenly Poison Pearl's reaction to treasures!
And for the Heavenly Poison Pearl to react, it definitely wasn't an ordinary treasure. At the very least, it was on the level of Star Hidden Grass or above.
Since returning to the Cang Feng Empire, the Heavenly Poison Pearl had reacted twice: once when it discovered Star Hidden Grass, and a second time when it sensed the existence of the Evil God's Fire Seed. This was the third time... The direction the reaction pointed to was exactly where they were heading.
"What's wrong?" Xia Qingyue noticed he had stopped and turned to ask.
"I think we're about to have a huge gain!" Yun Che closed his palm. "Let's go, keep moving forward."
The blizzard showed no signs of stopping. It was impossible to know how long this storm had been raging. The ice and snow underfoot had accumulated to an unimaginable depth. The two continued forward for over two more hours. The Heavenly Poison Pearl's reaction persisted, but they found nothing. This didn't disappoint Yun Che; instead, it made him even more excited... For the Heavenly Poison Pearl to react from such a distance, whatever it had discovered was certainly extraordinary! At the very least, it was far rarer than Star Hidden Grass.
What could it be?
The temperature here was terrifyingly low. After walking through the ice and snow for so long, the consumption of profound energy to withstand the extreme cold was quite rapid. Even Yun Che, who had a physique no less than that of a true dragon, was starting to find it hard to bear. For other young profound practitioners with weaker strength, it was even more unimaginable. He shrank his neck, carefully scanning the area ahead, and asked casually, "Qingyue wife, your master and senior masters should have come here many times before. What kind of gains did they usually have?"
Xia Qingyue thought for a moment and said, "Master has been here twice. Each time, she had a great harvest. The first time, she obtained three Pure Cloud Jades and two Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Ganodermas. The second time, she got a Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal, three drops of Profound Spirit Jade Dew, and a giant beast bone. Master said that this place has three seasons, and the seasonal characteristics are extremely extreme. Among them, the most unlucky is encountering winter, because the winter snow and wind cover everything tightly, making it very difficult to find anything."
Unfortunately, the first time Yun Che and Xia Qingyue entered the Heavenly Lake Secret Realm, they encountered the harsh winter with flying snow. Indeed, everything was buried under ice and snow. Not to mention treasures, they couldn't even see a stone.
"What is the best thing ever discovered by those who have entered this Heavenly Lake Secret Realm?" Yun Che asked. As he spoke, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Xia Qingyue also stopped and shook her head slightly. "I don't know. If someone really made a huge discovery, they generally wouldn't publicize it. However, I heard Master mention that over four hundred years ago, someone found a Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus in the Heavenly Lake."
"Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus?" Yun Che looked surprised. Among the countless herbs in the world, he could count on one hand the ones he didn't know, but he had never heard of the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus before. This was the first time he had heard the name.
Xia Qingyue slightly raised her eyes and spoke slowly, "The Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus is a sacred thing recorded in our sect's 'Ice Cloud Sacred Canon.' It is also recorded in other top-level sects. According to records, it is a heaven-sent sacred object, a heaven-defying thing that should not exist in this world. Legend has it that it appeared once in ancient times, and then never again. It only exists in many records about it. Four hundred years ago, a senior from the Xiao Sect used soul transmission to tell everyone in the secret realm that he had discovered a 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus' in the Heavenly Lake that matched the records exactly... However, that was his death message. After saying those words, he had no further news and never left the secret realm, perishing there."
"Heaven-sent sacred object," "heaven-defying thing" — these words from Xia Qingyue all emphasized how astonishing the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was. Yun Che then asked, "So, what exactly is so heaven-defying about this 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus'? If you eat it, could it make you immortal?"
"...No one has ever truly seen it, so everything about it is just records." Xia Qingyue said softly. "I heard from Master that consuming the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus' can allow a person with no profound power to step into the Earth Xuan Realm in a single day... At my current level, if I consumed the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus,' I could step directly into the Heavenly Xuan Realm. Moreover, the power contained in the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus' is extremely gentle and will never cause the consumer to suffer any damage from being unable to bear it."
"...That powerful!" Yun Che's mouth gaped wide. Allowing a person with no profound power to directly enter the Earth Xuan Realm, allowing an Earth Xuan profound practitioner to step directly into the Heavenly Xuan Realm — a realm that most people couldn't even dream of reaching in a lifetime — it was hard to believe such a thing existed in this world.
If one obtained it, they could effortlessly reach a height that others might struggle their whole lives to achieve. The term "heaven-defying thing" was not an exaggeration. Such an unbalanced item indeed should not exist in this world.
"By the way, what does the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus' look like?" Yun Che tapped his chin, his expression quite strange, and his gaze somewhat unfocused.
Xia Qingyue parted her pink lips and spoke gracefully, "I have read the records about the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus.' It is much larger than an ordinary lotus, with a diameter of five feet when in full bloom. The petals are a somewhat eerie light blue..."
"...Is it a blue like blue crystal? Each petal also has a vitreous luster like crystal. The stamens in the center of the petals are a blood red and emit light. The stem supporting it is also blue, a deep blue much darker than the petal color..." Yun Che stared at Xia Qingyue, speaking sentence by sentence with a peculiar expression.
A trace of surprise gathered in Xia Qingyue's beautiful eyes. "Have you seen the records about it before?"
"No, no, absolutely not." Yun Che stretched out his finger and tentatively pointed behind her. "I'm talking about the lotus behind you."
Xia Qingyue suddenly turned around. Then, her tender lips parted slightly, and she stood frozen.
Not fifty steps away from them, a light blue figure appeared. Indeed, it was a lotus — a giant lotus. Its diameter was fully five feet, with a stem that was deep blue like jade, light blue petals that shimmered with flowing light, and stamens that gathered together like red stars, flickering with a mysterious and eerie light.
Lotus flowers should bloom in the scorching summer sun, yet this lotus bloomed proudly amidst the blizzard. The wind howled, snow fell, and under such a storm, even an ordinary person would struggle to stand firm. But this lotus stood tall and unwavering, its petals and stamens completely unshaken, as if even if the blizzard were ten times stronger, it wouldn't shed a single petal.
The heavy snow had buried the entire ground, yet it had not buried this lotus. Not even a trace of snow could be seen on its petals. In this world of flying snow, it became the sole and most dazzling existence.