Chapter 256: The Sky Pond Giant Beast (Part 2)
"Bodhi... Emperor... Heart... Lotus..." Xia Qingyue was completely stunned. The lotus flower in her sight was perfectly identical to the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus' recorded in texts, with all features showing no differences whatsoever. Its unique petal colors, its radiance, and its posture of standing amidst wind and rain while looking down upon heaven and earth all proved it was by no means an ordinary object. For a moment, Xia Qingyue couldn't believe her own eyes, couldn't believe that she had inadvertently come upon this sacred artifact that existed only in legends and records.
"...Is that really the 'Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus' you mentioned?" Hearing Xia Qingyue's dreamlike murmurs, a peculiar disturbance stirred within Yun Che. This legendary lotus, so holy and heaven-defying... and he had just found it himself? So coincidental? So simple? So fortunate?
Wait... lotuses all bloom in water. When the person who died four hundred years ago announced to everyone that he had discovered the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus, he found it within the Sky Pond... Could it be that he and Xia Qingyue were currently standing on the Sky Pond itself—a frozen-over Sky Pond!?
"There's no mistake. It's exactly as recorded."
Yun Che saw an extremely rare look of excitement on Xia Qingyue's face. Such a legendary sacred object suddenly appearing before her—not even Chu Yuechan would be able to remain calm. Xia Qingyue took a step forward, intending to approach the blue lotus, but Yun Che reached out and stopped her: "Wait. Don't get too close yet. If that incident from four hundred years ago is true, then what that person discovered might very well be this very one! In other words, we should now be standing on the Sky Pond. After making his discovery, that person left behind only a death message... which means behind this lotus, there might be immense danger lurking."
Xia Qingyue withdrew her step and slowly nodded. The more precious and rare something is, the more likely it is guarded by a powerful profound beast by its side. Of course, these beasts don't guard it for its safety—rather, the tremendous power it contains nourishes them, and at the right time, they will devour it for a massive leap in strength. Thus they protect it with their very lives, never allowing anyone else to approach or touch it.
"Mo Li, is there any aura of a powerful profound beast nearby?" Yun Che calmed his mind and asked Mo Li.
But he waited for a while and received no answer.
Yun Che closed his eyes and sent his spiritual sense into the Heavenly Poison Pearl, only to find Mo Li peacefully lying on her white jade bed. Her snow-white face was serene, her hands crossed over her chest in a very strange gesture. Around her body, green light flickered intermittently.
Was she expelling poison?
Yun Che didn't dare disturb her. He withdrew his consciousness from the Heavenly Poison Pearl, focused his senses in all directions, but detected no dangerous aura. After a moment of deliberation, he said hesitantly: "This place is very open. If a profound beast were here, we'd see it at a glance. And if we are indeed standing on the Sky Pond, it has long been completely frozen over. Any profound beasts within it would naturally be sealed underneath and unable to come out. Thinking about it this way, perhaps there isn't the danger we imagined."
"In any case, it's better to be cautious. A profound beast could be hiding in the snow as well. If this Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus truly has a beast guarding it, it will surely be an extremely terrifying one." Xia Qingyue lowered her brows slightly.
Sensing the surroundings once more, Yun Che stepped forward: "Stay here. I'll go take a look."
"Let's go together." Xia Qingyue followed beside him. "If there's danger, we can look out for each other."
Having unexpectedly discovered this legendary sacred object, both were filled with excitement and tension. The Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was not something ordinary people could find, let alone obtain. They slowly approached step by step, cautiously advancing... until they stood right before the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus, within arm's reach. Still, nothing unusual happened.
They both let out a long sigh of relief.
The Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was right before them. Gazing at its utterly enchanting petals and stamens, Yun Che rubbed his palms together in exhilaration: "Heh heh, looks like encountering winter here isn't entirely bad! The weather's effect on profound beasts—especially those in the Sky Pond—is much greater on them than on us."
As he spoke, Yun Che extended his left hand to touch the blooming Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus.
"Wait!" Xia Qingyue called out to stop him. "If you're going to pick it, be careful. Such an extremely high-grade sacred object is exceptionally difficult to harvest. If you're the slightest bit careless, it's easy to let a large amount of its efficacy dissipate."
"Don't worry about that. Remember, I'm a divine doctor." Yun Che smiled with absolute confidence. With the Heavenly Poison Pearl on him, no matter what vegetation, he could extract it flawlessly. After picking, it would go directly into the Heavenly Poison Pearl, and not a trace of its contained power would be lost.
Yun Che gently touched the deep blue stem, a glimmer of green light silently emanating from his palm. At that moment, he suddenly turned his head and asked: "Qingyue, dear wife, aren't you afraid I'll pick it and keep it all for myself?"
Xia Qingyue glanced sideways, her expression calm: "This Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was discovered by you. It should naturally belong to you. What does it have to do with me?"
Yun Che was momentarily startled, a strange feeling stirring in his heart. He said no more, and with a flash of green light in his hand, the entire Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus vanished on the spot, entering the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
The Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was indeed an extremely high-grade heavenly treasure, but no matter how high its grade, it couldn't surpass the Heavenly Poison Pearl. Under the power of the Heavenly Poison Pearl, the otherwise extremely difficult-to-harvest lotus was plucked as easily as the most ordinary grass by Yun Che.
From discovery to approach to successful harvest, the entire process went smoothly—no risks, not even the slightest hindrance. It was almost unnaturally smooth. Yun Che patted his hands and stood up, about to speak, when suddenly, a deep, rumbling roar, as if from an endless abyss, sounded... The direction seemed to come from beneath their feet. At the same time, the ground under them began to tremble faintly, the tremors growing more and more intense.
Yun Che's expression changed drastically. He grabbed Xia Qingyue's hand and said in a deep voice: "Run!!"
So there really was a profound beast guarding the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus after all.
The harsh winter had descended on the Sky Pond secret realm, freezing it over. The beast that always stayed by the lotus had fallen into a deep slumber at the bottom of the Sky Pond. When Yun Che and Xia Qingyue approached, it didn't notice and remained asleep. But when the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was plucked and its aura vanished completely, the beast finally woke, igniting a boundless fury.
That was the most terrifying roar Yun Che had heard in either of his two lifetimes. The pressure contained in that roar nearly crushed his spirit and internal organs directly. Xia Qingyue felt exactly the same. Both of them fled at top speed, covering over two hundred zhang in the blink of an eye. The trembling beneath their feet grew more violent by the moment, as if the earth could collapse at any second.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ROOOOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Behind Yun Che and Xia Qingyue came a thunderous crash like the sky falling and the earth caving in, accompanied by a terrifying roar that could shatter the heavens and split the ground.
That roar blasted Yun Che's mind into a blank void. He and Xia Qingyue both tumbled into the snow. They instinctively looked back and witnessed the most shocking sight of their lives.
The ground was completely torn apart. The snow cover and countless massive ice blocks were flung high into the sky, soaring beyond their line of sight. Then, a huge wave of water surged upward—yes, water! Yun Che had guessed correctly: beneath them was the frozen Sky Pond. The ice covering the pond was dozens of zhang thick, yet it was shattered like thin paper. The pond water carried upward froze instantly into towering pillars of ice at the peak of the fountain. Beneath the water wave, an enormous white figure shot up, leaping a hundred zhang into the air before crashing down heavily... The sheer noise of that landing was like heaven and earth splitting apart. The surrounding ice cracked over a vast area, and one fissure extended directly to the feet of Yun Che and Xia Qingyue.
This was a giant beast beyond anything Yun Che or Xia Qingyue could have imagined. It stood a hundred zhang tall, covered in white fur, with a humanoid body, a ferocious wolf-like head, and blood-red eyes. When it landed, it was like a small mountain, blocking a huge swath of the light falling from the sky. The aura it released was heavier and more terrifying than ten thousand mountains. Before its colossal form, Yun Che and Xia Qingyue were as insignificant as two flying insects. The distance they had covered at full speed was but two steps to this giant.
...
Between two ice peaks, Ling Yuefeng finally made his first find beneath an ancient tree not completely buried in snow and ice. Just as he reached for the pitch-black lingzhi fungus, a profound beast's roar sounded from afar. The roar came from very far away, so its volume was not loud, but it made Ling Yuefeng's entire body shudder, an expression of utter shock spreading across his face. His very soul trembled uncontrollably under that roar from such a distant source.
"This is... this is the might of an Overlord Xuan Beast!!" Ling Yuefeng stared into the distance, an uncontrollable terror on his face.
"The Sky Pond secret realm actually hides an Overlord Xuan Beast..."
"Wait! That cry is full of fury! Has someone trespassed into its territory or angered it?"
At this thought, Ling Yuefeng's face changed color repeatedly. The power in that sound made even him, a venerable, deeply afraid. He felt that if the owner of that voice wanted to kill him, it wouldn't require the slightest effort. Overlord Xuan Realm... a level that had never belonged to the Cang Feng Empire. In Cang Feng's history, there had never been a true Overlord. 'Venerable' was already the empire's limit and peak. Names like 'Overlord' and 'Emperor Lord' existed only in the fantasies of Cang Feng's profound practitioners—realms beyond their comprehension and understanding.
And whoever had provoked this Overlord Xuan Beast would be reduced to ashes in an instant... There could be no other outcome.
Ling Yuefeng instinctively retreated two steps, then flew away from the direction of the roar. Now he could only pray fervently that the one who had provoked this terrifying Overlord Xuan Beast was not someone from Tian Jian Villa.
...