# Chapter 992: The Heavenly Lake Divine Maiden (Part 2)
As he rapidly approached, that glint of reflected light grew increasingly brilliant—this was no illusion. At the bottom of the Heavenly Lake ahead, scattered grains of sand began to appear, each one like a translucent pearl, refracting a dreamlike blue radiance. Yun Che casually scooped up a few, and the cold energy they contained made him have no doubt they could instantly freeze a vast sea region spanning thousands of miles.
Following this jade-like scattered sand, the exceptionally dazzling blue light drew closer and closer. Yun Che accelerated his speed once more, and soon he could see clearly—it was a piece of ice.
Ice!?
In the Heavenly Lake waters that had never frozen since ancient times under such terrifying cold, how could there be a block of ice?
From a distance, this block of ice was a regular rhomboid shape, less than three feet wide and less than one zhang long. Its location was precisely at the center of the Heavenly Lake's cold vein. Although it floated in the water, it was as still as if embedded in this icy world.
Gazing at this block of ice, Yun Che slowly approached, but his expression became dazed.
Because within the ice, there was actually a human silhouette…
A dreamlike silhouette of a young woman.
The young woman's jade-like arms encircled her knees, her head buried between them, her entire jade-like body curled into a ball. She was completely unclothed from head to toe, her snow-white legs slender and long, her small feet delicate like lotus petals, and the skin exposed outside, even through the ice, was still crystal clear and lustrous as if condensed from the radiance of stars and moon.
Long hair cascaded down loosely, the strands as icy white as frost, tinged with a slight hint of light blue… very similar to that enchantingly beautiful woman who had called herself "Mu Xuanyin" that day. Every strand seemed coated with the cold light of snow and ice.
The icy jade-like strands of hair obscured her face, and also concealed the most forbidden springtime of the young woman.
Yun Che stared blankly. Before him, it was like a dreamlike painting. Though he could not see the young woman's face, no one would doubt that only a countenance that could make snow and ice lose their color could match such a beautiful, dreamlike jade-like body.
Who was this girl?
Why was she sealed in ice, at the bottom of this Heavenly Lake?
How long had she been sealed here? A hundred years? A thousand years? Ten thousand years? A hundred thousand years… or even longer?
Was she someone from the Bing Huang God Sect?
Only those of the Bing Huang God Sect could approach Minghan Heavenly Lake… Could it be that this girl was an important figure from a certain generation of the Bing Huang God Sect, sealed in ice and sunk into the Heavenly Lake to permanently preserve her remains after her death?
No! With the climate of the Yin Xue Realm and the ice profound force of the divine path, to permanently preserve remains, there would be no need to sink them into Minghan Heavenly Lake—and moreover, Minghan Heavenly Lake was absolutely not allowed to be defiled.
Furthermore, the Heavenly Lake was not at all an ordinary pool of water; the consequence of sinking into Minghan Heavenly Lake was not gradually settling to the bottom, but being destroyed into nothingness by the extreme and terrifying cold energy.
But this block of ice, and the young woman within it… were completely intact, as if entirely unaffected by the cold energy here.
Yun Che tried to get closer and arrived before the ice. The jade-like icy body so close at hand made him unconsciously look away, not daring to profane it with his gaze. His palm slowly extended and touched the ice.
Ding…
At the point where his finger contacted the ice, a faint blue light flickered, then vanished. Beyond that, there was no unusual sensation.
Nor did he perceive any life aura or soul aura.
Who was she… Why was she here?
Strong curiosity and questions lingered in his mind. But in this place of nothing but cold and stillness at the bottom of the Heavenly Lake, he had nowhere to find answers.
Yun Che did not forget his current situation. He stepped back a few paces and finally averted his gaze completely. He had already experienced the cold, domineering, and chilling temperament of the Yinxue Realm King. To prove himself to her, diving a thousand feet deep would have been sufficient. But he had been too eager to find the possibility of rapidly increasing his profound strength, coupled with curiosity about the bottom of the Heavenly Lake, so he had gone straight to the bottom—this was already a great risk. If he lingered too long, with the terrible temperament of the Yinxue Realm King, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yun Che took a light breath and was about to leave when suddenly, deep within his soul, the voice of a young woman rang out.
"Who are you?"
"How can you… come here?"
This voice was ethereal, like a clear spring flowing through one's heart. Yun Che's body stiffened violently, then he turned back like lightning, his gaze fixed on the young woman sealed in ice: "Was it you… speaking to me?"
He had just probed earlier—there was no life aura or soul aura in the ice… But here, besides himself, she was the only existence. And what she mentioned in her voice was clearly "here."
The young woman did not answer. The waters of the Heavenly Lake around them suddenly rippled slightly, and a gentle, water-like divine sense enveloped Yun Che.
Yun Che did not resist… because this divine sense had no hostility at all. Moreover, although this divine sense was gentle, it was as vast as an endless ocean—one he had no ability to resist.
At the bottom of the Heavenly Lake, within the ice, she actually had consciousness and could release such terrifying divine sense.
Who… was she!?
After a moment, the vast divine sense withdrew from Yun Che's body, and once again the young woman's voice sounded in his soul: "So… you have inherited the Evil God's power. No wonder you can come here."
Yun Che raised his head sharply: "Could it be… that you are the Ice Phoenix Divine Spirit?"
Just by probing his aura, she could recognize that he had inherited the Evil God's power—and the only ones who had been able to do that before were the soul spirits of ancient true gods like the Phoenix, Dragon God, and Golden Crow!
The young woman did not respond to his question. Instead, she remained silent for a long while, then suddenly asked softly: "May I… take a look at your memories?"
Although the divine soul spirits Yun Che had encountered before had varying temperaments, they all carried the arrogance of gods. But this existence before him, who was very likely the Ice Phoenix soul spirit, not only spoke in a voice as soft as water when faced with his rude intrusion, but even politely and sincerely asked for his opinion.
Back then, the Golden Crow soul spirit had violently and forcefully read his memories.
And the immensely powerful divine sense just now proved that this young woman, who was very likely the Ice Phoenix soul spirit, possessed soul power far greater than the Golden Crow soul spirit. If she wanted to forcefully read his memories, it would be completely effortless—he would have no ability to resist. Yet her tone was a gentle inquiry.
"Alright." Having one's memories read undoubtedly laid all one's secrets bare, a taboo no one could accept, but Yun Che could not refuse.
The water rippled, and the vast divine sense once again enveloped Yun Che, gently entering the depths of his soul. Yun Che's consciousness instantly went blank.
How long passed, he did not know. Yun Che gradually regained his consciousness, and that divine sense had also vanished without a trace.
"Lan Ji Star… Phoenix… Dragon God… Golden Crow… Heavenly Poison Pearl… Lunhui Jing… Shiyue Mojun…" the young woman softly murmured. "In such a short life, so many things have happened to you."
"You… still haven't answered me—are you the Ice Phoenix soul spirit?" Yun Che pressed.
"Yes, and also no."
"Eh?" The young woman's answer stunned Yun Che.
"I am different from the Phoenix soul spirit, Dragon God soul spirit, and Golden Crow soul spirit you have encountered. They are remnants of soul fragments left in the world, hoping to pass on their power before they dissipate. I too once separated a soul fragment, but a long time ago, after it bestowed the last of its power and bloodline upon the Yin Xue Realm, it dissipated."
"Then… what are you?"
"What you see before you now is the master of that soul fragment."
The young woman's voice was still incredibly soft. Yun Che was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock: "You… you are the Ice Phoenix itself!!"
No soul fragment—she was the master of the fragment, meaning the true body of the divine spirit—the Ice Phoenix itself!
An undead true god!
Shiyue Mojun was an undead true demon… slain by him under the Heaven-Defying Demon-Slaying Sword. And here, there was actually an undead true god!!
"Do not be surprised," the young woman knew what Yun Che was thinking. "Although I still exist, I am far from comparable to the Shiyue Mojun you encountered. He still has the possibility of recovery, while I only retain the most minuscule life source and soul source. Not only can I never recover, but I can never leave this cold vein. Even my true body cannot be restored; I can only maintain this human form forever."
"It is almost no different from complete annihilation."
"Then… you have been here for over a million years?" The shock in Yun Che's heart remained immense, hard to calm.
Even if only the most minuscule life source and soul source remained, she was still a true god that had not completely perished—a true god! Compared to the divine remnants he had encountered before, this was an entirely different concept! An entirely different existence!
"Yes… In a daze, over a million years have passed since that catastrophe. During this million years, I have more than once wanted to just dissipate, ending this humble survival and eternal solitude. But I also wanted to witness with my own eyes whether that day would truly come…"
"That day? What day?" Yun Che asked, full of doubt.
"Over a million years, I did not wait for that day, but I waited for you. This can be considered fate's arrangement… No, this is the Evil God's guidance. He rejected the divine title of Creation God, and was called the most sinister, most aloof god… yet how many know that he is the greatest god of all."
The young woman seemed to be speaking to Yun Che, and also seemed to be talking to herself. Yun Che listened, utterly bewildered.
"Yun Che," the young woman softly called his name, "the Evil God's power within your body comes from a drop of the Evil God's Indestructible Blood. It is different from the other divine powers you have obtained. Your Phoenix, Dragon God, and Golden Crow divine powers all come from a small amount of divine blood. But the Evil God's Indestructible Blood has given birth to a complete Evil God's Mysterious Vein within your body—the complete source of the Evil God's power. Its significance is entirely incomparable to your other divine powers."
Yun Che nodded. He knew this clearly. His power had always been centered on the Evil God's power. The reason other divine powers could coexist and unleash power beyond their limits was all due to the existence of the Evil God's Mysterious Vein.
"Do you know how difficult it was for the Evil God to leave behind this drop of Indestructible Blood? Not only did he have to completely annihilate himself, but he also had to deplete at least sixty thousand years of his lifespan. That is to say, at that time, although the Evil God was struck by 'Myriad Tribulations of Oblivion,' with his powerful divine power, he could still have lived at least another sixty thousand years."
"But he gave up surviving for another sixty thousand years under 'Myriad Tribulations of Oblivion' with his divine power, instead using all his divine power and life to condense that drop of Evil God's Indestructible Blood. All for the sake of leaving behind the source of his power… At the end of his life, he was still worried about the arrival of that day, and did not hesitate to sacrifice his life to leave the only hope for future generations. Perhaps only he is worthy of being called the greatest god."
"… I cannot understand your words at all. What exactly is 'that day' you speak of? And why did the Evil God forcefully leave behind a complete source of power?"
Since it was about the Evil God, it must be related to him. But the young woman's words, he indeed could not understand at all.
(End of this chapter)