"Uncle Shang, just what does Dugu Qingxiao have on him?"
"The sacred artifact of the Thousand Buddhas Kingdom, the Bodhi Heart."
At Yundu Ridge in the Thousand Buddha Kingdom, the wind and snow had stopped. A handsome young man and a little girl with horn-shaped pigtails sat chatting in a pavilion that had lost its roof.
"Bo... Bodhi Heart... is... is it tasty?"
The little girl held a large steamed bun in both hands and took a big bite, her large, jet-black eyes full of anticipation as she looked at the young man.
"This is not something you can eat."
As he spoke, the young man reached out and flicked the crumbs from the little girl's mouth.
Then he picked up a wineskin and took a drink before turning to gaze at the vast, sunlit snowfield, saying in a leisurely tone:
"To cultivators, the Bodhi Heart is a poison. It has neither shape nor form, a ghost that has drifted over the Thousand Buddhas Kingdom for ten thousand years without dispersing."
"Every three hundred years or so, it chooses one or two cultivators to possess, feeding on their essence, qi, and spirit to produce one or two Bodhi Fruits."
"If mortals eat a Bodhi Fruit, they can enjoy a lifespan of three hundred years even without cultivating."
"If cultivators eat one, those in the Gate Opening Realm can break straight through to Mystic Understanding, those in the Mystic Understanding Realm straight through to Spirit Refining, and those in the Spirit Refining Realm straight through to the Transformation Realm."
"It's just that harvesting it is rather cruel. You have to pluck out the cultivator's heart while they're still alive."
The little girl did not seem to understand. She frowned, scratched her head, and asked:
"Is it tasty?"
The young man gave