Chapter 152: The Color of Luxury, Hard to Approach

Of all the sights along the entire National Highway 315 route, none is perhaps quite as breathtakingly anticipated as the ethereal East台吉乃尔 Lake.

Lin Shenlu was well aware that this lake had recently taken short-form video and social media platforms by storm, drawing throngs of visitors. Yet, because the East台吉乃尔 Lake is so vast, the crowds did little to diminish its sense of boundless space.

Standing before Lin Shenlu right now was a landscape of pristine white salt flats paired with Tiffany-blue waters, evoking an uncanny resemblance to the Maldives. The water was so crystalline that it stirred an involuntary reverence for nature. Only the grandeur and sanctity of the Creator could manifest such a miraculous lake before mortal eyes.

Along this stretch of road, the East台吉乃尔 Lake and the West台吉乃尔 Lake are kindred yet distinct bodies of water. Legend has it that the West台吉乃尔 Lake offers entirely contrasting visual experiences, as the waters on either side of the road present completely opposing hues—one side a deep, brooding blue-green, the other a pale, translucent jade. Seen from high above, the two colors are starkly separated in a uniquely striking manner.

Thus, standing beside the East台吉乃尔 Lake at this moment, Lin Shenlu could genuinely feel the pulse of this magical charm.

Nestled deep within the hinterland of the Qaidam Basin, the East台吉乃尔 Lake is a massive, brine-dominated lithium deposit. Perhaps owing to its high copper content, the water shimmers in shades of intertwined blue and green. The shores are entirely blanketed in crisp, white salt crystals.

As Lin Shenlu looked around, his vision was framed by vast expanses of Yardang landforms. Set against the Tiffany-blue waters, they resembled an armada of ships sailing upon an open sea.

The weather at this moment was exceptionally fine. Bathed in brilliant sunlight, the lake rippled with sparkling light, weaving a breathtaking and mesmerizing masterpiece together with the distant sand dunes.

It seemed that only by being there in person could one truly understand the meaning of an otherworldly spectacle. Walking into the lake and gazing out at the expansive water surface filled one's heart with supreme joy. The scenery here truly required the pixel-resolution of the human eye to be fully captured.

The convoy of four vehicles pulled to a halt, and Lin Shenlu was the first to step out.

An Muxi’s gaze was instantly and utterly captivated. She felt as though she had never laid eyes on such an transcendentally stunning landscape before. Compared to the Chaka Salt Lake, which is renowned as the Mirror of the Sky, the East台吉乃尔 Lake felt even more tranquil and pristine in its untamed, primitive beauty.

"In Western culture, this shade of blue is regarded as the color of ultimate happiness, which is why the jewelry brand Tiffany chose it as their signature color," Lin Shenlu explained to An Muxi, gazing at the profound blue of the East台吉乃尔 Lake.

"And so this blue acquired a familiar name: Tiffany Blue. Its exclusive color code corresponds to an exorbitant price tag—this is the most expensive blue in the world!" As he spoke, Lin Shenlu reached out to take the glass bottle that An Muxi had already prepared.

He gently lowered the bottle into the waters of the East台吉乃尔 Lake.

Amidst the soft, bubbling sound inside the bottle, Lin Shenlu’s thoughts drifted once again to a sense of profound solitude.

For so long, the East台吉乃尔 Lake had rested quietly and beautifully within this uninhabited wilderness. It must have been lonely, too, even with its counterpart, the West台吉乃尔 Lake, keeping watch from afar.

As the bottle filled to the brim, that deep, beautiful, and costly Tiffany blue was captured within the transparent glass.

"To my surprise... once inside the transparent bottle, the water still retains this extraordinary shade of blue!" Lin Shenlu marveled aloud.

"Indeed, being able to bottle up this slice of blue is simply marvelous," An Muxi agreed, nodding in admiration.

"Leaving everything else aside, Lu'er, I suddenly understand your whim of collecting water from every lake on this trip. I didn't quite grasp it at the Qinghai Lake or the Chaka Salt Lake, but this time I feel that being able to take this beauty away with me is immensely meaningful." An Muxi’s eyes shone with approval for Lin Shenlu.

Lin Shenlu smiled without a word.

A subtle aura of quiet sophistication accompanied him constantly, drifting along with the breeze toward the East台吉乃尔 Lake.

He gazed softly at the blue liquid inside the bottle.

"She lends a touch of tenderness to the loneliest and most desolate expanses of Mangya, where the sky is azure, white clouds roll in magnificent billows, and majestic, grandiose oil fields meet the Danxia landforms," Lin Shenlu murmured softly.

"Perhaps if one were to stand here for twenty-four hours, watching the sun rise and set, witnessing the shifts between overcast and clear skies, feeling the notes composed by the wind and the rhythm leaped by the water—holding one's breath, releasing all stress... here, the myriad worlds shrink away, leaving only the heavens, the earth, and I..."

...

The East台吉乃尔 Lake was breathtakingly, suffocatingly gorgeous.

Still untouched by commercial development, it remained a remote sanctuary. Though its striking appearance had quickly propelled it to internet fame, it still saw few visitors.

Before it was commercialized into a tourist destination, while it still retained its most primordial essence, bringing the one who mattered most to journey across the desolation of deserts and Gobi flats was the ultimate dream to experience together!

...

While An Muxi stood gazing into the distance, lost in reverie and sighs, Lin Shenlu had already returned the filled glass bottle to the refrigerator and quietly readied his own equipment.

This magnificent lake—and that stroke of Tiffany blue—was the ultimate destination of his pilgrimage. The colors here possessed a power that naturally quieted the human soul.

Yet, could this specific shade of Tiffany blue truly be mixed on a palette?

Gently rubbing his fingertips, Lin Shenlu adjusted his baseball cap, slowly set up his easel beside the East台吉乃尔 Lake, and let the wind brush against his cheeks.

In this moment, he felt utterly isolated from the world.

A lone man standing beside the profound Tiffany-blue expanse.

This was an uninhabited wilderness lake dozens of times larger than the Chaka Salt Lake!

For thousands of years, the East台吉乃尔 Lake had coexisted with the boundless Gobi desert, blending magnificence with exquisite grace. At times, the lake was as azure as a piece of fine jade; at others, it was so clear it mirrored the sky, filling anyone who beheld it with an irresistible urge to set forth on a journey.

He Gu'er bent down at this moment, gazing closely at the edge of the lake.

The shoreline was not composed of ordinary soil or stones, but of crystallized salt. Looked at closely, the sparkling white salt blossoms along the bank resembled tiny, delightful gems.

He Gu'er instinctively photographed the protruding salt crystals. In her eyes, the intricate details of the salt formations were even more mesmerizing than the lake as a whole.

Beside the salt blossoms lay a pale jade-green, which transitioned further in to blue—light blue, deep blue, azure, bright blue, dark blue, profound blue, melancholy blue, warm blue, icy blue, joyful blue, sorrowful blue.

It was impossible to count how many shades of blue had converged to form this magical lake.

One could only perceive that here, the boundaries between heaven and earth blurred into a surreal, breathtaking fairyland.

This was a mirror of the sky hidden away by the earth itself, an existence that felt as though it belonged in a fairy tale without needing any filters.

Walking here made one forget the passage of time.

Clean, translucent, cradled between blue skies and white clouds, this place felt like an open ocean stretching far into the horizon.

The beauty here was worth yearning for across lifetimes, compelling travelers to follow its trail and arrive at its shores.

The wind blew again, stirring ripples that mirrored the most poetic scenes from a cinematic masterpiece.

The East台吉乃尔 Lake.