Chapter 3138: Cattaleya’s Terror

In that one finger, in that one gesture, Cattaleya realized her earlier judgment had been laughably naïve.

Her elders?

Those figures who stood at the pinnacle of their clan, who had lived for hundreds of millennia, who carried bloodlines steeped in power from countless assimilations?

Compared to this woman, they were as flickering lanterns before a raging sun.

Her lips trembled against her will as a single thought seared across her mind.

’Just how strong is she? Dao Enshrinement? Dao Linking? Even... beyond that?’

The very idea made her scalp prickle and her blood turn cold.

Lin Mu, however, stepped forward, his tone calm, steady, and without fear. "Saintess, it’s fine. She means no threat."

Cattaleya’s wide eyes shifted to him, shock etched into her every expression. His calmness was what cut deepest... he wasn’t just unfazed by this monster in human form, he knew her. And not distantly, not formally.

The familiarity in his voice was too natural to be anything else.

Then something clicked in her mind. The word he had used.

Saintess.

Her body stiffened further, her lips parting as realization slammed into her.

Her pupils shrank, and she whispered before she could stop herself, the words trembling out as though dragged from her very bloodline’s memory.

"Saintess... Seventh... The Seventh..."

Her voice faltered, her throat locking tight.

Her breath stopped, every instinct warning her of what would happen if she dared to speak further. Her clan’s elders had warned her—there were truths not to be uttered aloud in the Immortal Realm. Even knowledge itself could be a chain, and some names, some realms, some truths carried restrictions that punished those who spoke them prematurely.

If she said more than that, if she dared to name what came beyond, the Immortal Realm itself might turn against her.

So she snapped her jaw shut, her teeth clicking audibly as she silenced herself.

Her wide eyes remained locked on the Saintess, fear warring with awe.

The Saintess, however, had not so much as flinched at the whispered words. Her gaze remained cold, piercing, merciless, as if she had already seen through Cattaleya’s every thought, her every secret.

For the first time in her long, battle-hardened life, Cattaleya felt like a child caught trespassing in a forbidden temple.

And the worst part was... she knew it was no mistake.

The Saintess was not someone she could hope to resist.

She was something far beyond.

The air around the lake had grown still, save for the faint ripple of water stirred by the night wind.

Lin Mu stood silently for a moment, his brows faintly knitted, his eyes flickering between the two women. Cattaleya still looked tense, her muscles coiled though her body remained frozen under the Saintess’s pressure.

The Saintess herself was unmoving, her emerald eyes fixed upon the woman like an eternal seal.

Lin Mu inhaled slowly, then finally broke the silence.

"Saintess," he said with a tone of utmost respect, "why do you oppose this?"

His voice carried no defiance, only earnest curiosity.

Deep inside, he was not entirely opposed to the idea of giving Cattaleya some of his blood essence. The support she could provide was undeniable, and she had been forthright in her offer of service. With her strength, her experience, and the network of her Duskthorn Clan in the Celestial Realm, she could be an invaluable ally.

Lin Mu, pragmatic as always, could see the benefit.

But he also trusted the Saintess. Her judgment was not one he could dismiss lightly. She had appeared before him more than once, and each time she had guided him away from hidden snares. If she was so adamantly against this, then there had to be a deeper reason.

Thus, Lin Mu posed his question not as a challenge, but as a junior seeking wisdom.

Cattaleya, hearing his words, remained silent. For the first time in a long while, she held her tongue, waiting for the Saintess’s answer as intently as Lin Mu did.

The Saintess did not immediately reply. She stood still, the lake’s pale reflection shimmering faintly against the hem of her robe. Then, slowly, she raised her head just enough that the shadow of her hood no longer obscured her glowing green eyes.

"This is not a matter of mere transaction," she finally said, her voice calm and quiet but heavy enough to still Cattaleya’s racing heart. "Not an exchange of goods that can be given and taken without consequence. If you part with your blood essence, Lin Mu, it will not end there. It will form a bond. A chain. A link of karma that will bind you together for all eternity."

Lin Mu’s brows rose slightly.

He had heard of karmic ties before, even experienced their shadow at times, but this warning carried more weight than any he had previously encountered.

The Saintess’s gaze then turned fully to Cattaleya. Her words, though calm, struck like a hammer.

"You, child of the Duskthorn Clan... you should know this better than most. Your people have walked this path for generations. The so-called ’High Human’ bloodline your clan wields was born of such chains.

You may have softened your ways since the barbaric age of your founders, but the principle has not changed. To take another’s essence into your own is not a simple act. It is an intermingling of fate. A mark that cannot be erased."

Her words dug deep into Cattaleya. She flinched slightly, her fingers tightening on her sword though her body remained locked.

The Saintess continued, unrelenting.

"Even if you assimilate his blood and grow stronger, you will not be safe. Perhaps not today, nor tomorrow. Perhaps not even in the next thousand years. But the day will come when those karmic chains will tighten, and you will find yourself entangled in dangers you cannot comprehend. And it will not only be you who suffers. Your clan will be dragged into it as well. They too will shoulder the weight of the karma you have invited."

Her voice fell heavy on the air like a bell tolling judgment.

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