CHAPTER 25 — The Heart Pavilion Seal
The elder did not leave.
He stood at the threshold like a mountain.
His spiritual pressure filled the pavilion, pressing down on Zheng Wen Te's lungs.
Zheng felt like an insect beneath heaven.
The elder's voice was sharp:
"One last chance, Immortal."
"Hand him over."
Lian's expression did not change.
"No."
Silence.
Then the elder smiled.
Not kindly.
Not warmly.
Like a man looking at treasure he would eventually steal.
"Very well."
"This old one is patient."
His gaze slid to Zheng.
"Boy."
"Do you know what you are?"
Zheng's throat tightened.
"I'm… nothing."
The elder chuckled.
"Nothing?"
"You are a Golden Thread."
"A heaven-marked root."
"A cultivation fate that appears once in ten thousand years."
Zheng's eyes widened.
He didn't feel special.
He felt cursed.
The elder leaned closer.
"If you enter the Inner Court…"
"You will soar."
"If you remain here…"
He glanced at Lian.
"You will rot."
Zheng's heart hammered.
Then—
Lian moved.
So fast Zheng didn't see her step.
One moment she was beside him.
The next—
Her fingers pressed against his chest.
Cold.
Absolute.
Zheng gasped.
A burning symbol erupted over his heart.
A seal.
Not ink.
Not flesh.
A crimson-gold mark shaped like a broken lotus.
Zheng screamed.
Pain tore through his soul.
The orb flared violently.
The pavilion trembled.
The elder's face snapped into horror.
"That—!"
"What did you do?!"
Lian's voice was calm.
"I claimed him."
The elder's eyes widened.
"You cannot!"
"That seal…"
"That is an ancient karmic brand!"
Lian's gaze was ice.
"This is the Heart Pavilion."
"Nothing here belongs to the sect."
Zheng collapsed, clutching his chest.
His breath came in ragged sobs.
"What… is this…?"
Lian looked down at him.
Her voice lowered, almost gentle.
"A tether."
"So long as it exists…"
"No one can take you."
The elder's expression twisted.
"You would bind him to you?"
Lian's eyes sharpened.
"I would protect my consequence."
The elder took a step back.
For the first time…
Fear flickered across his face.
"That seal…"
"…Even the Ancestor cannot undo it."
Lian's lips curved faintly.
"Then tell your Ancestor…"
"…to stay away."
The elder's jaw clenched.
He stared at Zheng Wen Te one last time.
Not as prey.
As disaster.
"This boy…"
"…will bring calamity."
Then he turned.
His robe snapping like thunder.
And vanished into the mist.
The pavilion fell silent.
Zheng lay shaking.
His chest burned.
His soul felt… chained.
He whispered:
"…You marked me."
Lian's voice was soft.
"Yes."
Zheng's eyes were wet.
"…Am I your prisoner?"
Lian looked away.
Her answer was quieter than a breath:
"No."
"You are my karma."