Mystic Eyes: My Eyes Steal the Laws of Cultivation Chapter 568: Meeting Gao Ziyue (10)

Kyrian looked genuinely confused, as though the question made no sense to him.

"Why would I care?" The question seemed so obvious to him that he couldn’t understand why she had asked it. His tone was filled with pure confusion.

She simply stared at him, not knowing how to respond. The simplicity of his reaction was so disarming that she couldn’t find the words. He truly didn’t care. It wasn’t a matter of politeness or courtesy, it was genuine, complete, absolute.

Before she could say anything, he continued, his violet eyes shining with genuine curiosity.

"Actually..." His gaze became more intent, more focused.

"There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask."

She nodded, still processing what had just happened.

"Go ahead."

"With a Celestial Physique like yours..." he said calmly, without the slightest hint of haste.

"Your cultivation should be far beyond the Spiritual Awakening Realm."

He paused briefly, choosing his words carefully.

"So why are you still in this realm?"

There was no judgment in his question, no criticism, no implication that she was somehow less than she should have been.

It was simply curiosity, the sincere desire to understand something that didn’t fit his understanding of the world.

But the moment she heard it, the light in Gao Ziyue’s eyes dimmed, as though a cloud had drifted across the sun. The joy of the moment, the lightness she had been feeling, vanished in an instant, replaced by a burden she had carried for decades.

She slowly lowered her head, her black hair falling like a curtain around her face. Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"That..." Her voice became quieter, heavy with profound sadness.

"It’s... a little complicated."

She took a deep breath, as though preparing to plunge into icy waters.

"You’re right. With my talent, with my Celestial Physique, with all the resources my family could provide me... I should already be far beyond this realm. Far beyond."

She remained silent for several seconds, her eyes fixed on the cup in her hands, as though searching for answers within the amber liquid.

Kyrian immediately noticed the change in her mood, the way her spiritual aura withdrew into itself, the way her presence became heavier.

"If you don’t want to answer..." he said gently, his voice soft.

"You don’t have to."

She slowly shook her head.

"No."

Then she slowly raised her eyes, meeting his with an expression that blended pain and determination.

"If it’s you..." A faint, sorrowful smile appeared on her lips.

"I think I can tell you."

She drew in a deep breath, as though gathering every ounce of courage she possessed.

When she spoke again, her voice was so quiet that Kyrian had to lean closer to hear her.

"As long as Azhura’k continues to suffer... as long as the guilt I carry for his enslavement remains in my heart... I don’t think I’ll ever be able to break through to the next realm."

Kyrian frowned slightly, genuine concern appearing on his face.

"Why?"

She slowly closed her eyes, as though retreating from the outside world to face something buried deep within herself.

When she spoke again, her voice carried a profound weariness, the weight of decades of silent struggle.

"Heart Demon."

Silence filled the room, heavy and absolute.

The words lingered in the air like a dark cloud, laden with a meaning they both understood perfectly.

"When I learned the entire truth about my family... about what we did to Azhura’k... when I saw his memories, felt his pain, his despair, his loneliness..." Her voice trembled for the first time, a tremor she could not suppress.

"When I felt everything he endured over those countless centuries, imprisoned and enslaved by my own bloodline... I ended up creating a Heart Demon."

She breathed slowly, the sound rough and uneven.

"Since then, I’ve been trapped at the peak of the Spiritual Awakening Realm. Every time I try to break through, every time I get close to the next realm, it appears. The guilt, the pain, the memory of Azhura’k’s suffering. And I retreat, because I know that if I force it... I could lose my mind. Or worse... I could die."

Kyrian remained completely silent.

He knew exactly what that meant.

On the path of cultivation, talent was important. Physique was important as well. Resources, techniques, masters, all of them mattered.

But none of those things, not a single one of them, could replace a steadfast mind, a peaceful soul, or a heart free from crushing guilt.

A Heart Demon was far more than a simple trauma.

It was a scar upon the very soul, a wound that refused to heal.

It was an obsession, a guilt, a pain that could never be abandoned, one that rooted itself in the deepest parts of a person’s being and grew like a poisonous plant.

As long as it existed, every attempt to break through a major realm would collide with that invisible barrier, that wall of pain rising before the cultivator.

The harder one insisted, the more dangerous it became.

Because a Heart Demon was not merely an obstacle.

It was a part of the cultivator themselves, turning against its owner.

In the most severe cases, the cultivator would go mad, their mind shattering beneath the crushing weight of guilt and suffering.

Or they would die during the breakthrough, their body unable to endure the inner storm that erupted within them.

There were stories of great masters who had perished in exactly that way, their brilliant careers brought to an end by a Heart Demon they could never overcome.

Now everything made sense.

Gao Ziyue’s legendary talent, her Celestial Physique, and her reputation as the most promising heir the Sky Family had produced in generations, none of that had disappeared.

It wasn’t a matter of lacking potential or resources.

She simply carried a burden too heavy to continue moving forward, a chain that bound her to the past.

Azhura’k’s suffering had become her own chain, and every attempt to free herself only caused it to tighten further.

Kyrian looked at her for several seconds, his violet eyes studying her face, seeing beyond her beauty, beyond her status, beyond her power.

He saw the pain she carried, the guilt consuming her, the loneliness of bearing a burden no one else could truly understand.

He saw the strength it took for her to keep moving forward, even when everything seemed impossible.

Then he simply nodded.

He didn’t try to comfort her with empty words.

He didn’t tell her that everything would be alright.

He didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.

He simply understood.

His presence, his silent acceptance, the fact that he did not recoil from the truth she had shared, all of it was more powerful than any speech could ever have been.

And that silent understanding was enough.

Gao Ziyue felt the weight in her chest lessen ever so slightly, as though a small part of the chain imprisoning her had loosened.

It wasn’t a cure.

It wasn’t a solution.

But it was relief.

A single moment to breathe in the midst of the storm.

She picked up her cup once more, her fingers still trembling.

She took a small sip, feeling the warm liquid slide down her throat, warming her from within.

The wine was rich, and complex, filled with countless layers of flavor.

But at that moment, it was simply comfort.

An anchor to the present.

For the first time in many years, the pain felt just a little less heavy.

Outside, the auction continued as though nothing had happened, completely unaware of the scene unfolding in the room above.

Rare treasures appeared one after another, each awakening the greed of dozens of cultivators.

Fortunes were spent in mere moments, fortunes capable of changing the fate of entire families.

The auctioneer announced each item with contagious enthusiasm, and the crowd responded with bids that climbed ever higher.

But inside that quiet room, far removed from the crowd and the expectations of the world, two young people separated by decades in age shared something far more valuable than any treasure displayed upon that stage.

They shared trust.

Vulnerability.

The courage to show each other who they truly were.

And for the first time since learning the full truth about Azhura’k, Gao Ziyue realized that perhaps she didn’t have to carry that Heart Demon entirely alone.

Kyrian didn’t have the answers to her problems.

He couldn’t heal her pain or erase her guilt.

But he was there.

Present.

Offering nothing more than his presence, asking for nothing in return.

And at that moment, that was more than enough.