Heaven, Earth, Me 2 (GL)

Chapter 265. Primordial Phoenix Tear.

The old man looked at Cecile's face and could mostly understand why she was being so stubborn. He sighed and asked, "Your name?"

"Cecile."

He took some steps forward until he was before Cecile and sat down on the sand. He stayed silent for some seconds and then said, "Cecile, you are young, and I understand that your past must have been hard. I bet this person appeared in your life like a ray of sunshine in a dark place. I understand that you want to give this person your everything for her to be happy."

The old man looked toward the horizon and said, "This a very common occurrence. A person is at their lowest, and someone suddenly appears like a hero from a fairy tale. If that person continues treating the one they saved kindly, it is almost inevitable to avoid falling in love. This is especially true when someone is young."

Cecile didn't say anything, but she was listening. His voice was gentle, like a grandfather advising their mischievous granddaughter. "Cecile, in this life, in the cultivation path, in this struggle to reach the apex and live unchallenged or gain immortality, you can't lose yourself."

He asked, "Do you know someone that could have gained a lot of power but didn't do it because they would have lost themselves in the process? Someone that decided to keep holding onto themselves regardless of the promises of power and riches before themselves?"

Cecile was about to shake her head, but suddenly Kali flashed in her mind. 'Doesn't Kali's battle against the Heart Demons come down to this? If she allowed herself to be consumed, she would be free and gain power. In turn, she would lose her sanity. Moreover, didn't she reject Dr. Ava's offer to become a direct disciple? What did she say at that time...? Right, [While I live for others, I also live for myself.].'

The old man smiled after he saw Cecile pondering. "Cecile, your words before entering through the trial door, your words reasoning for your search for strength and challenging the heavens, were the following."

"I want strength to protect my loved one and to live with her for eternity. To be able to keep her safe between my wings and give her a resting place in my embrace or to help her push forward toward her goals and carry part of her burden. I want to become her wings so that she can fly freely in this dangerous world."

Cecile nodded. The old man smiled gently and asked, "The person you love, what is the thing they place more importance on?"

Cecile thought for a second and then muttered, "Our happiness..."

The old man asked, "What is the base for happiness?"

Cecile shook her head. Her voice was laced with her usual coldness but had a tinge of confusion. "I don't know."

The old man smiled and said, "Many may differ or argue, but in my opinion, the basis for happiness is being able to do what you like. Mortals say that wealth brings happiness. Why is that? Isn't that because with enough wealth, they can do whatever they want?"

"Those that are more ambitious want political power after gaining enough wealth. The reason is that they realize that with wealth alone, they can't do whatever they want, so mortals search for more sources of influence. And those that still have difficulty gaining what they want, or are just greedy for more, end up searching for military power."

"In the other spectrum, Cultivators say that strength brings happiness. In the core, don't cultivators search for strength to be unrivaled and do as they like? Others say that love is happiness, isn't that because if you are in love, you have found the person you would like to be with for the rest of your life? Putting it in other words, they managed to "gain" the person they wanted the most. Even if that feeling doesn't last forever, while a person is in love, they could be said to be the happiest if the love is reciprocated."