I See the Aura of the Great Emperor in All My Disciples

Chapter 1777: Chapter 1777: The Small Family and the Big Country, How to Choose (1/6)

Ning Chenxin hovered in midair.

Yet, it seemed as if he was surrounded by an impenetrable, invisible wall. No matter how he knocked, he couldn’t break through it. Even sound couldn’t pass through this wall; all he could do was stand by and watch the situation unfold below.

Below him, in the village.

Ning Chenxin saw another ”Ning Chenxin,” identical to him, standing there, continuing to do the things he was supposed to do next.

What was going on?

What did the shadow just say?

He had questions, so he asked.

”Senior, what does this mean?”

The shadow gradually solidified, and an old man revealed himself to the world.

The old man was the same figure who had appeared during the prior test of humanity.

With his hands tucked into the wide sleeves of his robe, the old man let out a soft laugh and said, ”I merely want you to witness the consequences of your choice. After seeing the outcome, I wonder if your Dao heart will waver.”

Ning Chenxin frowned and asked, ”Is this the Seven Illusionary Array?”

The old man chuckled. ”Does it really matter if this is the Seven Illusionary Array? If all you’re looking for is the answer that this is merely an illusion, then, even when the conclusion leads to countless deaths, would your guilt be any lighter? Escaping through such reasoning—what, then, is the purpose of your cultivation path? Both Bodhisattvas and Confucian Dao teach the same: cultivate the heart before all else.”

Upon hearing this, the fog in Ning Chenxin’s eyes seemed to clear, revealing greater clarity. He bowed deeply toward the old man and said, ”Thank you, senior. It seems I’ve been overly attached to appearances.”

”Don’t be in such a rush to thank me.” The old man glanced at Ning Chenxin, his mouth lifting into a slight smirk, and remarked, ”I never said this was an illusion.”

Ning Chenxin’s face froze.

The old man laughed again. ”For others, perhaps it is an illusion. But for you, this is reality. This place—some corner of the eastern Chaos Realm—is real.”

Observing Ning Chenxin’s stiff expression, the old man scoffed in his heart.

Heh.

Finally, I’ve managed to corner you brats. Considering how that group of little scoundrels tormented me during their trials... Hmph, though this one in front of me didn’t commit those acts, it doesn’t absolve him of being their fellow sect brother!

As for the others... For now, I can’t deal with them!

Ning Chenxin turned his gaze below and asked earnestly, ”If things truly spiral into disaster, what should be done?”

The old man spread his hands with a light, indifferent tone, as if utterly unconcerned: ”Let them develop as they will. Whether the outcome is a joyful resolution for all or the death of countless souls as those Underworld Palace soldiers predicted—these are consequences of your own choice.”

At this point.

The old man’s figure suddenly appeared right in front of Ning Chenxin. Seeing Ning Chenxin’s darkened expression, he wore a serene gaze that seemed to pierce through everything, his smile carrying a hint of knowing, as he murmured, ”Don’t think you can control everything. At least, not with your current capabilities.

All choices in this world come with two sides. To choose one is to forsake the other. Otherwise, why would it be called a choice?”

Ning Chenxin’s brows furrowed as his gaze fell upon the village below. The ten soldiers were persuading the villagers to leave the area and return to the inner walls of the city, just as the other ”Ning Chenxin” had advised.

Everything was proceeding exactly as he had envisioned. Yet, why was the unease in his heart growing larger?

The old man saw through Ning Chenxin’s thoughts and commented faintly, ”Keep watching. Observe what outcome your choice will lead to. Neither you nor I know the answer.”

”This is real. When the time comes, the lives lost will also be real,” Ning Chenxin said gravely.

The old man glanced at Ning Chenxin and said, ”Are you suggesting you can save them? Or are you asking me to step in?

Let’s not even talk about whether I still have the energy for this. In this cultivation world, people die every moment—outside the natural circle of age, sickness, and death, many more perish for power, for competition, for their personal cultivation journeys, or die in wars between sects and nations.

This is happening constantly. Are you planning to intervene in every single case?”

Ning Chenxin was silent.

He didn’t have that ability.

His master had said this too. No one, not even him, could accomplish such a feat.

The two fell silent.

Both directed their gaze downward. Time hadn’t sped up, yet the scenes below seemed to flash by like a carousel.

The enemy’s cavalry trampled the grasslands, once as vibrant as green waves. They crushed the inconspicuous village into ruins.

The enemy’s forces were clearly stronger than the defenses stationed at the city walls.

The ”Ning Chenxin” below intervened as well.

But the opposing side seemed far more prepared. It was as if they had anticipated this possibility—or perhaps, they held this city in such high regard that they deployed even greater forces to siege and penetrate it!

Who knows how many days passed by.

Before Ning Chenxin’s pale face, the city walls collapsed.

The swarms of Asura Cavalry swept into the city with their scythes slicing through the air. Wherever they passed, walls fell, the earth caved in, and countless vibrant lives were cut down like blades of grass.

Among them were the villagers from the village below.

Not long after.

Just as the Underworld Palace soldiers had predicted, the destruction of this city led to the surrounding cities falling one by one, all seized by the enemy forces.

Ning Chenxin watched this scene from above. His expression was heavy, his gaze wavering and unsure.

Even the atmosphere around him seemed on the verge of collapsing, as if a single touch would send it crumbling down!

The old man observed this scene, his hands tucked in his robe, and commented lightly, ”Seems like your choice was the wrong one.”

Ning Chenxin raised his head to look at the old man. His face was devoid of color, and he let out a bitter laugh: ”But... Should I have just allowed those villagers to be used as living bombs?”

The old man raised an eyebrow and said, ”If it were my choice, I naturally would’ve saved those villagers. After all, if it were me, the villagers would hold some kindness toward me, some karmic ties. As for the Sunset Dynasty? Their lives are of no concern to me.”

”Save those who know you—that’s the logical choice.”

At this, the old man looked at Ning Chenxin and said with a smile, ”So your choice wasn’t wrong. It’s just a matter of whether you can get past the hurdle in your heart.”

Ning Chenxin fell into deep thought.

The choice wasn’t wrong?

Was it truly not wrong?

The choice he had made—on the small scale, was it not an attempt to hold onto both sides, to protect both?

On the larger scale, wasn’t this the eternal dilemma between the small family and the nation?

The old man noted that Ning Chenxin had sunk into contemplation, but did not interrupt him. He simply sat quietly beside him in a cross-legged position, gazing into the skies, and murmured, ”I didn’t anticipate the will of that figure to choose him. However... his thoughts seem rather precarious, don’t they?”

Ning Chenxin didn’t hear this statement.

His thoughts now seemed trapped in an unyielding labyrinth, unable to find a way out.

Save the small family, abandon the nation?

Save the nation, forsake the small family?

How should he choose?

After choosing, how could he overcome the hurdle within his heart?