Chapter 1624: Chapter 116 Rod’s Warning_2

The Membrane Eye was not completely sealed but continued to expand.

A massive flood surged out.

Even more despairing was that, as his Dao Domain fused with the heavens and earth, his pull on Chaos Origin Substance and Spiritual Energy swiftly intensified, draining all the Spiritual Energy from Xituo Continent and beyond…

Ci Lu, Ci Zhao… these juniors he had watched grow up perished one after another due to the depletion of Spiritual Energy and the exhaustion of their Mana, entering nirvana.

Without protection, mortals also died in great numbers.

In the final moments of his life, his heart was left with only deep guilt and self-doubt.

Had he made the wrong choice?

Carrying such confusion and agony, Xin Yuan ultimately entered nirvana.

Yet that final question rebirthed itself within his body.

Hundreds of years later, it startled awake during the visit of two Cultivators…

‘Hoo–‘

Wang Ba gently ceased his movements, halting the reflection.

Looking at Xin Yuan’s Demonic Thought, his gaze carried a hint of sighing and compassion.

He could roughly understand what Xin Yuan had faced back then.

It could be likened to the “trolley problem” spoken of in the mortal world.

On one side was a single person, on the other side were five or more people; whose life or death rested solely on Xin Yuan’s choice.

If one side lives, the other side dies.

However, there was a distinction: Xin Yuan’s situation involved a mass of mortals on one side, and on the other, monks and juniors who were far closer to him.

The conditions were also far more ambiguous.

In Wang Ba’s view, Xin Yuan’s decision back then could not be considered wrong. Pursuing the Outer Realm to decapitate the World Eater targeted the problem at its source. Upon his return, sacrificing himself to fill the Eye while simultaneously drawing Chaos Origin Substance and Spiritual Energy to stop the great flood was thoughtful and a noble self-sacrifice.

The only criticism could be that, as the leader of Xituo Continent, he ventured into peril alone and failed to make proper arrangements for its aftermath, leading to Xituo Continent’s division and descent into chaos–a significant responsibility for its current state.

Yet to err is human, and given the urgency, with Xituo enjoying long-standing peace, it was understandable if he overlooked certain matters.

However, human plans cannot match the heavens’. The Truth Membrane Eye was not resolved by Xin Yuan’s self-sacrifice. Instead, the monks of Xituo were collateral victims, ultimately perishing due to Xin Yuan’s extraction of Spiritual Energy.

At the time, the choice seemed inevitable and was made without alternatives.

But when Xin Yuan traced the cause from the effect, the situation changed.

If back then he had not gone to the Outer Realm to decapitate the World Eater, sacrificed himself to seal the Eye, and absorbed Spiritual Energy to save mortals, but instead led the monks to seek shelter elsewhere, perhaps those junior monks would not have died?

Saving a group out of compassion, only to indirectly cause the deaths of trusted juniors–calculating this, was he a Buddha, or a demon?

This was a question without an answer.

Because everyone’s answers and standards differ.

The only trouble was that Xin Yuan, perhaps nearing the extinction of consciousness at the end of his life, became trapped in this question, ultimately birthing a wisp of Demonic Thought.

Upon reflecting on this, Wang Ba cast his gaze at the shadow raging angrily under the Relic Pagoda’s cover, an expression of faint regret in his eyes.

In his view, benevolence and compassion were advanced forms of Talent, but not everyone could wield such Talent effectively. If one’s abilities are limited, this Talent often backfires.

Even someone like Master Xin Yuan, a great High Monk renowned for his virtue, suffered from the torment of compassion–immensely sacrificing, yet still ensnared by moral dilemmas. Even after entering nirvana, he could not rest peacefully.

This was unrelated to Dao-heart.

Perhaps only compassionate people experience such trials and anguish.

Although Wang Ba did not resonate with such ideologies, he could not muster hatred for such individuals.

As if sensing Wang Ba’s compassion, the shadow under the Relic Pagoda abruptly ceased its struggle, allowing the Buddha’s Light to burn against its form, sizzling as though scorching, yet remaining indifferent. Its angry, unwilling, and pained eyes locked onto Wang Ba:

“You also think Xin Yuan made the wrong choice?”

“Do you also agree that I should personally correct the mistake?”

Wang Ba slightly shook his head and suddenly murmured:

“No matter which choice the Master made, the result would have been the same.”

The shadow of Demonic Thought paused, bewildered.

“If the Master had chosen to ignore everything and flee with the monks of Buddha Kingdom, he would still have lamented for not halting the great flood, causing Xituo Continent to sink and condemning countless lives to death,” Wang Ba calmly explained.

“Alternatively, if he had led the monks to timely rescue those in the other Buddha Kingdoms, who could guarantee salvation for all? There would inevitably be mortals left behind, and amidst such catastrophe, lives would have been lost–this was unavoidable… Since it was unavoidable, with the Master’s lenient compassion and protective heart seeking perfection, his remaining years would still have been steeped in sorrow.”

“So, regardless of the choice, wouldn’t the result be the same for the Master?”

“It would only vary in whether the pain was slightly more or less, but there would be no fundamental difference.”

The shadow of Demonic Thought froze in place, its struggles gradually subsiding.

It murmured softly to itself:

“The result… is the same?”

But it suddenly snapped awake, thrashing the Relic Pagoda as its demonic aura flared intensely. Fixating its furious gaze on Wang Ba, it roared:

“You’re lying! So many people died because of me. How can this be the same!”

“If I hadn’t absorbed the Spiritual Energy back then, the disciples of the Buddha Kingdoms should have been able to protect themselves and the mortals! Not like it is now… They all entered nirvana! All of them entered nirvana!”