Chapter 407 - 239: Headless Arhat—How About This Sword, Old Ancestor?

Only to see that from the first floor upwards, every stone window of the pagoda was spewing Buddha Flame, one layer after another, until all seven tiers shone bright.

In that instant, the glazed Treasure Pearl atop the pagoda, covered in dust for years, shook off its grime; from it coalesced a massive Jinlian, seven zhang across. In its golden heart, the spinning ’Wan’ Buddha Seal could be faintly seen.

"All seven tiers aglow, a seven-zhang Jinlian... This—this is impossible?!"

The grey-robed old monk cried out, dazed and lost. His heart surged with shock, his Zen Staff clanged to the ground, his face twisted in terror, parched lips trembling.

He had never seen the Ancestor’s Relics manifest in such a way. These two had guarded the Relic Tower in the Cyan Pine Forest for decades and witnessed the Ancestor’s Relics reveal their miracles a few times; the grandest was over ten years ago when Zen Heart entered the tower with the Lotus Seal, and after half a month had barely lit five tiers, evoking a Jinlian four zhang three chi across.

That was already the most gifted person Vajra Temple had seen in nearly a century. Now, a mere outsider entered the tower for only a few cups of tea, and instantly lit all seven tiers, drawing forth a seven-zhang Jinlian—how could their hearts not be shaken?

"This, this..."

Zen Ming rubbed his eyes, at first suspecting a hallucination, but after rubbing, found the Jinlian still there, so shocking he staggered back several steps, mouth opened but lost the power of speech at this moment.

"This person... Could it be that he is the Buddha’s Son of our Buddhist Sect, reborn?"

Zen Jing, clad in yellow monk’s robes, was thoroughly moved, his mouth dry and tongue parched.

...

Just as the gathering of Vajra Temple’s masters outside the Cyan Pine Forest were thrown into utter shock, some even thinking the Buddha’s Son had achieved Nirvana and reincarnation—

Let us rewind time a bit.

Su Mu, after trying many methods, furrowed his brows. His eyes narrowed, shadows flickered in those eyes; finally, with a helpless look, he shook his head.

At this moment, Su Mu finally felt the hardship of being illiterate, only regretting his lack of learning when needed.

He guessed that the key to awakening this Formless Arhat phantom lay behind it and in the Sanskrit flowing on the five lotus leaves atop the Lotus Pool; but, alas, Su Mu could not read Sanskrit.

So it was: faced with Sanskrit, no matter how high Su Mu’s Comprehension—Dragon-and-Phoenix Level at 143 points—he was nothing but an ’illiterate’ fumbling at strange marks.

If the masters outside the tower knew what Su Mu was thinking now, they’d be utterly dumbfounded.

"This is a bit tricky... If I get a chance in the future, I’ll have to spend some time learning Sanskrit."

Su Mu’s eyes flickered, staring at those characters resembling golden tadpoles, listening to the intermittent chanting of Zen, until suddenly his whole body quivered, an idea forming in his heart, a strange expression flitting across his face.

"Chanting... Maybe I should just try it?"

Immediately, Su Mu racked his brains, but in his previous life, he’d been a staunch atheist and materialist, knowing little of Buddhism.

"The body is the bodhi tree?"

Su Mu drew a deep breath and began hesitantly, but as the words left his mouth, the previously-unmoving Formless Arhat phantom visibly reacted.

The massive Lotus Pool rippled with circles of clear waves.

"Seems like it’s working?"

Seeing the response, Su Mu’s eyes brightened; beneath his chest, his heart thumped, breathing quickened as he continued.

"The mind is a bright mirror stand."

The ripples in the Lotus Pool grew wider, Buddha Light bursting from the Formless Arhat’s body.

"Frequently polish it diligently."

"Let no dust alight!"

As the final line fell, the world of the Lotus Pool heaved and quaked; the Formless Arhat blazed with Buddha Light, rings of golden light undulating outward. On each of the five enormous lotus leaves, Jinlians bloomed splendidly.

The Arhat Relics left by Vajra Temple’s founding Ancestor, Master Kongshe, were completely activated; the Formless Arhat fully revived, coming to life.

"The body is the bodhi tree, the mind a bright mirror stand. Frequently polish it diligently, let no dust alight..."

"Marvelous, this Buddhist Verse is truly exquisite... Amitabha Buddha!"

The Arhat’s lotus platform slowly rotated, still formless and faceless, yet Su Mu distinctly felt as if a pair of azure, torchlike eyes were fixed upon him.

When the Arhat’s formless gaze swept past, the Dragon of Spiritual Power at Su Mu’s brow surged uncontrollably, making Su Mu’s heart tremble—as though he’d been seen right through. This was his first time feeling anything like it.

"Oh? Such a Buddhist Verse, composed by one outside our Buddhist Sect—a mere Martial Artist..."

The Arhat’s voice, full of wonder, fell, then abruptly turned cold.

"Trying to deceive your way through... Since you have come, why hide and skulk?"

As these words landed, Su Mu first froze, then his whole body trembled more violently, a piercing chill flooding his brow, making his body feel plunged into an icy abyss.

Before him was Vajra Temple’s founding Ancestor—a foremost lecturer at Longfu Temple for centuries, in life an Upper Three Grades Arhat Realm Buddhist Cultivator whose words clearly weren’t spoken to Su Mu.

So then, to whom was this Arhat Realm Buddhist Cultivator’s cold rebuke addressed?

"The one transmitting from the Ancient Mountain Lord Temple is not Vajra Temple’s Sweeping Monk..."

Su Mu’s thoughts spun rapidly, and at the same time, he felt the Arhat’s gaze fixed upon his chest, where a cool item radiated gradual chill into his brow.

"The Fish-shaped Jade Pendant... the Sun Family’s heirloom, once belonging to Sun Li!"

Memory flashed by, sweeping through the years and settling upon a hate-contorted face: the first person Su Mu killed after arriving in this world.

"I diligently apprenticed in the forge for over two years, and you, a country brat here barely three months, yet you get to study Forging alongside me—what gives you the right..."

At the moment of death, Sun Li’s words sounded in Su Mu’s ears clear as day.

In the old days at the forge, Xiaohu had mentioned Sun Li’s background, but because he hung out with Black Tiger Gang ruffians and drank himself senseless daily, disappointed family sent him to the forge, after which Sun Li’s kin disappeared entirely.

Later, Su Mu found a wooden box under Sun Li’s bed, inside which was this Fish-shaped Jade Pendant, able to calm the mind and heart.

Back then, Su Mu was a nobody, troubled by the pendant, and buried the box underground.

Years later, after Su Mu felt strong enough to protect himself, he dug up the box and began wearing the pendant on his chest.

"Within the pendant is a soul fragment of the Sun Family Ancestor... Awakening completely unbeknownst to me, watching silently all this time as I acted!"

Thoughts spun fast; having put it all together, Su Mu felt his skin crawl. He had indeed killed Sun Li, and yet this Sun Family Ancestor, upon awakening, gave no sign at all.

When, exactly, did this person awaken? How much did he learn? Is he friend or foe?

In the next instant, the Fish-shaped Jade Pendant on his chest trembled fiercely, then burst into radiant light, rising from Su Mu’s clothes to hover midair.

"Hmph! I have never cared for Buddhist Sect folk; today’s nonsense has nothing to do with me."

A bone-deep, proud, domineering voice boomed from within the Fish-shaped Jade Pendant, declaring his disdain for members of the Buddhist Sect, even addressing an Arhat Realm Buddhist Cultivator as ’this seat.’

"What, you bald donkey, dead for years, want to pin my family junior’s tab on me now? I just woke up days ago, happy to stretch my muscles—if you push me, I’ll flatten your broken pool with a single sword, believe it or not?"

Su Mu was stunned. The Sun Family Ancestor in the pendant not only carelessly referred to himself as ’this seat’, but called the Vajra Temple’s Ancestor a ’bald donkey,’ even threatening to slice apart the Relic Lotus Pool with a sword.

Mind reeling, Su Mu also felt a quiet relief—the other’s tone suggested he’d just awakened, and now saw Su Mu as a clan junior.

"How dare you insult me!"

As the words fell, the entire lotus pool shook violently. Though the Arhat had no form, Su Mu clearly sensed a raging fury.

The calm lotus pool rippled with turbulence; from beneath the water emerged blooming red lotuses, their petals unfurling in an instant, and translucent, crimson fire blazed into existence out of nowhere.

"Wom-wom-wom——!"

At the appearance of the Red Lotus Fire, the Dragon of Spiritual Power at Su Mu’s brow burned hot, warning of dire peril; even the sleeping Gu Insect at his chest woke, shrieking in intense distress.

This time, the danger signals from both were even more severe than when Tao Xingzheng burned jade and invoked the Tao Family Ancestor’s arrival—enough to make the heart pound madly.

"Noisy!"

Zheng!

The hovering Fish-shaped Jade Pendant vibrated sharply; a clear, proud sword cry split the air, like a Celestial Phoenix soaring, cloud-piercing. Then, from within surged a blindingly spectacular, river-like torrent of Sword Light.

Whether Blind Swordsman Right Protector of Black Mountain, or the Purple Shirt’s dazzling Swordsmanship—faced with this Sword Light, they would pale and fade.

How can a grain’s light contend with the radiance of the full moon?

...

Outside the Relic Stone Tower, the weather turned wild.

The Buddha Flame on all seven tiers of the pagoda suddenly snuffed out, Jinlian shattered like rain, the Cyan Pine Forest and Golden Gate Peak trembled, earth cracking inch by inch, startled birds blotting out the sky.

"Such commotion... Is the Ancestor’s Relic Tower about to collapse?!"

Within the Cyan Pine Forest, Zen Jing, Zen Ming, Zen Enlightenment, and two grey-robed old monks were utterly shocked and enraged. The earlier spectacle of all seven tiers aglow hadn’t yet faded from their hearts.

Now all seven tiers were dark; the Relic Tower looked ready to crumble—an omen totally outside their understanding.

No one could imagine what was happening within, to cause such epochal disturbances in the Relic Tower, unseen for a century.

"What exactly happened? Who is that person?"

The grey-robed old monk gasped in fury; within the forest, even Zen Jing, current Abbot of Vajra Temple, fell silent, none could answer.

"No—we can’t wait any longer. Even if it breaks the ancestral rules... we must not let that person remain in the tower!"

The two grey-robed old monks, wild with anger and fear, raised their Lotus Seal, intent on forcibly ending the trial and expelling the man inside.

Before they could act,

The seemingly-collapsing seven-tier Relic Tower Buddha Flame roared back to life, and the new Jinlian were even more brilliant. Miraculous Buddha Power formed a shining curtain, pushing all those nearby back three zhang.

Buddha Light shone over all, isolating everyone from approaching.

"This, this..."

The chain of miracles left the old monks of Vajra Temple petrified, numb in spirit.

...

Outside the Relic Tower: heaven upturned, chaos reigns; inside the tower: serenity as if ages pass in stillness.

"Boy, the rest is up to you." That bone-deep proud voice echoed across the Lotus Pool. "If you want to learn some Secret Technique, just ask..."

Suddenly, the breeze stilled.

In the pool, all blue lotuses withered, lotus leaves shriveled, and that Formless Arhat seated in lotus suddenly dropped his head soundlessly into the pool, sending up silent ripples.

The Formless Arhat had become a Headless Arhat.

The Fish-shaped Jade Pendant fell from the sky and slipped quietly back under Su Mu’s clothes; meanwhile, a voice only Su Mu could hear rang out in his mind—proud, domineering.

"Kid, how was that sword from your old ancestor?"

"Next, the old ancestor needs to rest for a while. You, boy... better not let that half-dead bald donkey spot any clue."

...