Chapter 485 - 484: No-Birth

Chapter 485: Chapter 484: No-Birth

Chapter 484: No-Birth

Luo Wusheng was not particularly surprised that Lu Yuliu could summon the phantom of the Sword Ancestor.

In the original story, after she had refined the Sword Ancestor’s wooden sword to a certain degree, this little girl had likewise gained the ability to draw forth a single strike from the Sword Ancestor.

Back then, however, she still could not do it at this point in time. As for why she could now...

Luo Wusheng’s gaze shifted to the forehead of the little girl who’s clinging to his arm.

The hair before her brow fluttered, revealing a small sword-shaped sigil in pale ink.

This was the same pattern that had once appeared between Lu Yuliu’s brows when she accepted the Sword Ancestor’s legacy after the Sword Emperor’s broken blade brought it back.

Now that it had reappeared, its color was fading at an astonishing speed.

That was the price of summoning the Sword Ancestor’s phantom.

[I can draw out the power of one strike from the Sword Ancestor by consuming the strength left over after the last time I accepted the inheritance, but I need a little time to prepare...]

Glancing at the words that had appeared earlier on the short wooden sword when he and Little Yuli had accidentally gotten tangled together, Luo Wusheng’s eyes softened, then he let out a sigh.

I understand the reasoning, but you didn’t say this girl episode would flare-up after summoning the Sword Ancestor’s phantom!

"Be good, Little Yuli. Don’t talk for now, stay by my side. I’ll give you candy later."

Rubbing the girl’s head, Luo Wusheng looked forward.

The blurred figure of the woman in plain robes stood quietly there, wiping away all the pressure in this space.

The Sword Ancestor of the Sword Sect—currently the most absurdly powerful figure Luo Wusheng knew of. The headless Buddha statue who could not even retrieve his own head had been beheaded by her. Even the Heavenly Gate’s Sword Emperor, likewise famed for the blade, had been defeated by a single strike from her.

Who knew whether she would win or lose compared to the ancestor-level figures of the Ancient Three Sects?

Thinking of this, Luo Wusheng could not help but glance again at the obedient little girl beside him who was covering her mouth.

Back when he was reading the novel in his previous life, he had always speculated whether Lu Yuliu might be the reincarnation of the Sword Ancestor or something...

His eyes swept across the plain-robed woman’s rather regret-inducing chest.

’Doesn’t look like it...’

Sword Ancestor’s phantom: "..."

Clang!

The sword had not yet been drawn, and already countless strands of sword energy filled the air.

Even knowing that this was a friendly unit summoned by Little Yuli, Luo Wusheng still felt a chill crawl up his spine.

The plain-robed woman placed her hand on the wooden sword at her waist.

Even though the opponent could not be seen within this realm, no one would believe that this sword could not strike its target.

Space itself faintly showed signs of cracking in that instant.

Yet Luo Wusheng did not relax in the slightest.

The mysterious voice earlier had clearly known he was trying to buy time yet had not stopped him—meaning it was prepared.

Or perhaps... the other side was also stalling.

"Lay down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha on the spot."

The empty voice rang out of nowhere. Buddhist light manifested before the plain-robed woman, evolving endless illusions, and dense temporal aura spread from it.

What puzzled Luo Wusheng was that this was not an attack. In fact, during the process, the Sword Ancestor’s phantom instead grew more and more solid—so much so that it began to feel alive.

As though... this phantom, originally only drawn out by the residual power of the Sword Ancestor combined with her sword and the aura of her inheritor—meant to swing once and then depart—had suddenly been awakened with consciousness?

No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than he heard a voice.

"Though this is but the remnant of a single strike, it seems that the ’oath to abandon the sword’ which the benefactor personally set upon yourself ten thousand years ago has not been broken... Amitābha."

Was it speaking to the Sword Ancestor’s phantom?

Luo Wusheng frowned and pulled the girl beside him a little farther back.

Then he heard the plain-robed woman—who should not have possessed any self-awareness—speak softly.

"Abandon the sword..."

The illusory figure held the hilt, yet halted the strike she had been about to unleash.

After silently standing for a moment, she suddenly raised her head.

"So that is how it is. I once cut you with a single strike... You are the head of an Arhat?"

"I am the ’Dao’ and the ’dharma-form.’"

The inexplicable reply made the plain-robed woman fall silent once more. Her hand left the sword hilt—and in the next instant she appeared before Luo Wusheng and Lu Yuli.

Luo Wusheng’s heart skipped.

He had not yet fully sorted out what exactly was happening, but the Sword Ancestor’s phantom sheathing her blade was unquestionably a bad sign.

Yet the woman in plain robes was not looking at him.

"He is the one you chose?"

The suddenly addressed Little Yuli blinked, first glancing at Luo Wusheng.

Luo Wusheng was still pondering the meaning behind those few brief exchanges just now. After a moment of hesitation, he signaled that the little girl could answer.

Although he did not know why the Sword Ancestor’s phantom, after being given consciousness by the other side, had suddenly stopped, his intuition said she was still on their side... and even if that judgment was wrong, as long as he stimulated the sword sigil between Lu Yuliu’s brows with his thoughts, he could make the phantom before them dissipate. The situation was still within controllable bounds.

On the other side, freed from her "mute" state, the little girl thought for a moment.

"Mm... I don’t really know what you want to ask, but Brother Luo really does belong to Little Yuli!"

As she spoke, she confidently puffed out her massive chest.

Luo Wusheng felt like the Sword Ancestor had just taken ten thousand points of damage.

Hopefully the Sword Ancestor wouldn’t despise her inheritor for this...

Whether because her consciousness had not fully awakened or because she already knew the current state of her generationally distant successor, the Sword Ancestor’s phantom did not mind in the slightest. She simply nodded, then faintly shifted her gaze toward Luo Wusheng.

"Hm? Why do you have no physical body?"

A temporary body sculpted from spiritual energy didn’t count as a physical body?

Luo Wusheng muttered inwardly. After confirming there was no movement from the enemy side, he cleared his throat.

"Ahem—my physical body was destroyed in a battle just now. Is there a problem?"

He chose his words carefully, not directly addressing the phantom before him as the Sword Ancestor.

The plain-robed woman likewise did not care about his attitude, only shaking her head.

"With no physical body, you cannot fulfill the conditions for me to release the ’oath of abandoning the sword.’ I cannot make a move this time—making a move would instead bring you harm rather than benefit."

Luo Wusheng was stunned.

The ultimate move was already right in his face, yet the requirements weren’t met?

And what did this have to do with him—he even needed to have a physical body?

"Uh... may I ask what this ’oath of abandoning the sword’ is...?"

"...Abandon ten thousand strikes, keep one strike. When the sword is drawn, there is no regret—this is the oath by which I achieved the Dao."

Listening to her words and recalling what had just happened, Luo Wusheng felt he was starting to understand.

"You mean no matter who it is, you can only strike once? And you once cut that bald monk over there with a single strike—so even now, when you’re only a lingering phantom, you can’t cut a second time?"

The blurred Sword Ancestor’s phantom nodded lightly.

"But what does that have to do with whether I have a physical body? To release this oath, do I have to offer up my body or something?"

With a headache, Luo Wusheng continued.

"Without a physical body, you cannot truly complete the method recorded in the secret manual I left behind for my successor... and that is the necessary condition for me to release the ’oath of abandoning the sword.’"

"Secret manual?"

Luo Wusheng did not immediately understand what she meant and subconsciously searched his memory of the original plot for something similar.

At that moment, the little girl beside him tilted her head and suddenly brightened.

"Huh? Brother Luo, Brother Luo—are you talking about that thing Little Yuli got last time... that super amazing inherited secret technique?"

When Lu Yuliu said this, she seemed to recall something and licked her lips with a hint of nostalgia.

And then Luo Wusheng remembered too.

The Sword Ancestor’s technique with that NSFW activation requirement!

Don’t tell me it’s really that?!

Luo Wusheng looked at the Sword Ancestor’s phantom before him, only to see her reply emotionlessly,

"I can sense that you have already completed the first part... If so, why did you not complete everything at that time?"

The corner of Luo Wusheng’s mouth twitched.

If Little Yuli hadn’t suddenly snapped out of her episode back then, maybe they really would have gone all the way... well, maybe not necessarily. Who knew how many steps remained after that first one? Twelve hours might not even have been enough to complete all of them.

"Brother Luo..."

Hearing the soft call, Luo Wusheng realized the girl at his side had somehow clung to him even tighter, her beautiful eyes looking pure yet tinged with a soul-snatching allure.

How could Luo Wusheng not know what was on this girl’s mind? He hardened his heart and pushed the head that was edging closer back down.

"Now’s not the time. Later... Here, have some candy."

Casually, he reached into the clouds beneath his feet and plucked off a small wisp, circulating his Dao Rhythm that slightly altered the essence of things and enforced reality through words, turning it—by some definition—into cotton candy before stuffing it straight into the girl’s mouth.

Little Yuli had wanted to say something, but once she tasted the sweetness, her eyes quickly lit up and she grabbed the cloud—nearly half her own size—and started munching away.

The Sword Ancestor’s phantom silently watched the scene and fell into deep thought.

Why did it feel like her successor wasn’t very bright?

The secret manual she had left behind was meant to help her find a Dao companion, not an owner to raise her...

Luo Wusheng was thinking too.

The path to releasing the Sword Ancestor’s so-called "oath of abandoning the sword" clearly wasn’t going to work. Even if he had a physical body—and even if no one interfered—he had no intention of putting on a live sex show here.

Fortunately, he had never fully pinned his hopes on the Sword Ancestor’s single strike solving everything.

So what he was considering now was something else.

From the earlier exchange, the Sword Ancestor’s phantom clearly knew the hidden mastermind behind this move.

That mastermind had survived one of the Sword Ancestor’s strikes, was someone of the Buddhist sect, and had been called "the head of an Arhat"...

A head?

The headless Buddha statue!

The one making a move now... was his head? Not that so-called Diabolic Buddha some rat demon had once mentioned?

No—could that so-called Diabolic Buddha be the head of the headless Buddha statue big shot?

A chill suddenly ran through Luo Wusheng as he looked into the void.

"Amitābha. It seems you have already guessed... correct, the thing you unexpectedly encountered earlier was indeed this poor monk’s former body, and also the ’golden body.’"

The resonant voice admitted it openly.

Luo Wusheng recalled the seal on his brow that had begun cracking on its own earlier, even though he had not triggered it.

Now that he thought about it, it was like a failsafe that activated upon sensing a specific aura.

And the heavily modified Buddhist Golden Body technique he had once cultivated...

’So after the Sword Ancestor beheaded him back then, something happened to his body that turned it into that state, while the head went on to take control the Buddhist sect?’

’And before losing his head, his name was... Arhat?’

Threads seemed to connect into a single line.

Yet Luo Wusheng could not help but think of another question.

Buddhist cultivators cultivated the golden body, dharma-form, and fruition status—while the one who seemed to be the head of the headless Buddha statue had just called himself "dharma-form" and "Dao," and referred to the headless Buddha statue as the "golden body"...

So where was the most mysterious part—the "fruition"?

As though sensing his thoughts, the voice from all directions drifted out once more.

"Among the Buddhist fruitions, there is the Arhat fruition..."

"An Arhat may be translated in three ways. First: slayer of thieves. Second: worthy of offerings. Third..."

"No-Birth."

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Note: Link to the character Illustration:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD