The old monk's white eyebrows twitched—he immediately knew what flaw was being exposed. In his youth, he once overslept and missed the World-Honored One's lecture, and that lecture happened to cover the move Thousand-Hand Buddha.
In Buddhism, everything hinges on fate. The old monk missed his chance and could not ask the World-Honored One for the true essence of Thousand-Hand Buddha; he could only learn the move second-hand from his fellow disciples, but it was never the true transmission.
His Thousand-Hand Buddha indeed hid a flaw so subtle no one could detect it. The old monk himself discovered this flaw and tried to patch it, but the more he patched, the more it leaked, and the more holes appeared.
To solve a problem, you must first find its source. Thousand-Hand Buddha is a highly complex move, requiring coordination of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—countless transformations, endless variations. Any tiny flaw is unlikely to have a single cause; it could well be triggered by several, even a dozen seemingly unrelated factors.
The old monk had been searching for the cause of the flaw since his youth, but to this day, he still hadn't found it. Once the flaw appeared in his Thousand-Hand Buddha, his disciple Brother Brightheart naturally inherited the same flaw.
This flaw is so minuscule that only when attacked at incredible speed does it reveal itself. The flaw appears when the arm lifts and passes one inch below the throat—at that moment, the yuanqi thins just slightly.
When struck by a rapid attack, the arm slows ever so slightly due to the weakened yuanqi, and that tiny hesitation exposes a fleeting vulnerability at the throat. The old monk's cultivation is so profound that few can ever force out this flaw, but Brother Brightheart is different.
In terms of sheer cultivation, Quinn Shepherd surpasses Brother Brightheart, and Quinn's hand-knife strikes are blindingly fast. In just a few moments, he has already slashed at Brother Brightheart's throat a hundred times!
On the sixty-eighth strike, the golden bell of light protecting Brother Brightheart shattered once. Though he quickly gathered his yuanqi and the bell reformed, Quinn's blade had already sliced his throat!
Blood flowed continuously from Brother Brightheart's throat, quickly staining his pure white monk's robe a deep red.
The old monk sighed, "Foolish child, your Thousand-Hand Buddha can't block his blade—why not switch techniques?"
Brother Brightheart snapped awake—he'd been so focused on blocking Quinn Shepherd's hand-knife that he'd forgotten: just defending would only get him beaten down. His golden bell of light could buy him a moment of safety, giving him the chance to counterattack and defeat his opponent.
It was Quinn's sheer madness that rattled him, making him forget his own strengths!
Suddenly, he switched forms. His palm clenched into a fist, and with a thunderous shake, his fist shone like a blazing sun—dazzling and fierce!
Sun-Bathing Soul Refining in Midair!
At that moment, a Buddha sound emanated from his mudra—ethereal and far-reaching—accompanied by a thunderous palm-strike, loud enough to refine and slay the soul itself!
His Sun-Bathing Soul Refining in Midair was several times stronger than Quinn Shepherd's version!
Struck by the force of the move, Quinn Shepherd was instantly dazed—his three souls jolted, his seven spirits thrown into chaos.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Quinn raised his fingers, and in a dazzling blur, tapped his own brow, tailbone, navel, crown, throat, heart, perineum, and lungs—locking down his three souls and seven spirits!
Heavenly Demon Creation Art!
Granny Sue had taught him Heavenly Demon Creation Art—a demonic technique originally meant to lock the soul, seal the blood, and strip the skin for crafting garments. Now, he turned it inward, sealing his own soul so Brother Brightheart's attack could not melt it!
"Samoye!"
A sharp demonic sound rang out. Quinn Shepherd smiled faintly, pinched his fingers as if holding a flower, and with a shake of his palm, unleashed the Heavenly Demon Freedom Seal. Brother Brightheart's soul nearly got yanked from his body. But in that instant, Quinn switched techniques, flipping from demon art to Buddha art—Sun-Bathing Soul Refining in Midair!
Brother Brightheart's Sun-Bathing Soul Refining in Midair formed a fist like a blazing sun—thunder scattered the soul, golden light refined it. Quinn Shepherd's version made his fist a burning sun, Vermilion Bird-type yuanqi turning it to flame, the fire true primordial fire, intense enough to melt steel.
Quinn spread his fingers wide—air exploded in his palm, the shockwave blasting out and scattering his opponent's soul.
The old monk's and Grandpa Mark's Sun-Bathing Soul Refining in Midair were different; clearly, the old monk's was the orthodox version, while Grandpa Mark had modified his for raw destructive force.
But Quinn lacked the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture, so he couldn't unleash the technique's full power.
Brother Brightheart, his soul still reeling and nearly torn loose, suddenly heard a low cry: "Samoye!"
Quinn switched again—from palm to seal, smiling faintly and pinching his fingers, unleashing Heavenly Demon Freedom Seal once more. He swapped between Buddhist and demonic seals back and forth, smooth as water, without the slightest hitch. Granny Sue and the old monk watched, utterly shaken.