The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 560 The Flower-Picking Finger

Ten cold beams of light struck the protective aura. The Shinto swordsmen's attacks came from bottom to top, stirring up the filthy blood on the ground, while the Enryakuji monks' attacks came from top to bottom, and the strong wind blasted the filthy blood into a dense blood mist, outlining the contours of the protective aura.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that at the points where the ten beams of cold light struck, the protective aura had been breached with tiny gaps.

Yuan Chaoliang, who was far away, made up his mind.

"It can be broken!"

"Something's definitely not right with him!"

Li Miao's condition is not ideal.

Before completely dissipating, Venerable Bodhidharma shattered his heart and lungs, leaving behind a seed of true energy within him that restricted his recovery. Although outwardly he only appeared slightly pale, in reality, since leaving Izumo Taisha, he had been constantly diverting a portion of his attention to maintain the beating of his true energy heart.

Now his breathing and heartbeat are controlled by reason—the mental strain has weakened Xuanlan, which is why the Japanese masters were able to break through his protective aura.

This is just true qi.

Taoist schools collectively refer to the space between the eyebrows, the heart, and the dantian as the Three Dantians. Internal energy originates from qi and blood, which in turn originates from the middle dantian, the Crimson Palace, which is the heart. Without the heart and lungs, internal energy is like a rootless duckweed, unsustainable.

Given his personality, he should have charged in and wreaked havoc. The reason he stood still and only used his protective inner energy to fight was precisely this.

Those who came to besiege Li Miao were all seasoned veterans, and they all immediately realized this.

"It can be broken!"

"He is spiritually deficient, and his internal energy is not strong enough! His blood and qi are depleted, so he cannot generate strength!"

"We can win!"

Although Li Miao's most recent all-out attack was in his battle against An Qisheng, that fight took place inside the Forbidden City, and few people knew the details. However, the scene of An Qisheng fighting Zhu Shoujing and nearly ten other officials single-handedly was widely known.

They were essentially no different from the worshippers. Even though Li Miao was in a different state, An Qisheng was still recovering from serious injuries at the time. They knew very well that if they couldn't break through Li Miao's protective aura, they would be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.

Now, they see hope for victory.

In the blink of an eye, ten pairs of eyes met, and in an instant, they understood each other's thoughts and devised a plan.

The three feigned an attack, diverting the protective inner energy.

When Li Miao was overwhelmed and unable to attend to both ends, the remaining seven people joined forces to attack a single point!
Swish!
The two monks and five swordsmen swiftly retreated, disappearing instantly into the charging monks.

The remaining three monks laughed and used the recoil from the downward strike to flip in mid-air. After landing, they brandished their naginata blades and each assumed a fighting stance.

"Oh."

Li Miao seemed completely unaware of their schemes, and smiled as he looked at the three of them.

"The Subduing Demon Shovel Technique, the Universal Gate Staff Technique, and the Little Yaksha Staff Technique are all among the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts! Did you steal the legacy of Bodhidharma, or did you steal the teachings of Master Jianzhen?"

He knew that these monks could understand him.

To practice authentic Shaolin martial arts, one must be able to speak the Central Plains language. The profound and mysterious terms in Buddhist traditions cannot be fully understood simply by translating them into Japanese.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, one of the monks' expressions suddenly darkened.

"Shut up, you demon!"

He flicked the handle of the knife, and the blade cleaved down!
"We are the true lineage of Buddhism; it is you demons who have stolen our Buddhist teachings!"

"Shameless talk!"

clang!
This time, he attacked in anger, tearing open another gap in the protective aura.

The other two monks also had grim expressions. They ducked to dodge the sweeping true energy and attacked Li Miao's side with all their might.

clang! clang! clang! clang!
Under the desperate offensive, the protective aura that Li Miao had set up was indeed being worn down little by little, and the blade was getting closer and closer to his skin.

Li Miao didn't seem to care at all, and just twirled his fingers as he spoke.

"Heavenly Demon?" "Is that what you call Bodhidharma and Master Jianzhen? And am I one of them?"

"You used Shaolin's heritage to cultivate to the Celestial Realm, and even learned the Central Plains language in order to understand the secrets. You should know where your own heritage comes from, right? Even so, you still firmly believe that Bodhidharma and Master Jianzhen are 'Heavenly Demons'?"

The monk didn't reply, but judging from his unwavering expression, he had clearly formed a self-consistent belief in his mind. Whether it was true or false, it wasn't something Li Miao could sway with just a few words.

"Stubborn."

Li Miao put his hands in his sleeves and shook his head.

"Since that's the case, then I'll teach you on behalf of Bodhidharma what the true Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts are."

He slowly raised one hand, fingers pointing downwards, middle finger, ring finger, and thumb pinched together.

call--

Before he could finish speaking, the monk suddenly froze.

The filthy blood that had been clinging to the protective aura and hovering in mid-air fell down with a splash.

Li Miao actually dispelled his protective inner energy on his own!
why!
His eyes narrowed, and in a moment of haste, he mustered all his strength and slashed at Li Miao—this was a golden opportunity, and no matter what Li Miao planned to do, this was the best chance to hurt him!

Swish!
At the same time, from the surrounding crowd, seven cold lights suddenly broke through the monks blocking their way and swiftly slashed towards Li Miao!

These were the seven experts who had concealed their presence, waiting for Li Miao's protective aura to weaken before launching a coordinated attack!

Seeing Li Miao deliberately disperse his true energy, they all seized this fleeting opportunity. Together with the three martial monks who were feigning an attack on Li Miao, ten cold lights were pointed at Li Miao's chest!

They could tell that Li Miao was deficient in qi and blood, and that his injury was in his heart!

The blade arrived in an instant!

Li Miao ignored it and simply said softly.

"This move is called 'flower-picking finger'."

"In your next life, don't go astray."

Raise your thumb, and flick your middle and ring fingers out.

Ding.

There was a crisp sound.

The blades, which had reached Li Miao's chest, suddenly stopped in mid-air and shattered into pieces very slowly.

"Well."

The monk who had just been talking to Li Miao blushed, his lips involuntarily parted, and pink bits of meat spurted out from the corners of his mouth.

puff.

Two monks and three swordsmen fell to the ground.

The remaining people's pupils contracted instantly, and they quickly withdrew. After retreating several feet, they reached out and touched their chests and abdomens. After touching them for a while, they found nothing wrong with them and looked up at Li Miao in a daze.

call!
The protective aura rose again, enveloping Li Miao.

"Cough cough."

Li Miao covered her mouth and coughed lightly a few times. When she took her hand down, there were several bright red spots on her palm.

He had just forced his way through his "Underlying Strength" technique, squeezing out a bit of power from his body to unleash his attack, which aggravated the injuries to his heart and lungs.

If this had happened a moment earlier, the Japanese experts would probably have been overjoyed... but looking at the five corpses on the ground, they felt a chill run down their spines.

Who knows... how many more moves Li Miao might make?
(End of this chapter)