MTLNOVEL Chapter 57: Ten Thousand Brilliant Lotus Palm
Ten Thousand Lotus Palm
This is a palm technique personally conceived by Elder Guo Lanfeng, born from his profound enlightenment upon reaching the Myriad Lotus Sea Realm through deep comprehension of the Lotus Heart Sutra of Tranquil Dao.
Unlike martial techniques rooted in raw power, the Ten Thousand Brilliant Lotus Palm takes transformation as its Dao, the lotus flower as its form, and the heart sutra as its intent.
This palm technique leans heavily toward suppression and disruption, prioritizing control over the enemy's mind rather than pursuing mere destructive force. For when one's heart sutra reaches its ultimate pinnacle, the cultivator's heart gradually relinquishes killing intent. But to lack killing intent does not signify weakness. On the contrary, to subdue without slaughter is the higher Dao.
The oral mantra of this palm technique, succinct yet profound, is encapsulated in a single verse:
"One flower, a thousand petals; one thought, ten thousand transformations. The palm flows like a lotus—slow yet unyielding, soft yet resolute. With stillness, it transforms motion; with yielding, it overcomes strength."
The technique is divided into three stages—Initial Transformation, Intermediate Harmony, and Great Mastery—comprising ten moves in total, each move a petal of the lotus, each palm a manifestation of intent.
Initial Transformation Stage (Moves 1–5)
1. First Move: Lotus Shadow Blooming Beneath the Moon
"Offense and defense as one, guiding strength with softness, countering substance with illusion."
The foundational move, the root of the entire palm technique. With a single palm strike, a cascade of illusory shadows unfurls, resembling lotus petals blossoming in the moonlight.
Each layer of palm shadow can deflect attacks from multiple directions, rendering it nearly impossible for enemies to breach, even if they assault from all sides.
2. Second Move: Heart-Chaos Lotus Blossom
"Shatter the mind before the body."
This move does not strike the physical body but disrupts the spiritual qi in the surrounding space. The resulting vibrations unsettle the enemy's mind, throwing their qi meridians into disarray.Those with weak heart sutras suffer greatly, potentially misdirecting their artifacts or losing focus mid-battle.
3. Third Move: Dream-Inducing Lotus Heart
"A technique of mental enchantment, breaking the enemy's will."
Outwardly serene, this move channels subtle shockwaves into the enemy's sea of consciousness. Upon striking, it marks the foe with a faint lotus sigil that shimmers on their body.The sigil persists for ten breaths, inducing a state of torpor, as if the enemy were trapped in a mesmerizing dream, sapping their will to resist.
4. Fourth Move: Pursuing Shadow Lotus
"Pursue to the root, strike to the heart."
A pursuit move. Each lotus petal released locks onto the enemy's qi signature, relentless in its chase, impossible to evade. The petals shift direction to follow the target's spiritual aura, striking as inseparably as shadow clings to form.
5. Fifth Move: Purifying Lotus Dispels Curses
"With purity, suppress evil; with light, dissolve darkness."
Designed to counter demonic aura and malevolent intent, this move combines the oral mantra of the Lotus Heart Sutra of Tranquil Dao, drawing radiant light from the Lotus Seed within the sea of consciousness. The resulting palm strike carries a purifying brilliance. It cleanses demonic qi, weakens malevolent thoughts, and dispels the influence of forbidden arts or evil techniques.
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Upon mastering the Initial Transformation Stage, the practitioner not only holds their ground with unshakable resolve but also instills trepidation in their foes with every step.
Intermediate Harmony Stage (Moves 6–8)
6. Sixth Move: Scattered Petals in Chaotic Dance
"Blend illusion with reality, guide substance with void. Offense and defense in unison, subduing chaos with chaos."
When unleashed, this move fragments the palm technique into countless illusory lotus petals, mimicking the transformations of the first five moves. Each petal serves as a conduit of force, scattering the enemy's vision and spiritual sense. It excels in wide-area control, enabling escape from encirclement or reversing a dire situation.
7. Seventh Move: Jade Lotus Binding Hearts
"Unite hearts in shared strength, walk the same path as one."
It's a rare cooperative move that allows the practitioner to borrow the spiritual energy of allies within a certain range, fusing their inner qi into a unified whole, amplifying power manifold. When skillfully coordinated, it can overwhelm an enemy surpassing the practitioner by a minor realm.
However, this move reaches its full potential only when two or more cultivators, whose hearts and intents are in perfect harmony, execute it together.
8. Eigth Move: Lotus Heart Shattering Origin
"Sever the technique before the body, seal the qi before crushing the will."
This is a palm strike aimed directly at the vulnerabilities in an opponent's techniques or formations. Upon impact, it leaves a lotus sigil on the enemy's body, triggering a "pulse-severing" effect that disrupts their spiritual qi flow, sealing their magical arts.
Unlike the sigil of Dream-Inducing Lotus Heart, this mark can persist long-term and can only be dispelled by one proficient in the Lotus Heart Sutra of Tranquil Dao or a master of a higher realm channeling their power to resolve it.
Supreme Realm Stage (Moves 9–10)
Upon cultivating to the ultimate limit, the practitioner unlocks the Supreme Realm Stage, accessing the final pinnacle of the technique.
9. Ninth Move: Formless Lotus Selflessness
"The formless surpasses the formed, the shapeless births myriad shapes."
When a practitioner attains this realm, they enter a state of "formless thoughtlessness," becoming one with the lotus, their heart merging with the boundless void.
The palm strike loses all shape and form. A single thought can birth ten thousand streams of palm force, striking simultaneously at the opponent's three weaknesses: body, true qi, and spirit.
Even with protective treasures, injury is nearly unavoidable.
This move defies defense, indistinguishable between truth and illusion—both real and unreal, both dream and reality.
10. Ultimate Move: Ten Thousand Lotus Bloom
"Purify heaven and earth, unite all laws in the heart. One palm—ten thousand flowers bloom."
The supreme technique, the culmination of the Ten Thousand Lotus Palm.
When unleashed, it shakes heaven and earth, conjuring ten thousand lotus petals in the void, each petal bearing a distinct intent—attack, defense, control, sealing, enchantment, disruption, suppression, luring, guiding, reflection…
All nine preceding moves meld into a single palm strike, forming an endless sea of lotuses capable of:
Shattering grand formations.
Sealing spiritual meridians.
Subduing an enemy surpassing the practitioner by an entire major realm for a brief moment.
Or shielding the self, reversing a deadly situation in an instant.