Endless Jizō Blade was a technique that once made a brief but brilliant appearance in the Hong Kong comic series 'Wushen'.
This powerful move was originally created by the 'Wushen of the Moon' known as the 'Jizō Monk,' and was later referred to by other Wushen of the Moon as the 'Country-Protecting Divine Art.'
However, despite its grand name, the reason this technique became known on the moon was not because it repelled some foreign enemy, but because...
—The Jizō Monk who developed this martial art, after failing to persuade the other villains in his country, chose to melt gold into a liquid. Using the liquid as a medium, combined with the powerful force of that world, [Magnetic Field Rotation], he slaughtered tens of millions of people he deemed 'villains' within a few months.
Therefore, Leo Ash, who had activated this move, naturally exuded a 'murderous aura' that struck fear into others.
After all, this was fundamentally a terrifying technique designed for slaughter.
And now, as countless energy blades began to slash towards the Titans, Leo Ash started to walk forward.
The Endless Jizō Blade that Leo Ash had activated was not, in fact, a pure Magnetic Field Rotation martial art, but an improved technique he created after combining it with the Edge of Taixu Fu Hua had taught him.
Due to a lack of time and Leo Ash not possessing the Key of Domination, Fu Hua had not taught him the Ideation and Spirit Skandhas of Taixu.
But while omitting these two Skandhas, Fu Hua had already passed on the training method for the Spirit Skandha to Leo Ash.
Although Fu Hua had specifically emphasized that before Leo Ash completed the most basic training of the Heart and Form Skandhas, Leo Ash was absolutely not to actively cultivate the Spirit Skandha, and Leo Ash did indeed comply, not actively cultivating it didn't mean he had to completely give up on researching it.
It had been less than ten days from the time Leo Ash learned the Edge of Taixu until now.
To be honest, let alone the Spirit Skandha, his progress in training the Heart and Form Skandhas was not fast either.
He was no genius, after all. He couldn't possibly master these techniques and mental states on his own after someone had shown him the way.
But the problem was, while Leo Ash failed to master the Heart and Form Skandhas, he possessed special skills that could substitute for them.
The Heart and Form Skandhas were, to put it bluntly, the 'state of mind' and 'techniques' of the Edge of Taixu. For the state of mind, Leo Ash could rely on Mind Like Still Water, and as for techniques—Endless Jizō Blade was undoubtedly a powerful move not inferior to, and in some aspects even surpassing, the entire syllabus of the Form Skandha.
The essence of the Edge of Taixu was to enable the human body to control more Honkai Energy through the training of the Heart and Form Skandhas, thereby allowing the use of the Edge of Taixu itself.
And now, by combining the two major skills of Mind Like Still Water and Endless Jizō Blade, Leo Ash, who had released a large amount of Honkai Energy, had already touched the threshold of the Spirit Skandha through this shortcut.
Objectively speaking, the 'Taixu: Endless Jizō Blade' he was using now was far inferior to even a bootleg version of the Edge of Taixu's ultimate techniques.
But—it was more than enough to deal with these Titan mechs.
As the Honkai Energy blades easily sliced through the outer mechs, their energy intensity was subsequently weakened.
Seeing that the energy blades had lost their power and were no longer as sharp as before, the previously terrified Sin Mal finally breathed a sigh of relief as she came to her senses.
The ten Titans at the forefront of the squadron had been sliced to pieces by the advancing Leo Ash.
But those energy blades, having been weakened, were clearly unable to pierce the other Titan mechs.
And—this idiot was still walking forward.
Hmph, is he afraid of dying too slowly, so he chose such a reckless action?
Just as Sin Mal was about to rush out and teach him a lesson, she froze, weapon in hand.
The previous energy blades had indeed exhausted their power, only managing to inflict minor damage on the subsequent Titans.
But the problem was, Leo Ash's Endless Jizō Blade did not end just because the energy blades had been spent.
When the Jizō Monk unleashed Endless Jizō Blade, he used molten gold as a medium for the blades.
And Leo Ash, having now combined the technique with Mind Like Still Water, could naturally do what the Jizō Monk had done all those years ago.
From the very beginning, he had never expected to wipe out all the Titan mechs with a single wave of energy blades.
Even after frantically extracting the Honkai Energy contained within his Stigmata and converting the mana from the Void Demon Stone Fragment into Honkai Energy, the amount Leo Ash could release was still ultimately too low.
Therefore, his method of attack was not limited to just that Honkai Energy.
After shattering the Titan mechs, the metal left on the ground naturally became a medium he could utilize.
And the Leo Ash who continued to advance in Sin's eyes was not doing so out of foolishness.
He kept moving forward, partly to overwhelm Sin with his presence.
And as he advanced, in order to align his own state of mind more closely with that of the Jizō Monk, he also began to chant the scripture the monk had chanted during his 'country-protecting' crusade.
"When the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was coursing in the deep Prajna Paramita, he perceived that all five skandhas are empty, thereby transcending all suffering."
For the current Leo Ash, only by constantly moving forward could he get closer to the fragments of the Titan mechs and turn them into his 'endless blades.'
"O Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness, and emptiness is not different from form. Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. The same is true for feelings, perceptions, volitions, and consciousness."
This time, the metal fragments controlled by Leo Ash instantly transformed into a storm of terrifying blades.
"Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no feelings, perceptions, volitions, or consciousness. No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind. No form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or object of mind. No realm of sight, and so on, up to no realm of consciousness. No ignorance, and no end to ignorance, and so on, up to no old age and death, and no end to old age and death. No suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation of suffering, and no path. No wisdom and no attainment."
Another dozen Titan mechs, which had been able to resist the slashes of the Endless Jizō Blade, were now pulverized by the assault of metal blades.
"With nothing to attain, the Bodhisattva, relying on Prajna Paramita, has no obstruction in his mind. Because there is no obstruction, he has no fear. Free from all inverted views, he dwells in Nirvana."
The shattered mechs, under Leo Ash's exquisite control, now became new blades, once again piercing the mechs beside them.
"Therefore, know that Prajna Paramita is the great transcendent mantra, the great mantra of enlightenment, the supreme mantra, the unequaled mantra, which can remove all suffering. It is true and not false."
"So, proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra. Proclaim the mantra that says: Gate, gate! Paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha!"
Under this 'battle of attrition,' Leo Ash, chanting the "Heart Sutra," slightly opened his eyes and spoke to Sin with a casual air.
"Medicine cures the curable, the Buddha ferries those with a karmic connection. Benefactor, I see that you have an affinity with the Buddha. May I ask..."
"—Benefactor, do you need me to ferry you on your way?"
"You, you, you...!"
Staring at Leo Ash, who had annihilated the entire Titan mech squadron in seconds, Sin wanted to charge forward with the same confidence as before and slit his throat with her weapon.
But now, when she made eye contact with Leo Ash at close range, Sin was horrified to discover that the aura around this handsome man was simply too bizarre.
His eyes were as calm as still water, yet he chanted Buddhist scriptures for delivering the dead.
But at this moment, the murderous aura around Leo Ash had not diminished because of the Buddhist nature he displayed; in fact, it made Sin feel that his murderous aura had become even more intense.
I can't win.
Against a terrifying guy like this, there's no way I can win...
"Don't..."
Sin could no longer control her body.
Driven by instinct, she backed away, letting out a desperate shriek at Leo Ash.
"Stay away from me!"
After shouting this, Sin frantically activated her Stigmata's ability.
In an instant, time around them froze.
However, Sin, who possessed such a powerful ability, did not choose to re-engage after stopping her enemy's time.
For the current Sin, this ability was not a weapon for killing, but a tool for escape.
A second later, Kiana and Yuna, who had kept their distance from Leo Ash and Sin, saw Sin's body suddenly teleport to a farther location.
"What a pity."
Watching the stumbling Sin flee, Leo Ash shook his head helplessly and sighed.
"The benefactor has chosen to forsake this opportunity to pass on to the next life."
"Senior, cosplay time is over—the enemy's getting away, aren't you going to chase her?"
Seeing Sin run further away, Kiana said, eager to give chase.
"She might have information about Cocolia, we—"
"Kiana, don't pursue a desperate foe. Besides..."
Leo Ash, who just moments ago seemed profound and inscrutable, suddenly lost his balance in front of Kiana and Yuna and collapsed towards the ground.
"I think... I need... to rest for a bit."
"Senior???"
Yuna, who supported Leo Ash, saw him suddenly break out in a cold sweat and become incredibly weak. She immediately used her powers to create a rattan chair and helped him into it.
A mob-clearing move like Endless Jizō Blade was an extremely taxing move for Leo Ash to begin with.
On top of that, Leo Ash also needed to combine it with Mind Like Still Water and execute it in the style of the Edge of Taixu, which naturally consumed even more energy.
Furthermore, this direct confrontation with Sin Mal also allowed Leo Ash to discover this move's flaw.
On the surface, it looked like Leo Ash chanted Buddhist scriptures and effortlessly sliced the Titans into pieces.
But only Leo Ash knew that the move's weaknesses were not insignificant.
First, when Leo Ash activated Endless Jizō Blade, he had to find a suitable 'medium' to unleash the technique.
Second, after releasing his power, his low proficiency with the move meant he could only manipulate objects within a short range to act as mediums.
Finally, if another strong opponent were to attack him directly, then Leo Ash could only choose to retract the endless blades being used to attack the enemy and use them for self-defense instead.
It could be said that his easy victory this time was only possible because he ran into an idiot like Sin Mal.
If it had been any other warrior with a brain and experience, let alone ridiculously strong Divine Key wielders like Durandal or Siegfried, any experienced A-rank Valkyrie could have forced him to use his power for defense, thereby interrupting the endless blades he was using to attack the Titans.
Sigh, in fact, an experienced fighter would have attacked the moment I released my Honkai Energy, instead of just standing there like a fool waiting for me to complete the move.
This technique is, at best, for dealing with Honkai Beasts and Titans in group battles. Using it in a one-on-one frontal clash feels like pure suicide.
"So, what should we do now?"
Watching Sin Mal's figure disappear from her line of sight, Yuna said to Leo Ash, unwilling to give up.
"That brat, based on her age, she's probably a member of the 'Cocolia's Orphanage' mentioned in the intel."
"The members of Cocolia's Orphanage are said to be children Cocolia adopted. If we could capture her, then Cocolia—"
"—Would obviously not be lured out by you. Yuna, turn this chair into a wheelchair."
"Ah? Oh—why are you so sure, Senior?"
"The answer is actually quite simple."
Leo Ash, feeling a bit tired, closed his eyes and said to the two beside him.
"Your information access level is only D-rank. As a B-rank knight, I can see higher-level intelligence in the database."
"The children of Cocolia's Orphanage are indeed children Cocolia adopted. To them, Cocolia is their adoptive mother, that's correct."
"However, I'm not sure if Cocolia has any feelings for these children, but the problem is—the files explicitly state that in order to complete a special experiment called the X-10 Experiment, Cocolia chose to use the children as test subjects."
"That...!"
"Huh???"
After hearing this, Kiana and Yuna were completely stunned.
Then, they both felt the anger in their hearts was ignited by Leo Ash's words.
"How, how could she do something like that to her own children?"
"That kind of woman—what kind of mother is she!"
"Yeah, your reaction is normal. That's why I told you not to chase. Capturing that girl wouldn't do us any good. After all..."
Leo Ash, who had closed his eyes, revealed a sarcastic smile.
"A 'mother' who can treat her daughters like lab rats, do you really think..."
"—A person like that would actually care about her daughter's safety?"