Threat backfires

Could one quantify an attack that was powerful enough to completely and safely defeat a Nascent realm cultivator, human, beast or otherwise, without actually killing them? It had to be remembered that the rebels on Earth had to plan for decades, and resort to nuclear and hydrogen bombs to threaten merely 5 Nascent level cultivators, all of whom were stuck at the very start of that realm.

Yet now, Lex was facing 300 of them. In fact, he had taken their beating not only without dying, but without breaking a bone. Sure, the interference from the other competitors made it so none of them were really able to focus on Lex properly, but he took a beating nonetheless. Of course, the fact that the Lotus had been basically reestablishing his foundation again and again, and in the process nourishing his body, also played a significant role in his survival.