1498 Magic Talisman

"Shut up... SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Chu Wuyang roared, his Spirit Lord aura exploding around him. However, due to the formation, he could only exert the strength of a peak Spirit Grandmaster.

"What do you think you're trying to do?!" Chu Shijian shouted.

"Whatever I want!"

Without another word, Chu Wuyang lunged at Yuan like a tiger, his entire being radiating bloodlust. In midair, he summoned a sword and swung it at Yuan without hesitation.

"Yuan!" Chu Liuxiang subconsciously called out to him even though she knew Chu Wuyang wouldn't be able to touch even a single hair on him.

Sure enough, Yuan casually caught the blade with two fingers and, with seemingly no effort, pinched it so hard that the entire blade shattered into hundreds of fragments.

"What?! That was a Heaven-grade treasure!" Chu Wuyang exclaimed in a terrified voice.

He'd never seen someone breaking a Spirit-grade treasure with their bare hands before, much less Heaven-grade.

'It must be some kind of trick!' Chu Wuyang gritted his teeth.

After distancing himself from Yuan and pausing for a moment, he retrieved a black talisman and infused it with half of his spiritual energy.

The black talisman emitted a crimson glow before suddenly catching fire and burning away.

"Flames of Purgatory! Turn that bastard into ash!"

Once the magic talisman fully burned away, it released a powerful pillar of fire that resembled a dragon's breath in Yuan's direction.

'The magic talisman contained a powerful Divine-rank martial technique! Once released, it can instantly kill even a peak Spirit Lord! Let's see how you, a mere Spirit Grandmaster, survive it!' Chu Wuyang grinned as he watched the flames engulf Yuan's figure.

"That's a dangerous thing you have there," Yuan's voice resounded, followed by a strange whooshing noise. The flames suddenly vanished as if consumed by the air itself, revealing Yuan's perfectly unharmed appearance and a beautiful silver spear that wasn't in his grasp a moment prior.

"That could've destroyed a good portion of this mountain if I hadn't erased it in time," he continued in a grim voice.

'Clearly limiting their cultivation isn't enough. I will need to find a way to deal with such tactics later…' he sighed inwardly.

"H-how?! How the hell are you doing this?!" Chu Wuyang roared, his face twisted in confusion, seemingly on the verge of madness.

However, Yuan wasn't even paying attention to him; he was looking at Chu Shijian.

"How do you want to punish him?" he asked.

Chu Shijian responded solemnly as she glared at Chu Wuyang, "Chu Wuyang, for your crimes—your betrayal—I hereby disown you. And to prevent you from harming others, I will cripple your cultivation!"

"Please wait a moment! Let's talk about this first!" Chu Wuyang's mother suddenly stepped forward.

However, Chu Shijian's face remained resolute, and he said, "Chu Tung-Mei, don't act like you're completely innocent, either. Since he's your son, we will also be investigating you to see if you have any involvement. In fact, everyone in the family will be investigated with no exceptions. If you are not satisfied with my decision, you may leave the Chu Family with him. Chu Wuyang, you're lucky I am sparing your life despite your assassination attempt on my life!"

The room fell silent.

Yuan broke the silence by stepping away from his seat.

"You heard him, Chu Wuyang. Since I am the only one capable of crippling you here, I shall do the honors. No hard feelings."

"G-get away from you, you monster!" Chu Wuyang turned around and began running away.

Seeing this, Yuan activated Heavenly Domain, instantly restricting his movements.

"The less you struggle, the less painful this will be. Or would you rather I beat you down first, like the last time? Don't worry, it'll be over before you even know it."

Without taking another step, Yuan raised his hand and pointed a finger at Chu Wuyang's back. In the next moment, a thin strand of Sword Aura shot out from Yuan's fingertip, flying at Chu Wuyang's Dantian like a bullet.

Upon impact, the Sword Aura drilled a hole within Chu Wuyang's Dantian, causing it to leak out all of its spiritual energy.

Chu Wuyang's cultivation immediately began to decline. In less than ten seconds, it plummeted from Spirit Lord to Spirit Grandmaster, then further to Spirit Master, Spirit Warrior, and Spirit Apprentice—until it was completely depleted of spiritual energy.

"N-no! Noooo!" Chu Wuyang's horrified cry echoed throughout the entire room.

Chu Shijian and the others swallowed nervously after witnessing Yuan's domineering display of strength. He was so powerful that even a Spirit Lord like Chu Wuyang seemed as vulnerable as a chicken on the chopping board.

After crippling Chu Wuyang's cultivation, Yuan returned to his seat and casually sat down without even a ripple on his nonchalant expression.

'I knew he was powerful, but to think he'd be this overbearing!' Chu Shufeng was quivering in her shoes when she recalled their fight with him.

After a moment of silence, Chu Shijian spoke, "Sebastian, escort our guest to the interogation room. If he refuses to move, you can drag him away."

"Yes."

Sebastian proceeded to drag Chu Wuyang out of the room. Chu Wuyang's mother watched all of this unfold with a dazed look, but she didn't dare to help him any further, fearing it might incriminate her.

Sometime later, Chu Shijian said to the others, "You can leave for now. We will continue this tomorrow."

In the end, only Yuan and Chu Liuxiang remained in the room with him.

"So, what are your plans now?" Yuan asked Chu Shijian.

"Unfortunately, this won't really change our situation with the Qin Family. Chu Wuyang has already done irreversible damage to our family. The Qin Family's hindrance may slow down for a bit without Chu Wuyang, but it won't stop them from bankrupting us."

"Our business within Cultivation Online, which was handled by Chu Wuyang, will also be in a mess for some time."

"This business… can you tell me more about it?" Yuan suddenly asked.