21: Deposing Zhao Wuji

Zhao Wuji was furious. With a flip of his wrist, a black iron seal appeared in his palm.

The iron seal grew against the wind, instantly transforming into the size of three feet. Runes flowed across its surface, emitting an Aura as heavy as a mountain.

A Spiritual Artifact, the Mountain-Suppressing Seal!

"Suppress him for me!"

Zhao Wuji roared and fiercely unleashed the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

The black iron seal carried a whistling wind, stirring the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and transformed into a stream of black light that smashed fiercely towards the top of Shen Yuanmo's head.

With this strike, he used ten percent of his power, determined to smash Shen Yuanmo into a pulp!

Facing this thunderous strike, Shen Yuanmo's face remained devoid of any ripples.

It was not until the instant the Mountain-Suppressing Seal was about to descend upon his head that he slowly raised his right hand.

There was no earth-shattering Aura, nor any flashy Spell light effects.

A golden flame, as if forged from the purest glaze, bloomed quietly at the tip of his index finger.

He flicked his finger, and the tiny golden flame floated out, meeting the aggressive Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

Amidst the suffocatingly tense gazes of the Shen Family clansmen, the flame and the iron seal—one large and one small, one fast and one slow—were about to collide.

A bizarre scene occurred.

Between the two, there was no violent collision or explosion.

The golden flame, like a living creature, lightly adhered to the bottom of the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

"Chii—"

A faint sound, like a branding iron entering water, rang out.

That indestructible, mountain-heavy Mountain-Suppressing Seal trembled violently the moment it touched the golden flame.

The runes on the surface of the seal began to dim and melt at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wisps of black smoke rose from the seal, and the Mountain-Suppressing Seal let out a wail of unbearable burden.

"No! My Mountain-Suppressing Seal!"

Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically. He could clearly feel that the Divine Sense imprint he had left in the Magic Treasure was being rapidly burned and purified by a force of supreme Yang and purity!

The connection between him and the Mountain-Suppressing Seal was rapidly weakening!

How is this possible! What kind of flame is this? It can actually directly incinerate the spirituality of a Spiritual Artifact!

He desperately pinched out incantations, wanting to recall the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

However, that tiny golden flame was like a maggot on a bone; no matter how he urged it, it stuck firmly to the seal, crazily devouring the spirituality within.

It took only two or three breaths of time.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, a crack appeared on the surface of the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

The spiritual light dissipated completely, and that imposing Spiritual Artifact fell from mid-air, smashing onto the ground with a "bang" and turning into a piece of pitch-black scrap iron.

The entire scene was dead silent.

Everyone stared at this scene in dumbfounded shock.

A Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator's Lifebound Spiritual Artifact was just... burned to scrap by a small flame?

Zhao Wuji stared blankly at the scrap iron on the ground, opened his mouth, and a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out violently.

His Lifebound Treasure was destroyed, and his mind suffered a heavy blow!

He raised his head, his eyes looking at Shen Yuanmo filled with fear and disbelief.

"You... what exactly is your cultivation level?" he asked with a trembling voice.

Shen Yuanmo withdrew his finger, and the golden flame flickered on his fingertip before disappearing.

He looked at Zhao Wuji, who looked as pale as gold paper, and shook his head regretfully.

"Lord City Lord, I already told you, your way of teaching rules is too gentle."

"Moreover, the quality of your Magic Treasure is truly a bit poor."

With his Magic Treasure destroyed and his mind severely injured, Zhao Wuji's Aura instantly withered.

He stared fixedly at Shen Yuanmo, the horror in his heart having reached an unbearable Peak.

Destroying a High Grade Spiritual Artifact with one finger!

What kind of method is this?

Even a Golden Core True Person might not be able to do it so nonchalantly!

The young man before him is definitely not some Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator; he hid his cultivation! He is a monster!

Escape!

Must escape immediately!

This thought sprouted wildly in Zhao Wuji's heart like weeds.

He no longer had any thoughts of revenge or saving face; what remained was only fear of the unknown.

Without any hesitation, Zhao Wuji bit the tip of his tongue violently, forcibly suppressing his surging blood, turned, and transformed into a streak of light, fleeing desperately toward the direction of the City Lord's Mansion.

"You want to leave now? It's too late."

Shen Yuanmo's calm voice, like a fatal Talismanic Incantation, rang in Zhao Wuji's ears.

Zhao Wuji only felt a chill on his back, and a fatal sense of crisis enveloped his entire body.

Without thinking, he immediately poured all the remaining magic power in his body into a defensive shield.

But the next moment, a hand, as if piercing through the distance of space, lightly pressed onto his back.

This hand, seemingly without force, caused all of Zhao Wuji's magic power to instantly solidify, and his entire person, as if struck by an immobilization Spell, froze in place.

Every hair on his body stood on end.

"Senior, spare my life! Senior, spare my life!"

Zhao Wuji completely broke down, his voice even changing pitch.

"This Junior failed to recognize a superior and offended you. Please, Senior, for the sake of the Immortal Dynasty, spare my life! This Junior is willing to offer all my possessions, only begging Senior to grant me a way to survive!"

He had already regarded Shen Yuanmo as a Golden Core, or even a Nascent Soul Stage old monster passing through this place.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to have such terrifying strength.

Shen Yuanmo did not pay attention to his pleas for mercy.

His palm remained pressed on Zhao Wuji's back, and a force of Glazed True Yang, pure to the extreme, was slowly transferred over.

This force was not explosive, but rather very gentle, like a warm current, following Zhao Wuji's Meridians, flowing all the way down, and directly pouring into his Dantian Sea of Qi.

Zhao Wuji was stunned at first, then felt the effect of this force, and his face became uglier than death.

"No... don't! You can't do this! You are destroying my cultivation!"

He screamed in terror.

This golden force was disintegrating his Dao Platform!

For a Cultivator, having their cultivation destroyed is more painful than killing them!

"I have no past grievances or recent hatred with Your Excellency, why must you strike such a vicious hand!" Zhao Wuji roared desperately.

"No grievances or hatred?" Shen Yuanmo's voice rang out behind him.

"Half a year ago, you and the Lin Family joined forces to try and seize the foundation of my Shen Family. For the past half year, you have sent people to monitor my Shen Family day and night, with malicious intent. Today, you even wanted to put me to death and remove my entire Shen Family from the record."

"Now, you tell me there are no grievances or hatred?"

"Killing you would indeed be a bit troublesome; it would take some effort to explain to the Immortal Dynasty."

"But keeping you alive is a bigger trouble for my Shen Family."

"So, Lord City Lord, please just go be a Mortal."

As his words fell, the Glazed True Yang force in Shen Yuanmo's palm vibrated slightly.

"Ahhh—!"

Zhao Wuji let out a shrill, extreme scream.

He could clearly feel his Foundation Establishment Dao Platform, which he had cultivated for over a hundred years and finally managed to form, melt and shatter like snow in front of this gentle yet overbearing force, finally vanishing into nothingness.

His surging magic power, like a breached flood, leaked out through every pore on his body.

In just a moment, his entire person seemed to have been drained of his essence and spirit; his hair quickly turned gray, his face became covered in wrinkles, and he suddenly aged several decades.

The terrifying Aura of a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator disappeared without a trace.

He had become a... useless person with no magic power, inferior even to an ordinary strong man.

Shen Yuanmo released his hand.

Zhao Wuji's body went limp, he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, his eyes hollow and despairing.

The entire scene was deathly silent.

Shen Zongdao, Shen Qiming, and all the Shen Family clansmen looked at Shen Yuanmo with eyes as if looking at a god.

With a wave of his hand, he destroyed a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator!

What kind of heaven-reaching method is this!

Shen Yuanmo turned around and looked at his father and Old Ancestor, who were completely stunned, his face returning to a gentle smile.

"Father, Old Ancestor, the matter is resolved."

Shen Qiming opened his mouth, and it took a long while for him to find his voice.

"Yuan Mo... you... what is your current cultivation level..."

"Peak Mid-stage Foundation Establishment," Shen Yuanmo answered calmly.

This answer made everyone gasp even more.

Peak Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and he could so easily crush a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator?

Just how Heaven-Defying is this "Crimson Sun Glazed Scripture"!

Shen Yuanmo did not explain too much; he pointed to Zhao Wuji, who was like a dead dog on the ground, and said to Shen Qiming:

"Father, please trouble yourself to send two people to 'escort' this 'former' Lord City Lord back to the City Lord's Mansion."

"In addition, immediately send someone to hasten with all speed to Baiyue Prefecture City. Say that the Linjiang City City Lord, Zhao Wuji, suffered a mishap while Cultivating, leading to Qi Deviation, and his cultivation is completely destroyed. My Linjiang City cannot be without a master for a day; I earnestly request the Lord Prefectural Governor to send a new City Lord as soon as possible to preside over the overall situation."