"Is that Demonbane?! And is that the Demon Refining Pot in his hand?!"

Several demons from the Eastern Wastes recognized you.

"Demonbane plus the Demon Refining Pot?! How the hell are we supposed to fight this?!"

Your terrifying destructive power had already drawn the attention of the powerful demons present.

The Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey had actually flown quite far away. Even when he discovered the sky full of Spirit Artifacts rushing over, he wasn't worried and continued to press deeper inland.

That was, until he sensed the aura of the Demon Refining Pot.

His four eyes possessed innate superhuman vision, and from a great distance, he spotted you charging back and forth seven times through the demon horde.

"Hey! So it's you, you little thief!!"

The Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey didn't know you, but he recognized the Demon Refining Pot.

He remembered it vividly—how you and the Sword Lord had stolen his pot.

The Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey knew he couldn't just let you be. Otherwise, all the effort his group had put into breaking through the defense line would be for nothing.

"Petty thief! Your life is forfeit!"

The Four-Eyed Spiritual Beast charged to attack.

This beast was not only at the Martial King Realm, but he also wielded divine weapons. This was not something to be taken lightly.

You remained utterly calm, raising your hand towards the sky.

"Artifacts, come!!"

Hearing this, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner up in the sky began to urge action.

"Prime Minister! Minister of War! Minister of Rites! Minister of Works! Quickly, support my servant!"

The Immortal Artifact, Heavenly Dragon Blade, the Spirit Artifact Nation's Minister of War, flew to your right hand!

The Immortal Artifact, Primordial Chaos Armor, the Spirit Artifact Nation's Minister of Works, automatically donned itself over your entire body!

The Immortal Artifact, Immortal-Binding Rope, the Spirit Artifact Nation's Prime Minister, hung at your waist!

The Immortal Artifact, Lightning-Chasing, Thunder-Racing Boots, the Spirit Artifact Nation's Minister of Rites, flew to your feet!

And finally, the Demon Refining Pot, which you had been gripping tightly in your left hand all along!

You alone commanded five Immortal Artifacts!

The Violet-Gold Iron Staff in the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey's hands was also of Immortal Artifact quality. In the time it took for him to bring his staff crashing down, you had already completed your "armor fusion," your Vitality Energy skyrocketing a hundredfold!

"CLANG!!!"

The Heavenly Dragon Blade swept upwards in a furious slash, colliding with the Violet-Gold Iron Staff. Dragon roars echoed, draconic majesty surged forth, and layers of air ripples erupted!

The Primordial Chaos Armor absorbed the impact force, then instantly rebounded it. Coordinating with the Heavenly Dragon Blade, it sent the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey flying on the spot!

The Lightning-Chasing, Thunder-Racing Boots carried you, transforming you into a bolt of lightning as you pounced upon the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey, who hadn't even stabilized his posture yet!

The Immortal-Binding Rope abruptly lengthened, moving with lightning speed to truss up the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey like a hog-tied pig!

"What?!"

By the time the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey realized what was happening, his Violet-Gold Iron Staff had already been knocked from his grasp, and your blade was resting against his neck.

Having witnessed the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey escape using his bone armor last time, you didn't give him that opportunity now.

"Order a retreat, or die!"

The Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey was still in a state of utter confusion. Your combo had been executed far too smoothly!

He was at the Martial King Realm!

Among the Demon Tribe, this level was called a Demon King.

Now, the Immortal-Binding Rope suppressed his energy, preventing him from mobilizing his techniques or demonic arts, leaving him completely at your mercy.

The demons engaged in battle with the Spirit Artifact army were also a bit dumbfounded by this sight.

Their highly decorated Great Vanguard Demon Ape had been captured in a single encounter by a mere human martial artist at the Spirit Condensation realm?

Was he that weak?

If that's the case, even I could be the vanguard!

To your disappointment, this psychologically twisted Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey not only refused to order a retreat but began roaring instead.

"Don't mind me!! Kill!! Charge into the Five Regions!! Slaughter all humans!!! Destroy them!!!"

As if injected with adrenaline, the demons on the battlefield went completely berserk, their eyes bloodshot with killing intent.

You snorted coldly.

"Seeking death!"

The Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey was extremely arrogant.

"With what? You? Even if I stood here and let you chop, you couldn't kill me!"

And he was actually right.

Even when the Heavenly Dragon Blade struck his neck, it only sparked a few times.

"I am a spiritual monkey born of heaven and earth! I possess an innate, immortal body!"

So that was it.

No wonder, in the previous simulation, the Fiery-Eyed Golden Monkey chose to petrify himself into a statue to eternally suppress the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey at the bottom of the sea.

It was because there was no way to kill such a special being.

You let out a derisive laugh.

"You think I have no way to deal with you?"

"Come on then! You think I'm afraid?!"

"Demon Refining Pot! Seal him!"

The Demon Refining Pot flew from your palm, enlarged in mid-air, and aimed its opening at the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey.

Suppressed by the Immortal-Binding Rope, the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey struggled desperately.

"Let me go! If you have the guts, fight me! Don't seal me away!!"

An old pervert like him feared loneliness the most.

You ordered the Demon Refining Pot to seal him at the bottom of the pot, using the sea of blood formed from the essence of countless demons to suppress him completely.

At the last moment, the Immortal-Binding Rope pulled itself free.

"Whew! That was close! Almost got sucked in with him!"

You reached out with a grasping motion, and the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey's Violet-Gold Iron Staff flew into your hand.

A sweep of your spiritual sense revealed that this was also an Immortal Artifact, but it hadn't existed long enough. Its Artifact Spirit was still in a nascent state and required nurturing from its owner.

You tried to erase the previous owner's mark from the Violet-Gold Iron Staff but encountered instinctive resistance from the Artifact Spirit.

"Tricky..."

It wasn't impossible to use it forcefully without erasing the former master's imprint.

But used that way, you couldn't unleash the divine might of the Immortal Artifact; you'd just be swinging it around like a blunt instrument.

"I'll do it!!"

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner dove down. A mass of pure death energy surged from within the banner and invaded the Violet-Gold Staff.

"Done! I've already completed the ownership transfer for you! Now keep fighting! Hurry up!"

He really showed off with that move.

"Not bad, Old Wan. You have tricks like that up your sleeve?"

"Stop wasting time! Get moving! My subjects have suffered heavy losses! For Zhen, go kill those Demon Kings!"

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner of the past, who only cared about feeding itself and paid no heed to others' lives or deaths...

Now that he had become an emperor, he too was plagued by worries of gain and loss.

Besides the Four-Eyed Spiritual Monkey, there were three other Demon Kings who had broken through the defense line.

These three Demon Kings were far more violent than ordinary demons. They could easily shatter Spirit Artifacts below the High-Grade tier.

Seeing his Spirit Artifact subjects reduced to piles of fragments, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner grew frantic with anxiety.

"You step back. Let Zhen see which rebellious son is killing the subjects of Zhen's vassal!"

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner lowered its voice.

"Keep it down! The little ones all think you're my servant!"

You stepped on the Lightning-Chasing, Thunder-Racing Boots, becoming as fast as a streak of lightning.

With the Violet-Gold Iron Staff in one hand and the Heavenly Dragon Blade in the other, clad in the Primordial Chaos Armor, the Demon Refining Pot hanging at your left waist and the Immortal-Binding Rope at your right, you charged towards the three Martial King Realm Demon Kings on the scene!

Golden-Eyed Horned Ox King!

Possessing the Ox Demon Bloodline, standing ten meters tall, with muscles developed like coiling dragons. A pair of golden eyes capable of seeing through illusions and anchoring ghosts and gods. A pair of golden horns that could split mountains and crack stone, possessing immense strength!

A single, overwhelmingly powerful Ox Demon Fist smashed into you.

A mere bruise? Nothing worth mentioning!

"SHING!!!"

Seizing the moment the ox-head was stunned, you gathered all your strength!

The External Technique "Limitless Sword Body Profound Art" operated at maximum output, combined with the momentum of the sword path. Using force to overcome force, you transformed sword intent into a razor-sharp edge upon the blade of the Heavenly Dragon Blade!

Aiming at the weakest point below the horns, you executed the "Falling Blossom Slash" from the "Unrestrained Sword Formula," slashing down diagonally!

"AHHH!!!"

The Golden-Eyed Horned Ox King let out a miserable scream, clutching its head as it rolled on the ground. You had severed both of its horns with a single slash!

With quick hands, you snatched up this pair of golden horns and stored them in your Storage Ring.

Good stuff.