The Purple-Robed Old Man’s offensive grew increasingly frenzied, with every attack delivered without reservation, putting forth his full strength.

"Immortal King? Without having experienced the tempering of heavenly fire, is such a realm worthy of being called an Immortal King?"

"Moreover, how long can your forcibly elevated state last?" Fang Hong said with a light chuckle.

Fang Hong’s words struck a chord in the Purple-Robed Old Man’s heart, making him even more panicked and uneasy.

Indeed, as Fang Hong said, he had forcibly raised his realm by relying on special medicinal pills.

Although he temporarily possessed the power of an Immortal King, this state could not last.

Once the medicinal pill’s effects wore off, his strength would rapidly decline, and he might even suffer a backlash.

Now, Fang Hong was so difficult to deal with, possessing solid defense and fierce attacks.

If the battle continued like this, once the medicinal pill’s effects passed, he would inevitably fall into a desperate situation, certain to die.

Thinking of this, the Purple-Robed Old Man’s heart had already given birth to the idea of retreating, and he began to ponder how he could escape from Fang Hong’s grasp.

Fang Hong had long seen through the Purple-Robed Old Man’s desire to escape.

How could he give the Purple-Robed Old Man a chance to escape? He immediately summoned seventy-two nirvana divine thunder swords.

The seventy-two Immortal Artifacts quickly arranged themselves in a specific formation, instantly forming a massive Sword Array, firmly trapping the Purple-Robed Old Man within it and cutting off his retreat.

The Purple-Robed Old Man looked at the seventy-two high-grade Immortal Artifacts suspended around him, feeling the terrifying power contained within them, and his face changed drastically, filled with extreme terror.

He could not stay any longer; he had to break out immediately, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

Immediately, the Purple-Robed Old Man gritted his teeth, pouring most of his remaining immortal Qi into his palm, condensing a scorching fireball.

This fireball was more concentrated than the previous flames, its temperature was higher, and it exuded a destructive aura.

Boom

With a loud bang, the Purple-Robed Old Man smashed the scorching fireball fiercely towards the Sword Array.

The fireball exploded instantly, turning into a sky full of fire, spreading wildly in all directions.

The nirvana divine thunder sword Array that Fang Hong had just set up was immediately dispersed under the impact of this violent force.

The seventy-two Immortal Artifacts were shaken and scattered, and even Fang Hong himself was sent flying several hundred feet by this powerful impact.

Taking advantage of the moment the Sword Array was broken, the Purple-Robed Old Man did not hesitate for a moment, transforming into a streak of fire and fleeing towards the distance.

His speed was astonishing; he dared not stop for a moment, fearing that Fang Hong would catch up again.

Fang Hong had no intention of letting him go just like that; he directly activated the Swift Wind Wings on his back and simultaneously cast the Void Secret Technique to pursue him.

Although the Purple-Robed Old Man’s escape technique was not weak, Fang Hong, relying on the Swift Wind Wings and Void Secret Technique, was even faster than him, always staying close behind him.

No matter how he accelerated, he could not shake off Fang Hong’s pursuit; the distance between them was slowly closing.

Fang Hong pursued him for nearly half an hour.

During this time, the medicinal pill’s effects in the Purple-Robed Old Man’s body gradually wore off, and his aura began to decline sharply.

Before long, he actually dropped back to the Golden Immortal realm, unable to even maintain the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.

As his strength decreased, the Purple-Robed Old Man’s escape speed also greatly reduced; he no longer had the previous swiftness, the time for forcibly raising his realm had come to an end.

At this moment, the Purple-Robed Old Man was in an extremely weak state.

A cold light flashed in Fang Hong’s eyes; he seized this excellent opportunity, his figure flickered, and he instantly appeared in front of the Purple-Robed Old Man, blocking his path.

Before the Purple-Robed Old Man could react, Fang Hong pierced his head with a sword.

"Ahhhh, just, just a little bit more. I could have truly advanced to Immortal King."

The Purple-Robed Old Man’s eyes were wide open, his face full of unwillingness, and he let out a shrill wail, his voice gradually weakening until it finally ceased completely.

Fang Hong’s expression was cold; he directly summoned the demon soul banner, sucking the Purple-Robed Old Man’s soul into it, completely cutting off his vitality and ending the battle.

Afterward, Fang Hong collected the Purple-Robed Old Man’s corpse and flew towards the Demon Controlling Sect.

Fang Hong returned to the Demon Controlling Sect at full speed without any delay, and began to extensively search within the sect.

He looted everything in the sect’s treasure vault and also collected all the corpses.

After looting all valuable items, Fang Hong left the Demon Controlling Sect.

In a deep mountain near the sect, he opened a temporary small Immortal Cave.

At this moment, Fang Hong was sitting in the Immortal Cave, entering the years pearl, and began to tally the gains from this battle.

First was the Demon Summoning Secret Method, which Fang Hong was most concerned about; he had successfully obtained the complete Demon Summoning Secret Method by soul searching the Purple-Robed Old Man.

The Purple-Robed Old Man’s name was Hu Xiong, and he was the Sect Master of the Demon Controlling Sect.

Fang Hong also found a demon luring bell among Hu Xiong’s relics.

This demon luring bell was dark yellow throughout, with complex runes carved on it; it was a seventh-grade Immortal Artifact, personally refined by Hu Xiong.

If he re-refined this demon luring bell with the fire cloud gourd, and combined it with the complete Demon Summoning Secret Method, the efficiency of hunting Demonic Beasts in the future would undoubtedly be greatly improved.

Besides the most important Demon Summoning Secret Method and demon luring bell, Fang Hong also gained tens of millions of Immortal Stones, over five hundred Immortal Artifacts, and various other miscellaneous items such as pill formulas and artifact refining materials.

With this wealth of resources, Fang Hong was overjoyed; his several commonly used Immortal Artifacts could now be upgraded.

While searching through a pile of pill formulas, Fang Hong unexpectedly discovered a formula labeled "Mad Demon Pill."

Upon closer inspection of the annotation, Fang Hong immediately recalled the black medicinal pill that Hu Xiong had previously consumed.

It turned out that Hu Xiong had relied on taking this medicinal pill to forcibly raise his realm, thus temporarily possessing immortal Qi comparable to an Immortal King.

However, the Mad Demon Pill had severe side effects; once its effects wore off, the cultivation would plummet like a cliff.

It would take decades of arduous cultivation to recover, so it could only be used to save one’s life in critical moments and should not be used casually in normal circumstances.

After inventorying the supplies, Fang Hong stayed in his Immortal Cave, concentrating on comprehending the Demon Controlling Sect’s Demon Summoning Secret Method... Unconsciously, a month passed quietly.

After a month of dedicated comprehension, Fang Hong finally completely mastered the Demon Summoning Secret Method.

He could not only skillfully cast it but also perfectly combine the Secret Method with the demon luring bell.

At the same time, Fang Hong did not neglect the Immortal Artifacts’ upgrades; he had already fed all those five hundred-plus idle Immortal Artifacts to the fire cloud gourd and Soul Nurturing Pearl.

Both the fire cloud gourd and Soul Nurturing Pearl successfully advanced, becoming tenth-grade immortal artifacts, their power increasing by more than one level compared to before.

Now, Fang Hong had four tenth-grade immortal artifacts: the demon soul banner, Swift Wind Wings, fire cloud gourd, and Soul Nurturing Pearl.

These four Immortal Artifacts complemented each other, raising Fang Hong’s strength to a new level.

With everything ready, Fang Hong no longer lingered; his figure moved, leaving the Immortal Cave, and continued to rush towards the central area of the Ancient Demon Continent.