The Monster people performing these rites were all disciples whom Wu Lingzhu, the former leader of the Forty-Seven Islands of the Lesser South Pole, had taken in over recent years.
Ever since Shi Feiyang had sent his Monster troops to sweep through the Forty-Seven Islands, conquer them all, and develop them into an overseas gateway for Heaven Beyond Divine Mountain, the evil cultivators who had once lived there had scattered like birds and beasts.
Wu Lingzhu had spent these years diligently cultivating the great arts of the Demonic Path. He felt his magical power growing ever stronger, far beyond what it had once been.
Of course, he knew the gap between himself and Shi Feiyang was growing ever wider. Never mind Shi Feiyang—even Lin Han, Shi Sheng, and the others who had only just become disciples back then could now beat him until he was searching the ground for his teeth.
He dared not entertain the slightest thought of taking revenge on Shi Feiyang, much less reclaiming the Forty-Seven Islands and rebuilding his domain. Instead, he found an uninhabited island where the Eastern Sea met the South Sea, built a new Demon Palace there to cultivate in seclusion, and named it Black Dragon Island.
Later, he began refining a formidable Magic Treasure of the Demonic Path called the All-Heavens Stars Esoteric Demon Divine Banner.
There were three hundred and sixty-five banners in the set, each presided over by a God-Demon.
After pouring decades of effort into them, he finally finished refining every banner. The last step was to gather all the Demon Banners and refine them together once more, a process that required many lives as blood sacrifices.
He first tried refining this treasure on an island near the Lesser South Pole, where Lin Han encountered him while out on