Cave Refuge

As the power of the Shadow Soul within the Banner of the Hundred Ghosts was gradually absorbed by the banner, the cracked banner surface and banner pole appeared to be restored, with the cracks on the surface of the artifact continuously vanishing.

When the power of the Shadow Soul within the banner was completely absorbed by the Hundred Ghosts Banner, Dong Tianyu activated the banner, drawing in a group of surrounding Resentful Spirits, and then refined them back into the power of Shadow Souls for the absorption of the Hundred Ghosts Banner.

If the initial refinement of the ghost creatures within the Hundred Ghosts Banner was meant to repair it, then the subsequent absorption of the power of the Shadow Souls was aimed at enhancing the very essence of the Hundred Ghosts Banner.

Since Dong Tianyu only drew in a part of the Resentful Spirits drifting nearby each time he wielded the Hundred Ghosts Banner, the remaining spirits seemed to guess what was happening and immediately fled in all directions at high speed.

If the Hundred Ghosts Banner in his hand wasn't of such low quality, these Resentful Spirits and Fierce Ghosts would not dare to scatter and escape. Instead, those ghost creatures that had evolved to the level of century-old ghosts by devouring the souls of Bat Monsters didn't flee like the other ghost creatures. Every single one of them returned to Dong Tianyu's surroundings.

Having noticed this situation, Dong Tianyu didn't pay much attention to it. Once all the ghost creatures were taken into the White Bone Banner, it was as if they had signed an extremely harsh indenture with the Hundred Ghosts Banner. Without the controller's consent, unless those ghosts reached the Ghost King Realm, they couldn't escape the control of the Hundred Ghosts Banner.

The path Dong Tianyu chose for upgrading the Hundred Ghosts Banner by devouring myriad spirits was simple and did not require completion all at once; the process could be halted at any time without affecting future upgrades.

This method is indeed quite straightforward: it involves consuming the refined power of the Shadow Souls to integrate and cover the entire Hundred Ghosts Banner through assimilation.

With the erosion of the power of Shadow Souls, an item originally made from ordinary materials might upgrade due to the adherence of some Yin energy that increases with use.

However, regardless of the material used, there is still a quality limitation. But if you replace the entire material with the power of Shadow Souls, and then upgrade, there's no need to painstakingly search for suitable materials. Instead, just merge in more of the power of Shadow Souls.

Yet precisely because of this, although the Hundred Ghosts Banner won't need those corresponding materials for future upgrades, to continue enhancing its grade will require the integration of vast amounts of the power of Shadow Souls.

And there is only one way to obtain the power of Shadow Souls: to refine the souls of living beings. Frankly put, it necessitates rampant slaughter, which is also why Demon Cultivators often revel in killing sprees.

After all, in contrast to the orderly inheritance of the Righteous Path, the Demon Path requires the acquisition of materials through looting, deceiving, and other devious means. Therefore, it's geniuses in the Demon Path that devised the Three Flags—an artifact not only capable of unlimited enhancement but also one whose materials are facile to procure.

As the Resentful Spirits retracted into the Hundred Ghosts Banner were refined back into the pure power of Shadow Souls, the original materials on the Hundred Ghosts Banner were also gradually covered, merged, and replaced by the power of Shadow Souls.

Although the figures of Bat Monsters had already vanished from the surroundings, through Dong Tianyu's exploration, the Plane Teleportation Gate within the Bone Ball had not disappeared; in fact, it had not shrunk in the slightest.

Noticing this, Dong Tianyu had no intention of retracting the White Bone Puppets, and instead simply sat cross-legged atop the Bone Ball, then began to fiddle continuously with the Hundred Ghosts Banner in his hands.

The monotonous time flashed by amidst Dong Tianyu's busyness. By now, aside from a few very meek century-old ghosts who didn't run around, Dong Tianyu had refined all other beings – whether Living Spirits or Resentful Spirits, even including Fierce Ghosts – into the pure power of Shadow Souls, ultimately used for enhancing the grade of the Hundred Ghosts Banner.

It was only when Dong Tianyu had finished all his work and looked up that he noticed the century-old ghosts he had intentionally left unconstrained, standing together motionless. Yet, from their eyes, Dong Tianyu could see the fear that they involuntarily revealed.

And the Hundred Ghosts Banner that initially bore souls cracked during the refining process had undergone a complete transformation, differing entirely from its original state. The banner pole of the White Bone Banner was originally made of a spine, and the banner itself of an entire skin.

But after replacement by the power of Shadow Souls, the banner pole turned into a solid structure resembling crystal, while the banner surface was woven from strands of Soul Spun from the power of Shadow Souls.

Up to this point, the entire Hundred Ghosts Banner was now composed of the power of Shadow Souls. From now on, if the Hundred Ghosts Banner were to further enhance its quality, it could only do so by devouring a massive amount of the power of Shadow Souls.

Dong Tianyu picked up the Hundred Ghosts Banner and with a casual wave, those century-old ghost creatures standing within the room instantly returned inside the Hundred Ghosts Banner, before he once again retracted it into his body for nurturing.

After stowing away the Hundred Ghosts Banner, he glanced at the Plane Transmission Channel within the Bone Ball, which had not disappeared or even shrunk at all.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Dong Tianyu had no choice but to deal with the Bloodthirsty Banner that had just been thrown into the sea.

Before leaving the Bone Ball, Dong Tianyu leaned over to look down at the sea surface, which should have been azure blue, but had now turned pitch black.

Controlling his sword, Dong Tianyu flew down to the sea surface. With a casual wave of his hand, a small banner surged out of the water and approached him.

Although the Bloodthirsty Banner didn't have cracks on its surface like the Hundred Ghosts Banner, it could choose the same heretical upgrade path as the Hundred Ghosts Banner.

Just like the earlier situation with the Hundred Ghosts Banner, if one is not careful and tries to reclaim all the blood from the sea, the Bloodthirsty Banner will be unable to absorb so much blood and will ultimately collapse and be damaged.

Therefore, following the same procedure as upgrading the Hundred Ghosts Banner, Dong Tianyu first absorbed a small portion of the surrounding blood, then condensed it, using the blood to replace the original materials used in forging the Bloodthirsty Banner.

The blood used for upgrading the Bloodthirsty Banner is much easier to obtain than the Shadow Soul force required for the Hundred Ghosts Banner's upgrade and, more importantly, it only needs blood; it does not care whether the person providing it is dead or alive.

The reason why Demon Cultivators drain all the blood from their targets when using the Bloodthirsty Banner is mainly due to their poor reputation.

The Demon Cultivators do so mainly because, while they live a carefree life, obtaining resources is extremely difficult for them.

Within the Demon Cultivators, there are those similar to ascetics who rely solely on their own Cultivation to improve; however, compared to the long and uncertain path of Cultivation, the Demon Path often teaches methods that quickly make one a master.

As long as one isn't foolish, everyone knows that these quick methods usually have some drawbacks, but they can't resist the rapid increas in power.

Although there are some cases where the weak overcome the strong, in most situations, the majority prefer to outnumber and overpower the fewer and the weak with overwhelming force.

The Bloodthirsty Banner is one of those many spells meant for rapid prowess.

With blood as the pole, with blood as the banner,

After living a monotonous life for the next few days, with enough blood to sustain him, Dong Tianyu not only completed the replacement of the Bloodthirsty Banner's materials but also refined the original blood.

When Dong Tianyu finished nurturing the Bloodthirsty Banner inside his Dantian and looked up once more towards the Bone Ball, or rather at the Plane Transmission Channel within it.

Despite almost exterminating all the Bat Monsters in the vicinity, there were still some scattered figures approaching this area.

As long as the Plane Transmission Channel remains open, Dong Tianyu has no plans to retract the White Bone Puppet, soon to become the Bone Ball; after all, it is only after the Plane Transmission Channel closes that the remaining Bat Monsters on Blue Star will face him with a smile.

Dong Tianyu has the time to wait and the ability to persist till the end.

So, although Bat Monsters or other things occasionally approach the Bone Ball, as long as they don't attack first, Dong Tianyu will no longer take action personally.