10: The Origin of the Black-Haired Monster

He was no match for the Black-Haired Monster, and dying at its hands was only a matter of time.

Realizing this, Wang Xiangui couldn't help but curse, "Shen Xi, you…"

He hadn't even finished speaking.

A figure, like a ghost, appeared beside the Black-Haired Monster without warning.

With just one punch, he sent the Black-Haired Monster flying.

Immediately after, the figure, taking advantage of the situation, pursued, each strike as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Eighteen consecutive punches landed on the Black-Haired Monster's body, killing it on the spot.

It wasn't until the battle ended that Wang Xiangui finally recognized the figure as none other than Shen Xi, the man he was about to curse.

"You just said, 'Shen Xi, you…' what?"

Shen Xi looked at Wang Xiangui with a half-smile.

"Cough, cough!"

Wang Xiangui awkwardly rubbed his nose, desperately coughing to hide his guilt.

"You misheard, I said, you must take good care of yourself and never encounter this monster."

"Oh? Is that so?" Shen Xi gave Wang Xiangui a mocking glance but didn't expose him.

In fact, as long as Wang Xiangui wasn't foolish enough to cross Shen Xi's bottom line, he wouldn't easily kill him.

In the Forbidden Ground, a useful cannon fodder might save his life at a critical moment.

For example, in the current situation.

When Shen Xi realized something was following him, he thought of a way to break the deadlock.

There was only one of those things, but he and Wang Xiangui were two people.

If the two of them split up, that thing could only follow one person.

This way, if the Black-Haired Monster followed Wang Xiangui, then Shen Xi could transform, moving from the open into the shadows.

And as Shen Xi expected, that thing chose the weaker Wang Xiangui.

As for Shen Xi, the moment he separated from Wang Xiangui, he immediately turned back.

He followed behind Wang Xiangui, waiting for that thing to lose its patience and attack Wang Xiangui.

At that time, he would know what the thing that had been following him was, and he could also assess its strength through Wang Xiangui's fight with it, thereby determining whether he should fight or flee.

Everything went smoothly; while Wang Xiangui was desperately fighting that thing, Shen Xi observed from the shadows.

He only made his move and saved Wang Xiangui when he confirmed that the thing posed no threat to him.

Otherwise, he would have left without looking back; after all, Wang Xiangui was just cannon fodder, he felt no pity and had no friendship with him.

And Shen Xi believed that if their situations were reversed, Wang Xiangui would definitely do the same.

"Let me see what this thing is."

Saying this, Shen Xi approached the Black-Haired Monster's corpse.

He saw that the black hair on the Black-Haired Monster's surface was dissipating at a visible speed, and in a short while, the black hair completely disappeared, revealing the creature underneath.

"A human?"

Seeing its appearance clearly, Shen Xi said with some disbelief.

The Black-Haired Monster was actually a human covered in black hair?

Realizing this, a bold guess surfaced in his mind.

Could the Black-Haired Monster be a Martial Artist who stumbled into the Forbidden Ground by mistake, encountered some accident, and eventually turned into this monstrous appearance?

"Ah!"

Beside him, Wang Xiangui suddenly let out a scream.

He saw that the wounds left on him by the Black-Haired Monster were now sprouting black hair.

This hair quickly covered the wounds, and in just a few breaths, Wang Xiangui's appearance became half black hair, half normal human.

The parts where the black hair appeared were all the locations of the wounds.

"So this is how Black-Haired Monsters are made."

Shen Xi suddenly understood, finally comprehending the origin of the Black-Haired Monster.

And Wang Xiangui obviously realized this too, he said in terror, "Will I also turn into this kind of monster? Shen Xi, save me, I don't want to die!"

Becoming a Black-Haired Monster meant losing sanity, losing self-awareness, and only having the instinct to kill; in this state, there was no difference from being dead.

"If injured by a Black-Haired Monster, black hair will sprout from the wound. Could this be a special virus? This virus would erode the sanity of normal people, turning them into monsters that only know how to kill?"

"And the existence of these monsters seems to be to protect the Forbidden Ground; otherwise, why haven't we seen Black-Haired Monsters clashing with other creatures along the way, only targeting us two outsiders?"

"If that's the case, is the appearance of the Black-Haired Monsters a coincidence, or is there something in the Forbidden Ground controlling them, guarding this area?"

Shen Xi thought of many things at once.

Not only that.

Over the past few decades, there have been more than just a few Martial Artists who ventured deep into the Forbidden Ground and were never heard from again, their fates unknown. Could they all have turned into Black-Haired Monsters?

He had only encountered one; what about the others?

"Shen Xi, did you hear me? I don't want to die, I don't want to turn into a monster!"

Wang Xiangui was getting anxious, terrified by the black hair inexplicably growing on his body.

"Shut up, aren't you fine now?"

Shen Xi glared and reprimanded him.

Hearing this, Wang Xiangui was stunned.

It seemed to be true.

Although black hair had grown on him, he still retained his sanity and wasn't completely covered in black hair.

"This should be some kind of virus that causes black hair to sprout from your wounds. Your injuries are not severe, and the amount of the virus is not large, so you haven't fully turned into a monster."

"Try to use your Qi and Blood to burn off this black hair and see if it works."

Shen Xi spoke again.

Wang Xiangui, hearing this, dared not be careless and quickly sat down cross-legged.

He activated the power of Blood Refining and Energy Transformation, causing his Qi and Blood to boil.

A warm current circulated through his Meridians for a full great cycle.

Immediately after, the black hair on Wang Xiangui's body began to fall off, as if snowflakes had met a raging fire.

"It really works!"

Wang Xiangui was overjoyed.

He quickly devoted himself to it, and after another ten minutes, the black hair finally completely disappeared.

"Phew! I survived."

Wang Xiangui breathed a sigh of relief, having narrowly escaped death; he almost thought he was doomed.

"But the invasiveness of this black hair is truly terrifying. It took nearly half of my Qi and Blood to completely eliminate it."

Speaking of this, Wang Xiangui felt a lingering fear.

He was, after all, at the Blood Refining and Energy Transformation Realm, yet it took half of his Qi and Blood to barely dispel this black hair.

One must know that his injuries were not severe, nor did he suffer deep, bone-exposing wounds; the consumption for mere superficial injuries was so great. If he had been severely injured, he would have been dead.

"So, that Black-Haired Monster earlier must have turned into one because its Qi and Blood were exhausted."

No wonder that guy's face looked so pale; this was clearly a sign of depleted Qi and Blood.

"We can't advance rashly anymore; we must always maintain Peak condition. If we get injured by a Black-Haired Monster and don't have enough Qi and Blood, then we're finished."

Shen Xi quickly realized the key.

He also began to adjust his state, making up for the losses from the long journey and battle.

Another half an hour passed before Shen Xi finally opened his eyes, "Let's go! Continue forward."

"Do we still have to go forward?" Wang Xiangui was clearly terrified by the recent experience and was unwilling to proceed.

"Do you have any other choice? Is staying here safe?"