Yuan Ming hesitated briefly before leaning down, extending the firestick downwards to get a clearer look.

However, the Green Wolf, as if provoked by the light of the fire, suddenly let out a furious roar and violently surged upwards. It clawed at the walls of the pit and forcefully leaped out from within.

The net and log above failed to hold it back, and the Green Wolf broke through the log, tumbling out wrapped in the net.

Its limbs tangled in the net, the Green Wolf struggled several times but was unable to free itself.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming threw away the firestick, drew the long sword from his waist, and leapt forward to strike down at the Green Wolf with his sword.

The Green Wolf immediately rolled on the spot, dodging the long sword and escaping through a tear in the net.

As it got up, the Green Wolf returned to its four-legged stance, baring its teeth at Yuan Ming, revealing its sharp, snow-white fangs.

Yet, Yuan Ming paused for an instant when he got a clear view of the Green Wolf.

At that moment, the Green Wolf was covered with bloody, dripping wounds; its eyes had no hint of the usual eerie green glow but instead were tinged with bloody red, with saliva continuously dribbling from the corners of its mouth.

Although the eyes didn't match, the appearance was not unfamiliar to Yuan Ming.

"Hagon, is it you?" he tentatively asked.

The Green Wolf, which had been growling softly, showed a look of struggle in its blood-red eyes when it heard Yuan Ming speak, and the green sheen that should have been in its eyes flickered back.

But it was only momentary as its gaze was once again overwhelmed by bloodiness, and it pounced fiercely at Yuan Ming.

"Is he suffering from the backlash of the Fur Cloak Technique?" Yuan Ming thought as he dodged out of the way.

The Green Wolf missed him and Yuan Ming caught a glimpse of its hind legs, abnormally thick and unlike a wolf's beastly legs, they instead resembled human legs covered in fur.

And the hair on those human-like feet was not dark green, but white.

With his mind swirling with doubt, Yuan Ming had barely landed when the Green Wolf, having already turned back swiftly, rammed into him head on, forcing him to drop the Green Fish Sword and cross his arms in front of his chest as a shield.

"Bang"

Under the tremendous force of the collision, Yuan Ming was sent flying a dozen yards.

In mid-air, he quickly donned the Ape Skin and executed the Fur Cloak Technique, transforming into the White Ape. He flipped backward, landing smoothly on the ground.

"Wake up, Hagon!" Seeing the Green Wolf rushing at him again, Yuan Ming shouted loudly, stepping forward and slamming his left arm horizontally towards its wide-open bloody mouth, aiming for its throat.

His sturdy ape arm caught the Green Wolf by the throat, pinning its body firmly in place.

The Green Wolf's maw gnashed and bit fiercely, but it could never reach Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming noticed that the fur on the Green Wolf's legs, which were just partially white, had now turned completely white.

"So fast..."

He thought back to a suspicion he had deeply buried in his heart, and his heart skipped a beat.

"I'm sorry, Hagon, you need to wake up quickly." With a low shout, Yuan Ming swung his right arm, punching down towards the Green Wolf's head.

There was a heavy "thump".

Yuan Ming's punch was immensely powerful, crashing the Green Wolf to the ground. It struggled several times before shakily standing up.

This time, however, the Green Wolf propped itself up on its hind legs, as it stood upright.

The blood-red in its eyes had mostly receded, turning back to dark green. Under the glow of the distant fire, they reflected an ominous green light. Еnjоying thе stоry? Find mоrе аt

"Yuan... Ming..." The Green Wolf spoke with a hoarse voice.

Its mouth moved slowly, and its voice was somewhat blurry, as if speaking had become extremely difficult.

"Hagon, answer me, are you suffering from the backlash of the Fur Cloak Technique?" Seeing this, Yuan Ming quickly asked.

"Yuan Ming, my... I can't take off my Beast Skin..." The Green Wolf, who had transformed from Hagon, spoke with difficulty and bitterness.

Saying this, he collapsed and sat down.

Witnessing this, Yuan Ming dispelled his Fur Cloak Technique and approached, asking with concern, "How do you feel now, what can I do for you now?"

"I used… used it too many times, my Fur Cloak Technique... it can't be undone... the Beast Skin can no longer be removed... I don't know what to do..." Hagon said, pawing at his own face.

His sharp claws immediately lacerated his hairy face. Enduring the intense pain, he forcefully tore a patch of skin and fur away to reveal a bloody and indistinct face.

Yuan Ming concentrated his Divine Soul Power in his eyes and observed carefully, finding no trace of the Fur technique on Hagon's face. Instead, it seemed as if every single hair had grown directly from his flesh.

"Save me, Yuan Ming..." Trembling, Hagon handed Yuan Ming the piece of torn Beast Skin, pleading for help.

"You might be turning into a Human Demon," Yuan Ming said, frowning as he looked at the scene.

Upon hearing these words, Hagon's hand, held aloft, stiffened, and then began to shake violently.

"What did you say... I'm going to become... one of those monsters? I…" His disbelief initially evident, but upon seeing his own legs, his voice trailed off in a sob.

Having seen the True Face of the Human Demon King before, Yuan Ming had already harbored some suspicions, though he still clung to a sliver of hope, not wanting to believe it.

But after seeing Hagon's condition today, he had to face a reality – the endpoint of the backlash suffered by a Fur Beast Slave was most likely to become a Human Demon.

In other words, each Human Demon that Biluo Cave hunted like monsters was once a living person.

This point, he had once sought confirmation from the silver cat, but the latter gave no answer.

Now, no answer was needed. The reality before him provided a definite response.

The backlash of the Fur Cloak Technique not only altered the mind but also brought about physical transformations, turning one into a monstrous creature neither human nor beast.

Yuan Ming looked at Hagon with a surge of pity in his heart.

Since being captured in the Ten Thousand Mountains and turned into a Fur Beast Slave, the only one he could remotely call a friend was Hagon. However, aside from a period of shared hardships, their interactions were not particularly extensive.

Reflecting on it now, Yuan Ming just realized that Hagon too had mentioned his wish to join Biluo Cave and become a Registered Disciple—not for anything else but to regain his freedom.

For this goal, Hagon was also extremely diligent in hunting beasts.

And it was precisely this diligence that quickened his Human Demonization.

After all, he did not have Yuan Ming's means of temporarily suppressing the transformation using an incense burner, nor did he practice the Blood Qi Skill that complemented the Fur Cloak Technique, which might have been one of the reasons.

In just a moment, Hagon's eyes flashed with red light again, and half of the hair on his body had already turned snow white.

Yuan Ming furrowed his brow, about to intervene and control Hagon, when he saw Hagon muster his willpower and suppress the blood-red color in his eyes.

"What you said... is it true... I might be... at my end...," Hagon struggled to speak.

"Yuan Ming, help me... kill me..." Hagon pleaded with difficulty.

The wolf-like snout he had grown was starting to recede, shortening, while the hair on his face continued to grow quietly.

"What are you talking about? How could I possibly kill you?" Yuan Ming exclaimed in shock.

"I... don't want to... I don't want to become that kind of monster..." Hagon's voice became choked up and hoarse, causing Yuan Ming to feel even more saddened.

But there was nothing he could do to help.

His incense burner, though a treasure, was beyond his capability to operate and could only help himself, not others.

The light in Hagon's eyes dimmed as he said, "Let me... die as a human. I don't want her... to not recognize me when I go to the netherworld..."

"Her?" Yuan Ming asked, puzzled.

"Tuya... is my daughter..." Hagon's voice trailed.

This was the first time Yuan Ming had heard of Hagon having a daughter.

"She was born... with a heart condition, it was... to treat her... that I sold myself to Biluo Cave," Hagon spoke as if recalling the image of his daughter, his eyes briefly lit up with a smile.

Yet that smile was soon replaced by agony.

"I thought you were like me, captured and brought here," sighed Yuan Ming.

"At first... I was a servant. I offended... Elder Meng Shan... was supposed to die, then... they found my Spirit Root... and I became, became a Fur Beast Slave," Hagon explained.

"What about your daughter?" Yuan Ming asked with concern.

"I don't know... when I left... she was just a month old... it's been seven years, I haven't seen her...," Hagon's eyes welled with sorrowful tears.

"Even so, you should choose to live, at least... to see her one more time," Yuan Ming encouraged.

Hagon shook his head repeatedly and said, "No... can't let her see..."

"I'm already... losing my wits... kill me, kill me..."

The almost begging tone in Hagon's voice clenched Yuan Ming's heart, and an indescribable sadness rose within him, reminding him of the Human Demon King who had made a similar plea in his last moments of lucidity: "Help me... kill me..."

"If... you can make it out, look in on her for me...," Hagon asked once more.

Yuan Ming felt as if a fish bone had caught in his throat and struggled to speak, but eventually he asked, "Where is she?"

"In Miao Hua Village, under the largest kapok tree on Qingao Mountain," said Hagon smoothly, without a single hitch, for that was his home.

Yuan Ming repeated the words back to him, word for word, and promised to do so.

A faint smile finally appeared in Hagon's eyes, as if he had fulfilled his greatest wish.

"Yuan Ming, thank you... see me off," Hagon said and slowly closed his eyes.

Yuan Ming, holding the Green Fish Sword in his hand, never felt it so heavy; he lifted it and put it down several times.

In his mind, he searched for a way to save Hagon, yet came up empty.

The process of Human Demonization was irreversible, or at least for people like them, it was irreversible. Just like the fate of a Fur Beast Slave, once shackled, change was almost impossible.

"Uh..."

At that moment, Hagon let out another agonized moan; all the hair from his waist down had turned completely white.

"Quick, do it... I can't hold it back any longer..." Hagon said with difficulty.