This assassin is upright

Chapter 366 Entering the Sixth Floor!

"The Ascension Ceremony..."

Yu Zhun looked at Nie Luo, his expression constantly changing.

After a moment, he seemed to realize something and slowly said, "If I understand correctly, you mean that the various forces belonging to the Netherworld will regularly send their geniuses here."

"Among them, the most outstanding ones will be able to join the Netherworld?"

“Pretty much.” Nero said slowly, “According to previous years, once you reach the sixth level of the [Netherworld], you can join the Netherworld.”

"If we can delve into the eighteenth level of the [Netherworld], we can become a Demon Child-level member and receive better treatment."

"If I could delve deeper into the thirty-third level of the [Netherworld] and enter the legendary ultimate place..." A hint of longing and anticipation appeared in Nero's eyes, "I could become Lord Netherworld's disciple."

"That is the highest status in the Netherworld."

"Unfortunately, looking back at the countless Ascension Ceremony in the past, only a handful of people have been able to reach the final destination."

The ultimate place?

Yu Zhun and the others' expressions changed slightly.

They originally thought this Netherworld only had thirty-three levels.

Now it seems there's an even deeper place beyond the thirty-third floor?
So, are their customs clearance requirements also based on arriving there?

No, there's something even more important!
Yu Zhun suddenly looked at Nie Luo, a look of surprise in his eyes, "So, you know what's coming next in the Netherworld?"

Upon hearing this, Nero's expression became somewhat strange.

"I know a little, but not much." After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, "The fourth to sixth levels of the Netherworld correspond to the three stages of divine transformation."

"The seventh to ninth levels correspond to the four stages of deification."

"The tenth to twelfth levels correspond to the five stages of deification."

"The thirteenth to eighteenth levels correspond to the six stages of deification."

"The nineteenth to twenty-fourth levels correspond to the seven stages of deification."

"The twenty-fourth to thirty-third levels correspond to the eight stages of deification."

"The ultimate land corresponds to the nine stages of divine transformation."

“The first three levels are merely appetizers in the Netherworld,” Nero said slowly. “Continue onward, and you will find the most brutal battlefield of the Netherworld, where countless terrifying demons lurk at every stage.”

At this point, Nero looked at Yu Zhun and the others, and said in a deep voice, "You said you wouldn't kill me as long as I cooperated."

"So, what exactly do you want me to cooperate with?"

"It's nothing." Yu Zhun smiled slightly and patted Lu Wen on the shoulder. "My brother here absorbed a billion demonic insects..."

"You call this a trivial matter?!" Nero's expression immediately turned ugly. "Absorbing a billion demonic insects will leave you stuck on the third level forever."

"I bear the expectations of the Maha Abyss, and I absolutely cannot stay here forever. If that's the case, you might as well kill me!"

"Don't get excited, don't get excited." Yu Zhun sighed softly. "Since there's a Demon Ascension Ceremony, there must be other outsiders, right?"

"You just need to find another unlucky guy and transfer a billion demonic insects to him, right?"

Nero's expression darkened even further.

So Yu Zhun means that he is now the unlucky one?
But upon closer reflection, he found himself completely unable to refute it.

Having finally made it this far thanks to his talent, who would have thought he'd encounter a few freaks who turned him into a prisoner...

If you agree, you might survive; if you disagree, you'll die.

“I…” Nero took a deep breath and spoke with a hint of dejection.

"I agreed."
-
"Om-"

With a low hum, a billion demonic insects transformed into a black torrent that surged out of Lu Wen's demonic heart and quickly flew into Nero's body. The latter groaned and his expression darkened.

"Done." Yu Zhun smiled with satisfaction, took out a blood food and tossed it to Lu Wen, "Absorb it, now it's just you left."

"Alright." Lu Wen took a deep breath, swallowed the blood food with a complicated look in his eyes, and then swallowed the million demonic insects again.

He thought he would be stuck on the third floor forever, lagging behind his teammates, but he never expected such a turn of events.

With his momentum steadily rising, Lu Wen successfully broke through to the third stage of divine transformation, and then without hesitation pounced on the countless demonic insect corpses that Yu Zhun had prepared, frantically absorbing them.

This was the second time Yu Zhun and the others had experienced the blood sacrifice. After the last blood sacrifice, the demons on the third floor realized that the four lords had disappeared and fell into complete chaos.

Although Yu Zhun and his three companions had improved their strength, they had no interest in maintaining order here like the former four lords. Instead, they chose a more violent approach, directly robbing the insect coins from the demons.

By now, Yu Zhun and his group of five, who had taken the lead in absorbing the blood food, had achieved their goal of absorbing 100 million demonic insects. Their strength had also increased dramatically, and they were only one step away from breaking through the barrier of the demonic insects.

Once Lu Wen catches up with them, the five of them will be able to teleport together to the sixth level of the Netherworld to continue their new adventure.

Playing with the three remaining blood delicacies in his hand, Yu Zhun glanced at Nero, who was looking at him expectantly, and smiled slightly.

"These blood offerings will be your reward when we leave."

Thanks to the other party, they gained knowledge and understanding of the Netherworld and many other forces they had never heard of before during this period.

Yu Zhun did not intend to kill the other party.

After all, the opponent's current strength poses no threat to them at all.

"Whether you can transfer your own demonic insects depends on you."

“No problem!” Nero said in a deep voice.

During this time, he saw many other outsiders participating in the Demon Ascension Ceremony on the third floor. They had arrived from the first and second floors one after another, and now, like him, they were stuck on the third floor.

Yu Zhun monopolized all the blood food with his absolute strength, which meant that all the demons on the third level had their path to breakthrough cut off.

Once Nero obtains the blood sacrifice…

He could immediately advance to the third stage of divinity, and then use the suppression of his realm to monopolize the subsequent blood offerings, suppressing others in the same way.

This is an unsolvable pattern, unless a genius emerges who can kill him despite being of a higher level. However, Niro himself is the most outstanding prodigy of a secondary force, so such a situation is almost impossible.

Initially, when following Yu Zhun and the others, Nie Luo felt somewhat humiliated, but this feeling has gradually faded over time.

Time passed slowly, and under Lu Wen's absorption, the mature demonic insects, each over a thousand meters long, were completely drained.

The immense magical power caused his strength to rise at a visible rate, allowing him to quickly catch up with Yu Zhun and the other three.

Lu Wen finally stopped what he was doing, turned to look at Yu Zhun and the others who were waiting, and said, "I can feel that we are almost there."

"Let's begin then." Yu Zhun casually tossed the blood food to Nero, and then the five of them each grabbed a thousand-meter-long demonic insect and began to absorb it.

As the final step was broken, the power that even the bodies of hundreds of millions of demonic insects could not conceal suddenly erupted, and the teleportation power descended with a bang.

Seeing the five people disappear from their spot in an instant, Nero breathed a slight sigh of relief and swallowed the blood food in his hand without hesitation.

Feeling his own strength steadily increasing, his eyes quickly became excited.

Although he can't leave the third level for the time being, with his strength he can dominate it and soon find new unlucky victims...

Just as Nero had this thought, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. It was a figure with wildly dancing black hair, blue flames burning on his black robe, and a raging inferno surging in his indifferent eyes.

Nero's pupils contracted slightly as he looked at the figure before him that perfectly matched the legend. He opened his mouth, but before he could utter a sound, he was engulfed by the igniting blue flames and vanished into a pile of ashes.
-
"Nero is dead."

After a moment of dizziness, Yu Zhun regained his footing, took out a piece of jade burning with white flames, watched the flames extinguish, and calmly spoke.

"If I'm not mistaken, it was probably Youming who did it."

"You guessed it all along?" Helmod raised an eyebrow.

“No, not at all.” Yu Zhun shook his head slightly. “I really didn’t want Nero to die, after all, he told us a lot of important information.”

"But even though Youming arranged for geniuses from these subordinate forces to sabotage us, Nero not only failed to stop us, but also provided us with assistance..."

“I have a feeling that He won’t let this go.”

"This has only been confirmed now."

"Let's put that aside for now." Yu Zhu rolled her eyes. "We should be on the sixth floor now, right?"

“The concentration of demonic energy here is many times higher than that of the third level.” Yu Zhun sensed it for a moment and then slowly said, “I feel that it is somewhat like the sixth level, but whether it is or not, we still need to verify it.”

“No need for verification, it’s the sixth floor.” Lu Wen suddenly spoke up, “I feel a familiar aura here.”

Familiar smell?
Yu Zhun paused for a moment, then realized something.

"You mean... Pema?"

Lu Wen received Pema's billion demonic insects, which had once resided within Pema's primordial power. As a result, they naturally became tainted with the aura of her power.

Upon hearing this name, the other three simultaneously revealed a chilling killing intent in their eyes, especially Udyr.

Having suffered such a huge loss on the third floor, almost resulting in a reduction of their personnel, they naturally wouldn't let it go so easily.

“That old bastard hasn’t even made it to the next level yet, he’s just unlucky.” Yu Zhu snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, “Everything else can be put aside, let’s go kill him first.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” Udyr quickly conjured a longbow in his hand.

"Over there." Lu Wen raised his longsword and pointed in a certain direction. The five of them disappeared from the spot as quickly as arrows.
-
In the eternal darkness of the sixth level of the Netherworld, there is a crescent-shaped black lake filled with incredibly dense demonic energy. Any weaker demon who falls into it will be instantly swallowed up and become its nourishment.

This lake thus acquired the name "Demon-Swallowing Lake".

At this moment, on the shore of Devouring Demon Lake, a towering figure sat quietly cross-legged, gazing solemnly at the lifeless lake before him.

One second...two seconds...three seconds...

Under his gaze, the Devouring Demon Lake rippled slightly, and the ripples gradually became more intense, eventually turning into a giant wave that swept across the entire lake.

As the giant waves surged to their peak, the viscous, dark waters of Devouring Demon Lake transformed into a stunning figure in a black dress, which coalesced in mid-air.

If other demons were here, they would probably be terrified instantly.

The "Demon-Swallowing Lake," which caused countless demons to flee in terror and was renowned in the sixth level of the Netherworld, was actually the transformation of a powerful demon!
Upon seeing that figure, Pema finally smiled slightly on her solemn face. "Lake Maiden, it's been a long time."

“It has indeed been a long time,” the Lake Maiden said calmly. “I almost thought you had died on the third floor.”

"Finally willing to come down?"

“Hehe…” Pema shook her head, “I encountered a little accident and almost got trapped on the third floor. I won’t go into details.”

He straightened his expression and looked at the other person. "I've come here to ask for your help."

"I know," the lake maiden replied calmly. "Who doesn't know you only come to me when you need something?"

"Back on the third floor, I owed you a favor."

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

“Help me stop a few people.” Pema smiled. “They’re kind of enemies, I suppose. I’m just making a small deal with them, but they don’t seem to think so.”

"Now, they're coming for revenge."

"Your deals have never been particularly appealing, so it's normal that you've offended people." The Lake Woman shook her head slightly. "What level of skill do you possess?"

"Five people, just entered the sixth floor."

"In terms of strength... it's at the level of one hundred million demonic insects."

“However…” Pema paused slightly, “they are all outsiders.”

“Five outsiders at the level of 100 million demonic insects…” The Lake Woman frowned slightly, seemingly assessing the difference in strength between the two sides.

After a moment, her brows slowly relaxed. "Okay."

"After this, I'll wipe the slate clean of all the favors I owe you."
-
"It's not far ahead."

Lu Wen stopped in his tracks, a surge of killing intent burning in his eyes.

"This guy, you absolutely must let me deliver the final blow."

"No problem." Yu Zhun nodded slightly.

On their way here, they had encountered demons from the sixth level of the Netherworld several times. Because of the more complex order, these demons did not attack them immediately upon seeing them. After exchanging words, Yu Zhun and his group of five confirmed that this was indeed the sixth level.

After settling their scores with Pema, they can then familiarize themselves with the rules of the sixth level of the Netherworld.

Thinking of this, Yu Zhun quickened his pace.

In silence, the five walked through the dark and desolate land, and soon a quiet black lake came into view.

On the lakeshore, a familiar figure stood calmly.

"Pema!!!"

With a roar, Lu Wen stepped forward and raised his twin swords high, slashing at Pema like two crescent moons.

"Die!"

Almost the instant Luwen made his move, Udir's longbow suddenly unleashed countless arrows, blocking Pema's retreat like a rain curtain.

"Bear--"

Clusters of golden holy flames appeared out of thin air around Pema, then approached his mountain-like body, as if to burn him to ashes.

Yu Zhun stood quietly in place, holding a dagger. He watched as Pema, whose life had been instantly sealed off by Lu Wen and the others, showed no panic or surprise on her face. A sense of unease welled up in his heart.

Did this guy... anticipate their arrival?

The other party's abilities seem to have a certain predictive power, so it's not impossible for them to do this.

But if that's the case...

Would the other party really be completely unprepared?!
Yu Zhun's pupils contracted slightly, a sense of alarm rising in his heart, and he couldn't help but shout.

"Be careful!!"

"boom!!!"

Almost the instant he uttered the sound, the once tranquil lake surface suddenly exploded, and the surging demonic tide transformed into a giant hand, crushing down fiercely towards Lu Wen!

(End of this chapter)