This assassin is upright

Chapter 378 The Eighth Level of the Netherworld!
Completely unaware of everything in the new world formed after the fusion of the fourth, fifth, and sixth layers, Yu Zhun and the others found themselves in a completely new world amidst a dizzying sensation.

It was a completely new world, far more vast than before, and filled with demonic energy many times more concentrated.

The Netherworld, eighth level.

Once back on solid ground, Yu Zhun looked around and breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw the other four people standing beside him.

At least, they don't have to be separated again.

However, Yu Zhun's gaze immediately turned to Helmod.

The opponent's eyes were tightly closed, and golden holy fire was constantly rising around him, his power had fallen into a state of being out of control again.

That was in the last moment before leaving the sixth level of the Netherworld, when Helmod's internal balance was once again disrupted due to his frantic increase in power.

The other three also noticed Helmod's unusual behavior and showed concern on their faces.

"Xiao He, are you alright?" Yu Zhu couldn't help but ask.

Helmod remained silent, his brow furrowed, as if he hadn't heard anything from the outside world, offering no response whatsoever.

“He needs to focus all his attention on dealing with the imbalance of power within his body.” Yu Zhun, who was standing to the side, saw the crux of the problem and said in a deep voice, “Don’t disturb him for now, let him suppress it on his own.”

"That's the only way." Udyr nodded slightly.

As time passed, the uncontrolled holy fire around Helmod seemed to be suppressed again. Just as Yu Zhun and the others were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a strange power emerged from the other party.

That is…

Yu Zhun and the other three were dumbfounded.

Hermod's true self has arrived at this time?
"This couldn't be more inopportune!" Lu Wen couldn't help but click his tongue. "How will he control his power once he enters the Realm of True Self?"

"No, Helmod's true self realm has arrived just in time." Yu Zhu's voice was filled with excitement. "Look, his power has been completely suppressed!"

After listening to Yu Zhu's words, the others carefully observed Helmod's current state and immediately showed expressions of surprise.

If the divine and demonic powers within Helmod were previously locked in a fierce battle, then at this moment the two forces seem to have temporarily ceased hostilities.

“If Helmod can gain something from the Realm of True Self, he might be able to completely suppress the conflict of power, or even go further.” Yu Zhun revealed a slight smile.

"It seems we'll have to protect him for a while."

"Hopefully, the order on the eighth level of the Netherworld isn't too chaotic." As he spoke, Yu Zhun cautiously looked around.

Unlike the Netherworld we encountered before, the eighth level of the Netherworld actually has trees.

It was no ordinary tree, but a tree whose branches and leaves were all pitch black. Its ferocious appearance carried a hint of madness, yet it truly exuded the breath of life.

"There seem to be fruits on that tree." Udyr, with his sharp eyes, also noticed the surrounding trees. "Should we pick one and take a look?"

“We can give it a try.” Yu Zhu said slowly after sensing it for a while. “The power contained in one fruit is equivalent to that of a demonic insect that is a kilometer long.”

If this amazing fruit were placed on the third level of the Netherworld, it would probably cause all the demons to fight over it.

Unfortunately, this is the eighth level of the Netherworld.

With their strength increasing in stages, the benefits such fruits bring to Yu Zhun and others are negligible.

The others guarded Helmod, who was trapped in the state of true self. Udyr teleported away and returned to his original position in an instant, holding several fist-sized, jet-black fruits with purple patterns on their surfaces.

The fruit emitted an enticing aroma, making the group, who had never felt hunger since entering the Netherworld, feel ravenously hungry.

"Let me try some!" Lu Wen's eyes lit up, and he waved to Udir. "This stuff looks delicious."

"I haven't eaten anything decent since I entered the Netherworld."

"Should we get it checked first?" Udir hesitated.

“It’s alright, give it to Xiao Lu.” Yu Zhu calmly held up the priest’s book. “I’ll give him a resurrection spell, he won’t die from the poison.”

Udyr: "..."

Fine.

She casually tossed one to Lu Wen.

"Awooo!" Lu Wen grabbed the fruit without hesitation and took a big bite. His expression changed drastically afterward.

Yu Zhun and the others immediately tensed up.

what does this mean?
Is this fruit really poisonous?
Just as they were filled with doubt and surprise, Lu Wen suddenly spat out the fruit he had eaten and then spat out several times.

"Damn, this fruit is awful!"

"I've never eaten anything this awful!"

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Yu Zhu took a fruit from Udir's hand with a puzzled look. Having learned from Lu Wen's experience, she didn't dare to eat too much. She just picked off a piece of fruit the size of a fingernail and put it in her mouth.

The next moment, she suddenly spat out the fruit and then gagged.

"It looks really bad."

Yu Zhun and Udir exchanged a glance and decisively gave up the attempt.

Sometimes, you can't just ignore superstition.

It took Lu Wen and Yu Zhu a while to recover their senses. Looking at the remaining fruit in Udir's hand, their eyes were filled with fear.

"This taste is like a hellish experience," Yu Zhu couldn't help but exclaim. "But it actually goes quite well with the underworld."

"Is this some kind of prank?" Lu Wen muttered to himself. "It smells tempting but tastes terrible. It's designed to trick demons who haven't tried it before."

“It shouldn’t be,” Udyr shook his head. “When I was picking the fruit just now, I saw that there weren’t many left on the tree.”

"Perhaps it's not for the demons to eat, but for some other creature?" Udyr guessed casually, only to find that the surroundings had become quiet.

“So…” Yu Zhun’s expression turned somewhat grave, “there is a possibility that some kind of creature in this area enjoys eating this kind of fruit?”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at the remaining fruit in Udyr's hand. "Throw it away!"

Udyr himself reacted quickly and threw the fruit far away. The moment the fruit left his hand, a dark figure flashed by, caught the fruit, and then landed on the ground.

Only when it landed did Yu Zhun and the others get a clear look at its appearance.

It was a creature that resembled a monkey or ape in appearance, with jet-black fur all over its body, and an aura comparable to that of a fourth-stage deity.

It casually stuffed the fruit into its mouth, stared at Yu Zhun and the others for a moment, and then swaggered away.

Yu Zhun and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Having just entered the eighth level of the Netherworld, they didn't want to clash with unfamiliar creatures, especially with Hermod having entered the Realm of True Self. His departure was the best possible outcome. "It seems this eighth level of the Netherworld is quite different from the worlds we've experienced before," Yu Zhun remarked thoughtfully.

“There are beings here that are not demons.”

“However…” He paused slightly, his gaze falling on a dark demonic pillar that shot into the sky and pierced the earth in the far distance, “Just as we guessed before, there is also a pillar of demonic energy here.”

If it weren't for the need to protect Helmod, Yu Zhun would have loved to set off immediately to explore the world of the eighth level of the Netherworld.

The group chatted idly, waiting for Hermod to wake up. Several ape-like creatures passed by, but they only glanced at Yu Zhun and the others before turning away. There wasn't a single demon among them.

It took two whole days for Helmod's aura to begin to change. By the time he awoke, the Holy Flame had been completely absorbed into his body, and the conflict between the demonic and divine powers had been completely resolved.

Slowly opening his eyes, Helmod's face showed a hint of emotion, "It really is true that fortune and misfortune are intertwined."

"If I weren't at the Realm of True Self, I wouldn't be able to resolve this conflict of power at all, and continuing down this path might even result in my body exploding and me dying."

“But now…” Hermod’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, “Even if it absorbs a lot more magical energy, I can still suppress it successfully!”

"You've gained quite a bit," Yu Zhun smiled upon hearing this. "Did you see your future self in your realm of true self?"

“I saw it.” Helmod nodded, a hint of melancholy in his eyes. “I don’t know if it’s because of the conflict of powers, but the version of myself I saw actually possessed both divine and demonic powers.”

"It was precisely because I sensed something from the other party that I was able to completely suppress the conflict within myself."

Possessing both divine and demonic powers?
Yu Zhun was slightly taken aback.

He had thought that Helmod was destined to follow a purely divine path in the future, but now it seems there is another possibility.
However, this is only one possibility for the future, and it may not necessarily be the future Helmod.

Thinking of this, Yu Zhun suppressed the thoughts that were swirling in his mind.

He was just about to explain the current situation to Helmod when he saw Luwen silently extend a hand in front of Helmod, holding a whole, dark fruit in his hand.

"Want to try some? It's delicious!"

"Thanks." Helmod sniffed, his eyes lighting up, and he grabbed it, taking a big bite...

Amidst the complex and unreadable expressions on Yu Zhun, Yu Zhu, and Udir's faces, Helmod's face instantly turned green.

While retching, he brandished his staff and charged at Lu Wen, who had already made his prank.

"This guy." Yu Zhun shook his head, both amused and exasperated, and caught up with the two who were chasing each other.

After a long while, Helmod stopped the pursuit, but his gaze toward Luwen still held a hint of hostility, as if he might unleash a ball of holy fire at any moment.

"Getting back to the main topic, it's time for us to explore the eighth level of the Netherworld." Yu Zhun gradually put away his smile. "This place is quite different from the Netherworld we've experienced before."

“I see.” Helmod nodded.

During the chase of Lu Wen, he saw the fruit trees and the ape-like magical beasts picking and eating the fruit.

Unfortunately, they haven't encountered any demons yet, otherwise they could have asked around and learned about the general situation here.

"Shall we find a direction and walk straight to the end?" Lu Wen suggested. "It's all the same no matter where we go."

"Who knows, we might encounter a demon at any time?"

“Okay.” Yu Zhun nodded, picked up a tree branch and stood it on the ground, then let go. Seeing that the branch had fallen in a certain direction, he casually pointed and said, “Just go in that direction.”

The group moved swiftly, disappearing from the spot as afterimages.

The instant they disappeared, a dark figure appeared in their place.

That was an ape-like magical beast.

It stared blankly in the direction where Yu Zhun and the others had left. After a moment, it withdrew its gaze, dug hard into the ground beneath its feet, and in the blink of an eye, a large pit was dug out by the ape-like monster. It casually tossed in a deep purple bead, then filled the pit back in, and left, dancing with glee.
-
"Something's wrong."

Yu Zhun suddenly stopped and frowned as he looked around.

They had already traveled a great distance, and by all accounts, they should have encountered a powerful demon on the eighth level by now.

But so far, they have only encountered ape-like monsters.

They tried to capture an ape-like monster to communicate with it, but unfortunately, the monster had no language, only a chaotic consciousness, making communication impossible. Moreover, once they captured an ape-like monster, an endless stream of other ape-like monsters would appear to attack them.

"I feel like the main characters on this eighth floor are these ape-like magical beasts, and we're more like outsiders," Lu Wen couldn't help but complain.

However, upon hearing Lu Wen's complaints, Yu Zhun and Helmod's expressions became even more serious.

“It’s possible… that’s really the case.” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice, “So far, we’ve only discovered two things: one is a tree that bears fruit, and the other is those ape-like magical beasts.”

"Not only are there no demons, but there are also no traces left by demons."

“There are two possibilities,” Helmod said slowly.

"The first possibility is that the ape-like monsters and the demons exist in different areas of the eighth floor. Although we have traveled a long way, we have actually been in the ape-like monsters' area all along."

“I noticed that the ape-like monsters didn’t look at us with surprise, which means they’ve seen similar beings before.”

“As for the second possibility,” Helmod paused, his expression becoming even more solemn, “the demons of the eighth level of the Netherworld will eventually transform into another form.”

"You mean those ape-like magical beasts were transformed from demons?" Yu Zhu looked surprised, somewhat astonished by Hermod's wild imagination.

“Speaking of which, have you noticed something?” Yu Zhu suddenly spoke up, “Our strength seems to be slowly weakening.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly startled, and then simultaneously horrified.

It was an extremely slight, almost imperceptible effect; if Yu Zhu hadn't reminded them, they probably would have subconsciously ignored it.

However, the reality is that their primordial power is weakening at a slow but unstoppable rate in the eighth level of the Netherworld.

At this rate, their primordial power will completely dissipate in about a month, and that will be the time of their demise.

No, we might not be able to wait until then.

Along the way, they could clearly sense the subtle hostility and complex emotions emanating from the ape-like magical beasts.

As soon as their strength weakens, those ape-like monsters will pounce on them without hesitation and tear them to shreds.

“There’s a big problem on this floor.” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice, his face tense. “We only have two paths ahead of us.”

"First, find the root cause of the problem and solve it!"

Even so, the source that can affect the entire eighth level must be something extremely terrifying, and it is by no means easy to solve.

"Second, leave the eighth floor and head to the ninth floor."

The prerequisite is that they can find the portal to the ninth floor.

(End of this chapter)