This assassin is upright

Chapter 379 The Portal is the Source

Upon hearing Yu Zhun's words, the others fell into deep thought.

A moment later, Helmod was the first to speak.

"I think we should try to get to the ninth floor."

From any perspective, this is the safer approach.

“Me too,” Udyr said calmly. “Once we reach the ninth level, we might be able to understand the problems of the eighth level.”

"It's not too late to come back and resolve it later."

Yu Zhun glanced at Yu Zhu and Lu Wen.

"I'll listen to you," Yu Zhu smiled.

“I’m fine with anything.” Lu Wen casually scratched his head.

"Then let's find the portal to the ninth floor," Yu Zhun decided, setting the next objective for everyone.

Do you remember how to find the portal?

“I learned about this on the sixth floor,” Helmod said in a deep voice. “As long as the magical power reaches a certain level, one can naturally sense the location of the portal.”

"This demonic power is not limited to individuals."

"So, in other words, the combined magical power of all of us can sense the portal to the ninth floor?" Yu Zhu confirmed.

“That’s right.” Helmod nodded slightly, his aura rising steadily, and the vast power of his origin formed an almost tangible pressure, converging into a soaring demonic might.

The others exchanged glances and added their respective magical powers to Helmod's. The five different magical powers intertwined and eventually formed a vast and earth-shattering force.

Under this force, something in the void seemed to be subtly connected and stirred, eventually transforming into two invisible ripples located in different directions.

Although the ripples were faint, they were accurately detected by Yu Zhun and his group of five.

As the demonic power dissipated, the five people exchanged glances.

“There are two entrances,” Yu Zhun said first. “One is the entrance to the seventh floor, and the other is the entrance to the ninth floor.”

"But we can't be sure which one leads to which one."

"Let's check out the nearest one first." Helmod's gaze fell on the fluctuation that was relatively closer to the group of five. "Actually, going to the seventh floor is also a viable option."

"Whether it's the seventh or ninth floor, it's much better than staying here and constantly having your strength worn away."

Hearing Helmod's words, the others nodded in agreement.

"Then let's set off," Yu Zhun said softly.

The five of them quickly turned into afterimages and disappeared from their original spot, flying towards the direction from which the ripples came. During their journey, they repeatedly sensed the power of their magic and finally arrived at the location of the ripples.

It was a door hidden in the void, which could not be detected unless one carefully sensed it. Behind the door was another space.

Yu Zhun and the other four stopped in front of the gate, their expressions becoming increasingly serious. Although they could leave the eighth level of the Netherworld simply by crossing this gate, they had a strange sense of crisis.

It was as if they would encounter something terrible the moment they stepped through the door.

"Should I go scout ahead?" Lu Wen took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Be careful." Yu Zhun nodded and couldn't help but remind him. Yu Zhu, who was standing next to him, raised his hand and threw the resurrection item onto Lu Wen.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lu Wen lifted his foot and walked towards the door.

The next instant, the pupils of the other four people contracted, and they all gasped in unison.

"Stop!"

Lu Wen stopped in his tracks and looked over, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Don't you sense the problem?" Helmod stared intently at Luwen with a rather unpleasant expression.

His body gradually hunched over, and tufts of jet-black hair grew on his face, already transforming him into an ape-like magical beast!
"question?"

Upon hearing Helmod's words, Luwen scratched his cheek with his hairy hand, and seeing this, everyone's expressions became even more serious.

Lu Wenke never had a similar habitual action.

On the contrary, this movement looks exactly like those ape-like monsters.

But Lu Wen himself doesn't seem to realize this at all.

“Look at your own hands,” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice.

Lu Wen looked down at his hairy hands, then his expression became increasingly speechless. "No problem?"

"Isn't this perfectly fine?"

As he spoke, he even waved his hand dramatically.

Yu Zhun and the others looked at each other, and horror gradually appeared in their eyes.

Lu Wen's current situation is no longer a simple case of an anomaly.

His own perception seems to have changed as a result!
What kind of bizarre rule is this?

But there's one thing Helmod seems to have guessed correctly.

Those ape-like monsters were transformed from demons!
"You can come back first!" Taking a deep breath, Yu Zhun waved to Lu Wen.

Lu Wen nodded, puzzled, and took a few steps back.

His transformation into features resembling those of an ape-like monster also completely disappeared.

"Was there a problem just now?" Lu Wen looked at everyone with a puzzled expression. "I've been trying to sense my own state."

"There are no problems at all?"

"You can stand here." Yu Zhun patted Lu Wen on the shoulder, thought for a moment, and then took a few steps forward.

His body hunched over at a visible speed, and jet-black hair grew from all parts of his body. Because he had walked a farther distance than Lu Wen, a short monkey tail had even grown from Yu Zhun's tailbone.

"Fuck!"

Seeing Yu Zhun's change, Lu Wen's expression suddenly changed. "Was that how I appeared to you just now?"

“That’s right.” Helmod nodded, looking at Yu Zhun. “You didn’t feel anything either?”

"Yes," Yu Zhun said with a solemn expression.

He did not perceive anything unusual from beginning to end; his body and his primordial power remained unchanged in his perception.

But given Lu Wen's experience, he knew very well that this was fake.

That's just that his perception was also changing along with his body.

He slowly stepped back to his original position, while the other three, who hadn't tried, eagerly moved forward.

Of course, they didn't dare to go too far forward, but simply walked to where Lu Wen was, and then felt themselves and each other.

“As far as I can tell, I haven’t changed at all,” Helmod said in a deep voice, then looked at Udir and Yu Zhu beside him.

"Neither of them has changed at all."

“Come back.” Yu Zhun sighed. “This change seems reversible at the moment, but if I’m not mistaken, once it continues to deepen, the transformation will eventually become irreversible.”

"At that time, with the complete reversal of perception, the demon will transform into an ape-like demon beast."

Everyone frowned upon hearing this.

This place is far too dangerous.

Imagine what would happen if a lone demon came here, without any other demons alerting them to this anomaly?
I'm afraid he won't even realize he's transformed into an ape-like monster.
The thought of this bizarre possibility sent a chill down everyone's spine. "We can't go any further from here," Yu Zhun said in a deep voice. "Let's check out the other portal."

Despite this, he felt somewhat solemn.

He had a vague feeling that there was a trap at the other door as well.

The group moved quickly, heading towards another door.

"Yu Zhun, which floor do you think that portal led to?" Helmod suddenly asked halfway through the journey.

"I don't know," Yu Zhun said in a deep voice, "but have you noticed that as we walk from the first gate to the second gate, the density of the forest increases and the number of ape monsters increases?"

"This doesn't make sense, does it?" Yu Zhu couldn't help but say. "If all the ape-like magical beasts came from the transformation of the first portal, shouldn't we be encountering fewer and fewer ape-like magical beasts along the way?"

“I have some vague guesses,” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice, “but I can only be sure when I see the second portal with my own eyes.”

"Speed ​​up."

"I want to see what the rules are here."

Upon hearing this, everyone silently quickened their pace, and soon, a second gate that looked similar to the first one appeared before them.

Unlike the desolate land where the first gate was located, the second gate was situated in the heart of a lush, black fruit grove.

Countless ape-like magical beasts roamed around them, watching Yu Zhun and his group with predatory eyes, but they made no move, clearly wary of the powerful strength of Yu Zhun and his companions.

"Should I go scout ahead?" Lu Wen looked around before turning his gaze away and spoke in a deep voice.

“No, I’ll go myself this time.” Yu Zhun shook his head, signaling Yu Zhu to revive him, then took a deep breath and slowly stepped forward.

After taking a few steps, he turned to look at the crowd behind him, casting an inquiring glance.

“There’s nothing wrong with this portal!” Hermod exclaimed quickly, a hint of surprise in his eyes. “Nothing has changed!”

The other three nodded in agreement.

"No change...?" Yu Zhun asked softly, looking down at his hands covered in black hair.

He clearly felt that he was gradually turning into an ape-like monster.

After taking a few steps back to their original position, Yu Zhun gestured for the other four to give it a try.

When the four of them walked out at the same time, their expressions changed simultaneously. Yu Zhu and Udir, the two girls, retreated back to their original positions as if they had been electrocuted.

Soon, the five returned to their original positions and looked at the second portal in front of them, their faces showing an unprecedented solemnity.

“It seems the two portals are completely opposite,” Helmod said in a deep voice. “Here, you can feel yourself changing, but others don’t see any change in you.”

"From another perspective, you may feel that everything is normal, but to others, you appear to be in a state of abnormality."

“I think this is the real exit,” Lu Wen couldn’t help but say. “It’s the people who entered who have had their perceptions altered.”

"What the observer sees is the truth."

“But it’s also possible that it’s only the observers whose perceptions have been altered.” Helmod said in a deep voice, “Perhaps not now, but the moment we entered the eighth level of the Netherworld, our perceptions were already subtly reversed.”

“The ape-like magical beasts we saw…” Helmod looked at the figures lurking in the shadows, “could they possibly be demons?”

"If that's the case, then why do we still see each other as our original forms, instead of as ape-like monsters?" Yu Zhu couldn't help but ask.

“Perhaps it’s because there’s another difference between us and the ape-like magical beasts,” Yu Zhun said in a deep voice. “Don’t forget, on the eighth floor, besides us and the ape-like magical beasts, there is a third kind of existence.”

"Black fruit?" Udir exclaimed.

Everyone else was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Yes, all the ape monsters have eaten the black fruit.

But they had never actually eaten it, and even if they had, they would immediately spit it out because of its incredibly disgusting taste.

Thinking about it carefully, it's rather strange that a fruit with such an enticing aroma could taste so terrible.

Yu Zhun paused for a moment, then rushed to one of the fruit trees, picked a fruit, and took a big bite.

A stench a million times more disgusting than a rotting corpse instantly swept over them, causing Yu Zhun's expression to contort in horror.

But with his strong willpower, he gritted his teeth and swallowed the fruit, followed by a second bite.

Yu Zhun gradually slowed down the speed at which he swallowed the fruit, and his expression gradually calmed down from its initial ferocity. The second bite was noticeably more palatable than the first, and by the third bite, he could even taste a bit of deliciousness.

It's about cognition!
His perception was reversed as he tasted the fruit!

After finishing the fruit, a bead of cold sweat quietly slid down Yu Zhun's forehead.

Beside him stood countless demons with mocking eyes!
"This newcomer's reaction speed is quite fast." One of the demons crossed his arms and looked at Yu Zhun with amusement. "They reacted so quickly. It's a pity that we're missing a new seed."

"Seeds?" Yu Zhun asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

Upon hearing Yu Zhun's question, Helmod and the others' expressions changed slightly.

From their perspective, Yu Zhun, who had just eaten the fruit, was talking to one of the ape demons!
Without any hesitation, the four of them forced themselves to eat the fruit despite feeling nauseous.

Meanwhile, the demon who spoke pointed to the second portal that was just inches away, "See this?"

"This is the portal to the ninth floor."

“But once it enters the portal’s range, it becomes a seed, and then…” He pointed to the fruit tree beside him, “it’s planted in the soil and grows into a fruit tree.”

"Of course, there is another way to obtain the seed." The demon grinned, revealing a chilling smile. "That is to continuously endure the weakening of its power until it is eventually torn to pieces by us."

The four people who had already swallowed the fruit, along with Yu Zhun, all froze on the spot.

Only then did they realize that their weakening had abruptly stopped after swallowing the fruit.

"According to your logic, how can one enter the ninth level?" Yu Zhun asked in a deep voice.

Upon hearing his words, the group of demons burst into undisguised laughter.

"Enter the ninth level?" Another demon grinned. "Don't even think about it."

"The eighth level of the Netherworld is a dead end from which there is no way out."

"We can only barely improve our strength with these fruits, and then we'll be stuck here forever." He picked a fruit, then crushed it with all his might, a ferocious look appearing in his eyes.

"Unless you enter the ninth floor from the sixth floor in the first place."

"otherwise…"

"You will never be able to enter the ninth level to obtain blood food."

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhun and the others fell silent instantly.

In this type of triple-layered structure, only the bottom layer can receive blood offerings for advancement and be teleported to a lower level.

If they cannot enter the ninth floor, it means they cannot enter any deeper floors beyond the ninth floor.

The portal leading to the ninth floor is a death trap; getting close to it means certain death.

As these demons said, this is a dead end.

“Then let’s go back to the other portal,” Helmod said in a deep voice. “Shouldn’t that be the way back to the seventh floor?”

"Go to the seventh floor, there might be a turning point."

Upon hearing this, the group of demons burst into laughter again.

“Where are you planning to go?” one of the demons asked Helmod with a mocking look. “Do you want to turn into a monkey?”

(End of this chapter)