Chapter: The Eighth Floor
With the experience of clearing the seventh level, Cheng Yu immediately took out the grill after entering the eighth level and grilled over a hundred skewers of barbecue in advance.
Originally, there had been a total of 100,000 skewers of barbecue. Half had been sold at the Northern Fortress, leaving about 50,000 skewers—plenty of inventory.
Cheng Yu hadn't walked far in the passage when over a dozen fifth-tier monsters—Swift Wolves—appeared before him.
The wolf king in the lead was nearly ten meters long. The other Swift Wolves were about seven or eight meters long, with blue wolf fur and powerful magic radiating from their bodies.
To defeat over a dozen fifth-tier monsters, at least a sixth-tier legendary mage would be required.
Over a dozen fifth-tier Swift Wolves stared at Cheng Yu fiercely. Their eyes were scarlet—like evil spirits from hell—about to attack Cheng Yu.
"Brother Wolf, we're one! Don't shoot... no, don't bite me! I'm here to give you benefits!"
Cheng Yu took out dozens of grilled barbecue skewers and threw them to the group of Swift Wolves.
The barbecue made with max-level cooking skills was delicious and fragrant. The aroma of the barbecue entered the Swift Wolves' nostrils. The Swift Wolves were stunned. The evil spirit-like eyes instantly became clearer.
Unable to resist the temptation of the meat aroma, over a dozen Swift Wolves tasted Cheng Yu's barbecue. Their eyes instantly showed intoxication.
Awoo~ (Translation: It smells so good!)
Awoo~ Awoo~ (Translation: What is this? It's so delicious!)
Awoo~ (Translation: It's delicious! So delicious!)
With a faint smile, Cheng Yu took out the grill and started grilling for the Swift Wolves.
The intelligence level of fifth-tier monsters was already quite high.
Though the labyrinth law gave the Swift Wolf Pack the task of attacking intruders entering the labyrinth, who would attack a good person who gave benefits to everyone?
A group of Swift Wolves surrounded Cheng Yu, looking at the barbecue on the grill, drooling all over the floor.
Awoo~
Awoo~
Awoo~
The Swift Wolves howled to the sky, urging Cheng Yu to hurry up.
"Don't worry. It'll be ready soon."
Cheng Yu took out a large handful of barbecue and placed it on the grill. He brushed oil while grilling and sprinkled cumin powder, MSG, and other seasonings on the barbecue.
At this moment, Cheng Yu was almost like a street vendor selling kebabs.
The Swift Wolves had big appetites, and there were over a dozen of them.
Time passed.
Cheng Yu grilled like crazy on the eighth floor of the labyrinth.
He grilled for three days and three nights in a row, taking breaks occasionally in between.
After over 10,000 skewers of barbecue, over a dozen Swift Wolves couldn't eat any more. They lay around Cheng Yu, showing no hostility toward him.
Originally, it would take the strength of a sixth-tier mage to defeat a pack of fifth-tier Swift Wolves. But now, over 10,000 skewers of barbecue were enough to win them over.
Is this a bug in the labyrinth? Cheng Yu guessed.
However, thinking about the two code phrases set by the God of Order in the third and fourth layers of the labyrinth—"I think the Goddess of Light is still charming," "Goddess of Light, don't kill me"—this God of Order wasn't a serious god.
The monsters in the labyrinth can be won over. Maybe the God of Order did it on purpose.
"Brother Wolf, how do we get to the ninth floor?"
In three days, Cheng Yu and the Swift Wolf King had become familiar. He touched the Swift Wolf King's dog head.
Awoo~
The Swift Wolf King shook his head and signaled Cheng Yu to follow it.
At the same time, Mina and Ivennie had already left the labyrinth with the Order God Cult members.
"Mr. Valk, it's been three days and three nights. Cheng Yu hasn't come out yet. Is he okay?" Mina asked Valk, the Order God Cult priest, with a worried look on her face.
Valk shook his head and sighed. "Ah~ The sixth floor of the labyrinth is full of dangers—countless traps and mechanisms. I'm afraid Cheng Yu is in trouble."
"Full of dangers? Countless traps and mechanisms?"
Mina's face was pale. Two lines of tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.
Ivennie remained silent and cried silently.
On the eighth floor of the labyrinth, Cheng Yu rode on the Swift Wolf King's back.
The Swift Wolf Pack ran quickly through the labyrinth passage, passing through ancient stone halls.
The monsters along the way knew the Swift Wolf Pack and didn't attack them.
The Swift Wolf King took Cheng Yu running through the labyrinth passage for several hours, turning countless forks and passing through countless stone halls. The labyrinth passage seemed to have no end.
The complexity of the eighth floor labyrinth was far beyond imagination.
Cheng Yu estimated this floor's area was tens of thousands of square kilometers—the route intricate.
If it weren't for these Swift Wolves leading the way, he probably wouldn't be able to find a way to the ninth floor even after exploring for a year or two.
Five hours later, the Swift Wolves brought Cheng Yu to a two-meter-high stone door.
Cheng Yu jumped off the Swift Wolf King's back. "Brother Wolf, is the way to the ninth floor in here?"
The Swift Wolf King nodded, then threw a ruby necklace to Cheng Yu.
"What's this?"
Cheng Yu picked up the ruby necklace and looked at it but couldn't figure it out.
The Swift Wolf King raised a paw, patted the neck of a nearby Swift Wolf, and pointed at the ruby necklace in Cheng Yu's hand.
"You mean for me to wear this necklace?" Cheng Yu asked.
The Swift Wolf King nodded.
Cheng Yu put the ruby necklace around his neck. No reaction.
"Can I go in like this?" Cheng Yu asked.
The Swift Wolf King nodded.
"I'm leaving. Thank you for leading the way."
Cheng Yu pushed open the door. Inside was a dim, empty room with a mirror as tall as a person standing in the middle.
Cheng Yu walked to the mirror and looked at it—no different from an ordinary mirror.
"Where's the way to the ninth floor?"
At that moment, the ruby on Cheng Yu's neck turned into a ball of red energy and injected into the mirror.
The mirror emitted dazzling red light.
A strong suction pulled Cheng Yu into the mirror.
After a dizzy spin, the surrounding space gradually stabilized.
Cheng Yu opened his eyes and found he was lying in a clearing in a forest. The sky was blue. The sun was shining. The air was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers.
"Is this the ninth floor of the labyrinth?"
The style of the ninth floor was completely different from the previous eight floors. There were forests, lakes, blue sky, and white clouds here—seemed to be a small world of its own.
Cheng Yu looked at the environment here in surprise.
It's not too difficult to create a small world with the means of gods.
Cheng Yu stood up. He saw a calm lake not far ahead.
Walking to the lakeside—the lakeshore full of water plants—the lake water was clear. There were fish swimming in the lake. In the middle was a small island surrounded by water. A wooden bridge connected the two shores.
Cheng Yu squatted by the lake and washed his hands full of oil smoke. He looked at the small island in the middle of the lake. There was a simple wooden house on the island—similar to ordinary houses in Bailu Town.
There were colorful flowers planted around the wooden house.
Valk had said there was a divine artifact treasured by the God of Order on the ninth floor of the labyrinth.
Could it be in that wooden house?
With excitement in his eyes, Cheng Yu crossed the wooden bridge and walked toward the wooden house on the island.
At that moment, the water in the lake began surging and condensed into a human-shaped outline on the wooden bridge.
The human-shaped outline exuded unparalleled pressure from a powerhouse—made Cheng Yu's legs tremble uncontrollably. He almost knelt on the wooden bridge.
"First-tier mage? How did you get to the ninth floor of the labyrinth?"
A puzzled voice came from the human-shaped outline.
"Who are you?"
Cheng Yu hunched over, gasping for breath—as if a mountain was pressing on him.
This human-shaped outline was so strong that just standing there gave a sense of oppression.
A voice came from the human-shaped silhouette again. "I am a breath left by the God of Order, guarding the ninth floor of the labyrinth."
A breath so strong?
Cheng Yu gritted his teeth and tried to keep his body from bending.
"The artifact treasured by the God of Order is in the wooden house. You now have two ways to get this artifact. One is to defeat me with your power, and the other is..." the human-shaped silhouette said.
"I choose the second! I choose the second!"
Without waiting for the other party to finish, Cheng Yu directly chose the second way.
He couldn't even stand up now. How could he defeat this human-shaped silhouette?
"The second is to guess what the artifact in the wooden house is," the human-shaped silhouette said.
Cheng Yu was confused. If he were a member of the Order God Cult, he might know what the artifact in the wooden house was, but he didn't know anything about the Order God Cult.
Since it was a divine weapon, Cheng Yu searched in his mind. "Is it the Dragon Slaying Sword in the wooden house?"
"No."
"Shadow Axe?"
"No."
"Frostmourne?"
"No."
"Fire's Joy?"
"No."
"Magic Sword Apophis?"
"No."