The air thickened, pressing against him like a tangible force as Lu Yan stepped deeper into the dungeon. Shadows clung to the walls, suffocating the weak glow of the flickering torches, creating a stifling atmosphere that seemed to swallow any hint of light. Each breath he took felt heavier, laden with the weight of unseen eyes, and the very stone beneath his feet seemed to tremble in anticipation of what was to come.
The dungeon was no longer just a place—a maze of stone and darkness—but something alive. The walls seemed to pulse, as though they were breathing, the rhythm of their beat in sync with the pounding of his own heart. His thoughts were razor-sharp, focused, calculating.
He had faced countless trials, each more dangerous than the last, but none had carried this palpable sense of finality. The key in his hand, cold as ice, felt heavier with each passing moment. Its weight was more than physical. It was the weight of everything he had sacrificed, everything he stood to lose. It was the burden of stepping into the unknown, of venturing deeper into this labyrinth of despair.
The deeper he went, the more the dungeon seemed to consume him. The air grew thick, the shadows stretching longer, as though the very walls were closing in. Something was waiting, something ancient and powerful, its presence a palpable pressure that seemed to squeeze the air from his lungs. There was no turning back.
Behind him, Fan Zhi and Lila followed in silence, their faces set in grim determination. They didn't speak. There was no need for words. They all understood the stakes.
The first door they encountered was massive, a gargantuan iron gate with intricate runes inscribed across its surface. It radiated a dark energy, ancient and unforgiving. A sense of finality hung in the air. There was no going back after this.
Lu Yan approached the gate, his hand instinctively reaching for the key in his pocket. His fingers brushed against its smooth surface. The key hummed, almost as if it were alive, responding to the proximity of the gate. A low rumble echoed from within the dungeon as if the very walls were breathing.
"Stay alert," Lu Yan muttered under his breath, his voice low and steady. The words were a warning to the others, a reminder of the peril they were about to face.
He stepped forward, the dungeon key in hand. As soon as it touched the gate, a burst of energy surged through the room. The runes on the gate flared to life, glowing with an ominous purple light. The gate began to tremble, and with a heavy groan, it slowly began to open.
Beyond the gate, a dark, swirling abyss greeted them. The air was thick with a nauseating pressure, as if the very atmosphere had been twisted by some malevolent force.
The path twisted, endless and unrelenting. The air grew colder with every step, the temperature dropping rapidly, as though the dungeon itself was alive, tightening its grip around them. Winds howled like a chorus of wraiths, slicing at their skin with invisible blades.
Then, the growl. Deep, resonating, chilling the bones.
A massive shape loomed from the shadows, glowing eyes filled with pure malice. It was a serpent—no, something far worse. Its body was a grotesque mix of humaniod and a beast, scales shimmering like shattered glass, glistening in the faint light. The air stilled for a moment before the creature's jaws split open, revealing rows of jagged teeth. With a roar that shook the very ground, it lunged toward them.
Lu Yan reacted before anyone could, unsheathing his blade with a fluid motion. A demonic roar split the air as a towering demon, rank A-, surged from the shadows. Its eyes burned like molten embers, and its claws gleamed with dark power. With lightning speed, it swiped at him, but Lu Yan was already moving. His blade cut through the air, flashing in a perfect arc, and the demon's massive form slammed to the ground, shuddering from the impact.
But that was only the beginning.
From the dark corners of the dungeon, demons of all shapes and sizes began to emerge. Rank D+ demons slithered from the cracks, their twisted forms glowing with faint, eerie light. Some were humanoid, their bodies pulsating with unnatural energy; others were monstrous, covered in jagged spikes, their eyes gleaming with malice. The ground shook as more demons, from rank C to B, joined the fray, their presences radiating crushing pressure.
The battlefield was becoming a storm of darkness and rage. Lu Yan's focus never wavered—he was fighting with everything he had, his blade cutting through the dark tide, but the demons just kept coming. Each strike, each new enemy, was a reminder of the chaos threatening to swallow them whole.
This should bring in that sense of increasing intensity with demons of varying ranks!
Fan Zhi wasted no time. His heavy armor clanked as he charged at the first shadow beast, his fists crashing into its body with the force of boulders. The creature was sent flying back, but more emerged from the darkness, swarming toward him. His blows were brutal and fast, but the tide of enemies was endless.
Meanwhile, Lila stood at the rear, her hands crackling with raw magic. She summoned a gust of wind, sending the lesser creatures flying, their bodies torn apart by the force. With a focused gesture, she unleashed a series of bolts of energy that ripped through the shadows, each shot targeting the beasts closing in on Fan Zhi. She wasn't just attacking blindly—her magic was precise, picking off enemies that tried to sneak past the warrior's defense.
As the demons surged forward, Lu Yan's gaze remained cold and calculated, his focus narrowing. Beneath his calm exterior, something deeper stirred within him. The stench of death hung thick in the air, and he could sense it—something far darker than the creatures surrounding them. A malignant presence, one older and far more dangerous than any of the demons he had encountered, pulsed from the very depths of the dungeon.
The temperature dropped, the shadows deepening, twisting into grotesque forms that seemed to have a life of their own. The dungeon was no longer just a place; it was alive, shifting, reacting to his every move. Lu Yan's heartbeat slowed, his senses sharpening. He could feel the darkness spreading, curling around him, trying to suffocate him. It was as if the very walls were breathing, waiting.
The ground trembled, not from the demons, but from something far worse. The air itself crackled with an energy so foul it made his skin crawl. A low, sickening sound echoed from somewhere deep within, a sound that could only be described as the stirring of something ancient—something monstrous. He wasn't just in a dungeon anymore. He was in the belly of something far more sinister, a place that was more than just stone and shadow.
Lu Yan's grip on his blade tightened, a faint glow emanating from the weapon, but it wasn't enough to ward off the feeling creeping through him. He was surrounded by demons—yes—but this? This was no longer just a battle of strength. This was survival.
The shadows seemed to pulse, as if beckoning him into the darkness. He wasn't just fighting for his life now; he was fighting for dominance. Something from the depths of this cursed place had awoken, and it was calling to him, a force that sought to consume everything in its path.
Lu Yan and the others pressed forward, their breaths shallow as an oppressive stillness filled the dungeon. There was no turning back now. The walls of the dungeon seemed to close in, the flickering light dimming as the air grew cold enough to sting their skin. Every step echoed, louder than it should, as if the dungeon itself was alive, waiting for its prey to falter.
The air thickened, heavy with an oppressive stillness. The ground beneath them groaned as a deep, unnatural tremor rippled through the stone, splitting the earth wide open. Shadows stretched and writhed, bending in unnatural ways, their forms shifting like living things.
Then, from the heart of that darkness, she emerged.
Tzitzimitl SSS rank Demon Lord. Level 100
Her form materialized from the darkened depths, taller than any creature they had faced, a looming presence of pure dread. Dark tendrils of energy surged from her, the very air crackling with the chaotic power she exuded. Her appearance was that of a living nightmare—her skin, if it could be called that, was a mass of writhing blackness, armored in jagged bone-like plating that radiated an aura of death. A skull mask, twisted and cruel, hid her true face, its hollow eyes burning with an ancient, insatiable malice. With every step she took, the ground buckled under her power, reality itself warping in her wake.
The pressure in the room escalated, suffocating, crushing. It wasn't just the weight of her presence—it was the raw energy she manipulated, a force so far beyond their own that it felt unnatural, unreal.
But she was not alone.
Emerging from the suffocating darkness beside her, a hulking figure took shape—Xolotl, level 97 the enforcer. His skin was molten, a constant flow of infernal heat, like the very magma of hell. Chains of red-hot iron coiled around his arms, each link crackling with dark power. His massive frame towered over the others, the air around him distorting from the sheer intensity of his presence. He was a creature forged solely for destruction, and destruction he would bring.
Behind him, the sound of scraping bones echoed as a skeletal knight level 95 stepped forward, dragging its rusted sword against the stone floor. Its skeletal body, covered in fragments of decayed armor, moved with unsettling precision. The faint glow of cursed energy radiated from the gaps in its armor, its empty eye sockets burning with a hollow, malevolent fire. It was a soldier of death, serving its master with cold, unwavering loyalty.
Beside the knight, a humanoid demon shifted, its grotesque form nearly indistinguishable from the shadows. The demon's body was a twisted mockery of a man, skin stretched too thin over its gaunt frame, eyes burning with an insatiable hunger. The claws on its fingers scraped the stone, sending out sparks of dark energy. It moved with purpose, its form a blur of motion as it prepared to engage.
And then, from behind them, the quiet hiss of a spell. A dark wizard, shrouded in tattered robes, stepped into view. His face was hidden beneath the hood, but the glow of arcane energy emanated from his hands. The air around him crackled with the hum of magic, the latent power of the unknown at his fingertips. His presence was calm, yet there was a certain dread that followed him—a sense that nothing could escape his grasp.
Lastly, from the shadows, a dark elf emerged, her movements fluid and deadly. Her obsidian skin shimmered faintly in the dim light, and her silver hair flowed around her like a deadly tide. Her bow was drawn, an arrow nocked and aimed at the heart of her enemies. The air around her seemed to freeze, her eyes cold and calculating. She was the silent death in the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Without speaking a word, she raised her hand.
The ground beneath them quaked violently. In response, Lu Yan's eyes narrowed as he called upon his core summon. The Heaven Tree, the embodiment of nature's sovereign power, erupted from the earth in a blaze of radiant life. Massive roots, thick and powerful, ripped through the dungeon floor as the ancient tree's bark glowed with an unearthly light. The Verdant Viper, a serpent of poisonous grace, coiled around the roots, its fangs sinking into the shadows and draining the life force of the demons foolish enough to approach.
The dungeon was suffocating—its walls pulsing with an oppressive energy, a constant reminder of the horrors that had been unleashed. The air was thick with the smell of blood and decay, the ground cracked beneath the weight of countless demonic footsteps. Shadows lurked in every corner, shifting, waiting. And in the center of it all stood Lu Yan.
The battlefield was a living thing, a nightmare stretching across the cavernous expanse. The humanoid demons ranged from B-Rank to S-, each one a deadly adversary with abilities beyond mortal comprehension. But it wasn't them that commanded the true fear.
Tzitzimitl, an SS-rank demon lord, stood at the edge of the chaos, a silent observer to the slaughter. Her presence alone seemed to warp the very fabric of reality. The air around her hummed with malevolent power, and every time her eyes passed over Lu Yan, it felt as though the very ground beneath him might crumble to dust.
Her servants—creatures forged for nothing but death—flooded the battlefield. A grotesque army, their eyes empty, their movements a blur of violence. The weakest of them, B-rank, fell in droves before Lu Yan's summons. But the higher ranks, the S- and SS-rank fiends, proved far more resilient. They clashed with his summons in an unrelenting storm, their grotesque forms bearing down on him like waves against a cliff.
Lu Yan's summons were powerful, yes, but they were not invincible. His Titanwood Guardians tore through the demon ranks with the force of a thousand storms, crushing B-rank demons beneath their feet. The Verdant Viper coiled through the battlefield, its venomous fangs sinking into the shadows, draining life with every strike. Yet for every demon that fell, two more appeared to take its place. The endless flood of enemies was a tide that could not be stopped by sheer force alone.
Fan Zhi and Lila fought beside him, their spells and blades flashing through the air, holding their ground as best they could. But their movements were frantic, their breaths shallow. Even together, they couldn't match the overwhelming power of the demon lord's army. They were only human, after all, and their strength paled in comparison to the horrors they faced.
Lu Yan's eyes narrowed. The battlefield was slipping away from them. He could feel the weight of it—the inevitability of their doom. The demon lord Tzitzimitl's presence crushed their spirits, a force far beyond anything the two could stand against. He didn't have time to mourn their loss.
His hand rose, and the ground trembled beneath him. He felt it—felt the power stirring beneath the earth. It was time.
With a single motion, he sacrificed his Godplant, the Heaven Tree, a summon of unmatched power. The air shifted, its once towering roots retracting into the ground, fading into the earth's depths. The ground beneath them cracked with an explosive force as his summons surged forth in response. The battle intensified, as if nature itself was fighting on Lu Yan's behalf.
It was the price he had to pay. The SSS+ God plant had given them the strength to fight back, but now it was gone. The dungeon around them began to shake, the walls trembling as if it knew its doom was approaching.
Lu Yan didn't relax. His eyes scanned the wreckage, his mind sharp. Something was off—something drew him in.
His gaze fell on a small, unassuming golden ball lying amidst the ruin of the demon lord's chamber. The air around it seemed to pulse with a strange energy. The God Inheritance. His hand reached out, fingers brushing the cold surface, and the world around him seemed to hold its breath. Power like nothing he had ever felt surged through him as his fingers made contact. The treasure was ancient, its aura both tempting and terrifying.
But the moment his grip tightened, he felt it—a shift.
"What are you doing?" Fan Zhi's voice broke the silence, his tone sharp, his eyes narrowing as they locked onto the golden sphere.
Lu Yan froze. Something in the air had changed—had they known? His instincts flared, but it was too late.
Before he could react, a surge of energy slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground. His breath was forced from his lungs. Fan Zhi's cold eyes bore into him, and beside him, Lila's magic flared violently.
"You shouldn't have taken that, Lu Yan," Lila's voice cut through the air, low and venomous. Her eyes, once filled with camaraderie, now blazed with an unmistakable fury.
The battlefield had shifted.
In a heartbeat, the alliance fractured. Lila's hands crackled with dark energy, a pulse of raw power that shot toward Lu Yan with deadly intent. The blast collided with his chest, sending him crashing into the stone floor, the impact sending a wave of agony through his body. Heat spread across his chest like fire, searing through his veins.
Fan Zhi stepped forward. His eyes were empty, void of the trust they had once shared. "I warned you," his voice was flat, carrying the weight of betrayal. "This was inevitable."
Blood dripped from the corner of Lu Yan's mouth as he struggled to push himself upright. His breath was ragged, pain gnawing at his body. But despite the weight of the situation, a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "You think you can just take what's mine?" His words were thick with contempt, though his movements were deliberate, his focus razor-sharp.
But there was no time to waste on words.
The deeper Lu Yan ventured into the dungeon, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. The dim light of the torches flickered faintly, casting long shadows on the walls that twisted unnaturally. Every breath felt heavier, each exhale sinking into the thick air. The stillness seemed to press down on him, stifling, suffocating.
They were approaching the end.
Lu Yan didn't hesitate. His gaze hardened, his resolve sharp as a blade. There was no turning back—this was the end. His heart raced in sync with his thoughts.
The cavern stretched out before him, an abyss of fire and molten rock. Lava churned and roared, its heat oppressive, filling the air with a stifling, sulfuric stench. A dead end. The walls, jagged and unforgiving, loomed high above, as if mocking his every step.
Lila's voice broke through the chaos. "You've reached the end, Lu Yan," she sneered, her words dripping with disdain. "You can't go any further. You're finished."
The words struck like a blade, sharp and unexpected. Five years— of sharing loot, of watching each other's backs in Dungeon 15, 25, and 56. They had split treasure before, divided spoils without hesitation. Yet now, at the very end, when the stakes were highest, greed had twisted them.
Lu Yan didn't flinch. His grip tightened around the cold orb in his palm, its smooth surface grounding him even as the heat of the molten abyss licked at his skin. His mind worked faster than his heart could race. They planned this. Not a momentary lapse, not an impulse. This was deliberate. Calculated.
The realization settled in, heavier than the dungeon's oppressive air. It wasn't just betrayal. It was the kind of treachery only possible after years of trust—the kind that cuts deepest because it was never expected.
His so-called comrades stood before him, eyes hard, waiting for him to falter.
He raised the orb, focusing his energy. The faint hum reverberated through it for a moment, then—nothing. Silence.
Lu Yan's eyes narrowed. The orb flickered, its glow dimming. No response. His grip tightened, frustration building, but he quickly stilled himself. There was something wrong. And the silence—so deep, so consuming—only deepened his suspicion. Something was out of place.
"You think Jian Mo will listen to you?" Lila's voice sliced through the thick air, sharp and venomous. "You really believe he'll come to your aid now?, He Betrayed you since long ago, Our benefits giving is much better."
The heat around him seemed to press in, suffocating, but Lu Yan ignored it. His lips twisted into a mocking grin. "Just like how I f* your mother 🖕," he shot back, uncaring of the consequences.
Without another word, he turned and leaped into the pit of lava. The ground shook beneath him as he plunged into the depths, the lava swallowing him whole, the world around him growing distant and hazy. His focus remained sharp, the orb still clutched in his hand.
....
...
.
Meanwhile, Lila exchanged a glance with Fan Zhi, the confidence that once filled their eyes now replaced by uncertainty. They had underestimated him.
"I'll contact the guilds," Fan Zhi said, his tone frigid, betraying no emotion. "We'll find out who has fire resistance. Whoever locates the golden ball will be handsomely rewarded."
Lu Yan plunged deeper into the inferno, his body moving with precision, unaffected by the crushing heat. As he pushed further, the air grew thick, almost suffocating, the landscape around him twisted by the molten hell that surrounded him.
Without warning, a sharp, blinding flash of blue split the air.
A gate materialized, its arcane energy crackling, radiating a cold, otherworldly power. Lu Yan's gaze was fixed on it, his instincts screaming that this was no mere coincidence. The pull of the gate was undeniable, like an unseen hand dragging him forward.
In the span of a breath, his surroundings blurred, and frozen, the inferno at his back vanishing into nothingness. Before he could react, the world shifted, and he was gone.