God-Tier Awakening: The Dead Can Still Level Up

Chapter 27: Eternal Night basin

As Xingluo entered the dungeon, she lost the feeling of the ground beneath her feet for a moment.

The next instant, her boots struck solid stone again, and she staggered forward before barely steadying herself.

When she raised her head and looked around, she found herself standing on a small cliff.

Above her, the sky was completely dark, with only a dim black moon hanging high in the distance.

Around the cliff, small luminescent plants grew between the rocks, giving off faint blue and green light that barely pushed back the darkness.

Far ahead, beyond the lower slope, a vast glowing forest stretched across the basin, and somewhere deeper inside it, a large lake reflected the weak light from the strange plants.

Before Xingluo could understand more, a cold message rang inside both her and Shen Wuxia’s ears.

[You have entered the Eternal Night Basin.]

[Level Range: 60-100]

[Difficulty: Hell Mode]

[Status: Restricted]

Xingluo froze after seeing the panel, and even Shen Wuxia’s expression changed, this was not a small dungeon.

From the terrain alone, it was most likely a large-scale dungeon, and the difficulty had been locked directly at Hell Mode.

Dungeon difficulties were generally divided into Easy, Normal, Hard, Insane, Nightmare, Hell, and Abyss.

For dungeons below Level 100, Hard Mode was usually already dangerous, and Insane Mode was rare enough to make most teams retreat immediately.

Nightmare Mode was something only elite prepared squads would challenge, while Hell Mode was close to a death sentence for anyone who entered by mistake.

Seeing this, Xingluo’s face slowly turned pale, Shen Wuxia’s gaze also darkened because the map from Vice Leader Wang had pointed them toward this area.

Whether that old man had known the dungeon’s real condition or not, they had still been pushed into a death pit.

Xingluo swallowed once and looked toward him. "What do we do?"

"Check the default map first," Wuxia said, forcing his voice to stay calm. "We need to know where we landed before deciding anything."

Xingluo quickly opened the dungeon map, but the projection that appeared in front of her was incomplete and blurred at the edges.

After looking at it for a few breaths, her expression became worse. "It is not giving much."

"What can you see?"

"We are in a small entry cliff zone," Xingluo said, staring at the map. "In front of us is a huge forest, and there is a lake somewhere deeper inside."

Shen Wuxia looked down from the cliff and saw the same thing.

The forest ahead seemed to stretch without end, and the faint glow from the plants only made the darkness between the trees look thicker.

"Damn it," he said quietly. "Visibility is already affected here."

His gaze moved across the glowing plants growing along the cliff walls and between the stone cracks.

"The vegetation is lush, so there should be resources, but do not touch anything casually. In a Hell Mode dungeon, even plants can be traps."

Xingluo nodded stiffly, still trying to calm her breathing after the wolf chase. Just as they were speaking, a deep growl came from the side of the cliff.

Both of them turned at once, a cave was hidden between the rocks not far away, half-covered by hanging vines and dim glowing moss.

From inside that darkness two pale eyes opened, the next moment a massive black panther walked out of the cave, its body low and silent against the stone.

Its fur was so dark that even the surrounding luminescent plants barely reflected on it, while faint silver lines moved across its muscles like marks beneath the skin.

Xingluo hurriedly raised her longsword and focused on the beast, and a system panel appeared before her eyes.

[Mini-Boss: Moonless Black Panther]

[Level: 85]

[Bloodline: Lord]

[Stats: ?????]

Xingluo’s hand almost slipped on the sword hilt, a Level 95 mini-boss with a Lord Bloodline was already far beyond anything she should be fighting right now.

She looked at Shen Wuxia with an expression that was close to crying. "I should have never listened to you."

For once, Shen Wuxia did not answer immediately, even he was silent for a moment after seeing the panel.

Then he exhaled lightly and spoke with a calmness that sounded slightly forced. "Do not lose hope yet. If you cannot fight, use the short-distance teleportation talisman."

Xingluo’s eyes moved toward her storage space at once. "Also keep the defensive talismans ready," Wuxia continued. "Do not save them if—"

Before he could finish, the Moonless Black Panther let out a deep roar, the sound struck the cliff like a physical force, and a heavy pressure burst from its body.

Xingluo’s knees bent slightly under the pressure, and for a moment, her body almost failed to respond.

The panther moved in the next instant; its body crossed the distance so fast that Xingluo barely saw a dark blur rushing toward her chest.

Shen Wuxia reacted first and pulled at her body with soul force, dragging her backward just before the panther’s claw tore through the place where she had been standing.

The stone beneath its paw cracked open,Xingluo stumbled hard, her face turning even paler as she finally understood how fast the beast was.

"Concentrate," Wuxia said sharply. "Do not look at its whole body, watch its shoulders and paws."

Xingluo’s breath shook once before she forced herself to check her own condition.

She had already taken a health potion during the chase, and most of her shallow wounds had recovered enough not to affect movement too badly.

Luckily, the wolf pack had not injured her directly after the Soul Soldier’s final attack.

But her armor was cracked in several places, her body was still exhausted, and mentally, she had already been pushed close to the limit.

The Moonless Black Panther slowly turned back toward her, its claws scraping against the cliff stone without making much sound.

Xingluo swallowed the fear rising in her throat and raised her longsword with both hands, her arms still felt heavy, but her stance lowered little by little.

Shen Wuxia floated beside her, his gaze fixed on the panther’s movements. "Do not try to win quickly. Survive first, read its pattern, then look for a way down from this cliff."

Xingluo nodded, though her face was still pale. "Easy for you to say."

"It is not easy," Wuxia replied calmly. "That is why I am saying it."

The Moonless Black Panther lowered its body again, and the silver lines beneath its fur began to glow faintly.

Xingluo took one deep breath and then the mini boss vanished from the cave entrance and rushed toward her again.

The Moonless Black Panther reached her almost instantly, its claw cutting down before Xingluo could even finish adjusting her stance.

She barely shifted aside, but the attack still struck the right side of her armor and tore through the cracked plate like paper.

Xingluo was thrown across the cliff ground, blood rising in her throat as broken armor pieces scattered beside her.

"Do not stand in the open," Wuxia said sharply. "Use the ridge behind you."

Xingluo clenched her teeth, rolled back to her feet, and rushed toward the narrow stone ridge near the cliff wall.

The panther followed without hesitation, but the moment its front paw entered the gap, Xingluo crushed an Earth Burst Talisman in her hand.

The ground beneath the beast exploded upward, forcing its body down between the broken rocks for half a breath.

Before it could jump out, Xingluo threw the Shadow Lock Talisman at its legs, and several black chains wrapped around its body.

"Teleport now," Wuxia shouted.

Xingluo activated the short-distance teleportation talisman at once.

[Teleportation activating.]

[10]

The panther roared and slammed its body against the broken ridge.

[9]

[8]

Cracks spread across the stone as the shadow chains began snapping one by one.

[7]

Xingluo’s face turned pale as the panther’s claws tore free.

[3]

[2]

Just before the beast broke out completely, the talisman flashed, and Xingluo vanished from the cliff with Shen Wuxia.