I cultivate the Chaos Technique

The number of undead warriors seemed endless, emerging wave after wave from the cracks, their chilling aura filling the entire space. Zhang Yifan swung his longsword incessantly, each strike aimed at the core of the undead, but even so, their sheer number still caused him a sense of anxiety.

"Just how many of these undead are there?" Lin Qingzhu frowned, her sword light and spiritual power intertwining to repel the surrounding undead. Exhaustion was evident on her face; the continuous battles had drained a significant amount of her spiritual energy.

"The number of undead is not infinite. We must concentrate our strength and not let them gradually overwhelm us," Ling Yunfeng said calmly. His sword energy was sharp and decisive, piercing through the chest of an undead warrior without hesitation, instantly turning it to ashes. As the senior disciple of the Lingyun Sword Sect, his calmness and determination stabilized the morale of the entire team.

Zhang Yifan took a deep breath, suppressing his anxiety. He knew he had to remain calm; any panic could plunge them into greater danger. He adjusted his breathing, circulating his spiritual energy within his body to quickly restore his strength.

"We can't drag this out too long," Zhang Yifan said in a low voice, his gaze shifting from the battle to quickly survey his surroundings. Although the number of undead was enormous, these monsters were clearly controlled by the restrictions of the Heavenly Annihilation Tower; there must be some kind of mechanism or core that could control their numbers and strength.

"Have you noticed? These undead seem to be emerging from those cracks!" Fang Xue suddenly exclaimed, her voice filled with surprise, as if she had grasped some crucial clue.

Zhang Yifan immediately followed her gaze and, sure enough, the black cracks in the ground were the source of the undead; they were all emerging from the cracks. The cracks were spreading at an accelerating rate, and if they weren't stopped soon, the number of undead could multiply.

“These cracks are the key; we must find a way to seal them!” Zhang Yifan thought to himself and quickly suggested to Ling Yunfeng.

Ling Yunfeng's gaze sharpened, clearly realizing the problem as well: "That's right, the rift is the source of these undead. If we can cut off the source of this power, perhaps we can completely eliminate these undead!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately brandished his longsword, his figure flashing as he swiftly rushed towards the nearest crack. At the same time, Zhang Yifan, Lin Qingzhu, and the others did not hesitate, quickly following behind and launching attacks on the other cracks.

"Holy Maiden of the Beast Taming Sect! Follow us!" Zhang Yifan shouted to Hu Yiman, who was not far away, as he slashed at the undead with his sword. Hu Yiman was entangled with an undead warrior. Upon hearing Zhang Yifan's reminder, she quickly summoned her spirit beast and they attacked the rift together.

Soon, Zhang Yifan rushed to the vicinity of the crack, gathering his spiritual energy on the sword's edge and slashing fiercely at it. However, to his surprise, the sword energy seemed to be absorbed by a powerful force the moment it touched the crack, leaving it completely intact, with even a few wisps of black energy emanating from it.

"How could this happen?" Zhang Yifan frowned, his heart filled with shock.

“These cracks seem to be protected by some kind of special restriction, and cannot be destroyed directly with spiritual power,” Ling Yunfeng said in a deep voice. His sword energy was also absorbed by the cracks, which clearly showed that ordinary attacks could not have any substantial effect on these cracks.

Just as they were in dire straits, General Fei Hong of the Tianyuan Dynasty led his troops closer to the rift. Their movements were swift and decisive, wasting no time. General Fei Hong's battle blade emitted a powerful spiritual light, but his attacks, too, failed to budge the rift in the slightest. A cold smile appeared on General Fei Hong's face, as if he had been prepared all along.

“It’s no use. These cracks are formed by ancient restrictions, and force alone cannot solve them,” General Fei Hong said in a deep voice. He then took out an ancient jade talisman, quickly made hand seals, and threw the talisman towards the cracks.

The jade talisman spun in the air, emitting a faint spiritual light. Then, a beam of spiritual energy erupted from the talisman, striking the crack directly. The crack trembled violently instantly, the surrounding black mist was dispersed, and the crack began to slowly close.

"This... is a magic artifact for breaking through cracks?" Zhang Yifan couldn't help but show surprise. He had never seen such a magic artifact specifically designed to break through restrictions.

General Fei Hong smiled coldly: "Ancient restrictions have their own ways of being broken; breaking through the tower is not about brute force."

As the power of the jade talisman was released, the crack finally closed completely, and the surrounding spirits gradually weakened as the crack disappeared, eventually turning into black smoke and dissipating into the air.

"It really worked!" A hint of joy appeared in Lin Qingzhu's eyes.

“In that case, we also need to find similar magical artifacts,” Zhang Yifan said, but he began to think. The trials of the Heavenly Annihilation Tower obviously did not rely solely on combat power. Each test here seemed to require a specific method or tool to overcome.

Under General Fei Hong's leadership, the Tianyuan Dynasty's forces quickly sealed the remaining cracks, greatly reducing the number of undead warriors. As the cracks completely closed, the atmosphere within the tower gradually returned to calm, and the suffocating oppressive feeling subsided.

"It seems we've passed the first level of the trial." Ling Yunfeng took a deep breath and said slowly, a hint of relief in his eyes.

As the undead warrior vanished, a light suddenly shone within the tower. The light gradually coalesced, transforming into a transparent portal leading to the second level of the Heavenly Tower.

"This is the entrance to the second level," Zhang Yifan said softly, his eyes flashing with complex emotions. He knew that the trials to come would be even more difficult; the first level was just the beginning, and the challenges that followed would be far more severe.

Standing before the teleportation portal, everyone wore solemn expressions. Although they had passed the first level, no one dared to let their guard down. Each level of the trial could be a test of life and death; the slightest mistake could lead to annihilation.

"Let's go, we must be cautious," Ling Yunfeng said in a deep voice, taking the lead as he stepped into the teleportation portal. Zhang Yifan and the others followed closely behind, entering the second level of the Heavenly Tower.

Upon entering the portal, Zhang Yifan felt a sudden dizziness, and the next moment, he and the others found themselves in a completely new space. This space was much more spacious than the first level, with intricate runes still inscribed on the walls, and an ancient and mysterious power permeating the air.

However, before Zhang Yifan could observe closely, a deep rumbling sound suddenly came from above. Immediately afterwards, a cold voice echoed in the air, announcing the second level of the trial they were about to face.

"The second trial—the way to break the formation. Cultivators must break the formation here within a specified time, or they will be trapped here permanently."

Zhang Yifan's heart tightened suddenly. Break the formation? He didn't know much about formations. This level was obviously not just a contest of strength, but a test of a cultivator's understanding and ability to break formations.

“This is an ancient formation.” Ling Yunfeng frowned, quickly observing the surrounding environment. “We must find the core of the formation, otherwise we will not be able to get through.”

The group exchanged glances, understanding that this trial would be even more difficult than the first, but there was no turning back; they could only grit their teeth and face the challenge head-on.