Mortals cultivate immortality, I have a Chaos Tower

As the night fell, the stars appeared, and the waning moon in the sky cast a cold glow, covering the entire valley. The mountains outside Chiyan Pass were steep and rugged, and the rocks were as sharp as if they were cut by knives and axes. Under the silent night sky, there was a faint sense of solemnity.

In a small town not far from Chiyan Pass, Lin Fan's team was quietly lurking in a dilapidated house. All the lights in the town had been turned off, and the streets were empty. Only the sound of a slight breeze occasionally passed through the alleys, blowing up a few dead leaves.

Lin Fan stood by the window, squinting his eyes and staring at the night outside, his thoughts racing. Not far outside the town, the towering walls of Chiyan Pass were vaguely visible. That was the home ground of the enemy they were about to face, Chiyan. Behind him, a soldier from Chiyan Pass was tied up, curled up in a corner, with a look of fear on his face.

"Tell me," Jin Buke stood in front of the soldier, the edge of his sword flickering in the dim light. He stared at the soldier coldly, his tone revealing a sense of coercion, "What conspiracy do you have with Chiyan Pass's defense arrangement and Chiyan?"

The soldier was obviously frightened out of his wits. His forehead was covered in sweat, his eyes were flashing with fear, and his lips were trembling. “I… I… I don’t know anything! Please let me go!”

"You know nothing?" Zhong Ling'er snorted coldly, tapping the ground with her staff. A stream of light blue water flowed out of the staff, turning into a chill that surrounded the soldier's body. The cold quickly penetrated into his bones, causing him to shiver.

"Why don't you tell the truth now?" Zhong Ling'er's voice was as cold as ice. She moved the staff in her hand slightly, and the water instantly turned into frost, covering the soldier's legs. "You know, if we are not satisfied with the answer, you may freeze to death here."

The soldier's teeth were chattering with fear in his eyes. "I say! I say! Please don't hurt me!" He swallowed hard and said quickly, "Lord Chiyan has set up three lines of defense. Each line of defense is guarded by his trusted men. They each control the flame formation... It is almost impossible to attack Chiyan Pass by force."

"How is it arranged specifically?" Lin Fan finally spoke, his voice low and calm.

The soldier was trembling all over, not daring to hide anything, and hurriedly continued: "The first line of defense is on the hillside outside the pass. It is a huge flame formation. Anyone who enters will be engulfed by the flames. The second line of defense is arranged on the outer wall of Chiyan Pass. The walls hide Chiyan's fire elites. They can control the flames to form a defensive barrier. The third line... is the Flame Dragon Formation set up by Lord Chiyan himself. There are fire dragons entangled in the formation. Once someone breaks in, they will be torn apart by the fire dragons."

After listening to this, Lin Fan was silent for a moment, frowning. He had realized that the defense of Chiyan Pass was far more complicated than he had expected. A strong attack was feasible, but the cost would be huge, and he might even fall into a trap that the enemy had already set.

"Chi Yan is such a cunning opponent. He actually set so many traps." Jiang Shuiling analyzed calmly, with a hint of worry between her brows.

Lin Fan nodded and turned to look at Jin Buke and Zhong Ling'er. "It seems that a frontal attack is unwise. The defenses set up by Chi Yan are too targeted, especially his Flame Dragon Formation. It will be difficult for us to break through without suffering any losses."

"Then what are you going to do?" Jin Buke asked coldly. Although he was brave, he was by no means stupid and he obviously realized the seriousness of the situation.

Lin Fan smiled slightly, with a glimmer of strategy in his eyes, "Since Chi Yan set up these defenses, he obviously expected us to attack. But he didn't expect that we might not play by his rules."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Shuiling raised her eyebrows slightly.

"We can launch a sneak attack at night." Lin Fan whispered, his tone calm but full of confidence, "Using the cover of night, we can bypass the first line of defense and sneak directly into Chiyan Pass. As long as we enter his core area, we will have a chance to break Chiyan's formation."

Jin Buke sneered, obviously very satisfied with the plan, "Not bad, instead of wasting time on the battle array, it is better to attack him directly when he is unprepared."

"But the problem is, the defense of Chiyan Pass is so tight, how can we sneak in without being noticed?" Zhong Ling'er asked. Although she had full confidence in Lin Fan's ability, Chiyan Pass was Chi Yan's base camp after all, and it was by no means an easy task.

Lin Fan turned his gaze to the tied soldier and said calmly, "He can lead the way."

The soldier's face suddenly turned pale, and he trembled all over. "No... No... If I betray Lord Chi Yan, he will never let me go..."

"Do you think you still have a choice now?" Jin Buk snorted coldly, raised the tip of his sword slightly, and pressed it against the soldier's neck, saying coldly, "If you don't lead the way, you won't even see the sun tomorrow."

The soldier turned pale and finally collapsed completely. He said tremblingly: "Okay... okay... I'll lead the way..."

Lin Fan nodded and said to Jin Buke, "Tie him up tightly and don't let him get away."

Soon, the soldiers were tied up tightly, with cloth strips stuffed in their mouths, ready to serve as their "guides" at any time.

The night grew darker, and the town was shrouded in silence. Lin Fan and his party set out quietly with the soldiers in the dark. They traveled along the rugged mountain road, avoiding the patrols on the main road, and approached Chiyan Pass.

The soldier led them around the first line of defense with trepidation. As he said, the hillside was covered with fire formations. If anyone strayed into it, the formation would be triggered and they would be burned to death by the flames. But under the guidance of the soldier, they successfully avoided all the traps.

"Fortunately, this kid didn't lie to us." Jin Buke said in a low voice, holding the long sword in his hand, his eyes always scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Zhong Linger nodded slightly, "But it won't be so easy ahead. The outer defense line of Chiyan Pass must be the top priority."

Lin Fan nodded, his eyes falling on the towering walls of Chiyan Pass. They had already arrived outside the pass, and from a distance, the flames on the walls were faintly visible, and the patrolling soldiers were moving in an orderly manner. Chi Yan was obviously very confident in his deployment, and there were not many guards on the walls. Perhaps in his opinion, no one could avoid the flame formation and reach this place.

"We need to sneak into the city without attracting attention." Lin Fan whispered, his eyes scanning the city wall, quickly looking for an opportunity to exploit.

Jiang Shuiling suddenly pointed to a place and said, "There is a stream over there. Maybe we can use the water to sneak in."

Lin Fan followed her gaze and saw that there was indeed a hidden stream under the city wall. The stream flowed out from the mountains and eventually merged into the underground waterway of Chiyan Pass.

"Good idea, Zhong Ling'er, you can use water magic to help us sneak in." Lin Fan said, with a hint of approval in his eyes.

Zhong Ling'er nodded and waved her staff. The water flow began to become smooth and quiet under her control, like a soft water belt, silently guiding them forward in the stream.

Several people quickly dived into the stream, and with the help of the current, they slowly approached the waterway under the city wall. The soldier was grabbed by the collar by Jin Buke at this moment, staring at the front, not daring to make the slightest movement.