The genius who counterattacked the mainland

The black-robed figure's roar echoed before the dark castle. That malicious voice, like a death horn, thickened the air. Xu Tiancai's gaze was sharp. He handed the box containing the crucial item to Lin and whispered, "Protect it. This is our last resort." Lin nodded solemnly and carefully placed the box in her arms. Her teammates, surrounded by her, also took firm precautions.

This time, the black-robed men brought even more helpers, and their forms varied. There were massive rock giants, resembling moving mountains. With every step, the ground trembled, and dark red magma flowed from the cracks in the rocks beneath their bodies, emitting scorching heat. There were also a group of ghostly knights clad in black robes and wielding scythes. Their figures were ethereal yet piercingly cold. Will-o'-the-wisp flames burned beneath their hooves, and their eyes gleamed with greed. There were also dark creatures, shaped like hedgehogs, covered in spikes. They rolled on the ground, their spikes gleaming with a poisonous light.

"You can't escape. Today is your death." The black-robed leader grinned, wielding his dark wand and launching the first attack. A bolt of black lightning shot from the tip of the wand, heading straight for Xu Tiancai. Xu Tiancai's figure flashed, and the power of the stars exploded beneath his feet. He slid backward like a meteor. The black lightning struck the spot where he had been standing, instantly creating a large crater in the ground and sending debris flying.

"Everyone be careful, protect Lin!" Xu Tiancai shouted. His teammates sprang into action. A-Gang swung his giant axe, the lightning power on the axe growing stronger as he charged towards the oncoming rock giant. The axe collided with the rock giant's arm with a deafening roar and sparks. A-Gang's strength was astonishing, and he managed to carve a deep gash in the rock giant's arm. However, the rock giant seemed insensitive to the pain, clenching his other arm into a fist and smashing it down at A-Gang. A-Gang pushed hard against the ground and leaped back, avoiding the fatal blow.

Elsewhere, the magic-savvy teammates combined to create a massive elemental shield. A riot of color intertwined, blocking out the Ghost Riders and the hedgehog-like dark creatures. The Ghost Riders swung their scythes, repeatedly striking the shield, each strike sending ripples through it. The dark creatures, attempting to break through it with their spikes, rolled rapidly across the ground, slamming into it with resounding thuds.

Xu Tiancai seized the opportunity and waved his hands. The power of the stars converged in his palms into a massive ball of light. He muttered something, and the ball rapidly grew larger, finally blazing like a miniature sun. He thrust the ball of light toward the black-robed figure. Wherever it passed, the air distorted with heat. Seeing this, the black-robed figure activated their dark shields, and several layers of black light unfolded before them. The ball of light collided with the shield, triggering a violent explosion. Waves of light and energy spread outward, impacting everyone on the battlefield.

Under the impact of the explosion, the elemental shield began to crumble. Some ghost knights seized the opportunity to break through the shield's defenses and rushed towards Lin. Lin's eyes flashed, and she formed hand seals in front of her. Ice arrows formed around her. The ice arrows rained down on the ghost knights. The ghost knights waved their scythes to block the attack, but the number of ice arrows was too great, and some still managed to hit them. The ghost knights' bodies became more ethereal and their speed slowed down.

However, more enemies continued to pour in. Rock giants, driven by the black-robed men, began ramming their bodies against the castle walls, attempting to destroy them and sow chaos. Each impact caused the castle to tremble, and blocks of stone fell from the walls. Dark creatures swarmed across the battlefield, searching for weaknesses. The poison in their spikes accidentally injured some of the team members, causing the wounds to quickly turn black, putting them in a critical condition.

Seeing his teammates injured, Xu Tiancai was distraught. He once again unleashed his star power, transforming it into golden threads that flew toward the injured teammates, wrapping around their wounds. The golden threads possessed miraculous healing powers, gradually dissipating the black toxins in their wounds, and his teammates' complexions improved slightly.

"We can't let them continue to destroy the castle, we have to take the initiative!" Xu Tiancai shouted. His body was as fast as lightning, rushing towards the rock giant. The moment he approached the rock giant, he injected the power of the stars into his feet, jumped high, and jumped onto the rock giant's shoulder. The rock giant noticed Xu Tiancai's actions and reached out to grab him, but Xu Tiancai dodged flexibly. He gathered the power of the stars in his hands, forming a lightsaber, and stabbed it fiercely at the rock giant's head. The lightsaber pierced the rock giant's head, and the rock giant let out a painful roar. It shook its body frantically, trying to throw Xu Tiancai off.

Seeing Xu Tiancai's actions, Ah Gang also rushed towards the other rock giant. He no longer engaged the rock giant head-on, but instead used his speed to sprint around it. As he ran, he unleashed the lightning power of his great axe, wrapping bolts of lightning around the rock giant. The lightning continuously damaged the rock giant's structure, slowing its movements.

Seeing the situation was dire, the Ghost Riders regrouped and charged towards Xu Tiancai and Agang. Their speed was incredibly fast, like a black whirlwind. Just as they were about to reach Xu Tiancai and Agang, their teammates cast a wind spell, sending the Ghost Riders careening. Seizing this opportunity, Xu Tiancai and Agang escaped the rock giant's clutches and returned to their teammates.

The black-robed leader watched his plans repeatedly thwarted, his heart seething with rage. He pulled a black bead from his bosom, emanating a thick, dark aura. He tossed it into the air and chanted an ancient, sinister spell. Under the spell, the bead began to swell and finally explode. A powerful dark force spread like a tide, shrouding everything in its path with darkness.

In the darkness, Xu Tiancai and his companions felt their powers severely limited, their vision blurring. Suddenly, they heard eerie laughter all around them, as if countless pairs of eyes were watching them from the darkness. Ghost Riders and dark creatures thrived in the darkness, making their attacks even harder to defend against.

"Don't panic! Let's get closer and use the power of light to dispel the darkness!" Xu Tiancai shouted. His teammates responded, channeling their own light-attributed energies into a massive ball of light. This ball of light emanated a soft, warm glow, and wherever it reached, the darkness receded. But the black-robed figures clearly wouldn't sit idly by. They joined forces to cast dark spells, attempting to suppress the light.

The forces of both sides clashed fiercely in the darkness, the radiance of the orb intertwined with the forces of darkness, creating a spectacular yet dangerous scene. Each collision was accompanied by an explosion of energy, and the situation on the battlefield reached a stalemate. Xu Tiancai knew that this was not a solution. They had to break the deadlock, otherwise, once their teammates' strength was exhausted, they would be in dire straits.

At this moment, Xu Tiancai suddenly remembered the power of the Phoenix combined with the Galaxy Key. He closed his eyes, concentrated, and attempted to communicate with the Phoenix force within the Galaxy Key. In his spiritual world, he felt the Phoenix force's presence, a warm and powerful force that seemed to await his call.

Xu Tiancai slowly opened his eyes, and the Galaxy Key in his hand shone with a dazzling rainbow light. The light grew stronger and stronger, finally breaking through the suppression of the dark forces. Like a sharp sword, the rainbow light split the darkness in two. The black-robed men were overwhelmed by the power of the light, and their dark magic began to show a flaw.

"Now, attack!" Xu Tiancai seized the opportunity and led his teammates in a fierce attack. They rushed towards the black-robed man's weakness, raining down various skills on him. The black-robed man frantically resisted, but some were still seriously injured in the attack.

Seeing the black-robed men in trouble, the ghost knights and dark creatures rushed towards Xu Tiancai and his men, trying to stop their attack. But Xu Tiancai and his men were unstoppable. After breaking through the black-robed men's defenses, they continued to rush towards the black-robed leader. A trace of fear flashed in the black-robed leader's eyes, and he tried to escape, but Xu Tiancai would not give him the chance.

Xu Tiancai combined the power of the stars and the power of the phoenix, injecting them into the Galaxy Key. The Galaxy Key emitted a massive, rainbow-colored arc of light, which pursued the black-robed leader. The black-robed leader frantically cast various dark shields, but the powerful force of the rainbow arc pierced through them like paper. The arc struck the black-robed leader, who screamed and was sent flying, tumbling heavily to the ground.

However, the black-robed leader did not die. He struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with hatred and unwillingness. He pulled a small black bottle from his bosom. The bottle contained a black liquid with a pungent smell. The black-robed leader poured the black liquid on himself, and his body began to change. His muscles swelled, black scales grew on his skin, and he became even more hideous and terrifying.

"You forced me to do this! I will perish with you!" the black-robed leader roared, charging towards Xu Tiancai and his companions. His speed was immense, and his strength was several times greater than before. Xu Tiancai and his companions didn't dare to be careless, unleashing their strongest abilities to meet the black-robed leader's attack.

The two sides collided once more, this time with an even more intense battle. Each attack from the black-robed leader carried a devastating force. Xu Tiancai and his men resisted with all their might, but were still repeatedly knocked back by the black-robed leader's attacks. The teammates began to show signs of fatigue, their strength steadily draining, while the black-robed leader seemed tireless.

During the fierce battle, Xu Tiancai discovered that although the black-robed leader was powerful, his body began to show signs of instability due to the side effects of the black liquid. His black scales would occasionally flash with a strange light, and when the light flashed, his movements would pause for a moment.

"Attack when his scales flicker!" Xu Tiancai shouted. His teammates immediately adjusted their tactics, waiting for the moment when the black-robed leader's scales would flicker. Finally, the black-robed leader's scales flickered again. Xu Tiancai and his team seized the opportunity and launched a concentrated attack. Various skills simultaneously struck the black-robed leader, who roared in pain and was sent flying.

But the moment the black-robed leader fell to the ground, he cast another dark spell. His body transformed into a black mist and rushed towards Lin. Lin was so focused on protecting the box that she didn't notice the black-robed leader's attack. Seeing this, Xu Tiancai was extremely anxious. He rushed towards Lin desperately, trying to block the black-robed leader's attack.

Just as the black-robed leader was about to reach Lin, a mysterious rune suddenly appeared in the sky. The rune emanated a powerful force, directly pinning the black smoke of the black-robed leader in the air. The black-robed leader struggled, but could not break free from the rune's restraints.

"What is this?" Xu Tiancai stared at the runes in the sky in amazement. Just as they were puzzled, a figure slowly approached from a distance. The figure was shrouded in a layer of light, making it impossible to see his face, but from the aura emanating from him, one could sense that he possessed formidable strength.

"You've done well, but this battle isn't over yet," the mysterious figure said in a deep, commanding voice. Xu Tiancai and the others watched the mysterious figure warily, unsure whether he was friend or foe. The mysterious figure walked over to the black smoke surrounding the black-robed leader and, with a gentle wave of his staff, the smoke vanished without a trace.

"He will come back, and the dark forces are growing stronger. You need more powerful forces to fight against them." The mysterious figure said to Xu Tiancai and the others.

"Who are you? Why do you want to help us?" Xu Tiancai asked.

The mysterious figure didn't answer. He simply pointed his staff into the depths of the castle and said, "There you will find what you need, but also greater dangers. Are you ready for the challenge?"

Xu Tiancai looked at his teammates, their eyes filled with determination. He nodded and said to the mysterious figure, "We have no way out. No matter how dangerous it is, we must keep moving forward."

The mysterious figure nodded slightly, then led Xu Tiancai and the others deeper into the castle. Along the way, they sensed a growing darkness, yet at the same time, a mysterious force guiding them. What lay hidden within the castle's depths? What challenges would they face? Xu Tiancai clutched the Key to the Galaxy, his heart filled with both anticipation and unease. The fate of the universe hung in the balance between darkness and light...