The genius who counterattacked the mainland

The moment they entered the dark world, Xu Tiancai and the others felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. The surroundings were shrouded in chaos and darkness, as if invisible giant hands were squeezing their souls. The figures that loomed in the darkness grew increasingly hideous and terrifying as they drew closer.

First came a massive monster, as massive as a hill. Its body seemed composed of countless black rocks, each one covered in strange runes that shimmered with a faint green light, like pairs of prying eyes. Its head resembled that of some ancient beast, its massive mouth filled with jagged fangs, each emitting a pungent, fishy odor, as if stained with the blood of countless creatures. Its limbs were thick and powerful, and every time it stepped into the void of darkness, it caused a tremor in the air, sending circles of black ripples through the darkness.

Behind the monster, the twisted humanoid figures gradually became clearer. Their bodies seemed stretched, their limbs twisted into impossible angles. Their skin was a sickly grayish-white, covered in black veins, which flowed with a black fluid as thick as ink. Their eyes were sunken in their sockets, with only two pinpricks of red light flickering within, revealing endless resentment and madness.

Xu Tiancai took a deep breath, and the power of the stars shone in his eyes like brilliant stars. He waved his hands, and a blade of light, condensed from the power of the stars, flew towards the giant monster. The blade cut through the darkness, slashing towards the monster with fierce momentum. However, the monster simply raised its massive claws slightly, easily blocking the blade. The moment the blade and claw collided, a burst of intense light erupted, blooming in the darkness like fireworks, but was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

Agang roared, charging at the monster like a raging bull. He held his axe high, its blade gleaming with a cold light. As he neared the monster, Agang swung it down, its blade slamming fiercely into the creature's leg. There was a clang of metal, and the axe clashed with the monster's leg, sending countless sparks flying. The monster remained motionless. It lowered its head, looked at Agang, and let out a deafening roar. The roar, like a materialized sound wave, swept towards Agang. Agang felt a powerful force surge against him, and his body flew backwards, slamming heavily to the ground.

Seeing this, Lin quickly cast an ice spell. She waved her hands, muttering something, and the temperature around her plummeted. Countless ice arrows condensed and formed around her, each one crystal clear and emitting a biting chill. With a delicate cry, Lin launched a rain of ice arrows at the twisted humanoid figures. Upon impact, the arrows instantly froze them. The frozen figures struggled, cracks appearing in the ice covering their bodies. As they struggled, the ice shattered, and the figures continued to pounce on Lin, unabated.

Xu Tiancai frowned, knowing these enemies were far more powerful than they had imagined. He channeled the power of the phoenix into the power of the stars, rapidly forming hand seals with his hands in front of him. A massive phoenix emerged behind him, its wings spread high, a blazing flame erupting from its mouth. The flames burned in the darkness, illuminating the surrounding area. Xu Tiancai waved his hand, and the phoenix charged towards the monsters and the humanoid figures. Wherever the phoenix passed, darkness was dispelled, and flames consumed the enemies. Touched by the flames, the humanoid figures let out shrill screams, their bodies gradually reduced to ash in the flames.

However, the massive monster showed no fear of the Phoenix Fire. It opened its maw, and a stream of black energy erupted, colliding with the Phoenix Fire. Darkness and fire intertwined, forming a massive vortex of energy. The vortex spun continuously, generating a suction force that drew everything around it in. Xu Tiancai and the others felt themselves being uncontrollably flung toward the vortex. They quickly steadied themselves, exerting their strength to resist the suction.

At this moment, a new shift occurred in the darkness. Black chains shot out from all directions, gleaming with runes. The chains moved with incredible speed, instantly entangling Xu Tiancai and the others. The runes on the chains emanated a restraining force, immobilizing them. Xu Tiancai tried to break free with his strength, but the chains only tightened.

"What should we do?" Lin shouted anxiously.

A flash of determination flashed in Xu Tiancai's eyes. He mobilized all the strength within him, including his newfound power and the strength of his armor. A multicolored light emanated from his body, growing stronger and stronger, counteracting the black runes on the chains. Under the impact of the light, the chains began to loosen. Seeing this, Ah Gang roared and exerted his strength. His powerful muscles bulged, partially freeing the chains from his body.

As they struggled to break free from their chains, the humanoid figures seized the opportunity to pounce. They extended their sharp claws and clawed at Xu Tiancai and the others. Xu Tiancai and the others fought back, but the chains restricted their movement, and wounds appeared on their bodies. Blood flowed from the wounds, dripping into the darkness.

Suddenly, a mysterious force surged from Xu Tiancai's body. This force seemed to have been activated by his contact with the items in the treasure chest. This force, a deep purple, surrounded Xu Tiancai and instantly shattered the chains wrapped around him. Freed, Xu Tiancai immediately helped Agang and Lin break free from their chains.

"This power..." Xu Tiancai was startled, but now was not the time to ponder. He once again gathered his strength and attacked the enemy. This time, he combined the power of the stars, the power of the phoenix, his newly acquired power, and the mysterious purple power to form a massive energy ball. The energy ball radiated a dazzling light, imbued with the power to destroy everything.

Xu Tiancai flung the energy ball at the monster and the humanoid figure. The ball grew larger as it flew, and the moment it made contact with the enemy, it erupted with a devastating burst of energy. A massive explosion echoed through the dark world, and a brilliant light illuminated it. The monster and most of the humanoid figures were annihilated by the onslaught of energy, with only a few escaping near the edge.

"We can't stay here for too long, we have to keep moving forward." Xu Tiancai said, his voice a little hoarse. The battle just now consumed a lot of his physical strength and power.

Agang and Lin nodded, and the three of them continued walking deeper into the dark world. As they advanced, they noticed that the darkness around them seemed to have changed. In the originally chaotic darkness, vague outlines began to appear, like the ruins of ancient buildings.

As they approached, the remains gradually became clearer. It was a massive black castle, its walls towering into the clouds, their surface covered with the scars of time and battle. There were gaping holes in the walls, as if blasted by some powerful force. The castle's gates were tightly closed, engraved with intricate magic circles and runes, each exuding a mysterious aura.

Surrounding the castle was a barren expanse of black land, strewn with huge rocks and broken weapons. These rocks and weapons were stained with a dark aura, as if telling of the tragic battle that had once taken place there.

"This should be the place where the dark magician has been." Xu Tiancai said.

They approached the castle cautiously. As they approached the gate, the magic circles and runes on it suddenly lit up. Amidst the flashing light, black lightning shot out from the gate, striking Xu Tiancai and the others. Xu Tiancai and the others quickly dodged as the lightning struck the ground, creating large craters.

"It seems that it is not so easy to enter the castle." A Gang said, tightening his grip on the giant axe.

Xu Tiancai carefully observed the magic circle and runes on the door, trying to find a way to crack it. During his observation, he found several key rune nodes in the magic circle, and the energy fluctuations of these nodes seemed to be related to the operation of the entire magic circle.

"Let's try attacking these nodes, maybe we can destroy the magic circle." Xu Tiancai said, pointing to several rune nodes on the door.

The three of them each unleashed their powers, attacking the rune nodes. Agang's great axe slashed with sharp blades, Lin's ice arrows shot towards their targets like meteors, and Xu Tiancai used his combined power to unleash beams of light. Under their assault, cracks began to appear in the rune nodes. As the attacks continued, one rune node finally gave way and shattered.

The magic circle and runes on the gate flickered, and the black lightning attacks became chaotic. They seized this opportunity and increased their attack. Rune nodes were destroyed one by one, and the magic circle began to collapse. With the shattering of the last rune node, the castle gate slowly opened, and a stale aura filled the air.

They entered the castle, its halls vast and eerie. The floor was paved with black jade, carved with images depicting dark magic experiments conducted by dark wizards. From the ceiling hung a massive black chandelier, its candles burning with a faint blue flame that flickered, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

On either side of the hall were passages leading in different directions, each filled with a thick, dark aura. In the center of the hall stood a massive circular stone platform, its surface engraved with intricate magic arrays and runes. Above the platform, a black crystal hovered, emitting a powerful, dark aura.

"That black crystal should be what we are looking for." Xu Tiancai said, his eyes fixed on the black crystal.

They walked toward the stone platform. As they approached, the air around them seemed to freeze. Suddenly, a large number of dark creatures emerged from the passage. These dark creatures varied in form. Some resembled giant spiders, their bodies covered in sharp spikes, their eyes glowing green. Some resembled winged demons, wielding black sickles and circling in the air. Still others resembled ghosts formed from the condensation of dark energy, their bodies ethereal and erratic.

A new battle unfolded. Agang faced the giant spiders, swinging his axe with great force. Every time the axe fell, a spider's limb was severed. But the spiders were too numerous, and they kept pouncing on Agang, attacking him with their sharp spines. Agang's body soon began to show wounds, and blood stained his clothes.

Lin cast an ice spell against the flying demons. She created ice walls around her, attempting to block the demons' attacks. Simultaneously, she fired ice arrows at the demons. However, the demons were incredibly fast, nimbly dodging both the arrows and the ice walls, charging towards Lin. An ice sword appeared in Lin's hand, and she wielded it to battle the demons.

Xu Tiancai focused his attention on the dark ghosts. He formed seals with his hands and chanted something. Rays of light shot out from his hands, imbued with the power of purification. When the light touched the ghosts, they let out a shrill scream and gradually dissipated. But ghosts continued to pour out of the passage, their numbers increasing.

During the battle, Xu Tiancai discovered that these dark creatures seemed to be controlled by the stone platform and the black crystal. With a sudden thought, he decided to attack the stone platform to see if he could break the control. He dodged the dark ghosts' attacks and rushed towards the stone platform. As he approached the platform, the magic circle surrounding it unleashed a powerful force, repelling him.

Xu Tiancai fell to the ground, feeling his blood and energy surging. But he didn't give up and stood up again. He mobilized all his strength, focusing it in his hands, and launched an even more powerful attack at the stone platform. This time, the stone platform trembled slightly, and the magic circle's light flickered a few times.

The surrounding dark creatures seemed to feel threatened, and they attacked Xu Tiancai and the others even more frantically. Agang and Lin were unable to resist, their bodies covered with wounds, and their strength was gradually depleted.

"We have to attack the stone platform together!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

Hearing his cry, Gang and Lin desperately tried to break free from the dark creatures and rushed towards the stone platform. The three of them stood together, combining all their strength to form a massive beam of energy. This beam blasted towards the stone platform, colliding with the magic circle surrounding it.

The massive energy surge caused the entire castle to tremble. Cracks appeared on the stone platform under the impact, and the magic circle's light dimmed. With a loud bang, a portion of the stone platform shattered, and the black crystal fell to the ground.

The surrounding dark creatures seemed to lose control and began to become chaotic. Some dark creatures attacked each other, while others fled towards the castle exit. Xu Tiancai and the others took the opportunity to catch their breath and walked towards the black crystal.

When Xu Tiancai's hand touched the black crystal, a powerful message flooded into his mind. This message contained the source of the dark power, the dark magician's plan, and the method to open the seal of time and space.

"So that's how it is..." Xu Tiancai muttered to himself.

They picked up the black crystal and prepared to leave the castle. However, at that moment, the castle began to shake violently. Huge cracks appeared on the walls, and rocks from the ceiling kept falling.

"Oh no, the castle is going to collapse!" A Gang shouted.

They hurriedly ran towards the exit of the castle, and at the last moment before the castle collapsed, they successfully escaped.

After leaving the castle, they discovered that the dark world was also changing. The originally chaotic darkness began to become violent, and black storms raged around. Wherever the dark storm passed, everything was destroyed.

"We have to leave here as soon as possible." Xu Tiancai said.

They ran towards the black portal, and in the process of avoiding the dark storm, they encountered some new dangers. Some traps hidden in the darkness were triggered, including huge pits, mechanisms that sprayed venom, and so on.

After a difficult journey, they finally saw the black portal, but it was also surrounded by a dark storm.

"Charge!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

They mustered their courage and rushed towards the black portal. They endured immense pain as they journeyed through the dark storm. But with unwavering faith and mutual cooperation, they successfully passed through the black portal and returned to the castle.

After returning to the castle, they rested for a while and began to study the black crystal and the information they had obtained from the ancient books. They knew that they were one step closer to uncovering the source of the dark power, but there were still more challenges waiting for them.

In another corner of the castle, a pair of eyes hidden in the darkness were watching their every move. The owner of these eyes had a strange smile on his face, as if everything was in his plan.

Xu Tiancai and the others didn't know they were caught up in a bigger conspiracy, and behind this conspiracy was a being even more terrifying than the Dark Mage. Their adventure had just begun...