The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Xu Tiancai and the others raced toward the third sacred tree, the atmosphere heavy along the way. The air in the forest grew increasingly damp and sultry, as if an invisible hand were pressing down on their hearts. The surrounding trees gradually thinned out, replaced by a fetid swamp.

The swamp stretched as far as the eye could see, its surface covered in a layer of green foam. Occasionally, bubbles rose from below, emitting a pungent odor when they burst, like the scent of a corpse that had been rotting for millennia. Strange plants grew in the swamp, their stems thick and covered with thorns, their leaves a strange purple-red that swayed gently in the breeze, like the fangs and claws of a demon.

"This should be the legendary Death Swamp. Everyone, be careful of your steps." Xu Tiancai frowned. He could feel that there was a huge danger hidden in this swamp.

Holding a giant axe, Agang looked around vigilantly, "This smell is really pungent. I hope we can get through here quickly." He took every step very cautiously, first using the giant axe to test whether the ground in front was solid.

Lin cast a lightening spell, making her body lighter and less likely to sink into the swamp. She searched the swamp, trying to find a safe path. "According to ancient records, the Death Swamp contains many hidden traps and ferocious monsters. We must be extremely careful."

They slowly advanced along the edge of the swamp, trying to find a relatively safe entrance. Suddenly, a low roar emanated from the swamp, as if from the depths of hell. Then, a gigantic demonic beast slowly rose from the swamp.

This monster resembled a crocodile, yet was several times larger. Its body was covered in a layer of tough black scales, each one gleaming green as if soaked in venom. Its eyes were like two giant red lanterns, brimming with bloodlust. It opened its bloody mouth, revealing a row of razor-sharp fangs. The stench emanating from its mouth was so intense it nearly made one faint.

"It's a poisonous crocodile beast. Everyone, be careful of its venom and collision!" Xu Tiancai warned loudly.

The poisonous crocodile roared and charged toward them. It moved with incredible speed through the swamp, its massive body like a siege chariot, sending up high waves wherever it passed. Agang was the first to meet it, raising his great axe high and striking at the crocodile's head. The axe collided with the crocodile's scales, sending up a shower of sparks but leaving only a shallow mark.

The poisonous crocodile beast was enraged. It swung its tail violently, its huge tail like a huge black whip, sweeping towards A Gang. A Gang was unable to dodge and was hit by the tail. He flew out like a cannonball and fell heavily to the ground at the edge of the swamp.

Seeing this, Lin immediately cast an ice spell. She waved her hands, muttering something, and the temperature around her plummeted. Under her control, countless sharp ice cones shot towards the poisonous crocodile beast. The ice cones pierced the poisonous crocodile beast's body, shattering some of its scales, but the poisonous crocodile beast seemed unaffected. It continued to charge towards Lin, its mouth wide open, ready to swallow her whole.

Seeing this, Xu Tiancai flashed before Lin. He combined the power of the stars, the power of the phoenix, and the power of the guardian pearl, forming a colorful light curtain. The poisonous crocodile beast crashed into the light curtain, causing ripples to appear, but successfully blocking the poisonous crocodile beast's attack.

"We have to find a way to attack its weaknesses. Fighting it head-on is not a solution," said Xu Tiancai.

While fending off the poisonous crocodile beast's attacks, Xu Tiancai carefully observed the beast. He discovered that every time the poisonous crocodile beast attacked, a scale on its abdomen would flicker slightly, which might be its weak point.

"Agang, Lin, attack its abdomen!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

Ah Gang stood up again, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and rushed towards the poisonous crocodile beast again. This time, he did not attack the poisonous crocodile beast directly, but nimbly dodged the beast's attacks, looking for an opportunity to attack the abdomen. Lin also adjusted the direction of her spells, shooting ice cones and ice arrows at the poisonous crocodile beast's abdomen.

Xu Tiancai exerted his power to attract the poisonous crocodile beast's attention. He moved quickly through the air, continuously firing beams of light from his hands. The beams struck the poisonous crocodile beast's body. Although they didn't cause much damage to it, they successfully angered it. The poisonous crocodile beast abandoned its attack on Agang and Lin and instead pursued Xu Tiancai.

Just as the crocodile turned, Ah Gang seized the opportunity, leaped up, and slashed at its belly. The axe struck the scales on its abdomen fiercely, shattering them and sending a painful cry of pain through the beast. Lin's ice spell also struck the crocodile's abdomen, chilling it to the bone, slowing its movements.

Xu Tiancai seized this opportunity, gathering all his strength in his hand, forming a gleaming spear. He thrust it at the wound in the poisonous crocodile beast's abdomen, the spear piercing it easily. The poisonous crocodile beast struggled frantically, its body tumbling in the swamp, sending up a massive splash. Xu Tiancai gripped the spear tightly, continuously pouring his strength into it, attempting to completely destroy the poisonous crocodile beast.

After a fierce struggle, the poisonous crocodile beast finally stopped moving, and its huge body slowly sank into the swamp. Xu Tiancai and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew that this was just a small episode in the Death Swamp, and more dangers awaited them.

They continued to move forward in the swamp, carefully avoiding the hidden whirlpools and traps. Suddenly, a thick fog appeared in front of them, and in the fog, the outline of a huge sacred tree was vaguely visible.

"That should be the third sacred tree. Everyone, please be alert." Xu Tiancai said.

As they entered the dense fog, they discovered that the environment surrounding the sacred tree was even more eerie. Black vines, covered in sharp thorns, entwined the tree's trunk. A black liquid continuously flowed from the vines. This liquid dripped onto the ground with a hissing sound, corroding the ground into small pits. Black cocoons hung from the tree's branches, trembling slightly, as if something was struggling within.

"This sacred tree seems to have been eroded by some evil force." Lin said with a frown.

At that moment, the black cocoons suddenly burst, and black flying insects flew out. These flying insects had intricate runes on their bodies, and their eyes flashed an eerie red light. They flew towards Xu Tiancai and the others at an extremely fast speed, surrounding them in the blink of an eye.

The flying insects began to attack, stabbing at Xu Tiancai and the others with their sharp mouthparts. Gang swung his great axe, trying to drive the insects away, but there were too many of them. They nimbly dodged the axe's attacks and continued to pounce on them. Lin cast an ice spell, trying to freeze the insects, but the runes on their bodies seemed to have some kind of protective power, making the ice spell have little effect on them.

Xu Tiancai formed seals with his hands and chanted something. A flame, a fusion of star power and phoenix power, ignited around him. The flames burned towards the flying insects, burning some of them. However, many more still rushed towards them regardless.

"This is not a solution. We have to get rid of these vines first." Xu Tiancai said as he looked at the black vines on the trunk of the sacred tree.

Dodging the attacks of flying insects, they approached the sacred tree. Agang used his great axe to cut down some of the approaching vines, but the vines had a strong regenerative ability and quickly grew back after being cut. Lin cast a powerful purification spell, attempting to cleanse the vines of the evil. A beam of white light shot out from her hand, enveloping the vines. They began to tremble violently, and the black liquid flowed even faster.

Xu Tiancai gathered his strength in his hands and fired beams of light at the base of the vine. The beams struck the vine's base, triggering a powerful surge of energy. Under their combined attack, the vine's roots finally sustained some damage, and its growth slowed.

They took the opportunity to increase their attack. A Gang chopped the vines with all his might, Lin continued to cast purification spells, and Xu Tiancai continuously attacked the roots of the vines with beams of light. After a hard battle, the black vines were finally completely cleared.

The environment around the sacred tree seemed to improve, and the flying insects became somewhat chaotic. Xu Tiancai and his companions seized this opportunity and began attacking the insects. Each swing of Agang's axe slew a large number of them. Lin's ice spells and purification spells combined to effectively eliminate the flying insects. Xu Tiancai used his combined power to attack the flying insects on a large scale.

After eliminating all the flying insects, they arrived at the sacred tree. Nestled in a groove in the tree's trunk, a guardian bead radiated a green glow. The bead's green light, like a ray of vitality, formed a stark contrast to the surrounding evil.

Xu Tiancai reached out to remove the Guardian Pearl, and at that moment, the Holy Tree suddenly trembled violently. Cracks appeared on the trunk, and a powerful dark force surged from the cracks.

"Oh no, this sacred tree is going to collapse!" A Gang shouted.

They quickly turned around and ran out of the swamp. Behind them, the sacred tree collapsed under the impact of the dark power, and its huge trunk smashed into the swamp, splashing water and mud all over the sky.

After escaping the collapsed sacred tree, they rested for a while. Their experience in the Death Swamp had left them exhausted both physically and mentally, but they knew they still had two sacred trees to find, so they couldn't stay here for too long.

"Let's continue on our way and leave this damn place as soon as possible." Xu Tiancai said.

They set out on their journey again, heading towards the fourth sacred tree. The dangers in the swamp still existed, but their eyes were more determined, because every guardian bead was one step closer to stopping the spread of the dark power.

After leaving the Death Swamp, they entered a dense stone forest. The stones within the forest varied in shape: some resembled towering spires, others ferocious beasts, and still others graceful fairies. These stones seemed to possess some mysterious power, and when Xu Tiancai and his companions approached, a faint light flickered from them.

"It doesn't seem to be a simple place either, everyone be careful," Xu Tiancai reminded.

They walked cautiously through the stone forest when suddenly, the surrounding stones began to move. The previously motionless stones seemed to come alive, slowly closing in on them. Each stone made a heavy rumbling sound as it moved, like the footsteps of an ancient beast.

Xu Tiancai and others immediately prepared for battle, they knew that a new challenge had begun.