The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Xu Tiancai and the others stood back to back, warily watching the slowly shifting stones around them. These stones exuded an ancient and mysterious aura, each one akin to an unknown threat. Agang gripped his great axe tightly, muscles tense, bracing for the impending impact. Lin, on the other hand, concentrated her mind, ready to cast a spell at any moment to deal with the crisis.

As the stones drew closer, Xu Tiancai began to feel a growing pressure. The stones, though seemingly rough on the surface, moved with a strange rhythm, as if following some ancient formation. Suddenly, a lion-shaped boulder lunged toward them, its jaws gaping as if to swallow them whole. Ah Gang roared, swinging his axe with all his might. The axe blade collided with the boulder, sending out dazzling sparks. However, the blow only caused the boulder to pause briefly before it quickly resumed its advance.

Lin quickly cast a wind spell, and a powerful air current formed a barrier around them, attempting to push the approaching stones away. The wind howled, whipping their hair and clothing, but the stones were only slightly hindered, continuing their unwavering progress toward them. Xu Tiancai frowned, realizing that these stones were no ordinary obstacles; they must possess some kind of core controlling power.

"We have to find the source that controls these stones, otherwise we will be exhausted to death if we continue like this." Xu Tiancai said loudly.

So, they began to weave through the shifting stone formations, dodging attacks and searching for clues. Deep within the stone forest, Xu Tiancai discovered a stone emitting an even stronger glow. This stone was unique, its surface engraved with intricate runes that shone with a faint blue light, seemingly connected to the movements of the surrounding stones.

"Agang, Lin, let's go over there and take a look. That stone may be the key." Xu Tiancai said, pointing to the special stone.

They trudged towards the stone, constantly being blocked by other stones. Agang, with unparalleled courage, wielded his great axe, clearing a path for them. Lin, meanwhile, used ice magic to freeze smaller stones, slowing their movement. Finally, they reached the unique stone.

Xu Tiancai carefully observed the runes on the stone, trying to decipher their meaning. These runes seemed to contain an ancient language, somewhat similar to some records he had seen in ancient books. After some effort, he vaguely understood some of them.

"These runes seem to be a kind of sealing power. Something may be sealed here, and these stones are the guards guarding the seal." Xu Tiancai said.

At this moment, a low roar suddenly erupted from the stone forest. This roar seemed to come from deep underground, shaking the entire stone forest slightly. Then, cracks began to appear in the ground, and a black smoke emerged from the cracks. Within the smoke, there seemed to be pairs of red eyes flashing, full of malice.

"Oh no, we seem to have touched something even scarier." Lin said nervously.

The originally moving stones seemed to be affected by the black smoke as well, becoming even more violent, their attacks increasing in speed and force. Xu Tiancai and the others were plunged into an unprecedented crisis.

Gritting his teeth, A-Gang charged once more at the boulder that was about to strike them. With immense force, his axe struck the stone. This time, he used all his might, sinking the axe deeply into the stone. With a powerful twist, A-Gang abruptly split the stone in two. However, he exerted too much force, and the rebounding force of the stone sent him back a few steps.

Lin concentrated all her magical power, casting a massive icy field. A chilling aura emanated from her body, rapidly coating the surrounding stones in a thick layer of ice. The stones' movements became sluggish, and some smaller stones were even cracked by the freezing cold. However, the red eyes within the black smoke seemed to sense Lin's powerful spell and charged towards her.

Seeing this, Xu Tiancai immediately merged the power of the stars and the power of the phoenix, forming a dazzling light shield that blocked Lin's way. The black smoke collided with the light shield with a harsh sound, and ripples appeared on the light shield, but it still successfully blocked the attack.

"We have to find a way to disperse this black smoke, otherwise we won't be able to continue our actions," said Xu Tiancai.

He began to ponder a response, and suddenly remembered the ancient texts about purifying evil. Perhaps he could use the power of light to combat the black smoke. Xu Tiancai closed his eyes, mobilizing all the light within him. His body began to emit a soft white light. This light grew brighter, gradually forming a massive ball of light.

"Agang, Lin, come close to me, we will use the power of light to dispel it." Xu Tiancai shouted.

Gang and Lin quickly approached Xu Tiancai, and the three of them were enveloped by a white ball of light. The ball slowly rose and flew towards the black smoke. When the ball of light came into contact with the black smoke, the black smoke began to tumble violently, as if struggling in pain. The white light continuously eroded the black smoke, and those red eyes flashed even more frantically in the light.

After a fierce confrontation, the black smoke finally began to dissipate. The once violent rocks returned to their previous state, though they still clung to that particular stone. Xu Tiancai and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew this was only a temporary reprieve; they still needed to unravel the mystery of the stone forest.

They returned to the special stone and continued studying the runes. Xu Tiancai attempted to touch the runes with his own strength. The moment his hand touched the runes, a powerful force surged through him, and a blurry image emerged in his mind. It showed an ancient palace surrounded by strange creatures. The palace's gate was tightly closed, and on it were runes similar to those on the stone.

"I seem to have seen some clues. This place may be related to an ancient relic. We have to find a way to enter the relic." Xu Tiancai said.

They searched the stone forest, hoping to find signs of the entrance to the ruins. On a massive stone wall, Lin discovered some faint patterns that seemed to correspond to the runes on the stone. The pattern depicted a group of people surrounding a stone. Light shot from the stone toward the sky, and in the sky, the outline of a door appeared.

"Look, this may be the clue. We need to activate this special stone, make it glow, and open the entrance to the ruins." Lin said.

Following the pattern's instructions, they began to unleash their powers around the special stone. Gang channeled his power into the ground, causing a slight tremor. Lin then surrounded the stone with a magic circle, infusing it with magical energy. Xu Tiancai stood before the stone, channeling the power of the stars, the phoenix, and the guardian bead, and struck the runes on the stone.

As their power was infused, the runes on the stone began to glow with a dazzling light. The light grew stronger and stronger, reaching the sky. A massive portal of light appeared in the sky, surrounded by mysterious runes and light. This was the entrance to the ruins.

Xu Tiancai and the others exchanged glances, then flew towards the light gate without hesitation. The moment they passed through the light gate, a powerful force of time and space enveloped them. They felt as if they had traveled through time and space and entered a completely different world.

After entering the ruins, they found themselves in a vast hall. The walls were inlaid with countless gems, which emitted a dazzling array of light, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day. The floor of the hall was paved with a transparent crystal. A strange liquid could be seen flowing beneath the crystal, and small creatures seemed to be swimming within it.

In the center of the hall stood a massive statue. It depicted a man in ornate robes, his face majestic. In his hand, he held a scepter, the tip of which was inlaid with a massive gemstone. The gemstone shone brighter than any other gemstones around it. Surrounding the statue were smaller stone statues of varying shapes, some ferocious beasts, others graceful birds. They seemed to be guarding the statue.

"Where exactly is this place? This statue looks very unusual." Agang said curiously.

Xu Tiancai approached the statue cautiously. He could sense a powerful force emanating from it. As he approached, it suddenly trembled slightly, and the smaller stone statues around it also began to stir. The ferocious monsters roared, while the graceful birds spread their wings, ready to take flight.

"Everyone be careful, these stone statues may attack us." Xu Tiancai reminded.

They immediately prepared for battle. Ah Gang stood at the front, his great axe held across his body. Lin prepared spells in the back, her eyes fixed on the statues that moved. Xu Tiancai stood in the middle, ready to respond to any emergency.

The monster statues launched the first attack, lunging towards Xu Tiancai and the others. Their bodies were incredibly tough, and each leap left deep footprints on the crystal floor. Ah Gang rushed forward and engaged in a fierce battle with a lion-like monster statue. His giant axe struck the statue, sending sparks flying, but the statue sustained no significant damage.

Lin cast a fire spell, sending a blazing flame towards the bird statue. The bird statue nimbly dodged the flames, circling in the air before swooping down towards Lin. Lin quickly cast an ice shield, which the bird statue collided with, cracking it.

Xu Tiancai walked toward the statues, believing the key to solving the mystery might lie within them. As he reached their base, he discovered inscriptions carved into their bases. These inscriptions, also in an ancient language, were carefully deciphered by Xu Tiancai. After some effort, he finally understood some of the meaning.

"These words say that only by passing the test can we obtain the secret of the ruins. These stone statues are part of the test. We need to find their weaknesses in order to defeat them." Xu Tiancai said loudly.

He began to carefully observe the surrounding stone statues, trying to find their weaknesses. During his observation, he found that the monster stone statues seemed to have some slight cracks in the eye area, and the flying bird stone statues also had some subtle marks at the base of their wings.

"Agang, attack the eyes of the monster statue! Lin, attack the base of the wings of the flying bird statue!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

After hearing Xu Tiancai's instructions, Agang and Lin immediately changed their attack strategy. Agang seized the opportunity and slashed at the eyes of a stone monster statue. His axe hit the statue's eye accurately, and the monster statue collapsed with a loud bang. Lin also successfully struck the base of the wings of a flying bird statue with an ice spike. The bird lost its balance and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

As they continued to find weaknesses in the statues and attack them, the surrounding statues were gradually eliminated. When the last statue was destroyed, it trembled again, this time even more violently than before. The gem on the scepter in the statue's hand shone brightly, and the entire hall was engulfed in this intense light.

After the light faded, a passage leading underground appeared at the foot of the statue. The passage exuded a mysterious aura, and a faint power was calling them.

"It seems we have to go deeper. The secrets here are waiting for us to uncover." Xu Tiancai said.

They slowly descended the passage, the walls of which were covered with murals. These depicted ancient battles, mysterious rituals, and powerful magic. As they walked, Xu Tiancai and the others observed the murals, trying to gain more information from them.

At the end of the passage, they discovered a vast basement. In the center of the basement sat a circular stone platform, upon which rested a box emitting a black glow. Powerful energy waves surrounded the box, making it difficult to approach.