The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Xu Tiancai and the others stood before the massive mural, captivated by the ancient and mysterious scene before them. The colors on the mural, despite the passage of time, remained vibrant, as if telling of a forgotten history. Strange symbols flickered faintly, as if conveying some message.

Xu Tiancai reached out and gently touched the symbols on the mural. Instantly, a mysterious power surged through his fingertips and into his mind. He saw more blurry images: a grand sacrificial ceremony, people with reverent expressions on their faces, throwing all kinds of exotic treasures into the vast energy source. The energy source erupted with brilliant light, illuminating the entire sky, and this light seemed to contain the power to change the world.

"These symbols are strange. They seem to be showing me something from the past." Xu Tiancai said with a frown, his eyes revealing a serious look.

A-Gang and Lin also gathered around, carefully examining the murals and symbols, trying to find a clue to exit the cave. Lin cast a small detection spell, and a soft light emanated from her hand, enveloping the murals. The light interacted with the symbols, emitting a stronger glow that illuminated every corner of the cave.

"Look, there's the outline of a passage here!" Lin shouted, pointing to the part of the mural highlighted by the light.

They followed the direction indicated by the mural and indeed found a narrow passage hidden behind the rocks. The passage was filled with an old atmosphere, and the walls were inlaid with some crystals that emitted a faint glow, barely illuminating the way forward.

They walked cautiously into the passage, which was winding and twisting like an endless maze. As they walked, they heard the sound of gurgling water, which echoed clearly in the silent passage.

"There seems to be water ahead, everyone be careful." Xu Tiancai said in a low voice.

As they turned a corner, they were met with a bizarre sight. An underground river flowed beneath the tunnel, its water shimmering with multicolored light like flowing gemstones. Strange fish swam in the river, their bodies transparent, their skeletons and organs clearly visible, their bones covered in mysterious patterns.

"These fish are so special. The patterns on their bodies seem to be somewhat similar to the symbols on the murals." A Gang said in surprise.

Xu Tiancai squatted down, trying to get a closer look at the fish. Suddenly, one leaped out of the water and lunged toward him. Xu Tiancai quickly backed away. The fish suddenly opened its mouth in mid-air and spewed out a stream of colorful smoke. The smoke quickly spread, carrying a pungent odor.

"Hold your breath, this smoke is poisonous!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

They exerted their powers to disperse the surrounding smoke. But more fish began to leap out of the water, continuously spewing colored smoke towards them. Lin quickly cast a wind spell, creating a powerful airflow in the passage, blowing the smoke deeper into the tunnel.

"We have to find a way to cross the river. We can't stay here for too long," said Xu Tiancai.

They searched along the riverbank for a way to cross, and not far away, they discovered an ancient stone bridge. Spanning the underground river, the bridge was made of massive stones, engraved with various patterns and symbols. These patterns and symbols seemed to be somehow connected to the murals they had seen earlier.

When they stepped onto the stone bridge, it suddenly began to tremble violently, and the river water beneath the bridge began to surge and churn, as if something had awakened at the bottom of the river.

"There's something wrong with this bridge, everyone be careful!" A Gang shouted.

Before he could finish his words, several gigantic tentacles emerged from the river. Covered with suction cups and spikes, they exuded a disgusting slime. They swooped down on them, attempting to drag them into the river.

Agang swung his axe, slashing at the tentacle. The axe struck the tentacle, splashing green slime, but the tentacle merely flinched slightly before striking again. Lin cast an ice spell, attempting to freeze the tentacle. The ice magic spread across the tentacle, but only slightly slowed its movements.

Xu Tiancai combined the power of the stars, the power of the phoenix, and the power of the guardian bead to form a dazzling chain of light. He swung the chain of light at the tentacles, and the chain wrapped around them, making a "sizzling" sound and burning part of the tentacles.

But more tentacles stretched out from the river, intertwining with each other to form a huge net, covering Xu Tiancai and others.

"Let's concentrate our forces to attack one place and break their encirclement!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

The three of them gathered their strength in Agang's axe. With a loud roar, Agang chopped down the densest part of the tentacle network. The axe, with its powerful force, severed many tentacles. They took the opportunity to rush through the gap and continued running deeper into the tunnel.

After running for a while, they finally escaped the tentacles. But then, they found themselves in a vast cavernous hall. The ceiling was incredibly high, inlaid with countless giant, glowing crystals, illuminating the entire hall like daylight. The floor was paved with smooth black slate, inscribed with intricate magical arrays.

In the center of the hall, there was a huge stone platform. On the stone platform was a huge crystal ball. Inside the crystal ball was a rotating energy cloud. The energy cloud flashed in various colors and emitted powerful energy fluctuations, filling the entire hall with a mysterious atmosphere.

"This crystal ball seems to contain enormous power. It must be the core of this cave." Xu Tiancai said.

They walked toward the stone platform. As they approached, the surrounding magic circle suddenly illuminated. Rays of light shot out from the magic circle, weaving into intricate patterns across the hall. These patterns formed barriers, trapping them within.

"We are trapped. We have to find a way to break through these barriers," said Lin.

They began to attack the barrier, but whether it was Agang's giant axe, Lin's magic, or Xu Tiancai's power, none of them could cause any damage to the barrier. The barrier seemed to have a powerful self-repair ability, and every time it was attacked, it would quickly return to its original state.

Xu Tiancai carefully observed the magic circle around him. He found that the flow of light on the magic circle had a certain pattern, and these lights seemed to have some connection with the crystal ball on the stone platform.

"The energy of these barriers may come from the crystal ball. We have to find a way to control the crystal ball in order to break the barriers." Xu Tiancai said.

They searched for clues within the trapped area. On a stone slab, Xu Tiancai discovered some symbols similar to those on the mural. He concentrated, trying to decipher their meaning. After some effort, he finally understood some of the information.

"These symbols say that in order to control the crystal ball, you need to use pure soul power to resonate with the energy within the crystal ball." Xu Tiancai said.

The three of them exchanged glances, then sat down and began to concentrate, mobilizing their soul powers. Xu Tiancai was the first to release his soul power. His soul power was pure and powerful, like a ray of gentle light, drifting towards the crystal ball. Agang and Lin also released their soul powers one after another.

When their soul power came into contact with the crystal ball, the energy cloud within it began to swirl violently. The crystal ball radiated an even stronger light, echoing with the light of the surrounding magic circle. The magic circle's light began to become disordered, and the barrier began to show signs of loosening.

"Increase the output of soul power!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

They gritted their teeth, pouring their soul power into the crystal ball with all their might. The light of the magic circle gradually dimmed, and cracks began to appear in the barrier. With a crisp sound, the barrier finally shattered.

They stood up and walked towards the stone platform. When they reached the platform, the energy cloud within the crystal ball suddenly extended several energy tentacles, wrapping around them. These energy tentacles were different from the tentacles in the river water before. They were composed of pure energy and contained enormous power.

Xu Tiancai and the others dodged quickly, but the energy tentacles were so fast that they were quickly entangled. The energy tentacles tightly bound their bodies, making them unable to move.

"What's going on? We have to break free from these tentacles!" A Gang said while struggling.

Xu Tiancai tried to break free from the tentacles, but he found that his strength was quickly absorbed by the tentacles. Lin cast a spell, but the spell was also dissolved by the tentacles.

Just when they were in trouble, Xu Tiancai suddenly remembered the scene when they were fighting against the dark creatures. At that time, they used the power of light to fight against the dark creatures. Perhaps they could use a similar method to deal with these energy tentacles.

He concentrated his mind, mobilizing the star power and phoenix power within him, attempting to transform them into a purifying energy. His body began to emit a soft glow, which gradually spread to the energy tentacles. Upon contact with the light, the energy tentacles began to tremble slightly, as if being restrained.

"Let's all use the power of purification together!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

Agang and Lin also began to try to mobilize the purifying power within their bodies. Agang relied on his unwavering willpower to transform the power within him into a masculine purifying force, while Lin used her magical talent to transform her magic power into a gentle purifying force.

The three purifying forces merged, forming a powerful energy flow. This energy flow spread along the energy tentacles, gradually purifying them. Under the influence of the purifying force, the energy tentacles slowly loosened their restraints and eventually dissipated into the air.

They breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the crystal ball on the stone platform again. Xu Tiancai reached out and gently touched the crystal ball. The moment his hand touched the crystal ball, a vast amount of information flooded into his mind.

He discovered the cave's origins: it was once a crucial relic of an ancient civilization, a place for energy research and rituals. The crystal ball was the core energy device of the entire site, controlling its various mechanisms and magic arrays. And this site guarded a profound secret—a mysterious power that could change the fate of the world.

"This crystal ball holds the secret of the ruins, so we must handle it carefully." Xu Tiancai said to Agang and Lin.

They began to study the operation of the crystal ball. On the surface of the crystal ball, there were some tiny buttons and scales. These buttons and scales were engraved with some ancient characters. By deciphering these characters, Xu Tiancai gradually understood some of the basic functions of the crystal ball.

"We can use this crystal ball to open other passages in the ruins and maybe find a way out of here." Xu Tiancai said.

Following the instructions on the crystal ball, he pressed a few buttons and adjusted the scale. The energy cloud within the crystal ball swirled again, and a beam of light shot out, illuminating one wall of the hall. A massive portal appeared in the wall, revealing a passage radiating a mysterious light.

"This is the road, let's go." Xu Tiancai said.

They entered a new passageway, the walls of which were covered with more murals depicting ancient civilizations. These murals depicted their prosperity and their encounters with and research into mysterious forces. In the murals, they saw scenes of ancient humans coexisting with various bizarre creatures, as well as massive buildings and wondrous magical props.

As they walked, they heard a low roar that echoed in the passage, sending chills down their spines.

"There's something ahead, everyone be prepared." Xu Tiancai said.

As they turned a corner, they saw a massive guardian beast. Resembling a Qilin, yet even larger, its body was covered in golden scales, each one gleaming with a dazzling light. Its eyes were like two blazing suns, filled with majesty and wrath. The beast's hooves stomped the ground with a deafening sound, as if the entire passage were shaking.