The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Xu Tiancai and the others stood before a corridor filled with traps and gadgets. The creaking of gears and the whirring of pendulums intertwined, like the music of death itself. Massive gears slowly turned on the ground, their teeth flashing with a cold light, each rotation seeming to crush everything. The pendulum on the ceiling, like the fangs of a prehistoric beast, swept back and forth with a whistling sound, sealing off most of the space.

"Everyone be careful, these mechanisms look difficult to deal with." Xu Tiancai said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the deadly gears and pendulums.

Agang gripped his newly acquired battle axe tightly. The runes on it shimmered faintly in the dim light, as if responding to the impending challenge. He crouched slightly, muscles tensed, ready to dash through the dangerous area. Lin, on the other hand, cast a lightness spell, making her body even lighter and more agile in dodging the traps. Her eyes darted back and forth between the gears and pendulum, trying to find a safe path.

Xu Tiancai concentrated, trying to discern the mechanism's operating patterns. He discovered that while the gears' rotation seemed chaotic, it actually had a subtle rhythm. The speed and pause times of each gear were somehow related. The pendulum's swing wasn't completely random either; its amplitude and frequency seemed to be influenced by some force deep within the corridor.

"We can't act blindly. These mechanisms have their own rules." Xu Tiancai said, his voice still clearly audible in the noisy environment.

They began to observe patiently, and over time, Xu Tiancai gradually figured out some of the tricks. He discovered that there was a brief gap in the movement of the gears and pendulum, which would appear on one side of the corridor after a certain period of time, forming a narrow passage that could be passed through.

"When the next gap appears, we will rush along the right side of the corridor, and be quick!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

Before long, the long-awaited gap appeared. Ah Gang shouted and rushed out first. His figure was like a flash of lightning, shuttling between the gears and the pendulum. The battle axe swung in his hand, occasionally slashing at the approaching danger. Lin followed closely behind, like a light bird, skillfully avoiding the meshing of gears and the impact of the pendulum. Xu Tiancai brought up the rear, unleashing the power of the stars and the power of the phoenix, forming a faint light curtain around them, protecting everyone from possible harm.

Just as they were about to pass through the corridor, something unexpected happened. The previously orderly mechanism suddenly became chaotic, and a gear hidden in the wall suddenly popped out and spun rapidly towards Agang's back. Xu Tiancai was quick-witted and quick-handed. He suddenly pushed out a force, pushing Agang forward and allowing him to avoid the sudden attack. However, Xu Tiancai himself was slightly slowed down by the recoil of the force.

The pendulum roared towards Xu Tiancai. He had no time to dodge, so he could only cross his arms to protect his head and withstand the blow. The pendulum hit him hard, and the huge impact knocked him back and fell heavily to the ground.

"Xu Tiancai!" Agang and Lin shouted anxiously.

Xu Tiancai felt as if every bone in his body was falling apart, and a sweet, fishy taste welled up in his mouth. But he knew now was not the time to rest. He endured the pain and stood up, shouting, "Don't worry about me, keep going!"

They picked up their pace and finally made it through the corridor. At the other end, they found a circular hall with a massive fountain in its center. Instead of water, the fountain gushed out a dazzling display of light, interweaving in wondrous shapes in the air like a dazzling dance of light.

Surrounding the fountain were ancient statues. These statues varied in form, some human, some animal, and all covered in mysterious runes. The runes shimmered, seemingly echoing the light from the fountain.

"This fountain is very strange. These lights seem to contain some special power." Lin said, with curiosity flashing in her eyes.

Xu Tiancai approached the fountain. He could sense the warmth and energy emanating from the light. When he reached out to touch it, the glow suddenly intensified, and a powerful force surged through him. A vague image emerged in his mind: in ancient times, a group of people in ornate robes gathered around this fountain, performing a grand ceremony. They chanted something, tossed their treasures into the fountain, and the fountain's light grew ever brighter. Then, a massive pillar of light shot up into the sky, seemingly opening a passage to a mysterious world.

"This fountain may be an important source of energy, and it is related to the core secret of this relic." Xu Tiancai said, his voice trembling a little, both because of the pain in his body and because of this amazing discovery.

At that moment, the statues surrounding the fountain began to stir. The eyes of the beast-shaped statues flashed red, while the human-shaped statues raised their weapons and slowly approached Xu Tiancai and the others.

"These statues are activated, prepare for battle!" Agang shouted, raising his battle axe and getting into a fighting stance.

A Gang rushed towards a beast-like statue and struck it with his battle axe. But the statue was so strong that the axe only left a faint white mark. The beast-like statue opened its mouth and spewed out a puff of black smoke. The smoke enveloped A Gang, who quickly held his breath and retreated.

Lin cast a wind spell, attempting to disperse the black smoke. The wind spell and the black smoke collided, creating a chaotic vortex of air in the hall. The humanoid statues seized the opportunity to attack Lin, their weapons piercing her with a sharp whistling sound. Lin cast an ice shield, but the statues' attacks cracked the shield.

Xu Tiancai endured the pain and mobilized his inner strength. He combined the power of the stars, the power of the phoenix, and the power of the guardian pearl, forming a dazzling arrow of light. It shot towards a beast-shaped statue. After the arrow struck the statue, the runes on it flickered, and its movements slowed slightly.

"The power of these statues comes from runes. We have to find a way to destroy the runes!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

They changed their attack strategy, no longer blindly attacking the statue's body, but instead targeting the runes on it. Agang used the blade of his battle axe to precisely strike the runes on the beast-shaped statue's leg, cracking them. Lin then used ice cone magic to attack the runes on the human-shaped statue's arm. After the ice cone pierced the rune, the rune's light dimmed slightly.

Xu Tiancai concentrated his strength and fired a powerful beam of light at the key rune on the head of a beast-shaped statue. After the beam hit the rune, it shattered, and the beast-shaped statue let out a low roar and then collapsed with a loud bang.

Seeing that the attack runes were effective, their morale was boosted, and they continued to attack the runes on other statues. In the fierce battle, they gradually found the best way to attack the runes, and more and more statues fell down after the runes were destroyed.

After a hard fight, they finally destroyed all the statues. A thin layer of smoke filled the hall, the traces of the battle. They sat on the ground exhausted, panting.

"Every challenge in these ruins is so difficult. I really don't know what is waiting for us next." A Gang said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Xu Tiancai looked at the light still shining in the fountain and said, "No matter what, we must keep moving forward. This fountain must have more secrets that we must find out."

They stood up and walked toward the fountain again. Xu Tiancai attempted to communicate with the light within it through his own power. He thrust his hand into the light, concentrating his mind and sensing the energy fluctuations within. As his power came into contact with the light, the light within the fountain began to change. The light gradually converged, forming a massive ball of light. A vague figure emerged from the ball of light, seemingly conveying some message to them.

"You... are the chosen... guardians..." An ethereal voice sounded in their minds. Although the voice was faint, it was clearly audible.

"What do you mean? We are guardians? Guarding what?" Xu Tiancai asked loudly, trying to get more answers from the figure in the light ball.

"The world... is about to face... a huge crisis... Only you... can find... the power to save the world..." the ethereal voice continued.

"World crisis? How can we save the world?" Lin asked anxiously.

"Follow... the guidance of the light... and find... the lost artifact..." The voice gradually faded away, and the ball of light began to dim.

Just as the ball of light was about to disappear, a beam of light shot out from it and hit one wall of the hall. A glowing portal appeared on the wall, and inside the portal was a passage emitting a soft light.

"It seems we have to follow this passage." Xu Tiancai said.

They walked into the passage, the walls of which were inlaid with softly glowing crystals, illuminating the passage brilliantly. A mysterious atmosphere permeated the passage, making one feel as if they were in a dream world.

As they walked, they felt the temperature around them gradually rise. At the end of the passage, a sea of ​​fire appeared, raging, the flames licking the edge of the passage like a devil's tongue.

"Another difficult hurdle. This sea of ​​fire looks difficult to pass through." A Gang said with a frown.

Xu Tiancai observed the sea of ​​fire carefully and found that the flames in some places were relatively weak, and the burning of the flames seemed to have a certain pattern. In the center of the sea of ​​fire, there was a huge platform, and on the platform there was an object emitting a strong light, which seemed to be calling them.

"The things on that platform may be the clue we are looking for. We have to find a way to get through the sea of ​​fire." Xu Tiancai said.

Lin cast a water spell, attempting to carve a path through the sea of ​​fire. A large amount of water gushed from her hands, rushing towards the sea of ​​fire. However, the water evaporated the moment it came into contact with the flames, creating only a brief vapor within the sea of ​​fire.

A Gang picked up the battle axe and tried to split the flames with it, but as soon as the axe was thrust into the sea of ​​fire, it was burned red, and A Gang had to quickly retract the axe.

Xu Tiancai closed his eyes and concentrated. He mobilized the star power and phoenix power within his body, attempting to fuse these two forces into a single energy that could resist the flames. His body began to emit a strange light, which gradually enveloped him.

"Let me try. You wait for me behind." Xu Tiancai said as he slowly walked into the sea of ​​fire.

Flames raged around him, but the light within him effectively shielded him from the flames. He cautiously moved toward the platform, each step filled with difficulty. The flames continuously assaulted his energy shield, and he felt his strength being drained away bit by bit.

"Xu Tiancai, be careful!" Agang and Lin shouted anxiously from behind.

Xu Tiancai gritted his teeth and continued on. After a difficult trek, he finally reached the platform. The object on the platform was a crystal ball emitting a colorful light, surrounded by complex runes. As he approached the crystal ball, the runes on it began to flicker, and a message entered his mind.

This crystal ball is one of the key components of an ancient artifact, possessing the power to control fire. Only by combining it with several other key components can the true power of the artifact be unleashed, and the power of the artifact is the key to preventing the world crisis.

Xu Tiancai picked up the crystal ball. He could sense the powerful energy within it. The moment he picked it up, the flames of the sea of ​​fire became even more violent, as if resisting his taking the crystal ball.