The genius who counterattacked the mainland

After the devastating energy shockwave, everyone managed to stay alive with their own defensive measures, but they were all impacted to varying degrees. Xu Tiancai felt his blood surging, and the light of the artifact in his hand dimmed slightly, but his eyes remained firm as he took in the bizarre scene before him caused by the monster leader's explosion.

The vortex tunnel, once guarded by monsters, now became even more violent. The light within the tunnel swirled rapidly like a vortex, its colors dazzling yet exuding an unfathomable aura. The space surrounding the tunnel seemed to be distorted, bending the light within, forming a dreamlike halo. At the edge of the tunnel, ancient runes shimmered with a faint light, twisting like living creatures, as if resisting something, yet also beckoning everyone.

"We must enter the passage. This may be the key to leaving this chaotic seabed." Xu Tiancai said while trying to suppress his physical discomfort.

A Gang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned, "Let's go. No matter what's ahead, we can't stop here." He gripped the battle axe tightly. Although the golden fighting spirit was not as strong as before, it still flickered tenaciously.

Lin nodded gently. She cast wind magic to steady her somewhat chaotic breath. The wind gently swirled around her, as if healing her. She looked toward the passage, a flicker of determination in her eyes. "The energy flow in this passage is complex. Everyone, be careful."

The Ice Princess waved her wand, casting a new ice shield around them. The cracks in the shield gradually healed under the nourishment of her magic. "I'm here, and I won't let anyone get hurt easily." Her voice was cold and firm.

The mysterious figure formed seals with his hands, and the forces of darkness and light slowly flowed through his palms, repairing his damaged meridians. "The energy within this channel may also be an opportunity for us," he said thoughtfully.

The man in white played a flute, and the sound transformed into a group of tiny, glowing elves. They danced around the crowd, shedding tiny glimmers of light and healing their wounds. He gazed at the passage, his eyes filled with anticipation: "I hope this time I can find more power to fight the darkness."

Supporting each other, they slowly approached the vortex tunnel. The moment they stepped into the tunnel, a powerful suction surged, sweeping them deeper into the passage as if caught in a turbulent current. Light flashed around them like lightning, and their bodies felt as if they were being pulled and squeezed by countless hands, as if their souls were being torn from their bodies.

I don’t know how long it took, maybe just a moment, maybe as long as eternity, but suddenly everyone’s eyes lit up and they were thrown into a completely new space.

This space was vast and boundless. The sky was a brilliant nebula, interweaving and swirling like colorful silk, emitting a soft and mysterious light. Beneath their feet lay a transparent, crystalline ground, beneath which seemed to flow a liquid, shimmering with strange runes, their light shifting with the flow. In the distance, mountains hovered in the air, each of varying shapes: some piercing the sky like sharp swords, others coiling like giant dragons. Amidst the mountains grew unknown luminescent vegetation, its light illuminating the mountains like a dream.

"What is this place?" Agang widened his eyes and looked amazed.

"The energy here is pure and powerful. I have never felt such a wonderful place." The mysterious figure stretched out his hand and felt the energy fluctuations around him.

Xu Tiancai looked around. He could sense the mysterious power in every breath of air, a power that seemed to resonate with the artifact in his hand. "Let's look around. Perhaps there's something we need here."

The group began to explore this mysterious space. As they walked, they heard a melodious song. The song was ethereal and graceful, as if it came from the depths of the universe, or from the depths of each individual soul. Following the song, they arrived at a forest radiating a soft glow.

The trees in the forest were tall and bizarre, their trunks shimmering as if carved from crystal, their branches laden with fruit that shone like stars. Their leaves, thin as a cicada's wings, swayed gently in the breeze, creating a crisp sound that blended with the song. In the center of the forest lay a vast lake, its water a dreamlike hue, as if reflecting the nebulae in the sky. On the lake's surface, a woman danced gracefully, clad in a white gauze dress that fluttered in the wind like a blooming white lotus. Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, her eyes glittering like stars. Every movement was filled with grace and agility, like the most beautiful painting in the universe.

"You are here." The woman stopped dancing and looked at everyone with a smile. Her voice was as clear and pleasant as a mountain spring.

"Who are you? Where is this place?" Xu Tiancai stepped forward and asked.

The woman smiled softly. "I am the guardian of this space, a divine realm forgotten by time. You are the ones chosen by fate, and you have come here to seek the power to fight against darkness."

"Fight against the power of darkness? Do you know how to completely eliminate the darkness?" the Ice Princess asked anxiously.

The woman nodded slightly. "In this divine realm, five divine crystal cores are hidden. They are the source of power at the beginning of creation. Gather all five divine crystal cores, and you will have the power to change your destiny, and perhaps even seal the darkness once and for all."

"Where is the divine crystal core?" Lin asked.

The woman pointed deeper into the forest. "Follow the path of light in the forest and you will find clues. But be careful, there are dangers in the forest too. Even those seemingly beautiful things may hide deadly threats."

The group thanked the woman and headed deeper into the forest. Shortly after, the surrounding trees began to glow with an eerie light. The star-like fruits suddenly transformed into monsters with gaping, bloody mouths filled with sharp fangs, and they lunged towards the group.

Xu Tiancai swung his trident, its light blazing like lightning as it pierced the incoming monster fruit. After being stabbed, the monster fruit let out a shrill scream before dissipating in a puff of black smoke. But more monster fruits surged from all directions, raining down on the crowd.

Gon swung his battle axe, his golden fighting spirit reignited. He whirled through the swarm of monster fruits like a whirlwind, their fruits exploding wherever his axe touched them. Lin cast wind magic, creating powerful wind tornadoes that swept up any approaching monster fruits, crushing them to dust. The Ice Princess waved her wand, summoning a flock of ice birds. They attacked the monster fruits with their sharp beaks and claws. Simultaneously, she cast an ice shield around the group, preventing them from breaking through. A mysterious figure formed hand seals, merging the forces of darkness and light into spheres of energy. These spheres shot like cannonballs at the swarm of monster fruits, triggering explosions. A figure in white played a flute, and the sound transformed into a swarm of shimmering butterflies. They surrounded the group, their wings radiating a powerful deterrent to the monster fruits, preventing some from approaching.

With everyone's strenuous resistance, the monster fruit's attack gradually weakened. But then, the forest ground began to tremble violently, and a group of giant vines emerged from the ground. The vines were as thick as pillars, covered in sharp thorns that gleamed with green venom. The vines entwined themselves around the group at an incredible speed, like giant green whips.

Xu Tiancai, trident in hand, thrust at the approaching vines. The trident's immense force pierced through the vines, but they didn't break. Instead, they twisted even more frantically. Seeing this, Agang rushed forward and chopped at the vines with his battle axe. The axe's impact sent a spray of green venom splattering across Agang's body, sending a burning pain through his skin.

"This venom is poisonous, everyone be careful!" A Gang shouted.

Lin cast wind magic, attempting to blow the vines away with its powerful force. However, the vines remained steadfast in their movement toward the group, their wind magic having little effect on them. The Ice Princess waved her wand, muttering something, and chains of ice rose from the ground, wrapping around the vines. The chains quickly froze the vines, but their immense strength quickly freed them.

The mysterious figure formed hand seals with both hands, and the forces of darkness and light swirled and merged in his palms, forming a massive energy blade. He swung the blade, slashing at the vines. Wherever the blade struck, vines were severed, but new ones continued to emerge from the ground. The figure in white played a flute, and the sound transformed into a swarm of gigantic light beasts. The beasts used their immense strength to fight the vines, some biting through them with their teeth, others tearing them apart with their claws. However, the sheer number of vines made the beasts increasingly vulnerable.

While battling the vines, Xu Tiancai discovered a glowing node at the base of the vines. Whenever the vines attacked, the node's light would flicker, and he guessed that might be the vines' weakness.

"Attack the root node of the vine!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

Upon hearing Xu Tiancai's words, everyone immediately changed their attack strategy. Lin cast a forbidden spell of wind elemental magic, compressing the surrounding air into a massive air bomb. She flung the air bomb toward the node at the base of the vine, where it exploded, its powerful impact shattering the surrounding vines. Ah Gang, enduring the pain, concentrated his fighting spirit on his battle axe and slashed at the node at the base of the vine. The node glowed as the axe struck, and the vine began to wither. The Ice Princess waved her wand, summoning a massive ice spike. It pierced the node, rapidly freezing the surrounding vines and shattering them into icy shards. A mysterious figure formed hand seals, and the forces of darkness and light merged in his hands, forming a massive black and white energy column. He pushed the energy column toward the node at the base of the vine. As it flew, it absorbed the surrounding free energy, growing ever thicker. When the energy column contacted the node, it triggered a violent explosion, destroying all the vines within its range. The man in white played the flute, and the sound transformed into a flock of glittering birds. They flew towards the nodes at the base of the vine, attacking them with their beaks and claws. With their concerted efforts, the nodes were destroyed one by one, and the vine's attack finally ceased.

After a brief rest, the group continued along the path of light through the forest. After walking for a while, they discovered an ancient temple ahead. The temple's architecture was simple and mysterious, its walls covered in relief carvings depicting various mythological stories. The temple's gates were tightly closed, inlaid with two enormous gems. The gems emitted a soft glow that seemed to hold a message.

Xu Tiancai stepped forward and carefully examined the gem on the door. He noticed some faint patterns on the gem, which were somewhat similar to the runes they had seen in the underwater maze. He reached out and tried to touch the gem. The moment his hand touched the gem, it shone brightly, and pictures emerged in the light.

The scene shows the whereabouts of the God's Crystal Cores. One of them is located on the altar within this temple, but to enter the temple, one must solve the puzzle set by the gem on the door. The puzzle is about the five creator gods in ancient mythology, and one needs to press five hidden buttons on the door in the order in which the five creator gods were born.

Everyone began searching for hidden buttons around the temple gate. A-Gang found a button on the left side of the gate, engraved with a flame. "Could this button, with its flame pattern, be related to the Creator God, who controls fire?" A-Gang asked.

Lin found a button above the door, engraved with a feather. "Could this feather represent the Creator God who controls the element of wind?" Lin speculated.

The Ice Princess found a button on the right side of the door. It had a snowflake pattern engraved on it. "This snowflake pattern should be related to the Creator God who controls ice and snow," the Ice Princess said.