The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Enveloped by the energy, everyone seemed swept into the torrent of time. In the rapidly flashing images, the inhabitants of an ancient civilization busily moved massive stones, each engraved with mysterious runes. These runes shimmered, seemingly guiding the stones' placement. Using miraculous magical instruments, they levitated the stones, precisely constructing a magnificent structure whose outlines bore a striking resemblance to the ruins they now stood within.

The scene shifted to reveal a group of mages in ornate robes, surrounding a vast magic circle. Within the circle, a shimmering light shone, and the forces of various elements intertwined to form a vibrant sphere of energy. The mages chanted incantations, their wands wielding in complex patterns, injecting more magic power into the sphere. This sphere seemed to be the source of the mysterious power sealed within the ruins. It exuded an awe-inspiring aura, as if it held the secrets of the universe.

Then, scenes of war unfolded. Dark forces swept in like a dark cloud, their forms twisted and radiating endless malevolence. Dark creatures bared their fangs and claws, engaging in a brutal battle with the guardians of an ancient civilization. Magical light and dark forces collided on the battlefield, emitting a deafening roar. Despite the guardians' valiant resistance, the dark forces were too powerful, gradually breaching their defenses and staining the earth red with blood.

As the scene unfolded, everyone saw a white-haired elder standing atop a tall tower, holding a crystal ball emitting a soft glow. With a solemn expression, the elder placed the crystal ball in a special device similar in structure to the hourglass on the stone platform. He then activated the device, and a golden light shot up into the sky, enveloping the entire ruins. Wherever the light touched, dark creatures cried out in agony, their strength weakened and their movements slowed.

The scene finally freezes in front of an hourglass. A young magician places his hand on it and recites an ancient spell. The golden sand in the hourglass begins to flow slowly, and the surrounding instruments and crystal ball light up. This scene is exactly the same as what everyone is seeing now.

Xu Tiancai and the others sensed the splendor and tragedy of ancient civilization from these images, and also realized the significance of the hourglass. "This hourglass must be the key to controlling some power within the ruins, perhaps even related to sealing the dark forces," Xu Tiancai said, his gaze fixed on the hourglass, trying to find more clues.

Lin gently touched the stone platform. She could sense a faint energy fluctuation emanating from it, a wave somehow connected to the wind element. "There's wind power here, and it seems to resonate with the energy of the hourglass," Lin said. She cast the wind elemental magic "Wind Sense," allowing the wind element to more deeply probe the secrets of the stone platform and the hourglass.

Ah Gang paced around the stone platform, carefully examining the surrounding instruments and crystal balls. He noticed some buttons and scales on the instruments, and the light from the crystal balls seemed to flicker in a certain pattern. "These instruments and crystal balls might be used to adjust the hourglass. We need to figure out how they work," Ah Gang said. He reached out and touched a button on an instrument. The button emitted a faint light, but then dimmed.

The Ice Princess waved her wand, and a stream of icy magic shot toward the hourglass. As it approached the hourglass, it was blocked by an invisible force, forming a thin layer of frost. "The hourglass has a powerful protective power. We can't act rashly," the Ice Princess warned, continuing to use her wand to probe the surrounding energy field, searching for a possible breakthrough point.

The mysterious figure quickly formed hand seals, and the forces of darkness and light intertwined in his hands, forming a small energy vortex. He brought the energy vortex close to the hourglass, attempting to sense the energy structure within. "The energy within the hourglass is extremely complex, containing both light and dark forces, but they are in a delicate balance," the mysterious figure said, his brow furrowed slightly as he pondered how to unlock the hourglass's secrets.

The man in white played his flute, and the sound transformed into invisible waves, spreading toward the hourglass and surrounding instruments. He used the flute's sound to detect the resonance points of these objects, discovering that the hourglass vibrated slightly at certain frequencies. "The flute sound has an effect on the hourglass. Perhaps we can use this to find a way to open it," the man in white said, adjusting the rhythm of his flute, trying to find the key frequency.

As they explored, they gradually discovered clues. The instruments surrounding the hourglass seemed to operate according to a specific sequence, and the frequency of the crystal ball's light flickered in accordance with that sequence. Using her wind sense, Lin discovered hidden runes on the instruments, indicating the order in which they should be operated.

"Let's try it according to the instructions of these runes," Xu Tiancai said. He stood in front of an instrument engraved with star runes and slowly injected star power into it. Star power flowed into the instrument like brilliant starlight, and the runes on the instrument suddenly lit up, emitting a blue glow.

The Ice Princess stood beside an instrument with an ice rune. She waved her wand and injected ice magic into it. The ice magic flowed through the instrument, covering its surface with frost. The rune also flickered with a faint blue light, echoing the instrument operated by Xu Tiancai.

Agang injected his fighting spirit into a device with a power rune. The fighting spirit burned like a golden flame, activating the device's function. The device emitted a low hum, and the light illuminated the surrounding area.

Lin cast a wind elemental spell, letting it flow into an instrument with a wind rune. The wind element formed small vortices in the instrument, causing the runes on the instrument to spin and emit a fresh breath.

The mysterious figure and the man in white also infused the power of darkness, light, and music into their respective instruments. The mysterious figure's instrument flickered with black and white light, while the man in white's instrument shone with multicolored light to the rhythm of the flute.

As everyone poured their power into the instrument, the surrounding crystal balls glowed brighter, their flickering frequency gradually becoming uniform. The flow of the golden sand in the hourglass also changed, becoming slow and regular.

"Keep it up, we're almost there!" Xu Tiancai shouted, increasing the intensity of the star power injection.

However, just when they thought they were about to uncover the secret of the hourglass, a powerful dark force suddenly surged from the bottom of the hourglass. This dark force stretched out towards everyone like a black tentacle, corroding the air wherever it touched, emitting a pungent odor.

"Be careful!" Ah Gang shouted, swinging his battle axe and slashing at the dark tentacles. The fighting spirit on the battle axe collided with the dark tentacles, making a sizzling sound. Part of the dark tentacles were cut off, but they quickly grew back.

Lin cast the wind elemental magic "Wind Purification," attempting to dispel the dark forces with pure wind. The wind element rushed towards the dark tentacles like a white wave, blowing away some of the dark aura, but the dark force was too strong, and the wind element was devoured upon contact with the core of the dark tentacles.

The Ice Princess waved her wand, summoning a massive ice cone. It shot toward the dark tentacles, its ice runes gleaming as its cold magic attempted to freeze the dark forces. But the dark tentacles easily shattered some of the ice cones and continued advancing.

The mysterious figure quickly formed hand seals, and the forces of darkness and light merged into a massive ball of energy. He flung the ball toward the dark tentacles, where it exploded, releasing a powerful energy shockwave. The dark tentacles trembled under the attack of the ball, and the surrounding darkness was somewhat dispelled, but it quickly gathered again.

The man in white played a flute, and the sound transformed into a swarm of radiant light beasts. They charged at the dark tentacles, engaging them in combat. Kirin beasts burned the tentacles with flames, phoenix beasts attacked their bases with multicolored flames, and lion beasts rammed their bodies with powerful force. The attacks of the beasts briefly disoriented the tentacles, but they quickly recovered and resumed their assault.

"Where does this dark power come from? We must find its source!" Xu Tiancai shouted. He unleashed his "Star Devil Slash" ability, transforming the power of the stars into a massive blade of light, which slashed towards the base of the dark tentacle. The blade struck the dark tentacle, emitting a dazzling light and leaving a deep wound at its base. However, the dark tentacle continued its attack.

During the battle, Xu Tiancai discovered that the dark tentacles were pouring out from a small black hole at the bottom of the hourglass. This hole had been covered by an invisible force before, but now it was exposed due to the manipulation of everyone, and it continued to release dark power.

"Attack that small hole!" Xu Tiancai shouted. He once again used the "power of stars" to gather the power into rays of light and shot them towards the small hole.

Upon hearing this, everyone adjusted their attacks, launching their assaults at the small hole at the bottom of the hourglass. Lin cast the wind elemental magic "Wind Piercing," manipulating the wind element to form a massive cone of wind, which shot towards the hole. The cone resembled a giant spear, its sharp tip gleaming with dazzling light.

The Ice Princess waved her wand, converging her icy magic into a massive ice arrow. The arrow was covered in intricate ice runes, which shimmered with a faint blue light and exuded a biting cold. The ice arrow shot towards the small hole, and the surrounding water vapor quickly condensed into ice, forming an icy passage.

The mysterious figure quickly formed seals with his hands, and the forces of darkness and light merged into a powerful beam of energy in his hands. The light contained the power of mysterious laws. He shot the light towards the small hole. Wherever the light reached, darkness and light intertwined, emitting an awe-inspiring power.

The man in white played the flute, and the sound of the flute transformed into an enormous light beast, resembling a dragon. The dragon-like light beast radiated a rainbow of light and rushed towards the small hole, attacking it with its powerful body and light, trying to stop the outflow of the dark power.

Ah Gang boosted his fighting spirit to its limit, and a blazing golden flame ignited on his battle axe. He rushed towards the small hole, and as he approached the hole, he leaped high and slashed the hole with his battle axe. The power contained in the battle axe triggered a powerful energy surge the moment it made contact with the hole, sending the surrounding dark tentacles flying backwards.

Under the combined force of their attacks, the dark energy gushing from the small hole at the bottom of the hourglass gradually weakened. The dark aura surrounding the hole began to dissipate, and the dark tentacles that had been attacking frantically also became sluggish, eventually vanishing in wisps of black smoke.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they knew that the secret of the hourglass had not yet been fully revealed, and this attack by the dark forces made them realize that the dangers hidden in the ruins might be more serious than they imagined.

"Let's continue operating the instrument, but be more careful." Xu Tiancai said. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood in front of the Star Rune instrument again.

They readjusted their posture and continued to inject power into the instrument according to the instructions of the runes. This time, they were more cautious, constantly paying attention to the changes in the surrounding energy.

As power was injected, the flow of the golden sand in the hourglass changed again. The sand began to gather in the upper half of the hourglass, forming a complex pattern. This pattern emanated a golden light that seemed to contain some kind of information.

"Everyone, look, this is a pattern made of sand!" Lin exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone paused to examine the pattern on the hourglass. It contained constellation-like shapes, connected by lines. The positions of these lines and constellations shifted constantly, as if demonstrating a mysterious pattern.

Xu Tiancai looked at the pattern and felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He recalled the descriptions of star maps he had read in ancient texts. The arrangement of these constellations and lines bore a resemblance to star maps. "This could be a star map, perhaps guiding our next steps," Xu Tiancai said.