The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Chapter 242

Everyone gathered around the crystal ball and ancient scroll, immersed in the interpretation of the new runes. Xu Tiancai frowned, his eyes fixed on the constantly flickering patterns on the crystal ball. Those patterns were like flowing galaxies, containing endless mysteries.

"The changes in these lines seem to be telling a story, or an ancient ritual." Xu Tiancai muttered to himself.

Lin leaned closer to the scroll, the wind element gently swirling around her fingertips. She felt the subtle changes in the rune's energy and whispered, "The flow of the rune's energy seems to be redirected. There's a certain order to it, intertwined with the patterns of the crystal ball."

Agang held the battle axe in his hand, feeling the new power contained in the runes. "The power of these runes has become stronger, as if they have been baptized by the power of darkness and have undergone a kind of evolution."

The Ice Princess waved her wand, and a trace of ice magic touched the rune. "Look, this change in cold energy, perhaps we can use it to deal with new dangers that may arise."

The mysterious figure and the man in white were also communicating. The mysterious figure made seals with his hands, feeling the harmony between the rune energy fluctuations and the rhythm of the music. "The energy effect of the combination of these runes is like a more complex piece of music. We need to find the right melody." The man in white nodded, and the sound of the flute sounded faintly, resonating with the surrounding energy.

As everyone concentrated on studying it, the crystal ball suddenly shone brightly. The lines detached from its surface, transforming into beams of light that shot off in different directions. The light passed through the walls and floor of the ruins, seemingly outlining a mysterious map.

"Is this... guidance?" Xu Tiancai looked at the scene in surprise.

Without hesitation, everyone followed the light. It led the way, passing through ancient stone gates. Carved upon these gates were all sorts of bizarre creatures and mysterious patterns. Under the light, they seemed to come alive, humming softly.

As they continued deeper, they arrived at a vast circular hall. The hall's dome was extremely high, inlaid with countless shimmering crystals, like stars in the night sky. In the center of the hall was a massive magic circle, composed of gems of various colors. Mystical energy flowed through the gems, echoing with the light from the crystal ball.

"This magic circle doesn't look simple. It seems to be closely related to the crystal ball." Xu Tiancai walked towards the magic circle cautiously.

As he entered the magic circle, the gemstones on it shone brightly, and rays of energy emanated from them, interweaving into images across the hall. The images depicted scenes from an ancient civilization. People in ornate attire surrounded a vast energy vortex, holding objects resembling crystal balls and stone platforms, chanting something in a grand ritual.

"They are praying to the power of the stars. This magic circle may be the key to their communication with the power of the stars." said the Ice Princess.

Suddenly, the image on the magic circle shifted, revealing a dark figure. It wreaked havoc across the scene, destroying everything, a dark aura enveloping the entire scene. Around the dark figure, a number of blurry figures fought against it, holding weapons that shone with a light similar to the gems in the magic circle.

"Are these people trying to stop the dark forces? Their weapons are related to this magic circle." Agang guessed.

The picture changed again, and some mysterious symbols and routes appeared, which were faintly visible on the walls of the hall.

"This is a reminder. We must follow these routes and symbols," said Xu Tiancai.

Everyone began to advance, following the symbols on the wall. With every step, they could feel a mysterious force surging beneath their feet. They passed through a side passageway in the hall, which was filled with a faint mist, and some illusory figures seemed to be floating in the mist.

Lin cast wind magic to dispel some of the mist. "These illusory figures seem to be the remnants of the previous sacrifices."

Continuing forward, they arrived at a room filled with mechanical devices. The room was filled with statues of various shapes, some depicting ferocious beasts, others majestic warriors. The floor was intricately patterned, interconnected with the statues, forming a vast network of mechanical devices.

"Everyone be careful, there may be danger once these mechanisms are triggered," Xu Tiancai warned.

Agang walked ahead, gently touching the ground with his battle axe, trying to find a safe route. Suddenly, the eyes of a beast statue lit up, and it roared, lunging at the group. Agang immediately swung his battle axe, engaging the beast statue. The battle axe collided with the beast statue, sending up a shower of sparks. The beast statue was extremely powerful, and each attack carried a powerful impact.

Lin cast wind magic, creating wind blades that shot towards the other statues that might be activated. The wind blades sliced ​​through the air with a sharp whistling sound, striking several warrior statues. The warrior statues, brandishing their weapons, charged towards the crowd.

The Ice Princess waved her wand, conjuring an ice shield to block the crowd. At the same time, she summoned ice spikes, which she fired at the approaching statues. The ice spikes pierced the statues' bodies, and the cold magic quickly spread, slowing their movements.

The mysterious figure formed hand seals with both hands, and the forces of darkness and light merged into balls of energy in his hands, which he threw towards the statues. The balls exploded among the statues, the powerful energy impact shattering some of the statues. The figure in white played a flute, and the sound of the flute transformed into a group of shimmering light beasts, which rushed towards the statues and engaged them in battle.

With everyone's efforts, the statue's attack was gradually suppressed. In the chaos, Xu Tiancai discovered the key to the mechanism. He saw some special nodes in the ground pattern, which controlled the statue's movement.

"Attack those nodes!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

Everyone turned their attacks towards the nodes. Xu Tiancai slashed at one with his Star Devil-Breaking Sword. Star power erupted, shattering the node beneath his sword. Agang's battle axe also shattered several nodes. Lin's wind blades, the Ice Princess's ice cones, the mysterious figure's energy orbs, and the white-clad figure's light beasts all attacked the nodes. As the nodes were destroyed, the statues gradually ceased their attacks and returned to a state of stillness.

The group continued forward, passing through the mechanical room and arriving at a pool filled with a mysterious liquid. The pool emitted a strange light, and the surface of the liquid was pulsing with energy, as if it were alive.

"This pool looks very mysterious. I wonder what's inside." Lin looked at the pool curiously.

Xu Tiancai picked up a small stone and threw it into the pool. As soon as the stone touched the liquid, it was enveloped by a force and slowly sank. As it sank, it gradually dissolved and finally disappeared.

"This liquid is highly corrosive, so don't get close to it," Xu Tiancai warned.

However, at that moment, a huge bubble suddenly emerged from the center of the pool. When the bubble burst, a humanoid creature emerged from it. This creature radiated a soft glow, its body seemingly composed of liquid, and its face was beautiful and mysterious.

"Who are you? Why are you breaking in here?" The humanoid creature made a clear voice that echoed throughout the space.

Xu Tiancai stepped forward and said, "We are here to explore the ruins. We mean no offense. We are searching for the secrets within the ruins, hoping to prevent the resurgence of the dark forces."

The humanoid creature looked at Xu Tiancai, a gleam in his eyes. "The fact that you can get here shows that you have certain abilities. But this pool is my territory. If you want to pass, you must accept my test."

"What test?" A Gang asked.

"You need to find three special crystals in this liquid. These crystals are the keys to open the next door." said the humanoid.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. The liquid was so corrosive that it would be difficult to find crystals in it.

Lin looked at the pool, thought for a moment, and said, "I can use the wind element to create a protective shield to temporarily resist the corrosion of the liquid."

After saying this, she cast a wind elemental spell, forming a huge wind shield around everyone. Everyone walked into the pool cautiously, and the liquid made a sizzling sound when it came into contact with the shield.

As soon as they entered the pool, they felt a tremendous pressure. The liquid's resistance was immense, requiring every step to expend considerable effort. Furthermore, the liquid blurred their vision, making it difficult to locate the crystal.

Xu Tiancai used the Star Demon-Breaking Sword to unleash the power of the stars, attempting to illuminate the surroundings. The star power emitted a faint glow within the liquid, barely allowing everyone to see some of the surrounding situation.

Suddenly, Agang felt something under his feet. He bent down and groped around, and found a crystal emitting a faint light.

"I found one!" Agang shouted excitedly.

Encouraged, the crowd continued their search. The Ice Princess used her ice magic to explore the surroundings and discovered that the energy fluctuations in the liquid had some special areas, which might be where the crystals were.

Under the guidance of the Ice Princess, everyone swam towards the direction of the energy fluctuations. The mysterious figure and the man in white stood guard behind them, guarding against any unexpected incidents.

As Lin was searching, the wind shield was under increasing pressure from the liquid. She gritted her teeth and tried hard to maintain the stability of the shield.

"Everyone, hurry up, my strength can't last much longer!" Lin shouted.

Just then, Xu Tiancai saw a strong light in front of him. He swam over and found two crystals.

"Here!" Xu Tiancai picked up the crystal.

After getting the three crystals, everyone quickly swam towards the edge of the pool. As soon as they reached the shore, Lin's wind shield disappeared due to exhaustion.

The humanoid creature saw the crystals in everyone's hands and nodded, "You have passed the test, you may now move on."

After he finished speaking, a stone door beside the pool slowly opened. Behind the door was a long passage, emitting a mysterious light.

Everyone walked into the passage, the walls of which were covered with various words and patterns. These words and patterns told the story of ancient civilizations' exploration and use of the power of the stars, as well as their struggle against the forces of darkness.

"This information is very important. We can learn more about the secrets of the ruins from it." Xu Tiancai carefully observed the wall as he walked.

As they went deeper into the tunnel, they heard a low humming sound. It grew louder, and when they reached the end of the tunnel, they saw a massive machine. Composed of various metals and crystals, its gears whirred relentlessly, creating a humming sound. At its center lay a massive energy core, radiating powerful energy similar to star power, yet with some differences.

"What does this machine do? It has such powerful energy." A Gang looked at the machine and felt its extraordinaryness.

Xu Tiancai approached the machine and found some slots on it, the shapes of which were similar to the crystals they found.

"Maybe these crystals are the key to starting this machine." Xu Tiancai said.

Everyone inserted the crystal into the slot, and the light on the machine instantly brightened. The energy core began to spin violently, releasing beams of energy. These beams intertwined around the machine, forming a huge energy vortex.

"This is..." Everyone looked at the scene in front of them in surprise.

Suddenly, a powerful suction force emanated from the energy vortex, and before everyone could dodge, they were sucked in. In the vortex, they felt as if they had traveled through time and space, surrounded by all sorts of light, shadow, and sound.

After an unknown amount of time, they fell out of the vortex and landed in a strange place. It was a vast desert with huge sand dunes and a blazing sun high in the sky, emitting a scorching heat.