The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Chapter 160

Lin immediately cast a sound spell. She mobilized the surrounding air, causing it to vibrate at a specific frequency. Soon, a sharp, high-pitched sound echoed through the cave. Upon hearing this sound, the strange creatures emerging from the dark river began to tremble violently, their previously ferocious attacks becoming chaotic and disorganized.

Ah Gang seized the opportunity, wielding his battle axe and slashing at the swarm of creatures. The axe flashed with cold light, and each swing shattered several creatures into pieces. The creatures' green blood splattered on the stone bridge, emitting a pungent odor. Like a god of war descending to earth, Ah Gang cut a bloody path through the chaotic swarm of creatures.

Xu Tiancai increased the power of his artifact to its maximum, unleashing a barrage of multicolored arrows towards the dark river. Like meteors, the arrows pierced the water, exploding in a massive splash. The force of the explosions sent many creatures flying back into the river, staining it green.

The mysterious figure formed hand seals and chanted ancient spells. Black runes appeared in the darkness. These runes flew towards the living creatures like birds. Once they came into contact with a living creature, they would release a dark force that would penetrate directly into the creature's body, destroying its structure from the inside and causing it to struggle and die in agony.

The Ice Princess cast her ice magic, drastically lowering the surrounding temperature. The river began to freeze under the low temperature, and those creatures nearing the stone bridge were quickly frozen within the ice. The Ice Princess then cast her ice spike magic, sending countless sharp ice spikes piercing through the ice, completely shattering the frozen creatures.

However, these creatures showed no signs of diminishing, with new creatures constantly emerging from the depths of the dark river. After a period of chaos, they seemed to gradually adapt to the high-frequency sounds and began to launch an organized attack on Xu Tiancai and his companions.

"This isn't going to work! We have to find a way to cross the river," Xu Tiancai shouted. He observed the underground river and the stone bridge, noting that while the bridge was sturdy, it was beginning to crack under the constant impact of the creatures. If the bridge was destroyed, they would be in even greater danger.

Lin ceased her voice magic and concentrated, casting a massive elemental shield. This shield not only covered the stone bridge but also extended to the river surface on either side, forming a semicircular protective shield. The shield was woven from the four elements of wind, fire, water, and earth. The outer layer consisted of rapidly spinning wind blades, capable of slicing through approaching creatures; the middle layer was a blazing flame capable of burning them; and the inner layer consisted of a surging curtain of water and an incredibly solid earth core, designed to withstand any impact.

Protected by the elemental shield, they temporarily gained a respite. But they knew they had to find a way to cross the dark river as soon as possible. Xu Tiancai looked at the water in the dark river and felt that the water seemed to have a mysterious force that prevented them from crossing.

"I'll try using the artifact's power to probe the river," Xu Tiancai said, inserting it into the crack of the stone bridge and infusing it with his own magical energy. The artifact emitted a soft light, extending along the stone bridge into the river. Through the artifact's probing, Xu Tiancai discovered hidden energy circuits beneath the water, forming a vast magic circle that constantly summoned and controlled those strange creatures.

"To cross the river, we have to destroy this magic circle," Xu Tiancai said to the group. They began to discuss ways to destroy the magic circle. A-Gang suggested severing the energy lines with a battle axe, but Lin worried that this might trigger a backlash from the magic circle. A mysterious figure suggested using dark forces to disrupt the magic circle's operation, and the Ice Princess suggested using ice magic to freeze the energy lines.

After some discussion, they decided to try the mysterious figure's method first. The mysterious figure stood at the edge of the stone bridge, hands extended forward, chanting an ancient spell. A powerful dark force emerged from the darkness, surging toward the magic circle beneath the river. When the dark force contacted the magic circle, its light flickered, and the strange creatures' attacks intensified, as if protecting it.

"Oh no! My power has angered it," the mysterious figure frowned. At that moment, the magic circle unleashed a powerful recoil, bouncing the dark energy back and sweeping towards them. Xu Tiancai quickly cast a defensive spell, and a multicolored light curtain and elemental shield illuminated simultaneously, blocking the backlash of the dark energy.

"Looks like we need to change our approach and try the Ice Princess's suggestion," Xu Tiancai said. The Ice Princess walked to the edge of the stone bridge and cast her ice magic. She lowered the surrounding temperature to an extreme, sending a chilling aura toward the river. The water froze rapidly under the cold, and the Ice Princess directed the ice toward the energy lines beneath the river.

When the ice touched the energy lines, a layer of frost began to form. As the frost grew thicker, the light of the energy lines gradually dimmed. The attacks of the strange creatures also became slower, their bodies stiffening in the cold.

"Success! Let's continue," Xu Tiancai said excitedly. The Ice Princess increased the power of her ice magic, sending more ice cubes surging toward the magic circle. A-Gang, Lin, and the mysterious figure also cast their magic to assist the Ice Princess. A-Gang used his battle axe to shatter the ice near the stone bridge, allowing it to flow more smoothly toward the magic circle. Lin cast wind magic to accelerate the ice's advance. The mysterious figure used dark forces to protect everyone from any possible counterattacks from the magic circle.

Thanks to their combined efforts, the magic circle beneath the river was completely covered in ice. The magic circle's energy was frozen, and the strange creatures ceased their attacks, their bodies motionless within the ice, as if frozen in time.

"Now's the time to cross the river," Xu Tiancai said. They carefully crossed the stone bridge, taking every step with extreme caution, fearing they would disturb the frozen magic circle and the creatures. When they all crossed the stone bridge, they breathed a sigh of relief.

As they continued walking, they found the cave growing wider and wider. At the far end of the cavern, they discovered an ancient ruin. The architecture of the ruins was quite unique. There were towering spires, inlaid with huge gems that shimmered mysteriously under the dim light of the moss. There were also huge circular buildings, their surfaces engraved with intricate runes and patterns that seemed to tell ancient stories. There were also some buildings that resembled cloisters, and these cloisters were decorated with exquisite statues in various postures, some holding weapons, others holding sacred objects, as if guarding the ruins.

As they entered the ruins, they felt a strong historical atmosphere. A light mist permeated the ruins, weaving through the buildings and creating a dreamlike experience. In the center of the ruins lay a vast plaza, paved with colorful stone slabs inscribed with various symbols and patterns.

Suddenly, the stone slabs in the square began to glow, forming strange images. Within the images appeared figures dressed in ancient attire, performing some kind of ritual in the square. The ritual was accompanied by enormous energy fluctuations, as if a mysterious sacrifice were taking place.

Xu Tiancai and the others were captivated by these images and approached to observe them closely. In the images, they saw men placing glowing keys into a massive sarcophagus, which then slowly sank into the ground. They speculated that these images might be hinting that the key they were looking for was within the sarcophagus within the ruins.

Just as they were about to search the ruins for the sarcophagus, a low roar emanated from the surrounding buildings. The sound echoed through the ruins, sending chills down their spines. They immediately became alert, knowing danger was approaching.

From every corner of the ruins, massive stone statues emerged. Their bodies were composed of a hard, black rock, their heads resembled those of ferocious beasts, their eyes gleaming red. Though their movements were somewhat stiff, their strength was immense, and every step they took caused the ground to tremble slightly.

Ah Gang swung his battle axe and charged at the nearest stone statue. The axe struck the statue, sending up a shower of sparks, but the statue merely took a step back without sustaining significant damage. Xu Tiancai, unleashing the power of his divine weapon to its fullest, fired a multicolored arrow of light at the statue. A small dent appeared on the statue's body, but it quickly recovered.

Lin cast a weakening spell, attempting to weaken the statue's strength and defenses. She mobilized the surrounding elements, directing wind to disrupt the statue's aura, fire to reduce its hardness, water to slow its movements, and earth to reduce its energy supply. Under the effects of her magic, the statue's movements slowed slightly, and its strength weakened.

The mysterious figure and the Ice Princess each cast their own magic to aid Agang in his fight against the statues. The mysterious figure summoned the power of fear from the darkness, a force that struck fear into the statues and affected their fighting spirit. The Ice Princess cast her ice magic, creating a thick layer of ice around the statues, attempting to trap them.

Under their combined attack, the stone statues' attack was gradually contained. However, these stone statues were numerous, and they seemed to have some kind of coordinated combat capability. They began to change their tactics, with some launching a frontal attack on Xu Tiancai and his men, while others attempted to flank them.

"We can't be surrounded by them. Concentrate our forces on one direction," Xu Tiancai shouted. They launched a fiercer attack on one side of the ruins, attempting to break through the circle of stone statues. Agang wielded his battle axe, weaving through the group of stone statues like a whirlwind, each strike inflicting considerable damage. Lin cast a large-scale elemental spell, combining the four elements of wind, fire, water, and earth to form a powerful energy wave that swept towards the group of stone statues. The mysterious figure and the Ice Princess also unleashed their special moves, effectively restraining the stone statues' movements with the power of fear and ice magic.

After a hard fight, they finally broke through the circle of stone statues and ran towards the depths of the ruins. As they ran, they found some passages leading to the underground. They guessed that the sarcophagus might be underground, so they chose a passage to enter.

The underground passage was dark and damp, with water constantly seeping from the walls, a dripping sound echoing through the passage. A pungent smell filled the air, as if something had been rotting there for a long time. They walked cautiously, wary of any possible danger.

At the end of the passage, they discovered a massive burial chamber. In the center of the chamber lay a massive sarcophagus, inscribed with intricate runes and patterns. Surrounding the sarcophagus were small stone platforms, upon which lay ancient artifacts: rusted weapons, broken pottery, and faintly glowing gemstones.

As they approached the sarcophagus, they felt the powerful force of the runes. These runes seemed to be an ancient seal, preventing outsiders from opening the sarcophagus. Lin examined the runes carefully and found that they were similar to the runes in the image they had seen in the ruins square.

"These runes may be the key to opening the sarcophagus. We need to decipher them," Lin said. She and the mysterious figure began to study the runes on the sarcophagus, trying to find a way to open it. As they studied, the atmosphere in the tomb grew increasingly tense, as if something was watching them.

Suddenly, green flames appeared on the tomb's walls. The flames flickered like will-o'-the-wisp, illuminating a corner of the chamber. Ghostly figures emerged from the green flames. These figures' bodies were ethereal, their eyes like blood-red gems, emitting a fierce glow. The ghosts drifted toward Xu Tiancai and the others, their mouths emitting shrill cries, as if expressing endless resentment.

Xu Tiancai hurriedly cast a defensive spell, and a multicolored light curtain reappeared, blocking the ghost's attack. But the ghost kept hitting the light curtain, and each impact made the light curtain flicker. Ah Gang swung his battle axe and chopped at the ghost, but the axe passed through the ghost's body without causing any damage.