The genius who counterattacked the mainland

Chapter 163

After entering the portal, a strange force instantly enveloped Xu Tiancai and the others, as if they had passed through an invisible membrane. They felt a burst of light before their eyes, a vibrant, dreamlike brilliance so intense it nearly blinded them. As the light gradually faded, a whole new world unfolded before them.

This was a vast expanse of space. Beneath the crystal-clear ground, one could clearly see the multicolored energy flowing beneath the surface, like dancing ribbons. In the distance, rolling mountains rose, yet these mountains were no ordinary creation. They seemed composed of countless gigantic crystals. Illuminated by an unknown source, they refracted a myriad of colors, radiant as the stars of the universe. The sky was devoid of the sun, yet streaks of light and shadow intertwined and crisscrossed, like ancient runes inscribed with a mysterious story.

"Is this the new world? It feels full of unknown dangers." Lin frowned slightly, her eyes full of vigilance. She mobilized the elements around her, but found that the elemental energy here was very different from the previous world. It seemed to be shrouded by a higher level of power and was elusive.

Agang gripped his battle axe tightly, his muscles tense, like a cheetah ready to pounce. "No matter what dangers lie ahead, we must keep moving forward. We've come this far." His voice was low and firm, and his eyes revealed fearless courage.

The mysterious figure stood still, his black robes fluttering in the wind. He stared at the light and shadows in the sky, trying to decipher some information from them. "These lights and shadows seem to have some kind of pattern, perhaps a clue to guide us forward," he muttered to himself.

The Ice Princess raised her hand slightly, and the temperature around her dropped slightly, causing tiny ice crystals to form around her. "The energy here is strange. My ice magic is struggling." A hint of worry crossed her face.

Xu Tiancai looked at the artifact in his hand. Its light seemed dim in this world, but a tenacious power still flowed through it. "Everyone, be careful. Let's look around for any clues first," he said.

They began walking in one direction, feeling the wonderful touch of the crystal floor beneath their feet with every step, as if a gentle force was massaging their soles. Suddenly, a mist appeared in front of them. The mist was light blue and dreamy, with faint flickering lights and shadows within it.

"This fog doesn't look right. Everyone, get ready," Xu Tiancai warned. He raised his magical artifact, which glowed faintly, trying to dispel the fog. But the fog seemed to have a life of its own, constantly rolling and surging, showing no sign of dispersing.

Agang was the first to enter the fog, his battle axe swinging before him, clearing a path for everyone. As soon as they entered, they found themselves in a maze, the surrounding scenery constantly shifting, sometimes appearing as giant crystal pillars, sometimes as illusory figures of light and shadow. These figures varied in form, some dancing gracefully, others engaged in fierce combat, as if enacting the history of this world.

"We seem to be trapped. The road here keeps changing." Lin cast a detection magic, but the magic was severely disturbed by the fog and could only detect a small area around.

The mysterious figure stopped, closed his eyes, and attempted to use his mental power to perceive his surroundings. "This space is shrouded in a powerful illusion. What we see may not be real," he said.

The Ice Princess cast the Ice Mark magic, leaving some ice marks on the surrounding crystal pillars, hoping to find a way back. "We can't go blindly, we have to find a way to break the illusion," she said.

At that moment, figures of light and shadow suddenly swarmed around them. These figures seemed illusory, but as they approached, they felt a powerful impact. The figures wielded various weapons—swords, bows, and staffs—and attacked Xu Tiancai and the others.

A Gang swung his battle axe and fought with the rushing figures. The battle axe struck the figures with a crisp sound, and the figures were chopped into pieces and disappeared into streaks of light, but soon new figures emerged from the mist.

Xu Tiancai unleashed his artifact's attack skill, sending a multicolored arrow of light darting towards the figures. The figures trembled slightly after the arrows struck them, but they weren't seriously injured. "These figures appear to be composed of this energy; ordinary attacks have little effect on them," Xu Tiancai said.

Lin cast an elemental fusion spell, fusing the four elements of wind, fire, water, and earth together to form a powerful energy wave that rushed towards the group of figures. Wherever the energy wave reached, the figures were scattered, but they quickly reassembled.

The mysterious figure summoned the power of darkness, which shot out like black lightning towards the surrounding fog and the figure. When the dark power touched the figure, black spots appeared on its body, and its movements became sluggish.

The Ice Princess cast her ice storm magic, and a massive ice storm raged through the fog. Sharp ice spikes in the ice storm pierced and shattered the statues, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet, and the fog began to dissipate.

Under their combined attack, the attack of the statue was temporarily contained. But they knew that this was only temporary and they had to find a way to break the illusion as soon as possible and leave this foggy maze.

Xu Tiancai began to carefully observe the crystal pillars around him. He found some subtle lines on the crystal pillars, which seemed to be connected to the light and shadow in the sky. He followed the lines on the crystal pillars and found that they pointed in a certain direction.

"Everyone follow me. The patterns on these crystal pillars may be clues to the way out." Xu Tiancai said.

They walked in the direction indicated by the lines, and were constantly attacked by human figures along the way. However, with their powerful magic and tacit cooperation, they repelled the figures time and time again.

As they walked, they found a huge light and shadow barrier in front of them. Various complex patterns flashed on the barrier, and these patterns looked like a huge puzzle.

"This should be the key to breaking the illusion. We have to solve this puzzle." Lin said.

They began studying the patterns on the light and shadow barrier and discovered some recurring elements, resembling ancient symbols. Xu Tiancai pulled out the data he had collected from various ruins, trying to find information related to these symbols.

After some research, they discovered that these symbols represented different elements and directions. They needed to touch the symbols on the light and shadow barrier in a certain order to break the illusion.

The mysterious figure, drawing on his knowledge of occult lore, began directing everyone to touch symbols. Following his instructions, they touched the symbols on the light and shadow barrier one by one. Each time they touched a symbol, the light on the barrier flickered.

When the last symbol was touched, a powerful light erupted from the light and shadow barrier. The light spread outward like a tide, and the surrounding fog and human figures instantly vanished without a trace under the light.

As they emerged from the misty maze, the scene before them shifted again. A path of light appeared before them, leading to a vast city suspended in mid-air. The city's architecture was unique, with towering spires inlaid with enormous, luminous gems. The light from these gems illuminated the entire city like a beacon. There were also massive circular buildings, their surfaces covered in intricate patterns that seemed to tell of the city's glorious history. There were also bridge-like structures connecting different areas, each protected by a transparent energy shield gleaming with mysterious runes.

"That city should be where we are going. It may have what we need." Xu Tiancai said.

They set out on the Path of Light, heading towards the city. As they approached, they sensed a powerful energy field. This energy field seemed to be the city's defense mechanism, exerting an invisible pressure on them.

"This energy field is quite strong, we have to be careful when passing through it," Lin said.

They walked cautiously towards the energy field. When they touched the energy field, they found that the energy field did not attack them, but only had a slight resistance. They continued to move forward and slowly passed through the energy field.

After entering the city, they found it was silent and without any signs of life. The streets were paved with a luminous material, and walking on it was like walking on clouds, which was a very magical feeling.

As they walked along the street, they found shops lining both sides, filled with all sorts of bizarre items. There were crystal balls emitting a mysterious light, seemingly housing a small world; there were strangely shaped weapons, inscribed with intricate runes that shimmered in different colors; and there were also mechanical devices whose purpose was incomprehensible, with buttons and dials, and the hands on the dials kept turning.

"These items look very mysterious. I wonder what they are used for." Agang looked at the items in the store curiously and reached out to touch a crystal ball.

"Don't move, these things may be dangerous." Xu Tiancai quickly stopped him.

At that moment, a sirens suddenly blared in the city. The sirens were sharp and piercing, echoing across the sky. As the sirens blared, red lights appeared on the surrounding buildings, gradually converging into beams of energy that shot towards them.

"Oh no, we have triggered the city's defense system, everyone hide quickly!" Xu Tiancai shouted.

They quickly sought cover, dodging the energy beams. Agang blocked several of the energy beams with his battle axe, the axe intersecting with the beams, sending up a shower of sparks. Lin cast an elemental shield, enveloping herself and the Ice Princess beside her, blocking most of the energy beams. The mysterious figure used the power of darkness to conceal himself, evading the energy beams.

Xu Tiancai inserted the artifact into the ground, and it released a multicolored light curtain, protecting the area around them. However, the energy ray attack became increasingly fierce, and cracks began to appear in the multicolored light curtain under the attack.

"This is not a solution. We have to find a way to shut down the defense system." Xu Tiancai said.

They began to search for clues to shut down the defense system in the city, and in the process of searching, they found some console-like devices on the street. There were some glowing buttons and display screens on the consoles, and some strange codes were displayed on the display screens.

Lin walked over to the console and began to study the code on the display. She found that the code seemed to be an ancient programming language, similar to the runes she had seen in some ancient ruins before.

"I'll try to see if I can crack these codes," Lin said.

She began to cast magic, attempting to establish a connection with the console. She injected her spiritual power into the console, deciphering the meaning of the code through magic. Through her efforts, she gradually understood the logic of the code.

"These codes control the defense system. We need to enter the correct instructions to shut it down." Lin said.

She began to input commands on the console. With each command, the surrounding energy beam attack would weaken a little. But just as she was about to finish inputting the command, an energy pulse suddenly popped out from the console and shot towards Lin.

A Gang was quick-witted and rushed forward to block the energy pulse with his body. The energy pulse hit A Gang's body, and he was shocked and flew backwards, falling heavily to the ground.

"Agang!" everyone exclaimed.

Lin hurried to Agang's side and cast a healing spell. A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Agang's mouth. He endured the pain and said, "I'm fine, don't worry about me, continue to shut down the defense system."