Strange Paths to Immortality

The group picked their way through the glowing forest, shards of crystal crunching underfoot. Chen Jiuzhang ran his hand along a fallen obelisk, the key on his palm vibrating in response to the ancient stone. "This place... it's like the Gui Xu Secret Realm, but more... alive."

Su Nian kicked a luminescent fern, which retracted with a squeak. "Alive and creepy. How are we supposed to find this 'entropy equation' when everything's in pieces?"

Lyra stopped at a patch of ground where runes were etched into the crystal. "Wait—the architects encoded their knowledge in the environment. These runes are reacting to my scanner." She pressed a device to the ground, and a holographic map of the crystal city materialized. "The equation's core should be in the central spire, but it's surrounded by a containment field."

Just then, Zhang Chengying held up a hand. "Listen." A metallic clicking echoed through the forest, growing louder. Dozens of silver spiders emerged from the ruins, each the size of a dog, their legs ending in energy blades.

"Construct guardians," Luna said, starlight gathering in her hands. "They're programmed to eliminate foreign entities."

The spiders attacked in a wave, their blades slicing through the air. Su Nian whipped her chains, wrapping them around a spider's leg and yanking it off balance. Zhang Chengying slammed his palms into the ground, summoning a wall of crystal to block their path.

Chen Jiuzhang aimed a balanced blast of light and dark at the lead spider, but the energy merely bounced off its metallic shell. "Their armor is polarized against primal forces—we need a different approach."

Lyra threw a small device at the ground, which emitted a high - pitched frequency. The spiders hesitated, their sensors overloading. "Now! The field's weak point should be at the spire's base—follow the map!"

They raced through the forest, the spiders recovering behind them. The crystal city loomed ahead, its spires cracked and glowing with erratic energy. As they reached the central spire, a massive hologram of an architect appeared, its form made of swirling light and shadow.

"To claim the equation," the hologram said, "you must prove you understand entropy's dual nature." A pedestal rose from the ground, holding five empty slots shaped like Earth's elements: fire, water, air, earth, and spirit.

"Wu Laogou's memory fragment," Chen Jiuzhang realized. "We need to place Earth elements here."

But before they could respond, the sky above darkened. The Dimension Observers' pyramid drones materialized, their silver eyes locking onto the group. "Flawed entities detected," a mechanical voice boomed. "Initiating memory wipe protocol."

A beam of light shot from the drones, hitting Chen Jiuzhang first. His mind went blank, but the key on his palm flared, pushing the light back. "They're trying to erase our knowledge of the entropy converter!"

Luna and Lyra aimed their magic at the drones, but their attacks had no effect. Zhang Chengying grabbed a glowing crystal shard from the ground, tossing it into one of the drone's energy intakes. The drone exploded, but more took its place.

Su Nian pointed to a glowing river nearby. "That water—its frequency matches Earth's oceans!"

Chen Jiuzhang nodded, understanding. "Each element slot needs a piece of Earth that's connected to the Primordial Weave. The river for water, a volcanic crystal for fire—"

But as he spoke, the drones surrounded them, their beams intensifying. The hologram of the architect began to fade, and the pedestal's slots started to close. They had minutes to find the elements, or the knowledge needed to save Earth would be lost forever.