"Oof! I really think I need physical training!" said Xiao Ping as he reached out and pulled the protruding square from the floor, revealing a tunnel leading underground... an opening large enough for an adult.
"Man, what's down there!?" Xiao Ping looked suspiciously at the ghost gardener, who ignored his words and descended into the opening.
Xiao Ping followed and climbed down. There were wooden stairs nailed to the wall of the opening... It grew darker the further he descended, so Xiao Ping activated his ability to see more clearly in the dark.
After several minutes, Xiao Ping looked down and saw only four steps remained to the ground, so he jumped, landing with a roll, then stood up adjusting his hat on his head.
The ghost gardener looked strangely at Xiao Ping's action, but soon turned and walked into a tunnel ahead, with Xiao Ping quickly following... With every step he took in the tunnel, he saw strange engravings and inscribed words.
After walking for a while, they reached a stone chamber. There was a giant door, open, with two colossal statues on either side, their appearance majestic, each holding a sword pointed towards the other.
"What is this place? Don't tell me I've entered an ancient temple! Will I finally get a legendary artifact to increase my power?" Xiao Ping wished aloud as he passed between the statues and entered through that door.
The first thing he saw upon entering was a strange, bright light, so he quickly covered his eyes before anything else... Once his eyes adjusted to the illumination, he deactivated his abilities and looked at the scene before him.
There were two winged tigers holding a huge platform in the air. A small luminous stone floated at its top while rotating between two stones resembling giant spears, one pointing its sharp tip downward from the ground, the other pointing its sharp tip upward from above.
There were also luminous but faint stones pulsing with different colors, rotating around and above the platform in harmony.
"Amazing!" Xiao Ping exclaimed loudly and wanted to advance, but the ghost gardener stopped him, took a medium-sized stone, and threw it towards that platform.
What happened was that it suddenly shattered, not even dust remaining. At that moment, Xiao Ping swallowed his saliva, regained his composure, and was no longer captivated by the beautiful display before him.
Suddenly, the ghost headed towards another path—a spiral staircase, where each step appeared only after stepping on the previous one.
He then gestured for Xiao Ping to follow him up as he stopped at the top of the stairs. There were three differently shaped indentations, from which a mysterious glow emanated.
When Xiao Ping reached the top, one of the indentations, which looked like a place for something circular, caught his attention... The first thing that came to his mind was the watch in his pocket.
"Should I put it here?" Xiao Ping said to the ghost gardener, as he took the watch from his trouser pocket.
The ghost said nothing and only gestured for Xiao Ping to try. So Xiao Ping soon approached that indentation and placed the watch in it. However, at that moment, a strange gravitational force appeared and secured the watch in that indentation.
At that moment, the watch began moving its hands backwards, and those strange words written inside it... suddenly emerged and began flipping in the air under the watchful eyes of Xiao Ping and the ghost.
Xiao Ping focused on those words floating in the air, which suddenly returned to the watch. But immediately upon their return, a burst of wind erupted, forcing Xiao Ping to step back while holding his hat, along with the ghost.
"Wow! That's strong!" Xiao Ping said as he resisted that gust of wind.
He looked towards the indentation where the watch had entered; it extended a golden energy that moved through cracks beside those indentations until it reached them... Those indentations began to glow as drawings started forming around them in a strange manner... This revealed to Xiao Ping that what was currently being drawn was a map, though he didn't know why.
When the drawings were complete, Xiao Ping found upon looking at them that much of it was covered by a white mist, with only a few things visible... like waterfalls flowing upwards, mountains floating in the air, seas flying in the air instead of on the ground... and some parts of a dense forest with many temples visible in the drawing, each temple bearing a golden dot... There were also some snowy regions with drawings of temples of strange design, though not as numerous as the temples drawn in the forest, even though they... were incomplete.
Xiao Ping tried to touch it after taking precaution by activating his ability. He saw there was nothing like hidden energy threads that made anything touching it disappear or traps.
He wanted to touch the area where there was some snow... But when he touched it, the white mist shifted to that part and covered it. Xiao Ping didn't stop trying and touched a part of the flying water in the air, only for that mist to cover it too. At that moment, Xiao Ping stopped himself from touching and looked at his gloved hand, then turned his gaze back to the gardener and said: "Who are you and why do you know such a place! You're not just a gardener, are you?"
"You're right, young man!" Suddenly, the gardener replied, making Xiao Ping raise his guard slightly...: "I am a person who doesn't belong here! Or let's say I am a person who doesn't belong to this era!"
"What do you mean you don't belong!?" asked Xiao Ping.
"What I mean is that I am a person who doesn't belong to this time!" replied the gardener.
"Huh! You don't belong to this time?" Xiao Ping asked, surprised.
"Yes! And before you say anything! I'll tell you that I was just a projection of a special consciousness... I came to this time specifically to search for the lost heritage from 35 years ago. After long hardship, I found this place, but a few days ago... someone sneaked behind me one night, so I fought him and defeated him! But, I let him go. Do you know why?" asked the gardener.
"Simply, you wanted someone worthy of carrying your consciousness, and I know you didn't mention this because your consciousness was slowly fading and you needed a new body to control, but that person didn't have the qualities of the ideal body for you... So you let him go, and when you reached... the limits of your body, you left it and severed it yourself using your powers and threw it in the sewers to... attribute it to the serial killer and make your death seem like an ordinary case away from everyone's eyes! Isn't that right?" Xiao Ping asked coldly.
The ghost gardener opened his mouth and said: "You are very smart, young man, you deduced everything... just from a few words of mine! I wish we had met under different circumstances, we could have... formed a great team. But now!" After saying that, he continued: "I also didn't expect... that you possess one of the artifacts designated for activating the Cosmic Map!"
What! Was that golden watch with the strange words inside it an artifact!? But, I don't know what the Cosmic Map is even though... it's in front of me now! Xiao Ping thought to himself while... saying: "Black Abyss Pistol, arise!"
Upon saying that, a terrifying pressure of darkness erupted around him... mixing with his bloody crimson aura as well, and he looked at the gardener.
"Hehehe, you have an artifact, but that's not enough!" That gardener shot towards Xiao Ping at high speed.
Xiao Ping tried to fire the Abyss Pistol at the ghost, but the gardener didn't let him do so, instead directing several energy-laden strikes at Xiao Ping, who managed to land one punch on Xiao Ping.
"Ughhhh!" Xiao Ping let out a groan as he suddenly lost his balance.
"You! Just an insect at Level One! While I am at Level Three! Even if you're using an artifact! It's not enough to bridge the huge experience gap between us! Just surrender and hand over your body to me!" shouted the gardener.
"In your dreams! You damned ghost!" said Xiao Ping as he quickly regained his balance and aimed the Abyss Pistol at the gardener, who wanted to descend after Xiao Ping. However, he was caught in a dilemma at this moment because Xiao Ping fired a shot at him. He couldn't avoid it, and it pierced the ghost's body at high speed... causing half his body to dissipate from that, before he was thrown back to the ceiling, carving a path upwards.
"Gwaaagh!" The ghost let out a strange groan as he tried to restore his ghostly body from the shot, but he couldn't fill the void caused by that strike from the Abyss Pistol.
"Damn! It turns out this artifact! was from the Winged Knight's path! But that doesn't matter because I will annihilate you with this attack!" said the gardener as he pointed his hand at Xiao Ping.
But, Xiao Ping launched quickly and climbed the last step between him and that gardener before saying: "I see it! Sever!"
At that moment, something swift shot out and severed the silver thread through which that gardener's energy was flowing, disabling him momentarily. But that moment cost him his remaining life.
Because at that moment, small shadows from the ring appeared and attached themselves to the remaining part of the ghost gardener's body, suddenly pulling him forcefully towards it.
"Disgusting!" said the gardener as he tried to escape, but couldn't.
"Do you think I'm a fool for coming with you without any caution?" Xiao Ping asked him as he pushed him back a little with the shadow creatures, then turned him to the side facing the luminous stone, which couldn't affect the shadow creatures at all.
"What?" exclaimed the gardener.
"Kekekeke! I am a very cautious person! As you don't know! Therefore, I tricked you by running to this similar place and revealing your plan was something like a warning to me that something was suspicious... You didn't show any effort in speaking until now! And this increased my suspicions, and also, as I said before, do you think I'm a fool for following you here? And let me say everything... I've done so far was an act! Just to reveal your intention! You gardener who isn't from this era, I'm sorry to say that I manipulated you and you didn't manipulate me!" Xiao Ping said to the ghost's face.
"Hehehehehehe, young man, you are truly clever, but there's something you haven't realized yet! And that is I am from the path of the Detonator and do you know what that means?" said the ghost as he asked Xiao Ping.
"No... why?" asked Xiao Ping, making the situation seem ridiculous from the gardener's point of view.
"I hit you with several strikes before and touched you many times since we walked together, so I left resonance marks on you that activate automatically, and if you don't know what that means! It simply means that if I just... snap my fingers, those marks will split and what that will cause is... boom!" said the gardener.
"Damn!" Xiao Ping realized the predicament he was in, but he didn't lose his cool and made sure to stay calm and find a solution to this terrible predicament. Suddenly, an idea appeared in his mind, making him smile devilishly, but he hid it quickly.
"What do you want?" said Xiao Ping calmly.
"Deactivate your power and raise your hands high, and also, remove that ring from your finger and roll it calmly towards me, if you don't want to die!" said the ghost gardener in a confident voice.
"Alright!" said Xiao Ping as he removed the Abyss Ring, which suddenly extinguished its dark violet pulse... and with its removal, those shadow creatures restraining the ghost disappeared.
"Good... now push it towards me and raise your hand high as I said, did you understand?!" said the ghost in an excited voice.
"Yes, I understood!" said Xiao Ping as he bent down and pushed the black Abyss Ring towards the ghost, suddenly raising his hands high.
"Yes... come to me!" said the ghost as he looked at the ring rolling towards him... before grabbing it and lifting it happily with his hand, then said: "Now approach me calmly, don't try anything suspicious!"
"Alright, I'll come!" said Xiao Ping as he walked towards the ghost with his hands held high, walking with eerie calmness.
"Hehehe, hurry up, you've lost to me now! You have no chance against me without the artifact... so surrender!" shouted the gardener confidently.
But, suddenly, Xiao Ping stopped walking and stood before the ghost, smiling as... he lowered his hands and quickly opened his coat, saying: "Vioundra, now!"
At that moment, when Xiao Ping mentioned Vioundra's name, the flower in his pocket moved, and strange changes occurred on it, like it turning black and blood-red, and its aura changed greatly.
So as soon as... Xiao Ping opened his coat, it released dozens of black and blood-red threads towards the ghost... at such high speed that he couldn't react due to the short distance between them.
"What—" the ghost tried to say something... but... the energy threads had already pierced his body quickly... making him drop the Abyss Ring in the air and hurling the ghost towards the luminous stone. When the remaining part of the ghost's body, which... was full of holes worse than the hut, touched it, it vanished in an instant while letting out a horrific scream.
"Kekekeke, I'm the one who won!" said Xiao Ping as he quickly picked up the Abyss Ring... and then looked at Vioundra... who showed a great change in her power.
"Did you... evolve using my aura and the black Abyss aura? That's amazing.... And also thank you, Vioundra. Without you, I would have perished today! I'll make sure to buy ten different fertilizers for you!" said Xiao Ping as he patted Vioundra, who... was shaking herself merrily.
"And now, where were we? Oh right, what will I do with this place? I can't leave it; it's a big secret that must be hidden carefully, and I might need it in the future too!" said Xiao Ping as he turned towards the Cosmic Map and took out the watch. Instantly, the map lost its glow and returned to being just a rock with carvings.
"It really is an important artifact for activating the Cosmic Map! Maybe I should search for the remaining pieces in the future!" he said while... looking at the luminous stone and saying: "Maybe I should apply for the vacant position!"
"I also think... that the person who doesn't belong to this era or world is me!" Saying that, he descended from the stairs and was... about to leave when something pulled him.
...
End of Chapter ~ To be continued