Eternal Thief

Chapter 1611: Hunt for Treasures! (6)

The price of the Iniquitous Crystal reflected its rarity as one crystal cost 20,000 contribution points, and with Dargoth’s current points, Ace could only purchase two.

After learning everything about the Iniquitous Crystal, his interest immediately deepened, as he was already curious about these crystals.

After all, Dargoth had bought the Iniquitous Crystal a while ago, before he entered seclusion cultivation, and this might also explain why he had been on the verge of a breakthrough earlier.

Without hesitation, Ace selected the exchange option, and the Central Repository’s emotionless voice responded instantly.

”Exchange confirmed!”

”One Iniquitous Crystal!”

The moment the confirmation ended, something strange happened. A small spatial opening suddenly appeared in the air above the platform.

Ace’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly with a hint of astonishment, despite him having already seen this scene in Dargoth’s memories. He knew this peculiar spatial gate was the Central Repository’s method for delivering treasures.

After all, the repositories scattered across the Corpse Clan were merely exchange terminals, and the real treasury existed somewhere else. That’s why, when an exchange was confirmed, the Central Repository would open a spatial channel and send the requested item.

Keeping this thing in mind, Ace’s true purpose in coming here was not simply to trade, and he wanted to see whether it was possible to enter this spatial opening.

If he could slip through that gateway, he might directly reach the true heart of the Central Repository. But Ace wasn’t that naïve and already knew the reality.

He knew no one was so righteous especially Corpse Cultivators of Heterodox Path, to never even tried to use the same method to secretly steal cultivation resources using the same method.

Even Dargoth had once thought about it, or probably all the strongest members of the Corpse Clan couldn’t just ignore the allure of gaining powerful treasures and rising to the top.

Moreover, it wasn’t just empty speculation because, according to Dargoth’s memories, a Grand Abyssal Lord had attempted to force their way into this opening because of their maddening mind state.

He had used their full power and even made Space Law his primary law, yet he didn’t succeed and was quickly suppressed by the Corpse Clan’s top experts.

From that day on, anyone who had the same thoughts kept to themselves and dared not to probe the spatial gateway, as it might look simple, but in truth, it was an extremely complex mechanism linked to the Central Repository’s mysterious system.

No one had ever managed to break into it, but still, as Ace stared at the two-meter-wide, swirling opening in the air, a strange light flickered in his eyes. Because, unlike the Corpse Clan, he was a thief equipped with thievish techniques and skills that others couldn’t even imagine existed!

At this moment, the swirling spatial opening above the exchange platform rotated slowly like a silent vortex suspended in midair, and pale-gray strands of distorted space twisted inward toward its center, forming a tunnel whose depth could not be perceived even with law sense.

Nonetheless, Ace still watched it closely; within the corpse vessel of the Abyssal Thunder Demon, violet corpse-flames burned steadily as his law thief sense sharpened to its limits.

Right at that moment, something emerged. A small crystalline object slipped out of the vortex as if pushed forward by an invisible hand. It floated gently downward before landing upon the black stone platform.

The spatial gateway began to collapse almost immediately. But in the exact instant the object passed through the opening, Ace felt something extremely strange. But it was so subtle that if it wasn’t for his Law Thief Sense, he might have missed it entirely.

Ace felt a faint sensation flash through his perception like the snap of a hidden mechanism. He mused that it was not a fluctuation of Space Law, nor was it simply the movement of spatial currents.

Instead, it felt almost identical to the moment a sealed lock was opened. For a fraction of an instant, something within the spatial channel seemed to unlock, and then it sealed again.

The entire sensation lasted no longer than a blink as even Ace himself couldn’t be certain whether it had truly happened or if his senses had simply misinterpreted the spatial turbulence of the gateway. Yet the feeling lingered faintly in his mind.

Meanwhile, the item had fully emerged. The Iniquitous Crystal now rested quietly upon the platform.

It was about the size of a human thumb, shaped like an irregular shard of obsidian glass. Its surface was smooth yet layered with faint crystalline facets that reflected pale light in shifting patterns.

But the crystal was not truly black; deep within its core, thin streaks of dark crimson and ghostly gray swirled, twisting slowly like threads of smoke trapped inside solid glass.

Those streaks pulsed faintly, releasing a quiet yet profound aura, and the moment Ace’s senses touched the crystal, his true soul reacted as a strange resonance spread through his consciousness.

Ace was astounded because he could tell that this resonance wasn’t from the Corpse Qi, nor was it from the Abyssal Qi or Spirit Qi. Instead, it carried a peculiar fluctuation that seemed to brush lightly against the foundation of laws, almost like a whisper calling to deeper comprehension.

Even though Ace had not refined it yet, he could already feel the crystal attempting to harmonize with the laws within his body.

”Fascinating...” Ace muttered faintly within the corpse vessel.

Because he knew anything that could resonate with his true foundation wasn’t someone ordinary, and there might be more to it that even the Corpse Clan and Evernight Council failed to understand.

He thought with a hint of astonishment, ’The Iniquitous Crystal truly deserved its reputation, and such a treasure would be priceless even outside the Corpse Clan. No wonder the Council wants it so badly to even lower their stance against the Undead Clan!’

But Ace’s attention only lingered on the crystal for a moment as his mind was still focused on the brief sensation he had felt earlier.

’Was that really a seal or lock that I’ve sensed?’ Ace thought with a hint of befuddlement.

But he knew the feeling had been unmistakable as when the crystal passed through the spatial opening, something inside the gateway had momentarily opened like a gate unlocking before immediately sealing again.

The timing had been impossibly short, and almost instantaneous, while the spatial vortex above the platform was already beginning to shrink. Within three seconds, the opening would close completely unless another exchange request was initiated.

Ace stared at the fading vortex, a dangerous light slowly igniting within his eyes. Because the Corpse Clan might see this spatial gate as an impenetrable delivery channel.

But to Ace, who possessed the Universal Key, there wasn’t anything unlockable for him!