Eternal Thief

Chapter 1636: The Sky Stealer in Undead Cradle! (2)

Ace blinked once, and then a wry smile tugged at his lips, ’...Well, I guess he caught on quite quickly!’

There was even a hint of mockery in his eyes now, despite the danger, but his pace didn’t slow. If anything, he moved faster.

’I need to get out of here. Now!’

Ace didn’t look back as the moment that roar tore through the domain, something fundamental had changed. The air itself felt different, no longer just heavy with Corpse Qi, but violently unstable, like a structure on the verge of collapse.

He moved under the cover of Lawless Darkness, his figure became less than a shadow, slipping through the vein-lined tunnels with absolute precision.

Dark Tempest surged again, pushed past its limits, his Primordial Spirit Qi burning at a terrifying rate.

Behind him, the Corpse Governor’s presence spread like a storm as it wasn’t controlled anymore, searching for its target or anything that wasn’t supposed to be moving!

---

Deep within the core, the Corpse Governor’s corpse flames burned wildly as fragments of thought twisted into a single, undeniable conclusion.

’It escaped. That thing... the one behind the Undead Heart Seal. The one the ancestral records feared. The one tied to the Corpse Clan’s greatest calamity!’

No matter how mad or cunning the Corpse Governor was, even he couldn’t think that some outsider was behind this impossible disappearance of the Undead Heart Seal, so the most natural conclusion had to be the ’entity’ sealed inside.

”...You think you can run...?” His voice rasped, trembling with hatred as images overlapped in his mind.

The most likely broken seal, the empty space, and finally those words...those mocking words that shouldn’t exist, yet echoed as if carved into his very soul.

He was now convinced that a presence that had watched, waited, and endured behind that seal was none other than...

”SKY STEALER...!” He roared again, the name twisting into something venomous.

To him, there was no doubt anymore, as this wasn’t an intruder, but this was the hidden entity. The root of everything and now... it had taken everything and fled.

Moreover, since it chose to flee rather than face him, it was clear that this entity was weakened and likely vulnerable at the moment. His killing intent surged, no longer restrained by logic or doubt.

However, due to the missing seal, the entire domain seemed to respond as corpse veins pulsed violently, pathways trembled, and formations destabilized.

But he didn’t care as he would personally tear everything apart if he had to!

---

On the other hand, Ace, completely unaware of this misunderstanding, only felt danger; the kind that didn’t leave room for mistakes, as his speed increased again, for the ruined hall wasn’t far.

When he reached the hidden passage behind the corpse vessel, his steps halted for a fraction of a second, and his eyes narrowed.

Because the passage that he needed to use the Tainted Qi Disarray to open was already opened instead of being sealed.

Maybe it was because the missing corpse vessel, now stolen by Ace, or, more likely, because the effect of the missing seal was spreading even more quickly.

For the briefest moment, even Ace was caught off guard, and then another grave realization hit.

’The Undead Boundary!’

His gaze sharpened instantly, as the passage was supported by the same core formation and by the same power connected to the Undead Heart Seal. Now that it was gone, which meant everything tied to it had lost its foundation!

A chill ran through him, but not from fear but from understanding.

’The barrier protecting the Lower Grave Strata will also be gone soon. Which means, the thing that kept the Evernight Council at bay will also be no more...’

Ace’s heart raced wildly when that realization struck him, and he didn’t know how long it would take for the entire barrier to finally cease functioning or how long it would take for them to notice it. But it didn’t matter.

’I’m not staying to find out!’

Without hesitation, he slipped through the open passage and appeared in the ruined hall, and a familiar view appeared in front of him again.

However, this time, it was no longer silent; the next moment, Ace’s pupils shrank slightly, as one of the ten corpse vessels had already been stolen by him, but the other nine also seemed to be activated.

But out of the nine, only three were there, while the six were missing.

Yet, the present corpse puppet’s corpse flames burned like raging infernos, crimson and violent, as terrifying spiritual pressure flooded the hall. Killing intent radiated from them in waves, thick enough to suffocate anything living.

They stood facing the open passage, scanning and waiting, as if they knew something would come through.

Ace felt cold sweat form along his back, but his movements didn’t falter as the Lawless Darkness held perfectly, and step by step, he walked right past them.

He was so close he could feel the distortion in the air from their power, and one of them shifted slightly, making Ace’s heart tighten. But it didn’t look at him because it couldn’t see Ace, and nothing was there.

Silently, he crossed the hall and didn’t stop.

However, the tunnels beyond were worse because two of the missing corpse puppets were there, scanning the entire area. The oppressive aura here was even heavier, chaotic, like commands were being issued constantly, overlapping, searching for something that couldn’t be found.

Ace adjusted his breathing as he slipped through again, but every step felt like walking along the edge of a blade, for even one mistake meant he’d be torn apart instantly.

When he entered the labyrinth again, he immediately noticed the difference.

’It is also...disabled!’

Ace’s eyes flickered with elation and relief because as he moved forward, the shifting paths were gone as if the living mechanism that once blocked his path had completely stopped functioning, just like the entrance passage.

’So, it really was all connected to the seal as well!’

Now, it was nothing more than an empty maze, except for the corpse puppets wandering the corridors, their presence erratic, their movements sharp, as if searching blindly.

But without the labyrinth’s coordination, they were disjointed and inefficient, not to mention the Lawless Darkness wouldn’t let them notice Ace anyway.

Ace didn’t slow as He passed through the broken system like a ghost slipping through cracks, and finally reached the exchange platform, which was also his exit, yet he had miscalculated!