Eternal Thief

Ace was astounded when Malservus revealed this shocking secret about the Soul Resurrection Bead.

“Soul Channeling?” Ace replied with a contemplative expression, “Is this ability something that has to do with the reason you want me to help you absorb 10 Billion Wandering Souls?”

“Fufu~ exactly. The Soul Channeling ability allows the master of the Soul Resurrection Bead to absorb any soul and turn it into ’Soul Vitality’, which can help heal, cure, or even recover from all kinds of soul-related injuries, and even nurture souls and make them more powerful while keeping them alive for almost eternity.

“If you were in the Heavens, gathering souls would be akin to creating a slaughter field, but the Abyss of Wandering Souls lacks anything but souls. Furthermore, the Wandering Souls of the Abyss of Wandering Souls are not like your typical souls; the unique laws of the Abyss nurture them.

“So, absorbing them would bring more benefits in comparison to absorbing souls of the same cultivation realm. I only want 10 billion wandering souls because they can help me completely stabilize my condition, and I won’t fall into sudden slumbers again. I might even recover a fraction of my powers.

“If I absorb more, they’ll be utterly useless to me because no matter how powerful wandering souls of the Abyss of Wandering Souls are, they are still limited by the Abyssal Laws.

“But it goes without saying that in the future, if you find more powerful souls that can be useful to me, I’ll trade them with you by giving you 5% of the ’Soul Vitality’ that can help you strengthen your soul, which will bring nothing but benefits in the future,” Malservus stated as she sounded very generous when she made her final offer to Ace.

Realization dawned on Ace at this moment as he finally understood Malservus’s purpose in making this deal with him.

’Heh, she told me about the Veilborns not out of the goodness of her heart but because she wanted my help to absorb her the Wandering Souls. Furthermore, since the Soul Resurrection Bead is still bonded to me and with the system overseeing this connection, Malservus can’t play any tricks. Discover more novels at novel⟡fire.net

’She needs me to use the Soul Channeling and then give her the soul vitality she needed to stabilize herself. Although there might be some deals that she didn’t tell me about yet, at least she’s giving me something valuable in return.

’As for getting this ’soul vitality’ that the Soul Resurrection Bead can create with the Soul Channeling, it should be very precious since it can heal any soul injuries and strengthen the souls.

’Even someone like Malservus seemed to be very enthusiastic about the Soul Channeling, so this ability has to be quite unique and powerful. Moreover, if there comes a time when Malservus shows greed for some soul…I can also extort her…’

Ace’s eyes flickered with a cunning glint as he wasn’t going to forget how Malservus plays tricks to achieve her goals. Furthermore, it was also her advice to always prioritize his own benefits over others, so Ace is going to be a good student and learn exactly that.

If Malservus had come clean and helped Ace without demanding anything, Ace would’ve helped her without any hesitation. But unbeknownst to Malservus, she had failed to grasp Ace’s true nature and thought he was driven by self-interest and greed.

However, Malservus’s opinion regarding Ace was established based on things she could observe during her slumbers, as well as the things the system allowed her to see.

Because of her pride, Malservus can’t tell Ace that the things she saw were minimal. At the same time, Ace was under the impression that Malservus could see everything except for the system panels and other secrets of the system. Both parties lacked proper communication.

“Alright, I’ll help you gather 10 billion wandering souls.” Ace readily agreed while keeping his hidden thoughts to himself.

Then something suddenly came to his mind, “Since you want souls? Shouldn’t that soul within my World Space Ring, the soul of the Ghost King, be helpful to you?”

Malservus remained silent for a moment before she replied, “No, a Ghost Cultivator’s soul is very powerful, not to mention a Ghost Cultivator’s soul has been greatly altered to become a Ghost Race being.

“Although a Ghost Race’s soul is undoubtedly valuable, unless you can wipe out the Ghost Race’s will, meaning kill his consciousness, you won’t be able to absorb the Ghost Race’s Soul with Soul Channeling.

“Maybe, when you became more powerful, this ability should also have more hidden depths to it that can help you with Ghost Race as well, since the Soul Resurrection Bead is filled with mysteries.

“For now, you can only absorb the soul of something weaker than you or someone who is killed for a specific period of time, and their soul hasn’t been scattered.

“As for the Wandering Souls, they were pure soul entities that followed their instincts. As long as you have something that can suppress their instincts and lingering will, you can absorb them easily.

“Nonetheless, if you can really send an intact soul into the Soul Resurrection Bead, fufu~ I’ll take care of it for you since I’m living here!” Malservus confidently declared in a cruel tone, sending a shiver down Ace’s spine.

Nevertheless, Ace had already understood, to some extent, the Soul Channeling ability and how it works.

’All in all, it solely depends on my power to absorb the souls. As long as I can’t send them in, Malservus can’t do anything either. But suppose I can trick an extremely powerful entity into entering the bead. In that case, they’ll be at completely Malservus’s mercy…’ Ace’s eyes shone as many possible scenarios played in his mind and malicious plans formed in his head.

Now that the first deal for the Veilborn race’s technique has been finalized, Ace’s expression turned stern as he asked, “What do you want for the method to deal with Alina’s situation?”

Malservus, as if waiting for Ace, said those words, and replied, “Fufu~ truth be known, dealing with your little lover’s situation is quite tricky. At least, you can’t deal with her situation at your current realm, nor within the Heaven you are currently in.

“So, telling you would be meaningless and might cause you harm. That’s why, when the time is right, I’ll share the solution with you and also discuss what I’m looking for in return. What you should be focusing on now is increasing your strength!”

Ace pursed his lips when he heard Malservus’s words, but he was helpless to do anything. Just as Malservus said, he was still too weak, and right now he should be focusing on the Abyss Mission Series instead of worrying about something that he couldn’t solve.

Nonetheless, Ace was determined to solve Alina’s problem because he knew she wouldn’t be able to endure something like this even if he could. Since Malservus had already given her word, and knowing her nature, Ace was sure that Malservus would definitely tell him once the time arrived.

Calming his nerves, Ace jokingly said, “Alright. I hope I won’t find something else before the so-called ’right time’.”

“Fufu~ if that really happened, I’ll consider myself unlucky. I’m not that petty.” Malservus snickered.

’Yeah, right…’ Ace scoffed in his mind before his eyes shimmered with anticipation as he asked, “Now that we’ve made this deal, can I have that technique?”

“Tsk, tsk, you haven’t even done anything, but you’re already asking for rewards?” Malservus scoffed, “But since I’m feeling generous, and I need you alive to help me in the future, I’ll give you the technique.

“Now, don’t resist, I’m sending the memories! As for how to cultivate it, you’re on your own. Additionally, I will send you information on how to utilize the Soul Channeling.

“Because after sending you these memoirs, I’ll fall into a slumber, so try to absorb souls so I can be awake quickly…” Malservus sternly stated, her voice containing a hint of unease and urgency.

Ace was surprised, but before he could say something, he suddenly felt a familiar sensation of something entering his head, and this time.

Ace quickly focused as vast and profound knowledge poured into his mind, and he was shocked when he found the sheer immensity of this knowledge was massive. It was probably the largest amount of knowledge he had received to this day, and even his cultivation technique wasn’t this huge.

Ace became even more serious as he focused entirely on refining this knowledge, forgetting about time and location.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Ace’s entire body was covered in sweat, as he had greatly underestimated the technique that Malservus cherished so much.

Moreover, he finally understood he had gotten this technique for essentially nothing, and his impression of Malservus improved again.

At this moment, Ace’s eyes finally opened as they were a bit blurry before he muttered, “Universal Force Art…!”