Eternal Thief

Chapter 1628: A Complex Theft (11)

The moment Moira confirmed the presence of the Transcendent Void Obsidian behind the mysterious seal in front of him, Ace’s eyes glowed with elation as he had finally reached the core location of the Undead Boundary that no one had ever been able to.

Nonetheless, he didn’t respond immediately as his gaze remained fixed on the pulsing seal, his mind already calculating while he looked at the Live Fate Map.

’According to the Live Fate Map, there is no alternative path, so I can forget about taking a detour or using a trick to bypass it entirely. Which means I need to either destroy this seal or use the Lawless Darkness and see if I can pass through it...’

Ace exhaled slowly before his eyes turned completely cold as he looked at the final obstacle in front of him, and he could feel the oppressive pulses from the seal continue, each one heavier than the last, as if warning him to retreat.

Using the Lawless Darkness to limit, Ace raised his arms and touched the sealing barrier. He intends to pass through it with the authority of the Lawless Darkness, and whether this barrier could hold afterward would depend on his luck.

However, the moment Ace touched the barrier, something unexpected happened. The runes on the barrier suddenly lit up in brilliant, creepy light and resisted the Lawless Darkness’s authority!

Ace’s eyes widened in shock as this was the first time he had experienced something resisting the authority of the Lawless Darkness, and when he tried to put more strength in the Lawless Darkness, the barrier equally resisted as the light became intense.

However, Ace soon realized the reason behind this unexpected occurrence wasn’t because the Lawless Darkness’s authority was being canceled by the sealing barrier, but the Lawless Darkness’s authority that Ace wielded was simply insufficient!

Simply put, the current Lawless Darkness wasn’t on the same level as this sealing barrier, and that’s why Ace couldn’t simply break past it like he had been doing until now.

Ace quickly stopped wasting his primordial spirit Qi, his expression gloomy as he looked at the sealing barrier, which seemed to return to its original state.

’The Lawless Darkness worked with even the Central Repository, but this seal seemed to be on another level from the Central Repository.’ He thought grimly, ’If I had to guess, it’s probably because behind this barrier is the core of the Undead Boundary, which should be connected to the Central Repository somehow. That’s probably why its protection is even more important than the Central Repository.’

Ace knew his assumption was most likely on the mark, which also meant that he couldn’t use the Lawless Darkness to break this seal, nor would any of his unique skills work.

At this moment, with a hint of resignation, he called, ”Pixy, do you have a way?”

---

Above the narrow passage where Ace stood before the sealing barrier, deeper than the pulsing corpse veins and the suffocating density of refined Corpse Qi, the hidden foundation of the Undead Boundary stretched into something far more ancient.

It was not merely a constructed domain; it was embedded into something vast, something that existed even long before the Corpse Clan ever claimed this place.

The deeper one went, the more unnatural everything became. The corpse’s veins thickened, intertwining like arteries. The flow of Corpse Qi no longer felt like something gathered, but something circulated as if it belonged to a greater body.

Far above those depths, separated by layers of complex pathways and silent ruins, a singular region stood untouched. A place of absolute authority where all flows eventually converged.

At the center of that region stood a throne, its structure seamless and oppressive, pale bone fused with ancient dark metal. From beneath it, countless corpse veins extended outward, disappearing into the surrounding darkness, pulsing faintly as they carried something deeper than mere energy.

Behind the throne, the cavern stretched endlessly upward without any ceiling or end; only darkness and the slow descent of Corpse Qi, like something breathing in reverse.

Seated motionlessly and in utter silence upon that throne was the Corpse Governor like a corpse that had forgotten the meaning of time.

Before him, the massive black mirror floated quietly, its surface rippling faintly with distant projections. But his gaze was no longer focused on it.

”...Anomalous...” His voice echoed softly, hoarse and low as his skeletal fingers tapped once against the armrest, creating a dull, hollow sound which echoed through the vast chamber, and then silence returned.

The memory of the exchange platform replayed again in his mind, especially the unnatural portal, seemingly a passage leading to the unknown, which should’ve been impossible, or at least every Corpse Governor believed so.

But despite searching and scanning that area many times, he found nothing, not even a trace or fluctuation of a prance there, so in the end, he had withdrawn from the Skeleton Gatekeeper. Ten minutes of observation for nothing, and that was exactly what unsettled him.

Even now, the conclusion felt wrong because if something had truly appeared, it should have left something behind. Even the most refined concealment techniques could not erase everything within that domain, and yet there had been nothing.

His corpse flames flickered slowly, and thoughts deepened and sharpened as the unease lingered, refusing to fade; if anything, it had rooted itself deeper.

Just as silence reclaimed the chamber, abruptly an almost unnoticeable flicker occurred, and the Corpse Governor’s corpse flames ignited slightly brighter.

”...Hm?”

It was so faint that even an Abyssal Half-King would have ignored it completely, but he did not, especially not after what had already happened.

The Corpse Governor quickly detected the source of the disturbance, and soon found out that it belonged to a corpse vessel!

The next moment, the Corpse Governor tapped his bonny finger on the throne’s arm set coldly, and the black mirror reacted instantly as its surface rippled violently before shifting into a new projection.

The ruined hall appeared filled with broken statues, silent decay, and the ten towering corpse vessels standing like eternal sentinels.

The Corpse Governor’s gaze sharpened because the disturbance had come from one of them.

”...The hall of ruins!?”

Corpse Governor’s tone dropped, colder than before, because that place was not ordinary, for it was the entrance, the final passage leading toward the most forbidden region of the Corpse Clan.

A place where no one else was allowed, not even the highest authorities beneath him, without hesitation, his consciousness descended.

Within the ruined hall, one of the corpse vessels trembled almost imperceptibly, and then its hollow eyes ignited just like what happened with the Skeleton Gatekeeper, for the Corpse Governor had arrived!