Eternal Thief

Seeing the strange symbols on the floor seemed to shift and dance before his eyes, Ace focused on the feeling that drew him down. When he opened his eyes, they were emotionless, and the next moment, for the first time, he stopped using the Dismantle Qi.

Without wasting even a second, he activated the Lock Eraser King Technique, and his hands shimmered in dark metallic light. After that, dark mercury-like Qi started to flow out from his hands and spread into the star lock. This was the Eraser Essential of the King grade!

The lock eraser king technique was divided into three levels: the Lock Eraser Master, the Lock Eraser Grandmaster, and the Lock Eraser King. Each level was further divided into three stages: Novice, Expert, and Perfectionist.

The higher the level and stage, the more potent the Eraser Essential, which was the core of this technique. At the start, Ace didn't know much about this technique, and he thought of it as a skill like the Treasure Opening Hands.

However, as he reached the higher levels of this technique, he found that he was completely wrong; this technique was far more powerful than the Treasure Opening Hands, especially when cultivated to the Lock Eraser King level. He managed to comprehend the part about erasing the need for the 'key' from the lock.

Thereupon, the mystical chamber was now covered in dark mercury, like Qi, and Ace could feel a strange rhythm throughout the chamber as if something was trying to resist the infiltration of the eraser essential.

Ace also felt apprehensive since he was no longer under the protection of the Dismantle Qi. He didn't know how much time he had before the Heavenly Mortal Emperor or the Heavenly Will would notice him.

But since he was so close to his target, he was willing to take the risk and ready to use everything he had when he grabbed the treasure.

'Please work…' Ace prayed while he focused on the eraser essential that was clashing with the star lock. As time passed, the eraser essential started to vibrate furiously, and his heavenly Qi also started to exhaust like crazy.

While in absolute anxiety, Ace suddenly felt something click in his mind when the eraser essential suddenly trembled.

With an expectant look, Ace stopped using the eraser essential, and the mercury-like Qi started to fade away at his behest.

When the chamber appeared again, he found that the trigram stars glowed with an intensity that almost hurt to look at. They pulsed in a specific rhythm, like a celestial heartbeat.

He found that the stars were now glowing in a peculiar sequence, and something new was present in the center of this chamber; a pulsing runic pattern glowing brighter with each pulse.

"Boom!"

At this moment, with a deafening boom, the entire floor erupted in a blinding flash of light, making Ace's heart palpitate with dread, and his expression went pale white.

But he didn't avert his eyes from that spot. His heart was beating wildly like never before, and he could feel longing and greed from his very being. The strange attraction he felt at the start had returned, and it was far more powerful than anything. He had never felt this type of attraction towards anything before like he would give up his life for this thing.

When the light faded, the chamber had magically transformed. In its place stood a swirling vortex of energy, emanating an aura of immense power. A faint outline of an ethereal object shimmered from within the vortex, beckoning Ace closer as his eyes turned red with possessiveness!

"Take me~!" An intensely mesmerizing voice suddenly rang in Ace's mind.

At this moment, before Ace could react, a dark blue chain shot out from Ace's forehead like a dark blue streak and wrapped itself around the object within the vortex.

After that, the dark blue chain suddenly vanished, and the object inside the vortex was with it!

The system's voice rang at this moment, awakening him from his strange state of mind,

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[Heaven's Secret Condition: Claim the Heaven's Secret hidden in the Heart of Mortal Sky Ascension Temple has been completed!]

[Warning: You have 10 seconds before the Heavenly Will and Heavenly Mortal Emperor arrive. Please step into the Primordial Ascension Altar before they lock on you!]

[NOTE: The system has started the process of absorbing the Dark Elemental Orb!]

=====

'Was I just bewitched, and what was that voice?!' Ace's entire body trembled when, right after the system's notification, he felt a sense of death approaching him. He didn't have the time to inquire about the thing that the system had just grabbed from the vortex.

But since he had just marked the fifth condition completed, he knew he had completed his mission successfully. Now, Heaven's Secret was with the system, and he'll know about it soon once he gets out of this mess.

Ace's eyes flashed fiercely, and without hesitation, the next moment, the Limit Heavenly Talisman: Great Escape appeared between his fingers, and he activated it without hesitation, keeping the location of the Primordial Ascension Altar in mind.

Although he was not far away from it, he could feel that if he tried to approach it now, he would meet with a tragic fate because he felt he wasn't fast enough. So, he didn't mind using this limit talisman one more time since his life was far more critical than saving its uses.

However, his expression turned pale white when the limit talisman didn't activate, and he instantly knew there was some kind of space restriction here, just like in the abyss.

Without thinking twice, he activated the lawless darkness and then tried to use the limit talisman—this time, he succeeded!

The next moment, Ace appeared in the middle of the primordial ascension altar surrounded by colossal states, and he felt mountainous pressure suddenly released from those statues and pressing down on them!

Ace was extremely anxious. He could feel another terrifying presence approaching, and he was urging the system to speed up the absorption process of the Dark Orb. He was too close to escape from this place, at least from the Heavenly Will.

Ace didn't know that the heart of the ascension temple was a place where teleportation was impossible even for the Heavenly Mortal Emperor or the Heavenly Will because it was the power of an Order and also a protection measure to stop other powerful beings from directly teleporting into this place.

Only someone with the power of an order that could counter this order power can bypass this restriction, and Ace just happened to have the Lawless Darkness, a perfect counter for it.

At this moment, the altar under Ace's feet suddenly trembled, and its pulsing runes lit up, creating an arcane aura that spread throughout the temple.

But Ace didn't have time to pay it any heed because, right at this moment, a white silhouette barged into the heart of the temple, and behind him was an ethereal eye that was now completely crimson with boundless fury!