Ace's eyes were closed as he felt the newly merged Heavenly Thief Sense. Besides some minor changes, it was still like the soul sense.
But he could feel something had definitely changed as he could feel a calling of sorts from a specific direction which should be his fortune sense, but unlike before, it was somewhat apparent but not much.
Lastly, he tried to activate the heavenly sense ability with the martial Qi to 'see' his surroundings, and he was shocked.
Because unlike before, when heavenly sense would cover his soul sense instantly, this time, he could feel it tightly wrapped around his body like a layer of skin as he could feel his body condition.
He even peered through deep into his physique and could finally see his dark meridians connected with his martial space and true soul, which looked like blazing black suns.
It was Ace first time seeing such a phenomenon of his body, and he finally understood just how marvelous the new Heavenly Thief Sense was!
Ace then tried to make that tightly wrapped sense on his body expand, and with thought, it suddenly started to expand at an alarming speed, instantly covering the one-mile radius.
Ace could now 'see' far more than before; even the naked eye pale in comparison, and even the underground was no longer any different from a clear sky to Ace.
Ace then tried to control it on one spot, and after some difficulty, he finally succeeded. Then he tried switching to his soul Qi, and he was even more ecstatic as the Qi changed without much effort while the ability remained completely stable.
"This is no longer Heavenly Sense. Let's call it Dark Spy!" Ace's mumbled as he deactivated the Dark Spy, it wasn't dispersed like always, but it retracted into his body and vanished!
Ace cocked an eyebrow since he couldn't remember heavenly sense having such an effect, or it was because he could control it.
Whichever the case was, he was content since, according to the System, now his Heavenly Thief Sense would be increased together with his both cultivations, not with just soul cultivation anymore.
Lastly, he claimed the Apparition Wind Walk, an exclusive soul movement art that used the element of Soul Wind and can be used in fighting and escaping.
The Misperception Sky Steps Art was based on his martial Qi and lightning element, and these two movement arts were quite helpful in different ways.
Furthermore, he had neglected the Heavenly Wind Soul element for too long, and it was probably time to pay attention to it as well.
His epiphany had given him many inspirations, and he was now confident about surviving the demon continent as long as 7th or 8th realm cultivators won't target him.
However, the System wasn't done yet, because another notification rang,
=====
[Congratulation, Host, for creating a ??? by using the Black Blade Swords!]
[Warning: The Black Blade Swords can no longer be upgraded with item upgrade tokens and ???!]
[Host has taken a step into the uncharted territory of Darkness!]
--
-Reward(s):
1. Thief Title: (???) has been unlocked]
[(???) Title Effect: ???]
2. Advance Mission Complete Token: 1
[Use: Advance Mission Complete Token can complete any mission with a Satisfactory Evaluation Rank.]
[Warning (1): There is a 90% chance of gaining a Death Penalty in the very next Mission after a Mission Complete Token was used!]
[Warning (2): Only Three Mission Complete Tokens can be used continuously to complete Three Mission in a row before the Host has to complete the 4th Mission to use a Mission Complete Token again!]
=====
Ace was baffled when he saw the ambiguous words of the System, especially when so many (???) were involved. He even got a title with (???). It was his first time seeing it.
Furthermore, that line about entering uncharted territory was quite spooky on its own.
Although he knows he might have created something extraordinary, he never thought it was impressive enough to make the System speak up and release this subtle reward.
However, when he saw the Mission Complete Token, his eyes brightened, but it was only when he saw the warnings which made his expression darkened. So, he decided to save it and wouldn't use it unless it was absolutely necessary.
He then inquired about those (???) and the title, and he received a reply that he hadn't in a while.
"[Please upgrade your authority level!]"
He could give up after hearing this reply.
'Well, it didn't matter as long as it won't endanger my life. Besides, I still have a long way to go before I can use those sword cores properly. By System's words, I won't be getting a new pair of swords either.' He smiled wryly.
Lastly, Ace opened his status panel to see what he had gained from epiphany and his new cultivation realm EXP and SP caps. What he saw made him inhale sharply.Status Panel]
[Host: Ace White]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Sealed]
[First Heaven: Mortal Sky Heaven]
--
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea Core [Stage-1]]
[EXP: 0/1,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core [Stage-1]]
[SP: 0/1,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
[Skills: 10]
-Heartless Stealth (Art):
Breathless Stealth: Perfection
Pulseless Stealth: Perfection
Heartless Stealth: Perfection
--
-Misperception Sky Steps (Art):
Camouflage Steps: Perfection
Lightning Steps: Perfection
Misperception Steps: Perfection
Sky Steps: NONE
--
-Soul Shattering Eyes: [Perfection]
--
-Soul Piercing Bullets: [Perfection]
--
-Soul Guardian Barrier (Art):
[Soul Barrier: Perfection
Soul Guardian: High]
--
-Pick Pocket: [Perfection]
--
-Lock Eraser King Technique:
Lock Eraser Master: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser Grandmaster: Perfectionist
Lock Eraser King: None
--
-Thievish Soul Cord Control (Secret Soul Skill): Middle
--
-Thief's Vision (Art):
Initial Thief's Vision: Early
Intermediate Thief's Vision: NONE
Advance Thief's Vision: NONE
--
-Apparition Wind Walk (Art): 9 levels
Current level: NONE
---
[Cultivation Technique: 5]
-Heaven Stealer Technique: Volume 1
--
-Dual Shadow Swords: Complete!
--
-Heavenly Rune Crafter Foundational Manual: Complete!
--
-Soul Words [Despair Manual]:
1. Deep Despair Soul Words: 10.09%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
2. Extreme Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
3. Deadly Despair Soul Words: 0.0%
[Three Stages: Low at (10%), Intermediate at (50%), High at (99%)]
--
-Heaven's Stealer Dismantler Manual [First Vol]
Three Heaven's Stealer Dismantler Principles:
1. Treasure Dismantler Principles: Grade-2 Treasure Dismantler
2. Alchemy Dismantler Principles: Grade-2 Alchemy Dismantler
3. Runic Dismantler Principles: Grade-3 Runic Dismantler
---
[Law(s): 5]
-Despair (Initial): 10.09%
-Shadow (Initial): 10.01%
-Sword (Initial): 15.09%
-Psyche (Minor): 3.05%
-Lightning (Minor): 7.09%
--
[Eternal Provenance Treasure: 1/2]
-Name: Eternal Thief Fate Compass
-Type: Soul (Fate)
-Current Grade: Grade-4 (Upgradable)
[Grade-5 at 5th Soul Cultivation Realm (Golden Soul Core)]
-Status: Incomplete (10% Complete)
-Ability:
1. Live Fate Map (Grade-4)
[NOTE: Next ability(s) unlocked at 20% Treasure Completion]
-Completion Scheme: 1 (Available)
---
[Thief Point(s): 53,880,000]
---
[Mission(s): 1]
[Side Mission(s): 0]
=====
Ace was content when he saw all three laws break into the initial levels of comprehension, especially the [Sword] law. He had really gained a deep understanding of the sword law in his epiphany.
While he also discovered something unusual, which was after his Law of [Shadow] and [Despair] crossed the 10% threshold, he could feel 'intent' from them like the Sword Intent.
Furthermore, because of the Sky Sword Manual, he knew Sword Law could be fused by any element, which is the true nature of Element Sword Intent.
He guessed that as long as someone comprehends a law up to 10%, they can awake the intent of Law like a Law Intent, just like the Sword Intent.
The only reason he had never heard about a Law Intent was probably no one had ever awakened it, or the information might be top secret.
The Sword Intent was simply the most common Law since it was only a weapon law, not a law of element, which was far more complex.
Ace can now fuse both Shadow and Despair Intent with his Sword Intent or even use them separately, akin to having two-element sword intents where the Despair Sword Intent was far more powerful than the Shadow Sword Intent.
However, Ace knew it wasn't the limit of a Law Intent. He had this nagging feeling that it was just the most basic method of using law intents, but alas, he had no more epiphany pills, so he could only give up on exploring the mysteries of laws.
But if those Quasi Law Awareness Realm knew that Ace has three types of law intent and already stumbled on the concept of Law Intents. They will vomit blood in anger since it will make their entire life worth meaningless in front of this young man's six months epiphany!
Because the secret to entering the 8th realm was hidden within Law Intents, Ace had no idea about it!
After Ace was done mulling, he finally sent his consciousness into the thief's house, where Noa and Freya were waiting for some answers.
He knew the matter of Heavenly Punishment had to remain hidden under the Goddess Trial sham, or if they knew they were going against Heaven itself, this might affect their mindset.
At least it was not the right time to disclose his status as the Eternal Enemy of Heaven!
Noa and Freya were sitting in the main hall without speaking anything.
Freya had this sullen expression as she was still peeved about how she almost got charmed by Ace, but that strange feeling was still there; she could feel it!
As for Noa, her face was hidden behind the mask. Only her pitch-black eyes were visible, and it was hard to guess what she was thinking.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Ace's jolly voice rang.
He was in a good mood after breaking through and acquiring rewards.
Before Noa could utter a word, Freya shot a torrent of questions with pursed lips as she looked even more alluring, "What kind of Trial was that? And why does it look like some execution? And do we have to worry about it? And most importantly, how could you recover in three days from that state?"
"Alright, I'll explain. Stop giving that death stare." Ace's perplexed voice sounded, "First, that Trial was actually because of my special cultivation. You see, I can cultivate in both Martial and Soul paths. But it had consequences, like the one you saw three days ago.
"Every time I break through to a higher realm, I have to cross such Trial. There's no way going around it!"
Freya's beautiful eyes completely widened when she heard this unbelievable truth. She was simply gobsmacked. In contrast, Noa didn't seem surprised since Ace had told her.
But she never thought cultivating in both paths could bring such a 'trial.'
However, she thought about how Ace could cultivate in both cultivation systems then she didn't find this 'trial' unfair. Everything has a consequence, and this wasn't any different.
Ace continued, "As for if you have to go through such a trial or not, I don't know yet. But since you can break through realms normally, then it's clear you don't have to worry about it for now.
"Even if something like this happened in the future, it wouldn't be as dangerous as my Trial, and I can protect you from it so you guys can have your mind at peace. Lastly, after crossing my Trial, I naturally got rewarded and recovered completely with my breakthrough."
"Leader, what realm are you in right now?" Noa asked curiously. Since that 'trial' was so dreadful, Ace had to have at least into the soul manifestation realm if not law awareness.
However, when she heard Ace's reply, her eyes winded, "I broke through River Core Realm."
Freya also snapped out of her daze when she heard this and shrilled, "R-river core?! Then this means all this time you were in River Realm while doing all those thefts?! Are you kidding me!"
This was simply too unbelievable for them because they all thought Ace was at least a peak soul realm cultivator or even manifestation realm since he pulled all those thefts and completely destroyed the demon race's prestige.
But it turned out he was doing all this while being in the river realm. If the demons know, won't they all will die of humiliation since they got destroyed by a River Realm brat?
Ace chuckled, "This is also one of the benefits that come with cultivating both paths together. I'm far stronger than normal cultivators and lucky, I guess."
Freya felt like her world turned upside down when she heard it and didn't have more words to say anything. Her confidence in overtaking Ace's position was completely crushed.
Noa's eyes shimmered with reverence and adoration since she only wanted to become strong for him and stay by his side.
"C-can we…" Freya hoarsely spoke.
But before she could complete her sentence, Ace's coldly shut her down, "It's impossible unless you can kill me, and it still will be impossible. Just be grateful for what you have, or you might lose everything if you desire everything!"
Ace knew what Freya would ask if they could cultivate both paths like him, but he knew it was impossible without the system.
This thought process will only get her killed if she develops malicious intentions toward the system. That's why he coldly crushed her hope before her ambition got the better of her.
She was too ambitious, but she was going in a completely different direction with all this, which would only lead to her death.
Noa also shot a cold glance at Freya as she also felt Freya was going out of her place this time.
Although Ace allowed Freya and Winter to eye his position so they could work hard, she didn't like it.
Freya finally snapped out of her stupor as she got momentarily distracted by Ace's prowess and wanted to have it as well. But she became sober when she thought about those thunder swords falling from the sky.
Does she even have the grit to pass such a trial?
She took a deep breath and lowered her head, "Please forgive me. I was way out of my place. I'll be retiring today, but if you need anything, just call me."
With that, she stood up and moved toward her personal space.
But a peculiar glint suddenly flashed past deep within Freya's cold eyes, 'If I can't persuade that power, I should change my target….' She vanished within her personal space.
Ace's sighed ruefully, "Was I too hard on her?"
Noa shook her head and coldly said, "You should've done this long ago. The sooner they'll know their place, the easier it is for them to accept it."
Ace couldn't help but raise his brows, "You sound like an autocrat, you know."
A glint of unhappiness flashed past Noa's eyes, "And you didn't know how to handle your women!" Noa snorted before standing up and flashing into her personal space as she shut the door with a bam.
"Wait, my women?!" Ace was flabbergasted by the swing in Noa's mood, and she even retorted for the first time.
'Women are fickle, indeed.' He smiled wryly as he stopped paying attention to the thief's house.
But deep down, he knew what Noa was talking about. It's just that he didn't want to admit it…
Ace then checked his thief's space just to see how the little guy was doing.
When he saw he was resting on Page-09, he was relieved.
However, his eyes narrowed at this moment because his eyes fell over new golden-gray wording which had appeared at the top of the Page-09.
With a thought, Page-09 vanished from beneath Cyrus and appeared in Ace's hand. The little guy was still sleeping, as he didn't notice.
Ace looked at the new writing that emerged on the top center of page-09.
It was also written in ancient god language.
"[Avatar of Holy Twilight]"
Ace was even more curious about this mysterious page-09 and mused, 'These words appeared after it absorbed heavenly punishment. Could it be it needs more heavenly lightning to reveal the full set of words on the page? The only question is how much and what kind of information is hidden that needed heavenly thunder to get revealed?'
The more Ace thought about it, the more compelled he fell toward this mysterious page-09 and what was stored in it. But since he couldn't do anything about it, for now, he put it away right under Cyrus with a thought.
Since heavenly thunder was needed to reveal the content of this page-09, he knew he still had a long way to go.
Afterward, a black jade scroll and a black crystal key appeared in his hand. They appeared after the elemental orb was torn apart by the system from the imperial demon scepter.
The black crystal key was cold to touch, was 9 inches in size, and looked just like an ancient key. He tried imbuing Qi, but nothing happened.
So, he tried to look into the jade scroll. Anticipation shone in his eyes. He knew since this jade scroll was hidden within the imperial scepter, it had to be quite important.
Suddenly information appeared in his mind, just like the sky sword jade scroll.
'Secret Cultivation Art, Deity Lightning Strike.'
'Requirement to see the art, 'Soul Lightning Element.'
Ace was even more thrilled as he quickly changed his soul element to lightning and ethereal purple lightning started to cackle all over the jade scroll.
The next moment, the Deity Thunder Strike was revealed.
It was actually a law art but not at the same level as the sky sword. But it was probably one of the top law art of mortal sky heaven.
This law art could harness the power of Lightning Law, and then like a real lightning cloud, one can shoot down lightning from miles away!
Ace instantly remembered that lighting strike he saw in the Seal Castle, which shot down prince Martian that day.
'So, it was Deity Lightning Strike, huh? Just how far could Demon Emperor strike their opponent while hidden in his palace?'
Ace felt glad and chill in his spine simultaneously because he wasn't spotted that day or with Deity Lightning Strike; even his wings might not be enough to escape!
A week passed since Ace had crossed the Heavenly Punishment.
Today, two demons in the black mountain demon institute's robes appeared at the edge of the charred crater created by the heavenly thunder.
"Just what kind of beast caused this?" The fiery demon questioned as he looked at the sheer scale of destruction and felt his blood run cold.
The nightmare demon's expression was also solemn as he replied, "At least peak manifestation realm cultivator. Furthermore, there is no trace left of any aura, so we could only guess. But since the Principal sent us here to investigate, he must've discovered something."
"However, this place is too far away from the institute and is around the core region of the black mountains. Only those three fellows could cause such destruction that could even alert the Principal so far away." The fiery demon sighed, "If not for the thief search, the principal won't have even bothered sending us here and might've come himself."
The nightmare demon sneered coldly, "We are constantly being pressured by the imperials day after day, and now they're even starting to skim through the students of four institutes. I heard a few days ago they suspect a core grade student and then soul search him, turning him into a vegetable.
"The Principal was completely helpless since two Grand Dukes were there. If anything, this just proves that the rumors about that thief robbing the demon temple might be true."
A hint of fear flashed past the fiery demon's eyes as he retorted in a low voice, "Don't talk about it, or we'll be in big trouble."
"Hmph, who can hear us in this wilderness?" The nightmare demon sneered.
"Is that a fact?" An aged voice suddenly startled both demons.
They instantly looked up at the sky, and their eyes widened in horror when they saw a giant figure hovering in the sky majestically.
The Demon Ancestor coolly stated, "It seemed you, little fellows, are forgetting about our past… sigh…."
The next moment, the clear sky suddenly turned dark with black lightning!
---
Meanwhile, Ace, who was already hundreds of miles apart from the crater and moving swiftly toward the edge of the demon continent, suddenly halted his step and looked back at the horizon with a frown.
"Why I'm feeling uneasy all of a sudden?" Ace mumbled in uncertainty, "It was the right choice not to go back just because I broke through. It is still too dangerous since the demons are still looking for me. I should leave as soon as possible."
Ace's eyes shimmered sharply before he continued on his path. Right now, he wanted to leave the black mountain range because even after he broke through, the fate map was still dyed red.
Even though the black area was gone, it was still pretty dangerous to remain in this place, and after the Thief Sense replaced the old soul sense, Ace could sense danger in the one-mile radius even more clearly now.
Furthermore, now he could also feel a sense of danger while traveling in the black mountain range, especially in the area he was currently in. He was at the bottom of a mountain rift, and there was no sign of life as eerie silence filled the place.
Ace took this path because he didn't want to climb that tall mountain. It was too time-consuming, and this rift was probably a shortcut.
However, when the night descent, the path completely enshrouded into darkness and fog, and now that he was this deep into this rift, he finally noticed that he was going further down, and the rift was at least a mile deep and even more.
Ace activated the live fate map again, now that the compass was at grade four, it could show traps and formation of grade-6 which was massively helpful to Ace, and its range was also increased to a mile radius with his thief sense.
These traps and formations included natural formations like the ones formed by an elemental orb.
But Qi consumption was still quite high even after his breakthrough, but it was much better than before.
At this moment, Ace's eyes suddenly widened because a Light Silver spot suddenly appeared a mile away from his current position.
But this was also a red fate location, meaning this silver fate location might have a powerful existence hidden there or around the vicinity.
Because a silver fate location represented a treasure that benefits Ace, he won't even think for a second that such treasures won't be eyed by someone else. At this juncture, only a few things were helpful to him.
Still, he wanted to see just what it was, and he didn't mind taking it if he could.
But first, Ace stopped and set up multiple concealment formations before he questioned the system, "System, do I have enough material to break into the Eighth Stage of my soul and martial cultivation?"
Ace wanted to wait before consolidating his cultivation, but he found he didn't need to. Even after a week, there was nothing to consolidate, and his foundation was like an unshakable mountain.
So, he stopped hesitating and decided to increase his cultivation from stage-1 to stage-8 directly.
It would also increase his prowess greatly and his chances of acquiring whatever were hidden in this silver fate location, or at least he would be able to escape.
The system replied with a simple word, "[Yes!]"
Ace's lips curled, and he said, "Alright, do it, but use all the grade-1 materials first before moving toward grade-2 and so on. Don't use higher-grade materials before using all the lower ones!"
The system complied, and the next moment, Ace felt a torrent of massive Heavenly Soul Qi, and Martial Soul Qi started to pour into his true soul and marital space.
Ace was paying attention to the sea river core in his martial space, which was revolving in the center of the Qi sea, and the Qi sea was revolving around it like a whirl.At this moment, heavenly darkness Qi started to pour into the dark Qi sea core, and Ace noticed a faint dark blue ring right a centimeter down from the first dark blue ring that began to appear as more and more Qi got absorbed.
While in his soul core was getting redder and redder as more soul Qi got absorbed into it.
As more and more Qi entered his true soul and martial space, the materials he accumulated on the demon continent started to vanish at a terrifying speed.
When the second dark blue ring was fully condensed and the third was half done, all the grade-one materials were gone, and grade-2 materials turned into dust afterward.
After two hours, the fifth dark blue ring started to condense, and half of the grade-3 martial materials were gone while the grade-3 soul materials were already long gone, and now all those grade-4 soul crystals started to turn into dust.
After 15 hours, when the eighth dark blue ring was condensed, all the grade-4 and some grade-5 martial materials were exhausted, while all the grade-5 soul materials were gone.
Just these eight breakthroughs had cost Ace over half of his fortune!
Nevertheless, Ace would do the same even if he had another chance because right then, his soul core was double the size before as it looked like a crimson sun, and red soul Qi was flaring over it like fire.
Not only that but Ace's thief sense was now spread within a 3-mile radius!
Last but not least, the dark Qi sea core had eight shimmering dark blue rings all over it and a small space left at the bottom, which was for the ninth ring.
The vortex of the sea was even more black at this moment as dark lightning was rumbling within Qi sea.
At this moment system's voice rang,
=====
[Congratulation, host, on achieving the Eighth Stage of Heavenly Dark Sea Core Realm and Eighth Stage of Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core!]
[Host status has been updated!]
---
[Martial Cultivation: Heavenly Dark Sea Core [Stage-8]]
[EXP: 0/150,000,000]
[Soul Cultivation: Heavenly Red Wind Soul Core [Stage-8]]
[SP: 0/150,000,000]
[Elemental Orb: 0/1]
---
(AN: 1st Stage = 1M/ 2nd Stage = 2.5M/ 3rd Stage = 5M/ 4th Stage = 10M/ 5th Stage = 25M/ 6th Stage = 50M/ 7th Stage = 100M)
=====
Ace's eyelids flashed open as dark lightning shimmered within them; he felt like he could kill a peak platinum soul realm cultivator with a single strike right now.
A cold smile suddenly appeared on his face as he was itching to find someone to test his strength, but he knew it was only the feeling because of his breakthrough.
But he was confident in hiding under the detection of manifestation realm cultivator now.
So, he no longer hesitated, and after collecting the formations, he activated the live fate map again, and a map covering a three-mile radius appeared.
He could literally 'see' all the terrains, and he finally had a clear look at the silver fate location. He was astonished because in this silver fate location were three red fate points!
Ace saw the three red fate points and couldn't help but frown because the terrain where this silver fate location was starting was actually inside the left mountain wall.
Furthermore, it was a straight passage, and those three red fate points were all together in this passage. Nevertheless, he was still going to check this place out since it was a silver-fate location.
Ace then made his way toward the passage while keeping an eye out for some other anomaly, but he didn't encounter anything as he reached the entrance. But to his surprise, there was only a mountain wall like the rest of the rift.
If not for his compass, he would've missed this place.
Ace then carefully started to examine the wall; no matter how much he examined, it was a solid mountain.
However, Ace quickly stopped touching the wall because one of the red fate points suddenly moved in the fate map. It was coming right this way, and the speed was quite terrifying.
Ace was completely caught off guard, and he didn't have time to prepare as a powerful soul sense suddenly enveloped the area.
He quickly activated his heartless stealth and used a concealment treasure to conceal himself. Ace then moved as far as he could from the passage.
The other party was probably an early-stage manifestation realm cultivator.
The Soul Manifestation Realm was divided into four stages, Early, Middle, High, and Peak. And each stage could make a world of difference in this realm.
The Soul Manifestation Realm was a massive milestone for any cultivator, and only someone with a peerless foundation has any chance of entering this realm. In contrast, someone with a perfect foundation has only a 5% chance with a stroke of heaven-defying luck in the mix.
In this realm, the lifespan of a cultivator would increase up to 5000 Years!
(AN: Natural Lifespan of 2nd Realm Cultivator = 250 Years / 3rd Realm = 500 years / 4th Realm = 1000 years / 5th Realm = 2500 years / 6th Realm = 5000 Years / 7th Realm = 10,000 Years.)
In the soul manifestation realm, a cultivator could make their soul manifestation anywhere outside their body within their soul sense or marital sense range for a short time, and those manifested souls can be used to attack.
However, this will also expose a manifestation realm cultivator to a bigger risk because if that manifestation soul gets destroyed or wounded, it will be akin to death in the former case and mortal soul injury in the latter.
That was why they would never expose their soul out in the open unless they confirmed that the other party was not a cultivator of a stage higher than them.
Because these manifested souls could only be wound by law-imbued attacks, not with the normal element Qi.
The difference between an Early Stage and a Middle Stage Soul Manifestation Realm could easily be detected from their law comprehension. Because to progress in the soul manifestation realm, one needed to comprehend the same innate Element Law.
Lastly, the sword intent cultivators were dreaded by soul manifestation realm cultivators, and it was taboo to manifest their soul in the presence of a soul cultivator, even if that person was just a Qi soul realm cultivator.
Because sword intent was something that had the Law of Sword in it, and it was the easiest and most difficult form of a law intent. Easiest because a Weapon Intent can be cultivated with a deep understanding of a weapon.
Difficult because comprehending a weapon's intent couldn't be done on a whim like other element laws just because you wanted to comprehend it. Or everyone would be walking on the path of a weapon cultivator in this world.
Sometimes a cultivator who devoted his whole life couldn't cultivate a weapon intent, and sometimes they simply develop it in the moment of battle.
Ace might be strong enough to fight or snuck up on an Early Stage Soul Manifestation Realm cultivator. But a soul manifestation realm with its soul or martial sense active was another story!
He could only hide since a soul manifestation realm, soul sense, or martial sense was quite prone to ill intent.
Ace stopped fifty meters away because that soul sense had become more powerful, and movement within might expose him. Since the other party hadn't discovered him in his stealth, it meant he should be fine as long as he won't make some excessive moment.
If push comes to shove, he could always use a space-step talisman.
But he didn't feel much threatened because of his cultivation rise. If he was still in the Qi sea realm, he had no choice but to run with his full might under the soul sense of a soul manifestation cultivator!
Ace was completely hidden within the darkness as he held his breath while he felt the soul sense still scanning the area.
A soul manifestation realm cultivator's sense rang 10 Miles. It was quite hard to get away from one if they locked on someone.Furthermore, if they deem you a harmless threat, they can easily manifest their souls as long as you are in the range of their senses and kill you!
Ace was also looking at the fate map, and he could clearly see that whoever this was, they were already standing at the entrance. But he didn't see anyone coming out.
Soon, the soul sense dissipated, but the red fate was still at the entrance.
'Why is no one coming out? Is he wanted to bait me out of hiding by dissipating his soul sense?' Ace's lips curled slightly, 'It is indeed a good plan, but even my thief sense could feel danger, much less the fate map, which is showing me exactly what the other party is doing.'
Ace decided to remain stoic. He could guess that the other party didn't want to reveal the secret passage since it was hard to detect a soul sense or martial sense medium unless your sense was stronger than the other party.
Whoever was behind the passage only scanned the surroundings, and after not discovering anyone, they tried another method.
This only made Ace more curious about what was within the mountain.
Ace was calmly waiting while the live fate map was still on when his thief sense suddenly stirred as his entire body trembled in trepidation.
Because at this moment, he felt impending danger approaching, and when he looked at the live fate map, his heart turned cold because a black fate point had entered the life fate map range, and it was heading in his way.
Most importantly, there was a red ring around this black fate point, which meant an enemy!
Furthermore, the entire area suddenly turned into a black fate location, except the silver fate location!
Without hesitation, Ace activated a space step talisman and teleported himself into the hidden passage.
Although it was dangerous but not as deadly as that black fate point which had turned the entire terrain into black except this hidden passage!
His thief sense was still ringing like morning bells. He had never felt this kind of danger except for the heavenly punishment before.
At this moment, just as he appeared at a 10-meter-wide cave passage, a ghastly pressure suddenly descended, which made Ace's heart tremble because he had felt this pressure before.
'The hidden expert of Demon Temple, but how did he discover me?!' Ace's scalp tingled with trepidation when he suddenly remembered something, 'Shit, could it be I took out that key and jade slip out? That's how he discovered my location?!'
This was the only possible explanation that could make sense, or it was all but a big coincidence, and this person might have been drawn here by the heavenly punishment and decided to check the entire area.
Ace thought that after the scepter was destroyed, it would be safe to take out that key and jade scroll, but if his guess was correct, he had invited the disaster himself!
Without hesitation, Ace ignored the pressure and headed deep within the cave passage since it was still silver. But his luck turned from bad to worse when a soul sense so deadly that he couldn't even move to comprehend the other party's strength locked on him.
Furthermore, those remaining two red fate points were heading his way.
Without hesitating, he commanded grimly, "System, activate Devi's Horn quickly!"
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[Devi's Horn has been summoned!]
Devi's Horn (Intermediate)
-Description: Able to summon Horns of Devil Horn Dark Owl!
-Ability: Undetectable Stealth in Mortal Sky Heaven!
-Status: Active
-Time: 00:00:59
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After his breakthrough, his summon abilities also upgraded. But the Devil's Horn ability didn't increase its activation time but only experienced a decrease in its cooldown time by five days.
Still, it was too long, and Ace didn't want to use it, but right now, this was the exact situation where if he didn't use it, he'd better prepare for death.
Suddenly, a pair of ethereal black horns started to form on Ace's forehead, and they were 1 meter long and shaped like a crescent moon.
The moment those horns manifested, Ace experienced that the danger he was feeling vanished, and the soul sense also lost its target