The once cold and silent red crystalline room was now filled with heated passion and pleasure of love…
Ace and Eva, after a decade of separation, both didn't want to hold back and 'express' their love to the full extent, and their passion ran wild.
While in each other embrace, they both forget about the time, and they care nothing but for each other. Everything else was but an illusion for them…
An unknown time passed, and Ace, who always remain vigilant of his surrounding, for the first time in over a decade, fell into a blithe sleep while holding the enthralling devil in his embrace.
At this moment, Eva's head was resting over Ace's muscular chest as she heard his powerful heartbeat with of tingle of pinkish blush and a small satisfied grin on her crimson lips. She couldn't be happier; it was like a dream to her.
"He's so bold and fierce… not like that silly and scaredy-cat I remembered…" She mumbled under her breath and blushed heavily when she remembered their 'heated exchange.'
"Who you're calling scaredy-cat?" A cold yet teasing voice rang at this moment.
Eva was startled before her eye lit up, and she quickly looked toward Ace and saw he was no longer asleep and looking at her with this evil grin on his face.
Her eyes turned gentle, and she giggled, "Aren't I right? You were such a silly little brat who didn't even know how to express yourself and always peak at me from the corner of your eyes. I still remember when you first saw me; at that time, you were completely stunned silly… ahhhh, stop, don't pinch my butt, haha, no~, stop you bullyyy~."
Eva squeaked like a little girl under Ace's 'evil hands attack' and was completely helpless… but in truth, she was enjoying it too much.
Ace saw the naked, enthralling devil who could charm anyone with her face and arouse the desire of even gods with her devilish physique; pretending to be a little girl and cuddling in his arms, he felt blissful for the first time in his life.
"Hmph, I'm not that kid anymore who got tricked by you, little vixen tricks!" He retorted while he gently teased her even more.
Eva suddenly breaks free from his evil clutches and quickly captures his arm, and pins them over his head. She fiery looked right into his eyes while showing her alluring body and big soft mounds.
"You're too beautiful…" Ace couldn't help but utter from the bottom of his heart as he looked at Eva's peerless face, a hair away from his.
Lust surfaced in her tender eyes as she blushed when she heard his praise. The feeling of happiness and blissfulness inundated her heart.
"You're dead~!" She mumbled lovingly before she captured his lips like a fierce lioness.
It was a kiss full of passion and love…
Ace couldn't hold himself as his carnal desire was fully awake, and without having any intention of stopping just there, he quickly started to take control of the devil!
She was really a true devil who could make anyone commit any sin for her…
After 'express' their fierce love for each other again… both of them were panting while the blissful expressions on their faces.
"You lost!" With a deep shade of pink, Eva declared with rigid breathing making a luscious scene.
Ace couldn't help but mumble under his breath, "Why do I have this feeling that your body resistance is equivalent to a Grade-7 treasure, and you're still a mortal…"
Eva's hearing was too sharp as she heard his every word and smiled in satisfaction as she boosted like a proud peacock, "Why of course, despite having no cultivation, I can easily kill anyone at Platinum Soul Realm Cultivation, even those Soul Manifestation Realm cultivation won't be my match, and I can escape Law Awareness Realm Cultivators. Only those Law Comprehension Realm pose a threat to me."
Ace couldn't help but raise his brows when he heard this unexpected yet unbelievable revelation.
He looked at the proud devil in his embrace and seriously questioned, "Is this true? It seemed your bloodline is far more powerful than I have thought about it."
"Hehe, why would I lie to you? In my Blood Heritage of Abyssal Shadow Devil, there are ample experience and knowledge about my kind, and even I'm somewhat in disbelief that I'm really a part of them." Eva proudly declared without hiding anything.
"Blood Heritage, huh? Why not Blood Memory Heritage?" Ace couldn't help but ask since everything called the Devil's ability to unravel their predecessors' memories as Blood Memory Heritage.
But both system and Eva, now calling it Blood Heritage, instated, so he was somewhat curious, and unlike the System, Eva won't hide things from him.
And just as he thought, Eva replied without hiding anything, "Actually, they are both the same thing, and the only difference is Blood memory Heritage will awake random memories about cultivation techniques and some skills that are strictly related to the density of bloodline.
"Furthermore, this type of memory awakening isn't just limited to the devil race alone. Magic Beast also has the same kind of ability, and they even have an advantage over everyone because they can increase and awaken their abilities by doing nothing but eating herbs and anything that has potent Qi.However, the Blood Heritage is complete in comparison, and it is not limited to just one or two races. But a Blood Heritage only forms when a being reaches a certain level of power, and then they can pass down their entire cultivation knowledge to their descendants as long as their bloodline is over 95% pure! There is no restriction of Race."
Ace was really intrigued when he heard this new information, "Hmm, I never thought there was such a difference. We're simply living in a well…"
"Hehe, of course. What actually makes a difference is Racial Abilities, which can't be passed down, and one has to depend on themselves to awaken them… but…" Eva suddenly stopped as she glanced at Ace.
Ace's sharp institution instantly caught her hesitation as he asked uncertainly, "But, what? Don't hide things from me. Truth me; I can keep secrets."
Eva pursed her lips and retorted, "It's not like I don't trust you! It's just that the Racial Abilities are unique to the degree that only a few powerful races have the means to awaken them, like the Devil, Demon, Magic Beasts, and some other powerful races you might've never heard of.
"But some races didn't have such a luxury and ability to awake a unique racial ability naturally. Like… Humans!"
Eva was closely watching Ace's expression when she said that. She was afraid she might hurt Ace's pride. But to her surprise, Ace wasn't even flinched; on the contrary, a chuckle escaped his mouth.
Ace said without showing any kind of frustration, "Little Missy, do you really believe this kind of thing will make me jealous of you?"
Eva was startled by his question and didn't know how to reply.
Ace continued, while deeply looking at her abyssal-like eyes, said with full of implication, "Of course, if you thought so little of me, I might get angry and punish you for doubting your husband!"
Eva's eyes widened for a moment before gentleness surfaced in her eyes as she blushed and tenderly said, "I was wrong."
"You were. I don't need to strive for anything. I'll just steal them if I need them. These racial abilities will never be able to stop me!" Ace's declaration was quite arrogant, but it was backed by his undying resolve and confidence.
Eva was mesmerized by the strong thievish look in his dark blue eyes, and suddenly all the doubts vanished. She suddenly remembered something as she quickly moved her jade-like hand and placed it right before his eyes.
Ace was stunned for a moment when he saw her snowy white palm and doubtfully glanced at her, "What? You want to slap me?"
"Hahaha, why would I want to slap you, dummy?" Eva laughed gracefully before her expression turned stern, "Don't you remember it?"
"Remember what?" Ace was baffled by this sudden question and the change in attitude.
Eva narrowed her eyes dangerously as she questioned again, "Look at my hand and tell me what you're forgetting!"
For the first time, Ace felt Eva's tone was unquestionable as he felt strange. He quickly looked at her hand, which was completely empty.
Then his eyes landed on those runes over her upper arm, but he didn't answer since she was clearly not asking about those runes.
pǎпdǎ Йᴏνê1,сòМ 'Why her hand? What I'm forgetting?' Ace started to feel amiss as the more he took the time to think, the colder sensation he felt. He felt like he was being locked by something evil and couldn't escape.
Ace couldn't help but look at the beauty who had now turned from gentle to cold within a moment. Cold sweat surfaced over his head, and he dryly asked, "Umm… wifey, how about a clue? A very small one!"
The word 'wifey' made Eva's cold expression somewhat soften, and she finally decided to give a hint with a piercing look.
"You're forgetting about an object and a promise!"
Ace's mind instantly raced, 'An object and a promise?'
The very next moment, it finally dawned upon him as he looked at Eva's index finger and blurted, "That storage ring I gifted you, right?"
Ace instantly remembered the storage ring he first gave her, and it was exactly with that ring Eva tricked him by performing the devil race's ritual and bonding her life with his.
Although he didn't suffer or lose anything. Eva's life got bonded with him, and if he dies, she will also follow suit while he would suffer no such causality if something happened to her.
Furthermore, it was also the symbol of marriage in Devil Race. But he never told Eva that he already knew about this ritual and marriage.
However, the ring had vanished after she woke up, so he didn't have much about it. Moreover, he didn't have time to think because he was too busy focusing on other 'matters.'
However, now that she had bought it up, he naturally remembered after getting a small hint. As for the promise, he also remembered it.
Eva's stern expression instantly melted as her lips curled into a beautiful smile, "So, do you also remember your promise?"
Ace couldn't help but smile seeing her delightful expression, "Yes, I was too mesmerized by your beauty that I lost forces of everything else.
"Before you were sealed, I purpose you for marriage, and you agreed. And afterward, I promised you that after you wake up, I'll give you a grand wedding."
Eva smiled happily and nodded, "But do you know we are already married according to Devil Race's custom?"
Ace pretended to be surprised, "How so? Don't tell me by doing…"
"Not because we do this!" Eva glared at him fiercely, "It was a ritual of my devil race. When someone puts a ring on a female devil's right-hand index finger, and she willingly accepts it, it symbolizes their marriage. Now, do you understand? Do you think without getting married, I would let you touch me?"
Ace couldn't help but admire her alluring charm, which intensified with her fierce expression, and couldn't help but tease her, "Oh, then I'm glad you did so, or I won't be able to acquire such a beautiful wife. As for the last part, would you really not let me do anything?" His eyes were filled with lust as his hands approached her bosom.
Despite wanting to, Eva's expression melted away instantly when she heard his honey-coated words. Her heart was filled with happiness as she felt his warm, gentle touch.
But still, she glared at him, "M-maybe kissing, but that's it! Now stop and listen, or I won't tell you if you continue to interrupt me!"
Ace grinned and stopped… for now.
"Look," Eva said as she pointed at her hand again.
Ace looked at her hand, and he was astonished when he saw a crystalline ring start to surface on her index finger. Not only that but this ring was covered in pitch-black runes.
Furthermore, Ace suddenly felt extremely close to Eva, not physically but mentally, as well as he could literally feel her thoughts.
"Can you hear me?"
Her voice rang, but she never uttered a single word which meant her voice was transmitted directly to his mind.
Astonished, he looked at her meaningfully and nodded as he replied without speaking, as he was too familiar with this communication method, "I can."
Eva smiled brightly as she finally spoke while showing her ring, "After I turned into a full devil as well, my bloodline changed to a far stronger one. I also got more information about the marriage ritual, which is called Devil's Love.
"If a devil truly falls in true love and then performs the Devil's Love ritual and forms a couple with the one he or she truly loves. As long as the partner won't have any malice and also loves the one who performs the ritual after they consummate the marriage, the ring used during the ritual will turn into a Ring of Endearment!"
Ace was astonished when he heard it and looked at the crystalline runic ring on her index finger. He naturally had no idea about such a thing.
"So, you're saying this ring is the Ring of Endearment now?"
Eva happily nodded, "Hmm. Only the pure devils with at least the bloodline equivalent to the Abyssal Bloodline can create the Ring of Endearment and gain benefits from it. While for other devils, the Devil's Love Ritual can't bring any more benefits."
"Benefits? What kind of benefits?" Ace was finally intrigued when he heard this.
"First, the Ring of Endearment will have a unique function according to the nature of the ring used during the ritual, and it is unbreakable and will only break after the bearer's death.
Since you used a storage ring in the ritual, my ring's unique function is 'World of Dream,' which is a storage type function. I receive 100 cubic meters of storage space first, and I can store anything, including living beings, in my ring.
"Not only that but with every major realm breakthrough from now on, the storage capacity will be increased by 100 cubic meters continuously!" Eva excitedly told, and she liked Ace's dumbfounded look.
She couldn't help but giggle as she showed off the ring, "Lastly, with this ring, we will be able to sense each other's general direction no matter how far apart we are, and if anyone falls into danger, we'll instantly sense it. And this is my favorite function. We can transfer our thoughts to each other within a 10-mile radius, and it will also increase with my cultivation. We will never be part again!"
Ace had to admit that this Devil's love was really a mystical ritual that could make something out of the Ring of Endearment. Especially Eva's Ring of Endearment, which can store both living and nonliving beings just like his thief's space, can also grow.
But he suddenly thought of something, 'She completely skipped the part about bonding her life with mine without any of my concern, and it's clear she doesn't want to tell me either.
'But can this Ring of Endearment really be formed without any consequences?' Ace couldn't help but think like this as he asked the system first since even if Eva knew about it, she might not tell him if it had extreme consequences,
"System, do this Ring of Endearment can really form without any backlash as long as the ritual is complete?" He knew the system might not bother to reply, but it was worth trying.
But it did, and the replay left him gloomy.
"[Everything has a consequence whether it's bad or good. The Devil's Love ritual is not an exception as well, especially if the female devil wanted to form the Ring of Endearment.]
"[The Ring of Endearment is the token of true love between a pair, not a single person, and to form it, it has to be done at the moment of marriage consummation. There will be no more chances.]
"[But if the male involved within the ritual has any malice toward the female devil and if she tries to form the Ring of Endearment during the consummation, she will die by the same ring she wanted to turn into Ring of Endearment!]
"[At that time, if the female devil wants, she can turn the Ring of Endearment into Ring of Affliction at her dying moment. Thereby, the ring will forcibly bond with the male and bring him nothing but deadly misfortune, and it will follow him until he dies. There is no escape!]"
Ace felt a chill running down in his spine when he saw the last part and couldn't help but glance at Eva, who was happily looking at him while showing her ring with nothing but affection.
The momentary wariness instantly washed away and left nothing but helpless. He knew there was almost zero percent chance that she would turn the ring into a Ring of Affliction against him.
'She had again done such a dangerous thing which put her life into a dangerous situation. She's just as crazy as I remembered her to be, and this time she didn't even show any reaction.
'She probably told me because she didn't want me to found about the Devil's Love ritual from someone else while she hid every con and only revealed the pros. I can't let this continue, or she might do something again and put her life in even more danger.'
Ace's eyes went resolute.
Although he didn't want to scold her or reveal what she had done in the past, he was afraid it might hurt her, and she will reveal it eventually. But he knew if keep shut about it and let her keep gambling with her life for his and get her away with it. It might do far more harm than good to both of them.
So, his expression was stern as he said, "Eva, let's get dressed. I also want to tell you something."
Eva was startled when she heard Ace's somewhat distant voice and couldn't help but looked at him and only met with his stern eyes. She had any seen him looking at her like this.
She quickly asked anxiously as she felt something was wrong, "What's wrong?"
Eva wore a sleeveless, black attire, which complimented her devilish figure and that crimson crown on her forehead, and was looking anxious at Ace, who was wearing his jet-black deft thief's robes and had a stern expression on his face.
Ace couldn't help but feel heartache seeing Eva's anxious face, but he knew this had to be done, or she might do something she regretted later.
He gently asked, "Eva, earlier you said the Ring of Endearment could only form if the partner didn't have any malice toward their wife or husband, but what will happen if they had malice?
"I want you to be honest with me, or it would simply mean you won't trust me enough and think of me as some incompetent idiot who can't handle the truth."
Eva's expression changed, and she instantly averted her eyes in panic when she saw Ace's scrutiny gaze. She immediately tried to hide it, "T-then nothing will happen! But you truly love me, so the Ring of Endearment formed, and I can't be happier!"
Ace sighed ruefully as he turned somewhat cold as he said, "Then, were you testing my commitment toward you and see if I'm really in love with you or not?"
Eva panicked even more since the formation of the Ring of Endearment could really be looked at as such. Because only someone with doubts would put their loved ones to the test, and the Devil's Love Ritual was really made for such a thing.
There was an old saying in devil race, 'Even the love of a Devil is Devil!'
Especially the love of a Devil Woman. Usually, they were extremely cold and cruel towards other races, even their own. But once they fell in love, they were downright crazies!
They will go to any length to be the one they loved and make sure they are loved back, or they will rather die than live without them. But they will not die alone; they will ensure the person who rejected them follows them. At least they will be together in the afterlife!
This was the true mentality of a devil woman, and Eva had inherited this mentality strongly at that after her bloodline changed to Shadow Abyssal Devil.
Although she didn't have any doubts about Ace, she just couldn't help it and couldn't suppress her natural instinct and try risking the formation of Ring of Endearment.
It's not like she doubted Ace's commitment toward herself. It's just that she had too much faith in him, especially after she awake. She would never forget that passionate gaze filled with longing.
She never doubted for a second that the ring of endearment formation would fail, and she was right.
However, she never expected Ace to take it the wrong way and notice the hidden details she left deliberately.
She was completely stunned now as she didn't know how to explain herself, and that piercing gaze was directly stabbing through her heart. She just couldn't endure it.
Ace's stern expression instantly crumbled when he saw tears forming in her eyes, and his heart ached. He immediately hugged her, "Why are you crying? I just want the truth. I never doubted your intention."
Eva felt warm as she buried her head in his chest and mumbled, "I-I never doubted you…."
"Neither do I. But you shouldn't hide about the Ring of Affliction as well as you, bonding your life with mine." Ace didn't hide anymore and revealed.
Eva instantly trembled when she heard the 'secret' was exposed and quickly looked at him and saw him wearing an 'I got you' smile.
"Y-you knew?" She questioned with uncertainty.
Ace snorted, "Silly woman, I know from the start that what you have done by giving up your freedom for mine. But this kind of thing should be mutual, and do you think I could live if you die for me?"
Eva was flattered when she heard this and muttered gently, "I just don't want you to die before me."
"Heh, still as crazy as ever, huh?" Ace helplessly chuckled, "You still don't get it, do you? Tell me, how do you get this bloodline?"
"You gave it to me." She replied without hesitation.
"Then, now that you have your blood heritage, do you think it is possible to make a Half-Shadow Devil a Shadow Abyssal Devil?" Ace asked again.
Eva couldn't help but fall into thought at this moment since she had never thought about it.
She said doubtfully, "No, it's not possible. But it's because of the Blood Rose and the special living space, right?"
Ace then smiled mysteriously, "Then who gave me that space and told me about the blood rose effect?"
Her eyes widened as she finally got what Ace was trying to say and instantly questioned, "Who?"
Eva couldn't help but feel something was really not right because Ace was only a human, and he belonged to the low-level lands of the Azure Wind Continent. She knew there was no doubt about it since she had done a deep background check on him herself before she approached him for his help.
Furthermore, she always felt that Ace was exceptional with all those strange abilities and that strange closeness she felt toward him, but she never thought much deeper into this.
However, with her current self, she couldn't just ignore it, and she knew just how absurd it was to originate the Shadow Abyssal Bloodline in a halfling like her. Someone like Ace definitely couldn't do it unless… someone helped him!
The information Ace revealed was more than proof of that, and she was now even more sure that Ace had someone extremely terrifying behind him.
Ace looked at her ruminative expression and was glad. He wanted to achieve exactly that. He didn't want to appear superior. Furthermore, he just wanted to tell her that he wasn't some clueless or helpless idiot who needed her protection.
He just wanted to make sure she won't try to pull something crazy again just because she thought he needed it.
Just know I have a 'God' behind me, and they're always watching over me. As long as I perform well, it will reward me with unimaginable powers and treasures.
"But my biggest reward is naturally you. So, I don't want to lose you, and I hope you don't try to do something which threatens your own life again. At least discuss it with me first.
"And you don't need to protect me. I can do that just fine. I still remember we are teammates before anything, and a teammate will always have each other backs, right?"
Eva couldn't help but fall into deep silence as she looked at Ace's confident expression filled with gentleness toward her. Happiness bloomed within her heart, as she didn't care about if he had some 'god' or 'demon' behind him. She just wanted to be with him.
"I understand." She gently uttered before her expression turned strange as she asked in a low voice when she thought of something, "You said the god is always watching over you, t-then… then does this mean it also watched us…."
Ace's prideful expression instantly wrapped when he heard this, and he also felt this question was worth mulling over. But he didn't have the face to question the system since it was too embarrassing.
So, he dryly changed the topic, "Alright, enough with this stuff. We should leave this place."
Eva also didn't push this embarrassing topic as she nodded before she looked around the strange room, "Now that you mention it, where are we?"
Ace looked at the doom-like room, which was now completely empty after the 'death' of both the Tower Spirit and the old ghost Moon Fiend King.
He really has no idea how to leave this place since he was too busy focusing on Eva at that time and didn't heed the old ghost Moon Fiend's warning that he won't be able to leave this tower if he killed him.
However, now that he thought about it, there seemed to be no way out, and they might have to break their way out of it, which was quite cumbersome.
But before he could explain, Eva suddenly mumbled, "Why do I feel connected with this place and this strange set of memories?"
"You are feeling a connection with this place and memories?" Ace's eyes instantly narrowed.
Eva nodded with uncertainty as she suddenly looked behind Ace and squinted her eyes, "Like there is a door, right there!"
Just as her voice trailed off, something strange happened. The wall where she focused suddenly trembled before it sided away, revealing a passage!
Ace was stunned when he saw this and quickly thought about something as his face turned pale and questioned the system, "System, don't tell me she had turned into this tower's treasure spirit because she absorbed that mirror?!"
"[No. But because she had absorbed this tower's core with tower spirit as well as the previous owner, she had become the new owner of this treasure!]"
Ace was relieved when he heard it and couldn't help but feel this make sense. But the system's next word makes his expression dark!
Although she is now the owner of this treasure, this doesn't change the fact it is now an empty husk that had lost all of its previous function and power source, making it unable to travel between spaces.]
"[There's probably only enough power left in the tower to perform one last teleportation for one last time before it will be lost all of its space type ability and turn into nothing but a Grade-8 treasure which is broken beyond repair!]"
Ace couldn't help but complain, "One last teleportation? Then can Eva teleport us to Golden Sky World exactly?"
"[It's all depend on her because she is the owner now.]"
Afterward, the system went dormant again, and no matter what Ace asked, it ignored him.
"You're just as 'reliable' as ever." Ace couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
"Where are we, really? And why can I control this place?" Eva's eyes were filled with curiosity as she looked at Ace with expectancy.
She was still annexing this strange place's memories, and she knew it was not just a random space at all.
But the question was, how did they end up here?
She was getting more and more curious about what Ace had experienced while she was asleep.
Ace couldn't help but feel a sense of reminiscence when he saw Eva's curious expression. She was just as curious as he remembered her to be.
"Alright, I'll tell you about where we are and how I got here. The other details have to wait… so I entered a space crack and entered this underground tunnel…."
Ace started to tell her about his experience in this secret realm where the treasure, Regal Fiend Tower, was located and what this tower was actually doing, and the scheme of Old Ghost Moon Fiend…
Eva attentively listened, and the more she heard, the more she felt shocked about Ace's adventure. But when she heard about how the old ghost Moon Fiend wanted to revive using Ace's body, her crimson eyes suddenly excluded thick killing intent and bloodlust that startled even Ace.
"You let him off too easily!" She coldly stated.
Ace smiled wryly, "I can't take any risk, you know. He was probably an old monster from some other world, and he was simply too careful. He even sacrificed the tower spirit, and until the end, the tower spirit didn't find that he was just a sacrificial lamb. If I had shown even a tiny bit of resistance or acted out of the place, he would become instantly suspicious of me."
He then smiled gently while he looked at the angry Devil, "But it was all worth it since I got to wake you, and getting devoured by you could be said an act of revenge on my part. Now you are the owner of this tower, so I want you to teleport away to the main continent."
Eva's rage calmed a bit when she heard this, and she couldn't help but admire Ace because of how he tricked an old monster into his own death.
Eva scrutinized, 'The one backing him is probably not just a random god.'
She had some doubt before about this 'god' behind Ace.
Because in her Blood Heritage, she also got small memories about 'God,' and she clearly knew just what a 'God' represents. But in this place, it was pitifully impossible to draw a real 'God's attention and even make it help a mortal like Ace.
She even felt this 'God' was tricking Ace into doing his bidding, so she secretly decided to 'save' him once she got stronger from this 'God.'
However, now, she didn't know anymore and decided to wait and see what would happen. Since this 'God' helped her achieve such a bloodline, she was also grateful, but it doesn't mean she will let anything happen to Ace.
She even had a secret method within her memories to get rid of anyone's detection or any kind of curse or spell, even Gods!
But she needed cultivation far higher than 1st Heaven's limitation to use that method, so she decided just to go ahead and follow Ace and monitor his or that 'God's every action.
If she found even the slightest bit of danger to Ace, she would not hesitate to get rid of this 'God.'
Her thorough process and reactions were so natural that even someone like Ace, who was master at hiding his true intentions, didn't notice anything out of the blue.
If he had known what Eva was thinking, he would've definitely facepalmed himself and scolded her since he had just told her not to try anything dangerous again. But she was still thinking of scheming against a 'God,' nevertheless!
The truth was scheming was the Devil's second nature, and they couldn't change it or suppress it, and this nature only intensified as the stronger their bloodline.
Eva was no different.
Eva asked, "Do you really want to leave and not explore this tower? There might be hidden treasures of that old monster, right? But, if we leave, we might not ever come back again, and those treasures will be gone forever."
Ace thought for a moment before his lips curled up and nodded, "Alright, there's no harm in exploring a bit, and I also think that guy might have arranged a few treasures for his rebirth. Let's plunder it all."
Ace looked at Eva's happy expression and couldn't help but bitterly think, 'I still have to tell her about living in the thief's space until she reaches the 8th Realm in cultivation, so I might as well spend some time with her in this place.
'Then there's still the matter of Thief House, as well as Alina's situation. I had told her about Alina so she would not react much. But the problem is Thief House members. She might outright try to kill them or me….'
Ace felt a chill in his spine when he thought about that killing intent she emitted just a few moments ago. And she was just a mortal in cultivation terms. He didn't dare to imagine just how terrifying will she become once she started cultivating.
'No, I must find a way to explain it to her as gently as possible, or a calamity awaits me.' Ace bound his resolved as he looked at the Devil.
He wasn't even afraid of Heaven, but he was definitely scared of making her heartbroken and her crazy personality.
"Let's go. Why are you looking pale?" She looked at him confusingly.
Ace quickly hid his unease and nodded with a smile, "Let's find some treasures."
Eva giggled and locked her arm with Ace's, and they started to walk toward the open door.
Ace suddenly thought of something and looked at her crimson crown and runes as well as her eyes which were actually like the Imperial Demon Family members.
"Is that crown and runes your racial trail?" He asked curiously.
Eva nodded, "Anyone with Abyssal Bloodline will have this 'Abyssal Crown,' and the runes are 'True Devil's Runes.' Both of them have different uses."
Ace was intrigued, "What uses?"
"It's a secret, for now. Hehe." Eva mysteriously snickered.
"Tsk, now you're just being a miser," Ace commented with slightly narrow eyes.
"Then what can you do about it?" Eva seductively looked at him as she licked her crimson lips with her pink tongue.
"Hmph, vixen!" He couldn't help but click his tongue.
Eva's melodious peal of laughter rang within the empty hall.
At this moment, they reached the entrance of the open door, and Ace's eyes narrowed in astonishment while Eva also seemed shocked.
Because in front of them was over five hundred square meters wide hall, and it was filled with crimson mannequins standing in orderly rows, and they were thousands of them.
Ace instantly recognized those mannequins, "They are Trial Puppets used by the Tower Spirit to test the contenders on each floor, and they are so many of them!"
Eva's expression turned cold as he revealed, "This place is filled with the potent smell of blood, and if I'm wrong, they are 'Low-Grade Blood Puppets!' Made after refining dead bodies in their own blood.
"It's an extremely sinister method of the unorthodox path. These blood puppets' cultivation should be around one or two realms lower than when they were alive, and not only that, they should also have their battle experience."
Ace cocked an eyebrow when he heard about this 'Blood Puppet' description.
"You mean like Corpse Puppets?" He couldn't help but think of the awakened corpse army in the demon continent when he stumbled upon the site of Ice Element Orb, and that's how he met with Winter as well.
"You even know about the Corpse Puppets?" Eva seemed astonished and looked at Ace deeply, "It seemed this adventure wasn't the only interesting one up in your sleeve, huh?"
"It was alright, I guess." Ace smiled wryly and thought bitterly, 'If I left that annoying Fox out of it, then it was really alright!'
Eva seemed as if she couldn't wait to hear about how Ace came in contact with the Corpse Puppets.
Still, she focused on the matter at hand and said, "With what I have in my memories, the art of using the dead as puppets is known as Undead Puppetry. Even in Devil Race, there aren't many who practice the art of Undead Puppetry because it's simply too nasty, and in any race, this art is highly condemned.
"Because to practice Undead Puppetry, an ample supply of dead bodies is required, and no one will want their loved ones to turn into someone else's puppets.
"But this didn't mean Undead Puppetry is prohibited completely. On the contrary, Undead Puppetry has a very strong and profound heritage. That old bastard who wanted to possess you seemed to belong to this heritage and was most likely an Undead Puppeteer."
Killing intent surfaced in Eva's eyes when she uttered, 'Old Bastard.'
Ace was quite fascinated by this Undead Puppetry, but only as someone who likes to learn different kinds of knowledge.
As for practicing it, willingly, he won't, but if he ever decided to go after these Undead Puppeteers' wealth… who knows.
Eva continues as she remembers some more details, "In nature, the Corpse Puppets and Blood Puppets are essentially the same since they were both created from the dead.
"But unlike Corpse Puppet, the Blood Puppet can't be upgraded, and they will remain the same as they were made, or they can't be repaired once they were damaged.
"However, a Blood Puppet also has some advantages over the Corpse Puppet. Like they can be preserved without worrying about them getting rot. The cultivation of a Blood Puppet is quite closer to their alive self, and they had also preserved their entire battle experience from the get-go.
"While a corpse puppet needed resources to nurture for a long time but they are equally terrifying. There are also some races directly related to the Undead, and they have a natural talent for Undead Puppetry.
"This is all the general knowledge I have for now, and I might get more after I unlock the Second Lock on my Blood Heritage," Eva stated.
Ace couldn't help but widen his eyes at the end and looked at her speechlessly, "By lock, do you mean there's still more memories in your blood heritage?"
Eva snickered beautifully as she replied, "Why, of course. You can't even imagine just how much memory collection a Blood Heritage of someone with an Abyssal-level bloodline could have.
"So, for the descendants' safety, there are Blood Locks placed within our Blood Heritage, and after crossing a certain threshold, these locks will break one after another until the entire inheritance is completely conjugate in Knowledge Sea.
"This was also done because if someone with malicious intention tries to probe those memories of Blood Heritage, those locks will self-destruct and kill the one who tries to peer into the blood heritage!"
Ace was really baffled by this revelation since it was too good to be true. This was simply a huge blow for even someone like him because if she was really telling the truth, then all this profound knowledge she had was probably just a fragment of what her entire blood heritage was worth.
For the first time, he felt somewhat jealous of this blood heritage. But he was also happy for Eva since she was his woman.
Ace suddenly thought of something and asked her with a somewhat forlorn tone, "Then tell me, now that you have all this knowledge and you can easily reach unimaginable heights with it, do you still want to be a thief like in the past?"
Ace couldn't help but deeply look at her as he also wanted to hear the answer to this question.
He knew with power; people would change as well as their goals. Will someone with boundless potential and future want to walk on the path of a thief?
With Eva's current talent, she could easily rule the entire world once she started to cultivate. Will she still want to be a thief like her mother? Or did her goals change with that profound knowledge, and she no longer cared about being some petty thief?
Despite being afraid of getting a disappointing answer, Ace has to know it. Because if Eva didn't want to, then he won't force her and respect her choice. Nevertheless, he will always support her as a friend and husband.
Eva looked at Ace's dead serious face and burst into peals of laughter before she stated, "Do you really need to ask the obvious? So, what if I have all this knowledge and talent? I will never forget who gave me this opportunity and what my goals were before I got all this.
"Besides, being a thief and always adventuring is far more interesting than boringly living in a single place and being bound by the laws of the community. Lastly, I know for a fact that a certain someone will always be a thief, either with me or without me, right?"
Ace was stunned for a moment by this answer. He knew she was telling the absolute truth without any falsehood in her words. His lips curled up in a thievish smile, "That's more like a wife of a thief."
"Hmph, silver tongue." Eva berated with a hint of happiness.
Ace was really happy with Eva's answer, and all his worries and doubt vanished.
He then looked at those thousands of blood puppets with thievish eyes, "Let me clean this place before moving toward the next location."
Ace won't leave these already refined blood puppets here to rot. They were like an army of powerful cultivators who knew no fear. So, they might come in handy in some dangerous situations as long as he found the method to operate them.
Within a minute, the entire hall was emptied by Ace as he stowed away those blood puppets in a single storage ring. Storage space was never a problem for him.
"You're quite the expert in this." Even Eva was speechless by how fast Ace was at 'cleaning' the place.
"Just come with the profession, I guess." Ace shrugged with a smile.
After the hall was completely emptied, Eva opened another secret door on the left wall as they walked into it.
This time they had opened the weapon storage facility as they were all kinds of weapons, and the most inferior of them all was a Grade-3 whip while the highest one was a Grade-8 halberd.
There were simply too many to count, and Ace didn't care less about the number as he stowed them all without leaving a single one. He already needed high-grade treasure swords, and this was just a godsend to him.
"He probably accumulated all these weapons from all those elves who were killed within the tower." Eva disdainfully stated.
And now we're collecting after he's dead. What goes around comes around…" Ace couldn't help but comment.
"You sound like a scavenger now." Eva snorted in disgust, "We are avenging the poor."
'At least I admitted that I'm stealing it all.' Ace gave her a side eye but kept his thought to himself.
Then Eva opened another secret pathway with stairs going upward. She was getting the hang of this treasure as she also started to remember the details about the treasures with a spirit.
The more she remembered, the more she admired Ace for getting out of a such situation without even a scratch.
This time, they entered the storage facility where raw materials like herbs, ores, metals, and many more were stored.
This storage facility was as big as the two combined facilities they saw below
"Can you give them to me? They all will be enough for me to break into the law awareness realm or beyond in two years if I devour them all!" Eva asked with great anticipation.
Up until now, she didn't even speak as Ace was taking all those treasures, which could only mean they were not useful to her at all. But now that she saw all those materials, she asked for them without hesitation.
Ace naturally wasn't stingy with Eva. On the contrary, he was happy since this would only mean she would not have to live in the thief's space for long. He was even willing to provide her with more materials as long as she accepted his arrangements.
"And here I thought you won't ask." He merely chuckled before he started to store away all those materials for herbs. There were many grade-8 materials that caught his eye, especially the precious space crystals.
Too embarrassed to go back on his words, he sneakily put some aside for himself and put more high-level materials for Eva from his personal stash. He makes sure she won't notice anything, though.
After filling 39 high-grade-5 storage rings, he gave them to Eva, and she happily accepted them.
"You might go broke if you support my devouring cultivation method." Eva meaningfully smiled at him.
Ace replied without hesitation as he looked at the graceful devil in front, "It's worth it."
"Remember those words. You said them." Eva pulled a devil's smile, which made Ace somewhat uneasy.
But he really didn't care less about resources since he could always steal more there are simply too many rich people in this world.
Besides, it's not like Eva will just remain idle while putting him in a dangerous situation for her own benefit. He knew for a fact she wasn't that kind of person!