Chapter 1649: Chapter 1649: Back to the Beginning!
The Abyssal Mirage Dice was a primordial treasure related to Fortune and Misfortune, while Zaria’s bloodline was tied to the same concept, and she was the Lucky Thief cultivating the Scripture of Archaic Luck.
That’s why Ace quickly figured out how he had helped her in her cultivation, and when he thought like that, he couldn’t help but wonder with an exploitative glimmer in his eyes as he looked at Zaria.
’Wait, what if I have her roll the Abyssal Mirage Dice for me? After all, with her luck, I might gain tremendously. But if she cast the die, would it still be recognized as me? Probably not, since it is explicitly mentioned in the description. But if...’
Zaria suddenly felt a chill running down her spine as she sensed Ace’s somewhat peculiar gaze at her, and her smile turned threatening.
"You dare to take advantage of me!?"
Ace lip twitched as he snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her slightly rageful voice, and he instantly realized Zaria had misunderstood.
He quickly explained, "What are you talking about? I was just thinking about the new treasure I got, which is related to luck, and since you have a connection with the concept of luck, I thought having you around the next time I use that treasure might have some sort of profound effects."
Zaria narrowed her eyes with a hint of doubt, but after spending some time within the Thief’s House, and House Members, especially Ace’s two wives, she knew he wouldn’t dare to mess around with others. But for some inexplicable reason, she still felt anger, but no longer pursued this topic.
"I’ll believe you this once." She curtly stated.
’What kind of attitude is this? Does she forget she’s no longer the strongest among us but the weakest!’
Ace wanted to retort, but he also didn’t want to prolong this awkwardness, and changed the topic as he asked, "You just said you need my assistance?"
Zaria stared at Ace ambiguously for a moment before she nodded, "Yes, since I’m about to break through into the Law State, the Ascension Soldier Realm, I’ll encounter a Heavenly Tribulation or maybe the Abyssal Ordeal since I’m here. But I’ve heard as long as I’m inside my cultivation chamber within the Thief’s House, I don’t need to worry about any Tribulation or Ordeal."
Ace instantly understood what Zaria meant by ’assistance’ and nodded readily.
"If you want to go back to the Thief’s House, there’s no problem." With a pause, he sternly added, "But coming out won’t be easy afterward because something big is happening outside while you were in seclusion. My identity as Nomad had already burned, and things are not going smoothly.
"All in all, I’m still confident in infiltrating the Evernight Sanctuary, so I can’t let you outside without drawing attention to myself unless I arrange a proper identity for you. But before that, you need to reclaim your realm or at least become an Ascension Grandmaster.
"If you agree to these conditions, let’s go. I don’t have time to stay here, as I need to go back as quickly as possible before the gate closes."
Although Zaria was in a weakened state, Ace wasn’t worried about her being a burden, for she was a veteran cultivator, and she had been recovering her cultivation at a terrifying rate. Not to mention, she was the Lucky Thief; just having her around means fortune will favor them.
Lastly, Zaria can also oversee Cyrus, Leah, and their little gang of mischief, making sure they won’t steal his precious herbs or cause trouble.
Zaria’s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise as she wasn’t expecting things to take such a drastic turn outside.
Furthermore, she Ace was supposed to be inside the Evernight Trial, but now he had unexpectedly returned with his identity as Nomad’s burned, which could only mean he had done something that forced him to abandon that precious identity he had been cultivating and flee the trial grounds.
"I would like to hear about what happened." Zaria smiled meaningfully as, despite her prejudice about Ace’s character, she still secretly respects and admires him for his intellectual and thievish talent.
Especially since last time she had committed theft following Ace’s plan and reaped a huge harvest with minimal danger yet maximum exposure.
Ace didn’t mind as he readily agreed to her request, and the next moment, he sent Zaria back into her cultivation chamber, so she could break through, and ordered Pixy to send Zaria into the Thief’s Space to oversee Leah and others once she was ready.
After taking care of this business, Ace manifested the Thief’s House Gate in the hidden chamber and then entered his personal chamber while activating the 5x time acceleration function to quickly recover his mental fatigue.
No matter the hurry, Ace knew if he didn’t rest right now, he would make a mistake that he couldn’t afford to, as the Undead Cradle had become completely unpredictable, and he had no idea what the Evernight Council would do next.
After ten hours, which were like fifty hours in his house leader chamber, he appeared in the shop again, and all his mental fatigue and exhausted Qi had been recovered to peak.
Ace then summoned the Avatar of Holy Twilight and left him there before he quickly vanished from the shop and headed again towards the Evernight Sanctuary Gate!
Outside, the Eternal Night still trembled beneath the shadow of the manifested Evernight Sanctuary Gate.
Even after everything that had happened within the Undead Cradle, the colossal obsidian structure remained suspended above the Abyssal Plains like the judgment of the abyss itself. Its impossible silhouette dominated the horizon no matter where one stood.
In the sky, Ace turned into a dark streak, flying towards the majestic gate like a moth towards the sun.
But the deeper Ace traveled through the plains, the larger it became, yet it still looked unimaginably distant, as if the Gate existed in a separate layer of reality.
Crimson and black radiance bled endlessly from its runic surface while abyssal storms circled around it like kneeling serpents, and below that eternal phenomenon, the entire Abyssal Plains had become chaotic.
Countless Abyssal Beings surged toward the Gate from every direction. Some traveled alone, wrapped in killing intent and confidence. Others moved in groups, escorted by clans, sects, mercenary armies, or noble retainers.
Flying ships streaked across the skies like shooting stars while monstrous abyssal beasts carried cultivators over the plains below.
The atmosphere was feverish as everywhere Ace looked, discussions about the Evernight Trial filled the air.
"The trial... what exactly is it?"
"There’s no news, all communications have been blocked!"
"But I’ve heard once the Evernight Trial starts, it might be possible to watch it through spiritual projections!
"I heard entire bloodlines are sending all their eligible descendants!"
"They say the Sanctuary only appears like this when a calamity is approaching!"
"Hmph, opportunity only belongs to those brave enough to seize it!"