Eternal Thief

Chapter 1696: Spirit Fire Evolution

’That went quite smoothly...’ Ace couldn’t help but think while he escaped silently after taking away the Crimson Netherflame Revenant’s corpse.

After all, Ace had thought he might have to put himself in danger by getting closer to the Corpse Commanders and the Dread Duchess, but he had never expected the Dread Duchess, despite being outnumbered, would still kill the Third Corpse Commander just as she declared, so easily.

Nonetheless, the Dread Duchess had proven to be a good distraction right now as no one noticed him stealing the ancient corpse at all, and without lingering, he retreated without hesitation.

At this moment, outside, Eva quietly waited exactly where she had stopped, and no one was bothering her as everyone else was avoiding the gray mist because of its terrifying effects on the mind and soul.

However, for Eva, who had the bloodline of the Void Abyssal Devil and was a member of the Thief House, it didn’t bother her at all, but she still used stealth to avoid being noticed.

Moments later, a ripple appeared beside her, and Ace calmly stepped out, and he looked completely unchanged without any injuries or chaotic aura fluctuations. Nothing suggested he had just entered the center of a battlefield between Half-Abyssal Kings.

Eva looked toward him, and a graceful smile bloomed behind her veil as she wasn’t surprised by his unharmed figure, for she never doubted his abilities.

Instead, she meaningfully smiled and asked, "So, it was a success?"

Ace merely nodded once, and the corners of her lips lifted. "What? Do you have doubts?"

"I’ll hear the story later." Eva snickered, "Right now we need corpses to rob."

Ace nodded in acknowledgment, but before he could respond, his expression suddenly froze.

"...!"

A terrifying wave of scorching heat erupted from deep within his cultivation heart.

The Demonic Black Spirit Fire Seed, which had finally quieted after obtaining the Crimson Netherflame Revenant, suddenly exploded with an even more violent desire. This time, it no longer seemed impatient, but had gone completely berserk!

’BOOM!’

Pitch-black ethereal flames flashed across Ace’s pupils before wisps of black fire seeped from beneath his skin. The surrounding Abyssal Qi instantly ignited.

If not for the Wizard Thief Robes suppressing every fluctuation, and instead if he were wearing Kharon’s Abyssal Grade-1 robes, it would’ve already turned into ashes.

Eva’s beautiful eyes widened as she immediately appeared beside him and asked with a hint of concern, "What is happening to you!?"

She instantly thought that Ace had been injured in the mist and was just pretending to be fine.

But Ace didn’t have time to even look at her as his breathing became ragged and his entire cultivation heart felt as though countless volcanic eruptions were occurring inside it.

The black flames continuously hammered against his meridians, spreading unbearable heat throughout every inch of his body. Even worse, chaotic impulses flooded his mind.

’Devour it! Now! Immediately!’

His cultivation heart beat violently.

’BOOM!’

’BOOM!’

’BOOM!’

Ace clenched his teeth so hard that faint cracking sounds echoed, but he forcefully suppressed the black flames before answering through gritted teeth,

"...My Spirit Fire..." Another surge of heat exploded inside him. "...has gone berserk."

Eva’s expression immediately became solemn; she didn’t even know Ace had a spirit fire, but from the chaotic flames emanating from his body, she could tell it was extraordinary.

Nonetheless, she knew how dangerous spirit fires were, and once they went berserk, they could even kill their masters if not handled immediately.

"I don’t know why..." Ace spoke while enduring the burning agony. "...but it wanted that flame corpse far more desperately than I imagined."

"So, that’s what you were after!" Realization dawned on Eva at that moment as everything became clear.

His breathing became increasingly unstable, "...I don’t think...it can wait anymore."

Ace himself was completely flustered, as this shouldn’t have happened. The Demonic Black Spirit Fire Seed had been personally refined and integrated by the System, so there shouldn’t be any possibility of losing control.

Yet the System remained strangely silent, neither suppressing the Spirit Fire nor offering any explanation; it was almost as though it silently approved this tantrum.

Eva’s gaze became increasingly serious, and she didn’t ask unnecessary questions.

Instead, she decisively said, "Let’s leave. I’ll protect you."

She could already sense the terrifying heat leaking from Ace’s body, and he wasn’t exaggerating; something was genuinely wrong. Ace nodded stiffly, and neither of them delayed another second.

Using the battlefield’s endless chaos as cover, the two silently disappeared beneath countless collapsing spatial fractures. The enormous gray mist emanating from Belfast had already driven countless cultivators away.

No one dared approach its edge, and that deserted region became the perfect hiding place.

Several thousand miles away, Eva finally stopped, and without hesitation, she drew her obsidian bow.

’BOOM!’

A single black arrow pierced the black ground. The earth instantly split apart as an enormous underground chamber opened beneath them.

Ace no longer had the luxury to hesitate, and he immediately descended. Meanwhile, Eva calmly stood outside, and with a flick of her fingers, hundreds of tiny spatial runes quietly spread throughout the surroundings.

A concealment formation silently took shape as space folded, layer upon layer, until the underground chamber completely vanished from ordinary perception.

Only after confirming everything did Eva slowly exhale; her purplish eyes unconsciously drifted toward the distant battlefield.

She softly murmured, "Keep fighting a little longer. If this battle ends before he’s finished...things might become troublesome."

Deep underground, Ace immediately sat cross-legged; his complexion had already become slightly pale. The black flames beneath his skin continued flickering uncontrollably.

Without delay, he waved his hand, and the enormous Crimson Netherflame Revenant appeared before him. Even after losing its master, the corpse was still burning with countless crimson flames as if it was made entirely out of fire.

The corpse alone radiated overwhelming ancient pressure, and the instant it appeared, the Demonic Black Spirit Fire completely lost all restraint.

’BOOM!’

Pitch-black flames erupted directly from Ace’s cultivation heart, and they transformed into an enormous black inferno before wildly pouncing toward the Crimson Netherflame Revenant.

Ace didn’t interfere; instead, he silently watched the Demonic Black Spirit Fire wrap around the entire corpse like a starving beast finally finding prey. The black flames greedily devoured every strand of crimson fire.

At first, nothing changed, but then the crimson flames slowly began flowing into the black inferno like rivers returning to the sea. The Crimson Netherflames continuously merged into the Demonic Black Spirit Fire.

The crimson gradually disappeared. Meanwhile, the black flames became increasingly profound, increasingly ancient, and terrifying.

Moreover, the violent impulses tormenting Ace rapidly weakened, and the unbearable heat gradually subsided, and he even felt a faint cooling sensation appearing in his body.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief as he thought, ’So it only wanted the fire? But it didn’t seem like a spirit fire at all...’

Just then, the familiar emotionless voice echoed inside his mind.

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[The Demonic Black Spirit Fire Seed has successfully assimilated an Abyssal Grade-8 Flame Spirit (Crimson Netherflame Revenant)!]

[Growth-Type Spirit Fire detected evolving!]

[Evolution process has begun!]

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