Within the Ninth Legion district of Undead Boundary, Ace remained completely unaware that the name Nomad had quietly begun to ripple through the highest circles of the Evernight Council. He also had no idea that the Midnight Duke’s probing had inadvertently stirred the suspicions of the Corpse Governor.

From Ace’s perspective, nothing had changed; inside the cultivation cave, he continued to sit calmly upon the corpse altar, his posture relaxed as the dense Corpse Qi flowed steadily around his corpse vessel.

His focus, however, was not on cultivation as his consciousness was entirely directed toward the Live Fate Map floating before him.

Many fate points flickered across the map, marking the positions of Corpse Cultivators within the third-tier district of the Ninth Bone Corpse Legion.

Ace studied their movements quietly, and the more he observed, the clearer the pattern became. He had already expected this, but now he confirmed that the number of the Corpse Clan cultivators was extremely low.

Most of the stronger fate points that should have belonged to Abyssal Guardians or higher-ranking Corpse Cultivators were simply absent. Only scattered low-realm cultivators remained, stationed like silent sentinels to guard the premises.

Ace understood the reason was the Great Corpse Carnival, because nearly every elite member of the Corpse Clan had either departed for the Upper Ancient Battlefield or was busy preparing for the coming Evernight Trial.

This entire district, which should have been heavily populated with powerful undead, had become strangely hollow. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Ace’s hollow eyes gleamed faintly because, for a thief, there was no environment more perfect than this.

Security was thin. The attention of the entire clan was focused elsewhere. And the Corpse Clan, arrogant in their belief that no living being could ever cross the Undead Boundary, had never even considered the possibility of an intruder hiding among them.

If Ace moved carefully, this place could become the stage for a massive heist, and not only could he obtain the Transcendent Void Obsidian, but the Corpse Clan’s hidden treasuries might also become his spoils.

Just the thought caused a faint thrill to stir within him because if everything went smoothly, this single operation might easily earn him billions of Thief Points.

But Ace quickly suppressed the excitement, for greed was the quickest path to mistakes, and the Transcendent Void Obsidian remained his primary objective while everything else was secondary.

However, before attempting anything reckless, he needed precise information about the inner structure of the Undead Boundary and, more importantly, the location of the Undead Boundary’s formation core.

Unfortunately, the memories he had obtained from Varcor and the other Corpse Cultivator were of little use as their ranks within the Corpse Clan had been far too low.

They possessed general knowledge about their legion and some internal procedures, but when it came to the true core regions of the Undead Boundary, they were completely ignorant.

Ace slowly exhaled as he muttered inwardly, ’I’ll have to find someone who does know about the core region of the Corpse Clan.’

The moment this thought surfaced, the first target that came to his mind was obviously an Abyssal Lord.

In the Corpse Clan hierarchy, Abyssal Lords were far higher than Abyssal Guardians. They were true mid-upper-tier authorities within a legion and would definitely possess deeper knowledge about the clan’s important facilities.

Normally, attempting to capture or manipulate an Abyssal Lord with Ace’s current cultivation would have been suicidal, and this thought wouldn’t even have occurred to him.

However, things were different now because Ace’s Darkness Force seemed to exert a natural suppression over the Undead Souls of Corpse Cultivators. This gave Ace a dangerous yet tempting idea and the courage to pursue an Abyssal Lord.

If the suppression effect truly worked as he suspected, even an Abyssal Lord might not be completely safe from him.

’I suppose I’ll know for sure once I test it,’ Ace thought calmly.

With resolution, the next moment, his figure slowly dissolved into the surrounding shadows as his stealth activated silently, and even the Corpse Qi swirling within the cave seemed unable to detect the subtle distortion as Ace stood up from the corpse altar and moved toward the exit.

The stone gate slid open quietly before Ace slipped out without making a sound, and once outside, he didn’t head toward the outer district. Instead, he moved deeper into the Ninth Bone Legion’s territory.

According to Varcor’s memories, the deeper layers of the district housed the cultivation chambers of the legion’s Abyssal Lords. These were areas normally guarded with extreme vigilance.

Yet tonight, the situation was different as Ace glided through the dark corridors and stone pathways of the underground complex. He noticed the unusual emptiness almost immediately.

Several Abyssal Lord caverns stood silent, and some had their gates wide open, their formations dormant, clearly indicating that their owners had already left.

’Looks like the carnival really emptied this place out,’ Ace thought as even the guards here were surprisingly lax.

Instead of powerful Abyssal Guardians, only a handful of Abyssal Grandmasters remained stationed at key intersections. They stood like motionless statues, their corpse flames dim as they fulfilled routine patrol duties.

But against Ace’s stealth, they might as well have been blind as he slipped past them effortlessly, and to their senses, the corridors remained silent and empty.

Ace continued moving deeper, carefully studying the Live Fate Map as he searched for a suitable target, as most of the stronger fate points had already disappeared.

After several minutes of silent searching, a single fate point finally caught his attention as it was covered in a faint crimson hue.

Ace’s eyes narrowed slightly as he thought, ’Abyssal Lord...’

He immediately adjusted his direction and began following the map through the winding tunnels of the district, and soon, he arrived before a secluded cultivation cavern carved into a massive black rock wall.

The entrance was sealed as a formation array glowed faintly across the stone gate, its runic lines pulsing slowly like veins of dim corpse-light. Clearly, the owner had activated the formation to avoid disturbances. Which meant the occupant was either deeply immersed in cultivation or deliberately avoiding the carnival.

Ace didn’t particularly care which one it was because to him, this was simply the perfect target.

Remaining completely hidden within his stealth, Ace slowly approached the sealed entrance of the cavern as his hollow eyes flickered with quiet anticipation as he prepared to begin his own hunt!