Chapter 1459: Nothing is Free
Ace couldn’t suppress his excitement as he quickly asked, "What way?"
"Fufu~ you know there was an extremely mysterious race within the Everlasting Heavens. This race is known to possess an extremely powerful bloodline that allows them to disguise themselves as anything, and even the gods cannot see through their disguises.
"Many Heavenly Beings search for this bloodline, but to no avail because no one could break past their disguises. Furthermore, the strangest thing about this race’s bloodline is their bloodline wasn’t recorded in Supreme Universal Records.
"Since there was no name or record about this bloodline, they started calling this race, Veilborns. However, no matter how the powerful Heavenly Beings investigated, they couldn’t find anything related to Veilborns.
"So, most people started to believe it was a mere myth spread by others to cause havoc among the masses and distract the powerhouses. Yet, the legends about Veilborns never die, and each one was more ridiculous than the other." Malservus sounded nostalgic as she recounted the past.
Ace was also astounded and paid full attention to this fascinating race. After all, as someone who relied on disguises heavily, this race, Veilborn, piqued Ace’s curiosity to an extreme.
Moreover, because of the system’s bloodline shop, if he could get his hands on the Veilborn bloodline —if it really exists —Ace would be laughing in his dreams, if every legend related to it were true.
Malservus continued without paying attention to Ace’s inner thoughts, "Even I believed it was a mere myth at that time and brushed it off, like most did. However, this was until I found an ancient tomb of a mysterious powerhouse.
"Within this powerhouse’s inheritance were his personal records of research on this mysterious race we called the Veilborns. In his records, he mentioned that he had encountered a Veilborn on the verge of death and thus helped the latter unknowingly about their origin.
"Because of the kindness that expert showed to that Veilborn, the Veilborn bestowed upon him a powerful technique belonging to their race. That powerhouse mentioned later in his records that at that time, he was completely unaware of the origin of the person he saved out of the goodness of his heart.
"Only later did he discover the Veilborn because of the technique given to him by the latter. There were more records in the jade scroll, but because an unknown amount of time had passed, possibly too long, the records were barely intact, and more than 90% of them were destroyed.
"Furthermore, other than those broken records, the only other thing I found was a scroll made from an unknown creature’s hide. Everything else in that tome has been destroyed and turned to ashes, but the ancient scroll remained fully intact.
"Fufu~ can you guess what was recorded on that ancient scroll that I found?" Malservus mysteriously questioned in a playful tone.
Ace’s eyes widened as he instantly replied, the answer to this question was too obvious.
"You found that technique the Veilborn gave that powerhouse as a repayment for saving the Veilborn’s life, right?!"
"Fufu~ correct. First, I also didn’t believe in a dying man’s nonsense until I saw that technique and was more than convinced that the powerhouse was telling the truth about his encounter with a Veilborn. Perhaps because of that technique, he became a powerhouse as well.
"After that, I also started to search for traces of Veilborn because I finally understood why those sly fellows were searching for them and even posed a massive bounty on the Veilborn traces.
"However, even someone like me wasn’t able to find any traces of the Veilborns or the truth behind their origin. They were like ghosts and lived among us, but we know of nothing about them except for their terrifying disguise methods." Malservus laughed as if she thought about something amusing.
But Ace wasn’t laughing as he was shocked by Malservus’s words, and the truth behind the Veilborns made him realize how vast this world was and how many mysteries there were that even powerhouses like Malservus couldn’t come in contact with, even if they wanted it.
"Anyway, when I reached a certain realm, I figured out that the reason I couldn’t find the Veilborn might be because I wasn’t able to learn that technique, and the key to finding them was always in that technique," Malservus revealed a shocking fact.
Ace was startled and quickly asked, "Wait, you can’t cultivate that technique?"
"Fufu~ I’m not proud of this, but the fact is a fact, and I’m not the one who hides my inferiority. I indeed wasn’t qualified to cultivate that technique because the main requirement was to have a Universal Physique, meaning having Force!" Malservus stated in a somber tone, "I’ve told you that the path of Universal Physique wasn’t popular back then, and it was incomplete. Even now, there are no traces of Universal Physiques to be found anywhere in your era. So, you should understand my surprise and frustration when I learn about this.
"I was even tempted to cultivate the Universal Physique just to learn that technique, but then I gave up because even if I had learned and cultivated the Universal Physique, I wouldn’t be able to cultivate the later part of that technique because they demand an even higher grade of Universal Physique and powerful force."
Realization dawned on Ace at this moment; he already knew better than anyone just how mysterious and powerful the Universal Physique was. Even without a technique, Ace’s force carried terrifying destructive power and could alter the laws and their uses.
But Ace also understood the reason why Malservus had suddenly brought up this topic, and his heart raced.
"Then am I qualified to cultivate it?"
"Fufu~ of course, dummy, or why would I waste my time in telling you all of this? However, this technique is one of the most precious knowledge within my collection, so I can’t just hand it over to you even if you’re my steward." Malservus meaningfully stated.
Ace’s expression changed as he understood what Malservus was hinting at and frowned slightly, "Are you really going to talk business with me? I thought we were way past it."
He was perplexed by Malservus’s sudden demand and felt a slight sense of sadness, as he had begun to treat Malservus as a mentor and friend.
However, he was in for a rude awakening as he shouldn’t have forgotten who Malservus was and why she was with him.
Malservus snickered as she retorted, "Fufu~ don’t make me sound like some vile witch now. As a thief yourself, you should always prioritize your own interests above all else. Furthermore, I’m not like you, who has everything; I’m just a trapped soul who has lost its body, and without it, I’m nothing but an old ghost of the past.
"Furthermore, have you forgotten how you still need my help to deal with that little celestial’s Fantastic Physique? I’ve told you I have a way to help her, and now I’m also going to help you, so I need something in return, or won’t I turn into charity?"
Ace’s expression turned grave as he had almost forgotten about Alina’s matter after hearing about the Veilborns. The whole reason he started this conversation with Malservus was because of Alina to begin with.
He might not do it for himself, but for Alina and anyone he cares about, he won’t hesitate to do anything.
"Alright, as long as this is something I can do, I’ll do it." Ace agreed with a somber expression.
"Nice choice!" Malservus sounded very pleased as she said, "And don’t make that expression as if I have stolen everything from you. If anything, I should be the one feeling resentful since I’m going to make a huge loss by helping your little missus. I’m even giving you that technique, which can cause bloody wars."
Ace pursed his lips as he snorted, "Just tell me what you want."
"Tsk, tsk, I want to smack you, you ungrateful brat!" Malservus sounded annoyed before she said, "Alright, for that technique, I want you to help me absorb at least 10 Billion Wandering Souls in the Soul Resurrection Bead! See? For such a technique, I put so much effort and overcame myriad dangers, I only want some souls! Look how generous I am!"
Ace was stunned, but not because of Malservus’s ranting, but instead because of her demand to absorb the Wandering Souls of the Abyss of Wandering Souls into the Soul Resurrection Bead.
"Why do you want the Wandering Souls of Abyss of Wandering Souls? And I wasn’t aware that the Soul Resurrection Bead can even do that. Furthermore, what are you hiding from me about the Abysses? You clearly know more than you’re telling me!" Ace asked a series of questions, as he was now very suspicious of Malservus’s objective.
"Fufu~ don’t make it sound like I’m hatching some heinous plot against you. I’m going to tell you anyway. The Soul Resurrection Bead is a very precious treasure, and even I haven’t seen one before, but after I shifted my soul into the Soul Resurrection Bead, I’m starting to unravel its mysteries.
"Especially after your last breakthrough, the Soul Resurrection Bead seemed to have awakened one of its unique abilities, ’Soul Channeling’!"