Ace wasn't expecting that he would reencounter this woman in such a way because after she took the Soul Resurrection Bead that time, she had vanished, and he didn't wait for her to finish whatever she wanted to do with it.
According to the system, this woman should have a terrifying origin, and he only freed her so she could cause trouble for Heaven and leave him alone since he couldn't handle someone like her.
Furthermore, once he ascended to the Mortal Ascension Heaven, Ace was sure that he had gotten rid of her and that now she could cause all the problems for Heaven. However, what he didn't even dream of happening was that she would be hiding right in his inner space all this time, and he didn't even know she was there!
Ace didn't know if it was because he hadn't created his world seed yet. Still, he was sure that if his primordial Qi of Darkness wasn't evaluated after he added the law of Creation, he might still be unable to find the Soul Resurrection Bead hidden right under his nose.
Nonetheless, this made Ace even more fearful of this woman's means, and he wondered if the system was also unaware of this fact or simply didn't bother with her because it couldn't deal with her. Or she might be no longer a threat once she entered the Soul Resurrection Bead, so the system didn't bother to warn him.
But whatever the case, Ace didn't like it a bit because he didn't know what she could do or how much she could observe him while remaining in his inner world space. By her tone, he had a feeling that she was observing everyone he had been doing all this time!
Ace quickly calmed his uneasy feelings and secretly tried to control the Soul Resurrection Bead, sending it out of his inner world space. However, to his horror, he couldn't seem to reach it, as if it wasn't there in the first place.
'Is it because of that black flame?' Ace guessed with a gloomy expression because that black flame seemed to be the same that he saw when he met her in the Path of Ascension.
Still, since there was nothing he could do, and he still remembered her telling him that she needed his help to find her real body, he guessed that she wouldn't do anything to him unless she got what she wanted or if she had any intention of harming or even possessing him, she could've done it a long time ago since she was directly within his cultivation heart, the foundation of his cultivation and soul!
"M-master, how have you been? You should've told me that you were here. I'm sure you were comfortable all this time..." Ace pulled with a fake fawning smile and said respectfully. "System, what the hell is going on?!" While he quickly questioned the system secretly.
"Fufu~, I've been pretty well, actually." The woman cheerfully replied, "As for telling you, I just wanted to see how long it would take you to notice me, and I must say, it was far quicker than I had initially guessed. You should know that I'm rarely wrong with my predictions. Well, I think it's only natural since no one can predict a Heaven's Stealer!"
Ace's eyes instantly widened in alarm and disbelief when he heard 'Heaven's Stealer.' He instantly knew that she had seen everything, and from her tone, she even seemed to know what a Heaven's Stealer was!
At this moment, the system voice sounded, "[She has used an ancient soul spell to mark your soul directly, and with the system's current level, there is nothing you can do.]
"[With this spell, she was able to teleport directly into your inner world space once she entered the Soul Resurrection Bead, and then she used another ancient spell to bind the Soul Resurrection Bead with your soul, making it your bounded treasure!]
"[But because of her power level and the peculiar nature of that spell, she held full control over the Soul Resurrection Bead despite it being your bounded treasure, and unless your soul surpassed hers or the system level increased two more times, there is nothing system, or you can do.]
"[However, because of the Soul Resurrection Bead, she can't do anything to you, and she won't dare to do anything to you because she needed your primordial Qi to nurture her soul, and by now, she should've already realized that the old path of cultivation has been changed, and only you have the Primordial Qi!]
"[Furthermore, she can't see or detect the system, and as long as she continues to absorb your primordial Qi and remains close to the Dark Void, even if she tries to do anything, it will be too late for her to move against you!]
"[So, system will suggest you to play along with her for the time being!]"
Ace was gobsmacked when he heard this unexpected reply from the system, and he became even gloomier because the system was directly telling him that she was way too powerful for now to handle, and he was on his own.
But the system had revealed some crucial information, which gave him some solace. At least he was safe for now, and she couldn't do anything to him.
At this moment, "Fufufufu...."The woman instantly burst into joyous laughter, "Your expression is just priceless! But I can't blame you since I know too well what could happen if a peculiar bevy of old ghosts discovered that you were Heaven's Stealer.
"Even I was surprised when I found it, and I had never expected that I would have the honor to take the enigmatic Heaven's Stealer as my Steward after being imprisoned in that place for so long. I guess my luck is finally turning for good after all that suffering I've endured, yet I also know it's the most terrible bad luck that anyone could have... sigh... I'm truly pitiful..." She lamented, but the joy in her tone told another story.
Still, Ace was not in the mood to indulge her anymore, especially after hearing her cryptic words. Now, it was confirmed that she knew exactly what a Heaven's Stealer was and even
Although Ace didn't trust her and even wanted to get rid of her, he knew he couldn't at this moment. Now that the cats were out of the bag and the system told him to play along, he could only go along with it.
Moreover, he wanted to know anything about Heaven's Stealer from this old monster. He knew that, given how long she had been alive and wasn't killed despite being imprisoned in that place for an unknown time, she would be in possession of many ancient secrets!
"Since you know who I am, I don't think there is any need to fool each other. I'm also sure that you know what kind of enemy I have, and from your situation, I assumed that we share the same enemy. So, why don't we drop the act and help each other?
"I can help you find your body and even take revenge, but I need a reason to trust you and make sure that you won't backstab me or scheme against me once you achieve your goal," Ace said in a grave