George Baker understood his thoughts and nodded, saying, “That’s right, it’s these things. Originally, the Skyscraping Temple was the orthodox temple of the Heavenly Buddha from ancient times, a divine sanctuary built among the clouds, which fell into the mortal world millions of years ago. I thought that whatever I found would surely be righteous artifacts, but unexpectedly, the knife and the stone were utterly ordinary, just mundane objects. The other three, however, are extremely sinister—things only great demons or nether fiends would use.”

As he spoke, he pointed first to the sky and then to the ground. “Take this otherworldly realm created by the blue lantern, for example. This realm has another name you’ve probably heard: ‘cave heaven.’”

No matter whose cave heaven it is among the immortals, it’s always filled with gentle sunlight, colorful clouds woven like brocade, lush greenery, and spirit beasts roaming everywhere. Who would deliberately create such a terrifying world as this?

There’s no need to ask; this is indeed a cave heaven, but not one belonging to an immortal. Its original master was either a Lord of the Underworld or a Heavenly Demon.

“I’ve seen a few otherworldly realms left behind by ancient immortals before. Though extraordinary, they were never completely sealed off—there was always some connection to the greater world. Only this place is utterly isolated from the outside, not even a crack remains. That alone shows how formidable the evil being who created it must have been.”

At this point, George Baker smiled. “It’s precisely because this place is completely cut off from the outside that I could hide here and cling to life. If the blue lantern realm had even the slightest connection to the world outside, the heavenly tribulation would have chased me in and killed me on the spot!”

James Smith was delighted to hear this. “That’s great! Benefactor, you can cultivate here, and when Joy grows up and becomes a wandering cultivator, and after you comprehend the Great Freedom Path, you can go out again and won’t have to fear the heavenly tribulation!”

George Baker shot Charles Smith a look as if he were an idiot. “If that were really possible, why would I bring you in here? The spiritual energy in the blue lantern realm isn’t scattered everywhere, but condensed into a mighty current, with one end in the treasure basin held by that noodle-eating old Daoist, and the other in the giant statue beneath the hand of the girl statue! Understand? The spiritual essence of the blue lantern realm only circulates between those two. I’ve tried, but I can’t shake it at all, not even a thread can be taken.”

Without spiritual essence, a cultivator can’t cultivate. George Baker can indeed escape the heavenly tribulation here, but it’s no different from being imprisoned!

James Smith reacted quickly and immediately asked, “The strange cultivation method I practice—does it not require spiritual essence?”

George Baker nodded. “That’s right, that method is very special.” Then he brought the topic back: “The sinister aspects of the blue lantern realm go without saying. That token is a treasure only a great sage of the demon clan would possess. As for that evil technique... it’s written with the ink of vengeful souls.”

The evil technique was copied onto an unknown piece of hide. At first glance, it seemed nothing special. At the time, George Baker didn’t think much of it and just collected it along with the other items, quickly leaving the Skyscraping Temple. But after he got out and found a secluded place, when he unrolled the hide to study it carefully, his ears were instantly filled with the wailing of ghosts, and a chilling, weakening force surged from the hide into his body!

George Baker was shocked and hurriedly circulated his inner power to resist. Even with his profound cultivation, it took him nearly a month to suppress this sinister thing.

Then, looking at the hide again, George Baker focused his vision to examine it closely and immediately discovered that every character on the scroll was writhing and struggling like ants, each stroke containing countless vengeful souls. Faces twisted and grimaced, struggling in vain to escape from the hide...

Chapter Ten: The This-and-That Technique

He had thought that the treasures hidden in the ruins of the Heavenly Buddha and the ancient Skyscraping Temple would all be righteous and awe-inspiring artifacts of immortals and Buddhas. Who would have expected that the token, the blue lantern, and the unknown hide technique would each be more sinister than the last? According to George Baker, these must have been spoils of war seized and sealed away after the Skyscraping Temple defeated some great evil in ancient times.

George Baker let out a long breath. “I made a trip through the Skyscraping Temple and got several things. The rest are fine, but that hide technique—what’s recorded on it is beyond belief. If it could really be mastered, it might help me make great progress in cultivation, but... I don’t dare to practice it lightly.”

For high-level cultivators, “death” comes in two forms. One is the death of the body and the dissipation of the Dao, but the soul can still be preserved, slipping into the underworld to reincarnate, memories sealed, to be reborn as a human. After countless lifetimes of hardship, perhaps in one life, they might encounter an opportunity, cultivate to a certain level, and recall their past lives. Though the chance is slim, at least there’s a sliver of hope. If George Baker can’t survive the heavenly tribulation, this is the kind of death he’ll face.

The second kind of death is much more final: the soul is scattered, vanishing completely from the world, with not even a chance at reincarnation. George Baker is a cultivator of the purest righteous path. If he rashly practices ghostly or demonic techniques, the clash of good and evil could easily drive him mad, leading to the utter destruction of his soul—a total and final death.

With this explanation, James Smith finally understood why, even knowing his end was near, George Baker still hesitated to practice that incomplete technique and needed to find someone else to test it before deciding.

The two kinds of death are not the same.

The price of soul annihilation is too great—how could George Baker dare to risk it lightly!