Chapter 10: The Eighteenth Level of the Exquisite Tower!

Chu Tian was an orphan, raised in an orphanage from a young age. By the time he reached high school, he had begun to supplement his income by "catching ghosts," which allowed him to leave the orphanage and live on his own.

As for how a fourteen or fifteen-year-old orphan could make money catching ghosts—well, it wasn't the kind of high-level spiritual exorcism one might imagine. Who would believe a kid claiming to catch ghosts? You’d likely be dragged to the police station for promoting feudal superstition before you could even finish your pitch.

Chu Tian’s method was simple: he would find a water ghost and spend his days scouring rivers and lakes for "trash"—gold chains, small watches, bracelets, necklaces, and rings. Finding a few of these to sell on the black market was enough to keep him fed for a year or two. However, since the money came from dubious sources, he felt too embarrassed to offer it to Mother Yang at the orphanage.

The five million he received from the tiger demon, however, had a clear origin. Chu Tian decided that after returning, he would transfer four million to Mother Yang to add a little extra comfort to the children's meals. Another reason for his return was that the very place where he had first obtained his status as a ghost messenger was located near the orphanage.

The orphanage was in the suburbs; while the location wasn't ideal, the facilities were decent. The reason Chu Tian called the four million "extra" was that many talented individuals had come out of that orphanage, and those who found success often returned to contribute. In truth, compared to the contributions of his "older brothers," his donation was merely the icing on the cake.

When Chu Tian arrived at the orphanage on his small electric scooter and transferred the four million to Mother Yang, she was moved to tears.

"You child, you finally make some money and you don't even buy yourself a new vehicle? You just give it all away?"

"Mother Yang, I’ve only just achieved a little success. You have to let me show off and contribute to the orphanage!"

"Fine, fine. You kids... it’s really something. Just a few days ago, Little Li donated five million, and Little Jiang sent over seven million. This... it’s too much, it’s simply impossible to spend it all!"

Seeing Mother Yang’s "trouble," Chu Tian quickly made his escape. He didn't want to get involved in her happy dilemma. After all, Brother Li was over a decade his senior; he had joined the army, become some sort of legendary soldier, returned from abroad, and made a fortune in business. As for Brother Jiang, though he was also an orphan, he had entered a marriage contract and spent three years as a live-in son-in-law—the one who seemed to be doing the worst. But then, as if the three-year limit had expired, he suddenly became the successor to a medical sage, his "Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles" making him an honored guest among countless powerful elites. There were others too, like Brother Asura and Brother Dragon King, each more successful than the last.

Never mind, that was getting off track. The point was, there were a lot of incredible people from that orphanage!

After making the donation, Chu Tian rode his electric scooter toward the outskirts of town.

As the surroundings grew more desolate, an ancient, antique-looking pagoda suddenly appeared before his eyes. This was the Ghost Domain—the Eighteen-Layered Exquisite Pagoda. Aside from Chu Tian, no one else could set foot in this place. Years ago, when he was just a boy, he had stumbled upon this spot and received the inheritance of a ghost messenger from the first floor of the tower. He later discovered that this area was a unique space that no one else could enter. However, after bestowing the inheritance, the tower had only granted him a cultivation method and a soul-locking chain; he couldn't take anything else, nor could he progress past the first floor.

Now that he had become an official ghost messenger, he wondered if the pagoda had changed.

He climbed off his scooter and looked up at the towering eighteen-story structure. It was made entirely of wood, without a single nail to be seen. It looked dilapidated, as if it had stood for ages; the windows and doors hung crookedly open.

On the ground floor, at the entrance, stood a table. Aside from the spot where the soul-locking chain had originally rested, there now lay a black ghost messenger uniform and a matching black, gold-inlaid ghost messenger medallion.

"It’s clearly such a gloomy, ghostly place, yet every time I return, it feels as comforting as coming home."

As Chu Tian stepped into the pagoda, he felt the energy within him flow with extraordinary smoothness; it was as if every cell in his body was cheering. As he crossed into the structure, it felt as though he had passed through an invisible, transparent film. The thin barrier that had previously shrouded the uniform and the medallion on the table suddenly vanished the moment he entered.

"It’s just as I thought. Now that I’ve been promoted from a temp to a regular, these things are finally available for my use!" Chu Tian reached out toward the uniform and the medallion.

The uniform dissolved into a stream of yin energy and merged into his body. As for the medallion, it felt as if it had teeth; as soon as he touched it, a sharp pain pricked his fingertip, and a drop of blood was absorbed into it.

Suddenly, a violent wind whipped around the interior and exterior of the eighteen-story pagoda. The medallion transformed into a bolt of black light and struck the crown of Chu Tian’s head. Inside the tower, every window creaked and rattled in the gale. Chu Tian’s eyes went blank, his consciousness seemingly torn from his body, wandering through the vast, formless void.

The Path to the Yellow Springs, the Ghost Gate Pass, the Palace of the Yama King, the Judge’s Office, the Naihe Bridge, the Soup of Meng Po, the Eighteen Levels of Hell... countless scenes flashed through his mind, as if he were being taken on a tour of the Underworld itself.

A moment felt like eternity; an instant felt like a thousand years.

When Chu Tian finally snapped back to reality with a start, everything before him had vanished. The place where the eighteen-story pagoda had once stood was now just a patch of wasteland. His electric scooter was parked by the side of the path.

"There is no... hell here? Then... what am I?"

Lost and muttering to himself, Chu Tian suddenly realized that the vanished pagoda was now floating within his mind. It no longer looked dilapidated; the first three levels were now fully open to him.

The name of the pagoda was now clearly revealed. On the plaque, six eerie, blood-red characters exuded a majesty that seemed to suppress all things: The Eighteen-Layered Soul-Detention Tower!

*A ghost messenger detains souls and may imprison them here! You may condense ghost pearls to aid in your cultivation!*

Chu Tian stared blankly at the tower in his mind.

So... are you telling me this is the Eighteen-Layered Soul-Detention Tower, and not just a miniature version of the Eighteen Levels of Hell?