The plane flew fast but was very stable. Onboard, you could barely feel it moving.

Jiang Zuo closed his eyes, planning to take a nap. The plane wouldn’t reach its destination until the early morning, so a nap was the perfect way to pass the long hours.

A long while later...

ZZZZT—a sudden jolt ran through the plane.

Jiang Zuo was instantly wide awake.

Just then, an announcement played over the cabin speakers: "Ladies and gentlemen, please do not be alarmed. We are experiencing some turbulence ahead. It is nothing serious. Please wait patiently for a moment."

Jiang Zuo looked out the window and asked, "Where are we now?"

The man next to him immediately replied, "We’ve reached the Chuanhe Mountain Range. We’ll be there soon."

Jiang Zuo nodded, then frowned. ’Turbulence?’

Others might not have been able to see it, but Jiang Zuo could.

It was starfire, or perhaps will-o’-wisps, or even ghost flames.

The ghost flames weren’t hidden, but they could disturb one’s mind and cause hallucinations.

And as the plane shuddered, many Ghost Cultivators had already crept silently aboard.

These people planned to follow the plane to safely enter the Holy Land’s territory.

Jiang Zuo rubbed his temples. ’First Blood Demons, now Ghost Cultivators. Why does everyone hate the Holy Land so much?’

Taking out his phone, Jiang Zuo sent a message to the group chat.

Po Xiao: "Ghost Cultivators have infiltrated the Holy Land."

Demon Cultivator Mo Yan was the first to reply: "I knew something felt weird! It’s like someone was messing with our minds, but Liuyue Xue didn’t believe me."

Jiang Zuo, Mo Yan, and the others were all on the same plane, so when Jiang Zuo noticed something, Mo Yan would naturally assume it was caused by the plane’s disturbance.

This time, she was right.

Liuyue Xue: "Fellow Daoist Po Xiao, you sensed it? Was it from the plane’s disturbance?"

Po Xiao: "Those who specialize in Nightmare are highly immune to starfire. With the right method, you can nullify the starfire’s effects in a small area."

Then, Jiang Zuo posted a little trick related to Nightmare.

A moment later, Blade Master Hai Bian sent a sighing emoji: "The Holy Land is truly beset by calamities."

Demon Cultivator Mo Yan: "See? I’m amazing, right?" followed by a row of proud, long-nosed emojis.

Xiao Xiaomo: "Big shot, can I tell the Holy Land about this?"

Jiang Zuo knew that Xiao Xiaomo knew people from the Holy Land. In fact, he was hoping she would tell them.

After all, Su Qi was from the Holy Land too.

This was really not a good thing.

The plane stabilized afterward, but Jiang Zuo and the others knew that there were likely quite a few Ghost Cultivators on top of the aircraft.

Their strength was unknown, but their numbers were not small.

So Chi Xue Child and the others had no intention of acting rashly. In any case, they couldn’t expect this trip to the Holy Land to be easy.

"I don’t feel that worried, though," Chi Xue Child said, gnawing on a popsicle.

"Why aren’t you done with that popsicle yet? I remember you don’t have a Spatial Treasure." Mo Yan looked him up and down, unable to understand how Chi Xue Child had an endless supply of popsicles.

Blade Master Hai Bian spoke up, "Stop staring. He’s using the mark where he stores his Red Sword to store popsicles instead. Didn’t you see he’s carrying his sword on his back? Like some ancient swordsman.

But this time, it’s probably because Fellow Daoist Po Xiao is here that we’re not too worried. After all, he notices many things a step ahead of us."

Liuyue Xue nodded, then took out her phone and typed a line: This time, we absolutely must stay in contact with Fellow Daoist Po Xiao. If he’s going to cause major destruction, he should give us a heads-up.

Everyone: "..."

Po Xiao was a Tier One Cultivator. These people didn’t even consider how crazy they were, actually thinking he could cause major destruction.

Before long, Jiang Zuo saw a city brightly lit with lights, which took him by surprise.

It was a modern city, even more modern than he had expected.

He had thought it would be full of ancient architecture, but it turned out they were also keeping up with the times.

However, there were no real skyscrapers. To Jiang Zuo’s eyes, the buildings were mostly made of wood. Although the style was modern, it leaned more toward that of a resort town.

Outside the small town, it was mostly snowy ground, which surprised Jiang Zuo a little, because he didn’t see many traces of Arrays above the town.

At least, no warming Arrays.

Although he wasn’t great at reading people, the man next to him could still tell it was Jiang Zuo’s first time here. He explained, "They say Chuanhe Town is built on a volcano. Because of the distance and the thickness of the ground, the temperature is just right for living and for things to grow. That’s why it’s like this."

The little girl added, "Yeah, yeah! The ground feels warm when you touch it."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Zuo really didn’t know much about this, but with nature’s creations, nothing was impossible.

There are only things you can’t imagine, not things it can’t do.

The plane then landed, and Jiang Zuo and the others arrived at their destination smoothly.

When Jiang Zuo got off, he instinctively glanced up at the top of the plane but saw no sign of the Ghost Cultivators.

’They probably left halfway,’ he thought. He could only hope the Holy Land would be vigilant and not let this blow up into another life-or-death battle.

After leaving the airport, Jiang Zuo followed Su Qi’s directions to find his way. It was three in the morning, so Su Qi couldn’t come to pick him up.

She could only sneak out tomorrow. As for his destination, it was, of course, a certain hotel.

She had already booked a room for him.

But when Jiang Zuo found the bus stop outside, he was stunned. Su Qi had told him to take a specific bus route, but it was now three in the morning.

And the bus service only ran until one.

So, where was he supposed to catch a bus?

Jiang Zuo slapped his forehead. He remembered now. Whenever they went out or on trips, he was always the one who planned everything. Relying on Su Qi?

Jiang Zuo had relied on her once. That time, they got lost and went through hell and high water just to get back home.

"Sigh. I must be getting old to subconsciously trust her like that. No wonder this whole trip has felt so jinxed," Jiang Zuo sighed.

He had never trusted the directions Su Qi gave him before. This time, after coming back, he had been as naive as he was at the very beginning and actually believed her.

And now he was suffering the consequences.

There was no map here, otherwise he could have tried running there.

Jiang Zuo stood at the bus stop. There was no one here, and not a single car in sight.

A whole plane full of people, and not a single one was an idiot—except for him.

Jiang Zuo took out a coin, about to try and divine the correct path, but before he could, a car pulled up in front of him.

It was the man who had sat next to him on the plane.

He leaned his head out and looked at Jiang Zuo. "Young man, where are you headed? I can give you a lift."

Jiang Zuo said, "The Rainy Day Cottage."

The man was surprised, then smiled. "What a coincidence, that’s right on our way. We’re headed to the Rainy Day Cottage too. Hop in."

Jiang Zuo walked to the side of the car, took a Second-Grade Spirit Stone out of his pocket, and handed it to the man.

The man froze for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "Young man, that’s far too much. If you really insist on paying, a single First-Grade stone would be more than enough."

Jiang Zuo didn’t take the Spirit Stone back. "I thought it might not be enough."

He left the Spirit Stone in the man’s hand and considerately took the front passenger seat, as the man’s wife and daughter were sitting in the back.

As for whether he paid too much or too little for the Spirit Stone, it all depended on whether Jiang Zuo felt it was worth the price. (Of course, he was also too proud to take it back.)