The Fire Elements were incredibly elusive. While Jiang Zuo couldn’t control a large number of them, he had more than enough to conjure a Fireball.

Jiang Zuo was a bit surprised by his rapid progress with Magic, but he knew he couldn’t get much faster.

Not unless he had a great deal of time to sit down and conquer the Fire Elements.

After all, these weren’t Elements he had a natural affinity for. Once used, he would have to wait for them to slowly gather again. Others might run out of Magic Power, but his problem was having Magic Power with no Elements to command.

This wasn’t a very viable path. Its only real use was probably for lighting fires.

Not long after Jiang Zuo opened his eyes, the door was pushed open.

Su Qi had returned.

The door opened quietly, and Su Qi slowly poked her head in. To Jiang Zuo, she looked rather sneaky.

Seeing Jiang Zuo’s eyes open, Su Qi let out a hollow laugh. "You took the pill? Did it work? You know, next time you can wait until I’m here. I know more about these things."

’Knows more?’

In the entire world, Jiang Zuo didn’t believe anyone knew more than he did.

However, for a normal person, taking Elixir Pills without supervision was indeed a bad idea. It could easily cause problems, ultimately leading to self-immolation and a fiery death.

If Jiang Zuo hadn’t been carrying Su Qi’s Life-Protecting Treasure, she probably would have kicked the door in much earlier.

Then Su Qi asked, "Any reaction?"

Jiang Zuo held out his finger, and a wisp of flame began to burn on its tip.

Su Qi froze, stunned. She had read the Magic Encyclopedia and had specifically planned on using it to help Jiang Zuo practice.

As far as she knew, Magic required one to have an affinity for the Elements, then meditate to communicate with them. Only after establishing a connection could one start chanting to finally cast a spell.

But what Jiang Zuo just did—creating fire with his finger like a lighter—was simply not something a novice at Magic could accomplish.

’Could he have suffered a Qigong Deviation?’

Then Su Qi said nervously, "Let me examine you."

"..."

Jiang Zuo quickly cut her off. "I’m fine. Let’s talk about what’s going on with you. Is it serious?"

At the mention of the Holy Land, a worried expression fell over Su Qi’s face. She sat down beside Jiang Zuo and said, "It’s not a huge deal in itself, but it would become one if word got out."

Jiang Zuo understood. A Ghost Cultivator was trying to harm everyone—the fewer people who knew about something like that, the better.

Jiang Zuo didn’t plan to ask, simply saying, "Why don’t you go back and help? You don’t need to worry about me."

Su Qi quickly shook her head. "I can’t handle something like this. We have to let my master and the other elders take over. Our job is just to deal with the small fry."

After a moment’s thought, Su Qi added, "Actually, no, I probably won’t even get the chance to fight the small fry. We have to prepare for the ritual, so we’ll rarely have time to leave."

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment and asked, "Does that mean that after today, if you want to come out again, you’ll have to wait until the ritual is over?"

Su Qi narrowed her eyes at Jiang Zuo. "Our Sect is called the Yue Lian Holy Land. We have tens of thousands of disciples, and over ninety percent of them are women. You could say we’re overflowing with beauties. With me out of the picture, you might get some ideas, right?"

"..."

Jiang Zuo wisely chose not to answer, asking instead, "Does that mean the men—the less than ten percent—are having the time of their lives?"

Su Qi pursed her lips. "And that less than ten percent of men? They’re prettier than most women and couldn’t be bothered to find girlfriends."

Jiang Zuo: "..."

’Is that what a Holy Land is like? I never knew.’

"Still, you should consider yourself lucky. Your wife happens to be one of the top-ranked beauties in the Holy Land."

Jiang Zuo replied automatically, "Well, even if you weren’t ranked, I’d still have to... No, what I mean is, besides you, no one else in the Holy Land even registers on my list."

Jiang Zuo rarely showed emotion when he spoke, but he delivered that line with a completely straight face, looking utterly serious.

’In his experience, that particular look in Su Qi’s eyes was always a dangerous signal. Especially now that he knew she was a cultivator, the possibility of her beating him half to death and then force-feeding him some pill didn’t seem so remote.’

’So why, oh why, did I have to learn she was a cultivator?’

Su Qi beamed. "Is that so? Really?"

Jiang Zuo nodded. "Of course."

Jiang Zuo sighed inwardly. ’With Su Qi around, I always feel like I have to watch what I say and do. And yet, strangely, I don’t mind at all.’

’What do you call that?’

"Hey, what are you spacing out for? Feeling guilty about that lie?" Su Qi’s hand was waving back and forth in front of his face.

Jiang Zuo caught her hand and lowered it. "Stop that. It’s time to eat."

"I’ll cook this time!" Su Qi immediately volunteered. "I’ve noticed I haven’t been so unlucky lately."

Jiang Zuo said resignedly, "We’re not at home right now, so why do we have to cook? Can’t we eat out? Or is the currency different here?"

Jiang Zuo’s question reminded her. "Oh, right! This is for you," she said. "I would have forgotten otherwise."

As she spoke, Su Qi took out a Fourth-Grade Spirit Stone and gave it to Jiang Zuo. "This is the common currency here. This Crystal-like stone is a Fourth-Grade Spirit Stone..."

Jiang Zuo went through another lesson on Spirit Stone conversion rates. He learned that most transactions here could be settled with First-Grade Spirit Stones.

Some places even accepted regular currency.

After all, it’s not like the people here never go outside.

"So, if you think of a First-Grade as one dollar, then a Fourth-Grade is like a thousand dollars. It should be enough for you for a month," Su Qi said.

In reality, a Fourth-Grade Spirit Stone was worth far more than a simple thousand-to-one ratio. On the open market, if offered a choice between a million dollars and a single Fourth-Grade Spirit Stone as a reward, most people would choose the Spirit Stone.

Money is easy to earn, Spirit Stones are not.

Chi Xue Child only received a single Third-Grade stone as monthly pocket money; it would take him a whole year to save up for one Fourth-Grade stone.

For Su Qi to give him a Fourth-Grade stone all at once was incredibly generous.

Still, Jiang Zuo asked out of curiosity, "Is it easy for you to earn these Spirit Stones?"

Su Qi shook her head. "How could it be that easy? I get a few occasionally when I’m away on assignments, but not many. My master also gives me some as an allowance when she’s in a good mood, but it’s still not much."

"So you see, a Fourth-Grade stone is a fortune."

Jiang Zuo asked, "Should I be frugal with it?"

A Fourth-Grade stone was nowhere near enough for Jiang Zuo. He was, by nature, a big spender when it came to Spirit Stones.

To be fair, he also earned them just as quickly.

Su Qi started pulling Jiang Zuo downstairs. "No need. But there’s one condition: don’t you dare spend it on another woman, or I’ll be very unhappy."

That was one thing Su Qi absolutely didn’t need to worry about. As if he would ever spend his Spirit Stones on another person.

He hadn’t even spent any on Su Qi herself.

Jiang Zuo, of course, nodded in agreement. Afterward, they decided to head to the restaurant next door for dinner.

***

「Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Land.」

Yue Xi had a look of resignation on her face. "There’s just been so much happening lately. I’ve already informed those old fossils about the Ghost Cultivator."

"Now, let’s talk about that Candidacy Saintess. Do you know what *he* looks like?"

The watery figure shook its head. "He cannot be seen. But he didn’t obtain the mark through conventional means. The Ye Zi, which should have remained hidden, did not escape his eyes."

"Furthermore, because he’s a man, he wasn’t teleported to the Holy Land after receiving the mark. And that little shop couldn’t contain him."

"His identity is now a complete mystery."

Yue Xi agonized for a moment before asking, "Then... is it possible for *him* to become the Saintess?"

"Impossible. One cannot become the Saintess if they are not the right gender. The entire Array will be on my side in this. No one can prevent it."