In an instant, spatial energy fluctuations surged one after another throughout Tianyun City. The teleportation arrays had never been activated so frequently as they were today.
At the moment the first spatial fluctuation rippled through, Qian Tong hadn't given it much thought. He had been planning to find Yang Kai and have a word with him—to tell him that in the future, if he ever came across anything good, he absolutely should not bring it to auction. Qian Tong was more than capable of buying it himself.
But when three or five more spatial fluctuations arrived in rapid succession, Qian Tong's expression slowly froze. He stood in place for a moment, thinking, and then his face changed dramatically. Vanishing on the spot, he rushed toward the palace where the teleportation arrays were housed.
Inside the great hall, several Shadow Moon Hall disciples tasked with guarding the teleportation arrays wore expressions of utter bewilderment. They couldn't understand why so many people had come to use the arrays. Wasn't the auction about to begin? Why were these people rushing back to their sects instead of attending?
Every single newcomer was an expert from a major power—the Lei Tai Sect, the Zhan Tian Alliance, the Liu Li Gate, the Shuang Xin Valley, the Li Huo Sect... Not one of these factions was smaller than Shadow Moon Hall, and some were even larger.
Moreover, these people all seemed to regard one another with hostility, each one wary and on guard, which made the atmosphere inside the entire hall oppressive and tense.
The Shadow Moon Hall disciples feared these people might come to blows inside the hall at any moment, so they didn't dare ask too many questions. They simply collected the Sacred Crystals as quickly as possible and let them pass.
Even so, there were still those who kept urging them to hurry.
Several dozen people, each representing a different faction—even with the quickest of movements, it took time. Running the teleportation arrays, repositioning the Sacred Crystals, locking onto the destinations—none of that could be accomplished in three or five breaths.
Just as the Shadow Moon Hall disciples were at their wit's end, a vast, overwhelming aura suddenly surged in from outside. The dozens of experts inside the hall all frowned and looked toward the entrance in unison. When they saw who had arrived, they hurriedly cupped their fists in greeting: "Elder Qian!"
Qian Tong strode in with a grim expression. He had originally come with a shred of doubt, wanting to investigate—but now, seeing so many people waiting to use the teleportation arrays, he knew exactly what had happened.
"Old bastard Yan! I'll remember this! I, Qian Tong, am severing all ties with you!" he snarled through gritted teeth.
Just moments ago, Yan Pei had been claiming he had the upper hand, but in the blink of an eye, that advantage was gone. If Yan Pei hadn't tipped them off, how else would all these people have gathered here?
Everyone heard Qian Tong's outburst and secretly found it amusing, but none dared show it. Elder Qian was clearly in a foul mood, and no one wanted to make things worse for themselves.
"Elder!" The handful of Shadow Moon Hall disciples, who had been running around in circles, breathed a collective sigh of relief when they saw their elder arrive. This sort of situation was truly more than they could handle.
"How many have already left?" Qian Tong drew a deep breath, suppressing the fury in his heart, and asked in a forcedly even tone.
"Six have already gone," one of the Shadow Moon Hall disciples hurriedly replied.
"Mm." Qian Tong nodded. Six. He hadn't arrived too late, after all. Then he turned his gaze to the sixty or seventy people in the hall, snorted, and asked, "You're all heading back to your sects to gather Sacred Crystals, aren't you? You all got the news from old bastard Yan, I take it?"
The sixty or seventy people wore sheepish expressions. Some scratched their ears and cheeks, some stared up at the vaulted ceiling, and some pulled acquaintances aside for hushed conversations... But not a single one answered Qian Tong's question.
"Fine. You want to go back and gather Sacred Crystals—I won't stop you. But the teleportation arrays in Tianyun City have been used one after another without pause this time, causing tremendous damage to the arrays here. They might be completely ruined! I'm going to have to raise the fee for using them."
The sixty or seventy experts erupted in outrage, staring at Qian Tong in shock. Everyone knew this was utter nonsense. The teleportation arrays were relics of the ancient era—they had been used for countless years without ever breaking down. No matter how frequently they were used, they would not break. This was nothing more than a pretense for Qian Tong to raise the price.
They understood this in their hearts, but no one was willing to be the first to challenge Qian Tong. After all, this was Tianyun City—Shadow Moon Hall's territory. The teleportation arrays belonged to Shadow Moon Hall too. Unless they never planned to use them again, it would be foolish to offend him. Besides, every one of them carried an urgent mission and wanted to make the round trip as quickly as possible.
Qian Tong let out a sly chuckle and named his price. "It's not much of an increase—just five hundred thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals per person!"
"Elder Qian, that's hardly appropriate!" someone immediately protested. "The usual fee is only ten thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals per use. You've just raised it fifty-fold—isn't that a bit much?"
"Yes, yes—five hundred thousand is way too much!"
"Elder Qian, you can't charge such robbery prices!"
A whole crowd began clamoring at once, protests rising and falling. Five hundred thousand high-grade Sacred Crystals for a single teleportation—who could afford that?