Chapter 1152, Black Hearted Money
For a time, the space around Heavenly Fate City fluctuated as the Space Array was used at a frequency higher than at any point in history.

When the first spatial fluctuations appeared, Qian Tong didn’t pay it much mind, only thinking about seeing Yang Kai to say a few words about not bringing such precious treasures out to auction again in the future. No matter what they were, Qian Tong was fully capable of buying them all.

However, after another three or four consecutive spatial fluctuations propagated through the air, Qian Tong’s expression slowly solidified, and a certain thought came to him. His face changing greatly, Qian Tong quickly disappeared from Treasure Trove Pavilion and rushed to the palace where the Space Array was housed.

Inside the palace, the Shadow Moon Hall disciples who were responsible for guarding the Space Array all wore looks of shock. They didn’t understand why so many people all of a sudden needed to use the Space Array. Wasn’t it just about time for the auction to start? What were these people doing returning to their Sects instead of participating?

On top of that, those here were all from great forces like Thunder Typhoon Sect, Heaven Battling Union, Coloured Glass Sect, Twin Heart Valley, Grand Fire Temple… Each of these Sects was no less powerful than Shadow Moon Hall, some of them even exceeding them in strength.

Moreover, these people all seemed to be on guard against one another, their eyes darting about vigilantly, resulting in a very tense atmosphere inside the palace.

The few Shadow Moon Hall disciples here were afraid a fight would all of a sudden, break out here so none of them dared to ask any question, just quickly collecting the appropriate fee before sending people on their way.

Even though this was the case, everyone here was still urging these poor disciples to hurry things along.

In total, there were several dozen individuals representing several dozen powerful forces, so even if the Shadow Moon Hall disciples acted with all haste, it was still taking some time. Opening the Space Array, supplying enough Saint Crystals, and setting the appropriate destination wasn’t a process that could be completed in just a breath or two.

Just as the several Shadow Moon Hall disciples were about to shed tears from this sudden intense workload, another powerful aura rushed in from outside, causing the several dozen masters inside to frown. After seeing who this newcomer was though, all of them greeted him with cupped fists, “Elder Qian!”

Qian Tong’s face was filled with gloom as he strode inside quickly. Originally, he had just been suspicious and rushed over to investigate the situation, but after seeing so many people waiting to use the Space Array, how could he not know what happened?

“Old dog Yan, this old master will remember this! This Qian must sever his friendship with you!” Qian Tong snarled.

Just now, Yan Pei had told Qian Tong that he held the absolute advantage right now because he was the only one knew about the rare treasures which had appeared, but in a flash, that advantage had disappeared. If Yan Pei hadn’t intentionally leaked the news, how could these people have gathered here?

Everyone heard Qian Tong’s words and wanted to laugh, but none of them dared show any signs of doing so on their faces. Elder Qian was clearly unhappy right now, so no one was eager to find trouble with him.

“Elder Qian!” The busy Shadow Moon Hall disciples finally breathed a sigh of relief when their Elder suddenly appeared.

They really couldn’t handle this situation.

“How many already went through?” Qian Tong took a deep breath, calming his anger while trying to ask in a calm tone.

“Six have left so far,” A Shadow Moon Hall disciple replied quickly.

“En,” Qian Tong nodded. Since only six departed already he hadn’t come too late. Turning around, Qian Tong saw between sixty to seventy people in the hall. Snorting loudly, he asked, “Do all of you want to return to your respective Sects to gather Saint Crystals? Did you receive news from that old dog Yan?”

The sixty or seventy people in the hall wore embarrassed looks, some of them scratching their ears while others scratched their cheeks, some looked up at the dome of the hall silently while some looked down and whispered under their breath …

No one answered Qian Tong’s question though.

“Good, if you want to go back to raise Saint Crystals, this old master won’t try to stop you, but such frequent use of Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array will put a huge load on it, resulting in great damage, possibly even its complete destruction! As such, this old master must raise the usage fee.”

The sixty or seventy masters in the hall immediately shot incredulous looks towards Qian Tong. Everyone here knew he was spouting nonsense. Each Space Array was an ancient relic that had been used for many years without any issue. Even if it was used far more frequently than normal, it wouldn’t be in any danger of being destroyed. This was all just an excuse for Qian Tong to raise prices.

Everyone understood this truth in their heart, but no one dared to question Qian Tong. After all, this was Heavenly Fate City, a city under Shadow Moon Hall’s jurisdiction. The Space Array here also belonged to Shadow Moon Hall, so unless they didn’t want to use it, they would not offend Qian Tong. All of them had been entrusted with an important mission so none wanted to return empty-handed.

Qian Tong grinned meaningfully before saying, “It’s just a small additional charge, five hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals a person!”

“Elder Qian, please be reasonable!” Someone immediately shouted, “The price to use a Space Array is usually just ten thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, how could you suddenly raise the price fifty times, isn’t that excessive?”

“Yes yes, five hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals is too much, isn’t it?”

“Elder Qian, how can you collect such black-hearted money?”

…

The large group of people began shouting and clamouring. If a single use of a Space Array cost five hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, who would ever use it?

When the few Shadow Moon Hall disciples saw the situation spiralling out of control, they couldn’t help feeling terrified. This was nothing less than provoking public anger, how could Elder Qian say such a thing? All of them thought their Elder had made some kind of mistake.

“You don’t have to use it, this old master won’t force you either way,” Qian Tong said, unperturbed, “But this old master must remind you that the auction will start soon. If you fail to raise enough Saint Crystals and return before those few items appear, heh…”

“I’ll use it, this is half a million Saint Crystals!” Before Qian Tong even finished his words, a burly man walked up and tossed over a Space Ring to a Shadow Moon Hall disciple guarding the Space Array.

The disciple caught the Space Ring, swept it with his Divine Sense, confirmed the amount was correct, then nodded to Qian Tong.

“Open the array!” Qian Tong waved his hand and a white light flashed, causing the burly man’s figure to quickly disappear.

Even now, the several disciples of Shadow Moon Hall were still completely baffled about what was happening. None of them could figure out why they had suddenly obtained five hundred thousand Saint Crystals so easily.

The maintenance and use of a Space Array were simply to facilitate the communication between the major cities and Sects on Shadowed Star. No one had ever used it as a tool to make money, but today, it seemed Elder Qian Tong was about to set a new precedent.

A single use of the Space Array for half a million Saint Crystals, sixty or seventy people waiting to use the Space Array, other people still rushing over…

How many Saint Crystals were they going to earn? The Shadow Moon Hall disciples soon began trembling with excitement. If this worked, in the future Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t need to operate any shops or stores, the fee collected for using the Space Array along would be enough to make Shadow Moon Hall the wealthiest Sect on Shadowed Star.

Everything was easier once someone went first. After the burly man left, everyone who had been hesitating immediately charged forward, handed over the five hundred thousand Saint Crystals, then quickly departed via the Space Array.

The disciples from Shadow Moon Hall smiled from ear to ear, assigning one person specifically to take inventory of the Saint Crystals. Each time they received the appropriate fee, the other disciples would open the Space Array and send the one who had paid to their intended destination before continuing to collect the next fee.

“Elder Qian, if you ever come to my Vast City, my Floating Mist Palace will be sure to entertain you appropriately!” A middle-aged man who was clearly angered by Qian Tong charging so many Saint Crystals stared at him and declared. Clearly, he meant that if Qian Tong wanted to use the Space Array in Vast city, it would cost him five hundred thousand Saint Crystals.

Qian Tong simply grinned happily and retorted, “This old master intends to die of old age in Heavenly Fate City and won’t be going anywhere.”

Hearing those words, the middle-aged man was so mad he nearly couldn’t contain himself, the Space Array flashing in the next instant, delivering him to Vast City.

The scene inside the hall was very lively. Watching one person after another pay Saint Crystals then being transported away, the bitterness in Qian Tong’s heart finally dissipated.

Yan Pei had just eaten meat so he could not blame him for drinking some soup! In any case, since things had gotten to this point, Qian Tong could only make money first and think about everything else after.

Never before had there been an auction like this one, where all the great Sects scrambled to raise as many Saint Crystals as possible just moments before it began. There was a surge of activity in Heavenly Fate City.

No auction had ever brought such a huge gain to its host site either.

This time, though simply tolls on the Space Array, Shadow Moon Hall was able to raise over thirty million High-Rank Saint Crystals. There were other forces present that didn’t have sufficient financial resources or simply felt they had no chance of winning and gave up using the Space Array. Otherwise, Shadow Moon Hall would definitely have gained even more wealth.

Even though the Space Array was constantly being opened, Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction started on time.

Yan Pei was quite sinister and deliberately let some people spread rumours that the bidding for the finale items would be far more intense than normal. In fact, he did it, but this did not prevent the auction from being held, nor did he deliberately postpone its start time.

The most valuable items would naturally be sold at the end of the auction, which was at least seven hours away. With that much time, it wouldn’t be hard for those great forces to collect a large number of Saint Crystals.

Yan Pei was looking forward to the progress of this auction more than ever, sipping tea in his A-Block private room, calmly waiting for the finale to arrive.

Wind instruments played as drums were beaten, causing the noisy auction hall to suddenly quiet down. Atop the platform, more than a dozen young girls floated down from above, scattering flower petals from the baskets they were carrying as the bright lights further illuminated the centre stage, drawing everyone’s attention.

The fragrance of the flowers filled the auction hall as the dozen young girls smiled dazzlingly, like graceful goddesses descending from the heavens.

The girls waved their long sleeves in an enchanting dance, each of them displaying different yet equally intoxicating expressions that fascinated the hearts of all who were watching before gently landing and drawing back.

A beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure then walked up onto the high platform, her skin was as white as snow and her tight-fitting dress accentuating her astonishing curves while leaving her two jade arms bare. The low cut around her neck revealed a deep, seemingly bottomless valley that sucked in the eyes of the audience members.

Her hair was pulled up into an exquisite bun that exposed delicate nape of her neck, adding a touch of nobility and grace to her appearance.

When this beautiful woman appeared, she immediately drew in more attention than the young girls who came before her with her rich, mature charm, exuding an exotic flavour that enticed the appetites of everyone around.