When the light faded, Si Chen found himself surrounded by people.
The scene before him was like a painting that had suddenly unfurled.
It was a sizable square.
People packed it densely, some just emerging from teleportation arrays, others already walking around the square.
"Make way! Fresh red iron ore, top quality! Discounts for bulk purchases!"
"Hiring! North Mountain Mine needs workers! Eighty immortal crystals a day! Food and lodging included!"
"Healing pills! No refunds if they don't work! Fair dealings for young and old alike!"
Sales pitches, hawkers' cries, and haggling filled the air, making his ears buzz.
The air smelled of sweat, strange medicines, and cooked food wafting over from somewhere.
Gray Gray snorted and twitched its ears, clearly a little dazed by the sudden bustle.
Si Chen had barely taken a step when a middle-aged man in Daoist robes, sporting a goatee, appeared from nowhere and blocked his way with a solemn expression.
"Stay a moment, fellow Daoist. I see darkness between your brows... I fear bloodshed may befall you soon!"
Gray Gray looked up at Si Chen's face.
Between his brows... looked pretty bright, didn't it?
Brighter than anyone else around.
It tilted its head in confusion.
Si Chen looked at the Daoist and nodded. "Thank you for the warning. I'll be careful."
The Daoist had been about to say more, but meeting Si Chen's calm eyes somehow left him feeling uneasy. He coughed twice.
"...Well, that's good, that's good."
With that, he turned and slipped away, soon stopping another cultivator who had just teleported in.
Gray Gray gave a quiet grunt.
Fraud.
"Damn it, another price hike! Two thousand low-grade immortal crystals for one teleportation? That's robbery!"
A string of curses came from nearby.
Several cultivators had just arrived by teleportation and were complaining as