"He speaks the truth," Matriarch Deep-Root eventually said, her eyes deep and profound. "I believe if he does have malice directed at us, he wouldn't have to trap us in his store."
She then glanced behind her, looking at the towering Divine Guardian Statue. Although she was confident that she would not be defeated by it, she also understood that even if the three of them joined forces, they wouldn't be able to destroy it.
Lin Mo was never afraid of the Violethaven Temple. He even had the guts to declare a ban on them. Yet, he faced them with an amicable smile and declared that they were esteed guests, to which he even accorded them the privilege of him bending his own rules of not accepting custors past the store hours.
She looked at her two companions. "We ca to observe the anomaly. We cannot do so cowering on the doorstep because we fear walking without our armor. I am going in."
Without waiting for their protests, the Matriarch stepped across the threshold.
Once again, her profound connection to the earth was severed, her aura suppressed into her body. She took a deep breath, and her face tightened for a bit. But a mont later, she could sense a soothing sensation flowing into her. A sensation that seed to be wrapped with divine laws of harmony. Following that, three different auras seed to converge within her. Combat, Restoration, and Efficiency.
The Dinsion Essence Upgrades that Lin Mo bought which would always be active within the store premises and anything connected to it; branch store, shuttle hub, anchors, and Conduit Towers.
"This is…" Matriarch Deep-root marveled as she basked in the effect. Although she hadn't tested it yet, she felt like she could contest an Immortal Embryo Stage cultivator without falling into a disadvantage through the support provided by the auras.
Patriarch Skyfla and Patriarch Jadebone, who were still hesitating outside the door, narrowed their eyes as they observed the changes being exhibited by the matriarch.
They saw the initial tension in her shoulders lt away, replaced by a posture of relaxed and unassailable confidence.
The ambient spiritual energy within the store didn't swirl around her in a chaotic storm, nor did it activate a formation array to trap her. Instead, the energy was flowing into her in a refined and harmonious way.
"That… Is there truly no danger?" Patriarch Jadebone murmured. The humiliation of being stripped of his power was warring with a centuries-old instinct for self-preservation and an undeniable curiosity.
His Jade Sovereign Sect might be slightly inferior to the Violethaven Temple but it's still one of the prominent sects that was beyond the set categorization within the Western Sacred Lands.
And as soone who climbed to his position, he had to be cunning and cautious in every move he made.
Patriarch Skyfla grunted, "If the Matriarch can endure this 'liability protocol,' then the Celestial Fla Order will not be found cowering on the doorstep."
Although having the sa mindset as Patriarch Jadebone, Skyfla was a little bolder when it ca to pursuing the unknown. Moreover, he was confident in preserving his life even if Lin Mo truly acted against them.
With a resentful glare at the towering Divine Guardian Construct, Patriarch Skyfla stepped across the threshold.
And Jadebone followed a heartbeat later.
Instantly, the [Spirit-Dispersing Beacon] engaged.
Once again, the flas on Patriarch Skyfla's shoulders seed to be snuffed out and the crushing gravitational weight of Jadebone's presence vanished. Or rather, they sensed it becoming contained within their bodies.
That's the effect of the Spirit-Dispersing Beacon.
But then, they also beca engulfed with the sa sensation that flowed into Matriarch Deep-Root.
The [Greater Aura of Combat], [Aura of Restoration], and [Aura of Efficiency] washed over them.
At first, they tried to shield against it but as soon as they sensed that it wasn't hostile, they relaxed. Furthermore, the sensation was different from the violent, forceful injection of power they were accustod to from forbidden pills or secret arts. It felt like stepping into a perfectly tempered hot spring after a decade in a blizzard.
Their physical bodies, long neglected in favor of cultivating their immortal souls, felt incredibly light and thrumming with vitality. The tears in their ridians from centuries of pushing their limits began to soothe.
Skyfla looked at his hands, clenching them into fists. "This... this is not an illusion. My physical vessel feels as though it has returned to its pri. And my mind... the usual static of worldly karma is muted. What is this?"
"Esteed guests, if you're already amazed with the effect of our ambient auras that only exists within our premises, I believe you'll find most of our wares miraculous," Lin Mo said, his hands clasped behind his back, playing the role of the perfect, welcoming host. "Anyhow, what you're currently feeling is a permanent environntal benefit for all patrons within our walls. Think of it as a complentary air conditioning for the soul."
"Allow to formally welco you to the Divine Convenience Store. Since you've decided to abide by our 'No Troublemaker' policy, I am happy to authorize an after-hours VIP consultation."
The three titans of the Western Sacred Lands looked around the empty, brightly lit store. The pristine white tiles, the neatly organized aisles filled with colorful packaging, the soft, ambient music playing from unseen speakers.
It's like they entered another realm. A rather peculiar realm. There were no grand statues of ancient founders, no oppressive arrays ant to test a visitor's worth. It was, as the na implied, aggressively convenient.
"Your... establishnt... is peculiar," Matriarch Deep-Root noted, her eyes lingering on the empty shelves near the front.
"Ah, my apologies for the ss," Lin Mo said, following her gaze. "Those were the shelves for our [Anti-Magic Vanguard Kits]. As you might have noticed from the rather large encampnt outside my city, our loyal patrons are currently probing into a pocket dinsion carved from our realm by the foreign entities. This kit contained what they needed to raise their survivability within it."
"Anti-Magic?" Jadebone sneered softly, though the bite was gone without his aura to back it up. "You sell trinkets to combat those foreign entities?"
"No. I sell solutions to inconveniences," Lin Mo corrected smoothly. "And currently, the pressing inconvenience from that place is a horde of foreign entities that consu spiritual energy to regenerate. Throwing spells at them is like feeding a stray dog from your own plate. They will only co back stronger and hungrier. So, we adapted. We are sending in an army equipped with crude iron and brute force, backed by our physical enhancent consumables. It is ugly and completely devoid of orthodox elegance, but it is going to be terrifyingly effective."
The three Patriarchs exchanged looks. The concept of willingly abandoning spiritual arts and techniques to fight like mortals was heretical to their traditional teachings.
Yet, the absolute confidence in the Shopkeeper's voice, backed by the undeniable reality of the ten thousand cultivators camped outside, gave them pause.
"Co," Lin Mo gestured towards the grand staircase. "Standing in the aisles is for casual browsing. I believe we have much more profound matters to discuss while I introduce you to our convenience."
He led them up the stairs.
As they approached the invisible barrier that usually required a Golden Patron card, Lin Mo simply willed it to part, granting them temporary guest clearance.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the soft, twilight illumination, the plush velvet seating, and the faint scent of brewing coffee imdiately put the three ancient experts at ease.
Wu iyu was already waiting by the low table in the lounge, pouring four cups of [Morning Star Coffee]. She moved with the flawless grace of a royal, acknowledging the three supre experts with a polite and amicable nod, showing neither fear nor excessive deference.
"Please, be seated," Lin Mo offered, taking the chair opposite them. "My Chief Operations Officer has prepared a brew that should help clear any lingering fatigue from your cross-regional flight."
Patriarch Skyfla looked at the dark, steaming liquid with suspicion, but Deep-Root, trusting her instincts, took a sip.
Her eyes widened as the dark brown irises within flashed with a vibrant green light.
"It is bitter... yet it awakens the mind with the force of a clarion bell," She murmured, taking another, longer sip. "This… How can our First Heaven produce this immaculate drink? Impossible… "
Seeing her reaction, the other two cautiously followed suit. The tension in their shoulders lted away as they all looked up at Lin Mo with an inquiring gaze.
As Matriarch Deep-Root said, the drink before them couldn't be produced in the First Heaven. Its quality surpassed anything their most revered alchemists had ever concocted. It carried the undeniable, untainted laws of a higher plane.
"Impossible? Esteed guests, you are not unaware of the force behind our store, are you?"
Upon saying that, Lin Mo, who was watching their reactions, couldn't help but shake his head. Clearly, even though they heard about it, they never believed it. Because, as the saying goes, to see is to believe.
And so, rather than just saying it, Lin Mo had already prepared for this situation.
Suddenly, a divine light descended behind Lin Mo. Accompanied by the gentle wave of harmony and order, Lihua, the Goddess of Harmony and Comrce, materialized as a divine incarnation.
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