Divine Convenience Store

As all eyes focused on him, Lin Mo put on his merchant smile despite the strain as he replied. "Grand Elder Mu, you're scaring my customers and blocking my sunlight. It's bad for business, you know? Will you back away, or will I have to ban your temple from ever stepping into our store?" He pointed the [Starshot Revolver] at him, his finger already itching to pull the trigger.

Still unafraid, the old man harrumphed, forcing his spiritual pressure down on Lin Mo.

However, before it could reach him, the Divine Guardian Construct blocked it, swiping it away like a fly with a subtle pulse of its divine energy. The air around Lin Mo remained calm, the construct's azure orbs glowing brighter as if daring Mu Wuyan to try again. The Grand Elder's scowl deepened, his violet-silver aura flickering with frustration. He hadn't expected a mere shopkeeper's artifact to shrug off his pressure so effortlessly.

"Insolent brat!" Mu Wuyan roared, his scepter flaring with renewed power. "I'll shatter your toy and drag that girl from your pathetic shop myself!"

Liu Tianfeng's storm clouds rumbled, his black-gauntleted fist crackling with lightning as he shot Mu Wuyan a withering glare. "Mu Wuyan, your shamelessness knows no bounds. Challenging a junior? Focus on me, or I'll carve your temple's name into the annals of failure!"

The Verdant Sky Pavilion's Ancestor chimed in, her vine-like aura pulsing with restrained power. "Grand Elder Mu, your temple's arrogance blinds you. The Shopkeeper's store is a divine nexus, and Liu Xiaoyu is under its protection. Cease this folly, or the Eastern Abyssal Domain will bury your ambitions."

Lin Mo remained nonchalant as he clicked his tongue disappointedly,

"How long will you keep screaming like a third-rate villain? Rejoice. Your temple will be the first one to be banned from our Divine Convenience Store. It's regrettable, but even if the whole Violethaven Temple kneels in front of our store in the future, we'll never sell any of our store products to you."

Mu Wuyan's misty aura coiled tighter as his scepter radiated an immense violet-silver vortex that warped the space around him.

His furious eyes locked onto Lin Mo. The Divine Guardian Construct's earlier pulse had shaken him, but he's still unafraid of a Spirit Condensation Stage cultivator. In his eyes, he's nothing but an ant that needs to be stomped on.

He attributed Lin Mo's courage to the existence of the Divine Guardian Construct and the Liu Family Patriarch.

"Who cares about your little store?! Enough talk!" Mu Wuyan roared, thrusting his scepter skyward. The vortex above him condensed into a massive spear of violet-silver energy, its tip crackling with incomprehensible inscriptions. "Die, mortal, and let your shop crumble!"

Pssshk!

The spear hurtled toward Lin Mo with a speed and power enough to obliterate a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator in an instant.

The crowd screamed, some scattering while others froze, their spiritual senses overwhelmed by the attack's intensity.

Lin Mo didn't flinch. He simply commanded the Divine Guardian Construct to block it for him again. At the same time, he pooled his spiritual energy into his feet, activating the [Crimson Flow Phantom Steps], acting like he's about to sidestep the spear.

The Guardian didn't block it completely and simply changed its trajectory.

Crash!

The attack gouged a crater in the street, sending debris flying while Lin Mo felt the brunt of the shockwave caused by the descending force at his side.

Steadying his arm, the [Starshot Revolver]'s jade crystal blazed with divine light as the divine bullet Yangyang had charged clicked with celestial intent.

His face scrunched up as the immense strain on his body surged into him. He could feel his meridians trembling under the weapon's divine weight while the spark of divinity in his chest barely steadied him, guiding his aim.

"This is your choice, dear customer." Lin Mo said in difficulty in a voice as steely as the store's foundation, "One shot. No more takebacks."

With that, his pointer finger curled and pulled the trigger.

FLASH!

A beam of radiant light erupted from the muzzle, its brilliance blinding both the onlookers and his target.

At first, it looked unassuming. Mu Wuyan even sneered, thinking it would be just like a firework. All flashy.

However, as the air warped around it and space it passed through seemingly tearing, the Grand Elder's eyes widened, his violet-silver vortex reforming in a desperate bid to block.

Liu Tianfeng, watching it from the side, could only gulp down his saliva. Although he hadn't voiced it out, he, too, never thought Lin Mo's peculiar artifact could be something so potent that his spiritual senses failed to gauge.

But there, right in front of him, the divine energy condensed within the bullet became an eye-opener.

SHATTER!

The divine bullet struck the vortex, breaking it into pieces, punching through, slamming into Mu Wuyan's scepter.

The artifact exploded in a shower of violet sparks, its fragments raining down on the amethyst ship's deck.

Mu Wuyan staggered, blood spraying from his mouth as the shockwave sent him crashing against his ship's railing. The hull groaned and cracks spread across its surface as its defensive arrays flickered out.

Silence fell over Fanling City, broken only by the faint clinking of the Divine Guardian Construct's halberd now poised to be thrown.

The crowd stood frozen, their jaws slack. Liu Tianfeng's storm clouds stilled, his eyes wide with disbelief. The Verdant Sky Pavilion's Ancestor's vine-like aura pulsed, a rare spark of awe in her gaze. Even the clashing cultivators above paused, their spiritual senses locked onto the scene below.

A heaven-grade artifact shattered just like that? For the Violethaven Temple, that was a catastrophic loss. There are only so few artifacts of that caliber; losing it was like losing an arm and a leg.

That's why Mu Wuyan, who was so confident just earlier, had his face pale as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"You… impossible! A Spirit Condensation Stage shattering my heaven-grade artifact… how?!"

Lin Mo twirled the revolver, blowing the smoke from its barrel as he maintained his neutral expression despite the recoil's strain. His arm ached and his meridians felt like they'd been scorched, but his merchant smile didn't waver.

"Dear customer, be content that I aimed for your artifact and not your chest. Can you see this? This is just a prototype of what our store can produce. Doesn't it work wonders on loudmouths? Perhaps, do you want another shot, or are you ready to forget your objective, lower your head, and leave Fanling at once?"

The crowd erupted as their cheers shook the streets. The Bulletin Board went berserk from it as numerous threads and countless comments filled it.

[SHOPKEEPER ONE-SHOTS A VOID REFINEMENT STAGE?! THAT ARTIFACT IS OP!]

[Divine Convenience Store's Artifacts Are INSANE! When will they sell that?!]

[Violethaven Temple and Mu Wuyan are done! Shopkeeper has just proved himself a Legend!]

Liu Tianfeng's laughter boomed, his gauntleted hands clapping with genuine delight. "Shopkeeper Lin, your audacity is a treasure rarer than a heaven-grade artifact! The Liu Family salutes you!"

Zhongzu's gaze lingered on the revolver, his Nascent Soul Stage senses tingling with awe. "Father, that weapon… The divine energy within rivals our ancestral talismans."

Mu Wuyan steadied himself, his rage a smoldering ember. His scepter was gone, his ship damaged, many of Violethaven Temple's cultivators dead and his pride shattered.

He glared at Lin Mo, then at the Divine Guardian Construct, whose halberd gleamed with unspoken threat. If it threw its halberd at him, it might truly spell his end.

The Liu Family, the Verdant Sky Pavilion, the Azure Gale Sect, the Crimson Vale Sect, and the Southern Wu Kingdom's Dragon Ark formed an impenetrable coalition. His temple's forces were faltering, their amethyst-robed cultivators overwhelmed by the store's patrons wielding [Card Talismans] and [Celestial Duel Gear].

"Tsch. This isn't over, Shopkeeper," Mu Wuyan spat, his voice dripping with venom. "The Nine Heavens Exquisite Body is a prize the realm will not ignore. Others will come. Stronger, with forces your little shop cannot withstand."

Lin Mo shrugged, holstering the revolver. "Others? Let 'em line up. The Divine Convenience Store is open to all, even the delusional. But hear this. We won't tolerate any aggressiveness anymore. The moment you come to this city with a similar stance, you'll be banned from our store. Let it be known! Now, since you're already banned, get your ship out of our city's airspace. You've already scared my precious customers!"

That declaration was naturally for those with Viewing Jades to capture and spread across the realm. He's certain that with the power of information, those with a similar thought as the Violethaven Temple would take a step back and start reconsidering their approach.

Even if only one out of many lowered their heads and got converted to become a patron of the store, that's more than profitable.

Mu Wuyan's aura flared but he instantly retracted it as he cautiously gazed at the Divine Guardian Construct. His spiritual senses were screaming danger.

With a final glare, he signaled his crew, and the amethyst ship began its retreat, its cracked hull limping into the horizon. What they left behind was not ruins but dead bodies of their people. One Spirit Severing, three Nascent Soul, and tens of Core Formation and Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators