Divine Convenience Store

Lin Mo closed the message interface, a thoughtful silence descending upon him. Wu Meiyu, noticing his shift in demeanor from across the lounge, approached gracefully.

"A report from the Southern Wilderness, Shopkeeper?" She inquired. "Your expression suggests it was... more than just a simple scouting update."

"You could say that," Lin Mo replied, a wry smile touching his lips.

As Wu Meiyu had proven to be a valuable sounding board, he projected the image of the Crystalweb Tyrant and its nest for her to see.

"Venom Master Xun found out that there's a 'spider problem' on our candidate Branch Manager's village. It was a bit more... entrenched than a simple problem. Not only that, it seems to be an intelligent Outer Realm creature running a protection racket while silently building its kingdom within that region."

Wu Meiyu's eyes widened slightly as she took in the scale of the silk fortress and the monstrous creature within. "By the heavens... a beast of that magnitude, and it's from an Anchor? Is it… stronger than Patriarch Liu?"

"Unclear. But with Xun's confidence, it might not be stronger than a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator."

"I see. This is a catastrophic failure of intelligence on the forces from the Southern Wilderness. They shouldn't be this… ignorant about their region. Do you think something else is happening there, Shopkeeper?" She quickly composed herself, her mind shifting from shock to analysis.

"Possibly, apart from the Emberfall Tribes which like an alliance of different tribes worshipping Zhenren Huoling, what are the other large forces from that region?" He asked. Although, that piece of information might've been mentioned in one of the threads in the Bulletin Board already, asking the First Princess was quicker than searching for it.

Wu Meiyu's brow furrowed in thought, her knowledge of the realm's powerful forces outside their kingdom and the Eastern Abyssal Forest coming to the forefront. "The Southern Wilderness is a fractured land, Shopkeeper. Unlike the Eastern Abyssal Domain, which is dominated by sects with our Southern Wu Kingdom situated right in the middle, it was a place of tribal alliances and sects that practice unorthodox cultivation methods, but mostly tied to solely cultivating their spirit. Besides the Emberfall Tribes, there are two other major powers to consider."

She began to elaborate. "First, there is the Ironbone Clan, a massive confederation of warrior tribes led by a tyrannical Warlord. They are rivals of the Emberfall Tribes. They worshipped a divine being called War God and were known for their aggression and expansionist tendencies.

"However, whispers from the merchants who once traded in their territory spoke of a rumor. They said, the War God is not a divine being but simply an immortal ancestor who ascended to the high heavens the day the tribe carved a territory for themselves. Nowadays, most merchants avoid their territory because of their increasingly hostile and isolationist policies. They have been strangely quiet for the past year, which is uncharacteristic for them. They might be dealing with their own internal problems, or they might be preparing for a major move."

"And the second?" Lin Mo prompted, filing the information away.

An isolationist, aggressive warrior clan would be a difficult market to crack, but if convenience could even convert a dedicated cult known for corrupting even demonic beasts and sacrificing mortals for their offering, what's a little Ironbone Clan? Once the Branch Store was opened, it wouldn't take long for the Divine Convenience Store's influence to spread there.

"The second is the Spirit Haze Sect," Wu Meiyu continued, her tone becoming more cautious. "They are not warriors but spirit-masters and illusionists. They practice a form of cultivation that involves communicating with and binding the spirits of the dead and the wild. They are enigmatic and reclusive, preferring to deal in secrets and information rather than open conflict. Their territory is a maze of misty forest within valleys and hills as well as treacherous swamps. Even merchants couldn't find a way to establish trade agreement with them due to their seemingly eternally changing routes."

"Nevertheless, they are known to be… amoral. They serve whoever pays their price, be it with spirit stones, rare souls, or forbidden knowledge. It is entirely possible they know about this 'Crystalweb Tyrant' and have simply chosen not to act, perhaps even finding it beneficial to their own ends."

Lin Mo eyebrows relaxed slightly as he processed the new information. The political landscape of the Southern Wilderness seemed to be more complicated than what he's dealing with here in the Eastern Abyssal Domain. And if he was being honest, the sects around Fanling City were easily converted. Even the professionals who were once in fear of having their jobs obsolete because the higher quality store products had already been converted into loyal patrons.

There, there's an aggressive, isolationist warrior clan on one side, a secretive and opportunistic sect of spirit-masters on the other, and the fractured but faithful Emberfall Tribes in between.

"So," Lin Mo mused, "the Ironbone Clan is too busy being hostile and inward-facing to notice a giant spider building a kingdom on their borders, and the Spirit Haze Sect would probably try to sell it information or cut a deal with it. No wonder it has been able to operate for months."

"Precisely," Wu Meiyu affirmed. "The lack of a unified power structure like the sect alliance in the Eastern Abyssal Domain has allowed this threat to fester. The Emberfall Tribes are numerous but scattered, lacking the centralized leadership to mount a proper investigation. With the insectoids coming into the picture, they had to make a stand and not let their territories get overwhelmed."

This complicated things but Lin Mo saw it. This situation also presented him a massive opportunity.

The Southern Wilderness had a vacuum of power and convenience, just waiting to be filled.

The store's arrival wouldn't simply become a new commercial venture to spread convenience. It could also become the central figure that would rally everyone in the region to deal with the outside threats.

Right. That was too in line with what the Divine Pantheon envisioned. The Divine Convenience Store is becoming the nexus of the First Heaven's stand against the four encroaching Outer Realms. He thought.

Shaking his head, he looked at the image of the spider again.

Venom Master Xun's proposal seemed less audacious and more like a necessary first step. To establish a proper foothold, they had to solve the local 'inconvenience', which in this case was a monstrous arachnid landlord.

"Boss! We're done for the day!" Liu Xiaoyu's cheerful voice cut through the heavy atmosphere from downstairs.

Looking at the time, she had already closed the store without waiting for him. She also already handled the salary of Wu Meiyu's escorts.

All that was left again was to wait for the day's evaluation.

Lin Mo closed the projection. The Southern Wilderness problem would have to wait for a full plan. For now, he had a more immediate task.

"Good work," he walked towards the top of the staircase, addressing his prodigious assistant who was proudly grinning down below. Behind her were Xiao Ya, Xiaoping, and the new employee who was actually a reincarnated immortal, Pan Ruo. Unlike the other newly hired staff, she's the only one who was given a place to stay in the store.

"Pan Ruo, your first official shift starts tomorrow. I trust you've already learned the ropes. Rest well. You've earned it. Still, you have to attend the Temporary Staff Manager's orientation."

Upon saying that, he winked at Wu Meiyu, who walked behind him. Somehow, this scene felt like they're royalty addressing their subjects. Once he got conscious of that, he hurriedly went down the ground floor, leaving behind the luxurious Golden Patron Exclusive Floor.

Pan Ruo nodded and bowed to him, "I understand, Shopkeeper… uhm… Boss?"

"Call in what's comfortable for you." He said, waving his hand. If she successfully regained her memories, she might form a grudge to him once she realized she's bowing to a mere Spirit Condesation Stage cultivator.

He then turned to Xiaoyu. "Alright, while we're waiting for the assessment, I have a new task for you, Bulletin Board sub-administrator."

Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. "Sub-administrator? That sounds fancy, Boss! I like it. What is it? More official announcements?"

"Something like that," Lin Mo said with a grin. "I want you to create two new, dedicated sections on the board. It should be possible now. The first will be called 'Faction Recruitment Hall'. A place where sects, clans, and even kingdoms can post official recruitment notices."

"And the second?"

"The second will be the 'Mercenary & Adventurer's Guild'," Lin Mo's grin widened. "A place for rogue cultivators and small teams to register their skills and availability, and for patrons to post commissions and missions, like Yu Qingyan's expedition. We'll take a small percentage of every completed commission as a service fee. We're going to formalize the gig economy of the cultivation world."

Xiaoyu's jaw dropped, then a look of pure, unadulterated admiration filled her eyes. "Whoa… Boss... you're really… smart aren't you?"

"Shut it before I flick your forehead again. I just thought it's convenient to do so."

"Oh… Right. Convenience." The energetic young woman teasingly grinned before running away, dragging the other with her. Most likely, she's going to show them how it was done.