Far across the Abyssal Forest, in the shadowed halls of the main temple, Venom Master Gao paced before a bubbling cauldron of venom. His serpentine eyes gleamed with fury as he hissed to Venom Master Kang, who lounged nearby, idly spinning a scorpion-tipped dagger.
"Xun thinks us fools," Gao spat. "The High Priest has grown soft, bewitched by trinkets and snacks. And she bends to his whims like a spineless worm."
Kang chuckled, "Patience, Gao. If they wish to play shopkeeper, let them. We'll gather our forces, strike when they're fat and complacent. The Great Poison Demon favors the bold, not the meek."
Gao's lips curled into a venomous grin. "Agreed. Let them have their little store. We'll burn it to the ground. And them with it."
Unbeknownst to them, a faint shimmer flickered in the corner of the room. A spying talisman, planted by Xun.
Venom Master Xun, who was staying in her chamber while listening to their conversation, smirked at their words, thinking that they were making a mistake if they thought the High Priest had grown soft. She had known how cruel that old man was even to his most loyal followers. As long as it's the Great Poison Demon's will, he would execute it to the highest order.
She couldn't wait to see what kind of tricks the High Priest would pull in his return.
"So? Have you followed my orders to only injure the messenger?" She asked the Priest kneeling in front of her.
"Yes… I received word that it was done. The High Priest and Priest Luo Ming would believe by now that it was either Venom Master Gao or Kang who ordered the attack."
Xun nodded in satisfaction, "Since they're not going to change their mind, might as well let the High Priest eliminate them instead and put someone else in their seats."
Meanwhile, with the sun rising from the horizon, the Divine Convenience Store was about to welcome the tenth day of the store's opening.
Lin Mo, after a quick shower to wash off the sweat from his overnight cultivation, stepped out of the small bathroom attached to the lounge, already back in his new set of green and white stripes convenience store uniform with a towel draped over his shoulders.
The steam from the shower lingered around him, mixing with the faint spiritual energy being passively absorbed by his body. His damp hair was sticking to his forehead but his eyes were sharp and clear. It was noticeably sharper than they'd been before he'd begun comprehending the [Everflowing Serenity Sutra].
The Stillwater Perception seamlessly settled into him like a quiet undercurrent, steadying his thoughts even as the weight of the new day loomed ahead.
Although he didn't necessarily have to take a shower since he could already use spiritual energy to instantly clean his body, it was a different kind of refreshing to be drizzled by the hot water.
Even Liu Xiaoyu and Yangyang had started taking one every day even though there wasn't any concept of it for them before.
Upon returning to his bedside, his assistant Xiaoyu was still sprawled across her usual spot on his bed despite having her own perfectly good one nearby.
She was flipping through the Shopkeeping101 book. However, her attention seemed more on savoring the new premium riceball made with golden spirit grains, which helps in boosting spiritual energy circulation.
A faint glow was illuminating her face with each bite while she hummed contentedly.
Sensing my presence, the young woman spoke without looking up, "Boss, you're finally done. I was starting to think you melted under the shower or drowned yourself in the bath."
Lin Mo smirked as he tossed the towel onto a nearby chair. "If I'd melted, you'd have to run the store yourself. Think you could handle it?"
She grinned after taking another mouthful bite. She's like a squirrel with her cheeks bloated.
"Oh, I'd manage. I'd just sell everything at triple the price and blame it on 'divine inflation.' The customers would eat it up. Literally."
Lin Mo chuckled, shaking his head as he sat on the edge of his bed. "You'd probably get away with it too, knowing your knack for talking people into anything. But let's not test that theory just yet. I'd rather keep the store in one piece. There's no Aura of Harmony anymore. You'd be in trouble with a lot of customers if you did that."
Liu Xiaoyu swallowed her bite of the riceball and flashed him a cheeky grin. "Fine, fine. I'll stick to being your loyal assistant. Speaking of which, Boss, you're looking sharper today. That [Everflowing Serenity Sutra] really did a number on you, huh?"
"What number? Do I look like I transformed? Don't bet on it. Even if another divine being stepped in later, I'll still treat them the same way I do all of our customers. Unless they cause trouble."
Liu Xiaoyu tilted her head and smirked. "Right. Only you could act like that, Boss. You're unique in that aspect."
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Are you making fun of me? Either way, no matter who shows up today, we'll deal with them like any other customer. Spirit stones don't care who's holding them."
Liu Xiaoyu laughed, hopping off the bed and brushing rice crumbs from her robes. "That's the spirit, Boss! Money talks, and we've got the goods to back it up. Oh, by the way, Yangyang's been tinkering with something in the back. She said it's a surprise for the tenth-day milestone. You should check it out before we open."
Lin Mo's curiosity was instantly piqued. He immediately turned to their temporary resident's workstation.
Yangyang was already looking up with a small smile on her lips.
Whatever she'd cooked up this time, it was bound to be interesting.
"Miss Yangyang, care to share?" Lin Mo asked"
Yangyang nodded, her round eyes blinking behind her glasses as she smiled shyly, presenting a small artifact in her hand. "Shopkeeper, here. It's my little project. I call it the [Spirit-Dispersing Beacon]."
It was a palm-sized disc etched with inscriptions as it pulsed faintly with a soft blue light.
"I was inspired by Zhenren Lihua's [Aura of Harmony] and thought I should make something with the same effect even if it's weaker. It's meant to detect fluctuations in spiritual energy within a certain radius. I thought… maybe it could help us keep an eye on those rude customers. It will help you deal with troublemakers quicker and prevent them drawing their weapons right away."
Lin Mo's eyes lit up upon hearing that. Who is this? Is she actually a guardian angel?
It had only been one day since the [Aura of Harmony] expired but troublesome customers were already in two digits. Perhaps more if the other customers didn't discourage some of them.
"Just what we needed, thank you, Miss Yangyang. How does it work?"
Yangyang's cheeks flushed slightly as she explained. "Let's see. I'm not as good at artifact making as the divine beings but this… It taps into the store's ambient spiritual energy and amplifies it through these inscriptions. If anything, or anyone, bursts out with a strong spiritual signature, it'll ping us. I calibrated it to be invisible when activated. Should it pick up anything, it would send a subtle wave of spiritual interference, preventing them from discharging spiritual energy from their body."
Lin Mo nodded approvingly. "That's ingenious, Miss Yangyang. It will help us save our energy with de-escalating tension within the store. How long until it's ready?"
"A few more hours, maybe," Yangyang said, fiddling with a tiny jade crystal embedded in the disc. "I just need to stabilize the output. It keeps overloading when I test it."
"Take your time, Miss Yangyang and good work."
She beamed at the praise, ducking her head back to her work as Lin Mo turned to head back to their quarters' door.
Liu Xiaoyu was already there, dressed in the same uniform but still munching with her riceball with the wrapper crumpled in her hand.
"See? Told you she's got something cool," Xiaoyu said, tossing the wrapper into a bin that hummed briefly as it disintegrated the trash. "So, Boss, what's the plan for today?"
"Why do we need to plan? We'll play everything by the ear. They've got spirit stones, we've got goods. Simple as that."
Liu Xiaoyu clapped her hands together. "Perfect! By the way, what about your cultivation? Have you finished comprehending the 1st layer of the [Sutra]?."
Lin Mo summoned the system panel and showed it to his assistant.
[Everflowing Serenity Sutra - 1st Layer]
[Current Progress: 15%]
[Comprehension bonus: Cultivation speed increased by 10% due to technique harmony.]
"As you can see, I'm not even a fifth of the way there, Miss Prodigy."
Unlike the breathing and core cultivation techniques he successfully comprehended to their first layer in one night, the sutra was different. It's like climbing higher steps as it slowly transforms his mind.
Upon seeing that, Xiaoyu nodded in approval.
"Oh. Not bad. So, the Divine Interface System also tracks your progress. Boss, can you also do that for me? I want to know the progress in my techniques!"
"Ask Taihao when he returns. I can only appoint you to some task in the Staff Interface, you know? This system isn't mine to command."
"Okay! I'll do that!" She chirped. But then she remembered something, "Ah! Boss. Isn't that today?"
"The Viewing Jades! It will go on sale today! Let's go and see it!"