Divine Convenience Store

The roar of the incoming ship constructs sounded like the bell of an exalted savior to the Shadow Veil Clan.

With his face looking fatigued, Elder Ji risked a glance skyward.

Sure enough, silhouetted against the moonlight, familiar outlines emerged. Ones that they had seen during the chaos at Fanling City.

The treeline, which had previously been a chaotic blend of demonic activity, now became blanketed with the array of protective auras. Ship constructs of varying designs arrived and descended as their hulls glowed with defensive arrays, pushing back the restless demonic beasts of the Abyssal Forest congregating at the location.

First to arrive was the Verdant Sky Ark, its emerald hull parting the restless demonic clouds. Yu Mingrou, the Pavilion Master, stood at its helm, her gaze sweeping over the chaos. Beside her, many Pavilion Elders stood ready as they radiated their cultivation base. Some of them held their Viewing Jades, either writing more threads and comments, or reading the responses from the other forces.

Then came the Azure Gale Sect's Skycutter Sheathe, its blue sails billowed with conjured winds that blasted the flying foreign creatures. The Crimson Vale Sect's Emberheart Vessel arrived like a fiery beacon as they launched volleys of blood-red spiritual energy that melted swaths of the shadowy entities.

More ships followed: the White Ember Sect's Frostflame Ship, the Lightning Amethyst Sect's spirit beasts crackling with electricity, and the sword cultivators of the Cerulean Cloud Sword Sect descending like divine meteors.

"Verdant Sky Pavilion, assemble!" Yu Mingrou's voice resonated, amplified by a spiritual technique. "Secure the perimeter! Prioritize protection of the injured and contain the foreign creatures!"

"The door to the tower must be sealed! Focus fire on the larger entities guarding the entrance!"

The newly arrived cultivators, well-equipped with the store products such as talismans, sticker seals, formation flags and even the [Celestial Duel Gear], plunged into the fray.

With coordinated movements, their spiritual energy pressure split open a path directly to the tower's entrance.

The value of the Conduit Tower couldn't be overstated. Many experienced its wonders at the Jade Hollow Plains. If this new tower had lower entry restrictions, even Elder or Sect Master-level figures could also enter and challenge it, effectively granting them the chance to raise their strength.

They cannot allow the Poison Demon Cult to monopolize it.

Regardless of their intention, a surge of renewed hope coursed through the old elder's veins. He tightened his grip and slapped another sticker seal on his arm, reigniting the flickering enhancement brought by it.

"Disciples, hold the line! When chaos starts, we escape from this place! With their appearance, the Poison Demon Cult must think twice before monopolizing this tower." He watched, slightly mesmerized, as the cultivators from the familiar sects wielded the store products like they were divine artifacts.

A Foundation Establishment disciple from the Azure Gale Sect, armed with a [Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seal] that conjured a roaring wind-tiger, tore through a group of foreign creatures with ease, his attacks imbued with a ferocity that belied his cultivation.

Venom Master Xun, however, was far from pleased. Her seductive smile was gone, replaced by a scowl as her eyes narrowed on the approaching forces.

The High Priest's reinforcements had yet to arrive, and now a significant portion of the Eastern Abyssal Domain's orthodox sects stood against her, not just the foreign creatures.

"Damn it!" Venom Master Xun spat as her Doom Spider faltered from the spiritual pressure brought by the newcomers. "I got too complacent and forgot the Bulletin Board! These righteous fools just had to show up! Priests! Acolytes! Focus fire on the tower doorkeepers! We must seize it before these outsiders claim our prize! The Shopkeeper will certainly arrive and we'll offer it to him!"

Her cultists, though became outnumbered, intensified their attacks, desperate to secure the tower's entrance.

Marrow Weaver's bone constructs flailed as she poured every ounce of her transformed spiritual energy into breaking through the tower creatures' defenses.

Elder Ji, seeing the new opportunity, barked orders to his disciples. "Shadow Veil! Aid the orthodox sects! Focus on the foreign creatures! We'll talk about this later, Xun!"

He launched himself forward, his spectral saber-wolf flickering back to life as he unleashed a flurry of attacks against the axe-wielding doorkeepers, hoping to exploit the chaos.

The Abyssal Hounds howled in unison, their corrupted auras intensifying as the sky above began to fill with arriving cultivators. Spirit Severing Ancestors, Nascent Soul Elders, and legions of disciples descended like a righteous storm, their synchronized attacks tearing through the foreign creatures with a coordinated precision that the beleaguered Shadow Veil Clan could only dream of.

"Poison Demon Cult!" Azure Gale Sect Master's voice rang out in a clear and commanding tone amidst the chaos. "Step aside! This Tower is a threat to the entire domain, not something your cult can claim!"

Venom Master Xun merely chuckled, a dry, mocking sound. "Oh, Sect Master Yan. Always so dramatic. We were merely… containing the problem. Unless you'd prefer these lovely creatures swarming your cities? Besides, what's yours is also going to be ours, isn't it? The Shopkeeper does preach convenience, after all."

A flash of pinkish light illuminated the chaotic scene as Yan Tianfeng engaged the two bulky, axe-wielding creatures guarding the tower entrance. His Azure Gale Steps and the effect of the newly adapted Blossoming Lotus Breathing Technique clearly elevated his previous strength.

As a peak Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, Venom Master Xun truly lacked the strength to interfere. The surrounding foreign creatures either shattered or got diced up by his wind blades as he deflected the axes of the doorkeepers.

Meanwhile, the other Sect Masters and Elders joined the fray, their various techniques – wind blades, fireballs, and lightning bolts – carved swathes through the shadowy horde.

"Shopkeeper's patrons, to me!" Yan Tianfeng, the Sect Master of the Azure Gale Sect, bellowed, "Let's show these creatures the power of convenience and secure this Conduit Tower!"

He brandished a [Card Talisman], its symbol of a roaring lion flaring before merging with his body, amplifying his wind-based attacks into devastating gales that shredded the limbs of the axe-wielding cultivators.

Elder Ji, watching the unfolding spectacle, felt a strange mix of relief and resentment. These sects, always so quick to claim the moral high ground, were now wielding the very tools he'd only just acquired. And the Poison Demon Cult, his long-time rivals, were equally armed. The Divine Convenience Store truly was a game-changer.

"Damn that Shopkeeper," he muttered, more to himself than his disciples. "He sells to everyone. This is going to be a bloodbath. Let's go. Let's go back and report to the clan."

Elder Chen and the disciples all nodded as they slipped away from the battlefield.

With the arrival of the Divine Convenience Store patrons, it was already impossible for the Poison Demon Cult to claim it, even if the High Priest arrived.

—

Back at the Divine Convenience Store, Lin Mo rubbed his chin as he repeatedly read the scan results.

He then glanced at the monitor's detailed scan results for the Martial World. "So, about this Martial World. The inhabitants were already zero but it still had dojos, dormant spirit beasts and hostile entities… sounds like a typical place to explore. Do you know these Resentful Martial Wraiths and Darkshadow Creatures? If I'm not wrong, they must be the ones we've seen inside the tower."

Yangyang nodded. "I haven't seen them directly but you might be correct. However, be informed that they're not within the bounds of the tower. Resentful Martial Wraiths might be remnants of powerful martial artists who once walked the Martial World. The Martial Hero you fought is possibly one of them and he's not the resentful kind. Darkshadow Creatures are more akin to aberrations, born from the foreign energy and the plane's despair. They lack true intelligence but are relentlessly aggressive."

Lin Mo processed all those and set them aside for now.

The Martial World's Fractured Plane was a goldmine, no doubt, but the kind that could bite your hand off if you reached in carelessly. He had no idea about those resources, but since the Divine Pantheon could make use of them, it might be too valuable in the First Heaven.

He didn't need another headache like the Outer Realm's ridiculousness piling onto his plate.

"Miss Yangyang, these trial grounds... sounds like they can be turned into another revenue stream. Cultivators will be begging to test their mettle in the Iron Crane Trials or Blade Shifter's Maze."

Yangyang's glasses glinted as she tilted her head, her lips curving into a playful smirk. "Shopkeeper, your greed is showing. But you're not wrong. You've been thinking of opening it up to the cultivators, you even thought of selling 'Exploration Permits' and 'Exploration Bundles'. Many of your patrons will certainly have accelerated growth if they get their fortuitous encounter there. However, it's still unknown what kind of trials they were. They could be too difficult or deadly for the cultivators."

Lin Mo nodded. The 72-hour window to stabilize the portal was a ticking clock, and with the Outer Realm's shadow looming and now this new Conduit Tower stirring up the Abyssal Circle, he couldn't afford to dawdle.