Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 506: The Situation at Sunken Caverns

Sunken Caverns. The vicinity of the Anchor at Mount Grol.

After the retreat of barbarians and cultivators who encountered the terrifying long-eared foreign entity that could control both the green-skinned Decrint Tribe and some of the explorers pushing to the last area, Chieftain Borok set up a defensive perimeter and a net to hold the spilling creatures from the Anchor before they could break away and terrorize the surrounding lands.

Chieftain Borok prided himself strong enough to contest even a Sect Master of an upper-tier sect of the Eastern Abyssal Domain. However, what they encountered inside was too terrifying even for him.

If not for the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators from the Liu Clan suggesting retreat, he’d probably be among the unlucky cultivators who got their minds enslaved by that insidious, purple psychic light.

"Chieftain! More green-skinned vermin are climbing up from underground!" A tribesman reported to his side. "What do we do?!"

"Kill! Kill the vermin! Don’t let them escape. Shopkeeper said to hold!"

A middle-aged man from the Liu Clan also walked over. He’s Elder Liu Jingshan, a mid-Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. He was the one leading the clan’s cultivators dispatched to help explore and clear the Anchor while the Patriarch and the Clan Head were busy elsewhere.

At the moment, his face looked grim as he also received orders from the Patriarch to hold their ground. Having experienced what it was like to face a terrifying opponent that could bend someone to their will, he was also hoping to be relieved of his worries.

However, an important matter was keeping the Patriarch occupied while the Clan Head was on standby, watching over another breached Anchor. He wished he could ask one of the few Spirit Severing Stage elders of their clan, but Wen Xinyi accompanied the Patriarch to the store and the other two were standing guard back at their hidden ancestral state.

"Chieftain Borok," Liu Jingshan said. "Use the supplies given by the store. Tend to the wounds and help those exhausted to recover quickly. It’s only a matter of time before that long-eared climbs out of the Anchor alongside these green-skinned creatures."

The barbarian chieftain clicked his tongue, not because he was rejecting his counsel but because he was frustrated that he couldn’t be strong enough.

Many cultivators answered their call when even the store sponsored a commission to help them out. And yet, they ended up disgracefully retreating, leaving behind those who were put under control. There was no lack of his tribesmen among them. Elites who always rode with him to battle.

"Yes! We hold the line. Kill every vermin that climbs out of that place!"

"Mhm. I’ll arrange the mercenaries and cultivators to tighten the formation. As long as that long-eared one didn’t climb out, we’d be able to hold this line or else we would have to retreat and wait for stronger reinforcements."

Borok spat on the ground and beat his chest. "Retreat is not the Stormhowl way! But... becoming a puppet is worse than death."

—

Back in the Divine Convenience Store, Lin Mo stepped out of Venom Master Xun’s private suite. He adjusted his green and white uniform, pretending nonchalance. Yet, the steam and the faint fragrance of Caiyin still clung to him, a lingering reminder of the intense session he had just concluded.

As he walked out of the corridor, he found Liu Xiaoyu and Wu Meiyu waiting in the lounge, their expressions a mix of curiosity and scrutiny.

"Where have you been, Boss?" Xiaoyu asked, sniffing the air theatrically. "Li Li said you got dragged away by Venom Master Xun. Don’t tell me you..."

"I helped out with a demonstration. That’s all," Lin Mo replied with a wry smile. "By the way, has anything happened in the meantime? Are you done bonding with your mother?"

"Mother is resting in one of the private suites. Father will join her later. Anyway, I told Grandpa about what you said earlier. He’s going to hand over the [Everlasting Spirit Fountain] in her care and build the Storm Ascension Ground so he can go fight on the frontlines." Liu Xiaoyu rolled her eyes, her earlier suspicion momentarily sidelined by family drama. "He wanted to go to the Sunken Caverns, Boss. He’s likely curious to see the Dreilling when it climbs out of the breach."

Lin Mo’s eyebrows raised slightly. Considering that Anchor could only accommodate up to Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, it was truly intriguing how strong that Dreilling should be. Aside from its terrifying technique to control even inhabitants of their realm, its strength should be at the peak Nascent Soul Stage or half-step Spirit Severing Stage. Hence, even Borok and the Liu Clan elder who was leading the cultivators there were helpless against it.

Wu Meiyu stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over Lin Mo with a piercing intensity that made him feel as if she were inspecting him for spiritual damage, or perhaps lipstick marks. "The store has been... quiet, Shopkeeper. However, the Bulletin Board is not. Chieftain StormAxeBorok has stopped posting updates. The last message from him talked about killing the vermin before they could spread out their wings."

"He stopped posting?"

That wasn’t like the boisterous chieftain. If he wasn’t posting, it meant he couldn’t. Either he was dead, or he was in a situation so dire that even the thought of updating his status was impossible.

He pulled up the Divine System Interface. The [Anomaly & Corruption Sensor Network] was pulsing with a rhythmic, urgent warning light, centered directly on the Graypeak Mountains. It’s one of its upgraded abilities. It can now passively scan the vicinity of any Anchor or Conduit Tower integrated with the store via the Store Beacon.

[Alert: High Concentration of Highland Energy Detected.]

[Source: Anchor HLFB#0120 (Sunken Caverns)]

[Status: A High-Tier Psionic Entity has entered the Anchor. Threat Level has been raised to Extreme. The energy signature exceeded the maximum strength that the place could hold, resulting in destabilization.]

[Result: The maximum accessibility has been raised to Spirit Severing Stage and the imminent Anchor Stabilization has been extended to 168 hours.]

Upon reading that, Lin Mo clicked his tongue.

If he could interpret that report, it’s either that the Highland Realm prematurely sent out a Dreilling even though they knew it could destabilize the Anchor or that Dreilling forced itself in after seeing that the Anchor was already in a breached status.

There’s also the possibility that a Spirit Severing Stage equivalent was the maximum they could send or the Anchor risked being destroyed. Yet, that also meant they could send more Dreilling or stronger variants of their enslaved Decrints and Gremblins.

"I see. They may have been planning to turn it into a permanent gateway that can accommodate their stronger invasion force that will be led by the dominant race." He murmured before showing Xiaoyu and Meiyu the change that had happened.

"Spirit Severing?" Xiaoyu gasped. "That means... Father can go in! And the Ancestors!"

"Yes. But it also means Borok and Elder Liu Jingshan will have to stand down from leading the exploration. A Nascent Soul cultivator, no matter how elite, is fodder against someone as strong as a Spirit Severing Stage cultivator. Luckily, the stabilization has been extended to seven more days. There’s plenty of time to reset it. We can also consider permanently closing that Anchor but the Celestial Shuttle Hub that has been raised there will be dismantled."

"Eh? Didn’t you say it’s more convenient to keep them up, Boss? Besides, Goddess Xingxing and Sage Danzhu’s lesson had granted us the [Aesthetic Polishing Method] to cleanse and safely absorb the energy we get from killing them inside the Anchor! The store has also started selling the [Five-Phase Harmonizing Tea] and [Spirit Scouring Pill]."

Wu Meiyu also added, "Un. Many alchemists and pill masters have also begun producing the [Highland Vitality Pill]. The Alchemist Guild Leader even posted a ’Live Brewing Session’ earlier. They’re making [Mind-Fortress Syrup] based on a modified recipe of the [Five-Phase Harmonizing Tea]. It’s supposed to create a temporary film around the spiritual sea to block foreign intrusion."

Lin Mo nodded, recalling the fervent post he had scrolled past earlier. The Eastern Abyssal Domain Alchemist Guild Branch Leader, a man named Cao Feng, had taken to the new era with a zeal that rivaled the High Priest’s.

Although most sect cultivators often referred to themselves as pill masters, they’re all essentially part of that guild.

That guild was actually located outside the territory of the Southern Wu Kingdom, inside a city where other professional guilds were also located. Still, they were all branches as the main headquarters were all located in the Western Sacred Lands.

"Indeed. But as you can see, it’s going to be a lingering threat. The decision on what to do with it must be made by everyone once we secure the Anchor Core at Area 6. It concerns the convenience of everyone. I can’t always be the decision maker, right?"

"You can’t?" Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, a skeptical grin spreading across her face. "Boss, you just held an auction where you literally rearranged the political power structure of the entire realm using the immortal-grade artifacts. I think you’re way past the point of ’letting the people decide’."

Lin Mo winced. She wasn’t wrong. He had become something of a benevolent dictator of convenience. But this time, the stakes were different.

This wasn’t about who got a shiny fountain. This was about whether to keep a portal to hell open for the sake of experience points.