Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 527: Divine Artifact Loan

Ignoring her remarks, Lin Mo brought Xiaoyu, who was already flexing her arms with excitement, near the stairs. They ascended to the second floor, heading straight for the Premium Cultivation Rooms.

However, just as Lin Mo reached for the door handle, the air around him shimmered.

A familiar melodious chime, distinct from the system’s usual notifications, resonated through the hallway.

The space warped gently, as a harmonious silk curtain unfurled.

From the ripple, a figure stepped out.

She was radiant, her presence instantly soothing the agitation in the air. She wore robes of flowing pastel silks that seemed to shift colors like a sunrise. Her eyes held the warmth of a gentle hearth, and her smile was the very definition of serenity.

It was Zhenren Lihua.

But unlike her previous formal appearances, she looked... casual? She wasn’t floating like a spiritual projection or projecting a giant avatar. She was simply standing there, human-sized, looking like a concerned older sister visiting a wayward sibling.

"Zhenren Lihua?" Lin Mo blinked, quickly bowing. "This is unexpected. Is there an emergency with the system?"

Beside him, Liu Xiaoyu’s jaw dropped. She had seen the goddess during her previous visits. But this up-close presence was overwhelming in a completely different way.

It was like standing next to a sun that didn’t burn, only warmed. And yet, Lin Mo was always acting casual towards them.

Lihua gently shook her head as a small smile peeked from her lips. "I merely came to offer some... unsolicited advice. And perhaps a bit of assistance."

She glanced at Xiaoyu, offering a polite nod, before focusing her gaze intensely on Lin Mo. "I have heard that you intend to walk into the den of that foreign creature, a Mind-Weaver, in one of the Anchors you’ve connected to the store."

Mind-Weaver. So, the divine beings knew of these otherworldly threats from the Outer Realm.

"Mhm. That’s the plan," Lin Mo admitted, straightening his posture. "We need intelligence. And as I have tested, I am the most resistant to their influence."

"Resistant, yes. Immune, no," Lihua corrected gently. She stepped closer, the scent of fresh rain and blooming lilies wafting from her. "The Highland Realm isn’t a place dominated by their race. Dreillings are born with the ability to attack the mind and weave it. They find the loose threads of your thoughts, your doubts, your fears, and they knit them into a cage of their own design. Your soul refinement with Xingxing has tightened the weave of your own soul, making you harder to unravel. But you are still walking into a spider’s web."

"Then what do you suggest, Zhenren? We cannot leave the Anchor unchecked. If it successfully stabilizes, it’ll become their stronghold and an entry point for their further invasion. And with it being located in this region, we’d be in constant threat."

"I suggest you take a shield," Lihua said. She raised her hand, and a small, intricate object materialized in her palm.

It wasn’t a weapon or a piece of armor. It looked like a small, silver tuning fork, intricately carved with inscriptions that hurt Lin Mo’s eyes if he focused on them too long.

"This is a [Harmonic Resonance Instrument]. It is not a store product. It is a personal artifact I crafted long ago," Lihua explained, holding it out to him. "It does not block attacks. Instead, it emits a constant, low-frequency pulse that echoes my Heavenly Laws. It can create a localized field of stability. If a foreign mind tries to intrude, this fork will vibrate, disrupting their frequency. It will act as a warning bell and a jammer."

Lin Mo accepted the artifact. It felt cool and heavy, humming with a quiet, steady power. It felt like holding a solidified note of music.

[Item Received: Harmonic Resonance Instrument (Divine Artifact - Loaned)]

[Grade: Unknown]

[Effect: Generates a 5-meter field of Absolute Harmony. Disrupts psionic intrusion, stabilizes chaotic spiritual energy, and clears mental debuffs. While active, the user and his allies will become immune to ’Domination’ and ’Charm’ effects within the field.]

[Note: This item is on loan from the Goddess of Harmony. Do not lose it. Do not sell it. Do not eat it.]

Lin Mo almost chuckled at the last note. Taihao must have hacked the item description. But a divine artifact... won’t this anger the Heaven’s Will more even if it’s loaned.

"Thank you, Zhenren. However... won’t the Heaven’s Will take offense to this? A divine artifact, even on loan, is a variable that shouldn’t exist here. My tribulation had already drawn a heavenly tantrum. The immortal-grade artifacts produced an Artifact Tribulation. I’d prefer not to invite another calamity on top of my head."

Lihua’s smile didn’t waver. "A valid concern, Shopkeeper. But you misunderstand the nature of my domain. My harmony does not defy the Heavens. It instead resonates with it. This instrument does not force its will upon reality like a weapon of war. It simply... tunes the local area to a frequency of peace. The Heaven’s Will will ignore it because it feels natural. It is like adding a drop of clear water to a muddy pond. The pond does not reject the water."

She reached out and tapped her finger gently on the tuning fork in his hand. A melodious note rang out, causing the ambient spiritual pressure in the hallway to vanish completely.

"Besides," She added, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes that reminded Lin Mo startlingly of Taihao, "It is a loan. It will be returned within a set time. Let’s say, a week from now. That’s what the First Heaven’s Will can allow."

"I see. A loophole within a loophole. You truly are the Goddess of Commerce. You know how to bend the rules without breaking them." Lin Mo commented, his respect for her deepening.

If it were Taihao, that whimsical old man would’ve been more amused to give him an artifact that would antagonize Heaven’s Will, making it impossible for him to escape its notice. But in the end, it’d work because... at their current level, nothing would be unsolvable. It’s only because they couldn’t just descend with their celestial bodies to expel the Outer Realm threats.

"I prefer to call it ’harmonizing with the constraints’," Lihua winked, a gesture that looked delightfully out of place on her divine features. And it’s something he never would see from a serious goddess such as her. "Now, I should not linger. The longer I stay, the more Heaven’s Will might start asking questions I’d rather not answer. Besides, I believe you have a sparring session to attend to."

She turned her gaze to Liu Xiaoyu, who had been standing frozen, her mouth slightly agape, clutching her [Stardust Repeater] like a lifeline. As always, the young prodigy, usually so full of boundless energy and sass, seemed completely cowed by the gentle, yet absolute presence of the goddess. She still couldn’t be like Lin Mo who could calmly face them.

"Little storm," Lihua addressed her softly. "Your potential is vast. A Nine Heavens Exquisite Body is a gift, but do not let it become a crutch. Your Shopkeeper fights with his mind as much as his qi. Learn that from him, and you will become a storm that no one can weather."

She reached out and tapped Xiaoyu’s forehead, much like Lin Mo often did. But instead of a flick, a warm, golden light seeped into the girl’s skin.

"A small blessing. It will help you stabilize your lightning qi during your next breakthrough. Consider it an assistant’s loyalty bonus."

Xiaoyu blinked, her hand flying to her forehead. "T-thank you! Goddess... Sister Goddess!"

Lihua laughed, the sound of it like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. "Sister Goddess. I like that. Far better than ’Venerable One’. Farewell, Shopkeeper. Keep writing on suggestions and feedback. I will see to it that the most useful ones will be implemented. Also, do not break my tuning fork."

With a final nod, she stepped back. The silk curtain of reality folded around her once more, and with a soft chime, she was gone.

The hallway became empty, save for the lingering scent of lilies and the stunned silence of the two mortals.

Lin Mo looked down at the silver tuning fork in his hand. It was small, unassuming, yet he could feel the immense, harmonious power within it. A divine cheat code against the Dreilling’s greatest weapon.

If he brought the Spirit Severing Ancestors, wouldn’t he be able to sweep the Anchor right away?

He quickly shook his head, thinking it was a naive thought. Now that the restriction of the Anchor loosened, it wouldn’t be long before a stronger Dreilling or Decrint appeared from it.

He should continue with his initial plan.

"Boss..." Xiaoyu whispered, staring at the spot where Lihua had vanished. "Did... did the Goddess just call me ’Little Storm’? And give me a blessing?"

"She did, lucky you." Lin Mo said, tucking the artifact into his inventory. "And she gave us a way to not get brainwashed. So, are you ready? We have three days to get strong enough to use it properly. I rely on you, my prodigious assistant."

Xiaoyu shook her head, slapping her cheeks with both hands. The awe vanished, replaced by a blazing, competitive fire.

"Ready? Boss, I was born ready! And now that I have a goddess’s blessing, you’d better watch out! I’m not going to hold back!"

"Save some dignity for your Boss, alright? I’m not a prodigy like you."