Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 600: Dormant Anchor Activated

The minutes ticked down and it didn’t take long before the countdown dropped to its last minute. The atmosphere within the area became thick with anticipation. The thought of 50% enhanced combat effectiveness from the [Greater Aura of Combat] was making everyone feel as if they had consumed a dozen vitality pills.

"Shopkeeper, are you certain you do not wish to take my trusted subordinate? He’s at the peak Core Formation Stage." Wei Xian asked, his voice laced with a genuine, almost fatherly concern. He gestured toward a towering man clad in intricate heavy armor that was definitely a spirit-grade artifact standing at attention a few paces away.

Lin Mo had seen him before, after all, he acted as Wei Xian’s right-hand man during the defense against the Poison Demon Cult from back then. However, he wasn’t always by his side so until now, he was only familiar with Captain Zhao and a few other City Guards who would always help maintain order outside the store.

"With a single command, he will act as your vanguard. He is trained in the halberd, a weapon that requires little in the way of elemental projection. Perfect for this ’no magic or spell arts’ restriction you’ve mandated."

Lin Mo turned his gaze to the imposing guard, then back to the City Lord, offering a polite but firm smile.

"I appreciate the upsell, City Lord, but we are sticking to the base package for this run," Lin Mo replied. "We aren’t going in to push towards the Core Area or assassinate a Vyrnethi, if there is any. It’ll be an initial systems check. A beta test of the environment. If we bring a peak Core Formation expert, we won’t get an accurate reading on how the average Foundation Establishment patron will fare. We need authentic data, not a carried run."

Wei Xian blinked, struggling once again to translate Lin Mo’s bizarre vocabulary into standard cultivation concepts. ’Base package? Beta test? Carried run?’

However, the underlying message of self-reliance and data gathering was clear enough.

He sighed and bowed. "As you wish, Shopkeeper. May the nine heavens favor your steps."

"Mhm. But the nine heavens probably have their own agenda," Lin Mo murmured, glancing up at the sky where his own tribulation had loomed just days prior. "I prefer to rely on accurate data. If we lose a patron, it will be tantamount to a delay in spreading our convenience. And I need to prevent that."

Lin Mo maintained his smile, maintaining his magnanimous appearance. But inwardly, he’s cursing himself for spouting bullshit again.

"Ten seconds left."

The murmur of the ten thousand cultivators standing behind the designated barricades died down instantly. It was as if someone had thrown a giant, invisible [Silence Talisman] over the entire eastern plain.

"Five," Lin Mo counted down.

Liu Xiaoyu rolled her shoulders, hefting the ugly, spiked iron mace over her shoulder. She wrinkled her nose at it, clearly still dissatisfied with its lack of aesthetic appeal, but the dangerous glint in her golden eyes betrayed her excitement.

Beside her, Wu Meiyu stood with immaculate posture, a simple, unadorned steel rapier resting in her grip. Even holding a mundane weapon, the First Princess looked like an empress preparing to judge her subjects.

Behind them, Captain Zhao, who successfully broke through the Foundation Establishment Stage recently, and the eight Spirit Condensation Stage City Guards assigned to round out their twelve-man party tightened their grips on their lances, broadswords and iron-wood shields.

"Three. Two. One."

BZZZZT!

Suddenly, the land shook as the spiritual energy in the surrounding became disturbed by the sudden spatial distortion.

Above the stairs leading to the underground entrance of the Anchor, Lin Mo and the two women standing next to him saw the dormant portal start glowing with pale green light.

It gradually expanded like a blooming flower of corrupted energy that swallowed the entrance entirely. Eventually, it settled down into a swirling vortex that shaped like a door while radiating a sweet-smelling nectar mixed with thick damp earth that made their noses itch.

Once again, the status of the Anchor was updated.

[Anchor - VYFB#0010]

[Status: Active]

[Mode: Group Exploration (Maximum of 8 teams of 12 at any given time)]

[Current Threat Level: Moderate – Anchor Stabilization in 168 hours if the Anchor Core isn’t reset.]

[Number of Areas: 4]

[Energy Signature: Viridescent Energy (Strengthened)]

[Accessibility: Spirit Condensation Stage to Core Formation Stage]

[Current Allowed Capacity: 0/96]

"Group One, moving out. Stick to the formation, and remember the prime directive. If you must use your spiritual energy or qi, apply it to your body and do not use spells or techniques fueled by them," Lin Mo commanded, his voice cutting through the tense silence.

With a collective, deep breath, the twelve-person vanguard stepped through the shimmering dimensional tear.

Like always, the transition was instantaneous, but the physical whiplash was severe.

[You have entered - Anchor VYFB#0010]

[Area: 1 of 4 - The Overgrown Canopy]

[Threat Level: Moderate] 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

[Current Entities: Dyshanti Drones, Viridescent Lashers]

[Environmental Hazard: Parasitic Spores, Viridescent Glow - Ambient environment actively drains uncontained spiritual energy.]

Except for Lin Mo, whose body instantly adapted to the Viridescent Energy present within the Anchor, Liu Xiaoyu, Wu Meiyu and the City Guards had to take a moment to familiarize themselves with it.

Liu Xiaoyu was the first to recover due to her Heavenly Physique, while Lin Mo pulled Wu Meiyu close to him, sending starlight qi into her body to help regulate her meridians against the sudden change.

Wu Meiyu couldn’t help but blush from it but she quickly composed herself. Apart from their trip to the Jade Hollow Conduit Tower, where they climbed it separately due to its restriction, this would be the first time they’d be fighting side by side.

Although her cultivation wasn’t as profound as Liu Xiaoyu’s or Lin Mo’s, her mid Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation was a result of her painstaking effort as the First Princess of the Southern Wu Kingdom.

She breathed in and an aura of golden dragon seemed to materialize before merging within her body. It was a passive ability that came with her Royal Family’s cultivation technique, the [Golden Dragon’s Ascent].

It was the cultivation technique passed down by the ancestors of the Southern Wu Royal Family that could only be cultivated by those with their bloodline. Even though it wasn’t accompanied by a Bloodline Physique, it still allowed them to stay in power for centuries.

The technique bypassed the external projection of qi entirely, forcing the gathered spiritual energy deep into the marrow and muscle fibers. Her skin took on a golden sheen, rendering her physical abilities comparable to a specialized body cultivator.

Unsheathing her rapier, Wu Meiyu then turned to Lin Mo, "I’m ready, Shopkeeper."

"Mhm. It’s the first time I’ve seen you like this, Your Highness. It seems we have a lot to catch up on later."

"Pfft. Are you suggesting I show off our [Golden Dragon’s Ascent] while we’re in the spring?"

"No. Not that. But well, I realized I know only a little about you." He awkwardly scratched his cheek, fully knowing how it would be interpreted.

"I’m always open to answering your questions, Lin Mo." Wu Meiyu’s lips curved up as she intentionally used his name, "But... this isn’t the right moment, correct?"

"Sure, it wasn’t! Stop flirting in front of us, Boss, Sister Meiyu!" Liu Xiaoyu put a hand on her hips and pouted.

Lin Mo cleared his throat, his face perfectly composed despite the blatant call-out.

He was becoming a master of deflecting awkward situations and he found that to be an essential skill.

"There is no flirting occurring, Xiaoyu. We are simply conducting a pre-raid status check on our Chief Operations Officer’s combat readiness," Lin Mo stated smoothly. "Now, focus. Look around you. Looks like this place has changed a lot from the time we entered before its activation."

Liu Xiaoyu huffed, crossing her arms as she muttered something under her breath, but her eyes immediately sharpened as she scanned their surroundings.

The environment of the Viridescent Hollow Forward Base was oppressive.

The previous cavernous place was already covered by a massive, interwoven canopy of mutated leaves and vines that filtered the ambient light into a fluorescent green hue.

It felt less like a forest and more like the inside of a living, breathing stomach.

"Shopkeeper, how come this place has changed a lot? I thought it would be the same as before," Captain Zhao reported, gripping his broadsword. The eight City Guards behind him looked uneasy. They were trained elites of Fanling City, but stripped of their ability to freely project their qi for the techniques they practiced every day, they felt as vulnerable as mortal soldiers.

"Mhm. This was normal, Captain. Back then, the Anchor was still dormant. The Viridescent Energy had yet to fully settle in this place. Now, they even have this Viridescent Glow environmental hazard," Lin Mo explained, "It seems to act as a passive siphon. If you let your spiritual energy leak out of your pores, the environment will consume it. You must lock your qi deep within your dantian and circulate it only through your muscles and bones. Treat your body like a sealed vault."

His eyes then narrowed as he sensed the approaching threats.

"Captain Zhao, distribute the [Ironhide Gummies] from the Anti-Magic Vanguard Kits I provided."

"At once, Shopkeeper!"

Liu Xiaoyu also sensed it as she quickly jumped in front. Meanwhile, Wu Meiyu just stepped forward, as if guarding him from whatever’s coming.