As Enforcer Lin popped the tablet in his mouth, the reaction was instantaneous. His eyes widened in profound shock. The sharp, fruity sweetness exploded on his tongue, followed immediately by a rush of warm energy that shot straight down to his injured leg.

The crowd watched as the Enforcer's posture changed. The subtle limp vanished.

He tested his weight and performed a swift yet complex martial arts form that he hadn't been able to execute in years. He wasn't a high-level cultivator but he was at least competent enough to take the job as an Enforcer of the Sacred Foundation Bank, which was not only a giant in economic scale but also a power that none of the top-tier sects would dare to openly disregard.

Eventually, Enforcer Lin stopped and stared at his leg in utter disbelief.

"It's... It's gone. The scar tissue is gone. The meridian is fully repaired. I can feel my spiritual energy rushing through my energy channels. And this… this happened in... in seconds."

At first, those watching were speechless as well. Some even speculated that this was an elaborate act between the Sacred Foundation Bank and the Golden Carp Trading Guild.

But when those regulars of the bazaar, who often see the Enforcer going around with a limp, they understood that it was not an act at all.

Soon, the silence was shattered and was immediately replaced by a roar of unrestrained demand.

"Amazing tablet! I'll take a box! No. Give me every product from the East!"

"Give me ten! I'll pay in raw spirit ore!"

"Do you have anything for stamina?! My sect is entering a ruin tomorrow!"

The Golden Carp caravan guards struggled to hold back the surging crowd as the merchant laughed, his hands moved quickly as he processed transactions. He wasn't even using a traditional ledger. He was tapping furiously on a peculiar rectangular jade artifact, the [Viewing Jade], the sales data being transmitted instantaneously back to Guildmaster Jin Cheng.

"So it is true. The Golden Carp has gotten the Distribution Rights for the products of that mysterious store," The Bank Executive whispered. As a major economic force in the Western Sacred Lands, they were naturally not out of the loop of the sudden surge of eastern merchants peddling goods from the so-called Divine Convenience Store.

It had already alerted them when they got the intelligence about the appearance of the Heavenly Physique in that backwater region, as well as the fact that the Violethaven Temple Grand Elder lost his heaven-grade artifact when he stormed the store.

"Indeed. My Consortium has been following this closely. A few of their products have already appeared in some of our Auction Houses. Executive Woody, what is your bank's stance on this?" The Orange Silk Matriarch, with her face partially obscured behind an orange silk, replied.

"For now, we are to remain neutral. The Golden Carp Guild Master has long sent an envoy to the President. And I believe he didn't forget to send one to the most esteemed Rainbow Silk Matriarch."

The Orange Silk Matriarch nodded slowly as her lips underneath the silk curved up slightly, "Fufu, he did. Like you, my status is not enough to be privy to everything… The Golden Carp Trading Guild stands above the merchants as they control the flow of goods. Your Sacred Foundation Bank offers the best safekeeping of assets and loans to everyone, whether the smallest cultivator or the strongest faction in existence. And our Heavenly Silk Consortium holds all the Auction Houses and the entertainment halls in the entire Western Sacred Lands. We are the iron triangle. We balance each other."

She shifted her body and leaned against the carved stone railing, her gaze dropping back to the chaotic, frenzied market below. The Golden Carp merchant was now tossing handfuls of [Energy Replenishing Candies] into the air, causing a minor riot as cultivators dove and scrambled for them like starving beggars.

"But this..." The Matriarch gestured with a slender, jewel-adorned hand. "This is not balance. A flood is approaching. The Golden Carp has secured a monopoly on miracles. If the guild continues to control the distribution of these... 'conveniences', the Golden Carp will not just stand above the merchants. They will eclipse the Bank and the Consortium combined within a decade."

Executive Woody's eyes narrowed as it glinted coldly in the dim light of the souk. He adjusted his pristine grey robes, brushing off invisible dust.

"A monopoly relies on a choke point, Matriarch Layla. Let's stop this pretense… Didn't you also have this?"

Upon saying that, Executive Woody produced the same peculiar rectangular jade artifact that the Golden Carp merchant was holding.

"Ah… It appears we are all thinking of the same thing." The Orange Silk Matriarch waved her hand, and a Viewing Jade appeared in her hand. "Shall we add each other to the Social Link?"

Executive Woody's lips twitched upward into a rare, genuine smirk. He tapped his thumb on the holographic projection of the interface. A soft ding echoed between them, audible only to their enhanced senses.

[Friend Request: 'Woodywood' wants to add you.]

[Friend Request Accepted: 'OrangeSilk' has been added to your network.]

"Mhm. Perfect. So, Mister Woodywood, have you gotten your hands on the Celestial Duel Gear yet?"

"I'm afraid not. But soon." An enigmatic smile flashed on Executive Woody's face, "Well then, let me treat you to their best seller, Miss OrangeSilk. The Taihao Spicy Noodles. Times four edition."

If anyone from the Violethaven Temple heard this conversation between them, they'd be up in arms. The invasion of 'convenience' had already reached the top brass of the economic powerhouses of the West.

—

Inside the halls of the Celestial Flame Order, the blazing furnaces that usually warmed the crimson walls felt utterly impotent against the chilling silence that gripped the High Council.

Patriarch Skyflame sat upon his seat with a furious expression. In his calloused hand, he held a scroll made of deep violet silk, stamped with the unmistakable, oppressive seal of the Violethaven Temple.

"A thousand," Skyflame muttered, his voice was like a dangerous rumble that caused the embers in the braziers to flicker. "The Temple demands a thousand of our finest Foundation Establishment disciples. The Jade Sovereign Sect and the Mangrove Covenant are to provide the same. Three thousand elite seeds, to be deployed to the Eastern Abyssal Domain by dawn. And he used the Vanguard Accords that one of the immortal ancestors had previously agreed upon."

His laughter echoed across the entire hall, making the elders, who were standing in attention, shudder.

Their Celestial Flame Order wasn't a subordinate of the Violethaven Temple. In fact, Patriarch Skyflame was at the same stage as the Temple Master, an Immortal Embryo Stage cultivator.

The divine being behind them is called the Celestial Flame Lord. However, unlike the Violethaven Temple, they are more in contact with the Celestial Flame Order that was situated at the Immortal Realm. In short, they're just the Mortal Realm branch of the direct legacy of the Celestial Flame Lord.

"Fine. Gather our finest disciples and send them to the Temple." Patriarch Skyflame eventually declared.

"Patriarch… that is unwise." One elder objected. An old man who looked like he was already about to reach the end of his lifespan.

"It is unwise. But we cannot defy the Vanguard Accords. But it does intrigue me… That mysterious shop backed by the banished Liu Clan at the backwater east had made the lofty temple act desperately like this… I want to see this store with my own eyes."

The dying elder coughed, a violent sound that rattled his frail chest. "Patriarch... do you mean you're going to the east? The Violethaven Temple's Grand Elder had lost his heaven-grade artifact. The Void Refinement Stage Sect Master of one of their subordinate sects died on their latest expedition… This mysterious store that was said to be backed by the divine being worshipped by the Liu Clan shouldn't be underestimated."

"Elder Huo, isn't that the most interesting part? I want to experience what it is that makes the Violethaven Temple cower." Patriarch Skyflame laughed again, but this time, a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

No one argued anymore, and soon enough, the dying elder gave the order.

The one thousand Foundation Establishment Stage disciples have been selected. They will be taking a teleportation array to join the Violethaven Temple's expedition into one of the Anchors they discovered.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Skyflame disappeared from his crimson halls. His destination: the far east.

Similar events had happened within the internal halls of Jade Sovereign Sect and Mangrove Covenant. In the end, they all had to abide by the accords, but this move by the Temple prompted those at the helm to leave their opulent halls and check out what kind of enigma the mysterious divine shop is.

—

Back in the Divine Convenience Store, Lin Mo finished sorting all the information he gathered. He was about to prepare to contact Liu Tianfeng, who should be waiting for his signal at the Sunken Caverns Anchor. However, another notification popped up in front of him.

This time, it came from the Golden Carp Trading Guild Master, Jin Cheng.

[Subject: Gathered Intelligence from the West.]