It was already the next morning when Lin Mo returned to the main branch. After all, he still watched over Xun Caiyin, ensuring that she wouldn’t suffer any backlash. And while nothing more happened between them that night, the woman probed him regarding his own cultivation. Since another day of passive accumulation passed courtesy of his [Silent Stream Breathing Technique] and [Vein of the Silent Stream Core Cultivation Technique], he smoothly reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The next step would be for him to form his Golden Core as well. However, since he wasn’t going to suffer too much with it, he told her that he would be stepping to the Core Formation Stage soon.

Of course, he didn’t detail it too much to her. At the very least, he told her about wanting to temper his body first. He wanted to further improve his physique, which currently had the simple [Stillwater Body]. It’s not even a true physique. Just an ability he unlocked during Taihao’s training regimen to reach an ideal stage for his Perfect Foundation.

It was incomparable to Liu Xiaoyu, who was born with the [Nine Heavens Exquisite Body] or Xiao Ya’s awakened Bloodline Physique, the [Golden Lotus Constitution].

He already got the hint from Taihao. The mischievous old man told him he could use the Star-Forged Iron to temper his body. But he needed more than the initial crates he brought back with him from his last trip to the Martial World.

Above his spiritual sea, the thirty-six Heavenly Stars, which formed the six Constellations, were already quietly revolving, holding his reserves of starlight qi. The Great Completion of the second layer of the [Starflow Meditation Manual].

The Breathing and Core Cultivation techniques also reached the Great Completion with their corresponding layers. He could only practice the next layer after stepping into the Core Formation Stage.

Only the [Everflowing Serenity Sutra] was still short of 10% before Great Completion.

Upon his return to the store proper, he was faced by both Liu Xiaoyu and Wu Meiyu’s interrogative gazes, seeking answers to why he spent the whole night away.

They already knew the answer. After all, with the Bulletin Board, his appearance at the Southern Wilderness Branch would never become a secret. Furthermore, he even went inside Venom Master Xun’s tent and left with her to use the Premium Cultivation Room that had recently been added at the Branch Store.

With the number of Poison Demon cultists ranging from Poison-Bearers to Senior Priests present at the Southern Wilderness, they had long posted a thread detailing their meeting with their Venom Master.

Still, the two women wanted to hear it from his mouth personally.

There’s no point in lying, so he told them about how he fulfilled his promise of helping Xun Caiyin break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Liu Xiaoyu pouted, saying he should’ve helped her too during her breakthrough to the Core Formation Stage.

Meanwhile, Wu Meiyu just nodded in understanding but deep inside, a fire burned within her chest that made her want to focus on her own cultivation.

A while later, the doors opened, welcoming the store’s 30th day of operation.

Lin Mo spent most of his time upstairs, interacting mostly with the Golden Patrons who approached him while monitoring the Bulletin Board and Public Channel. With Wu Meiyu and Liu Xiaoyu managing the store downstairs on top of Pan Ruo’s meticulous customer service, he didn’t need to do anything.

Before midday, he received an update regarding the Violethaven Temple’s attempt to charge into a Highland Realm Anchor within their territory with thousands of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators from Jin Cheng.

Although he mentioned not having accurate intelligence, he put in one word, ’catastrophic’. According to him, many soul tablets of those considered to be Foundation Establishment Stage geniuses in the territory of Violethaven Temple and its allies broke, indicating that they had fallen.

When he finished the report, Wu Meiyu also informed him that the three ’esteemed guests’ had returned. However, they were in disguise and were requesting a private audience with him. Most likely to discreetly hide their identity from the eyes of the Violethaven Temple.

In the end, he agreed to meet them. While they still haven’t decided to fully break away from the Violethaven Temple, they expressed their willingness to try the ’convenience’ he was offering.

Due to that, he gifted them Viewing Jades and allowed them to purchase some of the store’s products. Like the best-selling Taihao Spicy Noodles and Heavenly Dew Soda, as well as the utility products like the Energy Replenishing Candies.

Of course, he told them that the Viewing Jades would instantly disconnect the moment the Violethaven Temple discovered it or they told the Temple about it. After all, it’s capable of detecting the ’banned patrons’. As for the products, if they shared any information with the Temple, they would also be banned.

In a way, their status would only be trial patrons. It’ll still be up to them whether they want to continue after having a taste of the ’convenience’ the store is offering.

Later that night, Lin Mo posted an announcement to the Store Bulletin Board for the first settlement of the Realm Guardian Leaderboard, awarding the top 10 individuals, top 10 groups, and top 5 organizations with the highest contributions.

Sword Fairy Jiang Jianxin, Yan Wei and Zhou Rui were among the top 10 individuals.

The top groups were split between mercenaries and sect disciples.

The top 5 organizations were those that had been active since the appearance of the Jade Hollow Conduit Tower.

The distribution of Dimension Essence and other items was delivered by the Guardian Drones.

Furthermore, those who claimed the top spots on the Realm Guardian Leaderboard found their physical bodies temporarily bathed in a blinding, auspicious golden light that could be seen for miles, a public coronation orchestrated by the system itself.

More importantly, the exclusive cosmetic titles, such as ’Vanguard of Convenience’ or ’Apex Anchor Breaker’, manifested on their Viewing Jades.

In a world where face, prestige, and legacy were valued above life itself, this visible, undeniable proof of the Shopkeeper’s favor drove the cultivation community into an absolute frenzy of competitive grinding.

Although at least five hundred thousand Dimension Essence had been shaved off from the store’s current balance, Lin Mo comfortably sat down, watching the reactions flooding the Bulletin Board and the Public Channel while spending the accumulated 20,000,000 Dimension Essence to purchase the [Greater Aura of Restoration] upgrade.

With that, 2 out of 3 passive auras had been upgraded to the ’Greater’ form, making the life of the patrons diving the Anchors and climbing the Conduits Towers a little bit easier.

For the next three days, Wen Xinyi led the construction of the Storm Ascension Ground within the Small Pine Sect’s territory. The White Ember Sect and Southern Wu Kingdom sent their personnel to speed up the construction.

Although still done in secret to prevent the leak of the immortal-grade artifact’s existence, the moment the immortal-grade artifact was seated in the middle of three converging earth veins, a pillar of pure, condensed spiritual liquid erupted into the sky before cascading down like a torrential, life-giving rain.

The installation of the [Everlasting Spirit Fountain] fundamentally altered the geographic and spiritual makeup of the surrounding thousand miles.

The Liu Clan established a heavy security cordon, erecting grand pavilions, and laying down complex array formations to regulate the flow of the overflowing spiritual pressure.

Working in perfect tandem, the White Ember Sect deployed their entire Alchemist Hall to the site. They constructed massive, rune-etched refining cauldrons along the artificial rivers created by the fountain’s runoff. Their task was monumentally tedious but infinitely profitable: boiling down the raw, overwhelming energy of the immortal water into stabilized, consumable [Spirit-Condensing Fluids].

Simultaneously, the Southern Wu Kingdom’s engineering corps laid down paved, wide-lane highways connecting the newly christened Storm Ascension Ground directly to Fanling City and the Celestial Shuttle Hubs.

Likewise, the Red Lotus Academy, with the help of its backer from the kingdom, as well as the Azure Gale Sect and Crimson Vale Sect, renovated a fourth of their campus to accommodate the imposing structure required to house the [Heavenly Mirage Illusion Orb].

Although it would take a few more days for its opening, the news of the Divine Simulation Exchange became a hot topic on the Bulletin Board, with many of the patrons already saving up for the fee to use them. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Of course, Yan Wei, the young master of the Azure Gale Sect, boasted about his sect getting the privilege of being able to use it before the opening.

However, he was instantly reprimanded by his elders while Zhou Rui mocked him for his loose tongue. He naturally wouldn’t follow his example even if the Crimson Vale Sect had the same privilege. Instead, he once again praised his benefactor, the Shopkeeper, for his graces.

With many patrons replying on his thread, praising him again while using his title Convenience Saint, the divine spark within Lin Mo’s chest was once again nourished by their faith energy, which prompted him to visit the Martial World soon and not delay his cultivation any longer. And the Sword Fairy requested to accompany him.