Lin Mo continued his patrol, spotting Wu Meiyu near the entrance to the Celestial Hot Spring. The Chief Operations Officer was speaking with a small delegation of elders from a mid-tier sect, effortlessly navigating their subtle political probing while luring them into the comfort of that facility. In the end, she secured a booking for five private suites as she called for the staff inside to guide them in.

"Everything seems to be running on autopilot." Lin Mo murmured, a sense of deep satisfaction washing over him. This was the dream. A self-sustaining ecosystem of convenience.

However, complacency was the enemy of progress. And he still had a major personal task hanging over his head.

"It’s time for me to find a method for tempering my body. I must do it before climbing the tower again."

As he was thinking of that, a golden blur zipped past an aisle of talisman displays before transforming into the energetic form of his prodigious assistant.

"Boss! There you are! You should’ve said you’re back! Here. I found what you’re looking for."

Liu Xiaoyu stretched her arms out, handing two manuals to him. One was a method for tempering the body through external items and the other was the final manual that contained the secret technique of the fallen Profound Stream Sect, where his [Silent Stream Breathing Technique] and core cultivation technique [Vein of the Silent Stream] came from.

Upon looking at that, Lin Mo once again found himself in awe of Liu Xiaoyu’s abilities. No matter how he thought about it, all of his current techniques came from her. She was able to find them all in that lost manual section.

Now that he thought about it, while they didn’t have the same restriction as the patrons of needing to be fated to pick up a manual in it, it was still difficult for him to browse blindly from the sea of lost manuals that were waiting for a fated patron to pick them up. Yet, his assistant treated the mystical, intent-filtering shelf like a well-indexed digital catalog.

"Xiaoyu, I’m starting to think you’re secretly grooming me," Lin Mo said, accepting the two manuals. They felt heavy, thrumming with latent spiritual significance.

"Groom? You? Pfft! Boss, I don’t need to groom you! You’re just a blank slate, perfect for me. Hehe." The girl playfully giggled as she continued.

"Besides, I just walk up, close my eyes, and think about what would be most convenient for you. Then, poof! The shelf practically spits them out at me," She puffed out her chest. "It’s the intuition of a peerless genius!"

"Sure. That’s how easy it is for you to pick the most suitable manuals for me, right? I believe you," Lin Mo muttered in a flat tone, making the girl laugh even harder.

In the end, he flicked her forehead, which earned him another pout from her before the young woman dashed away to promote a recent product that had been added to the store shelves to a Golden Patron.

He smilingly shook his head as she watched her back before focusing his [Stillwater Perception] on the first manual. As always, it looked like a modern book from Earth, fresh from the printing press.

[Sea of the Silent Stream]

[Grade: High Earth-Grade]

[Description: The lost culminating text of the Profound Stream Sect. Details the precise method to compress a vast, tranquil spiritual sea into a flawless, unyielding Core. Harmonizes perfectly with the [Silent Stream Breathing Technique] and [Vein of the Silent Stream]. Contains insight into certain spells, utilizing the principles of the Silent Stream.]

Lin Mo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. This was it. It even contained insights for spells.

He naturally heard of it. Most cultivation manuals contained spells and techniques that could also be comprehended by the practitioner. Otherwise, what use is a cultivation technique if it only raises one’s cultivation base? They need spells or techniques for combat and preservation.

Surprisingly though, the Silent Stream Breathing Technique and the Vein of the Silent Stream didn’t have any of that. It only told him how to passively absorb the ambient spiritual energy and then harness it for his protection. That’s why until now, his combat capabilities have consisted mostly of his self-created [Flowing Star Combat Style] and the utilization of [Qi Solidification].

Even basic spells like what spirit farmers used to water their plants were something he couldn’t do. At the very least, he could use a simple spell to clean himself. Of course, he seldom used it because he was still enjoying a nice bath or shower whenever he had the chance to do so.

Shaking his head, he then looked at the second manual.

[Stellar Iron Forging Physique]]

[Grade: Mid Earth-Grade]

[Description: A brutal body-tempering method designed to assimilate stellar-aligned metals into the bone marrow and muscular fascia. Requires the absorption of high-purity starlight ores. Grants immense physical density, kinetic resistance, and enhances the conductivity of starlight qi. Moderate chance to transform one’s constitution into an Acquired Physique]

[Warning: The assimilation process is excruciating. Failure to properly refine the ore prior to absorption will result in heavy metal poisoning and catastrophic meridian failure.]

Lin Mo’s lips formed a thin line. "Excruciating. Catastrophic failure. Why do all the best cultivation methods sound like a list of severe workplace safety violations? Still, an Acquired Physique, huh?"

He had learned of Innate Physique, something one is born with like Liu Xiaoyu’s Nine Heavens Exquisite Body and Bloodline Physique like the one Xiao Ya awakened through the stroke of his Celestial Providence.

The first one is a rare occurrence that’s born from the Heavenly Dao, while the latter was passed down through generations, lying dormant in the blood until a specific, often traumatic, catalyst awakened it.

An Acquired Physique, however, was something different. It was a defiant act that was akin to a Dreilling Flesh Shaper forging their bodies.

Of course, it wasn’t that horrible. It was merely a process of taking a mundane, mortal shell and forcefully overwriting its fundamental laws through extreme environmental pressure, specific exotic resources or circumstances, and an almost suicidal tolerance for pain. In a way, it could be described as an ultimate ’pay-to-win’ mechanic, provided you were willing to pay with your own flesh and sanity.

"Well, I have the resources, and thanks to Taihao’s waterfall, a moderately high tolerance for suffering," Lin Mo muttered, tucking the manuals into his spatial inventory. "But ’failure to properly refine the ore’ is a red flag I cannot ignore. The raw Star-Forged Iron I pulled from the Martial World is packed with impurities. If I just try to absorb a raw chunk of that meteorite, I’ll turn my meridians and energy channels will burst or become clogged."

He needed an alchemist or an artificer. A top-tier one.

If he were a normal cultivator and without the existence of the Divine Convenience Store, he would have had to travel across the domain, beg an audience with a reclusive elder, and likely owe them a life debt just to look at the ore.

Today, he just opened a holographic window.

"Time to test that infrastructure," Lin Mo smiled, pulling up the [Professional’s Foundry] interface on the Bulletin Board.

He navigated to the ’Commission Services’ tab. He didn’t post it under his official ’Shopkeeper’ account. That would cause a political stampede. Instead, he used a verified, anonymous patron account he had created for beta-testing the system.

The platform was already thriving. Alchemists and Artificers from across the Eastern Abyssal Domain and even beyond it were fiercely bidding on commissions. Each thread would be filled with competitive pitches until the commissioner closed it.

He drafted a highly specific VIP commission.

[Priority Commission: Exothermic Liquefaction of Star-Forged Iron]

[Client: Shopkeeper]

[Task: Refine 50 tons of raw Star-Forged Iron (provided) into a highly conductive liquid state suitable for meridian absorption. Must retain at least 70% of the inherent stellar energy.]

[Reward: 200,000 Dimension Essence or 20,000 Store Credits] and the Shopkeeper’s personal commendation.]

He set the commission to ’Invite Only’ and routed it directly to the private inbox of Sect Master Lin Yuanzhi of the White Ember Sect. They had won the refining contract during the auction, and their mastery of pure, yang-attribute fire was exactly what was needed to melt down the stubborn alien metal.

Less than a minute later, a frantic, highly respectful message pinged back. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

[WhiteEmberLin: Shopkeeper! It is an absolute honor! The White Ember Sect accepts this commission with our lives on the line! I shall personally oversee the refinement using our sect’s ancestral ’Sun-Core Furnace’. The liquid alloy will be delivered to your hands before the moon reaches its zenith!]

"Excellent. Outsourcing hazardous material processing to specialized contractors. The system works," Lin Mo nodded in satisfaction.

With that done, he continued his patrol while occasionally checking the Bulletin Board for any significant event.

Two hours later, Wu Meiyu went upstairs, leading two unfamiliar faces. Just from their attire alone, Lin Mo could already guess that they were prominent figures.

"Shopkeeper," She said as she began introducing the new patrons, "These dear customers have requested a meeting with you. They came from the Western Sacred Lands. the Orange Silk Matriarch Layla of the Heavenly Silk Consortium, and Bank Executive Woody of the Sacred Foundation Bank."