"It is an honor to finally meet you, Shopkeeper," Layla gracefully curtsied before pulling down the orange silk covering of her face, a gesture reserved only for those her Heavenly Silk Consortium deemed worthy of true partnership.

Her features were striking, possessing an ageless, sculpted beauty that felt almost intimidating. Her eyes took on the color of burnt amber and held the sharp, assessing glint of a woman who evaluated everything and everyone by their market value.

Beside her, Executive Woody offered a stiff, measured bow. "Indeed, Shopkeeper. We have been following every topic and thread about you in the Bulletin Board. We apologize for only having chosen to visit after all this time."

That’s true. Lin Mo wasn’t unaware of them getting their hands on the Viewing Jade. Even without Jin Cheng telling him about them, many merchants who were traveling to and from the Western Sacred Lands had long published information about the three economic giants of that region.

Then, the Golden Carp also provided him with more detailed information about them.

The Sacred Foundation Bank is a huge behemoth whose ’Executive President’ remained a mystery. Even Jin Cheng couldn’t figure out his real identity, even after meeting with him a few times. Because every time a conference between the three organizations was held, he’d show a different appearance despite possessing the same aura. Sometimes it’s a man, woman, child, or even an elderly person.

The Heavenly Silk Consortium, on the other hand, had the Rainbow Silk Matriarch at the helm. She’s supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the entire Western Sacred Lands. Not even the famed youngest Sun-Blessed Paladin of the Supreme Sun Church could compare. The legend about her was that she was only an ordinary courtesan at first. She got the patronage of a certain young master from a Rank 5 Cultivation Land who eventually siphoned off his sect’s assets just to court her.

In the background, though, she used all those resources to build the foundation of the Heavenly Silk Consortium.

The Sect Master of that Cultivation Land tried to catch her and cough out the foolish young masters’ investment in her, but she had already disappeared.

When she resurfaced a hundred years later, another young master was enamored by her. And this time, it was a young master from a force beyond the categorization of Cultivation Lands.

It was a Supreme Elder of a force at the same level as the Violethaven Temple.

She bled his personal treasury dry, leveraged his authority to embezzle sect resources and crush her early competitors, and then, when that force finally caught wind of the corruption and moved to execute the Supreme Elder, she had already vanished into the mists of the Western Sacred Lands, taking her newly established Heavenly Silk Consortium with her.

It was a classic tale of a femme fatale, but to Lin Mo’s corporate-tuned mind, it was simply an aggressive, high-risk venture capital acquisition achieved through hostile, romantic leverage. He couldn’t help but respect the hustle.

If he were as beautiful a woman as the Rainbow Silk Matriarch, he might’ve done the same.

"Please, sit," Lin Mo gestured to the plush velvet armchairs across the low jade table.

He kept his expression arranged in a mask of pleasant, customer-service neutrality.

"It is never too late to experience convenience. The fact that figures of your stature have crossed the continent to visit my humble shop is a testament to the evolving market. Your Highness, if you would be so kind."

Wu Meiyu stepped forward, moving with a flawless regal grace that instantly commanded the room’s atmosphere. She produced a tray holding two steaming cups of [Morning Star Coffee], complete with intricate, swirling foam art depicting a golden carp swimming upstream, a subtle psychological jab indicating exactly who had arrived first.

She set the cups down before the two executives. "A refreshment for your long journey. Please enjoy."

Upon seeing that, their face twitched a little, but they didn’t take offense. In their minds, it was only natural for a place like the Divine Convenience Store to act like this.

The Golden Carp Trading Guild Master personally traveled to meet him. And yet, their Sacred Foundation Bank and Heavenly Silk Consortium only sent them. They’re at most a glorified ’elder-level’ figure.

The two took a sip of the coffee, and almost instantly, the slight unhappiness they felt had been washed away. The [Morning Star Coffee] was a store product that they couldn’t procure from merchants or even subordinates sent to shop at the store. Only Golden Patrons had the privilege to have a taste of them.

Before long, they started flattering Lin Mo again. They talked about their journey, their experience in browsing the Bulletin Board and lastly their amazement at how the Divine Convenience Store unified the Eastern Abyssal Region.

Lin Mo naturally responded to them with his usual business-like smile without totally believing them. After all, for them to reach their position, they’re required to have some cunning. And their visit this time shouldn’t be a simple meet-and-greet with the Convenience Saint.

"So," Lin Mo began upon deciding that it was enough pleasantries. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? It is a long way from the West, and I was under the impression that the Violethaven Temple had made travel to my humble establishment somewhat... politically inconvenient."

Executive Woody adjusted his pristine grey sleeves. "Politics, Shopkeeper, are often bad for business. Besides, we are not controlled by a certain powerhouse. The Violethaven Temple concerns itself with dogma and control. The Bank and the Consortium concern themselves with liquidity and growth. And currently, Guild Master Jin Cheng is experiencing a level of growth that is disrupting the established equilibrium of our markets."

Sure enough, they were here to achieve another balance. Lin Mo sensed that this was coming sooner or later. With the Golden Carp becoming an Official Distributor, there’s no way it wouldn’t alarm those also rowing their boats in the economic river of the Western Sacred Lands and stand idle.

Layla shifted on her seat, leaning forward slightly, making the faint scent of her expensive, spirit-infused perfume drift across the table. "He is flooding the Sunless Souk and our auction houses with your ’Mortal Delights’ and healing items. The demand is insatiable. Cultivators are hoarding their spirit stones, refusing to buy our traditional elixirs or utilize our standard loan services, saving solely to purchase Jin Cheng’s imported goods."

"Ah. A shift in consumer behavior," Lin Mo mused, his smile widening slightly. "That is the nature of a superior product. I am afraid I cannot tell an Official Distributor how to run his retail operations, so long as he adheres to our pricing guidelines, everything is decided by him."

"We are not here to ask you to stop him," Woody interjected, his eyes flashing with a coin-like glint. "We are here to offer our services. Jin Cheng is a merchant of goods. We are merchants of wealth and exclusivity. We wish to propose a formal integration."

"Integration?" Lin Mo asked, playing the patient listener.

"The Sacred Foundation Bank..." Woody stated after taking another sip of his coffee, "... holds the mortgages, the debts, and the savings of sixty percent of the Western Sacred Lands. We propose to act as your official financial intermediary. Your ’Dimension Essence’ is a fascinating fiat currency, but it lacks physical backing in our realm. The Dimension Essence Wallet is inadequate. We can offer exchange services, allowing cultivators to take out spirit stone loans backed by our vaults specifically to purchase your goods. We increase your purchasing demographic exponentially."

Layla picked up the thread smoothly. "And the Heavenly Silk Consortium controls the premier auction houses, entertainment pavilions, and luxury boutiques. Jin Cheng sells to the desperate on the streets. We sell to the elite in their palaces. We do not need the same distribution rights, only the integration of our services into your built system."

It was a brilliant two-pronged pitch. Financing on one side, luxury branding on the other. They weren’t trying to beat Jin Cheng at his own game but they were trying to join in and become players on the board of ’convenience’.

Watching their eagerness, Lin Mo was satisfied.