Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 466 - 466: Is it a new faith?

After a long silence, the Pope waved his hand, issuing a single, clear directive that echoed not with the force of a command, but with the gentle weight of a sunrise. "Go."
The young paladin, Aurelia, pressed a golden-gauntleted fist to her heart, her posture a perfect image of devotion and duty. "Your Holiness, what shall be the nature of our contact? A formal diplomatic envoy? A request for an alliance?"
The Pope's kind eyes, which held the warmth of a thousand morning suns, finally turned from the altar to her. "No, my child. It is not yet time for direct contact. You must first communicate with the priests who encountered those merchants hailing from the east. We have preached of a single, benevolent sun, a singular path to enlightenment. This 'convenience'… it is a new light rising in the East. A star we did not foresee. A diplomatic envoy arrives with an agenda, a request for an alliance comes with an expectation of war. Both are acts of assumption. We must not assume but understand."
He gestured for her to rise, his voice remaining a gentle, guiding warmth. "The Violethaven Temple sees a heresy and seeks to extinguish it. They are like a man who tries to snuff out a new sun with a bucket of water. A futile and arrogant gesture. We will not be so foolish. A new sun may be a beacon of hope, or it may be a harbinger of a devastating drought. We must first understand its light, its heat and its nature."
Aurelia stood, her mind processing the pope's profound words. She was a Sun-Blessed Paladin, the most promising of her generation, her path one of righteous action and unwavering faith towards the Supreme Sun.
"Once we've gotten an understanding from the eastern merchants about the wonders of this establishment, you will not go as a paladin of the Supreme Sun Church," The Pope continued, his instructions now becoming clear. "You will shed your golden armor. Travel as a simple, curious cultivator from the West. Your mission is not to preach our light, but to bask in theirs. Go to this Divine Convenience Store. Become a patron. Purchase their wares, eat their food, use their services. Access their miraculous network. Understand their Dao not from the s of others, but from your own, direct experience."
His gaze became distant, as if peering across the continent. "The Supreme Sun illuminates all things, revealing their true nature. You, my child, will be our eyes. Go and stand in the light of this 'convenience', and tell me if it is a light that nurtures, or a light that burns. Find the truth behind this… 'Convenience Saint'."
"I understand, Your Holiness," Aurelia said, her voice filled with a newfound, profound purpose. Her mission was clear: she was to become a spy, a pilgrim, an undercover customer in the temple of a new and rising god. However, before turning around, she lifted her head as she addressed her concern. "But what of the Anchor we have discovered? Senior Brother Helios ed that it is a den of large insectoids, swarming every area. We pushed until the final one and discovered a Queen protecting the Anchor's Core, which set us back. If I fail to return and regroup, our forces there may be overrun. They can only defend an Exit Zone."
The Pope's kind expression did not change. "A valid concern, my child. Your duty to protect our lands is admirable. But perhaps you are seeking a solution in the wrong place. Our paladins' righteous light is powerful against the creatures of shadow and corruption. We will not fall even if our methods are proving insufficient."
"But, Your Holiness… Time is running out. Five days and it will be breached if we fail to reach the Core.
He offered a serene, enigmatic smile. "You are being sent to the heart of innovation, to the nexus of 'convenience'. If the solutions to our realm's greatest problems are to be found anywhere, they might be found there. Have faith in your comrades. Perhaps, in seeking to understand this new light, you will also find a new weapon to wield against the darkness in our own lands. Go with an open mind. The Supreme Sun guides those who seek the truth, even if that truth is found on the shelf of a merchant's shop."
Aurelia's mind raced. She was having mixed feelings about this. They have put significant effort into exploring that Anchor. They have even managed to set up camps and a rotating schedule by utilizing the discovered Exit Zones to ensure they wouldn't be slowly whittled down by the seemingly intelligent foreign creatures. To abandon her post now felt like a betrayal of her duty, a failure of her role as a Sun-Blessed Paladin.
But regardless of what she's feeling, the Pope's words held a weight that transcended simple command. They were a directive wrapped in a prophecy, a test of faith disguised as an intelligence mission.
A single, final thought solidified her resolve.
"I understand, Your Holiness," Aurelia said, her voice now clear and firm, the last vestiges of doubt burned away by the light of her renewed faith. "I will not fail you. I will find the truth."
"There is no failure in seeking understanding, my child," the Pope replied gently.
With a final bow, Aurelia departed from the sun-drenched altar. Her mission was set. She immediately went to find the priest in charge of communication with their missionaries to locate their position. The eastern merchants had yet to reach their territory, and given how deeply they were entrenched in the Western Sacred Lands, they might empty their goods before entering a town or village with a branch of their church.
Her search proved to be a lesson in the very inconvenience she was sent to investigate. After getting in contact with the missionaries who sent the , she instantly traveled through a teleportation array to the easternmost village where they spread their faith and built a church, only to learn that the merchant caravan had already departed, having sold their entire stock of strange, colorful snacks and potent talismans.
When she asked if they sold a jade artifact which the missionaries described as the key to the miraculous network, the answer she got was negative. It was the first product they emptied from their stock, long before entering the Western Sacred Lands, regardless of its high price after a demonstration.
"They called it the 'Viewing Jade', my lady. They promised to return for more and also invited us to visit it… to experience the 'convenience' offered by the Shopkeeper." The village priest of their faith ed.
Upon hearing that, Aurelia could only furrow her brows as she thought, 'Are those merchants also missionaries? Is this Divine Convenience Store a new faith? And its Shopkeeper… a new Pope? A divine king? No, he is called the Convenient Saint, isn't he?'
As her thoughts spiraled from there, she eventually found herself exhausted. In the end, she returned to the central church to prepare for her journey. To verify with her own eyes what exactly this emerging force from the far east is.
—
Meanwhile, the end of the Divine Lecture left the Store Bulletin Board in a state of absolute, fervent pandemonium.
The 'Community' tab was a chaotic but glorious testament to the lecture's impact.
[My Cultivation Bottleneck is GONE! A Thank You to Goddess Xingxing! - MinorSectMaster08]
"For thirty years, I have been stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage. I thought my path was at its end. After listening to the Goddess's lecture on the 'Aesthetic Polishing Method', I spent the past few hours meditating and applying it according to her instructions. I found it! The tiny, black thread of impurity in my spiritual sea! It's gone now! I can feel the path to the Core Formation Stage opening up! My life will be changed! All hail the Divine Convenience Store!"
[Practical Application of the [Aesthetic Polishing Method] - A Group Discussion - ScholarWei]
"While the Goddess's method is profound, its application requires immense focus. I have found that consuming a [Morning Star Coffee] before meditation significantly enhances mental clarity, increasing the efficiency of the 'polishing' by an estimated 18%. Let us discuss other synergistic product combinations."
- CrimsonDaisy: "I find the [Frosty Lotus Bloom] to be even more effective. And it smells and tastes divine! Shopkeeper has truly thought of everything. Shopkeeper, if you see this, we are waiting!"
[Danzhu's Formulas - Reverse-Engineering Thread - AlchemistGuildLeader]
"The formulas Sage Danzhu shared are revolutionary! My guild will be attempting to replicate the [Aether-Bane Polish]. We will possibly fail more times than we can count because of inferior materials, and the refinement process is far more complex than it appears. The 'intent' he spoke of is the key. (Willing to buy high-grade spirit herbs for Dimension Essence! Hit me up on the DM!)"
Lin Mo read those threads with a detached sense of fascination and satisfaction at how lively the Board has become. It hasn't been long since these cultivators valued information like treasure. After being given a platform to freely communicate, they had already thrown away that notion. Now, every discovery was being shared and every question, no matter how trivial, was being asked.
The community had grown so much that he might need to ask for a new update for it. If thousands of users kept on posting new threads, it would become difficult to browse.