Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 472 - 472: Path to Profit

A text panel appeared beside the map that was projected, its words forming with divine clarity.
[Query Received. Analyzing…]
[Analysis Result: The greatest inconvenience within the Northern Arctic Dominion is a systemic energy imbalance. The region's pervasive yin-attribute frost energy suppresses the growth of vital yang-attribute spiritual herbs. It also slows the cultivation of fire and lightning-based arts, creating a persistent resource deficit and logistical strain on all factions.]
The map then highlighted vast swathes of land in a pale, chilling blue, indicating the dominance of frost energy.
Following that, the panel refreshed.
[Suggested Solutions and Predicted Outcome:]
[Solution 1: Mass Importation of Yang-Attribute Resources.
- Method: Establish large-scale trade routes with southern and eastern domains to import fire-elemental spirit stones, herbs, and materials.
- Predicted Profit: High (Estimated 50 million intermediate-grade spirit stones/year).
- Systemic Impact: Low. It will create a dependency on external markets and will not solve the root problem. This is a simple merchant's solution if only profiteering matters.]
[Solution 2: Construction of a Grand Yang Formation.
- Method: Construct city-scale formation arrays in larger settlements to artificially generate and circulate yang energy throughout the dominion.
- Predicted Cost: Prohibitively High (Requires multiple Void Refinement experts, a century of construction, and a literal mountain of priceless materials).
- Systemic Impact: Moderate. It will eventually alter the environment but is a static, vulnerable solution that takes ages to be realized. This is a solution that will need generations of effort to be built. A visionary who wants change can come up with this.]
The team murmured. The first was what most merchants would definitely be able to come up with as a business model. The second was the kind of grand, impractical project only a major power entrenched within the region would even consider.
Then, the third, and final, option appeared, and the map zoomed in with startling speed to a remote, uncharted mountain range deep in the arctic north. A single, pulsating point of intense, sapphire-blue light appeared.
[Solution 3: Exploit the Glacial Heart Anomaly.]
- Method: Locate the 'Glacial Heart', a natural anomaly within the Northern Arctic Dominion where the region's yin-frost energy is at its most concentrated and pure. This is the source of the imbalance. Do not attempt to destroy it. Instead, establish a large-scale harvesting and refining operation.
- Details: The pure, concentrated yin-frost energy is a priceless resource for cultivators of water and ice arts. It is also a critical component in high-level array formations and artifact forging. The demand from fire-based sects (like the White Ember Sect) and lightning-forgers (like the Ironbone Clan) for a balancing, yin-attribute coolant would be immense. Establish a new, cross-regional trade route, selling 'Refined Frost Essence' as a premium commodity.
- Predicted Profit: Exponential (Potential to create a new, multi-billion spirit stone market).
- Systemic Impact: High. This will transform the region's greatest weakness into its greatest economic strength. It can create new industries and foster inter-regional trade, and permanently resolve the resource deficit. A truly convenient solution.]
A stunned silence fell over the camp. And Lin Mo could only curse inwardly. It proposed three solutions but it was clear that the last one was the optimal choice. Shouldn't it balance it out?
But then again, if viewed from a different angle, the solutions catered to different levels of ambition and vision. The compass provided a menu of destinies instead of a single solution.
"Whoa…" Liu Xiaoyu was the first to break the silence, her eyes wide and sparkling with a light that was half awe, half avarice. "An industry to mine a special resource! Boss, that's like a spirit stone mine but bigger in scale! Let's go and locate it!"
"Indeed, it is too enticing. However, it's a natural anomaly that affects the whole region. We'll be frozen solid and become permanent decorations for some ancient ice demon's lair even if we find it," Chu Yueying countered, her usual teasing tone sharpened with a pragmatic edge. "'Uncharted mountain range' and 'source of the imbalance' don't exactly scream 'safe investment opportunity', Qingyan. That sapphire dot on the map is practically a warning sign."
Yu Qingyan didn't respond immediately. She stared at the third solution, her mind, now as clear and profound as Lin Mo's Stillwater Perception, processed the implications on a scale that went beyond mere profit or danger.
"She's right about the risk, but… the systemic impact… to turn the entire region's greatest weakness into its greatest economic strength… This will change the foundation of the Northern Arctic Dominion. But is it going to bring them convenience or a new problem?"
Lin Mo listened to their exchange, a satisfied smile on his face. They were all correct.
A golden opportunity that came with a deadly risk but it would pay off with a chance to revitalize a whole region. Yu Qingyan's words also held true.
Will the major sects and kingdoms within the north allow them to execute that solution?
Possibly not. It's their territory. It's not just their way of life. Their techniques, spells, and cultivation paths had all adapted to this frost-dominant environment over millennia. To suddenly intrude into their territory and introduce a new, powerful economic force centered around their greatest natural resource would be to upend their entire social and political structure. They would see it as an invasion, not an opportunity, even if they've already come into contact with the store's 'convenience'.
"If we, an outside power, were to march in and claim the 'Glacial Heart' for ourselves, even with the best of intentions, they would see it as an act of aggression."
"So, we fight them for it?" Liu Xiaoyu asked, cracking her knuckles. "The Poison Demon Cult is on our side now! And we have the Eastern Abyssal Domain at our beck and call!"
Lin Mo shook his head and flicked her forehead. "You're forgetting our philosophy, Xiaoyu. Everyone is a customer. You can't just always resort to violence. If anything, reserve your energy for the battle against the Outer Realm or the Violethaven Temple lackeys."
Yu Qingyan also nodded and then, she tapped the third option, thinking there might be more to it.
And sure enough, the holographic map pulsed again, the panel beside it updating with a final, crucial piece of intelligence.
[Path to Profit: Detailed Analysis - Glacial Heart Anomaly]
[Location: The heart of the Unending Frostfang Peaks, a region shrouded in perpetual blizzards and guarded by ancient, powerful frost-wurm spirit beasts.]
[Primary Obstacle: The Frostfall Palace. An ancient reclusive sect of ice cultivators who view the Glacial Heart as their sacred, inviolable sanctum. They are the self-proclaimed guardians of the anomaly and are hostile to all outsiders.]
[Estimated strength: One Immortal Embryo and three Law Integration Ancestors in seclusion, one Void Refinement Sect Master, two Spirit Severing Grand Elders, more than ten Nascent Soul Elders and a contingent of several hundred elders and disciples with strength ranging from Spirit Gathering to Core Formation Stage.]
"The Frostfall Palace…" Yu Qingyan whispered, the name sending a slight chill through the camp that had nothing to do with the arctic air. "I've read of them in the Pavilion's most ancient texts. They are a relic of a bygone era, a sect that predates even the Southern Wu Kingdom. They do not trade, they do not communicate. They simply… exist, guarding the deepest parts of the ice. So that's where they are. Protecting the Glacial Heart."
Lin Mo, on the other hand, had his eyes lit up. The compass was too informative. To think it could even pinpoint where it was located and who was protecting or benefiting from it, it truly deserved to be categorized as an immortal-grade artifact.
"Well, there's no rush, Miss Yu. I asked you to try its ability and it truly delivered. For now, you can continue with your Distributor duties. I believe you have yet to empty your inventory, right?"
Yu Qingyan couldn't help but bashfully look down. The compass had just revealed a world-altering opportunity, a quest of epic proportions, and the Shopkeeper was… dismissing it? Telling her to go back and continue with her original plan in coming to this region?
A flicker of disappointment, sharp and cold, pricked at her newfound confidence. She had expected a grand plan, a new directive, not a gentle pat on the head.
But then she met his eyes.
They weren't dismissive. They were calm, patient, and held a depth of strategic thought that she was only just beginning to comprehend.
"Shopkeeper," She began, the last vestiges of disappointment burned away by a new fire of resolve. "Shall we ignore it?"
"I wasn't suggesting we ignore it, Miss Yu," He corrected gently. "I was merely pointing out that a direct approach is inconvenient. We can't march an army to their doorstep and demand they share their sacred anomaly."
"Then…"
"We'll get to it eventually." Lin Mo continued, "Spreading convenience in this region should come first, right? I'm looking forward to you emptying batch after batch of store products. Let our 'convenience' permeate this land first. Let the other sects and factions of the North experience what we have to offer. Let them grow stronger, wealthier, and more connected through our network. Locate more Anchors and Towers to integrate with the system. You know what? Let me help you with that."
Upon saying that, he produced the Store Token and accessed the Divine System Interface's newly updated function born from the former Great Poison Demon's partial divine sense, the [Anomaly & Corruption Sensor Network].