Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 602: Anchor Drops

The Viridescent Lasher gawked and almost tumbled back at Xiaoyu's question. Whether he understood her or not, his first instinct was to fight back. His arms flicked out, lashing his whip at the grinning young woman.

CRACK!

The air split with a sharp, resounding snap. The whip, woven from the same life force-abundant vines that controlled the Dyshanti Drones, elongated with terrifying speed.

It was aimed to bite into her flesh with the force that was no less than the equivalent of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

Seeing that, Liu Xiaoyu didn't dodge. She stepped into the strike and lifted her mace to meet the whip.

"Too slow!" She shouted as her eyes became alight with the thrill of physical combat.

The moment the whip made contact with her mace, it attempted to wrap around it while also delivering the force of its lash.

Liu Xiaoyu didn't budge from that force. She didn't even grunt. She simply absorbed the blow. Then, her mace continued down, aimed directly at the head of the Lasher.

Panicked, the Lasher didn't wait for the whip to fully wrap around the mace, pulling it with the expectation of the delicate-looking human to be dragged off her feet.

It failed. And instead, the force he used even supplemented the force behind Liu Xiaoyu's mace.

THUMP!

The sound of metal hitting the Lasher's head echoed. It wasn't the sharp crack of skull being crushed, but a dull, heavy thud, like striking something too hard to break.

Still, the blunt force caused a concussion, driving the Lasher to his knees. His leaf-like wings fluttered frantically as they attempted to cover the Vyrnethi's body like a shield.

The ground beneath him also cracked which displayed the raw power the young girl wielded even without her signature golden lightning.

"Ooh, tough guy!" Liu Xiaoyu laughed as her eyes sparkled with competitive fire. She didn't pause to admire her handiwork. She twisted her hips, using the momentum of her hit to deliver a brutal, spinning roundhouse kick directly to the Lasher's chest.

BAM!

The Vyrnethi was launched backward like a skipped stone but because of the whip remaining wrapped on her mace, he abruptly stopped after it stretched to its limit.

Liu Xiaoyu wasn't done yet. With a grin, she planted her boots firmly and said, "Now, it's my turn."

With a brutal yank, she pulled the whip back.

The Viridescent Lasher, already on the verge of losing consciousness, was yanked off the ground by the unreasonable physical strength of a cultivator who wasn't even using a movement technique.

His leafy wings flapped uselessly as he was dragged toward Xiaoyu.

And when she reached her range, Liu Xiaoyu once again brought her crude iron mace around in a horizontal sweep straight to the Lasher's face as though she was hitting a fastball from a world-class pitcher.

SMASH! CRUNCH!

This time, the heavy iron head fully connected at the Lasher's unguarded face, crushing it to the point that it became unrecognizable before his body was launched backward, crashing through a dense thicket of wriggling ferns before slamming into a massive, ash-black tree trunk.

He slid down the bark, leaving a trail of vibrant, glowing green blood before eventually turning into motes of light, leaving behind the whip and a sliver of foreign energy that was automatically absorbed in Liu Xiaoyu's body.

"Oops," The prodigious muttered, resting the mace on her shoulder and looking at the visible traces the Viridescent Lasher's body left behind. "I think I broke him. Sorry, Boss! I didn't mean to hit him that hard. The [Greater Aura of Combat] is making me feel a bit... floaty."

Behind her, Captain Zhao and the rest of the Rainbow Guards could only gulp down at the shocking strength she displayed. Then, as if they got a boost in morale, the remaining Dyshanti Drones all fell and turned into motes of light regardless of their abundant life force through their continuous attacks.

"Shopkeeper, it appears the welcoming party failed to anticipate that we have Xiaoyu, who can defy the norms of our cultivation world." Wu Meiyu commented as her gaze shifted from the dissipating light of the Lasher to the panting but victorious City Guards. "Her physical prowess alone makes the restrictions of this environment seem trivial."

"She is an outlier, Your Highness. We cannot base our data on her performance alone," Lin Mo replied, walking past the panting but brightly colored Rainbow Vanguard. "Though I admit, it is highly satisfying to watch."

He crouched beside the spot where the Viridescent Lasher had vanished. The only thing remaining was the long whip it had used, resting innocently on the damp, mossy ground.

Lin Mo picked it up. It didn't feel like dead plant matter. It was still warm and filled with the life force.

He didn't dare inject his starlight qi or spiritual energy into it. Instead, he simply willed the Anchor's System to display its information.

[Viridescent Control Whip]

[Grade: Mid Spirit-Grade (Biological)]

[Description: A living weapon cultivated by the Vyrnethi Race. Woven from life-vines of a Viridescent Hollow World Tree. It contained abundant lifeforce converted from the Viridescent Energy. Upon striking a target, it attempts to siphon spiritual energy or similar forms of it to heal its wielder or empower its strikes.]

[Special Trait: Drone Command - Emits a specific frequency that compels obedience from lower-caste Dyshanti Drones. Requires stimulating the life-vine by infusion of Viridescent Energy to activate.]

"A biological artifact that eats magic and acts as a remote control for the drones," Lin Mo mused, tossing the whip to Liu Xiaoyu, who rightfully had the right to claim it. "It's alive, yet it cannot grow further than that."

"Oh! This is a great weapon, Boss? Maybe we can use this to control those vine-wrapped minions?"

"Well, if you can harness the Viridescent Energy, you can."

Upon hearing that, her excitement immediately deflated. Although killing creatures inside the Anchor could have her body absorb those slivers of foreign energy like experience points to boost her cultivation progress, it's not something she could harness herself.

"Still, it's not entirely useless. You can use it as a whip. And if our artificers at the Professional's Foundry can reverse-engineer this, we might be able to create weapons that actively drain the spiritual shields of enemy cultivators."

"Won't they drop more of this here, Boss? We can just get more of it."

"Indeed. That's also a possibility. Like those armor set pieces at the Argent Covenant Anchor."

Lin Mo stood up and surveyed the clearing. The dozen or so Dyshanti Drones had all dissolved, leaving behind small, glowing green seeds instead of the usual aether shards or equipment.

"Gather the drops, Captain Zhao," Lin Mo instructed.

The cherry-red Captain nodded. "At once, Shopkeeper! Vanguard, secure the perimeter and collect the spoils!"

The colorful guards moved quickly, scooping up the glowing seeds. When Zhao handed a handful to Lin Mo, he used the system to inspect it again.

[Viridescent Life-Seed]

[Grade: Low Spirit-Grade Material]

[Description: The condensed life-force core of a Dyshanti Drone. Highly concentrated organic energy. Can be crushed and applied on wounds for minor, rapid cellular regeneration, or used as a potent, albeit slightly toxic, fertilizer for spirit herbs.]

"It seems this Anchor is an organic goldmine," Wu Meiyu observed, peering closely at the seeds in Lin Mo's hand. "The Alchemists and Harvesters will pay handsomely for these. A natural fertilizer that accelerates growth? It could revolutionize herb cultivation in the Eastern Abyssal Domain."

"A profitable byproduct of pest control," Lin Mo agreed, stashing the seeds. "But we cannot be complacent yet. Let's continue cautiously. Even the Viridescent Slasher is nothing more than a Foundation Establishment Stage equivalent. There would be more challenges up ahead. Besides… the other teams should've also entered by now. We might run into them, too."

Upon saying that, he pulled out the [Allseeing Compass]. It's the same artifact that the Sword Fairy used at the Anchor back then. Since Area 1 wasn't mapped yet, he could rely on it to find their way around the Anchor.

Aside from gathering information, his goal wasn't to clear Area 1 but to locate at least one of the Exit Zones. That way, the patrons could set up a base there, turning it into a safe zone.

—

Meanwhile, somewhere northwest of Fanling City and near the Abyssal Forest, Liu Tianfeng was hovering above the sky, eyeing a spiritual leyline that was currently occupied by an emerging small sect.

Next to him was Liu Xiaoyu's mother, Wen Xinyi.

"Patriarch, after scouring the whole western part of the Eastern Abyssal Domain, this place is the most suitable place near the Divine Convenience Store to build the [Storm Ascension Ground]. However, it is currently occupied by the Small Pine Sect," Wen Xinyi said, looking down at the cluster of modest wooden pavilions and training courtyards nestled within the lush valley.

It was a new minor sect that emerged since the first appearance of the Divine Convenience, barely boasting a single early Core Formation Stage Sect Master.