CHAPTER 490: PERSONAL REWARD

Lin Mo caught the spool and inspected it. It looked like ordinary silk but he could sense how conducive and resilient it could be. He pulled a thread and ran a sliver of his starlight qi through it.

The energy flowed instantly and the thread glowed with a soft, starry light. If he willed, he could make it tough and sharp. Like those wires used for killing.

Furthermore, it could also be a perfect material for robes, light armor, or even spellcasting implements.

"Indeed, this is high-quality merchandise." Lin Mo admitted. "Very well. You can list this silk on the Harvester’s Guild immediately. As for the eggs..."

He took another look at the chest. "Do you want to raise them? Can they be controlled? They are of Outer Realm origin. Their instinct will be to consume."

"I am the Venom Master of the Arachnid Branch," Xun said, her voice hardening with pride. "Dominating spiders is what I do. With the store’s [Beast Taming Tags] and my own methods, they will be loyal. Besides, they are now also native to this realm. I will raise them meticulously and have them answer only to the two of us. What do you think? Your call, Shopkeeper."

’So, you’re saying they’re going to be our children?’ Lin Mo inwardly shrank as he was truly finding it difficult to level with the woman before him. She’s too inexplicable. But then again, if he convinced himself that every move she made from now on would always be, in one way or another, connected to him, he could probably predict what was truly going on in her mind.

He cleared his throat, deciding to steer the conversation back to the safe ground of business contracts.

"Mhm. A joint venture it is, then," Lin Mo said, his tone regaining its professional edge. "But let’s be clear about the terms. We are raising guardians, not monsters. The Divine Convenience Store has a reputation to maintain. If these... hybrids... show signs of uncontrollable aggression or corruption, we terminate the project. No questions asked."

Xun’s eyes shimmered with amusement, but she nodded. "Of course. I would expect nothing less. I am a mother to my brood, Shopkeeper, not a madwoman. Discipline is love."

Lin Mo suppressed a wry smile at her definition of love.

"You worry too much, Shopkeeper. But I find your caution... attractive."

With a laugh, she sat back as she swirled her drink again, "That concludes the business portion of our meeting. Now... about my reward."

Lin Mo stiffened slightly. "Reward? I believe the Divine Patron ticket and the partnership were the reward."

"Like I said, those were part of the business portion," Xun waved a dismissive hand. "I am talking about my personal reward. For entertaining your request. For putting on a show. For being... your loyal follower."

She stood up and walked around the table. Lin Mo didn’t move, though his hand instinctively drifted towards the [Starfall Judgement Revolver] holstered at his side, just in case.

But Xun stopped behind him. She neither attacked nor embraced him. Instead, she placed her hands on his shoulders and began kneading the tense muscles there.

"My, you are tense, Shopkeeper. Is it because you carry the weight of our realm? Even a Saint such as you needs to relax."

Her touch was surprisingly gentle. The spiritual energy in her hands pouring onto his body was warm and soothing, not venomous.

"I have a request," She whispered, leaning down so her lips brushed his ear. "I want to access the Premium Cultivation Room. The one you use."

Lin Mo blinked. "That’s it? You can just book it. You’re a Golden Patron."

"No," She corrected. "I want to use it... with you."

"Excuse me?" Lin Mo nearly choked on his own breath.

"Dual cultivation," She said, the words rolling off her tongue like honey as her lips curved up with an amused smile.

"... Venom Master. That isn’t appropriate, is it?"

But then, Xun clarified with a satisfied giggle, enjoying his visible discomfort a little too much.

"Not in the carnal sense, you lecherous man. Though I wouldn’t be opposed to that either." She winked and ran a hand across his shoulder, tracing the line of his jaw with her fingertips, "I mean spiritual resonance. I saw your tribulation. I felt the shift in your aura after the lecture. You have touched something profound. A perfection of the foundation that my chaotic poison arts can never achieve on their own."

She moved her hands until she eventually cupped his cheeks before angling his head up, where they ended up staring up and down at each other.

"My cultivation has hit a wall. The peak of the Core Formation Stage is a treacherous plateau. I can feel it. If I shatter my core and attempt to nurture the fragments in order to give birth to my Nascent Soul, I’ll more than likely fail at the Soul Storm that it will cause.

"I believe refining my chaotic energy to find order within the poison is in order. Only then will I find ’eye of the storm’ within my own venomous sea and allow me to comprehend the Minor Soul Law in the middle of it."

Lin Mo didn’t know what to say. He had only read about the process of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage. And at his current stage, he lacked a profound understanding of it.

Why does she think he can help her? She mentioned his Minor Tribulation but that’s just Heaven’s Will wanting to erase him. The shift in his aura during the lecture? It was just him affirming his current situation.

Is the cult’s Myriad Poison Scripture holding her back? As a Venom Master, shouldn’t she be cultivating a more specialized technique of her branch?

"I see your confusion, Shopkeeper. It is rare for someone of a lower realm to guide one of a higher realm," Xun said, her voice dropping to a serious, contemplative tone this time. She withdrew her hands from his face as she paced slowly around the table. "But in the world of cultivation, the stage is not the only measure of truth. Your foundation... it is more than perfect. It is a state of equilibrium that I have sacrificed in pursuit of power."

She gestured to the glowing sacs in the chest. "The Myriad Poison Scripture is a path of accumulation. I consume, I assimilate, I dominate. And I truly have taken a different path from what was written in it. My core had become a swirling vortex of a thousand different toxins. It is powerful, yes. But it is also volatile. To birth a Nascent Soul, to create a new life from that cauldron of death, requires a moment of absolute stability. A singularity of order."

She turned back to him, her eyes burning with a naked ambition. "If I attempt the breakthrough now, the poisons will riot. My soul will be torn apart by the very weapons I wield. I can probably spend years stabilizing it but with your help, I can take that step in an instant. All I need is to connect my chaotic sea to your still water, just for a moment, to understand how to force my own power into alignment. You are the only one I know who possesses a foundation stable enough not to be corroded by my touch. Not even your prodigy with her Nine Heavens Exquisite Body could."

Lin Mo listened, his mind processing her request through the lens of his [Stillwater Perception] and his strengthened will.

He could feel the truth in her words. Beneath her seductive exterior and overwhelming power, her spiritual energy was indeed a tempest.

That probably explained how she managed to bring the Crystalweb Tyrant, who’s supposed to be as strong as a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, down with only minimal help from the reinforcing forces of their cult.

She was powerful but she lacked stability and was currently fraying at the edges.

In short, she was like a nuclear reactor running without coolant rods.

And she was asking him to be the coolant.

It was risky. Connecting his spiritual sea to a peak Core Formation expert’s venomous core could cause backlash. If her control slipped, his own foundation could be contaminated.

But the potential gains...

A Nascent Soul expert who owed him her enlightenment. A stronger, more stable ally to guard the Southern Wilderness. And, on a personal level, a chance to test the limits of his [Stellar Domain] and [Perfect Foundation] against a higher-level energy source. It was a high-stakes gamble, but the return on investment was astronomical. Besides, there should be a product in the store that could help him raise the probability of success.

"Efficiency through stability," Lin Mo murmured. He stood up, smoothing out his wrinkled uniform. "Very well, Venom Master. I accept your request. But this is a business transaction. The cost of this... consultation... will be your absolute, unwavering support in the coming conflicts. No more games, no more withholding strength. If I help you reach the Nascent Soul Stage, you belong to the convenient order I am building."

Xun’s smile returned, dazzling and dangerous. "My dear Shopkeeper. Is my devotion to your convenience not enough to prove allegiance to you? Although I’d wish for a more intimate relationship, I... don’t mind starting from this."