CHAPTER 467: HARVESTER’S GUILD AND PROFESSIONAL’S FOUNDRY

"The lecture was a resounding success, Boss," Liu Xiaoyu appeared beside him again, peering at the system panel that oversees the board. The aura around her seemed to have also experienced a qualitative change. While she’s already perfect with her Nine Heavens Exquisite Body, picking up insights from the two divine beings allowed her to make a leap in her progress.

Through his perception that was enhanced by his polished will and soul, he could somehow tell that Xiaoyu wouldn’t need a long time to reach the Core Formation Stage. A few days, perhaps? What she needs is to amass more spiritual energy to form the spirit ocean within her dantian. And the quickest shortcut to that was the Anchor. The combat experience and the reward of absorbing a sliver of the foreign energy within every enemy she could kill could greatly speed up her cultivation.

"Oh, right, Boss. Everyone is going crazy for the new stuff. Many were already asking when we would stock up on the products introduced by the divine beings. Some old fogeys are not patient enough to only use Goddess Xingxing’s polishing method."

Lin Mo chuckled. "Impatience is the mother of all convenient purchases, Xiaoyu. It’s good for business."

He had expected this. Xingxing had provided the long but free spiritual path. Danzhu had dangled the fast but paid-for material shortcut. It was a perfect one-two punch of marketing genius.

However, it had also created a supply chain crisis that would be difficult to solve in a short time. The Pantheon might be divine, but even their production had limits. He couldn’t just wait for a delivery. Furthermore, they’d rather refine the products themselves than sell raw ingredients.

Just as he was contemplating this, Wu Meiyu approached, a jade slip in her hand and a look of analytical curiosity on her face. "Shopkeeper, the new [Divine Barter & Appraisal Terminal] has been... exceptionally busy for the past hour. I’ve compiled a summary."

She handed him the slip. "Dozens of alchemists and artificers are attempting to barter their entire life’s savings for rare herbs and refined metals. Not for Store Credits, but specifically for [Sun-Kissed Clover] and [Flowing Quicksilver], the two key ingredients Sage Danzhu demonstrated. They are desperate to begin their own research. The demand for them is immediate and explosive."

"They’re trying to get a head start," Lin Mo mused, his mind connecting the dots. "They want to be the first to crack the formulas. To create their own versions and improve their skills. That was great. Our store may be able to provide everything one needs but we don’t have an inexhaustible supply of everything."

He looked from Xiaoyu’s energetic excitement to Meiyu’s calm, strategic assessment. He had his trustworthy Assistant and his Chief Operations Officer.

Enticing a customer and pitching a product to them was already a thing of the past for him. What he needed to do was to manage everything and see to it that the Divine Convenience Store would be able to meet its patrons’ expectations.

"Let’s see. We can’t meet this demand through direct supply," Lin Mo stated, his voice taking on the decisive tone of a CEO laying out a new corporate strategy. "Even if the Pantheon tripled its output of raw ingredients to be sold, it would be a drop in the ocean. And honestly, it doesn’t fit the theme of our store to sell them. We’re not a supermarket."

The two women nodded. They also understood what he meant. Despite the variety of products, what the Divine Convenience Store was truly selling was finished products. One that could be conveniently used right away by their customers. They even sell packaged meals made from rare ingredients that only need to be heated! Raw materials are something that should be supplied by other merchants around the realm. And taking the herbs and rare materials that the patrons were using to barter could only be exchanged for Store Credits.

"If this continues, it will make the entire region dependent on a single source. That is not a stable or convenient ecosystem. It creates a single point of failure." He continued.

"So... what do we do, Boss?" Xiaoyu asked, tilting her head. "Tell them to wait?"

"No. We don’t tell them to wait," Lin Mo said as a sharp, ambitious grin spread across his face. He already had an idea. Didn’t he have a useful tool to use?

"Sage Danzhu taught them how to fish. Now, I’m going to build them a fishing fleet and an entire seafood processing industry."

Wu Meiyu’s eyes lit up with understanding. "I see. You’re not going to be the sole supply source but create a platform for trade. With our store as the intermediary, we can set standards of the marketplace to ensure everyone benefits from it."

"Great catch, Your Highness," Lin Mo confirmed with a touch of praise.

Wu Meiyu flushed red as she smiled and bowed in satisfaction. Liu Xiaoyu, on the other hand, pouted. Most likely envious that she didn’t manage to pick up his intentions right away.

With that, Lin Mo pulled up the Divine System Interface.

"We have a network of thousands of eager patrons. We have the ’Pioneer’s Initiative’ to find resource nodes, and the ’Mercenary’s Guild’ to commission skilled labor. See? Don’t we have all the pieces? Let us conveniently use it again and assemble another useful feature of our Bulletin Board."

His fingers flew across the holographic interface, drafting another realm-shaking announcement.

[Announcement: Introducing the ’Harvester’s Guild’ and the ’Professional’s Foundry’!]

"To all patrons of the Divine Convenience Store: The path of creation requires not just knowledge, but a steady supply of materials and a market for your craft. To facilitate this new era of innovation, we are officially launching two interconnected guilds!"

The Harvester’s Guild:

- Objective: To create a dynamic, player-driven marketplace for raw materials.

- Details: A new, dedicated section of the Bulletin Board where any patron can post a ’Harvest Commission’ for specific spiritual herbs, minerals, beast parts, or any other raw material. Registered ’Harvester Teams’ (mercenaries, rogue cultivators, or sect disciples) can accept these commissions. Payment can be offered in Spirit Stones, Dimension Essence, or through the Barter System.

- Store Integration: All harvested materials can be verified for quality and authenticity at the [Divine Barter & Appraisal Terminal]. The store will take a 2% service fee on all completed and verified commissions, ensuring a secure and reliable trade environment.

The Professional’s Foundry:

- Objective: To create a platform for professional artisans to offer their services and sell their creations.

- Details: This section will serve two functions. First, a ’Services’ board where Alchemists, Artificers, Talisman Masters, and other professionals can register their skills and be commissioned for specific tasks (for example: ’Refine 100 stalks of Sun-Kissed Clover’, ’Craft a set of spirit-grade armor’). Second, a ’Marketplace’ linked directly to the [Local Artisans’ Showcase] shelf. Professionals can submit their own finished products (pills, talismans, etc.) to be appraised and sold both on the shelf and through a new digital storefront on the Bulletin Board.

- Store Integration: The store will take a 5% commission on all product sales and a 2% fee on all service commissions. This provides a safe, centralized platform for artisans to reach a realm-wide customer base.

"These two guilds, working in tandem with the Mercenary’s Guild and the Realm Guardian Leaderboard, form a complete, self-sustaining ecosystem of convenience. From exploration and harvesting to production and protection, the power is now in your hands. Happy innovating, patrons."

Lin Mo read it twice over and let Xiaoyu and Meiyu also review it. Back when the professionals like Pill Master Ying and Grandmaster stormed the store for threatening their livelihood, he offered them a way to sell their products to the store in exchange for Store Credits. That way, even if their skills couldn’t produce the quality of store products, they wouldn’t be backed in a corner with no cultivators buying or hiring them.

Now, he’s going to revitalize the somewhat stagnant development of the professionals by introducing this platform. Clearly, after listening to the Divine Lecture, they’d also be able to make some breakthroughs from their bottlenecks and quickly improve.

"Alright. Since you two have no complaints about it. Let’s do it." Lin Mo said.

He hit ’post’. The effect was, if possible, even more explosive than the Leaderboard announcement. The ’Community’ tab became a blur of frantic, ecstatic messages.

[AlchemistGuildLeader: HE’S DONE IT! THE MADMAN ACTUALLY DID IT! A DEDICATED RAW MATERIALS MARKETPLACE AND A DIGITAL STOREFRONT! MY GUILD IS SAVED! I LOVE YOU, SHOPKEEPER! ALL HAIL CONVENIENCE SAINT!]

[SwampExplorer: So I can get paid to go pick rare mushrooms? And I can see exactly who needs what? My time has come!]

[BlueRibbonMerchant: This... this disrupts everything. He’s not just a retailer anymore. He’s the entire supply chain. The Golden Carp Guild Master must be having a qi deviation right now.]

[GoldenInvestor: Qi deviation? Hmph! We from Golden Carp will become one of the best partners of the Shopkeeper’s new platform!]

[SkepticalCatHunter: So, let me get this straight. He created a problem (massive demand), then sold the solution to the problem (the new guilds), and is now taking a cut from every transaction that happens within the solution. Shopkeeper, I kneel to you. Take me as your apprentice! No. Hire me in your store! I can’t find cats to hunt anymore!]

Lin Mo watched the pandemonium with a satisfied smile. The platform has been built. Now, all he had to do was maintain and watch over it.