Tian Lu turned his body and pointed at the door beside him. “Store.”
The girl’s eyes followed his finger.
Her face twitched. “…”
“That’s an outhouse, mister.”
A very old one.
Crooked tin roof. Slight burn marks still clinging to the sides like battle scars.
But weirdly clean.
No rotting stench.
No mysterious puddles leaking from underneath.
Compared to the miserable outhouses nearby that looked as if they had personally offended the heavens, this one seemed… almost well-kept.
Still spooky, though.
’I’ve walked past this spot before. I’m sure this building was just an outhouse.’
’A cursed one, if anything.’
Not something that sold snacks.
She narrowed her eyes at Tian Lu.
“No one’s going to believe that’s a store, mister.”
“Store.” Tian Lu replied, giving the door beside him a gentle tap with the back of his knuckles.
Thunk!
It made a dull sound, almost seeming that the building itself disagreed.
Her frown deepened.
She stared at the bag of chips again. “Is that some super rare snack from another region?”
Tian Lu didn’t answer.
So she tried again.
“You got more? I’ll buy it.”
She hesitated, then added quickly. “I’m not rich or anything. But our expedition went okay.”
“Little Liz caught some beasts. We sold a few cores and materials. I’ve got money.”
The lizard huffed, tail thumping proudly.
She looked back at Tian Lu.
“You don’t have to lie if you don’t want to sell. Just say so.”
Tian Lu blinked. He turned toward the outhouse again.
Tian Lu blinked.
He turned toward the outhouse again and pulled the creaky wooden door open.
Inside was pure darkness.
No light. No glimmer. No trace of the morning sun spilling in.
Just a gaping black void.
“…”
The girl couldn’t see a thing.
It was morning. There should be some light creeping in.
But there was none. Not even dust particles floating through stray beams.
It was like staring into the mouth of a deep, endless cave.
She tried using her spiritual sense.
Still nothing.
It was the same pitch black.
Just a void.
’What?’ she thought, puzzled.
Was this really an outhouse?
Or was it a secret realm in disguise?
That was the only explanation that made sense.
Maybe there was some kind of illusion formation inside, hiding the truth until you entered.
Even her lizard had frozen.
Its tail stopped swishing.
It leaned forward slightly, nose twitching as if trying to smell the truth from the shadows.
’Should we really go in?’
This might be dangerous.
Or worse, a trap.
But before she could make a decision –
Little Liz stomped forward without hesitation.
Its head held high like it was marching into war.
“Hey – !” she shouted, reaching out too late.
It had already disappeared into the darkness.
She slapped her forehead and side-eyed Tian Lu suspiciously.
“If something happens in there, and it’s your fault, I’m feeding you to Little Liz.” she warned.
“My name’s Yushou Ya’er, remember that.”
She paused and lifted her chin. “And don’t treat me like some brat, alright?”
“I might be young-looking, but I’ve lived long enough to be your grandmother, junior.”
With that, Yushou Ya’er stepped forward and vanished into the dark.
The wooden door shifted behind her. No one touching it. No wind. Nothing near it.
Clack.
It shut itself smoothly.
“Convenient,” Tian Lu commented, going back to eating his Original Salted Potato Chips.
Inside, the light hit her eyes immediately.
Yushou Ya’er spotted her Little Lizard standing right in front of her.
“You stu – !”
She raised her hand, ready to give her spirit beast a light smack on the head.
But then she paused. “…”
Wait.
Why was it so bright in here?
And… why did it smell so good?
She blinked quickly, then looked around in confusion. No outhouse in the Molten Ashlands had ever looked like this.
The air felt cool against her skin. It was clean. Very clean.
Too clean.
Ahead, she saw four cultivators seated by the wall, all with their eyes closed, clearly cultivating.
But one of them was holding a strange-looking cup. Another girl next to him had one too.
Her eyes narrowed.
Was this the store?
Yushou Ya’er turned slowly, eyes scanning the shelves.
There weren’t that many different kinds of products, but everything was lined up so perfectly that it looked nice to look at.
Full stacks. Bright colors. Even the labels looked fancy.
A small scowl tugged at her lips as she spotted someone else at a nearby chair.
Her eyes widened.
Crazy Old Tiger Zhao?
That weird fossil?
What in the rotten heavens was that crackhead doing here?
And why was he eating the same chips the guy outside had?
She was about to walk over when –
“Welcome.”
A casual voice came from behind the counter.
Her gaze shifted. A young man stood there lazily, leaning against the side.
’Storekeeper?’ Yushou Ya’er guessed.
She gave Hao a short nod, then turned to Little Liz and flicked its nose lightly.
“Behave.” she muttered.
The lizard grumbled low but didn’t resist.
She made her way toward the aisle with the bags of chips.
Her spiritual sense worked fine in this place. But the cultivators here…
They were stronger than her. She couldn’t even get a good read on their realms.
Except the storekeeper.
He was a few stages below her, but the qi around him… It was too pure.
Too stable.It didn’t make sense.
Still, her focus returned to the shelf before her.
There they were. The mysterious snack.
Original Salted Potato Chips!
So the guy outside wasn’t lying after all.
Behind the counter, Hao squinted.
He wasn’t focused at the girl.
What caught his eye was the crocodile-looking creature that had cutely stomped in behind her.
Thick limbs. Wide mouth. Tail like a battering ram.
It even had weirdly expressive eyebrows.
The beast looked around the store once, then snorted as if it was judging the ceiling.
’System… is that thing allowed here?”
[As long as they are not causing any trouble, Host. Any being is allowed in the store – even if they breathe fire, eat metal, talk in ancient beast-tongue, or have seventeen heads. The Dimensional Convenience Store does not discriminate.]
Hao gave a slow nod. His eyes flicked back to the Yushou Ya’er.
She didn’t look much older than Little Xixi.
Maybe a year or two.
Definitely younger than Yue Xueyan and Hua Feixue.
And yeah. Her drip screamed ’Scorching Soul City.’
And a beast tamer too?
His eyes lit up. So they had beast tamers here!
This changed things.
A lizard-tank as a pet? That was kinda badass!