God of Pets

The Ghost Eye Cave itself is at the bottom of a deep valley, and the cave itself descends downward, its interior intricate and complex, descending an unknown number of meters underground.

Outside the Ghost Eye Cave, Second Awakening cultivators stand guard; only after verifying their identity cards and mission information were the three allowed entry.

"Be cautious inside, the ghost-eyed serpents in the Ghost Eye Cave move silently and are also extremely venomous. If bitten, you must immediately inject the serum, or survival beyond the next hour and three quarters is unlikely," a guard warned them.

"Thank you for the warning, we will be careful," An Yiqi thanked.

"What's the point of being careful? Those things are unpredictably elusive, impossible to guard against. It's better to prepare some serum to save your life. This serum specifically counters ghost-eyed serpent venom and comes equipped with a high-tech storage box to ensure efficacy within three months. Buy two vials as a backup—better safe than sorry," the guard opened a box and pushed it in front of Chen Guan and the others. Inside were twenty-centimeter-long metal boxes, each containing a metallic syringe.

"How much per vial?" Chen Guan asked.

"Three hundred each," the guard held up three fingers.

"How long does the serum's antitoxin effect last?" Chen Guan continued to ask.

"No worries within a week; then the effect quickly fades but isn't entirely useless. It can persist slowly for a year or so without issue," the guard reluctantly said.

Most people think this stuff is just for detoxification, but in reality, its effects are lasting.

"I'll take four vials," Chen Guan handed over the money for four vials. The guard was indeed right that it's better to be prepared, spending a little money to save lives is well worth it.

"Alrighty," the guard was very pleased, handed over four metal boxes to Chen Guan, and was even happier after receiving the payment.

"Is there anything else good here?" Chen Guan asked again.

The guard paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You sure are easygoing. Other mission takers come, terrified of being scammed, but aren't you afraid I'll scam you?"

"We're going to be Celestial Court Army in the future, and we trust the reputation of Celestial Court Army soldiers," Chen Guan said sincerely.

The guard nodded and signaled to another guard at the side, who turned and went to the lounge, soon bringing out three pairs of glasses to hand to them.

"Glasses made from polished scales of the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python, only for rent not sale. One pair costs a hundred a day, pay for three days upfront. If you lose or break them, the compensation is ten thousand," the previous guard said.

Without hesitation, Chen Guan took out the payment, then asked, "What do they do?"

The guard was very satisfied, smiled and said, "With these on, you can see ghost-eyed serpents in the dark, no longer worry about sneak attacks. Plus, the scent of the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python's scales means those ghost-eyed serpents won't dare come too close. A hundred a day isn't too expensive, right?"

"Great stuff, not expensive at all," Chen Guan also smiled happily.

The scales of the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python are so valuable that when they slay the Ghost-Eyed Python, they'll take all the scales. There's no point in handing in the mission—they'll keep everything for themselves, so why bother about such small expenses?

"Since you're such a straightforward guy, I'll give you another tip," the guard was very pleased after receiving the money and said to Chen Guan, "You don't actually have to kill the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python to complete the mission."

"What do you mean?" the gate team asked, puzzled.

As he counted the money, the guard explained, "Though the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python is only a Level 10 Secret Spirit, its size is so immense and its power so incredible it's like comparing ants to blue whales; they're both ordinary creatures, but their strength differs by thousands if not millions of times. Secret Spirits are the same. Our human strength overall isn't much different; the higher the level the stronger. Level differences greatly affect strength, but some Secret Spirits have talent, especially these large ones, whose strength far surpasses human cultivators of the same level."

"Of course, the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python only excels in strength. In other aspects, it's just at the standard of a Level 10 Secret Spirit. Its physical defense and Primordial Energy are similar. But its terrifying strength is unrivaled within the First Awakening, even among Second and Third Awakening cultivators. Pure strength can't compare to it."

"Plus its scale hardness ranks among the best within First Awakening materials, and its flesh so thick, even if you have the Unparalleled Secret Treasure, killing it is extremely difficult, or nearly impossible."

"So how can we complete the mission?" An Yiqi asked.

"The mission requires you to bring back scales. It doesn't require you to kill the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python," the guard chuckled, "The Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python sheds its skin every few years. Just find its nest, take the shed skin back, and the scales on it will suffice to complete the mission."

The three received the news and entered the Ghost Eye Cave.

Putting on the glasses with the scale lenses, the lens was slightly grayish-purple, with a faint color, its texture extremely clear, like crystal polished flawlessly.

Once the glasses were on, the three found their vision wasn't greatly affected, nor did they notice any night vision functionality.

"Could we have been deceived?" Just as An Yiqi voiced this soul-searching question, he suddenly saw something glowing white-blue tucked beside the stone in the corner of the passage, particularly conspicuous in the dark. It turned out to be a bizarre serpent with a single eye—the ghost-eyed serpent.

He took the glasses off, but over there was pitch black nothingness. Putting them back on, he again saw the fluorescent ghost-eyed serpent.

"Team Lead Chen, good thing you bought the glasses and got the tips, otherwise we might have been doomed this time," An Yiqi's heart raced.

Without the glasses on, even using the headlamp to shine on the ghost-eyed serpent made it hard to make out.

Because the ghost-eyed serpent's color was very similar to the rock color inside, even looking closely took time to discern.

"Even if I didn't ask, he'd still tell us," Chen Guan said calmly.

"Why?" An Yiqi asked, puzzled.

"Haven't you realized yet? The task concerning the Emperor Vein Ghost-Eyed Python isn't really about killing it but taking its shed skin," Chen Guan explained.

"Ah! So that's why. Then why not clearly state the task is about taking the shed?" An Yiqi still couldn't understand.

"Because this task wasn't intended for outsiders to complete," Chen Guan laughed.

An Yiqi suddenly understood and couldn't help but curse, "So corrupt! Every gold-level task has a trap. Who knows for whom this task is reserved, and why haven't their own people come to complete it."

"Maybe it's not that simple. Their people must have already come but failed to complete it; something must've gone wrong, otherwise it wouldn't fall to us," Chen Guan gazed into the deep cave, secretly pondering what went wrong that prevented the previous team from completing the task.