God of Pets

Confirming there was no problem, Chen Guan took the Vermilion Fruit over.

The Vermilion Fruit seemed unremarkable, covered with bloody stains, but through the gaps in the spots, faint traces of a crystalline crimson color could be seen.

Chen Guan put away the Vermilion Fruit, ready to leave here.

Whether to go to Peony Mountain or not was uncertain, but he had taken the benefit anyway.

As for the Celestial Immortal Peony, he'd inquire about it first when he got back. Peony Mountain supposedly shouldn't have any danger, but if it were so easy, why didn't the Holy Horned White Deer go itself?

Killing three World-Defying Secret Spirits and getting so many good things, Chen Guan was actually satisfied.

Selling these items would be enough for him to ascend to the Second Awakening. Next, he planned to find a place to diligently cultivate, to upgrade both himself and his pet to Level 10 and then study the Second Awakening.

"Won't you try eating it now?" The voice of the Holy Horned White Deer suddenly sounded, with a peculiar tone.

The trio turned to look and saw the Holy Horned White Deer squinting, seemingly smiling as it looked at them.

"Is there some trick with this Vermilion Fruit?" An Yiqi felt something was not right, and besides, the Holy Horned White Deer gave it too casually.

Chen Guan also felt something was off, but couldn't pinpoint the issue. From the looks of the one in his hand, it should be the Red Blood Vermilion Fruit described in textbooks.

"Do we still need to try? Is there a problem?" Unable to see any issues himself, Chen Guan questioned the Holy Horned White Deer back.

"Try eating it, maybe there will be an unexpected surprise," the Holy Horned White Deer smiled with narrowed eyes.

"What kind of surprise?" Chen Guan asked as he stared at it.

If the Holy Horned White Deer hadn't said this, Chen Guan might have really tried eating it. Now, he absolutely did not dare to eat it.

The Holy Horned White Deer seemed to see through Chen Guan's thoughts, its eyes turned into slits: "If you dare not eat it yourself, let your pet try, then you'll know what the surprise is."

Chen Guan frowned at the Holy Horned White Deer, its ambiguous words turned something very simple into something very complicated.

No one knew if there was indeed an issue with the Vermilion Fruit. Eating or not eating it had become a dilemma, and so had deciding who should eat it.

If he ate it himself or gave it to his powerful pet and something went wrong, it would be hard to accept. Giving it to an ordinary pet might waste such a peerless treasure if there was no problem, falling victim to the deer's trick.

But selling it seemed like it would be a waste if the Vermilion Fruit did have some special quality.

Clearly getting the Vermilion Fruit, but now he was tangled up.

"This Holy Horned White Deer is truly a genius, its mind games are no worse than those of politicians." Chen Guan, however, did not overly agonize, putting away the Vermilion Fruit and turning to leave.

"Remember, if you want the Vermilion Fruit, exchange it for a Celestial Immortal Peony." The Holy Horned Deer's voice was not anxious at all, subtly revealing confidence, as if sure Chen Guan would return to trade for the Vermilion Fruit.

After Chen Guan and the others walked far away, the Holy Horned White Deer murmured to itself, "We will meet again."

Chen Guan and the others directly returned with their spoils, and before leaving the Secret Realm, Chen Guan had the gate team go out and rent a container truck to transport their spoils.

The Ghost-Eyed Python was too conspicuous, and the stuff inside was too valuable; Chen Guan didn't want any accidents, so he rented a transport truck to bring them back, avoiding attracting undue attention.

Fortunately, this area was all Celestial Court Army territory, close to the Reserve Team, so there were no issues on the way.

Bu Changning now drags his broken leg every day, waiting outside the Reserve Team's gate for Chen Guan and the others to return.

Before the task deadline expired, many people speculated whether Chen Guan and the others could complete their golden mission and if they could finish several tasks.

However, as the month passed and the task time expired, everyone knew Chen Guan and the others failed and would have a hard time continuing in the Reserve Team.

Their points turned negative, losing even the qualification to stay.

"Team 17 is finished!" Even before the mission expired, other members of Team 17 kept tabs on outside developments. Although they hadn't joined Chen Guan on the mission, they still hoped they could complete it.

After all, they were still members of Team 17; if Chen Guan and the others failed the mission, their points would also turn negative.

But if Chen Guan and the others completed the golden mission, even finishing two tasks would suffice for them to continue in the Reserve Team.

As time passed, their hopes turned to disappointment, then to despair, knowing they couldn't stay in the Reserve Team and started planning their next steps.

It wasn't that they wanted to leave, but with negative points, they couldn't receive benefits, making Second Awakening impossible before their two-year term ended. Staying meant inevitable expulsion later.

Instead of being kicked out disgracefully, it was better to leave voluntarily now.

The only one in Team 17 who wished Chen Guan and the others failed was Bu Changning.

After completely falling out with Chen Guan, Bu Changning sought Xiu Haofeng hoping to transfer to Team One and to have Xiu Haofeng restore his broken leg as promised.

But Xiu Haofeng kept delaying, and often Bu Changning couldn't even get a meeting with him when he tried.

Yet Xiu Haofeng neither refused treatment nor denied the transfer, just asked Bu Changning to wait.

Before the task deadline, Bu Changning went again to find Xiu Haofeng, forcing his way into Team One's office, demanding an immediate transfer; otherwise, when the task time ended, he would be settled with negative points, which couldn't be erased wherever he went.

Ultimately, Bu Changning couldn't transfer to Team One. Xiu Haofeng told him: "I asked you to return to Chen Guan to gather information, but you made such a mess of things. Now your reputation is what it is, how can I transfer you to Team One? Bringing you over would ruin Team One and my reputation."

Bu Changning was utterly desperate, even contemplating fighting Xiu Haofeng, but a single sentence from Xiu Haofeng made him back down again.

Xiu Haofeng merely told Bu Changning that he had already asked the Divine Doctor Lin to buy the Limb Regeneration Ointment and he should wait a little longer until the ointment arrived to restore his broken leg.

Xiu Haofeng also promised that although he couldn't transfer Bu Changning to Team One, since Bu Changning had contributed to the matter, if Bu Changning couldn't join the regular army, he would arrange a good job for him in the Ancestral Court's administrative department.

Bu Changning knew Xiu Haofeng's promises were unreliable, but he didn't want to die nor live dragging a broken leg, so he had no choice but to swallow his grievances and forcibly believe in Xiu Haofeng.

In Bu Changning's current situation with little hope, he only wished for more misery for Chen Guan and the others, hoping they perished during the mission or, even worse, ended up losing limbs and suffering more than he did.