The entire pool was exceptionally quiet, so quiet that only his own breathing could be heard.

Xu Qian looked at the black pool in front of him, switched back to his myriad-colored disguise, put on the Spring Mud suit, took a Flying Fish Pill, and jumped in.

As soon as he entered the water, damage values ​​kept popping up on his body. They weren't too high, around a thousand per jump, which was roughly the same as the healing amount from holding the needle.

But as he went deeper, the damage had increased to 3,000 per tick, forcing him to stop and heal himself.

Thus, it took Xu Qian twice as long as last time to sink to the bottom of the pool.

'What's that?' Xu Qian vaguely saw something silvery and shiny. He swam a few steps forward and realized it was an old-fashioned flashlight. However, he didn't know how long it had been soaking in the water, as it was covered with seaweed. If he hadn't been so sharp-eyed, he might not have been able to see it at all.

Xu Qian casually put the flashlight into his bag and continued looking around.

He hadn't paid much attention when he came down last time, but now he saw that there were several cracks extending from the center of the pool to the surrounding area. From a cultivation perspective, the central area of ​​the pool is a perfect square, making it the best place for meditation. But strangely, this area had been deliberately damaged.

Xu Qian approached again. Judging from the depth and the scratches, only a weapon of at least the second rank or higher could have done this. In his time, second-rank weapons were not easy to obtain. In other words, the person who could leave this mark was no ordinary person.

-Knowledge9888

Xu Qian knew he couldn't stay there any longer, so he quickly swam to the water cave he had visited before and found the box where he had returned the jade bead last time among a pile of black boxes.

'There's still hope...'

Xu Qian was very unsure of himself; he hadn't even managed to snatch the boxes from the three men before they were sent back to their camp.

He successfully opened the hidden compartment inside the black box, and there lay Huanzhuyu. Xu Qian breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, thankfully the group of people hadn't noticed it.

With less than half a minute left before the Flying Fish Ball event ended, Xu Qian's critical hit damage had already exceeded 10,000. Comparing returning to the camp with swimming up and then using his teleportation ability, Xu Qian decisively chose the former.

But just as he was about to give up struggling, he remembered the monster outside and, after thinking about it, pulled a needle to lift himself up.

"call--"

After climbing ashore, Xu Qian fully healed himself, switched back to his Ming Cult persona, and returned to the place where he had trapped the monster.

He stopped abruptly as he was about to go in, because he smelled a very strong stench of blood and heard smacking sounds of chewing.

He activated his invisibility and slowly walked in, but what he saw was not what he expected—the monster was eating itself.

It had eaten almost half of its body, and blackish-red blood spread throughout the stone chamber.

Xu Qian subconsciously touched his arm, which was already covered in goosebumps. This scene reminded him of one of the Ten Great Monsters—the Strangler, a monster that would even eat itself when it got angry.

If the appearance of the entanglement was not accidental, Xu Qian could roughly guess the owner of this abandoned mansion—Master Wangchen.

Xu Qian remembered him mainly because he often heard his master lament about him. Master Wangchen was of the same generation as his master and was one of the top sword cultivators in the Nine Provinces at that time. He was the one who tamed the monster "Jiao". However, such a prodigy suddenly disappeared mysteriously in the mist of the Yellow Springs and never appeared again.

"Sizzle—"

Xu Qian snapped out of his daze and quickly loosened the Immortal-Catching Net. If he continued to be tied up like this, he would really be eaten alive. After all, he was one of the top ten monsters.

The moment the restraints were released, the grappling hook suddenly stopped, shaking its head, looking somewhat bewildered.

Xu Qian dared not relax. He moved his light to Jiao's back and placed a soul lock on it. Just like that, Jiao, who had been eating him and was covered in wounds, suddenly became 'docile'.

But then a problem arose. The current creature, the 'Jiao,' was a walking hot potato. Xu Qian didn't want to kill it, but he couldn't just leave it alone. What if it escaped with its destructive power?

Just as Xu Qian was in a state of great distress, the body that he had devoured was gradually recovering. If he didn't make a decision soon, that killing god would return!

What to do! What to do! What to do!

"Wait, this!" Xu Qian quickly cut into his multicolored vest and pulled out his Snow Phoenix Ice King Flute from his backpack.

It originated from Kunlun Mountain, and this Snow Phoenix Ice King Flute was made from the Green Spirit Bamboo from the Kunlun Mountain's Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave. It should, probably, perhaps have some effect... right?

A long, drawn-out flute melody drifted from the stone chamber, much like springtime on Xiaoyao Peak, carrying a hint of chilly coolness, yet also the vibrant vitality of all things reviving.

During this flute music, Jiao seemed to calm down, and his breathing became regular.

Xu Qian was overjoyed and continued playing along with the melody until the flute music was repeated three times. Finally, the 'Jiao' in front of him changed from a red name to a yellow name, which meant that the other party would no longer attack him.

Putting away the Snow Phoenix Ice King Flute, Xu Qian cautiously looked at the creature in front of him. At this moment, he noticed that there was an interactive icon on the creature.

(unknown):……

Take it with you

Xu Qian paused for a moment; there was only one option.

He hesitated for a moment, but still chose to take it with him.

Soon, Xu Qian had a new pet named 'Unknown' in his backpack, 'Jiao', which became his pet.

...

Before dawn, Xu Qian delivered the Jade Pearl to Yan Shou, who successfully used it to save several people in the hospital. As for the black and gold mask that caused the trouble, Xu Qian temporarily entrusted it to Anda for safekeeping.

On the day the mission ended, Neil and Monk transferred the 300,000. It has to be said that the sound of the money arriving in the account was quite pleasant.

But what brought him even more joy than money was Director Fei's text message. After several days of consideration, the director approved his audition and sent him a formal contract.

"Ahhh—" Yan Lang was so excited he was practically disoriented, even more excited than his assistant.

"It's getting late, we still have to go to Sanjiang to record a program, let's go." Xu Qian said calmly.

"yes!"

...

At the same time, Qin You was blocked at the classroom door.

Pink, love letter, male.

Male!

Author's Note: I need to be more diligent...