Chapter 130: The Second Awakening

A hint of fanaticism suddenly flashed in Fu Yang’s eyes.

He splayed the fingers of his right hand, and a hideous, mysterious beast’s maw, radiating an aura of primeval chaos, emerged from his palm. Aiming it at the massive hand of black mist gripping his throat, he inhaled fiercely!

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

A gale seemed to whip up around Fu Yang, accompanied by faint, primal roars and the lingering scent of an ancient era.

Master Bear, leaning against the wall, stared at the scene in utter shock.

"Impressive, my boy! What kind of move is this, Fu? It looks super badass—I even... smell something familiar?"

He muttered the last few words softly, lost in thought as if falling into a memory.

"Ghost Dao: Desolate Devour!!!"

Fu Yang let out a deafening roar. Master Bear shuddered, looking at him in disbelief.

"It’s actually... the true inheritance of the Ghost Dao! The power of Desolate Devour!"

Who would have thought that this chubby cat demon was so knowledgeable about the Ghost Dao—even more so than Xie Daozi? He saw at a glance that this wasn't just some scattered, piecemeal technique or skill, but the genuine orthodoxy of the path.

He knew all too well that only those who possessed the "Desolate Devour" had the chance to cultivate the true Ghost Dao.

"It seems that everyone, not just me, has their secrets..."

Master Bear grew uncharacteristically serious, sighing as a glimmer of worldly weariness crossed his eyes.

Had Fu Yang heard this, he would have retorted disdainfully, "Secrets my foot! Wasn't it all just shoved onto me by the Queen? I’m just an average loser..."

However, the guy was currently locked in a life-or-death struggle with the Iron-Clad Dark Puppet.

Desolate Devour was indeed formidable. The puppet’s left arm, which had shifted from a solid form into a spectral state, was devoured by Fu Yang in the blink of an eye. The creature tried to react and pull away, but it was too late; Fu Yang was relentless, forcing the beast’s maw on his hand to accelerate its suction until the entire arm was consumed.

*Thump.*

Feeling his throat loosen, Fu Yang dropped to the ground and steadied himself on his feet.

"This Iron-Clad Dark Puppet has such immense power! I’ve only absorbed the spirit-form of one arm, yet it’s already far more potent than the energy I gained from nine Ghost-Nightmare level specters combined."

He was inwardly shaken, realizing just how terrifying this thing truly was.

Master Bear hopped up from the side, shouting, "Awesome, Fu! Keep it up, keep it up—kill this bastard! Isn't it supposed to be tough? Go ahead and smash its little nuts and see just how tough it really is!"

Fu Yang rolled his eyes.

"I can only deal with spectral entities. You need to find a way to bait this thing so its other parts shift from solid to spectral."

"Hell! Why don't you do it yourself?"

"This technique requires a long time to prepare; I can't keep it up while also trying to bait the puppet..."

"Are you trying to con your Grandpa? Do you think I don't know how the Desolate Devour of a Ghost Dao inheritor works?"

"Thirty catties of fresh catfish, it's a deal!"

"Forty catties..."

"Deal!"

Master Bear meowed and charged out, bolting at high speed toward the one-armed black corpse puppet.

Fu Yang panted heavily, feeling a searing heat throughout his body. It was as if flames were burning through his internal organs. The power absorbed by the "Desolate Devour" had saturated his body and soul, leaving him with an overwhelming sense of fullness—like a person who had eaten so much they could barely stomach another bite.

"No! I have to keep going. I must at least absorb both arms to strip it of its combat power as much as possible! Even if I can't eat anymore, I have to—a man has to be ruthless with himself!"

Fu Yang thought viciously, forcing himself to summon every ounce of his remaining focus.

Master Bear was indeed impressive. Using a barrage of unimaginably vulgar insults and lewd gestures, he successfully drew the corpse puppet’s full attention, leading it on a frantic chase between the inner and outer rooms of the cold storage.

Fu Yang waited on the sidelines, gathering his strength and watching the cat and the puppet with rapt attention. He didn't even notice that dense, spiderweb-like black lines had spread across his neck. They looked like bulging veins, or as if black insects were wriggling beneath his skin—a sight both eerie and horrific. Had there been a mirror, he would have been scared out of his wits.

"The sun is shining bright, the corpse puppet calls out to me. Grandpa says, screw, screw, screw, I'm gonna blast your chrysanthemum~"

Master Bear sang his improvised song while darting across walls, tables, and chairs. Surprisingly, it actually rhymed! He zipped behind the black corpse puppet and poked its rear with his sharp claws. While it did nothing, the insolence clearly sent the Iron-Clad Dark Puppet into a rage.

Finally, the monster reached its breaking point and once again utilized its ability to shift between solid and spectral forms. It reached its remaining left hand out toward Master Bear, who was dancing and wiggling his butt just a few meters away.

*Boom!*

With a soft sound, the long, slender arm, already covered in scales, dissolved into a surging mass of black mist. It transformed into a massive hand, over two meters in diameter—looking like a high-level supernatural technique—and lunged toward Master Bear.

"Now!"

Fu Yang, who had been watching the scene like a hawk, was overjoyed. He extended his hand directly toward the giant black-mist palm.

"Ghost Dao: Desolate Devour! Consume it for me!!!"

This time, the hideous beast’s maw in his palm was even more violent and roaring. It gave Fu Yang the illusion that the mouth was about to tear itself out of his palm, dragging the head of a monster out with it.

Of course, it was just an illusion.

As the mysterious maw on his palm inhaled, the "spectral hand" formed by the puppet's left arm was swallowed whole by Fu Yang.

In that moment, the powerful Iron-Clad Dark Puppet was left armless. It looked like a black "stick" with two legs, giving it a somewhat darkly comedic appearance.

"Well done, Fu! Haha! You dog-brained thing, how are you going to fight Grandpa now? With your feet?"

Master Bear roared with laughter, his chubby belly wobbling with every shake—he truly was a disgrace to the cat kingdom.

However, Fu Yang, who had just absorbed both arms of the puppet, was in a precarious state.

Just as he was about to express his triumph, his expression suddenly froze. His eyes filled with disbelief, and then his pupils dilated, becoming dull and hollow.

He collapsed to his knees, his throat emitting a terrifying, guttural rattling sound. At the same time, a shocking aura and pressure began to radiate from his body.

Master Bear froze, then gasped in utter astonishment.

"This... could this be a secondary awakening of the Ghost Dao?!"