Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 155 – Cat Dad Visits Taotie Again

Xiaomao laughed at Halal for buying this sinister spell. He wondered what kind of character he was building after getting Shaman Fireball and Rabid Poison.

While thinking of Halal, Xiaomao didn't forget about his preparation and goals. He began allocating free attributes to his stats and learned more new spells.

DING

<Your STR has increased to 700!>

<Your DEX has increased to 700!>

<Your AGI has increased to 700!>

<Your VIT has increased to 999!>

<Your WIS has increased to 1,000!>

<Your Lightning Spiritual Root has increased to 3,293!>

DING

<You have learned a new spell, Lightning Nova!>

<You have learned a new spell, Ice Lance!>

<You have learned a new spell, Let It Go!>

<You have learned a new spell, Blade Hurricane!>

Xiaomao snorted and gazed at this status menu, admiring his new stats and attributes. His combat stats didn't increase that much, but he had enough basic defense to survive.

DING

<The dungeon discovery's status bonus has expired.>

"Crap! I miscalculated the time, munya!"

This was what Xiaomao was afraid of. This buff had been protecting him for several days. And now, Xiaomao lost the 50% raw stats bonus.

.

<strong>Combat Stats</strong>

ATK: 1,641

DEF: 790

M.ATK: 4,840

M.DEF: 891

HP: 46,046

MP: 48,056

Life Qi: 29,059

.

The stats went down a bit, but Xiaomao was relieved that his true abilities didn't degrade much. With 46k HP, he wouldn't get one-shotted by a random mob or boss easily.

But Xiaomao didn't lose heart. He activated his upgraded add-on skill for the first time.

<strong>Essence of Life!</strong>

DING

<You have consumed 45,586 HP to Essence of Life! Your Max HP has increased by 455!>

<You have consumed 48,056 MP to Essence of Life! Your Max MP has increased by 480!>

<You have consumed 29,059 Life Qi to Essence of Life! Your Dark Element Spiritual Root has increased by 29!>

.

<strong>Essence of Life (Mastery 100%)</strong>

In ancient times, cultivators collected Life Qi and condensed them into Life Essence to extend their lifespan. However, people of this world have already forgotten about the techniques. Even the current cultivators in society are a lot weaker than cultivators in the past.

Essence of Life is one of a billion methods to enhance one's body with Qi. By consuming Qi, you can increase your permanent status attributes and spiritual roots.

<strong>Skill Type:</strong> Active, Qi Conversion

<strong>Rarity:</strong> Legendary++

<strong>Cost:</strong> 99% HP, All MP, All Life Qi

<strong>Cooldown: 2</strong>4 Hours

<strong>Effects:</strong>

- Convert Life Qi into random status points or spiritual roots. Conversion Ratio: 1,000 Life Qi to One Attribute or One Spiritual Root.

- Consume all mana to increase your max mana. Conversion Ratio: 100 MP to 1 Max MP.

- Consume 99% of your HP to increase your max health points. Conversion Ratio: 100 HP to 1 Max HP.

- For every 1,000,000 Life Qi you spent by using this skill, increase the player's level by one and permanently increase all status and spiritual roots by 10. Create an empty Essence Core Crystal. (Total Spent: 29,059)

.

It was unfortunate that Xiaomao didn't get to use the skill before the buff expired. Still, the gain was good enough.

Xiaomao drank potions and ate some cat food. He purchased supplies from the market and turned to Lucky, Peter, and John. Then, he purchased multiple packages of raw and cooked monster meat.

"We're done here, munya! You guys go back to the ship first. I have something else to do, munya!"

.

After clearing his inventory, Xiaomao was ready for another dungeon raid. He turned invisible and rode a flying sword toward the church.

During the nighttime, the church's atmosphere was creepy and spooky. In front of the church, NPCs avoided the road and took a detour instead of traveling too close to the church's street.

Xiaomao got to the front of the church. He looked around and observed the reactions of NPCs, wondering if the scandal had been spread.

Seeing that the NPCs avoided the church, Xiaomao opened the notification window and scanned through the log file, searching for the global notification that he missed.

Sure enough, there was a global notification when Xiaomao was away.

<Global News! Pangu Church is rumored to host a suspicious activity underground. The priests denied the claim and dismissed it as fake news.>

<Global News! Emperor of the Yuan Empire, Yuan Shaoqing, has ceased all support for Pangu Church.>

The news notifications were subtle. If players didn't pay attention, they wouldn't have realized that something huge was brewing.

Not wasting time, Xiaomao rushed to the front door of the church, trying to sneak in.

Unfortunately, the door was locked from the inside.

'Figured. Well, if I can't enter through the front door, there are plenty of glass windows.'

Xiaomao flew higher. Since he had scouted the perimeter before, he knew where he could sneak in.

The easiest way in was through the back garden, where the old Taotie was!

Xiaomao rechecked his inventory to see the item that he had bought for this situation. 50 packages of raw and cooked sea monster meat occupied two of his inventory slots.

Although the plan was risky, Xiaomao decided to push forward. He flew toward the open garden area.

As Xiaomao had expected, a large creature was resting there in the middle of the burnt garden. He even saw militated corpses of humans, empty plates, and broken weapons around.

'Did someone pick a fight with him? What a bunch of idiots.'

"Nah, they're not stupid. I was just too hungry that I forgot to differentiate between fast food and my food. I ended up turning them into dead food, though."

"!!!"

Taotie suddenly talked as if he could read Xiaomao's mind. The latter gulped and revealed himself to show respect to the creature.

The sealed monster looked up and smirked at the catopus on the flying sword.

"I assume you're visiting me for a good reason."

Xiaomao nodded, "Before I get to business, are you still hungry, munya?"

"I'm always hungry. None of those fools understand my words. Well, you're a sea folk. Do you have proper seafood for me?"

"I have sea monster meat, though. Would you like it raw or cooked, munya?"

"Both! Give it here!"

"Okay, but please don't eat me, munya."

"Depends on the quality of the food," Taotie smirked.

"…"

Although afraid, Xiaomao put all raw meat and cooked meat in front of Taotie. He even added raw fish that he had been keeping for emergency use to the plate.

Taotie widened his eyes and stared at the food, salivating and licking his mouth.

"More!"

"…"

Xiaomao bitterly smiled. He brought out all the canned fish and opened the lids. Then, he glanced at Taotie.

The old monster repeatedly nodded, "Pour them together on another plate!"

The cat was on the verge of crying. He opened all 5,000 cans that he had been keeping at the bottom of his premium inventory and emptied them onto another empty plate on the ground, piling them into a wet mountain.

Taotie laughed in satisfaction. He opened his mouth and shot out his long tongue, sweeping 90% of the cat food into his mouth. He chewed and puffed his cheeks in glee.

"Das wut I col QUALITY!"

Eating while talking was a bad manner, but Xiaomao didn't dare to scold the old monster. He brought out a package of dried cat food and showed it to Taotie.

"Will you eat this too, munya?"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE SHOWN IT TO ME EARLIER! MIX IT WITH THE WET ONE!"

"…"

Xiaomao frowned. Now, he doubted if the dog-like Taotie was a cat instead as he pursued cat food and fish.

"I'm a deity. Don't compare me to dogs and cats, mind you!"

Again, Taotie read Xiaomao's mind and laughed at him. The cat shrunk back and brought out all the cat food that he had in his inventory.

.

It took Taotie 10 minutes to eat five tons' worth of food. Xiaomao was forced to go back and fetch the old monster more cat food, fish, and raw meat from the local market.

Taotie was satisfied. He patted his bloated belly and lay on his back.

"That hits the spot! Well, that only fills half of my stomach. I want to eat more, but I might be troubling you too much."

The monster grinned and shot out his tongue. He licked Xiaomao's face and tentacles once.

"Hmm. Next time, bring me octopuses or squids."

Xiaomao sweated profusely. Just now, Taotie just tasted him.

Still, he mustered his courage and asked the monster of calamity, "I wish to ask you for a favor, munya. Could you listen to me?"