Dugu Bo had his own epiphany.
Su Ming didn't know what he had realized, but since it happened during an attack, it was clearly related to his condition.
"Dugu Bo's mind is sharp. Maybe he thought of some treatment method through my fourth Spirit Ring?"
As an outsider, he couldn't figure out the answer, so he simply stopped thinking about it and focused on his own tasks.
Three days later.
Dugu Bo opened his eyes, a trace of disappointment flashing within them.
"It's not a vacant Spirit Ring slot on the soul level. It's the interface between the body and the soul."
Dugu Bo's mood had experienced quite the rollercoaster.
He had actually thought it would be that easy to perceive the gap corresponding to the soul part of his Martial Soul.
Seeing that Dugu Bo had ended his seclusion and was sighing, Su Ming took the opportunity to inquire.
"Sigh, you've seen it anyway, so this old man won't hide it from you."
Dugu Bo briefly explained everything to Su Ming, except for the specific timing and frequency of his attacks.
This failure hadn't completely defeated him.
The flaw in his Martial Soul had plagued him since childhood. He had tried countless times to solve this problem, and the number of failures was long beyond counting. This latest failure was just a small part of his myriad unsuccessful attempts.
After hearing Dugu Bo's thoughts, Su Ming's expression became strange.
An interface between the body and the soul?
That didn't sound right.
He urgently asked Electrolux from the Douluo 2 timeline a question: After the Soul Control Technique detaches the soul, can the soul body sense an interface between the body and the soul?
Then he received an answer.
"What interface? The soul and body correspond to each other. When the Soul Control Technique ends, the soul naturally returns to the body. If it's separated from the physical form for too long, blockages might occur. Without a clear third entity, like a Martial Soul, you can't see any 'opening'. Moreover, there must be a barrier between the Martial Soul and the soul – that is, an Evil Spirit Master – for there to be an 'opening'."
Su Ming looked at Dugu Bo.
"Why are you looking at this old man like that?" Dugu Bo asked, puzzled.
Su Ming's mind raced.
From Electrolux's answer, it wasn't hard to deduce that this Dugu Bo was very likely an Evil Spirit Master?
This revelation nearly short-circuited his brain.
Because it really didn't seem like it.
First, Dugu Bo didn't possess the peerless power within his level that Evil Spirit Masters were known for.
Second, Dugu Bo, or his entire family's, cultivation speed couldn't possibly compare to that of an Evil Spirit Master.
Despite these two reasons, Su Ming decided to ask anyway.
"Senior, can you devour anything to cultivate? For example, devouring poison to increase your Spirit Power?"
"This old man would have to be sick to devour poison for cultivation," Dugu Bo said, exasperated.
The drawback of his Martial Soul already made him feel the threat of death; why would he go and aggravate that drawback?
Was he looking for death?
At this, Su Ming was stunned.
It seemed, perhaps, maybe Dugu Bo really was an Evil Spirit Master?
Regarding cultivation speed, he had the bug but didn't dare use it.
As for his strength, perhaps it was a matter of the path he chose. The Dugu family used poison to be Control System Spirit Masters...
To verify his conjecture, Su Ming even tried to perceive Dugu Bo using the method for sensing faith. He looked above Dugu Bo's head and discovered that the old man had faith sizzling and pouring out from the top of his head.
Seriously, bro?
You really are an Evil Spirit Master?
"Your eyes are offending me," Dugu Bo said, his face darkening.
From his perspective, the way Su Ming was looking at him was as if he were looking at some kind of monster.
Not a scary monster, but a disabled monster.
"Senior, have you ever considered that you might be an Evil Spirit Master?" Su Ming asked cautiously.
Evil Spirit Master?
"This old man has killed countless people, but I've never heard anyone dare to slander me like that!"
The corner of Su Ming's mouth twitched.
But you are.
The faith was proof enough.
If Dugu Bo couldn't perceive faith, Su Ming would have pointed at his head and said, "You're leaking faith and you still won't admit it."
Dugu Bo wasn't particularly angry about Su Ming calling him an Evil Spirit Master.
What did it matter? He wasn't someone who cared about others' opinions.
Instead, this statement from Su Ming made him think that the youth might have analyzed some useful information.
"Speak. What have you analyzed?"
"Senior, you should be able to devour poison to increase your Spirit Power, right?" Su Ming asked again.
"Probably. This old man has never tried it."
Dugu Bo thought about it seriously and reluctantly acknowledged the point.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at Su Ming.
"That's it then. You are an Evil Spirit Master. It's just that you have too many principles and didn't walk the path of an Evil Spirit Master. Relying on your own willpower, you cultivated to your current level using normal methods."
Su Ming resisted saying the word 'coward'.
"Whatever you're saying had better be useful for this old man's current situation," Dugu Bo said, his face blackening.
In just a few sentences, he, the Poison Douluo, had been labeled an Evil Spirit Master.
"Evil Martial Souls all have flaws, but exploiting these flaws allows for rapid cultivation. Some can devour blood to increase Spirit Power, some just need to kill, some refine vengeful spirits. Senior, your flaw is poison. Your Martial Soul discharges poison into your body, but it can also rely on devouring poison to cultivate. If you utilize the poison-devouring aspect properly, your condition should be alleviated."
"Nonsense!" Dugu Bo said angrily. "If I recklessly devour poison to cultivate, the poison in my body might decrease, but the poison from my Martial Soul will intensify, creating a vicious cycle later on."
Su Ming shook his head.
"Senior, you've overlooked one factor."
"What factor?"
"The soul."
"The soul?"
Dugu Bo showed a thoughtful expression.
Unfortunately, he still didn't grasp Su Ming's meaning.
"Evil Spirit Masters are all mentally unstable because during their cultivation, various resentful thoughts rush into their souls along with the increase in Spirit Power, impacting their souls. But at the same time, this also makes their mental power stronger. Although it's chaotic, their mental power is genuinely somewhat stronger."
Dugu Bo's eyes snapped open.
He stared fixedly at Su Ming.
"This old man understands."
It wasn't related to the increase in mental power, but rather connected to his previous line of thinking.
"Devour poison, nourish the soul. My poison comes from Spirit Ring skills. So, if it nourishes the soul, perhaps it can compensate for the defect of my Spirit Rings lacking a soul part."
As for being corrupted?
Only foolish Evil Spirit Masters who relied solely on easy wins needed to worry about corruption.
By truly utilizing the Evil Spirit Master's cultivation method properly, such drawbacks could be resolved.
Conventional Evil Spirit Masters frantically increased their Spirit Power, cultivating evil mindlessly.
Evil Spirit Masters with brains would actively work to eliminate this flaw, such as restraining themselves to reduce the impact on their souls, or finding ways to cultivate their mental power.
Dugu Bo was fortunate to have a Head Spirit Bone.
His mental power had always kept pace with his Spirit Power, allowing him to barely suppress the poison and persist until becoming a Titled Douluo.
"This old man will trust you once, for now."
After considering it repeatedly, Dugu Bo decided to try once according to what Su Ming said.
"Right, use that soul detachment on me. The perception will be clearer that way."
Su Ming gave an OK gesture.
This request suited him perfectly.
There was a bit of a communication gap between him and Dugu Bo regarding the nature of the Evil Martial Soul's flaw. Dugu Bo didn't understand it, and Su Ming had struggled to explain it to him just moments ago.
If he detached his soul and let him see with his own eyes how the poison would surge out from the 'interface' he found, then they could logically align their understanding.
Dugu Bo prepared himself and began to devour the poison within his body.
Immediately, his body began to convulse again.
His body visibly became emaciated, his Qi and Blood began to wither, and he looked instantly drained.
Su Ming looked at Dugu Bo's current appearance and nodded.
Now this was an Evil Spirit Master!
***
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(Chapter End)