"My Second Martial Soul?"
Xing Tian himself had no idea why his Second Martial Soul had suddenly changed. After quickly sensing it, he dispelled the Second Martial Soul's possession state, and his body instantly returned to normal.
"Just now, it seemed like more than simply being possessed by my Second Martial Soul. It was some kind of special state of the Second Martial Soul."
Suddenly, Xing Tian realized that he had just advanced and absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, yet his Soul Power had been depleted so drastically. "Could this special state of my Second Martial Soul consume an unusual amount of Soul Power?"
Before Xing Tian could be certain, his eyes began to itch.
"I've completely absorbed the medicinal effects of Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and digested the Grudges of countless Soul Beasts. My spiritual power has undergone a qualitative transformation and can even take physical form. My eyes shouldn't be having problems."
"What's wrong, Xiao Tian?" Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan had already been through too many emotional ups and downs, but things hadn't gone as they'd hoped. They would have to weather another one after all.
Xing Tian began rubbing his eyes. The more he rubbed, the itchier they became, and the harder he pressed.
"What in the world is going on?" Xing Tian decided to go all out, channeling his vast spiritual power and Soul Power into his optic nerves.
In that instant, a layer of gray-white bone covered the area around Xing Tian's eyes, like a special pair of glasses. His violet eyes seemed to have been coated with a translucent gray protective layer.
The gray-white bone continued spreading downward. Two hollow openings appeared beneath each eye. The two closer to the bridge of his nose were almost as large as his eyes, while the other two were only the size of his pupils.
When the bone stopped growing, it looked like a mask covering the upper half of his face. Gray beads had grown inside all four openings.
Suddenly, Xing Tian felt as if something were about to burst out of his eye sockets.
He instinctively lowered the hand covering his eyes. The gray beads in the two larger openings split in half and opened and shut like eyelids, revealing a pair of eyes.
As all four eyes opened at once, a sinister, icy gray light surged forth and enveloped Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan.
Dugu Bo was all right. The cultivation and spiritual power of a Titled Douluo were enough to resist the gray light, but Dugu Yan was having a much harder time.
Dugu Yan couldn't make out anything in front of her. She only felt her whole body grow cold and rigid, completely beyond her control, while her spiritual power rapidly weakened. She became listless, as if deathly still.
Before things could get any worse, Xing Tian quickly reacted.
The violet hue of his Sea of Consciousness spread into his eyes. The surging gray light turned purplish gray, and all six eyes turned the same color. A few violet patterns also appeared on the bone mask.
The light quickly drew back and subsided. Dugu Yan could finally move again. She gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring from her body, her eyelids heavy.
But when she got a good look at Xing Tian, hearts appeared in her eyes, and she blurted out, "What a looker!"
It was no wonder Dugu Yan looked lovestruck. She'd even forgotten how awful she felt.
Xing Tian now looked like a cool, handsome man in a full-face mask, radiating a dangerous and mysterious charm that was also deeply captivating.
Dugu Bo, however, was more concerned with the mask on Xing Tian's face. He asked in astonishment, "Is that the Necrotic Demon Light of the Necrotic Spider King?"
"Death Attribute, in the usual sense, is the opposite of Life Attribute. It constantly erodes vitality, but doesn't directly affect spiritual power."
"Spiritual power is damaged only when someone faces death, or when the nervous system in the body is damaged."
"But the Necrotic Spider King's Necrotic Demon Light is different. It incorporates the Death Attribute into a spiritual attack. Rather than affecting the body, it attacks the Sea of Consciousness directly."
"It makes the target's spiritual power weaken rapidly, as if their life were slowly ebbing away. It inflicts spiritual damage while also leaving the target unable to control their body."
"And under the influence of the power of death, the target becomes listless, while their bodily injuries heal far more slowly."
Dugu Bo stared blankly at the bone mask on Xing Tian's face and stammered, "C-could this be... another... Ex-External Soul Bone?"
Xing Tian touched the bone mask on his face and grinned. "That's right. The Necrotic Spider King's six eyes, together with the bone armor on its face, turned into this External Soul Bone. I call it the Necrotic Demon Pupil."
"Just like Sister Yan's Eight Spider Lances, it hadn't fully fused with me yet. And since my spiritual power is so vast, I lost control for a moment and used the Necrotic Demon Light involuntarily."
"But my vast spiritual power had already undergone a qualitative change, and the Necrotic Demon Pupil happens to be an External Soul Bone focused on spiritual power. I've already brought it under control and fully fused with it. The change in color proves it."
Dugu Bo asked, "Your Necrotic Demon Pupil should have other abilities too, right?"
Xing Tian didn't hide anything. He nodded and replied, "My Necrotic Demon Pupil inherited the Necrotic Demon Spider's ability to devour souls through its eyes and break through bottlenecks. After fusing with me, it changed a little. Once a target's spiritual defenses are broken, I can devour their spiritual power directly."
"Also, while I'm using the Necrotic Demon Pupil, my spiritual power can become two hundred percent stronger, allowing me to see through all sorts of strange objects."
"When I focus my gaze completely on a target, I can see its weakest point and strike directly at its vital spot, breaking through anything—"
Dugu Yan didn't understand spiritual power, so she hadn't realized how serious this was. But Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, drew a sharp breath and said shakily, "So, with the Necrotic Demon Pupil's boost, your spiritual power has already reached—or might even surpassed—that of an ordinary Soul Douluo!"
"Surpassed a Soul Douluo!"
Dugu Yan covered her red lips in astonishment. "Doesn't that mean you could kill Soul Masters below Soul Saint level instantly with nothing but a simple spiritual attack?"
"Not quite," Dugu Bo added, "but you could certainly leave them exposed for long enough to land a killing blow."
"And with spiritual power at this level, the soul shocks of most Soul Beasts under thirty thousand years old probably couldn't affect him. From now on, he only needs to consider his physical strength when absorbing Soul Rings."
With that, Dugu Bo immediately put his hand on Xiao Tian's shoulder and examined him carefully, feeling a jolt of alarm. It's even worse than last time...
Four years ago, after Xing Tian had obtained his first Soul Ring, he'd said he could still absorb another one. Dugu Bo had mistakenly assumed that Xing Tian had an Innate Soul Power of level twenty.
Back then, Dugu Bo had examined Xing Tian's body and found it strangely contradictory: brimming with vitality, yet steeped in death. Now that feeling was dozens of times stronger than before.
Dugu Bo said, "His physical strength has already reached the Soul Emperor level. You can challenge a Soul Beast over forty thousand years old for your fourth Soul Ring. But if you still want to choose the Dark Spirit Sacred Beast, you'll have to lower your expectations. Finding one of exactly the right age will be very difficult."
Before you continue