Chapter 120: Poison Is It Truly So Limited?
"Hiss!"
Behind Dugu Bo, the spectral image of a massive emerald serpent gradually solidified, letting out a piercing screech. Then, its massive mouth opened wide, spewing forth a thick, dark green toxic mist directly toward Sun Zhongjing.
With a muffled boom, the venomous mist engulfed the area where Sun Zhongjing stood. The surrounding ground, touched by the mist, began to sizzle and corrode, plants withered instantly, and even the large boulder beneath him began to bubble as if melting.
The potency of this poison was evident.
"Let's see how you neutralize this!"
Dugu Bo smirked as he observed the destruction caused by his poison, satisfied with the results. But his smile soon froze.
The thick green mist covering the area suddenly began to contract, as if being drawn toward a central point. The area of contamination started shrinking rapidly.
In the end, all of the poisonous mist gathered into Sun Zhongjing's palm, condensing into a small, marble sized emerald green poison sphere.
Then, he did something utterly shocking.
"You… you !"
Dugu Bo watched in horrified disbelief as Sun Zhongjing casually placed the toxic orb into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
This scene left him completely speechless.
He knowingly swallowed poison?!
Dugu Bo was stunned. The very poison he prided himself on, his strongest and deadliest creation, had been consumed as if it were candy.
"This poison… is somewhat interesting."
After swallowing the toxic orb, Sun Zhongjing even took a moment to savor the taste, as if evaluating its quality.
"I've already experienced your poison."
"Now, it's time for you to witness mine."
Sun Zhongjing smiled at Dugu Bo, then picked up his erhu and prepared to play.
With a gentle pull of the bow across the strings
"Woo~~"
A melody filled the air.
It was "Moon Reflected on Second Spring", a sorrowful and melancholic tune that had never before been heard in this world.
Dugu Bo, against his will, found himself entranced by the music. Even the audience in the live chat, watching through the broadcast, couldn't help but be drawn into the melody.
The sound of the erhu seemed to tell a story, as if an old man who had weathered countless storms was pouring out his soul…
"…Wooo~~"
No one knew how much time had passed.
The melody finally came to an end.
Sun Zhongjing gently put down his bow.
Dugu Bo blinked a few times, coming back to his senses. He frowned slightly and said, "The song was impressive… but where's the poison?"
"The poison?"
Sun Zhongjing looked at him strangely.
"Aren't you already poisoned?"
"…What?!"
At that moment, Dugu Bo finally noticed something was off. His entire body had gone numb. Aside from being able to speak, he couldn't move a single muscle. Even his soul power circulation was sluggish and obstructed.
"How?!"
His expression twisted in shock.
"When did you poison me?!"
Dugu Bo's mind was racing.
He had been completely alert the entire time, carefully monitoring Sun Zhongjing's every movement.
He never released any visible poison!
Then… how did he get poisoned?!
No matter how hard Dugu Bo tried to figure it out, he simply couldn't.
"Heh… young man, have you ever heard of sonic poison techniques?"
Sun Zhongjing gently stroked his long white beard, smiling as he posed the question.
"Sonic poison techniques?"
Dugu Bo looked puzzled.
"Are you saying… I got poisoned through sound?"
"Smart," Sun Zhongjing praised. "You caught on quickly."
"Impossible!"
Dugu Bo's face was filled with disbelief.
"Sound waves carrying poison? That's ridiculous! How can something intangible contain poison?"
[This is absurd!]
[That old man is bluffing!]
[Poison through sound waves? Do you think we're idiots?]
[This has to be a joke!]
[No way this is real…]
The live chat was exploding with skepticism. Even real world Dugu Bo, watching the video, found the idea preposterous.
Back in the video
"Hehehe…"
Sun Zhongjing let out a calm chuckle.
"Poison… is it truly so limited?"
"You vastly underestimate what poison can be."
Dugu Bo was instantly annoyed.
As Poison Douluo, he had dominated the world of poison users for years. Even if he admitted that Sun Zhongjing's resistance and detoxifying skills were superior, how dare he claim that Dugu Bo's understanding of poison was shallow?!
"What makes a poison truly effective isn't just how deadly it is," Sun Zhongjing continued.
"It's how you administer it."
Dugu Bo's eyes narrowed.
That… made sense.
"You could have the most toxic substance in existence, but if you can't successfully poison your opponent, then it's worthless," Sun Zhongjing elaborated.
"My Sonic Poison Technique uses soul power to generate a special vibration within the music."
"By manipulating the resonance, the sound waves themselves can infect the listener and directly poison their auditory nerves."
[WHAT?!]
[That's… terrifying!]
[How the hell do you even come up with something like that?!]
[Okay, I take back everything this guy is a monster.]
[If this isn't the greatest poison master, I don't know what is.]
The chat was now exploding with respect for Sun Zhongjing.
Dugu Bo, however, was horrified.
He thought for a moment, then quickly countered, "Wait… if your poison spreads through sound, then blocking the ears or being deaf should prevent the poisoning, right?"
"Correct."
Sun Zhongjing nodded without hesitation.
"If you block your hearing or shield your auditory nerves, you can avoid the poison."
Dugu Bo smirked. "Then isn't that a huge flaw?"
"It would be " Sun Zhongjing said, " if I were still using the basic form of Sonic Poison Techniques."
"But once you reach the advanced levels… it doesn't just work through hearing."
"At a higher level, I can condense the sound waves into vibrational needles. These 'needles' can penetrate any part of the body, meaning blocking the ears is useless."
As he spoke, Sun Zhongjing lightly pulled his bowstring.
A transparent, needle like vibration shot through the air.
It struck a tree in the distance, and the tree…
Had a clean hole pierced straight through it.
"Since sound is just vibration, it bypasses all physical defenses," he explained.
"And in actual combat, these needles would be invisible, so your opponent would never know where the poison was coming from."
Dugu Bo was speechless.
This… was beyond anything he had ever seen or imagined.
It was on a whole different level from his understanding of poison mastery.
"I… lost."
For the first time in his life, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo admitted defeat.
(End of Chapter)
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