[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-17":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Nothing Is Taboo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310402,4514,"Chapter 17: The Yu Spits Water","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>These locusts’ exoskeletons were extremely hard, rivaling the iron armor of the Imperial Ming Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet beneath the Golden Orb, they were as fragile as window paper—pierce them, and they burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The locust struggled a few times, flew another eight zhang, then crashed headfirst to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan’s speed ultimately couldn’t match the locusts; he was soon overtaken, and the remaining five swarmed down upon him. He spat a jet of fire and guided the Golden Orb to strike, soon leaving only one locust alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strange creature finally panicked, turning to flee into the distance—but Xu Yuan would not let it escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Orb suddenly accelerated, piercing clean through its body from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The locust slammed heavily onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Xu Yuan’s heart rose with a deep unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go!” Xu Yuan sprinted forward, abandoning his original path and veering onto a narrow side trail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon he saw a grove; he gritted his teeth and dashed inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an open, exposed area, the locusts would spot him from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the forest held many unknown dangers; Xu Yuan moved cautiously, walking for over half an hour, when suddenly a buzzing sound came from above—he dropped low, hiding his form beneath thick branches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above the trees, a dense swarm of locusts, like a flying monstrous beast, blotted out the sky—it took a long while before they passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That number—could it be tens or even hundreds of thousands?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan escaped this disaster, sighed inwardly, and rose to move in the opposite direction of the swarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had taken only two steps when he felt something—turned his head, and saw a locust the size of a fist crouched on a nearby tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its antennae twitched; its insect eyes stared coldly at Xu Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rustle-rustle-rustle…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, the forest erupted in a dense, chaotic noise; when he turned back, countless fist-sized locusts surged like a tidal wave across the trees, racing toward him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan gritted his teeth, spun and ran forward, ignoring all other strange things in the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The locust tide chased relentlessly; the horrifying rustling behind him grew closer, and the locusts had formed a curved encirclement, swiftly flanking him from both sides, forcing him toward the only path ahead!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Danger ahead!” Xu Yuan recalled the even more terrifying swarm that had flown past earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fish die, net breaks!” Xu Yuan hardened his heart, halted abruptly, his abdomen heaving violently as he spat out a torrent of “Abdominal Fire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intense flames instantly ignited the fallen leaves and surrounding trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was early autumn; Wushan was drenched in rain, so the leaves and trees were damp—once ignited, thick smoke billowed instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the fire spiral out of control, dozens of large trees in the forest trembled, uprooted themselves, twisted their roots into thick, leg-like appendages, and fled off on swift strides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost nothing could resist the Abdominal Fire; the flames spread rapidly, and the pursuing locust swarm crashed into the inferno, crackling and sizzling as they burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-line locusts tried to retreat, but those behind kept surging forward—the entire swarm plunged into chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The locusts took flight, only to be blinded and disoriented by the thick smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan plunged into the smoke and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long ago, the massive swarm had flown past the forest, then received some command—turning sharply a hundred zhang ahead, a vast, dark-yellow mass wheeled back above a hill before the grove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, as if the end of the world had come, countless giant locusts, three chi long, with razor-sharp jaws and hind legs like serrated knives, rained down with a clatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon they densely blanketed the entire hilltop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They waited for Xu Yuan to be driven out into their trap—but never expected the fire to spread so swiftly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the smoke, countless “younger ones” scrambled out in frantic haste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many had already caught fire; they burst out in panic, only to lose their wings to the flames moments later, tumbling down and burning to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air reeked of charred keratin protein, yet the target was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire locust swarm grew restless and terrified—their innate fear of fire was overwhelming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that boy set fire to the forest—he couldn’t escape either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From deep within the swarm, a strange accent spoke, like an old woman with a gap-toothed mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This little thing is ruthless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better we all burn together than become your bloody food!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice sounded like muttering to himself—or perhaps discussing with someone: “Good thing we’re near that yu’s territory—but it’ll cost us dearly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire had already engulfed the entire forest, flames spreading toward the surrounding peaks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The giant locusts atop the hill pressed backward, growing increasingly agitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared in a river eight li away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whirlpool spun faster, roaring with a tremendous splash as it lifted a water dragon hundreds of zhang long!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white water dragon soared into the sky, then exploded with a thunderous crash—torrential rain poured down over the forest, instantly dousing the flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan had been hiding beneath a giant tree; his clothes were scorched through with seven or eight holes, his hair curled and charred, his skin blistered from the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was in a wretched state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the fire started, he lost control of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d planned to escape using the smoke—but then came this sudden rain!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rain was unnatural; Xu Yuan’s heart sank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rustling sound returned; countless locusts leapt into the air and landed in the forest. Many branches, just charred and brittle, snapped under their weight—branches and locusts tumbled together to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Yuan had no room for mockery; his face darkened further, for countless locusts—large and small—were converging from all directions, completely surrounding him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The encirclement shrank tighter; the locusts’ mandibles snapped open and shut, emitting a grating, blade-like screech.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan stood still, coldly observing all the strange creatures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment of final battle had come—he cast aside all useless emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The locusts halted five chi before Xu Yuan; then a commotion rose from behind the swarm—the dense mass suddenly parted, forming a passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A towering, ancient locust, one zhang tall, shuffled slowly forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It walked upright, its middle and front legs folded behind it like a human’s; it even bore a slender neck like a man’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its massive insect head sat atop the neck, bobbing as it moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It opened its enormous mandibles toward Xu Yuan, spitting out seven or eight three-chi-long tongue-tendrils: “You killed many of my descendants!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan did not answer. He did not even look at the ancient locust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the ancient locust walked a man—Master Qiao!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another chapter tonight; I’m accelerating from today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1118,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","99d92d64b39e869fbaf0eb3a7eab332c98c227f9f5af93fbe80ac83719dad3a8","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-18","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-16",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]