[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-nothing-is-taboo":3,"chapter-nothing-is-taboo-nothing-is-taboo-chapter-22":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},2310407,4514,"Chapter 22: Medicated Beasts","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-22",22,"\u003Cp>Xu Yuan clearly felt that ahead lay a terrifying beast, its gaping maw open and waiting silently for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he could not suppress this “instinct,” still crawling like a worm toward that dangerous mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The enticing scent grew stronger, and Xu Yuan drew ever closer to the bloodied maw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to pinch himself hard, to wake from this nightmare-like state, but his hands refused to obey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crawling out from a thicket of scrub, he saw a mountain peak ahead—and the instinct within him surged violently!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden thought rose in his mind: past this peak, he would feast on that deliciousness!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Xu Yuan immediately realized: I’m walking straight into the pot as the delicacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No more hesitation—he couldn’t control his body, but he could control the fire in his dantian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huu…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sparks flew from Xu Yuan’s seven orifices, quickly swelling into roaring flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fire burned his own body; his tattered short tunic turned to ash, then the “fire in the dantian” spread across his entire frame, turning Xu Yuan into a living flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a Pill Cultivator envelops their body in the fire of the dantian, it does not burn them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, Xu Yuan was burning himself alive!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even so, his body remained under the control of the “instinct,” crawling relentlessly forward on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone who saw this scene would find it horrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan was in excruciating pain, wanting to scream but unable to make a sound; his body was completely beyond his control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His “fire in the dantian” had already charred his entire skin into a layer of blackened coal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a single thought, Xu Yuan could withdraw the fire in his dantian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he gritted his teeth and endured the terrible agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “instinct” lay hidden deep within his body, untouched by the fire—it remained unaware.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held on like this for a long while, until finally the “instinct” began to sense something amiss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan was crawling beneath an ancient pine; the heat from his flames caused several large drops of pine resin to fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flames surged violently in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overwhelmed by the agony, the instinct finally broke, relinquishing control of his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan immediately withdrew the “fire in the dantian” and lay gasping on the ground—daring not to move his chest or abdomen even slightly; every motion sent piercing pain through him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, his entire body was blackened, cracked with fissures, revealing dark red muscle beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, he mustered a sliver of strength and activated his “Destiny Pattern.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thick, heavy layer of charred shell peeled away!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This “molting” was not caused by any supernatural corruption—it was purely the use of his Destiny Pattern to shed his burnt skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, it brought no enhancement to his body; even the ghostly scar on his back remained stubbornly entrenched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This layer of “skin” had no special function—but Xu Yuan felt it somehow linked to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan dug a shallow pit and buried it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within a short time, having used his Destiny Pattern twice in succession, he felt a weakness rooted deep in his life force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need to be more restrained…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan muttered to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scent drifted across the mountain peak again, and he felt the “instinct” stirring within him once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet after enduring the fire in his dantian, he could now barely suppress the urge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan crouched low—not fleeing immediately, but sprinting like a mountain leopard up the peak ahead, hiding behind several trees to look down:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan had never intended to fight head-on; he knew exactly how weak he was. He wanted to see clearly who was behind this trick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very least, he needed to know his enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What he saw was no surprise—it was indeed the Holy Mother and her group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A long bamboo pole carried a wooden bowl filled with a handful of rice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exactly like the one his stepmother had given him—except this bowl held slightly more rice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placing rice in a wooden bowl, just as his stepmother had instructed him to place it in a tree hollow, seemed to serve the same purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wondered whether this was a necessary condition to lure the June Worm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yuan silently withdrew and slipped away quietly from another direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the He Tan encampment, lunch was ready.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Water drawn from the river had been boiled to cook dried meat, and the steam had softened the flatbreads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the men, trying to curry favor with the Holy Mother, had gathered wild greens and added them to the meat broth, sprinkling in seasonings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ladled a large bowl and offered it to her: “Holy Mother, please eat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Mother endured and finished it, yet still no movement stirred in the surrounding mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She slammed the bowl down, her face dark. The dozen or so men under Zhao Yong fell silent, terrified they’d somehow angered the goddess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Mother strode quickly to the Wu Xiu and said: “That thing has escaped! Search the mountains immediately!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four men had been sent by the sect to deliver the bait; their leader was a wandering herbalist dressed as a Pill Cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pill Cultivator nodded, his gaze sweeping over the men, then turning icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Mother said coolly: “Leave me two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wu Xiu raised his hand; a paper charm fluttered into the air, bearing four large characters: Immobilized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yong’s men realized in terror—they truly could not move!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pill Cultivator pulled a small gourd from his shoulder satchel, poured out some pills, pried open their mouths, and fed each one a pill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He left only two untouched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men not given the pills watched in horror as, after the others swallowed the pills, their companions twisted violently, bones warping!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thick black fur sprouted across their bodies; limbs became clawed paws; jaws jutted forward, revealing four sharp canine teeth beneath their lips; ears elongated backward into pointed tips, sprouting long hairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They crawled on all fours, snarling and howling, eyes blazing red—no trace of human emotion remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wu Xiu retracted the charm; the Pill Cultivator waved his hand: “Search the mountains!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eight monsters, obedient as hunting hounds, lowered their heads and shot like arrows toward the surrounding peaks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These creatures, born from men, were called “Medicated Beasts”; these eight were the lowest rank—“Canine Ghouls.” They moved swiftly, tore with ferocity, and possessed acute hearing and smell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men left behind felt uneasily that they might not be so “lucky”—their fate might be worse than their companions’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, two Canine Ghouls unearthed the charred shed skin Xu Yuan had buried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Mother and the others gathered in a circle, staring at the humanoid oddity, baffled: “What is this thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pill Cultivator studied the surrounding traces: “The boy definitely came here—but how, at the last moment, did he resist the bait’s scent and break free?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This batch of ‘Old Year Grain’ is extremely precious. The sect deployed twelve Protectors; seven died to obtain it. It should never fail.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The brat… is unusual,” the Pill Cultivator thought, a flicker of wariness rising in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Holy Mother snorted and declared without hesitation: “Send the Canine Ghouls after him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1214,"2026-06-20T12:07:23.516Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","45802116a6307d098d85d9fecffaa7595f6744248526f3dc3d5ed8c62e831165","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-23","nothing-is-taboo-chapter-21",413,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnothing-is-taboo-cover.jpg"]