Chapter 211: 204 Taboo

Another morning arrived, and the undulating Spring Talisman Assembly finally reached its third day.

The third day of the assembly was the final day of the official schedule. The venue was still bustling with people coming and going, but the attendees were not as complete as before.

The most important part of the assembly was the first day, which served as an opening ceremony; guests arrived in full, the rituals were grand, everyone sat together to listen to the Libationer's lecture, and there was a grand banquet in the evening. Then there was the day for picking souvenirs, which also saw almost no absences. The rest of the time had no hard rules, and whether one came or not depended entirely on oneself. Inevitably, some went out to sightsee, some formed groups for adventures, some called friends to eat and drink, and others simply didn't go anywhere at all, sleeping soundly in the guest quarters.

In fact, this assembly was not bad. Firstly, there was a crucial lecture on the final day; although many were uninterested like Yun Xiyan, there were also many who were interested. Secondly... the location in Jianzhou this time was quite good, being an island in the vast sea, from which one could not easily leave. Moreover, because of the death on the boat earlier, a shadow had been cast over taking a boat off the island, and Long Yuan had stepped up patrols day and night, so no one had gone off-island early to camp in Kungang.

Therefore, on the morning of the third day, the venue still held nearly half the people, which was quite good.

Fortunately, the young people in the Heaven District were mostly eager to learn and almost filled their seats; because they were close to the podium, it was quite an impressive sight looking down from the stage. On the rostrum, besides the Beichen Hall Master and the Snow Mountain Prince, only Elder Zhang Shousong of the Kun Yu Sword Sect remained, presumably because he was the host and in no hurry to return home. Beichen was fine, sitting like a bronze bell, much like the first day, but the Prince was listless, as if he hadn't slept well, forcing himself to sit there, and he yawned twice before long.

The other person, Zhang Shousong, was in high spirits, talking to the Beichen Hall Master about something.

"Many disciples from our sect's lower courtyard have come, and they are all just here to exchange calling cards and make friends; they really have added quite a bit of trouble to the assembly."

"Eh, why call it trouble? The assembly should be lively. Besides, your Kun Yu Sword Sect has sat firmly in Kungang for hundreds of years; even the lower courtyard disciples are extraordinary, far stronger than other Martial Artists. Isn't interacting and helping these children exactly in line with the original intention of the assembly?"

"By the way, a disciple told me that a disciple from our lower courtyard suddenly disappeared the night before last, and to this day, neither hide nor hair has been seen. Although he is not an initiated disciple of the Sword Sect, he still carried the name of Kun Yu, and it is not good to have a living person go missing..."

"Is that so? I will have someone help you look. We must give Brother Zhang an explanation. Are there any clues?"

"A disciple told me he was going to meet a Talisman Sword Master who had submitted a calling card, and he has been missing ever since. That Talisman Sword Master seems to be..."

Just as they were speaking, Zhu Yang took the stage again.

When Zhu Yang stepped onto the stage again, the reception was extraordinary, with applause thunderous and deafening. Clearly, after the brilliant lecture on the first day, he had already captivated the vast majority of young Talisman Sword Masters.

Perhaps due to the rest over the past two days, his spirit was much better; his posture was straight, his complexion was ruddy, and he was even a bit excited.

As the applause gradually faded, Zhu Yang bowed slightly and, without sitting down, said directly: "Fellow students, my last lecture was about crocodiles; today we will talk about humans. Strengthening the human Soul. Before that, I will first answer some questions left over from the last lesson. After the last lecture, many students chased me to ask questions, and I think they were asked very well, so I might as well share them with everyone in class. For example, some asked what the difference is between a crocodile's Soul and a human's Soul..."

This time he did not deliver an inspiring speech, going straight to the topic, and his speaking speed was relatively fast.

Tang Zhao was sitting under the stage, and for some reason, he couldn't quite concentrate. Although he had things on his mind today, he genuinely wanted to hear the rest of Zhu Yang's course. It was just that, for some reason, he felt that although the Zhu Yang on stage today spoke more fluently and was more high-spirited, he lacked the captivating charm of his previous words and actions.

"Someone also asked... if you improve the Soul, are there any more intuitive and special manifestations to let people know you are different? Last time I said it was not yet time, so I could not show it. But after I went back and thought about it carefully, it is not impossible to demonstrate. Today I will make up for this lesson and let everyone see."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone became expectant, and even Tang Zhao's spirit tightened as he stared directly at the person on stage.

Everyone wanted to see how one could intuitively demonstrate the results of breaking through the Soul?

They saw Zhu Yang raise his hand and reach toward his throat... unbuttoning his clothes.

???

Once the buttons were undone, his undergarment was revealed; Zhu Yang took off his outer robe, and then, surprisingly, he did not stop, continuing to take off his undergarment.

Finally... the dignified Libationer, in the middle of the Spring Talisman Assembly, in front of many young Talisman Sword Masters and distinguished guests like the Snow Mountain Prince, stripped to his bare chest.

Being bare-chested was one thing, but it was a mutilated bare chest; his right arm was severed, leaving only a scar on his shoulder that had been clearly visible for many years. Facing the mutilation directly made people feel uncomfortable.

Everyone, including Tang Zhao, was stunned, all staring at him like that.

"You—look closely!"

Suddenly, the scar on his shoulder bulged, and the muscles underneath inflated like a balloon, still rhythmically expanding and contracting, while blood vessels crawled between the skin and flesh like insects, twitching.

A thought flashed through Tang Zhao's mind: Could it be—

With a few gurgling sounds, the skin suddenly burst open!

What emerged from the skin was not vague flesh, but a formed body, wrapped in skin, continuously growing forward. Although the growth speed was not fast, it was indeed growing longer and longer like a stick.

The limb that grew out was not just flesh, but complete with bone, meat, sinew, and skin; it was a complete organ, just wrinkled, like a fetus just born from amniotic fluid.

There was no sound in the venue; everyone just stared with wide eyes, watching his arm grow out bit by bit, and in front of the arm, a hand grew out—first the palm, then the fingers, the knuckles, and finally even the fingernails grew out.

Click-clack—

He gently squeezed his fingers, making the sound of joints, indicating that this was a complete hand.

Mon... monster!

This thought arose in everyone's mind.

While it could be called miraculous, it was indeed a miracle, but the feeling of this miracle was not so good. Because it was too counter-intuitive and the visual impact of the growth process was too great, many people felt a resistance to this miracle.

And...

Someone below couldn't help but ask: "This... isn't this just the growth of flesh? What does it have to do with the Soul?"

Zhu Yang's complexion turned a little paler; it seemed that growing flesh consumed a lot of his energy, but his expression was still very proud as he said word by word: "You all haven't realized it. The potential of the flesh is great; such growth is not impossible. Why can't people do it? That is because of the Soul; the Soul is a shackle! The Soul fetters the flesh, preventing the body from exerting its greatest potential. And I have unlocked the shackles of the Soul, allowing the quality of the Soul to improve infinitely, so the improvement of the flesh is also infinite. It is not just the restoration of limbs, but even the legendary rebirth from a drop of blood, the flesh becoming immortal, breaking through the Void—what is difficult about that? The key to solving all problems lies in the Soul."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up and laughed.

"I see some of you have bad expressions; do you think it is ugly? But if one day you fail, become crippled, or die, yet still have such a chance to be reborn, to crawl out from the withered bones and remains, and see the sun again, would you still think it is ugly? Disgusting? You would only feel grateful, grateful for such a chance to start over! This is not some bizarre, harmful performance; this is a miracle! A miracle of life!"

After a moment of silence, a buzzing sound arose below; people could not suppress the desire to discuss, asking those to their left and right to comfort their shock. As they discussed, many gradually recovered from the previous physiological discomfort and began to agree with his words.

Indeed... even if the process was shocking, wasn't the result good?

Isn't this a miracle?

Wu Yunfei felt his throat go dry and said to Tang Zhao: "Brother Tang, what do you think?"

Tang Zhao felt his head was in a mess and blurted out: "Is something wrong?"

Wu Yunfei said: "What is wrong? Do you also think it's too evil? Opening the Soul can make the flesh grow... is this reasonable?"

Tang Zhao said: "It's not that part that is wrong... it's the person that is wrong!"

And on the other side, Ju Tianxuan, who was lurking in a corner, suddenly looked dull, as if her Soul had flown away.

Beside her was the Chief Min Kaiyang, who whispered: "Senior Sister, he seems a bit crazy. Although his skills are powerful, his spirit is not very stable. You followed him all the way; did you discover that he is a budding lunatic?"

"Slap!"

Ju Tianxuan patted the tree next to her and said: "Wrong."

Min Kaiyang looked at her suspiciously, and Ju Tianxuan repeated: "Wrong, this doesn't hold up. He is lying!"

Just as Min Kaiyang was about to ask, Ju Tianxuan grabbed his hand and said: "Junior Brother Kaiyang, you have always been responsible for investigating the Xiao Guangwang case, and now the Scrolls are all with you. Let's check Zhu Yang again. I think something is wrong."

Min Kaiyang wondered: "Didn't you say at the time that he wasn't in Jianzhou, so he had no suspicion?"

Ju Tianxuan said: "Yes, I don't know how he managed it either. But... since he can regrow severed limbs, why would he need to be so hateful as to gnash his teeth, to the point of losing his status and making things difficult for a junior he had never met before? This reason is wrong; perhaps it is just a cover. He gnashed his teeth at me time and time again, which was clearly an act! I was led by him before and fell into a blind spot; I may have missed many clues for nothing. Let's go check again."

Min Kaiyang sighed: "Senior Sister, let's leave him alone for now. We still have a mission; how can we be distracted by this? Let's finish today's business first, and it won't be too late to deal with other things after the assembly."

……

While the heads were discussing this over here, there was also discussion below the stage.

Suddenly, a person stood up from the seats; it was Yue Shen, his expression extremely solemn, bordering on severe.

"Libationer. Although I do not understand the Soul, I have always respected your research. After listening to your lecture last time, I also felt enlightened. But your performance today really does not look like the result of Soul elevation or the unlocking of life's shackles. Instead, it looks like..."

He stared at Zhu Yang and said word by word: "Forcibly controlling the flesh with the Spirit and squeezing out the body's potential to produce all sorts of abnormalities is a method of the Fighting Phantom among the Phantoms, which was later learned by the Spirit Officials of the previous dynasty and became a path of Evil Cultivator Spirit Officials. This path of Evil Spirits is not only not long-lived or transcendent, but exceptionally cruel; they are all short-lived and do not die a good death!"

Zhu Yang's laughter gradually ceased, but the smile remained on his face as he said: "Oh? You understand Spirit Officials? As expected of a student of the Qingqu Academy, you are truly well-read."

Yue Shen took a deep breath and said: "Do you admit it, Your Excellency? You must know, this is—a taboo of the Human World!"

On the stage, the Beichen Hall Master swept his gaze over the crowd and finally fixed it on Zhu Yang's face.

Zhu Yang laughed: "I know. Calling it a taboo of the Human World is not as accurate as calling it an official taboo or a taboo of the Imperial Court. However, if one wants to pursue an unprecedented peak, how could one not do everything in one's power to refer to all the knowledge of those who came before? I will speak plainly: this is not that Evil Spirit set of methods; this is the Great Dao of the Soul, a hundred times stronger than that set. But I have referenced and studied the entire system of the Spirit Officials of the previous dynasty, and it is precisely from that fertile soil that I have bloomed a more beautiful flower."