Chapter 2253: Miao Border Youth's Fierce Love 16

It was the day of the Holy Son's competition.

The morning mist had not yet cleared, and the area around the altar at the village center was already crowded with people.

The Elder and the Grand Priest stood by the sunken mud, waiting for Jin Chen and his party to arrive.

Soon after, the Bell Signal rang.

The onlookers stepped back, making a path.

Jin Chen rarely tied his hair up today, a faint smile playing on his lips, the Red Snake Gu coiled around his neck, its scales catching the morning sun and flashing an eerie blood‑red.

Like a spirit stepped out of a painting.

"Why are you walking so fast?" Jin Chen took a few quick steps, hooking his fingertip onto Nan Yixing's medicine pouch strap.

Nan Yixing wore white whiter than snow, the silver pattern on his medicine pouch at his waist gleaming with a cold light.

He lightly slapped Jin Chen's mischievous hand, his tone indulgent: "You're just too slow."

Hearing that, Jin Chen chuckled softly, leaning in to brush nonexistent dust from his shoulder.

As they drew near, the purple gauze and white robes complemented each other, the eerie and the holy intertwining, creating an indescribable harmony.

The Red Snake Gu lightly brushed against Nan Yixing's wrist, then quickly retracted.

Jin Chen's fingertip grazed Nan Yixing's collar, giving a subtle hook at an angle unseen by the crowd.

On the east side of the altar, Luo Xiao approached carrying a black gu urn, his complexion slightly sallow with noticeable dark circles under his eyes.

He coughed now and then, but his gaze upon the gu urn in his arms was full of confidence.

Bai Mo followed behind him, wrapped in a thick coat, his face paler than it had been a few days prior.

It was obvious that Nan Yixing's poison had made them suffer greatly, and even now the residual toxin had not cleared.

On the other side, He Mo Ning almost supported Jin Que as they walked over.

Jin Que held an exquisite wooden box, its surface carved with intricate patterns.

His complexion was still not great, but his expression was very calm.

Shan Man and Fan Ruoxi had also arrived.

Fan Ruoxi was tidying her hair when she accidentally got tangled in Shan Man's iron chain, and the two whispered a few arguments.

The Grand Priest struck the bronze gong, signaling that the match was about to begin.

Luo Xiao lifted the black cloth covering the clay jar, and a soft rustling came from inside.

He looked across at Jin Chen, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile.

The bronze gong's blast made ears ache, and the instant Luo Xiao lifted the black silk from the gu urn, a creature that was neither snake nor worm darted out.

It was pitch black all over, with centipede‑like legs along its back, yet moved like a snake, and bore a scorpion's reversed hook tail.

When it lunged at Shan Man's Ghost Face Spider, the venom from its pincers sprayed out, etching a honeycomb of holes into the mud.

Crack—

The Ghost Face Spider's carapace grew as brittle as paper under the toxin.

It couldn't last even a quarter of an hour before the Ghost Face Spider was devoured by Luo Xiao's gu worm.

Shan Man scratched his head, his bell‑sized eyes showing no regret as he looked at Jin Chen.

He was just here to make up the numbers; as long as the Holy Son wasn't Luo Xiao in the end, he was fine.

"Young Master, wait for you to help me get revenge." He patted the empty gu urn, shaking the ornamental iron chains at his waist into a clatter: "This thing was originally meant for offering to our family's Kitchen God."

Jin Chen's fingertip, wrapped in a Bell Signal chain around the Red Snake, swayed back and forth; hearing that, he chuckled and said, "Is that so."

His violet eyes swept over Luo Xiao's ashen face: "This spider has more backbone than the centipedes some people keep—at least it lost fair and square."

Luo Xiao's Miao knife sheath slammed heavily onto the stone steps; the gu worm sensed his master's anger, and its centipede legs scraped out a piercing sound.

Luo Xiao gave a cold laugh.

Jin Chen indeed discovered the heretical method he used to cultivate gu.

It didn't matter; in the end, whoever won would have the final say.

Toxic mist surged, and Jin Que's Black Wood Gu Box slowly opened.

A pure snow‑white Jade Toad leapt out, the golden gu lines on its back shining brightly in the sunlight.

But before it could fully display its power, Luo Xiao's snake‑like gu worm lunged, its scorpion pincers clamping hard onto the Jade Toad's hind legs.

The assault resumed.

Everyone stared, unblinking.

But the Jade Toad was clearly outmatched; half its body was torn apart, its crystalline fluids splashing onto the mud with a sizzling, corrosive sound.

The onlooking villagers cried out in alarm; He Mo Ning worriedly gazed at Jin Que, who merely closed his gu box calmly and slowly turned his gaze to Jin Chen.

"Ah Chen, it's up to you."

Jin Chen stood with his back to the altar, idly toying with the tassel on Nan Yixing's medicine pouch.

Hearing Jin Que's words, Nan Yixing glanced over for no reason, but Jin Chen didn't even turn his head, merely lazily snapping his fingers.

In the corner, the Purple Butterfly that had seemed to be asleep finally stirred.

It slowly unfurled its wings, the iridescent scales scattering light in the sun to create a dreamy halo.

The Purple Butterfly elegantly flew above Luo Xiao's monstrous gu worm, paused as if in disdain, then turned and fluttered back to Jin Chen's side, landing lightly on his fingertip.

"There's no helping being ugly," Jin Chen murmured to the Purple Butterfly, his voice full of empathy: "I think I'm ugly too. Just bear it—don't eat it."

Someone in the crowd laughed, and the laughter spread.

Luo Xiao's face instantly turned ashen.

His gu worm writhed agitatedly in the mud, its pincers clicking with a harsh sound, yet it never dared approach the seemingly harmless Purple Butterfly.

The Grand Priest's bronze gong sounded the start, its ring especially jarring in the embarrassed silence.

Luo Xiao harbored hatred and directed his gu worm.

The gu worms suddenly emitted a piercing hiss, the scorpion tail strangely distorted, and dark red blood threads appeared on its surface.

This was precisely the sign of the forbidden technique in the stronghold.

The high priest's bronze staff slammed onto the ground with a thud, his face grim.

"Little Owl!" he hissed low, yet saw his son turn a deaf ear, his eyes blood-red as he stared at the arena.

The purple butterfly dodged the scorpion tail's first strike lightly, scattering crystalline phosphorescent powder as its wings fluttered.

Jin Chen leaned against the stone pillar, playing with a silver needle between his fingertips.

"Luo Xiao, how are you still cheating with this worm?"

Those who paid attention, the villagers all focused their minds.

The poisonous scorpion suddenly rose onto its hind legs, its tail spike swelling, dark red blood threads spreading like a spiderweb toward the purple butterfly.

Several elderly villagers at the edge of the arena sucked in a breath of cold air.

This is clearly a killing move aimed at killing the gu master!

The purple butterfly, however, remained calm, its wings lightly trembling as it traced a graceful arc in the air.

Wherever the phosphorescent powder passed, those blood threads, like spring snow meeting the sun, quickly melted.

What's more astonishing, the iron armor on the poisonous scorpion began to corrode at a visible speed, emitting a sizzling sound.

"Impossible!"

Luo Xiao suddenly clutched his chest, a thread of blue blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

He widened his eyes, watching his own life-bound gu worm writhe in agony on the ground.

"This… this…"

This is demonic art! How could it still lose to Jin Chen!

Bai Ying's face turned ashen, the medicine pouch in his hand falling to the ground, "Oh no, Luo Dage, it seems to be backfiring!"

The high priest could no longer remain seated, jumping to his feet.

"Young master! The outcome is settled, please spare…"

Before his words finished, the poisonous scorpion suddenly burst open, splattering bluish-black bodily fluids all over the ground.

The purple butterfly gracefully landed on Jin Chen's fingertip, then disdainfully shook its wings.

As if saying: "Really dirty."

The arena fell into dead silence.

Luo Xiao collapsed onto the ground, his right hand already showing an abnormal bluish-purple hue, clearly having suffered backlash.

In his gaze as he lifted his head to look at Jin Chen, true fear appeared for the first time.