Born as an ant, I was summoned to ascend to immortality.

Chapter 62 Five Lines of Spiritual Bodies

After descending for about several dozen feet, the passage gradually widens.

When the three of them stepped out of the passage, they were all stunned into silence by the sight before them.

This underground space is not the narrow tomb one might imagine, but rather an extremely spacious palace, an underground world supported by stone pillars that require several people to encircle.

"This is not a branch stronghold, it is clearly an ancient ruin that has been buried!" Yuwen Ji murmured.

Ji Qingshan's expression was solemn as he observed the direction of the incense: "Judging from the distance, this place should be directly below the Yellow Spring Tomb. Judging from its scale, it is very likely to be the main altar of the Corpse Emperor Palace."

The three of them were on high alert as they navigated through the massive stone pillars and crumbling walls.

What they saw along the way was increasingly shocking, with collapsed palace walls and scattered bones everywhere.

The stone pillars are covered with reliefs, mostly depicting ferocious ghosts. Further away, the remnants of eaves and brackets can be vaguely seen, revealing the scale of the original structure.

"It seems there was a fierce battle here, or... some kind of cleanup," Yuwen Zhao said in a low voice.

Not far ahead, an underground river appeared. The river was not wide, only three or four zhang (approximately 10-13 meters), and the surface was eerily still, with occasional pale aquatic skeletons floating to the surface.

"The other side," Ji Qingshan gestured.

The three used their respective skills to cross the underground river and landed in a naturally formed cave.

"This is it!" Ji Qingshan's eyes revealed a hint of eagerness.

Yuwen Zhao frowned; something was wrong.

Ji Qingshan must have known all along that this was the ruins of the Corpse Emperor's Palace. What was he planning to do by deliberately leading them here?

As they descended the cave, taking several dozen more steps, they saw a few silkworm cocoons gradually appearing on the cave walls and ceiling. As the three of them went deeper, more and more cocoons appeared, eventually becoming densely packed.

But among these thousands upon thousands of dark golden cocoons, they saw not a single living creature moving.

Not only that, many silkworm cocoons were already broken and shriveled, revealing the withered remains of the insects inside, which could turn to ashes with the slightest touch.

"This is... the nest of the Golden Silkworm of Salvation?" Yuwen Zhao asked in astonishment. "Why are they all inanimate objects?"

Yuwen Ji also sensed something amiss, and with a grim expression, he looked around: "There seems to be something strange about this place. We should..."

Before he finished speaking, Ji Qingshan suddenly exclaimed "Eh!" and locked his gaze on the deepest part of the cave.

There was a unique silkworm cocoon there.

Unlike other silkworm cocoons that are only the size of a fist, this silkworm cocoon is more than the height of a person.

It was pure white, with faint golden threads wrapped around it, and a rich spiritual energy was constantly overflowing from the cocoon.

The three were somewhat excited and slowly approached the giant cocoon.

Ji Qingshan gently pressed his five fingers onto the cocoon shell, and after a moment said, "It does indeed contain spiritual energy."

Yuwen Ji smiled and said, "At least it wasn't a wasted effort. The silk spun by the Golden Silkworm of Salvation contains all five elements, making it impervious to swords and blades. I'm afraid we can't break through this cocoon with our combined strength."

"It can be broken." Ji Qingshan pulled out a folding fan from somewhere. "Although the golden silkworm silk is tough, it is afraid of thunder magic. The Yuwen family's 'Five Thunder Capital Seal' is precisely the wood element thunder magic. As long as the two of you use thunder magic to penetrate one point and break its earth element, the cocoon shell will naturally develop a flaw."

Ji Qingshan paused with his folding fan: "At that time, I, Ji, will use the body-forging technique of the Panling Clan to exert force from the outside. With our earth and wood working together, we can break this cocoon."

Yuwen Zhao's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Brother Ji is right! Brother, shall we try together?"

Yuwen Ji said gently, "As your brother, I will certainly help you. However, if the cocoon breaks, you must use a mustard seed bowl to trap the creature and prevent it from escaping."

The two brothers, Yuwen Zhao and Yuwen Zhao, stood side by side, their hands forming a mudra, and pointed with their fingers together.

A beam of azure lightning condensed and shot straight toward the top of the cocoon.

Ripples spread across the surface of the cocoon, and after a moment of stalemate, the cocoon finally cracked open with a hair-thin slit.

Almost simultaneously, Ji Qingshan sprang up and threw out his right fist, the fist's edge creating visible ripples.

Despite all three being at the Qi Refining stage, their teamwork was truly complementary, and then a loud "bang" was heard.

The fist struck and cracked, shattering the cocoon!

As the cocoon shell burst open, amber-colored cocoon fluid gushed out, and two figures embracing each other gradually emerged from within the cocoon shell.

"This is... a human body?" Yuwen Zhao was about to cover the cocoon with the mustard seed bowl when he discovered that there were two human corpses inside.

These were two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. They were completely naked, their skin as white as jade, faintly radiating a five-colored glow.

Ji Qingshan was clearly not expecting that there would be two human bodies inside the cocoon, and he was stunned for a moment.

Yuwen Ji frowned slightly: "Sealing corpses in cocoons and using secret methods to create corpse puppets in the Corpse Emperor's Palace are common practices. But so many years have passed; they should have long since withered and dried up, their spiritual energy extinguished..."

He looked at Ji Qingshan, "Qingshan, the Golden Silkworm of Salvation also has the ability to raise corpses?"

Ji Qingshan squatted down and observed for a while before saying, "It's not the Golden Silkworm's ability. You two should examine their dantian carefully."

Yuwen Ji transferred a wisp of spiritual energy to the boy and felt a faint five-colored vortex slowly rotating three inches below his navel.

"This is... the Five Elements operating on their own?" Yuwen Ji exclaimed in disbelief.

"Indeed." Ji Qingshan stood up and said, "It has all five elements, and they generate each other in an endless cycle. If we can obtain this corpse puppet and nurture it a little, it will be comparable to the clan's top magic treasure in the future."

"Wait!" Just then, Yuwen Zhao suddenly shouted, "These two... seem to still be breathing."

As soon as the words were spoken, the two people inside the cocoon seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, and slowly exhaled a breath. The breath was like a white ribbon, condensed and not dispersed, turning into a cloud of mist.

Immediately, a rosy glow appeared on their faces, their eyes were closed, but their chests rose and fell slowly, as if they were truly alive.

Ji Qingshan pressed down on the girl's wrist with a grave expression, then said, slowly and deliberately, "There's a pulse..."

The cave was deathly silent.

After a long silence, Yuwen Zhao spoke in a hoarse voice: "What exactly is the Corpse Emperor Palace doing? Using living people to create corpses?"

Yuwen Ji revealed a look of sudden realization: "The Corpse Emperor Palace was wiped out, supposedly for violating a heavenly taboo. Now it seems, they were investigating the art of creation, attempting to use the Golden Silkworm of Tribulation to conceive a Five Elements Spiritual Body. How could Heaven tolerate that?"

“The Five Elements Spiritual Bodies have never appeared in the world before, only in ancient scrolls,” Yuwen Zhao frowned. “Brother, this matter is of utmost importance, and I’m afraid we alone cannot suppress it.”

"That's a question for Young Master Ji," Yuwen Ji's voice turned cold. "You only mentioned that there were cocoons left behind by the Golden Silkworm of Salvation here, but you didn't say that a living person was sealed inside. Now, given the current situation, do you really not know?"

"If I had known beforehand that there was a living person inside the cocoon, would I have invited you two here?" Ji Qingshan said without changing his expression. "If it were a corpse puppet, it would be nothing more than a fine magic weapon. Now that it is a living person and a Five Elements Spiritual Body, if you obtain this body, your cultivation speed will be several times that of ordinary cultivators, and with the Five Elements complete, your combat ability will be unmatched."

A burning glint flashed in his eyes: "These two, though unconscious, have perfectly intact bodies; they are simply natural-born materials for creating external avatars!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the breathing inside the cave became three times heavier.

An external avatar is a great supernatural power that only Nascent Soul cultivators have the opportunity to access, and an external avatar with perfect five elements is unheard of throughout history!

Ji Qingshan unfolded his folding fan with a whoosh and then snapped it shut again, repeating this several times, clearly indicating that he was restless.

He suddenly looked at Yuwen Ji, his smile returning to its gentle tone: "Now that things have come to this, there are some things we might as well say outright."

Yuwen Ji met his gaze and calmly asked, "What does Young Master Ji mean?"