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

Chapter 19 Turning Against Each Other

Ji Qingshan suddenly smiled.

He smiled with a hint of helplessness, then let out a long sigh: "Our nine sons of the Ji family are constantly vying for power, unlike you two brothers, Yuwen, who are so harmonious. I invited you two here for my own selfish reasons, not wanting the profits from the golden silkworm to be divided among my other brothers, but I never intended to deceive you. But the current situation is beyond my control."

He looked at the two people inside the cocoon: "The Five Elements Spiritual Body is extremely rare in the world. If this matter gets out, not to mention us, even the Yuwen family and the Ji family may not be able to protect it."

"Then should we follow Qingshan's advice?" Yuwen Ji asked.

"Cooperation." Ji Qingshan pointed at the giant cocoon with the tip of his fan. "These two spiritual bodies will be divided between our two families. One will go to the Yuwen family, and the other to the Ji family. But the condition is that what happened today must not be leaked."

The implication is that this is not intended for the family, but rather for personal use.

After a moment's thought, Yuwen Ji nodded and said, "Alright, I, Yuwen Ji, agree."

"But..." Ji Qingshan slowly tucked the folding fan back into his waistband, and said calmly, "I, Ji Qingshan, can guarantee that it won't leak out, but how can your Yuwen family guarantee that?"

An eerie silence filled the air.

Zhou Li was currently seated in the mustard seed bowl, and he heard every word of the conversation outside.

Ji Qingshan will keep the spirit body for his own use and will certainly not leak it out.

However, Yuwen Ji and Yuwen Zhao only have one spirit body each, so one of them is destined to return empty-handed. How can they ensure that the person who left won't report back home and try to gain credit?

Or perhaps this person didn't report it, but this person still holds this leverage. Wouldn't someone else be subject to this person's control in every way in the future?

Zhou Li inwardly cursed, "A fight is probably about to break out outside. You can fight all you want, but at least let me out first!"

Yuwen Zhao, Yuwen Ji, and Ji Qingshan each stood at one corner, surrounding the cocoon-like corpse in the center.

Yuwen Zhao looked at his cousin, then at Ji Qingshan, and suddenly felt a chill. He subconsciously took a half step back.

It was this half-step that sounded the battle drums.

Ji Qingshan suddenly sprang up and charged straight at Yuwen Zhao!

Almost at the same instant, a bolt of blue lightning flashed beside Yuwen Zhao; it was his cousin Yuwen Ji who had made his move.

But looking at the target of that blue lightning bolt, it turned out to be Yuwen Zhao!

"Brother, you—!"

In his shock, Yuwen Zhao only had time to frantically pour all his spiritual power into the mustard seed bowl.

The palm-sized bronze bowl suddenly rose into the air, and a blue-gold light curtain beneath the bowl enveloped Yuwen Zhao completely.

Everyone thought that the mustard seed pot was used by Yuwen Zhao to refine spirit insects, but they did not expect that it was also a top-notch defensive treasure.

Ji Qingshan's fist, imbued with heavy earth elemental energy, slammed solidly into the light barrier.

Almost simultaneously, the Azure Lightning Strike that Yuwen Ji flicked from his fingertip struck, also exploding into a shower of tiny electric snakes on the surface of the light screen.

Zhou Li, inside the mustard seed bowl, heard a deafening roar and immediately felt dizzy.

"Pfft!" Although Yuwen Zhao was protected by the light barrier, the two tremendous forces still made him feel a sweet taste in his throat and a trickle of blood spill from the corner of his mouth.

"Why?!" Yuwen Zhao stared intently at Yuwen Ji, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Brother, we're from the same clan!"

In his mind, the fact that the three of them divided the two spirit bodies meant that the two brothers had worked together to kill Ji Qingshan.

The gentle mask on Yuwen Ji's face peeled away, revealing a slightly distorted expression: "Why? Because you are Yuwen Zhao, the Yuwen Zhao who was pampered by the Ancestor since childhood!"

"I've devoted myself to my family, risking my life, yet the resources I've gained for spiritual practice are less than what you, a spoiled brat who plays with insects all day, have."

Lightning gathered again at his fingertips as he coldly said, "You think I brought you here out of brotherhood? You're wrong! When Qingshan approached me, I knew something was amiss. I brought you along precisely to find an opportunity to eliminate you through someone else!"

"You..." Yuwen Zhao's face turned pale, not because of his injuries, but because of the blatant betrayal he had just witnessed.

The light of the mustard seed bowl gradually dimmed. Yuwen Zhao had only achieved minor Qi Refining, and his spiritual power was running out as he forcibly activated the mustard seed bowl. It was unknown how many more breaths he could last!

Between life and death, Yuwen Zhao's mind raced.

He suddenly looked up at Ji Qingshan: "Brother Ji, I'm giving you my ant. It has never been defeated in battle. You've seen its power! Today, if we join forces to kill Yuwen Ji, we'll split the spirit bodies equally!"

Ji Qingshan's fist paused slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. Don't underestimate Zhou Li just because he's a spirit insect; he can build connections and amass wealth.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Ji quickly said, "Qingshan, don't be fooled by him. If he dies, the insect will still be yours!"

"What a joke! If I die, how dare you take out this precious insect? It would be tantamount to telling others that you killed Yuwen Zhao. How could Patriarch Yuwen let you off the hook? Only if I live can this precious insect be used in the duel!"

After saying this, Yuwen Zhao reached into the bowl and pulled his hand out, having already placed Zhou Li into a palm-sized spirit-raising jar.

"If you kill me, you'll only get a spirit body. But if you help me kill Yuwen Ji, you'll get a spirit body and a priceless treasure insect. Don't you, Ji Qingshan, know how to calculate this?"

After saying this, Yuwen Zhao actually threw the spirit-raising jar at Ji Qingshan from afar.

Ji Qingshan instinctively caught the jar and probed inside with his spiritual sense. Sure enough, he saw that the jar contained Zhou Li, who was dark gold all over and had two wings on his back!

Zhou Li left the Mustard Seed Space and saw the light of day again, but he felt little joy. As long as the Soul Jade was not removed, he was still an ant that Yuwen Zhao could easily manipulate.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Qingshan had made his decision.

Yuwen Zhao possesses a top-tier spiritual artifact like the Mustard Seed Bowl, which clearly indicates that he is highly valued in the Yuwen family. He may also have other trump cards up his sleeve.

Moreover, Yuwen Zhao had been with him for a long time and he knew him well, while Yuwen Ji was too reserved and could not be a friend.

"Good!" Ji Qingshan roared, turned around, and instead of throwing his fist at Yuwen Zhao, he smashed it at Yuwen Ji.

Yuwen Ji was both shocked and furious. He had planned everything, but he never expected that Yuwen Zhao would throw out such a bait before his death. He had never been involved with Yichong, so he naturally did not know the value of Zhou Li.

But he was, after all, one of the best young members of the Yuwen family. Though startled, he remained calm and produced a purple talisman with gold patterns from his sleeve. He bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the talisman!

"Yuwen Zhao, Ji Qingshan, you forced me to this!"

The talisman swelled in the wind, transforming into a thundercloud covering an area of ​​five zhang in diameter. Five-colored lightning churned within the cloud, and terrifying lightning pressure descended as if it were a tangible force.

"The Five Thunder Talisman?!" Yuwen Zhao's expression changed drastically, and he shouted, "Brother Ji, retreat quickly!"

"This talisman is my life-saving treasure, Yuwen Ji; today I will use it on you!"

Yuwen Ji's face was contorted with rage as he activated the talisman with all his might. He knew that once the talisman was activated, eight or nine tenths of his spiritual power would be depleted, and he had to finish the battle quickly!

From the thunderclouds, a bolt of azure lightning struck first, hitting Ji Qingshan squarely in the chest!

Ji Qingshan's body trembled violently, his earth spirit true energy was shattered by the wood lightning, and his chest was charred black.

Although he cultivated a superior earth-elemental technique of the Panling clan, the five elements interact in a cycle of mutual generation and restraint, with wood restraining earth, and this wood-lightning technique was precisely its nemesis.

The second crimson fire lightning followed closely behind. Ji Qingshan barely managed to raise his arms to block it, but his belt shattered, and he screamed as he staggered back several steps.

Under the protection of the mustard seed bowl, Yuwen Zhao watched with trepidation.

Although the power of the Five Thunder Talisman was mainly aimed at Ji Qingshan, the aftershocks still made it difficult for him to breathe, and the light barrier flickered and was about to shatter.