From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

Two black-scaled crocodiles, each over ten feet long, fought fiercely. Their black scales broke apart, revealing the bloody skin beneath.

A black scale landed on Li Yi's head, carrying him towards the battle ahead.

The two black-scaled crocodiles were completely unaware of what was happening. They had already begun to fight each other with ferocity, and since they were young, they couldn't control themselves after seeing blood.

boom!

At a certain moment, the extremely patient Li Yi burst out of the swamp, splashing black mud all around. Then, a black shadow flashed and precisely bit the heads of the two crocodiles at the same time.

Instinctively, the two black-scaled crocodiles struggled violently, trying to roll around in the mud and break free of their restraints.

The black scales rubbed against the two rows of sharp teeth, making a hissing sound.

Li Yi bit down hard, and a crunching sound rang out as his sharp teeth pierced through the black scales and stabbed into the heads of the two black-scaled crocodiles.

The struggle, the shaking... all the commotion lasted only a moment.

The highly toxic black liquid gushed from Li Yi's mouth, landing almost directly on the heads of the two black-scaled crocodiles, causing them a hundred times more pain.

The three layers of eyelids above the eyeball are the most vulnerable and are quickly corroded away, while the rest of the area is corroded much more slowly. The venom slowly leaves rough corrosive marks on the black scales and seeps into the skin.

At the same time, the swampy mud around Li Yi came to life, instantly helping him drag his prey into the swamp.

boom!

A huge bubble rose to the surface and burst.

Then came a series of even smaller bubbles.

Before long, there was no life left here, only the traces of the previous chaotic battle and broken scales and blood, which were slowly swallowed by the swamp.

The edge of a drop of black venom reflected an eerie, seven-colored light in the dim sunlight, like a rainbow.

Li Yi doesn't need to corrode the scales of the two black-scaled crocodiles at all; he can simply swallow them and they will be digested naturally.

White pythons don't eat this.

Since seeing him, it has become somewhat averse to eating black crocodiles, so Li Yi had to continue searching for other food to feed it.

After all, with the white python, his speed of absorbing and exhaling moonlight would be much faster.

Once a crocodile tastes the benefits, it becomes somewhat unable to extricate itself.

Even Li Yi was no exception.

It had long sensed that this method of absorbing and exhaling moonlight was far more advanced than relying on instinct to devour prey to increase its own strength.

Moreover, this approach is actually very much in line with Li Yi's consistent idea, which is to survive.

Who knows how many terrifying adversaries are lurking in this vast swamp?

Even in Li Yi's territory, its lair is only five zhang deep underground. Twenty zhang further down is a place that even it cannot penetrate at all.

Therefore, absorbing and exhaling moonlight is actually the safest way to enhance oneself.

Dragging his body, now somewhat bloated from devouring prey, Li Yi burrowed into the black mud, continuing his search for his next prey.

Unbeknownst to him, Li Yi arrived at the western part of his territory. A few feet ahead, there was a dark purple boulder standing upright like a stone tablet, its size unknown.

The part above the swamp is just the tip of the iceberg.

This is the edge of Li Yi's territory. With such a clear marker, Li Yi can easily identify it and prevent himself from straying too far.

Having reached this point, there was no reason to proceed further. Li Yi spun around in the mud, patrolling along the edge of the territory.

One hour later.

In the dim, poisonous miasma of the swamp, a banyan tree with reddening leaves is undergoing some kind of change.

It is very tall, and although the growth rings are not visible, it has stood here for hundreds of years. Its branches and leaves are lush, and its roots are deep in the mud, so wide that one cannot imagine.

For trees to survive in swamps, they need to do one thing.

That is the underground root system, which must be more than ten times wider than the branches above ground in order to have the qualifications to survive here for a long time.

Clearly, this banyan tree has succeeded.

It is located to the east of Li Yi's territory and is an important landmark that Li Yi uses to confirm the edge of his territory.

Now, in the black silt not far away, Li Yi stared at the banyan tree with his brownish-yellow pupils, remaining motionless for a long time.

Its leaves were originally green and ordinary, no different from other surviving trees in the swamp, except that they were a bit older.

Now, the green leaves have quietly turned red, which is quite magical.

A green leaf swayed slightly, seemingly unwilling to turn red, stubbornly clinging to its original color, and was thus abandoned by the banyan tree.

It broke off naturally from its foot and landed shakily on the swamp, covered in mud.

All around, many fallen leaves were like this.

A peculiar atmosphere gradually emanated from the motionless banyan tree.

The surrounding poisonous miasma was slowly dispelled, revealing a small patch of clean land.

This was the first time Li Yi had ever seen such a situation.

This phenomenon is not uncommon in swampy areas. All things have a spirit and can embark on the path of cultivation. Trees, however, are born with chaotic consciousness, making it especially difficult for them.

But some still succeed.

This type of place forms its own pristine environment, providing a habitat for many species in the marshland.

The species that inhabit this place will also do their best to protect it and ward off some calamities, such as certain insects, and live together in mutual dependence.

Clearly, this banyan tree has reached a critical juncture and is undergoing a transformation.

Staring at the banyan tree, Li Yi recalled when he last saw it.

Three months?

Was it six months ago?

In short, it has been a long time. Li Yi goes out hunting every now and then, but he doesn't always pass by this place. Its territory is very large.

It knew that, probably within a year or two, live prey would arrive here.

It's probably not just one or two, but a whole group.

Haha, great! Now we can have a designated hunting area.

Moreover, those creatures that rely on trees for survival are not able to stay in the swamp for long, cannot resist the miasma for long periods of time, and cannot travel far.

just wait.

We absolutely cannot kill them all at once. We must kill some and leave some, so that the meat can reproduce on its own and continue to be produced.

Isn't this much better than using beetles to catch toads?

Li Yi was secretly delighted, looked back again, and then turned to leave.

Its hunt for the day is not over yet.

As night fell, Li Yi, having eaten his fill, returned to his nest with a large tortoise, the size of a millstone, whose shell had been chewed open.

The white python had been waiting in front of the cave for some time.

Upon seeing Li Yi's massive figure disappear into the cave, covered in black mud, it quickly poked Li Yi's back with its tail, and a stream of pure water washed everything away.

Li Yi disagreed; its nature did not reject the mud, and it was fine with it whether it was there or not.