From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

Amidst a persistent, dense cloud of poison, a massive, menacing black shadow stood before the yellow crystal mine, then slowly raised its head.

Li Yi looked up at the deep mine shaft, where billowing poisonous clouds, carrying green winds, surged in. Only then did it cautiously bypass the pile of brown crystals and head deeper inside.

Its black-scaled body rubbed against the surrounding citrine ore, producing a somewhat grating sound that echoed inside the mine.

As the poisonous barrier surged into it, Li Yi's senses extended, but unfortunately, the interior remained empty.

Before leaving, Li Yi carefully examined the place and still found some traces.

The citrine vein has been dug deeper, and some gray fragments that have lost their spiritual essence are scattered around. Clearly, the entity that dug out the brown quartz is constantly consuming the citrine.

Cultivating the twilight glow?

There is only one possibility.

Li Yi glanced at the sky and thought to himself that he might have come at the wrong time; otherwise, he might have been able to run into this mysterious being.

The other party is most likely also a crocodile, possibly another black-scaled crocodile, but with a different bloodline, capable of cultivating the Radiant Light, and also solitary.

Perhaps their backgrounds are similar to mine.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yi, unaware of the other party's hostility or any hidden methods, simply took all the brown crystals and left silently under the cover of the poison barrier.

With the help of the Swamp Wood, Li Yi's speed was many times faster than before, and he returned to the area of ​​the Big Willow Tree in no time.

After obtaining the brown crystal, Li Yi quietly lay down under the big willow tree, waiting for the next moonlit night to arrive.

Time passed by, and during that time, the white python cultivated the radiant light several times and comprehended the purple fragments.

Until the night was dark and the wind was high, a full moon hung in the sky, appearing slightly yellowish from the marshland.

This time we were lucky.

Li Yi thought to himself, and then began to quiet his mind, breathing in and out the moonlight. Before long, wisps of cold energy seeped into his body through the black scales, nourishing the chaos within him.

The already disadvantaged Pure Qi Moon Essence received some replenishment, but it still couldn't compete with the Swamp Turbid Qi, which had already cultivated to the third stage.

Clearly, in order to increase his strength as quickly as possible and deal with the troubles that might come, Li Yi's body's balance of pure and impure elements has been disrupted once again.

It only absorbs and releases moonlight once every two months on average, spending the rest of its time dormant inside the hollow of the large willow tree—an inevitable outcome.

As the full moon disappeared, Li Yi blinked, slightly twisted his body, and headed towards the hollow of the large willow tree.

It will not stop; it will continue to cultivate until its strength can no longer increase before considering other things.

Not far away, the white python also finished its cultivation. Wisps of light shimmered on its delicate, snow-white scales, then vanished in a flash.

After sensing the imbalance of water and fire within his body, the white python calmed down.

It was already at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the next step was Foundation Establishment, but it had never been able to figure anything out about this step.

Perhaps it's because the flow of moonlight water isn't strong enough.

The white python vaguely found the crux of the problem, knowing that as long as it continued to cultivate the moonlight, it would one day achieve internal balance and reach the foundation-building stage.

But how long until that day comes?

Is it one year, ten years, or even longer?

The white python couldn't be sure about this, which was precisely why it felt anxious. The dangers in this area were erupting very quickly, and if it could establish its foundation in advance, it might still have a glimmer of hope.

If not...

Shaking its head and flicking its tongue, the white python stopped thinking and looked around before falling into a deep sleep.

The old willow tree silently watched everything around it: time flowed by, the sun rose in the east and set in the west, life died and revived...

Nearly two months have passed again.

On this day, the white python coiled under the big willow tree, concentrating on refining the purple fragment with the flames of the sun. After a long time, it refined a golden pattern from the purple fragment.

The white python, its eyes gleaming with joy, immediately enveloped it in moonlight water and began the next step of its cleansing process.

Before long, another small yellow crystal ball with various runes engraved on its surface was created. The white python carefully placed it aside, piling it up with eight or nine other small balls.

Suddenly, an invisible and colorless life force burst forth from the hollow of the large willow tree, creating an invisible ripple that allowed the white python to smell the unique scent of the swamp.

Corruption, yet it carries a strange vitality.

A vibrant green whirlwind emerged from the hollow of the large willow tree, devoid of any other color, whistling as it dissipated.

When Li Yi appeared here, his aura had surged to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage, and his Swamp Wood Phase had been refined to be completely free of any impurities.

It also reached the peak of the refining period by taking advantage of the third phase of this swamp energy.

The next step is the foundation building stage.

As Li Yi's strength increased once again, he sensed the power of his new body, but the confusion in his heart did not ease at all.

Logically speaking, having reached the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage, it should be able to vaguely sense the path ahead.

In reality, it had no clue what to do. The turbid energy in its body dominated, making it exhibit a more violent and cold beastly temperament, making it look exactly like a black-scaled monster.

It must be because of this road.

Li Yi thought to himself that ever since it discovered this path, the future had always been unknown, and now it seemed that there was no path left.

Yes, the only path it can take now is to increase the moonlight within its body, so that its energy can reach a balance between purity and turbidity.

and then?

And then I don't know.

Li Yi had no idea what would happen after his body achieved a balance of purity and turbidity. Perhaps it would be the arrival of a Foundation Establishment stage? Or perhaps it would be a completely severed path?

As he was pondering, the white python silently coiled around him, its soft body covered in white scales tightening slightly, expressing a deep longing and worry beside Li Yi.

Li Yi understood and quickly tried to reassure him.

Although it now faces greater pressure and unknowns than the white python, it knows that it must never reveal it.

This will have a huge impact on the white python, and may even affect its subsequent foundation building.

After all, its path is definite, and its bloodline is the important foundation for its foundation. Even if the road ahead is rugged, it can still see the end.

After a brief struggle, Li Yi slowly arrived at the lifeless insect nest, stared at it, and released his senses.

After a few breaths, a faint buzzing sound responded, and dozens of spirit insects flew out from the huge insect nest, buzzing and circling around Li Yi.

After some time, more spirit insects awoke, but they were dazed and stupid. Most of them couldn't even fly and could only crawl around on the surface of the insect nest.