From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

After traveling stealthily for several hours, Li Yi followed the path he had come from and soon saw the gloomy old willow tree again.

Even during the day, this large willow tree is gloomy, with hundreds of branches hanging down, leaves that are an abnormal dark green, and trunk that is black.

Beneath the tree, through a huge hole in the complex root system of the large willow tree, a colossal creature emerged and appeared right in Li Yi's field of vision.

Li Yi suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A crocodile, much larger than himself, was staring at him, seemingly having just escaped from the distant thunder and about to emerge from its cave.

Two crocodiles, both possessing cultivation levels, met.

The other creature had finer scales all over its body, and its body was the classic dirty green of the swamp. Its eyes were small and black, emitting a cold and brutal light.

This crocodile was almost the same species as the saltwater crocodile that Li Yi had seen in his previous life, and it was unusually large.

It only exuded the aura of the second level of Qi Refining, but it had obviously lived for many years and bore the marks of time.

At this moment, it was silently opening its mouth wide, facing Li Yi.

Clearly, Li Yi was an intruder, and solitary crocodiles are usually very territorial, which provoked its hostility.

Li Yi stared at it and saw a faint intelligence in its eyes. It seemed that it would be many years before it could develop a sense of self. Right now, it was just in a daze, controlled by its instincts.

Seeing that Li Yi didn't react, the green crocodile thought it had been provoked, so it used all four limbs to get off the spot and charged towards Li Yi.

In its simple mind, anything smaller than itself is prey, something to be hunted and killed.

Li Yi, however, didn't want to pay any attention to it. He just wanted to return to his nest immediately and quietly ponder what he had just witnessed.

So Li Yi sank into the mud, and at the same time, a thought struck him.

The green crocodile, which was rushing towards them, suddenly lowered its body and was engulfed by the mud beneath it, flipped over, and instantly ended up belly up.

A long, gruesome scar was exposed.

After struggling for a long time, the green crocodile finally turned over, but Li Yi had already disappeared. It was left staring around in astonishment, its eyes filled with confusion.

What just happened?

It doesn't understand.

After traversing a long stretch of land, Li Yi finally returned to the border of his territory, and his movement speed immediately increased significantly.

Somewhere in the marshland, on a dark green meadow, a family of toads were leisurely basking in the sun.

boom!

Suddenly, the meadow split open, revealing a gaping maw that instantly swept away the entire toad family.

Li Yi closed his mouth, swallowed them whole, and left silently.

It felt an increasing throbbing pain in its brain; its small brain seemed to be filled with too much stuff. Now, all it wanted was to fill its stomach a little and then quickly fall into a deep sleep.

Upon reaching a certain spot in the swamp, Li Yi suddenly dove down and plunged into it.

Soon, a neat stone cave appeared ahead, winding and twisting. Li Yi's massive body squeezed through and entered.

As soon as Li Yi peeked out of the spacious cave, a white tail stuck into the top of its head.

A stream of clear water washed away the black mud from Li Yi's body, and after becoming turbid, it flowed into the cracks in the rocks, filling the cave itself.

The white python hissed as it slithered over, its heterochromatic vertical pupils fixed on Li Yi, seemingly relieved.

Li Yi felt increasingly strange sensations in his mind, seemingly accompanied by some kind of throbbing pain, which forced him to climb onto his yellow wax stone bed and quickly fall asleep.

This was the first time Li Yi had realized he was dreaming since coming to this world, and it was a dream that was indistinguishable from reality, very real.

In its dream, it looked at its own body, its sharp claws, and the lightning flashing above its head.

With a deafening thunderclap, Li Yi instinctively sprang to his feet, instantly feeling a lightness all over his body, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, and soared straight into the sky.

It transformed into that dragon shadow, its exact appearance obscured, but its essence remained.

Before their eyes, a blinding white lightning bolt descended with the might of heaven; there was no escape, no way to avoid it, only the ability to withstand it.

Li Yi had no choice but to repeatedly unleash his power and struggle against the tribulation lightning high in the sky.

He fought again and again until his body was covered in blood and his vital energy was completely depleted.

The final bolt of lightning filled his entire field of vision, a chilling white light, and Li Yi's vision went black.

Li Yi opened his eyes.

It was the same familiar cave. Beneath him was a smooth, comfortable bed of yellow wax stone. In front of him was a snake's head, staring at him.

The white python's pupils constantly shifted between a rich array of emotions, so rich that they resembled those of a human rather than a cold-blooded animal.

This is how Li Yi feels right now.

Li Yi looked at it, nudged its body with his nose to indicate that he was alright, and then crawled out of the cave.

It was a full moon night.

A full moon is rare in the swamp, and Li Yi immediately felt the bright and warm moonlight in the sky, and the strange restlessness he had felt earlier gradually subsided.

That dream was so vivid; I can still feel its aftertaste.

Something indescribable appeared in Li Yi's mind.

It felt like it was really starting to grow a brain, and this time it wasn't a delusion.

The white python followed closely behind, silently watching the scene, its thoughts unknown.

Li Yi raised his head and made a primitive gesture of breathing in and out moonlight.

A cool, gentle force, like a spring breeze and rain, flowed into Li Yi's body, making him feel an unprecedented sense of tranquility.

The white python, standing nearby, also wouldn't miss this rare full moon and struck a similar pose.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Yi was immersed in this wonderful feeling when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, and he recalled the scene of Long Ying undergoing his tribulation.

Although it has yet to see the dragon's true form, it has been deeply influenced by its divine charm.

With its tail swaying slightly and its limbs making a strange gesture, Li Yi subconsciously imitated some of the dragon shadow's movements and essence.

Before long, the white python opened one eye, and a human-like look of confusion appeared in its fiery red vertical pupil.

Li Yi's speed of absorbing and exhaling moonlight increased dramatically, and even it didn't know why.

At this moment, its limited mind was completely immersed in this feeling, and it lost all response to everything in the outside world.

The white python turned its head and stared at Li Yi with its other icy blue vertical pupil, even more puzzled.

In its mind, the crude and foolish black-scaled crocodile would never act in this way; everything now was something unexpected.

What does this strange posture represent?