From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Yi sat up from the white jade platform and glanced helplessly at Mu E's emerald-green, watery eyes. She was far too indulgent, seemingly inheriting something from the dragon race.

"Cultivate diligently and don't slack off; your foundation for immortality is not yet solid enough."

After giving a word of advice, Li Yi turned and walked away, taking back the remaining nine spirit insects from the white python.

He was prepared for the complete annihilation of these spirit insects, since they were too weak to even withstand the swampy water phase and could not survive the phosphorescent fire disaster.

Fortunately, the white python rescued the last batch, exactly nine.

Looking at the stable yellow and black stripes on their shells and listening to their buzzing sound, Li Yi smiled.

"Alright, since there are still nine left, let's start over. Let's breed and nurture them little by little. I believe you will be of use."

Seemingly understanding Li Yi's words, the nine spirit insects buzzed and danced around him, becoming much more active and no longer looking listless.

A burst of yellow mist exploded from around Li Yi, enveloping the nine spirit insects. They immediately became much happier, feeling as if they had returned home within the poisonous barrier.

A moment later, Li Yi searched the palace and soon found a raised white spherical jade stone. It seemed that a jade carving of a beast had once been lying on it, but now only a remnant remained.

He simply broke it off with his bare hands, softened its interior with his magic, and used it as a new nest for the remaining nine spirit insects.

After finishing everything, Li Yi nodded in satisfaction and then found the Yellow Crocodile.

In front of the yellow crocodile, Li transformed into his true form, a magnificent black-scaled crocodile.

At this moment, with the Pure and Turbid Immortal Foundation completely stabilized, Li Yi's body was fixed at three zhang in length, no more and no less, and his body shape would no longer change erratically due to his groping cultivation.

Now, the black scales on his back have become inconspicuous, because after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, all the black scales on his body have transformed into black scales, as deep as a mirror, shimmering with strange light.

Li Yi's eyes were even more terrifying. They had been completely burned away by phosphorescent fire and then reshaped by it. Those two eerie white eyes naturally carried an aura of disaster and revealed a kind of terror.

The yellow crocodile dared not look at it for long, obediently lowering its head, even though it was larger.

boom!

A burst of yellow mist exploded around Li Yi, enveloping the yellow crocodile. Then, a poisonous barrier swirled around, rotating slightly, completely concealing the area inside.

A certain dark fluctuation appeared from time to time, and the yellow mist flickered like breathing, expanding and contracting.

Li Yi is using his swamp soil to help Huang E comprehend the final stage and reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

As a powerful Yellow-scaled Crocodile, with Li Yi's assistance, it already surpasses all the rare and precious treasures of the Qi Refining stage.

It can be said that if this process continues, it will inevitably reach the foundational stage.

Time flies, and three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The catastrophe of phosphorescence has long passed. Today, Toad bids farewell to Li Yi and the others, saying that he is going to cultivate alone and take on an adventure.

"Haha, fellow Daoists, we'll meet again someday."

The toad laughed loudly, then fled from the palace, transforming into a seven-colored cloud and disappearing into the horizon.

Taking this opportunity, Li Yi saw this land for the first time.

The catastrophe of phosphorescence has passed, and this swamp has become an endless expanse of scorched earth, covered with grayish-white cracks, some of which are incredibly huge, stretching for miles like a canyon.

The poisonous barriers were all burned away, and the world was clear, but the unpleasant smell of phosphorescent fire burning everything still lingered.

Where is there any life here? As far as the eye can see, there is only deathly silence, with only scorched earth and sky.

Li Yi wasn't in a hurry to leave. With the palace's protection, they could catch their breath here.

Although the area covered by the phosphorescent fire disaster was nothing compared to the entire swamp, it was a vast and terrifying territory for it.

There's no rush to leave now; let's find out the situation at the palace first.

Although he hadn't found anything before, Li Yi had a feeling that there was some secret in this palace.

boom!

A low, explosive sound rang out, and a charred boulder was casually tossed far away by Li Yi, turning into a small black dot that fell to the distant horizon.

Immediately afterwards, his magical power surged, and the scorched earth nearby turned into swamps, with poisonous stagnation spreading and silt flowing.

An immense force continuously lifted the white, dilapidated palace, slowly lowering it towards the ground.

The scorched earth gradually turned into silt, and Li Yi's body floated up, with a white palace rising continuously beneath his feet.

After some time, the entire white palace was completely lifted out of the scorched earth by this force from the swamp, standing tall on the dry and desolate land.

Mu'e peeked out from the palace gate, staring intently at Li Yi, and waved to him.

"Your Majesty, I have some questions about cultivation. Please enlighten me."

Li Yi, without suspecting anything, followed Mu E, turning left and right, until they arrived at the white jade platform again, only then realizing that he had been tricked.

Night fell in the blink of an eye.

The scorched earth was finally no longer so scorching hot, and the moonlight, like water, flowed down from the sky, shining brightly and white.

This time, without the swampy poison barrier blocking his way, and with the hazy veil gone, Li Yi saw the complete moon for the first time.

Tonight is another full moon night.

After an unknown amount of time, just as Li Yi was standing on the palace roof, breathing in the moonlight, he suddenly made a discovery and opened his eyes.

Strands of moonlight flowed along the dome of the white palace, and all the white jade outlines lit up one by one, as a wave of spiritual energy rippled outwards.

The moonlight is being absorbed by the palace, and a certain change will occur as a result.

Li Yi's spirits lifted, realizing that there were indeed some oddities about this palace that he hadn't noticed. So he quickly stopped cultivating and began to carefully sense the surroundings.

As the moonlight flowed completely across the entire palace surface, it shone brilliantly, sweeping away any old traces and giving it a brand new look.

Li Yi gradually became confused about everything inside the palace.

He then vanished into the palace in a flash.

The white python and the white crocodile were located beneath the palace's bowl-shaped dome, curiously watching the changes unfold before them.

Strands of moonlight flowed in, illuminating the reliefs on the dome. One by one, the relief stars lit up, all emitting a soft, white glow.

The moonlight inside the palace grew richer, carrying a sacred aura.

Starting with the stars on the outermost edge of the dome, each star shines, connected to each other by intricately carved lines, and becomes illuminated.

It was a star map.

Finally, the full moon in the very center was lit up, its light so intense that it draped everything in the palace in a white veil.

A beam of white light suddenly shot out from the full moon relief and landed directly on the white crocodile's forehead.