From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

The palace shook violently. Li Yi keenly sensed a power emanating from the palace itself. After absorbing the moonlight, it acknowledged the white crocodile.

As the purest moonlight fell, the white crocodile seemed to receive something, its entire body radiating light, remaining motionless.

When everything was over, it was still standing there in a daze when a cold gaze fell upon it.

It hurriedly turned its head to look, only to see Li Yi looking at it with a scrutinizing gaze, and an immense pressure made it hard for it to breathe.

This palace should rightfully belong to Li Yi, as he is undoubtedly the rightful owner in terms of both power and cultivation of the Moon Essence.

But for some reason, the palace seemed to have chosen the first white crocodile to seek refuge there.

In Li Yi's view, this palace holds a great secret, and the star map above might represent something, so it must not be lost.

"Hehe, this is going to be difficult."

Just as the atmosphere froze, Mu'e's voice rang out casually. Unbeknownst to her, she had already arrived at the direction of the palace entrance, blocking the way.

The yellow crocodile was also eyeing its back, and as a sensation came, the triangular-headed venomous snake, which had used its natural invisibility, crawled over.

The white python stared intently at this scene. It had the best relationship with the white crocodile, so it quickly gave it a meaningful look.

In the ensuing silence, the white crocodile spoke in human language for the first time before Li Yi, saying, "Your Majesty, I am willing to submit. This palace naturally belongs to Your Majesty."

The atmosphere relaxed slightly. Li Yi glanced at the white python and slowly asked:

"Has this palace recognized you as its master?"

"Yes, this is just a side hall. The main hall it connects to is called Qingxin Hall, which belongs to the Xikun Sect, a human sect," the white crocodile replied after thinking for a moment.

Why did the Xikun Sect fall?

"this……"

Where is Qingxin Hall?

"..."

It seems the white crocodile only passively accepted the master's name, and it knows nothing about these things. This side hall seems to be just an accident.

Li Yi squinted and carefully examined the white crocodile. After confirming that it was not lying, he looked up at the star map in the sky.

After a long silence, he said calmly, "Cultivate well. This palace can amplify the moonlight, which will be of great benefit to your Foundation Establishment."

The white python nodded hurriedly and affectionately wrapped itself around Li Yi.

Among his many companions, it was the one he met earliest and was closest to. If it weren't for it, Li Yi would probably have killed the white crocodile on the spot.

It's better to keep some things in your own hands.

The white python's voice rang directly in Li Yi's mind, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will keep a close eye on it, nothing will happen, it will definitely obey Your Majesty's orders."

Li Yi didn't react much, and continued to cultivate by sitting cross-legged under the star map, occasionally assisting Huang E in sensing the Foundation Establishment stage and nurturing spirit insects.

One year after the phosphorescence disaster.

On this day, Li Yi carefully observed the spirit insects that had multiplied to several hundred, his gaze sweeping over the two-colored stripes on their backs.

With a thought, the entire jade insect nest was covered by black swamp water. This black water seeped into it, penetrating every nook and cranny, and quickly soaked the insect nest.

The spirit insects crawled around inside, no longer afraid of the deadly swamp venom, but instead emitting waves of enjoyment.

After a long time, only one spirit insect died because it could not adapt to the swampy water.

Seeing this, Li Yi nodded in satisfaction.

Now, after being cultivated in the soil and water of the swamp, these spirit insects are as strong as those in the early stage of Qi Refining. If there are enough of them, they can easily devour those in the middle stage of Qi Refining.

Now all he has to do is wait for their numbers to increase to a certain level, then add them to the swampy wood phase to complete the next selection.

Presumably, by then, these spirit insects will no longer be useless and can assist him in doing certain things.

Li Yi slowly shifted his gaze from the insect nest and flashed to another location.

A faint, lingering poisonous haze had begun to permeate the area, creating an eerie atmosphere, within which a large, indistinct outline could be vaguely discerned.

The yellow crocodile had entered a critical period of foundation building. Just a few days ago, it suddenly fell into a deep sleep and has not moved since.

A powerful aura of the swamp emanated from its massive body.

Li Yi stepped into the mist, placing one hand on the scales of the yellow crocodile.

He carefully sensed what was happening inside the yellow crocodile's body, nodded after a while, and turned to leave.

He was no longer in the Qi Refining stage. His Pure and Turbid Immortal Foundation gave him extremely strong control over the four phases of the swamp. If the Yellow Crocodile showed signs of failing to establish its foundation, Li Yi could even intervene and save it.

With another flash, Li Yi arrived beside the white python, which was struggling to absorb moonlight, and stared at it with great interest.

The white python quickly noticed, turned its head and quietly looked at him, then brought its head closer.

"Your inability to establish your foundation is still due to the interference of your water and fire bloodlines," Li Yi said calmly, stroking its white scales.

"You've almost grasped the essence of the moon and the flames of the sun, but your understanding of the fusion of water and fire is still insufficient. This step is too dangerous."

Li Yi noticed something amiss and comforted the white python.

Beasts like it never follow ordinary paths, so they naturally have no experience to speak of. The white python possesses the bloodlines of water and fire, and it has refined the moonlight and three kinds of solar rays into its water and fire, making it extremely terrifying in itself.

The fusion of water and fire, accompanied by an explosion, is extremely dangerous; a single misstep could result in total destruction.

This cannot be rushed.

"Don't rush. We're setting off today to leave this scorched earth. I'll find you some treasures of water and fire. Don't try to force your way to the Foundation Establishment stage."

After giving a word of advice, Li Yi turned to look at the white crocodile.

The white crocodile immediately understood, and steered the dilapidated side hall into the air, flying in the direction Li Yi hoped for.

With a thought, Li Yi caused the poisonous barrier to explode around him, forming a dense fog maze that completely covered the palace.

From a distance, it looked like a large patch of poisonous material that had been blown by the wind and remained condensed.

"Alas, I wonder how long it will take for this scorched earth to recover." Li Yi stood at the palace gate, his eyes piercing through the poisonous barrier as he looked down at the earth below.

The phosphorus fire disaster was terrible; it burned away all life and moisture, both above and below ground, turning a vast swamp into a place worse than a desert, lifeless and desolate.

"Your Majesty, where are we going?"

Mu'e hugged Li Yi from behind and asked him affectionately in his ear.

"Go to a place where a venomous dragon once underwent tribulation. It was incredibly strange. I hope it wasn't burned to ashes by the phosphorescent fire."

Li Yi grasped Mu E's slender hand and spoke softly.

"So...shouldn't we take this opportunity to do something serious? You've been doing quite a bit of 'those things' with the white crocodile lately, haven't you?"

Mu'e's voice carried a hint of melancholy.