From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

"Croak, croak, croak..."

Just as the swamp had passed its hottest period, a huge toad jumped onto a rotten tree trunk, its cheeks rhythmically puffing up and contracting, emitting a series of croaks.

Unbeknownst to it, a patch of black silt was slowly flowing behind it.

"Quack, quack, quack!"

boom!

Li Yi leaped out of the swamp, biting the toad that instinctively tried to jump away, before falling into the mud and remaining motionless.

The burst of delicious flavor filled his mouth, and Li Yi nodded secretly before continuing his hunt.

Consider this an appetizer.

After swimming for a while, an image suddenly appeared in Li Yi's mind, which made it change direction. With a flick of its tail, it left the spot.

Soon after, Li Yi emerged from the mud with his eyes, quietly opened them, and scanned the area ahead.

The red-leaf banyan tree has completely transformed, now lush and verdant, with a well-developed root system and a thick trunk; its age is unknown.

Around it, a cavity was clearly visible. Outside the cavity was a dense layer of toxic swampy soil, while inside the cavity was fresh air.

Li Yi knew that it had only entered the initial stage of becoming a spirit, which was why this strange phenomenon was born.

In a few years, this cavity will completely disappear. At that time, everything will be natural, and the closer you get to it, the weaker the poison barrier will become.

"Oh, oh, oh..."

A stone flew out from the dense canopy of trees with a whoosh and hit a large patch of mud about ten feet away with a thud.

A series of calls came from the canopy of the banyan tree.

Li Yi remained motionless, fully aware that he had not been discovered, his mind was icy cold, and he adopted the posture of a hunter.

The dense red canopy stirred, and several agile figures leaped out from it, one of them standing on a branch, uttering a monosyllabic cry.

It was a red-faced monkey with long limbs and brown fur all over its body, which looked very similar to the color of the tree trunk.

Its one arm hung nimbly behind it, and suddenly it swung, throwing out another stone.

The stone traced an arc as it fell into Li Yi's eyes, striking precisely into the mouth of a toad that had just been lying there, its mouth open in preparation for croaking.

The toad let out a groan, then fell backward as if it had lost its breath, its thick, powerful hind legs twitching, which was quite comical.

"Oh, oh, oh..."

A large group of red-faced monkeys appeared behind the red-faced monkey, making mocking noises and moving their limbs in a demonic manner.

These monkeys naturally exude an annoying aura.

Li Yi had been observing silently, mentally calculating his next move.

If we charge straight out, we can probably kill a lot of monkeys and have a good meal, but who knows what will happen after that.

Perhaps these monkeys will leave this place and migrate to other places.

As a crocodile, Li Yi was extremely patient, slowly moving around, observing, and waiting.

boom!

Another stone flew out and broke a toad's leg, causing the toad to limp away.

Watching the toad's retreating figure, the red-faced monkeys laughed again, gesturing wildly.

As the sun set and dusk approached, Li Yi coldly observed the group of red-faced monkeys in the tree, gleaning a great deal of information.

The group of monkeys numbered in the dozens. The strongest of them, who appeared only once, was the largest and was carrying a sharpened short spear.

Its eyes gleam with a hint of wisdom, and it instinctively makes strange moves at dusk, instinctively swallowing and exhaling a wisp of orange-yellow sunset glow.

Just then, all the monkeys in the tree turned their faces to look in another direction and let out joyful cries.

Li Yi moved his eyes and spotted seven strong monkeys lined up in that direction, carefully traversing the swamp with their mouths tightly shut.

They each held a large bunch of green and red fruits in their hands, each one about the size of a fist and round.

Seeing that the nearest red-faced monkey was less than ten feet away from Li Yi, Li Yi still made a move.

In the crooked and wobbly line, the last monkey suddenly lost its footing and was swallowed by the mud, losing a leg in an instant.

Its face showed a look of horror, but it still didn't open its mouth. The fruit in its hand fell to the ground as it tried to pull its leg out.

However, the mud twisted and coiled like snakes, and the more the monkey struggled, the deeper it sank.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

The monkeys in front glanced back, then each carried their fruit and left without offering any help.

Beneath the mud, Li Yi had already reached the monkey and dragged it directly into the abyss.

Without any special techniques, with just a gentle bite, the strong, red-faced monkey's bones shattered, and Li Yi swallowed it whole.

Before long, the other six monkeys came to the tree, put down all the fruit, immediately opened their mouths, spat out a banyan leaf, and turned around to scream.

At this time, the bright red banyan tree leaves have already turned yellow.

Li Yi watched this scene, lost in thought.

Soon, several monkeys picked another red leaf, put it in their mouths, and headed towards this place with their mouths tightly closed.

Beneath the black mud, Li Yi closed his eyes and remained motionless, letting the monkeys rummage and jump around without making a move.

Several red-faced monkeys dejectedly picked up the fruit from the swamp, left, and returned to the banyan tree.

They lost a companion.

However, not long afterward, the monkeys started making cheerful noises again, looking around and throwing stones, having fun, and eating.

Only the leader of the monkey troop, a strong monkey with a serious expression, stood under the tree, staring thoughtfully at the spot where Li Yi was hiding, without moving.

After a while, it slowly took a step, as if it wanted to come and see for itself.

But halfway through its step, it cautiously withdrew.

As the leader of the troop, this most powerful monkey doesn't need to go out to gather food; he only needs to lead the troop, and his situation is very safe.

Moreover, it already possesses a slight possibility of entering the path of immortality, and has developed the instinct to absorb and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

This creature values ​​its life above all else, so it naturally wouldn't take any risks.

Li Yi watched its movements and felt a pang of regret, but he didn't move.

If only I could swallow it whole...

Seeing that the monkeys had stopped venturing out and were huddled inside the banyan tree, Li Yi turned around and left silently, following the monkeys' footprints.

This trip indeed yielded some discoveries.

In some inconspicuous place, there was a grove of low trees with twisted trunks and lush, dark green leaves, which looked just like the surrounding swamp.

If you don't go inside, you won't even notice there's a grove of trees here.

Li Yi arrived at the tree and ventured into its dense canopy, where he indeed discovered many round, bluish-red fruits growing inside the umbrella-shaped canopy.