From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

Now that we've found the monkeys' food source, there's no need to rush anything.

Li Yi made a decision.

Although it has the body of an animal, it is not a beast that relies entirely on instinct; it possesses the ability to think for itself.

As long as we don't expose ourselves and just wait for the rabbits to come to us, wouldn't we be able to get a steady stream of live food?

Looking at the round fruits around him, Li Yi suddenly became interested and swallowed one directly.

These green and reddish-brown fruits are very juicy and crisp, making a crunching sound in your mouth. The juice is sweet and sour, so they are quite a good source of food.

However, as a carnivore, Li Yi wasn't very interested in it.

I wonder if the white python would like it?

The idea suddenly popped into Li Yi's mind, so he used his heavy body to pick a few fruits, intending to put them in his mouth and take them back.

As for the fruit trees, there's no rush at the moment.

Emerging from the dense, dark green thicket, Li Yi carefully disturbed the traces he had left in the mud before leaving.

Inside the nest.

As usual, Li Yi slowly crawled into the cave from outside. The black scales on his body rubbed against the rocks, making a peculiar sound, which sounded like some kind of sobbing.

When they reached the largest cave, the white python suddenly raised its head, climbed down from the yellow wax stone, and hissed as it came to Li Yi's side, staring at Li Yi's puffed-out mouth with some suspicion.

Li Yi opened his mouth, and several round fruits rolled out of it, each about the size of a fist, and were bluish-red in color.

The white python coiled up one of them, and the clear, cool water swept over it like a gentle breeze, washing the fruit clean before swallowing it whole.

After a while, a hint of joy flickered in its heterochromatic pupils, clearly indicating that it thought the fruit was quite good.

Li Yi caught this scene with a sidelong glance and nodded secretly.

It seems we'll have to control those red-faced monkeys from now on.

Just five days later, Li Yi once again silently crept up to the vicinity of the red-leaf banyan tree, opening his eyes from the black mud and looking ahead.

The monkeys remained as annoying as ever, liking to throw stones everywhere.

However, they seem to have attracted the attention of nearby creatures, and even the toads in the vicinity rarely linger around the banyan tree anymore.

One of the toads, with bulging eyes, was facing the banyan tree, just out of the monkeys' reach, and occasionally opened its mouth to let out a provocative croak.

"Oh, oh, oh..."

"Croak!"

"oh oh……"

"Croak!"

After a series of chaotic sounds, several red-faced monkeys became anxious, waving their arms and legs, scratching their ears and cheeks, and throwing stones several times without success, then running around under the tree.

This toad possessed rudimentary intelligence, and from Li Yi's perspective, it could also exhale wisps of swampy aura, clearly indicating that it had been angered by the monkey.

However, although it showed some signs of cultivation, it was still no match for the monkeys and could only test them at a delicate distance.

After a while, it looked at the monkeys baring their teeth and seemed satisfied. It then turned around and hopped away.

Unlike monkey troops, it does not need the protection of banyan trees and can move naturally in the toxic swamp.

Li Yi watched this scene coldly, without touching the toad.

It was too weak and had too little meat to satisfy itself.

That wisp of spiritual energy also needs time to grow.

After waiting for a long time, several strong monkeys came down from the banyan tree, each picked a red leaf, held it in their hands, and walked out of the banyan tree.

Behind them, the red-faced monkey king still held a short spear, looking around warily, as if searching for something.

From Li Yi's perspective, it emanated an orange-red glow, originating from the sunset, radiating golden ripples, which could be considered a kind of spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

It should be stronger than the aura of swamps, but weaker than the aura of moonlight.

Six monkeys walked to the edge of the banyan tree, each holding a red leaf in their mouth, and with their arms outstretched for balance, they stepped into the swamp, one foot deep and one foot shallow.

Li Yi followed silently.

After observing for a period of time, it realized that although the monkeys relied on the banyan tree to resist the poisonous barriers from the outside world, they still needed a food source.

Water is not difficult to obtain; every morning, glistening dew forms on the banyan tree, pure enough to satisfy any need for water.

They have at least three food sources.

Only one was discovered by Li Yi; the dark green grove bearing green and reddish-brown fruit was probably the most important one.

Controlling just one is enough.

In the black mud, Li Yi moved faster and more stealthily than the monkeys, arriving at the bushes well in advance to wait and choose a place to ambush them.

Before long, the monkeys filled their hands with fruit, wrapped them in a huge vine leaf, and cautiously scanned their surroundings, preparing to leave in pairs.

Li Yi continued to follow, but stopped halfway there.

Just as the monkeys were passing by this black swamp, Li Yi leaped up from the side, his gaping maw bursting through the swamp, slicing down and biting off half the bodies of two monkeys.

The remaining monkeys panicked and fled in disarray, dropping many of the fruits they were carrying.

Crunch, crunch.

Li Yi chewed a few times, crushing the bones of the two monkeys, and then swallowed them whole. Together with the prey he had caught earlier, he was now somewhat full.

Hunting and consuming flesh and blood can also help increase the swamp energy within its body, thereby increasing its physical strength.

Looking at the fruit scattered around, Li Yi took it away and slowly wagged its tail as it left.

The monkey troop was startled.

Although they were attacked halfway, they lost two monkeys. The remaining four monkeys returned to the troop noisily, shouting and yelling.

The piercing cries rose and fell, almost to the point of being out of control.

"Croak!"

The toad reappeared, its eyes bulging as it turned around, seemingly gloating.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Several monkeys angrily jumped around at the edge of the banyan tree, clutching a red leaf in their hands, looking like they were about to come out.

The toads didn't back down and just stared at them.

A young monkey cried out, carrying a red leaf in its mouth, and pounced alone, leaping and bounding until it reached the spot.

"Croak!"

The toad puffed out its mouth, and when the monkey came close, it suddenly spat out a large glob of dark green mucus, smearing the baby monkey's face with it.

The baby monkey quickly began to struggle in pain, its whole body convulsing, its fur hissing as it was corroded.

Seeing this, three adult monkeys rushed out, looking fierce, while the toad hopped a long distance and ran away with a croak.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

The baby monkey was rescued, but it was on the verge of death and died soon after.

The environment of the swamp is indeed harsh, but it must be said that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here is unexpectedly strong.