From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

It was another sunny day. Even in the gloomy environment of the swamp, the intense sunlight could be felt, and even the year-round poisonous haze seemed to have dissipated somewhat.

Suddenly, a patch of damp, dark mud rose up, revealing a dark figure.

Its short, thick limbs swayed slightly, lifting its entire dark, solid body forward, before finally slowly lying down on a solid patch of ground.

Despite the perilous nature of the swamp, where almost every area is a treacherous environment where one could easily sink in, there are still places to stand.

The yellowish sunlight fell on the black scales on Li Yi's back, reflecting a faint glow.

Li Yi closed his eyes, feeling his body temperature gradually rise, as if all his power was coming alive.

It has just awakened from a deep slumber.

Although he has already embarked on the path of cultivation through instinct, Li Yi has not yet shaken off the inherent characteristics of the Black Scale Crocodile and still needs to follow some of its living habits.

After basking in the sun for most of the day, Li Yi finally opened his eyes, his brownish-yellow pupils flashing with a cold, beast-like light, and silently left the spot.

Soon after, Li Yi emerged from the mud and looked at the densely growing cluster of poisonous flowers and plants, sensing the strange odors released by some of them.

A scent that is extremely attractive to most swamp creatures.

A deadly trap.

Li Yi naturally knew that some highly poisonous plants spread their seeds in a special way: by emitting an alluring scent that entices passing creatures to swallow them.

Once the creature dies from the poison and its body decomposes, its seeds will sink into the swamp and take root in a new place.

This is the law of nature.

At that moment, a strange flower appeared in Li Yi's brownish-yellow pupils.

The edges of the petals are an extremely rare sapphire blue, turning into a vibrant purple inwards, while the stamens are crimson red, and inside they seem to be distributed seeds of various sizes, like sesame seeds.

After much deliberation, Li Yi instinctively chose it, took it into his mouth, and turned to return to his nest.

It still intended to have the white python look after it, just in case anything went wrong.

Although its animal instincts told it that it was worth a try, it still couldn't completely trust the human aspects of Li Yi.

Li Yi moved silently through the mud when he suddenly opened his eyes and looked to his right.

Not far away, a fist-sized clear puddle suddenly appeared in the dark swamp, its water incredibly pure and shimmering with a bluish light.

Li Yi clearly sensed a spiritual fluctuation.

Li Yi turned his head and looked at it in surprise.

When I came here, I passed through this place, which was just an ordinary patch of black silt.

Out of curiosity, Li Yi walked over, first spitting out a small black ball from his mouth, and then tentatively drinking some of the blue water.

In an instant, a cool and comfortable feeling appeared, causing Li Yi's pupils to dilate slightly.

This spiritual water was different from the moonlight, but it was indeed some kind of spiritual substance, which made Li Yi's body feel the rich spiritual energy contained within it.

A deep-seated desire gave Li Yi the urge to swallow the small puddle whole.

But Li Yi did not do that; instead, he watched quietly.

It felt that this small pit could probably continue to develop. This kind of spiritual water had just appeared, so there shouldn't be only this much, right?

And so, a plan came to mind.

Li Yi quickly looked around and spotted a toad staring intently at him from a patch of low grass not far away.

Its eyes looked as if they were about to fall into the small puddle.

Toads live by water and are highly intelligent about it. Their instincts tell them that this sacred water can help them open a mysterious path.

Even Li Yi, who emerged from the mud, was suppressed and ignored by this desire.

Li Yi glanced at the toad, and after confirming that there were no other witnesses around, he slightly opened his mouth.

A fist-sized ball of thick, black water shot out of its mouth at incredible speed. Under the sunlight, the black, flowing surface refracted several bright, rainbow-like ribbons.

The water bullet spun rapidly and struck the toad with a bang. Its potent toxicity instantly corroded the toad into a puddle of pus, which seeped into the swamp.

Then, Li Yi wrapped his body around the small puddle, exerted a little force, and his body arched up the black silt to surround the puddle.

As the black silt formed a small hemisphere, Li Yi had a thought, and the silt flowed finely, quickly sealing the top.

In this way, the spiritual water that was gushing from the ground was sealed off.

Later, Li Yi dug up some stones from nearby and used his mouth to press them down around the area, creating an even more concealed structure.

Seeing that there were no problems, Li Yi quickly picked up the small black ball and returned to his nest.

The place where the spiritual water appeared was not far from Li Yi's nest.

Back in the lair, Li Yi stared at the white python, a different kind of light flashing in his cold, brownish-yellow eyes.

The white python froze slightly, its body coiling, a look of confusion swirling in its heterochromatic vertical pupils.

After a while, it straightened up, placed its head on top of Li Yi's head, wedged between Li Yi's eyes, and remained motionless.

Both the crocodile and the python were beings who had embarked on the path of cultivation and possessed extraordinary talents. During the Qi Refining stage, they could use this contact to conduct rudimentary communication through divine sense.

After a while, the white python opened its eyes, received news of the spiritual water, and its vertical pupils flashed with joy. It left its nest, a rare occurrence for it.

Night had fallen, and in the deep darkness, the white python slithered beneath the black silt, its body surrounded by a layer of clear water, untouched by filth.

Soon, it arrived at the place Li Yi had indicated.

There is a small bump here, with a few stones pressing on it, and the gaps are filled with silt.

The white python excitedly poked its head out of the mud, flicking its tongue, already sensing the aura of that spiritual creature.

It gently manipulates the water flow, causing the protrusion to crack open and reveal the azure spiritual water inside.

At this moment, the spiritual water still occupied an area the size of a fist, and the surrounding silt could not make it dirty at all; a clear dividing line appeared here.

The white python lowered its head and slowly probed its tongue into the spiritual water. Its vertical pupils also became round and elongated, making it look adorable.

After a while, it nodded in satisfaction, and its slender snake body emerged completely from the black mud, circling around the area.

A distinct eddy quickly appeared in the surrounding marshland, with many turbid streams flowing towards it, carrying silt and expanding this mysterious spring.

Meanwhile, the white python's long tail coiled up even larger stones, skillfully constructing them.