From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

The monkeys walked faster and faster, their expressions becoming increasingly excited.

The Monkey King leaped into the air, spitting out a yellowed banyan leaf, letting out a relieved cry, and planted one foot firmly on the ground.

Other monkeys also arrived one after another. Among them, two or three red-faced monkeys who were here for the first time froze in place, staring in astonishment at the ancient tree in front of them.

Li Yi was also watching this scene, and sighed inwardly.

This is a cedar tree with a straight and towering trunk. The bark texture is very clear and neat. The height of the entire ancient tree is at least equivalent to five red banyan trees stacked together.

Moreover, the protection provided by the red-leaf banyan tree is limited to a small area under the canopy and around the roots.

This spiritual cedar tree, which has lived for countless years, can protect an area of ​​more than three zhang in radius around it. The area is a pure land, and no poisonous barrier can invade it.

What a treasure trove!

Li Yi couldn't help but sigh as he watched everything from outside the protective area of ​​the cedar tree.

When the Monkey King arrived at this pure land, he first collapsed to the ground, panting heavily for a long time, before finally standing under a tree several times thicker than the red-leaf banyan tree and letting out a sharp, strange roar towards the sky.

The roar echoed above, seemingly causing the dark green needles of the ancient cedar tree to tremble slightly.

Before long, a rustling sound came from above the cedar tree, and a nimble and sturdy brown figure slowly climbed down, heading in this direction.

This is a baboon that is a size larger than the red-faced monkey. It has brown fur all over its body and bright red and purple fur on its face, making it very eye-catching.

Upon seeing it, the red-faced monkey king's previous air of authority over the entire troop vanished instantly. He raised his hands high, swaying unsteadily, and a human-like fawning expression appeared on his face.

It bowed and scraped as it went to greet them, its body hopping and leaping, which was quite comical.

And what about the baboon?

It squatted in place, its thick, well-developed arms hanging naturally on the ground. In its square eye sockets, two brown-black pupils hung neatly in the lower right corner, glancing at the monkey king with an impatient look.

The monkey king, however, had no objections and began chattering around it.

After a while, the baboon impatiently scratched its ears, its pupils darting from the lower right to the lower left, and then turned to the cedar tree, letting out an even more powerful cry.

The monkey king's eardrums vibrated from the shock, but a look of joy appeared on his face, and he kept nodding and bowing.

Soon, several more baboons, all identical in appearance, fell from the tree, their eyes all uniformly slanting as they looked at the monkey.

They brought several items and dropped them in front of the monkey king.

They were tools made of straight cedar branches and sharp, dark brown crystals with black threads, similar to human pickaxes.

Another baboon was holding a handful of emerald green pine needles, which the monkey king took with both hands and held tightly in his hands as if they were a precious treasure.

The monkey king turned and gave a urging call to the monkey troop, pointing a finger at the pickaxe on the ground, and his majestic expression briefly reappeared on his face.

Those usually grumpy red-faced monkeys were now unusually docile, obediently picking up pickaxes and hoisting them onto their shoulders under the watchful eyes of the baboons, who were a size larger than them.

Then, the monkey king began distributing tender, emerald-green needles to his companions, while making intermittent calls.

Li Yi outside had long since forgotten everything else; his brownish-yellow eyes had been glued to the pickaxe ever since it appeared in them.

It stared intently at the dark brown crystal with black threads on the pickaxe, feeling a fatal attraction to it.

Those are mixed swamp crystals!

Although it is mixed and varied, it also contains the spiritual energy of the swamp itself, making it something that the Blackscale Crocodile clan can regard as a treasure.

Now, this brown crystal has been polished and firmly bound to a cedar stick by vines, becoming a kind of...digging tool?

Li Yi stared at the brown crystal hanging behind the monkeys, his brownish-yellow eyes moving back and forth between the brown crystal and the baboons.

Its heart was already filled with ferocity.

The trip was originally intended to confirm the origin of the citrine and see if there would be any gains, but upon arriving here, Li Yi discovered something more suitable for him.

It was almost ready to switch targets and see if it could snatch it from the baboons, preferably to find out where the brown crystal came from.

But after thinking it over, it stared at the towering tree and then at the baboon troop in the dense canopy, and decided to follow the red-faced monkey for the time being.

The opponents in this region are not to be trifled with. Judging from the current situation, their power is at least many times greater than that of the red-faced monkeys, and their foundation is unfathomable.

Otherwise, the Monkey King wouldn't be so obsequious, bowing and scraping.

Before long, under the dead-fish-like gazes of the baboons, the monkeys, with pickaxes on their shoulders and needles clutched in one paw, walked to the other side.

As they were about to leave the shelter of the cedar trees, the monkeys moved in unison, putting a bright green needle-like leaf into their mouths and chewing it.

Then, they safely stepped into the poisonous barrier, their figures disappearing into the unknown distance.

At this moment, a fierce glint flashed in Li Yi's eyes. Instinct made him want to act immediately, kill all the monkeys, and seize the brown crystal, but reason made him continue to observe and not alert the enemy.

In the end, reason prevailed over instinct. It lurked in the mud, wagging its powerful long tail, and followed.

Not far from here is a citrine vein exposed on the ground.

The citrine vein emitted a warm yellow light. The exposed part of the swamp surface had several caves that looked like they had been dug out. They were dark and seemed very deep inside.

Within the mineral vein, the aura of a naturally occurring spiritual entity dispelled most of the poisonous barrier, purifying the air once again.

The red-faced monkeys soon arrived, and the monkey king stared at the yellow crystal that shone faintly even in the daytime, his face revealing undisguised covetousness.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

It shrieked, and the remaining monkeys hurriedly grabbed their picks and scurried into the mine, disappearing in no time.

Li Yi observed everything and now knew the origin of the citrine. He moved around the citrine vein, carefully sensing its presence.

It quickly discovered that there was not only citrine here, but also a trace of brown crystal. As the one that absorbed the energy of the swamp, it could not be mistaken in its perception.

Could it be that the two types of crystals coexist?

While the monkeys were digging and clanging away, Li Yi looked around and found no other veins nearby, only this one.

It seems the secret lies inside the mine.

Should we wait or just barge in?