From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

The cracking sound of bones breaking rang out, and the eyes of the antelope, which had gained some skill, gradually dimmed. The whirlwind that had gathered in its mouth and nose gradually dissipated, as did the whirlwind under its four hooves.

The instinct for life is rapidly fading away.

Li Yi looked around, taking a look at the surrounding environment with caution. Although it hadn't encountered any opponents in the vicinity, it still needed to be vigilant.

There might be a ferocious beast similar to the giant centipede from before, lurking deep in the swamp.

After observing for a while, Li Yi, with the antelope's carcass in his mouth and blood dripping intermittently, headed towards his lair.

Back in the vicinity of his lair, Li Yi made a point of cleaning up the bloodstains to prevent anything from revealing his cave.

Using all four limbs, they burrowed into the cave, and immediately a cool, dry sensation appeared.

In just the time it takes to hunt once, the interior of the cave has already undergone a complete transformation.

Many stones revealed their original appearance, varying in color, arranged in the surrounding mud caves, where the mud in the crevices had been drained and solidified.

It was much more spacious inside.

Soon, Li Yi saw the white python coiled up, its eyes closed, resting and recovering its depleted magical power.

Building such caves, in the long run, is also a form of consumption.

boom!

The antelope, which had been dead for some time, was thrown in front of the white python, but its body was still fresh, with blood gushing out and dripping onto the ground.

The delicious aroma immediately made the white python open its eyes instinctively. In a daze, it straightened its body and wrapped itself around the antelope carcass.

By the time it regained consciousness, it had already opened its mouth wide in surprise and swallowed almost half of the antelope.

At this moment, Li Yi turned over in the cave and felt much more spacious. He closed his eyes and fell into a short, deep sleep.

The white python rolled its eyes, glanced at Li Yi, and continued to devour its prey.

The arrival of this prey, which possesses a certain level of skill, is perfectly timed; it can be considered a small compensation for asking it to build a cave.

Once the antelope was completely swallowed, the white python's body swelled several times in size in the middle section, and it had to use both its front and rear ends to wriggle forward like a giant caterpillar.

But after walking only a short distance, it breathed a sigh of relief and stopped moving.

It originally intended to return to its den to rest, but now it would take some time to fully digest its prey.

Thinking this, it slowly closed its eyes.

Anyway, this place has already been developed to be spacious enough.

At night, a crocodile and a python woke up at the same time, opened their eyes and headed out of the cave.

It's time to breathe in the moonlight again.

As Li Yi felt the gentle, watery moonlight flowing into his body, he felt a deep, hidden hunger rising from the depths of his being.

It needs higher quality blood food to grow faster.

In the past, Li Yi would rather live a life of hiding than go all out. As long as he could fill his stomach, eating some inferior food was enough for him.

Then came long stretches of deep sleep.

But now, having reached a certain stage in absorbing and exhaling the moonlight, it is no longer sleepy, and that suppressed hunger is swelling even more.

As he was thinking this, his body was overflowing with power, and Li Yi opened his eyes, directly seeing the white python beside him.

It is still absorbing the moonlight.

Unlike itself, at the edge of its colorful scales, faint, bright light appeared and disappeared, almost solidifying into a tangible form.

The white python's bloodline is far stronger than mine, giving it an innate, miraculous power, and it has a much lower need for blood food.

It seems to be closer to nature and kill less.

As he was pondering this, Li Yi suddenly noticed a change in the aura within the white python's body, which abruptly increased by a level.

The fourth level of Qi Refining.

It now seems to be of a higher rank than itself.

With its heterochromatic pupils opening, the white python stretched its body with ease, immersed in the joy of its increased strength.

Suddenly, its body trembled, and it saw Li Yi lying beside it, staring at it with one brown-yellow eye without blinking.

This time, however, it wasn't so afraid.

The snake's tail rose and gently touched Li Yi's jet-black scales. A stream of pure water instantly washed away the black mud on Li Yi's body, revealing the blackness of the scales themselves.

Li Yi opened his mouth, then turned and went back into the cave.

The white python hissed as it followed behind.

Another six months passed.

On this day, Li Yi awoke from the cave and slowly left. The white python beside him opened one of its blue eyes, then closed it again.

The cave is filled with perfectly fitted stone blocks, with many branches extending into the swamp below.

Moreover, the white python had already moved in there.

When did this start?

Li Yi couldn't remember anymore; it only remembered that one day, after discovering that the closer it was to the white python when it was breathing in moonlight, the more benefits it would receive, it left the python here.

In Li Yi's estimation, the process of absorbing moonlight, awakening intelligence, and transforming it into magical power within a strong beast body was just like human cultivation.

How could we miss out on such a spiritual item that could accelerate our cultivation?

Li Yi would even secretly remove some of the stones from the cave that the white python had built, leaving them there.

I don't know if it has discovered it or not.

Over time, the crocodile and the python came to accept that a certain part of the cave could not be completely completed, and thus naturally stayed together.

The result was naturally very good for Li Yi.

In just six months, a fourth black scale has grown on its back, and its body has grown considerably, approaching two zhang in length.

Today, a pair of eyes slowly emerged from the surface of the swamp. The nictitating membrane opened, and Li Yi stared at his surroundings, slowly moving his limbs away from his original position.

It's hunting time again.

It's been about three or four months since the last hunt.

Just as this thought crossed Li Yi's mind, which had become much clearer, he suddenly noticed movement ahead. So he closed his eyes and sank into the mud.

Boom!

Black mud splattered everywhere, and two black figures wrestled and rolled over each other, crushing a round toad that was passing by.

Two black-scaled crocodiles appeared in Li Yi's field of vision.

Black crocodiles are highly prolific, often having dozens of offspring in a single litter. Once they develop the ability to become independent and hunt the smallest prey, the mother black crocodile will selectively abandon some of them.

The abandoned ones are usually the ones the mother black crocodile considers to be the most resilient and the most ferocious among her offspring.

It will only raise the weak and vulnerable itself.

Clearly, Li Yi, as well as the two Blackscale Crocodiles that have unwittingly entered his territory, are of this type.

The Blackscale Crocodile clan does not roar; they are silent predators, but they will also fight each other.

Li Yi swung its heavy tail and slowly approached, showing no aversion to using these fellow creatures as food.