From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

But now, this devilish ancient tree is blocking my way to mine the ore vein. What should I do?

Li Yi stared at the ancient devil tree from afar, lost in thought.

This ancient devil tree looks badly injured; one side of its trunk is almost split open, and the inside is full of charcoal. Its aura has also diminished considerably.

If I were to use my full strength...

Li Yi lay lurking beneath the mud, assessing the situation. He felt he had a better chance of winning, but this would undoubtedly alert the red-haired fox not far away, causing unnecessary trouble.

If my whereabouts are exposed, then it would be a great loss.

"Forget it, I'd better investigate why this mineral vein is here first."

Li Yi silently arrived at the edge of the vein, then submerged, following the edge of the citrine vein towards the depths of the silt, attempting to explore it.

Swampy areas are soft and fluid, so in theory, such heavy, large mineral veins shouldn't exist there; they would all sink to the depths.

The fact that this citrine vein could float on the surface had already caught Li Yi's attention for a long time.

Now, Li Yi finally has time to explore it carefully.

In the bottomless, pitch-black mud, Li Yi clung to the edge of the vein, spiraling downwards. He first painstakingly traced the outline of the entire vein, and then continued deeper into the depths.

The approximate shape of this mineral vein also appeared in Li Yi's mind during this process.

The vein is roughly shaped like an inverted cone with an uneven, circular cross-section. Part of it protrudes from the swamp like a spine, and the depth of its tip is unknown.

About half an hour later, Li Yi estimated that he had descended to a depth of several tens of feet. At this moment, the squeezing force brought by the surrounding silt was becoming increasingly enormous, which restricted Li Yi's ability to move. The scales were squeezing against each other, making a creaking sound.

Although it could continue to explore, Li Yi had already considered giving up at this moment.

Who knows what else might exist deep within the swamp? Perhaps it's some ancient artifact slumbering in the depths.

This natural, dormant land is teeming with countless terrifying creatures, like ancient monsters and insects. If you were to encounter one here, there would be no escape.

Just as Li Yi was about to turn around and surface, the roughly cone-shaped citrine vein was suddenly cut off, abruptly ending.

Li Yi paused for a moment, then slowly moved his limbs, groping around amidst the immense resistance, and indeed made a great discovery.

At the very bottom of this citrine vein, there was a chain as thick as a bowl!

One end of the chain is embedded at the bottom of the citrine vein, while the other end extends into the deeper, more treacherous mud, with no end in sight.

At this moment, Li Yi was certain that this chain was created by human cultivators. It was incredibly ancient, bearing some rust, yet it remained sturdy, firmly binding the yellow crystal vein.

Based on what the toad said earlier, there was once a human sect in this swamp, but it mysteriously disappeared overnight.

The existence of this chain seems to have completely proven to Li Yi that his conjecture was indeed true.

What is fixed to the other end of the chain?

Li Yi's large, strong body struggled to sway in the deep mud, trying to keep himself from falling further, when a question arose in his mind.

Will that ancient human sect... just sink into the swamp?

This conjecture perfectly matches the miraculous phenomenon the toad described, disappearing overnight.

But this is just speculation.

Li Yi quickly swung its limbs and tail, heading upwards.

The pressure here is immense; the oppression deep within the silt is far more terrifying than that in deep water. As the layers of flowing silt accumulate, the deeper into the swamp, the greater the force pulling Li Yi as he continues to fall.

Once it can no longer resist and sinks completely, it's a dead end.

Now, Li Yi must hurry and leave this dangerous area.

The citrine vein is entirely covered by a thick, solid layer of rock, with only one entrance visible outside the swamp, allowing access for mining.

After a long while, Li Yi opened his two brownish-yellow eyes again from the mud, scanned his surroundings, and began to think about how to obtain the mineral vein.

This ancient demon tree was clearly not at the Foundation Establishment stage, and was not a target that I couldn't completely defeat.

After some thought, Li Yi found a spot, slowly emerged from the mud, opened his mouth, and spat out a series of poison bullets at the Demon Tree.

The black, mottled poison bombs spun through the air, exploding with a series of bangs on the already badly damaged trunk of the Demon Tree.

Hissing corrosion sounds and rising white smoke indicated that Li Yi's poison bullets were growing stronger and were now threatening the Demon Ancient Tree.

The Devil Tree immediately came to life, its branches and trunk writhing in agony, and black powder began to fall from its wounds, which had already turned into a pile of charred remains.

Although it remained silent, it used this body language to express the pain of being eroded.

Almost immediately, the roots of the Demon Tree twisted and turned, heading straight towards Li Yi. Its branches flailing wildly, and a dense rain of leaves shot out.

Li Yi swiftly burrowed into the mud, wagging its tail as it quickly left, yet always maintaining a distance that the Demon Tree could pursue.

The two pursued and fled, the Demon Tree twisting and turning through the swamp, leaving a huge trail that terrified all the creatures along its path.

laugh!

A wolverine leaped high into the air, only to be pierced by the branch that left a trail of afterimages. It was quickly impaled on the branch and lay motionless for several breaths, its body withered and shriveled.

Soon, its remaining skin and bones were violently flung away by the demonic ancient tree and drifted onto the swamp.

As it chased after them, the bloodthirsty demonic tree brutally slaughtered all living things around it, devouring them completely.

After running for a while, Li Yi, who was ahead, was suddenly enveloped in a dense yellow mist, as if all the poisonous barriers around him were gathering in this direction.

In just a few breaths, the heavy flow of all the poisonous barriers completely enveloped the surroundings, making it impossible to see anything.

An eerie silence enveloped the surroundings.

Enraged, the ancient demon tree charged in without hesitation, but its movements gradually slowed down, with only many leaves shooting out haphazardly in all directions.

It lost its target.

The dense poisonous fog brought a terrifying sense of oppression, rendering even the ancient demon tree, which does not rely on sight, unable to perceive anything. As it wandered through the yellow mist, it discovered that it had become lost in this place.

boom!

A poison bomb pierced through the swirling mist and exploded on the trunk of the Devil Tree.

The ancient devil tree bared its fangs and claws, immediately chasing after the blurry black shadow. Its branches shot out with a whoosh, leaving a black afterimage.

After another chase, the Demon Tree continued to pursue the phantom. Suddenly, the poisonous barrier around them began to fade, and everything became clear.