From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

A month later.

The sunlight, slightly yellow, shone on Li Yi's black scales, but was completely swallowed up.

Since Li Yi mastered the Swamp Water Phase, his black scales have become increasingly deep and solid, making him look completely different from an ordinary black-scaled crocodile, and more like a pure black monster.

The insect nest next to the big willow tree has expanded several times over, becoming a nest the size of Li Yi's head, with its surface covered in holes.

As soon as Li Yi arrived, a buzzing sound came from the air.

A large number of silver and yellow-striped spirit insects flew out happily, hovering and circling around Li Yi. Li Yi then had a thought, and a poisonous barrier gathered around him, making it airtight.

In the poisonous environment, these little guys thrived, moving faster and recovering more quickly.

In Li Yi's perception, the swarm of insects had multiplied several times over, reaching nearly a thousand, and most of them were naturally yellow-striped on their backs.

This progress is visible to the naked eye, but it will take more time to cultivate.

Li Yi, however, was in no hurry. He simply enveloped the area with yellow mist for a while before turning and leaving.

After a long absence, it roamed its territory and even tasted a large toad, a flavor it hadn't had in ages. How nostalgic!

For the past month, the surroundings have been unusually quiet. In addition, Li Yi has been busy comprehending the slight opportunity of the Swamp Wood Phase and has not had time to pay attention to the outside world.

Now, the wind-like wood element is almost within reach, just a hair's breadth away from being comprehended. Li Yi has firmly grasped it, and it will not slip away again.

Relieved, Li Yi finally had time to go out on patrol.

Amidst the movements of the other green-scaled crocodiles, the surroundings were very peaceful, as if all danger had vanished. Apart from the area around the red-leaf banyan tree, where they did not venture rashly, the rest of the place was tranquil.

Li Yi was skeptical, but casually hunted for food while heading towards the Devil Tree.

A male antelope with spiraled horns lay under a tree, its nose twitching slightly, and its round tail occasionally twitching.

Soon after, it suddenly opened its eyes, stood up, and cautiously looked around, keenly sensing that there seemed to be some movement nearby.

In the ensuing silence, the surrounding poisonous aura gradually thickened, like layers of gauze gradually overlapping, revealing an increasingly mysterious and dangerous atmosphere.

Finally, it could no longer stand idly by. A swirling wind rose from beneath its feet, and with a leap of its slender limbs, it covered several meters in a single bound.

After leaving the tree, it plunged headlong into the poisonous barrier, instinctively heading in one direction. In a few leaps, it landed right in the mouth of a gaping maw.

In that instant, the whirlwind beneath the antelope's feet swelled, allowing it to slightly change direction in mid-air, but it was still to no avail.

Li Yi bit down on it, and with a slight exertion of his jaws, the antelope, which exuded the aura of the fourth level of the Qi Refining stage, was instantly pulverized.

Its head drooped, and it remained motionless before falling into Li Yi's mouth.

The poisonous barrier around them hadn't dissipated. After swallowing it in a few bites, Li Yi stared intently at the tree where it had rested earlier with its brownish-yellow eyes.

The ancient devil tree has been revitalized. All the previous marks have healed, and the blade-like leaves have gradually changed shape, taking on the initial form of a ring.

In Li Yi's perception, the tree was a blank space, or rather, it was like a solid stone.

This was already very unusual. Li Yi could still sense the aura emanating from it before, but now, there was nothing left.

It seems that this ancient devil tree is on the right track, appearing vibrant and in the process of building its foundation.

Originally, Li Yi wasn't that wary of it, but now, he really wanted to know if there was a twisted ancient vine inside it as well.

If it truly succeeds in establishing its foundation, what will happen to the ancient vines inside?

After circling around several times, Li Yi spat out a pure black poison bullet, which exploded on the trunk of the Demon Ancient Tree.

This time, the poison bomb no longer had the vibrant colors it displayed under the light; it had all converged into a completely pure black.

boom!

The poison bomb shattered, and wisps of white smoke quickly rose from the bark of the Devil Tree, accompanied by a corrosive sound.

But that was all. Soon after, it returned to normal. The white mist stopped emanating, and the bark looked exactly the same as before, with no difference whatsoever.

After testing the waters, Li Yi turned and left.

Although the antelope was resting safely under the tree, it dared not approach rashly, lest the devil tree suddenly go berserk.

Who knows what state it is in now, or whether it might suddenly wake up in a rage at any moment?

Soon, a huge, bright red mass appeared in the hazy yellow fog ahead, extremely eye-catching and dazzling.

The red-leaf banyan tree remains vibrant, its leaves growing ever more vivid, and Li Yi returns once again.

It paused in place, looking ahead under the cover of the poisonous barrier, and sensed that something was wrong.

Under the tree, several red foxes roamed about, their bodies swaying unsteadily, their fur disheveled and curly, resembling zombies.

As Li Yi's senses swept over this area, they all turned their heads instantly, staring in this direction with their murky eyes.

A red fox had its back to Li Yi, but it turned its head completely around.

Li Yi immediately sensed something was wrong. It reacted extremely quickly, sinking into the mud without wasting a moment.

After a long while, the red foxes stiffly turned their heads and continued to wander aimlessly under the trees.

What's going on?

A huge question arose in Li Yi's mind. These red foxes looked as if they were dead, wandering around like zombies, giving him a very strange feeling.

It seems... they've been taken over by something.

Unbeknownst to them, the poisonous barrier around the banyan tree had thickened, but the red foxes remained completely oblivious, walking slowly along.

From morning until noon, Li Yi patiently watched them but did not make a move.

As cunning predators, crocodiles have a nearly fixed diet and rarely hunt unfamiliar prey unless they have tasted a good opportunity.

Li Yi was the most cautious among the Black Scale Crocodile clan. Several times, it tried to drive some living creatures towards this place to see how these strange foxes would react.

But it soon quieted down.

From the direction of the cedar tree, several crimson figures arrived in a few leaps and bounds, exchanging no physical or vocal communication, and directly unleashing a series of foxfire.

Bang bang bang!

Foxfire exploded on several red foxes wandering under the tree. They didn't even try to dodge; their bodies were immediately engulfed in purple flames, turning them into walking torches.

At this moment, all the stiff foxes turned their heads to look at their companions, seemingly oblivious, their murky eyes staring at them.

The next moment, the head of a red fox, its body ablaze, split open into three pieces, from which burst forth a large mass of wildly twisting tentacles.