From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

In Li Yi's vision, not far ahead, a vast expanse of dark clouds covered the sky, exuding a terrifying aura that shook the heavens and earth.

The terrain in this vast swamp is completely flat.

In the deep, rainy night, Li Yi slowly lifted himself up from the mud of the swamp. His nictitating membrane opened, and a flash of white lightning was reflected once again in his pair of brown-yellow eyes.

Boom!

This time, Li Yi was close enough, probably less than ten miles away.

The thunderbolt struck, causing the mud to tremble and conveying an immense divine power. The thunderous roar made even Li Yi's cold pupils tremble.

As a member of the original Black Scale Crocodile clan, Li Yi was originally a low-level beast, unable to glimpse the path of immortality, but he gained his current cultivation level because of a human soul.

In my heart and body, my primal instincts trembled constantly, conveying the same message.

"Don't go any further, it's a dead end!"

Indeed, it's not something you can easily watch from the sidelines when a demon beast is undergoing its tribulation.

Li Yi had no idea what level of cultivation was required to trigger a heavenly tribulation; this was far too shocking.

But its human-like qualities still gave it an urge to explore.

After careful consideration, Li Yi made a decision.

Move forward a little further.

If any danger is detected, immediately sink into the swamp and leave.

Li Yi sank into the swamp and slowly drifted until he stopped in a high-lying black swamp area about a mile away from the tribulation site.

There was no living thing left here; it was deathly silent. The sticky silt vibrated with each thunderclap, being lifted several inches high.

A toad with wide-open eyes lay in the mud, its mouth agape, its gaze lifeless and dull.

It was scared to death by the lightning tribulation, just like a person who dies from being so frightened that their liver and gallbladder are ruptured.

Li Yi emerged from the mud and, with the help of the blinding white light of lightning, saw a shocking scene ahead.

Dark, heavy clouds fell from the sky, very close to the ground, and lightning struck intermittently, carving a large crater in the vast swamp.

A smell of scorched earth wafted out with the fresh air and entered Li Yi's narrow nostrils.

Rumble!

Another bolt of lightning struck, and this time, Li Yi heard something clearly.

"roar!"

A roar shook the surrounding area, causing Li Yi's body to tremble with primal fear, as if hearing such a sound meant certain death!

The next moment, a huge figure burst out of the pit.

The figure was enormous and incredibly long, with four claws emerging from its serpentine body. It was entirely black and surrounded by purplish-black clouds.

dragon?

Li Yi stared in horror at the scene. Although he was still a mile away from the center of the pit, the figure that rushed out of the ground still deeply shocked him.

It cannot see the other party's full appearance, only a fleeting silhouette, yet it still brings a terrible sense of oppression!

Clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger.

The dragon, whose shape was obscured, hovered in mid-air, with a huge pit below and dark thunderclouds above.

It had no way out but to curl up and endure the lightning's baptism!

Instinctively, Li Yi knew that this was a crucial transformation.

Dragons and crocodiles are not entirely unrelated; they share certain similarities.

Li Yi watched as the dragon soared through the clouds, battling the lightning tribulation high in the sky, and the image of it was unknowingly imprinted in his brown-yellow eyes.

A sudden realization dawned on me.

Although it is a low-level black-scaled crocodile, if it truly relies on instinct to cultivate and evolve, it might be able to find a side path and transform into a dragon.

Whether or not this will actually be done is still uncertain.

However, this insight was truly rare, making Li Yi feel that the trip was worthwhile!

The dark figure roared again, struck by lightning. The bright light stung Li Yi's eyes, but he suppressed his instinct to close them and just watched.

It didn't even know why it did it.

Suddenly, a splash of blood splattered, its crimson color gleaming with the brilliance of a gemstone, standing out starkly against the backdrop of white lightning and the purplish-black dragon shadow.

Li Yi knew that what appeared to be just a red dot to him was probably a scene of blood flowing freely and flesh being torn apart from the dragon's perspective!

Sure enough, the dragon's aura visibly declined as it soared through the air, and much of the mist around it dissipated, indicating that it had suffered a severe injury.

The dragon shadow tumbled in mid-air, almost falling back into the pit, but in the end, it persevered, proud and unyielding, and rose up with its head held high.

Another bolt of lightning struck, but it was blocked by the tail of the lightning bolt.

This attack visibly shortened the dragon shadow's tail. After a mournful howl, the dragon shadow's breath hitched again, and it swayed unsteadily in mid-air.

The surrounding atmosphere was chaotic, the wind and clouds were changing, and even the torrential rain was out of control. Li Yi clearly smelled the bloody scent, which was extremely tempting and spread far and wide with the chaotic wind and rain.

But by simply observing, it hid itself even more deeply.

Li Yi changed locations and hid in another patch of mud not far away, with a scorpion the size of a millstone on his head.

The scorpion was also terrified. Its instincts told it to avoid danger. It left its nest, but probably couldn't withstand the force of nature and died on the way.

Its aura was no less than Li Yi's, and its scarlet tail hook looked extremely dangerous.

Over the next hour, the frequency of the lightning strikes decreased significantly, and the dragon shadow seemed to be failing as well, its aura waning, likely already covered in wounds.

"roar!"

The dragon roared again, and a large patch of black clouds bulged above its head, with blinding lightning flashing and converging within. The terrifying aura pressed down on Li Yi, making him feel extremely heavy, as if a mountain was pressing down on him.

However, Li Yi stared wide-eyed at this scene.

It's almost the end!

Sure enough, the dragon shadows coiled together and spat out a small dot emitting a dazzling light from its mouth. From Li Yi's perspective, he only knew that the aura emanating from the dot was extremely terrifying, but he didn't know what it was.

The lightning bolt silenced the heavens and earth, causing Li Yi to shudder and his heart to clench violently.

Li Yi finally closed his eyes subconsciously.

boom!

After the loud bang, the echoes lingered, scattering the torrential rain and sweeping away the omnipresent yellow fog!

Just after the lightning flashed, Li Yi opened his eyes, only to see dark clouds obscuring everything, followed by a sharp and piercing explosion.

laugh!

A whooshing sound came from this direction, as if something was coming.

Li Yi immediately and silently sank into the mud, using his perception abilities from the fourth level of Qi Refining to be vigilant about his surroundings and deeply conceal himself.