From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

The pitch-black silt was twisted strangely, and the vortex gradually expanded, sinking inward.

The white python cautiously approached the vicinity and immediately sensed a peculiar aura, carrying a rotten vitality and a sharp whirlwind, howling mournfully in the mud.

Waaah~

As the vortex grew larger, the entire silt suddenly bulged upwards, and the bowl-shaped vortex deformed accordingly, twisting and expanding rapidly in all directions.

After a violent bounce, wisps of oily green wind rose from within the vortex, tearing through the mud, only to vanish without a trace the next moment.

Complete silence fell in front of them, and then a huge body covered in black scales slowly emerged, its brown-yellow eyes gleaming with a fading green light as it looked at the white python.

Li Yi exuded a terrifying aura, and within him was a ball of expanding spiritual energy, constantly radiating a strange vitality.

Its aura had grown considerably stronger, and there were still faint, wispy, green ribbon-like whirlwinds between the gaps in its scales.

Seeing this, the white python finally relaxed and flicked its tongue.

Upon waking and floating to the surface, Li Yi knew that the three blue-eyed golden toads hadn't returned to cause trouble; otherwise, he would have sensed it long ago.

Only after fully beginning to cultivate the Swamp Wood Phase did Li Yi finally begin to understand its essence.

It is not the vitality of ordinary timber, but rather the decaying vitality overflowing from the rotting plants of the swamp, which, under the amplification of spiritual energy, transforms into a lush green whirlwind.

It is heavy, whistling, and constantly howling. As it blows across the body, it takes away the life force of the enemy. If cultivated to the extreme, it will truly show its terrifying power to rot everything.

Li Yi's understanding of the swampy wood phase was far from profound after his last encounter with the mother crocodile.

First, the swampy wood phase of the female crocodile is not pure. The wood phase is the swampy phase that values ​​purity the most. The fewer impurities, the more powerful it will be.

Even now, the wood element that Li Yi cultivated is still mixed and not yet completely pure, and has not yet shown enough power.

However, it has already crossed this threshold.

Wriggling his heavy body, Li Yi headed towards the hollow of the big willow tree, completely ignoring the blue-eyed golden toads.

This is because there is still a strong and concentrated spiritual energy within its body that has not been completely digested.

It came from those two blue-eyed golden toads in the late stage of Qi refining.

The deadly poison on these two blue-eyed golden toads has been refined by Li Yi's swamp water technique. After enduring the torment of the poison, great benefits are about to arrive.

Completely refining this spiritual energy would greatly increase Li Yi's Swamp Wood element, saving him one or two years of cultivation time.

It can already vaguely feel the membrane of the ninth level of Qi Refining. Every step forward is made through exploration, which is really not easy.

Back in the tree hollow of the big willow tree, Li Yi nestled beside the mother crocodile covered in plants, and fell into silence once more.

Inside the dimly lit tree hollow, two green lights, one large and one small, flickered like breathing, while the larger one remained perfectly still.

Time flies, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

The white python had completely let its guard down. Those three toads must have died near the red-leaf banyan tree. It must have had a deep impression of how terrifying the ancient monsters were.

It did not rashly leave the area of ​​the big willow tree. Now that Li Yi was in seclusion, the mother crocodile was building its foundation, and the entire territory was shrouded in mist, there was also a deadly crisis that might break out. It was really impossible to go out rashly.

It was midday again. The white python coiled under the big willow tree, opened its mouth and spat out a purple fragment, which flew out and bloomed with a blazing light in mid-air.

The lingering chill around the large willow tree had largely dissipated, and it was gradually revealing the vigorous vitality that belonged to a spiritual tree.

Thousands of branches sprouted new buds, and the slender willow leaves became even greener, having completed a cycle of leaf replacement.

This is definitely a huge benefit brought about by the mother crocodile building the foundation.

The intense, bright sunlight was largely absorbed by the poisonous barrier covering the swamp, becoming much dimmer, yet it still emitted a dazzling brilliance around the white python.

The white python's scales shimmered, with wisps of red light flowing along their edges, an absolute heat that seemed to burn everything, a violent flow.

In the end, they all gathered on the purple fragment, and were then swallowed whole by the white python.

Feeling the rapidly being refined within his body, the white python closed its eyes and continued to touch the purple fragment before it with its spirit.

After six months of persistent study and continuous attempts to refine it with the flames of the sun, the white python actually gained some scattered insights from this fragment of the magical artifact.

Now, it can roughly manipulate this purple fragment, causing it to erupt with a burst of flames belonging to the Flamebreath Fox Clan.

This is definitely a good thing. The more it gets, the more likely the white python will be to completely remove the other fragment embedded in Li Yi's back.

Although Li Yi can now completely suppress it on his own for a long time, its continued presence in his body is still a hidden danger.

Li Yi always had to expend some spiritual energy and physical strength to suppress it in order to prevent it from having a fatal impact, which was equivalent to reducing his strength.

After carefully studying it for a long time, the somewhat exhausted white python opened its mouth and swallowed it, then spat out a small, gleaming yellow crystal sword.

A burst of solar flame was suddenly unleashed, the incandescent flames licking at the small sword that had undergone a dramatic transformation.

At this moment, the citrine sword's surface had completely transformed into a mirror-like texture, its entire body white with orange undertones, and its blade was incredibly sharp.

In the white python's perception, the solar flames were penetrating deep into its interior, and the dense citrine structure was gradually becoming like its exterior, transforming into a completely new spiritual entity.

It will take at least a few more years for it to completely transform.

After refining it, the white python was somewhat tired. It hissed as it went to the insect nest next to it and carefully examined the group of spirit insects with silver carapaces and yellow stripes.

Since Li Yi went into seclusion, they have been cared for by the white python, but in reality, the white python can't help much.

However, they reproduce very quickly. In the past six months, their population has increased more than tenfold, and their nests have extended much deeper into the mud.

While reproducing, they also fight and kill each other, constantly eliminating and devouring their companions who do not have yellow markings on their backs, thus purifying their bloodline.

The influence Li Yi brought to them was undoubtedly a kind of evolution, and now this evolution has penetrated into the essence of their lives, passed down from generation to generation.

Sensing the arrival of the white python, some spirit insects buzzed around, while the white python grabbed a toad and threw it next to the insect nest.

In an instant, a large swarm of spirit insects flew out and surrounded the terrified toad, devouring it clean in a moment.

The white python had long since figured out that these insects would devour some meat every so often.