From Swamp Dog to Crocodile Ancestor

After a while, feeling the ground of the tree hole had softened considerably, Li Yi swung his huge tail and headed out of the tree hole.

This unusual burning sensation seemed to indicate that something was happening.

The white python had been trying to study the fragments of the Flame Breath Pearl to solve its own problems, and it knew all about these things.

This situation may indicate that there has been new progress.

In addition, the time for cultivation has been almost up, and the last time I woke up was two months ago.

Let's go out and take a look.

The yellowish sunlight shone into Li Yi's brownish-yellow eyes, making them appear increasingly deep and mysterious, yet still carrying a hint of coldness and violence within them.

Li Yi turned his head and saw the white python, which was coiled under the tree with its back to him, its head slightly lowered, as if it was thinking about something.

Then, its gaze fell on the five small yellow crystal balls next to the white python, whose densely packed runes attracted its attention.

Upon arriving here, Li Yi turned sideways and carefully examined a small ball covered with runes and patterns with one eye, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The characters at the center of this talisman... are actually ancient human script!?

Although these fonts are very different from those he knew in his previous life, he was still able to recognize them little by little.

Li Yi raised his head and touched the white python's fine scales with his nose. The white python immediately noticed and turned its head to look at him, hissing and flicking its tongue.

In an instant, it understood Li Yi's meaning, and obediently wrapped itself around him, pressing its head close to his, communicating with him through spirit.

Li Yi knew exactly how the white python obtained these small balls.

After receiving this information, Li Yi had only one thought in his mind.

The Flame Breath Fox Clan's treasure, the Flame Breath Pearl, must have come from that lost human sect; otherwise, the ancient human script could not possibly be present in its patterns.

How much trace did that powerful sect, which suddenly disappeared overnight, leave behind in this swamp?

From the small cube inside the heart of the Devil Tree, to the chains beneath the citrine vein, and now to the runes and ancient characters obtained from the fragments of the Flame Breath Pearl.

Although that mysterious and ancient force has disappeared, many traces remain, and secrets are everywhere.

After the exchange ended, the white python stayed to one side, its eyes fixed on Li Yi. It deftly used the tip of its tail to pick up a small yellow crystal ball and displayed it in front of Li Yi.

Li Yi then tried little by little to decipher the characters and the fragment they formed.

After a while, feeling a bit dizzy, Li Yi secretly memorized everything he had obtained and closed his eyes to recall it carefully.

"This seems... to be a fragment of some kind of spell, not the complete one. Is the rest on the other small spheres?"

Feeling mentally exhausted, Li Yi temporarily memorized the fragmented information, intending to decipher it later and inform the white python.

A year has passed, and Li Yi has already cultivated the Wood Phase to eighty or ninety percent, making remarkable progress at an extremely fast pace.

This is naturally inseparable from the assistance of brown crystal. The essence formed by this swampy energy can increase Li Yi's speed of comprehending the wood element several times over.

The trade-off is that Li Yi consumes brown crystals at an extremely fast rate.

Each time it awakens, it has to go to the mine to dig out a large amount of brown crystals, slowly transport them back, and pile them up beside itself while it is in deep sleep.

Besides that, it has many other things to do.

It secretly estimated that if it went again, it could complete its cultivation of the Swamp Wood Phase in less than two months of seclusion, and advance its strength to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage.

Li Yi walked on all fours to the insect nest, which had expanded many times over and now looked like a millstone, and released his senses.

buzzing~

A large swarm of spirit insects sensed Li Yi's presence and immediately flew out of their honeycomb-like nest, circling around him.

Many spirit insects landed on the gaps between the scales on Li Yi's body, gradually making Li Yi wear a flashy but impractical two-colored armor.

Sensing the number and bloodline of these spirit insects, Li Yi knew that they no longer needed to be cultivated with poisonous barriers to stabilize their form.

The yellow stripes on the back of the silver carapace have become something passed down through generations, perfectly matching the swampy soil.

It's time to move on to the next step.

Thinking this, Li Yi arrived in front of the insect nest. With a thought, wisps of black water appeared from the silt, slowly climbing up the insect nest and flowing into the fine holes.

A small number of the spirit insects immediately writhe and die upon contact with these deadly toxins, their bodies quickly devoured by their own kind.

The remaining spirit insects slowly devoured these pure swamp water-based creations, and most of them immediately fell silent, their life force as faint as a candle in the wind, almost imperceptible.

Only a few hundred spirit insects were able to maintain basic flight ability after devouring the swamp's water phase, though they swayed unsteadily, as if drunk.

These swampy waters alone have caused heavy losses to this group of spirit insects that have multiplied to such a scale.

The millstone-sized insect nest quickly became lifeless.

Li Yi stayed outside, carefully sensing the vast swarm of spirit insects. He discovered that some of them were completely dead, while a small number, though motionless, still possessed vitality and were in some strange state.

That's good.

Natural selection and survival of the fittest—this cruel logic was used by Li Yi to cultivate these spirit insects.

Those who cannot adapt will be eliminated, and those that survive will inherit the characteristics of the swampy aquatic environment and become stronger with each generation.

After the water phase, there is the wood phase. Li Yi will continue to cultivate them until they show that they can truly be of great help to Li Yi.

Watching the struggling spirit insects, Li Yi turned and left the vicinity of the big willow tree, his massive body slowly sinking into the mud.

It won't wait indefinitely; it will check the situation here after some time.

There are still many things waiting for it to do.

Soon after, Li Yi, carried by the green wind and yellow mist, arrived at a certain area at an extremely fast speed. Its gaze pierced through the faint poison barrier and landed on a large tree.

The banyan tree is no longer a banyan tree; the messy, dense leaves on its crown are yellowish-green with an oily sheen, and the veins look like some kind of ferocious insect.

There was nothing under the tree, only silence.

But as the thick yellow fog rapidly enveloped everything from all directions, the ancient strange insects sensed it and the treetops swayed slightly.

Bang bang bang!

A large number of figures, big and small, fell from the dense canopy like raindrops, all landing on the ground. They then quickly got up and looked in the direction of Li Yi in the thick fog.

Those were all sorts of swamp creatures, all staring at Li Yi with murky eyes, something seemingly wriggling beneath their fur.