In the woods behind the Nuoding Primary Spirit Master Academy lay a circular patch covered in blackish-gray residue.
It was small, only about five meters across, but there was not a trace of life within it, not a single plant. The vegetation nearby grew sparsely, its leaves a strange, ashen gray, as though something had drained their vitality.
Two graceful figures landed there without a sound.
Ye Guyi crouched and rubbed a pinch of soil between her fingers, her eyes growing even more solemn. "All the life force has been absorbed, and there's an aura of decay. It looks like an evil spirit master cultivated here before."
Ma Xiaotao looked taken aback. "Cultivating by devouring the life force of plants? And the academy never noticed?"
"They couldn't have." Ye Guyi stood and brushed the dirt from her hands. "He concealed it well. If my angel martial soul hadn't sensed it, I wouldn't have noticed these traces at all."
She led Ma Xiaotao on another circuit through the woods, finding seven black circles of varying sizes in total. They were scattered across different corners of the hill behind the academy, so far apart that anyone unfamiliar with the terrain would never have seen a connection.
"He's very cautious, and his cultivation probably isn't high-around the Soul Grandmaster level," Ye Guyi concluded after examining all the black circles.
"Looks like our visit to Tang San has turned up an unexpected bonus!" Ma Xiaotao's eyes lit up, an eager smile curling her lips.
Ye Guyi looked thoughtful, then closed her eyes to sense her surroundings. Her angel martial soul soon pointed her in a direction. "Hmm? In the residential area, of all places."
"The residential area? Is this person a teacher at the Nuoding City Primary Academy?" Ma Xiaotao asked in surprise.
"I'm