Xiao Xiao sat cross-legged behind a wind-sheltered mountain outcrop.
Before him, a small pile of burned-out dry moss still sent up wisps of bluish smoke. He could not spare a hand to push his glasses back up from the tip of his nose. Squinting, he carefully studied the shape and drift of the smoke, then examined the cracks in several scorched stones to his left and the crisscrossing yarrow stalks to his right. One hand hidden in his sleeve rapidly calculated, while the other held a Feather Pen, occasionally carving a few strokes onto the Bamboo Slip floating before him.
He looked completely absorbed.
The laws of the Xuanhuang Small World were somewhat rough, so divination results could not be very precise. A Diviner had to use several methods and cross-check them before reaching a passable conclusion. To Xiao Xiao, this was a very interesting challenge, and he rather enjoyed it.
No one knew how much time passed.
Whoosh—
A slender streak of light arced through the air and landed lightly before the outcrop. As it touched down, the light faded, revealing Blue Sparrow's handsome face. A Purple Sable poked its head out from the broad hood behind his neck, its tiny black eyes quietly studying the intermittent words on the Bamboo Slip, a glimmer of intelligence in its gaze.
"—The eastern foothills have been searched. No Spirits were found."
Blue Sparrow's voice was calm. Though his expression remained cold, he spoke far more than he had a few years ago. "This Small World has weak vitality and mixed auras. The chaotic stones covering these mountains are all tainted by traces left behind by that Dragon Skeleton. It is nearly impossible for any living creature to break through such restraints and evolve..."
He was responsible for surveying the eastern foothills