These three statues are each shaped like ferocious beasts, each being the Mixed Yuan Leopard, the Chongming Bird, and the Jiao’ao Turtle, respectively.
What made the citizens of Beiyuan City find them peculiar was that these three statues had been there a very long time ago.
The history goes way back, probably even before Beiyuan City was established, they already existed.
Moreover, these three statues could neither be moved nor destroyed.
Once, a powerful individual from the Saint Vein Realm attempted to forcefully relocate them but suffered a backlash, and in the end, had to leave severely injured.
A legend about the three ferocious beasts has always circulated in Beiyuan City, but no one knows who started this legend or what these three statues signify.
The Tan Family was a well-known prominent household in Beiyuan City, having once had an incredible ancestor among their lineage.
Known as the "Ancient Sun-Chasing God", he arrived alone in Beiyuan City, founded what is today’s Tan Family, and led it to glory singlehandedly.
Nowadays, after generations of accumulation, the Tan Family had become an enormous entity.
However, what the people of Beiyuan City enjoyed discussing the most was the three daughters of the Tan Family Head, Tan Yongling.
The direct lineage of the Tan Family was not particularly flourishing in this generation, and Tan Yongling had always wanted a son to carry on the family line.
Unfortunately, he had fathered two daughters in succession.
When his concubine was pregnant for ten months, and he was full of expectations for his third child about to be born, it was dramatic that the third child was still a girl.
Moreover, this third daughter was born with congenital deficits; she was mute and also had a very noticeable birthmark on her face.
Given the strength of the Tan Family, curing the girl’s birthmark and muteness would not have been too difficult a task.
But Tan Yongling was angered because he had not been able to have a son, believing this to be a curse from the heavens.
And he directed all his resentment towards this least favored third daughter.
He issued a command prohibiting anyone from treating the congenital birthmark and muteness of the third daughter.
As the three daughters gradually grew up, the three young misses of the Tan Family started to become quite renowned in Beiyuan City.
Unlike her two older sisters, who grew up spoiled and had developed reputations in Beiyuan City for being arrogant and unreasonable,
The Tan Family’s third young miss, Tan Jiulin, had been kind-hearted since she was little, although she did not have a high status in the Tan estate and faced much ostracism.
She often lent a helping hand to the citizens of Beiyuan City without seeking anything in return, and her reputation in the city was very high.
The people living in Beiyuan City liked to call her Fairy Lin.
Even though there was a fierce-looking birthmark on her face that appeared quite frightening.
The reason people gave her this title was to praise her inner beauty, which was as beautiful as that of a fairy.
Tan Jiulin walked out of the family mansion, and recalling the ugly faces of her family members, she shook her head with a wry smile.
She was born with a calm nature and did not enjoy competing with others.
But being born into such a prominent family, she knew that some scheming and rivalry were inevitable.
"Fairy Lin, have you eaten? Would you like to try my buns, they’re freshly steamed."
Hearing these friendly greetings from the people on the street, Tan Jiulin also smiled and responded to each one.
But being mute, her replies could only be made with sign language.
She was dressed in a light blue gown, her long hair all tied back, and her lovely large eyes were full of spiritual energy.
A waist as slender as one could wish for was wrapped with a blue silk belt.
If one were to look at her from the left side, one would certainly be stunned by her beauty.
Unfortunately, the scar on her right face was indeed difficult for many to overlook, causing anyone who saw it to find it a pity.
Tan Jiulin never felt inferior about her birthmark; she unreservedly exposed it.
She slightly lifted her skirt, striding out of Beiyuan City like an elf dancing a joyful dance.
By the banks of the Willow River, a young man dressed in brocade robes held a folding fan and stood at the riverbank, gazing at the splendid scenery spread far and wide.
The girl quietly approached from behind and hugged the young man directly.
The young man turned around, looked at the girl with a smile, and said excitedly, "Lin’er, you’ve finally come."
The girl also smiled, her face brimming with happiness.
"Did you bring the thing I asked you to?" the young man asked eagerly.
The girl nodded, taking a book out of her embrace.
The cover of the book was dark yellow, bearing the words "Sun-Chasing Divine Jue" in bold.
"I stole this cultivation technique from my sister; it’s our family’s heirloom technique. You can learn it yourself, just don’t pass it on to others," Tan Jiulin explained through hand signs.
"Don’t worry, Lin’er, I won’t," the young man hugged Tan Jiulin tightly and said affectionately, "You have done so much for me, I really don’t know how to thank you."
Tan Jiulin smiled and shook her head slightly.
The sound of a longsword piercing flesh was heard. Tan Jiulin’s smile suddenly froze, she slowly let go of the young man, and turned her head to look at her own back.
A longsword was conspicuously stabbed into it.
"Why," she looked at the young man before her, puzzled.
"I truly didn’t know how else to thank you, so I could only send you to your death," the young man suddenly burst out laughing savagely.
He took a short sword and stabbed the girl over a dozen times, eventually kicking her into the picturesque riverbank in front of him.
He watched as the girl’s body sank to the bottom of the river and drifted away with the current.
Only then did the young man open the book in his hands.
It still carried the faint scent of the girl.
"If it weren’t for this cultivation technique, how could I have been so nice to a freak like you."
Tan Jiulin felt her consciousness incredibly heavy, as if she were in a trance. It seemed like she was dreaming.
She couldn’t remember anything in her mind; her body floated gently with a push.
She didn’t know how much time had passed; her consciousness started to fade more and more, and she felt like falling into a deep sleep.
But she was afraid that if she fell asleep, she would never wake up again.
The blood continued to flow from her body, scattering into the depths of the riverbed and attracting numerous creatures competing for it.
She didn’t know how long she had been floating when she heard a deafening roar, and then, the world around her ears became quiet.
The behemoth buried deep in the sea was shackled by iron chains, and its life had come to an end.
"Just wait a few more hundred years, if after a few centuries it still doesn’t come," the behemoth thought with closed eyes and sighed.
At that moment, a strong smell of blood reached its senses.
It raised its head, only to see a body floating over from the distance, followed by numerous creatures competing for food.
Yet these creatures seemed to be fearing something. They wanted to devour the body but dared not approach, only circling behind it.