Standing on a bluestone before the waterfall, Xiao Yan was about to step forward to investigate when a series of low growls suddenly rose from the valley.
Immediately afterward, leopard-like soul beasts flashed out of the woods. Their bodies were emerald green, their appearance vicious, and a savage aura radiated from them. In an instant, they surrounded the three of them.
"Why are there soul beasts here?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion, frowning slightly at the ferocious beasts surrounding them.
This place was so far from the forest where the empire kept its soul beasts. In theory, none should have appeared here.
At the sight of these soul beasts, each around a thousand years old, the smile slowly faded from Xiao Yan's face. He had begun to sense that something was wrong. These leopard-like beasts did not seem to be foraging in the valley. Instead, they seemed more like creatures someone had raised here.
Could there really be something hidden behind the waterfall? As the thought flashed through his mind, Xiao Yan slowly opened his right hand, and a cluster of emerald-green flames rose from his palm.
"These little things are such a nuisance. Let me handle them." Unhappy at being surrounded by a pack of little thousand-year-old leopards, Little Dragon Girl snorted and strode forward. Red and blue light blazed in her jewel-like eyes.
The next second, an unusual pressure suddenly erupted from her body.
This pressure was different from the kind Xiao Yan released through his strength. It seemed instead to well up from her bloodline and soul.
Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from Little Dragon Girl, Ye Lingling's eyes flickered with a strange light. A moment later, she exchanged a glance with Xiao Yan, and both saw the surprise in the other's eyes.
Under the pressure stemming