Even as Fang Yuan was about to consider these things further, a voice spoke: "Fang Yuan, sorry to keep you waiting. I wanted to meet you in person rather than sending my Will, as I thought it would be more appropriate to meet you myself."
Fang Yuan opened his eyes to see a Rank 8 Gu Immortal standing before him. The man was wearing a conical hat and gray clothes. The hat obscured most of his features, though his wide chin was visible. Overall, although his clothes were plain, he gave the demeanor of someone who was firm and steadfast.
"It is of no worry," Fang Yuan said, giving him a light smile.
The Mushroomman Gu Immortal who had seen him when he had first arrived was trailing behind this person. For a Rank 8 Gu Immortal to consider it worthy enough to meet a Rank 6 was in itself a major sign of respect.
"You already know my name, but I seem to be at a disadvantage," Fang Yuan said.
"My name is Lu Wei Yin," the man answered. "I am the inheritor of Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable's Southern Border inheritance. Though," he paused, "I shouldn't claim to be the sole inheritor as it seems another person has come to join me in that regard."
Fang Yuan gave the man a pleasant smile.
He wasn't sure how much this man knew about him or how much Paradise Earth had informed him, so he simply said, "Senior is too kind. I'm simply a wandering soul who happened to chance upon Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable's inheritance. I can only hope to follow in his grand footsteps and hope for equality and happiness within all living beings. I must profess, though, that I do not fully understand the nature of this inheritance."
Lu Wei Yin smiled. "No need to worry, Fang Yuan. It is, I think, normal to be a slightly confused. You see, this Mushroomman Paradise is only one of many. Come walk with me, and we can continue discussing."
Fang Yuan accompanied Lu Wei Yin, with the Mushroomman Gu Immortal giving him frantic looks, though Fang Yuan did not pay him any mind as they walked.
"Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable created numerous Paradises throughout the world," Lu Wei Yin said. "But there were five major Paradises that he created in each of the five regions. This Mushroomman Paradise is, as you can see, the major Paradise within the Southern Border. It is also quite special as it is where Paradise Earth trained before he became a Venerable."
Fang Yuan noted a network spanning across the Mushroomman Paradise below. "Is that the Mushroomman Mycelium mentioned in The Legends of Ren Zu?"
"Indeed it is," Lu Wei Yin said. "Like I said, there are Paradises in each of the five regions. There is a Paradise within the Eastern Sea. There is a Paradise within the Central Continent - the Reincarnation Battlefield that you may or may not have heard of where Gu Immortals can train without having to worry about dying. In the Western Desert, there is a Paradise which consists of the Eggmen and Rockmen. And in the Northern Plains, there is also a Paradise, though that one is a bit special."
"Paradise Earth wanted these Paradises to work together, even though they were within different regions, back when he was still alive. The Central Continent Paradise, however, has been overtaken by humans, and the Heavenly Court has some..." he trailed off, "...thoughts which are not compatible with coexisting with other forms of life. As such, they have somewhat severed communication with the other Paradises and we are no longer on speaking terms with them. As for the Northern Plains inheritance, for certain complex reasons, we are not in communication with them either."
Fang Yuan frowned slightly. "Is it because of Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's system set up through the Imperial Court Contest?"
Lu Wei Yin paused. "I can see why you might think so, but that is not the case. It actually has to do with a different Venerable entirely, but I will leave it at that. There's not much use speaking about that one. The one in the Eastern Sea, however, and the one within the Western Desert continue to remain in communication with us."
"Is the Paradise within the Eastern Sea the fabled Blue Dragon Whale Grotto-Heaven?" Fang Yuan asked. He had heard stories of it from his previous life.
"Aha. Well, it seems that junior is well-versed in the story. Indeed it is," Lu Wei Yin said. "Though, if you are wondering about potentially obtaining the inheritance, just know that although we can communicate with it, we do not know the Blue Dragon Whale's actual location."
The Blue Dragon Whale was a unique kind of beast which had essentially learned how to cultivate and awaken its immortal aperture. However, it did not have much intelligence of its own.
Paradise Earth was said to have placed restrictions upon it so that it would not cause harm to others, but at the same time, its defensive power was so immense that no one could harm it either. In his previous life, it had been explored by a Gu Immortal by the name of Miao Ming Shen who had managed to find it and took the aide of several other Gu Immortals to assist him in exploring it.
He had made great gains while exploring this inheritance, though he had never managed to receive the true inheritance, which was rumored to be Regret Gu. Regret Gu belonged to the Emotion Path.
Naturally, rumors of it had spread out, and the more Fang Yuan thought about it, the more he felt it would be extraordinarily useful to him. Although it was said to be a Rank 8 Gu, something he could not use currently, he was already a Great Grandmaster when it came to the Emotion Path. His thoughts of creating a mortal Emotion Path formation were already being replaced by thoughts of creating an Immortal one as he contemplated that, as well as killer moves he could use with a Rank 8 gu worm.
"So you are able to communicate with those within the Blue Dragon Whale, but you do not know its location?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Yes. At least, we were able to. There are no longer any Immortals in the Blue Dragon Whale and it is populated entirely by mortals."
"What a strange place," Fang Yuan commented.
"Indeed. However, in time, it will find its inheritor and the Blue Dragon Whale may then join with us."
Fang Yuan had asked about the Blue Dragon Whale because he remembered it from his previous life, however, the Paradise within the Western Desert was what intrigued him the most. Any plans he had of exploring the Blue Dragon Whale could wait - but this was a more pressing concern. Thieving Heaven's inheritance was also located within the Western Desert, and he required a way to get there. "And this Western Desert Paradise, what about it?"
"The Western Desert Paradise in question," Lu Wei Yin said, "is a bit more active than the one in the Eastern Sea, consisting of a few Eggmen Gu Immortals as well as some Rockmen and some humans."
Fang Yuan saw that while the majority population here was Mushroommen, there were also humans living within this Paradise, as expected of a place created by Paradise Earth.
Fang Yuan, however, did not press the matter of the Western Desert right now. He did not want to potentially expose his plans, and it could wait while he looked for a different kind of contact within the Western Desert. If he went along with this plan, he would be going along with variant humans and would be suppressed by the dominant human forces of the area.
"Although I am the Southern Border's true inheritor, it was said that someone would eventually come through a fragment of one of Paradise Earth's blessed lands that he had kept aside, and that this person in question should receive a share of the inheritance and be invited to the table when it comes to discussing the management of the Paradise," Lu Wei Yin explained. "I've called some other Gu Immortals within this Paradise. Some of them only have their Wills present; I hope you can excuse them for that."
"No matter, I can understand that," Fang Yuan said as they approached the designated meeting area.