Yang Qing was caught a little off-guard by Ye Xun's statement as his brows raised a little in wonder at who the guest might be.

The fact that Ye Xun called them a guest meant it was someone familiar to him or her. As he made his way outside the alcove to see who it was he went through the possible list of suspects.

At first, the mountain jade serpent appeared in his mind, thinking that maybe he had decided to come after all, but Yang Qing dismissed that idea when he remembered he likely didn't know the area all too well. By his own admission, the mountain jade serpent did admit to never leaving the mountain he lived at ever since he was a rock python.

After the mountain jade serpent, Yang Qing's mind went to Xiang He the special inquisitor put in charge of the investigation. He was the one who seemed to check out all the boxes as both he and Ye Xun knew him. He even entertained the thought that maybe the soul formation expert supervising the kingdom-wide array had decided to visit them.

It wasn't long before Yang Qing made his way out of the alcove in time to see a lady who looked to be in her early twenties looking at the alcove with mesmerization in her eyes. She had a small build, that one would easily mistake her for a young girl. In terms of height, she reached Yang Qing's diaphragm.

She had deep black hair that had shades of silver, blue, and gold mixed with it and it was tied in a bun with loose strands hanging from her forehead which only served to add to her charm. She had a small oval face, supple eyes, soft-looking jade-like skin, and a devastating beauty that made all who looked at her mistake her for an immortal fairy. That fact was only accentuated by the silver butterfly-patterned robe she had been wearing which glistened when the rays of the sun fell on it. The robe looked like it had been fashioned from the wings of a dragonfly.

She had an ethereal air about her that made one feel even though she was standing right in front of them, she was still out of reach.

"You must be Yang Qing. Pardon me for the sudden intrusion. I sensed a few unique auras when I was flying overhead, and I couldn't help myself.. Such pure yin energy, and I sense another lark with a unique constitution.." said the young lady with a melodious tone that would be able to stir the hearts of many.

"Who are you?" Yang Qing politely asked, though he already had an inkling as to her identity, considering a few factors such as her knowing his name, and the air about her and bearing.

"Sorry.." said the young lady as she tore her eyes from the surroundings, back to Yang Qing

"I am Fang Wen, your successor as the next branch chief of the Deer Mountain Branch. Nice to meet you.." she said as she cupped her fists in greeting.

"Thought so.."thought Yang Qing.

"Nice to meet you. I was told you would be arriving tomorrow.."

"I was, but I couldn't help but want to come here early and see what it's like. There's a friend of mine, his mind has nothing else other than combat, but even as the combat maniac he always spoke of this place with fondness.

So I was curious, what made this place so special that even a combat fanatic would spare it some thought despite the time that had passed by since he was last here..""The friend you are talking about, is it the metal moon tornado lynx?" tentatively asked Yang Qing.

"Mmh, he goes by Ji Shun now, he always thought his species name was always a mouthful.." Fang Wen said with a light chuckle.

"How is he?" Yang Qing curiously asked.

From what he was told by Meifeng before Lady Gild came into the limelight, the metal moon tornado lynx had been the undisputed overlord of the area whose repute spread all over the range and later left for the Green Fog Region in search of battle.

"Judging by your look it seems you have heard of him.."

Yang Qing nodded as he said,

"There's a friend of mine who has heard of him from someone called Lady Gild.."

Fang Wen's eyes flickered as she said,

"Is she here? Ji Shun spoke highly of her too. He claimed she was the only one he ever considered his equal and that fact has never changed despite being a domain expert now.."

"A domain expert?" asked Yang Qing in surprise.

"Mmh, it's how we became friends in the first place. By series of coincidence and bad luck, we ended up in a predicament with our lives on the line under the same foe. Ji Shun was close to his breakthrough at the time, so we made a deal, I would buy him enough time to stabilize his injuries in preparation for the breakthrough, and after that, if he made it through successfully, he would take over.

Luckily he did.."Fang Wen said with a wry smile.

Even though she glossed over the details, Yang Qing felt the ordeal was anything but simple. He couldn't help but wonder what or who it was that put them on the ropes like that.

"How is it there?" he asked.

"The Green Fog Region?" asked Fang Wen to which Yang Qing nodded.

Fang Wen held her chin with a soft smile on her face which made it seem like spring had just arrived.

"For those who can survive there, it's paradise, for those who can't, it's hell, and those instances can change in the blink of an eye. Nothing is guaranteed in that place but for those looking to improve themselves like Ji Shun, it's the best place.

It's a vast land of unfathomable mysteries and richness. It's like several grottos and mysterious realms had been stacked into one. You'll find unique environments, unique natural treasures of all kinds, and in no small amount that are capable of transforming dung to gold, countless dao-rich fortunes that are sure to cause a disaster were it to appear any place outside of the Green Fog Region.

I may have not seen what Holy Lands are like, but I doubt they can match the grandeur and opulence of the Green Fog Region. That place is like an immortal's garden. What I saw in the sixth zone already shocked me to my core, I can only imagine what it's like in the fifth zone and above moving toward the core.

But with my paltry strength, there is no way I'd scratch that itch. It's a sure way of dying. I was humbled in that place..I always thought with my speed, even if I couldn't defeat my opponent there was no way they could catch up to me if I decided to flee with all my might. I soon came to realize why that place is dreaded so much, I'm even surprised of how Ji Shun survived that long.." said Fang Wen with a sigh.

"Are you thinking of going?" she added.

"While i don't know what cultivation art you're using, but with your presence, I think you'd blend easily in there, just don't venture too deep if you do decide to go. I was told you have a peerless jade physique, the immunity to various toxins granted to the physique should help you there, though avoid getting poisoned if you can. You never know.."

"No, no,Senior Fang Wen, I have no interest in going there.." hurriedly interrupted Yang Qing with a bitter smile when he saw Fang Wen was about to give him the beginner survival guide into the Green Fog Region.

"I was just curious since I have two spirit beasts in my team who are from there and my friend from here, she's called Meifeng, the owner of this place, a parasitic purple flower spore sycamore tree. She mentioned how most spirit beasts loved going there, so that and my teammates, I was curious of what kind of place it was.."

"Oh.." Fang Wen said with her cheeks slightly reddening in slight embarrassment.

"But, when I do decide to go, I will definitely look for you.." hurriedly added Yang Qing.

Fang Wen instantly perked up as she said,

"Please do, as your senior, I will do all I can to prepare you. It's a terrifying place but it's also one of the most beautiful places I have been to, well to a cultivator who can sense dao that is.. When you visit the place, you'll know.."

Yang Qing nodded with a smile as he said,

"If you don't mind, would you care to join us, administrator Mo Guang is with us, you could take the opportunity to talk, and the food isn't bad, and the company too. I would appreciate it if you could join us.."

"I would be honored.." answered Fang Wen with a polite smile as Yang Qing led her in.

She was just as surprised as Gu Xing was when she sensed the pure yin energy coming from the pond next to the tree.

Yang Qing introduced her to the rest, except Ye Xun who still remained incognito, and from the look she gave him, it seemed that she was just about to leave.

Fang Wen was free-spirited which made her blend easily with the rest, especially Meifeng who was quite taken with her, especially when Fang Wen said she was friends with someone from the range. It wasn't only her, as the serenity melody river skylark flew around her with deep interest. Yang Qing guessed it might have something to do with both of them being larks, as Fang Wen showed the same interest in the skylark, with Shi Hai lurking at the side with a smitten look on his face.

The party continued in full swing with laughs, songs, stories, good food, and wine.