Sent forth by Call of Winter, Sun and Shade of Autumn moved themselves to the convoy's middlemost area.
The air was clean, despite the sight of numerous bloody injuries; there was no metallic scent wafting in the air.
Bloody bandages were a dire symbol, yet so common in this area of the convoy.
Sun and Autumn cast their solemn gaze over the injured.
"There were thirteen casualties throughout the convoy, and that number rose to nineteen in this recent assault. The injured, too, saw an increase from twenty-seven to thirty-one."
"That many...? Even with all these Cultivators around..."
"The major cause behind these statistics is the natural disasters, but the bestial assaults were no less ravaging."
Shade of Autumn stepped forward and raised herself into a carriage. Sun followed along a moment after.
Before them was a row of three injured mortals, the denizens of Corpse Mountain.
First, they unravelled the bandages and revealed bruises and scars.
"Employ your Dao Art on them first, then begin with mundane healing."
"Understood."
With an efficiency almost rivalling Autumn's, Sun drew the Dao Art image onto the back of his hand.
Dao Art — Height of Blossom!
A calming air was summoned around his hands and flowed gently into the person below Sun's palms.
Weaving through the torn flesh and sinew, a pale green liquid light stemmed the bleeding and mended the injury.
In a few breaths' time, the injury had closed and begun to stitch itself back together.
Breathing out turbid air, Sun felt a subtle weakness in his body after utilising Height of Blossom.
"Depending on the injury, the exertion of your Qi may be quite intense."
"I see... I'll keep that in mind."
Like how a flower demands more sunlight or water to bloom, so does a person need more 'substances' to properly heal themselves.
Height of Blossom merely cuts this time greatly, while also filling in the 'spots' where normal human recovery can not fill in.
Regenerating flesh is one such example.
Furthermore, in the case of a human, Height of Blossom substitutes the necessary substances needed for normal recovery with Qi.
After another breath's time, the skin stitched itself closed and bore only a faint scar.
At the same time, the person under Sun's care started to breathe heavily.
Sun removed the Dao Art Images covering his hands and let the Qi flow forth from his hands.
Qi flowed into the person's stomach, heart, and mind, and was withdrawn after the treatment was done.
This process of treating wounds was applied to every other injured denizen.
Due to some of the more grievous wounds, Sun felt his Qi deplete rather quickly.
Taking breaks throughout the process, a little over an hour had passed when the last denizen was treated by Shade of Autumn.
"Prepare for departure! We will leave in ten minutes, and remain vigilant! Should nothing arise, we will arrive at Blue Grass Mountain by tonight's Late Hour!"
As that command swept through everyone's minds, the convoy reassembled itself and quickly readied to roll into motion, once again.
...
Treading along the brown soil, Sun hauled himself along the convoy's momentum.
He felt sluggish after applying Height of Blossom to several injured denizens.
Even if his work was split roughly in half between him and Autumn, employing the Dao Art seemed to be very difficult, anyway.
'Maybe just being efficient at drawing the Dao Art's image isn't enough...?'
'If I utilise it more, then maybe I'd be able to utilise it more efficiently with little demand.'
'Autumn seems relatively fine despite utilising it an equal amount of times that I have... Would Clarity be the difference here?'
As he thought so, he wanted to reach out and ask Shade of Autumn, but the tired weight in his body seemed to grow unexplicably heavier.
'I... I will figure that out myself...'
Willing his body to move forward, Sun straightened himself, lightly shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
"Is that Force Immersion giving you trouble?"
Shade of Autumn asked from beside Sun. He rubbed his brow at that question.
"No... the effects are not as significant as they were before."
"That is good to hear. What of your Flesh Eye Immersion, how is that coming along?"
"Not too badly. I can use it to pierce through the foliage to an extent... but that is all. Also, I have grown accustomed to feeling overwhelmed by my eyes or my mind; it doesn't really bother me so badly anymore."
"I see. Still, do keep your health in mind. It is often the things we overlook that cause us great harm."
"Is that so...?"
"Yes. I heard the saying, 'enjoy the little things in life,' from a Cultivator long ago. You can consider it similar in meaning, that is, don't overlook the little things in life."
Sun spared that statement a few thoughts.
'Don't overlook the little things, for it is what one overlooks that causes one's downfall. So even the little things could bring me down?'
Although it felt insulting, he acknowledged the value behind such a warning.
However, he could help but wonder what these little things are.
It was just then that the convoy reached a small incline.
Treading to the top, the sky revealed itself through an opening in the foliage. The elevation gave the people enough height to see over the surrounding forest.
As Sun stood at the peak of this incline, he saw a hint of blue in the distance.
Looming behind the horizon was a mountain of average size, which had a unique colour of dark greyish blue.
"That is Blue Grass Mountain?"
"Yes. I am glad that we were able to make it to this mountain. I am also glad that Senior Spring and Senior Winter had planned to journey through this mountain."
"Are you familiar with this mountain, Autumn?"
"Are you not? It may not be that famous, but it is a significant location for mortal merchants. It is a place where only grass thrives, reaching the height of trees, and bearing a dark blue colour. At this time, it seems dull and lusterless, but during Early Hour, it emanates a rich blue."