After a few hours, the convoy had arrived at the base of Blue Grass Mountain.
Sun looked up, completely astonished by the aforementioned height of the grass.
From what he saw before him, each blade of grass was roughly twice as thick as he was wide. Sun's height was roughly a tenth of a single blade's height.
The texture was mostly smooth. Despite being too tall and thin, the grass did not waver much in the wind.
Each blade was a slightly different shade of dark blue; some were greyer than others, some were of lighter blues, while others had a greener tint.
Running his hand over a blade of grass, his wonder was interrupted by a quick warning from Shade of Autumn, who was by his side.
"Careful, Sun. Although they may seem somewhat ordinary—besides their size, that is—a blade of grass still has an incredibly sharp edge."
"They are quite firm... So, these are used for medical purposes... How so?"
"Each blade of grass carries strong vitality, which is why it can grow to such lengths and develop considerable firmness. When a merchant caravan arrives to harvest Blue Grass, they usually take three or four blades."
"So little? No... That would be quite a lot."
"Indeed, but the resulting medicine is not that much. One blade of grass carries enough 'vitality' to be processed into a single small vat worth of medicine, which can then be used to treat ten people with minor wounds, or a single person with moderate wounds."
It is unlike the mundane method of Qi treatments, which amplifies natural recovery, but is a far cry from the incredible healing methods which Sun and Autumn can use.
Looking at a single blade of Blue Grass, Sun saw its value as very insignificant, for it would not hold a candle to Sun's own healing abilities.
However...
'Should this entire mountain be harvested, how powerful would the resulting medicine be?'
'If one blade of grass worth of 'vitality' can be used to treat a moderate wound, what about two blades, if not more?'
Even as he thought this, he did not feel moved by the prospects of this mountain.
Not for the sheer value it had, but because he no longer felt interested in the Blue Grass.
Shaking his head, he sighed and exclaimed to himself.
"So there is no point in these...?"
"There is a 'point' in using these, Sun."
"Autumn?"
Pointing a finger in the direction of a few carriages, Shade of Autumn directed Sun's gaze to the injured accommodated in the middlemost of the convoy.
"We can use the Blue Grass for these injured people. The process isn't too long, and although we have quicker and more advanced healing methods, this method won't exhaust us. Not to mention, we can't always be there to treat the injured; that is a position that Blue Grass can fill in."
"I see..."
Sun spared another gaze to the blades of Blue Grass, but he could not seem to rile up any interest or awe in these prospects.
Still, he nodded as he turned back to Autumn.
"How do we harvest the 'vitality' from the Blue Grass?"
...
Shade of Autumn directed Sun and a few other Cultivators on how to process the Blue Grass into medicine.
On another side of the convoy, the corpses in the rear of the convoy were being relocated.
Corpse Mountain's Settlement Lord waved his hand, and something flickered in the air.
In the next moment, the ground burst apart and created a hole, roughly large enough to fit two people side-by-side.
"I wish I could prepare something decent to accommodate your corpses, my people..."
With a solemn sigh, the Settlement Lord waved his hand again and burst apart another hole.
Soil was uplifted before him, and holes were dug into the ground.
"Is this where you are burying them, Lord?"
Call of Winter approached from behind, drawn to the low sounds of erupting soil.
"Indeed it is, Friend Winter."
"Forgive us for not taking action sooner, Lord. Should Brother Spring and I have realised what was at play sooner, we would have been able to reduce the casualties, if not wholly stop them."
"It is fine. I will not blame you, for my hatred will always be towards those Demonic Cultivators who struck my Settlement."
Looking down, the Settlement Lord waved again, creating another hole in the ground. A solemn look in his eyes as he spoke again.
"But I will not let myself wallow in misery... Although it pains me to bury them here, I also can not think of any better place to bury them... besides at their homes."
"What do you mean, Lord?"
"It is natural for us to die. For one to pass on is a great tragedy, but I wholly understand that it is only natural. But... at the very least, the value in our lives does not end with our deaths.
Just as Corpse Mountain had sustained our lives, death can very well hold its own meaning. It can allow others to live on.
Just as this Blue Grass had fed off the world, so do we feed off the Blue Grass.
Just as these corpses will be buried here, they will become the fertiliser to further the Blue Grass' growth.
So too will these people find meaning in their deaths, no longer in vain, meaning that will allow others to live."
"Is that so? That is quite a moving purview, Lord."
"Haha... It is something you'd learn by living next to Corpse Mountain."
"You will not let these corpses get you down."
"No... Not at all... but even as I bury them here—the meaning they give through the Blue Grass is not my own—the meaning they leave me is fury."
Call of Winter smiled lightly as she looked down.
"You are truly a remarkable Lord."
"Please, without a Settlement under my hand, I am no longer a Settlement Lord... Just call me by my name, Ji Shi."
"As you wish, Ji Shi."