As the starlight reached its brightest, Yue finally began to regain some colour to her skin.
Although her complexion was always quite pale, especially under the starlight.
She had lain herself down beside Jiye An, splaying themselves on the black surface of the courtyard's ground.
Yue also lost herself to her thoughts, ruminating on this thing called 'Way'.
When she posed the question of 'what is a Way' to her Senior Sister, the answer given was quite simple.
The core of one's beliefs.
It is the very nature of one's being, what forms the very foundation of one's being, and is the first of the Five Foundations of the First Realm of Cultivation.
But there was something else that Jiye An mentioned, which is what drove Yue into her contemplation.
'Tempered Faith...'
Yet another unfamiliar term that Yue could not figure out, but when she turned to Jiye An with her second question, her Senior Sister had sat up languidly.
"This will be the next step of your Cultivation. In this matter... Let me take you through the Settlement."
"Settlement? Why do we need to go through their?"
"We will take a look around. I will show you some places, and I want you to scrutinise them as we pass along."
"..."
Yue was reluctant to leave this place.
Such a desolate area, such as this monastery, such as this plateau, was much more affined to her than the streets of a district, let alone a Settlement.
"Is this really necessary?"
"It would be best to do so. Master Adamant told me to keep an eye on the world around me, and that is how I have reached this far into my Cultivation journey."
"..."
Silent again.
She was much too reluctant to leave, but if the situation demands it...
"Fine... when do we leave?" Yue stood up and straightened her clothes, eliciting a faint smile from her Senior Sister, who rose right after.
"Why not now?"
Jiye An brought Yue to the incomplete bridge, retrieved something from her robes and raised it in the air.
It was a small golden token with the symbol of a bare, dark red heart engraved on it, surrounded by numerous symbols of black and white, which were equal in number.
As this token shone in the air, the bridge trembled lightly, and a red light surged outwards from its section that seemed cut off.
The light condensed and formed the solid structure of an ornate bridge.
"Follow along now. Unfortunately, if we walk, it would take an hour to cross the bridge, unless you let me carry you across~."
"No... I'm fine..."
Jiye An teased and led Yue down the red bridge.
During their shared hour walking over the bridge, Yue looked down below her feet and through the sheer structure of the red bridge.
The white waters surged violently, which naturally caused intense sounds to fill the air, and it even caused violent air currents.
Yet, none of this reached Yue and Jiye An as they walked across the bridge.
After their shared hour of walking, the two of them stepped onto the solid land of the river's bank, finally resting on the other side of the bridge.
Jiye An raised the token once more, and the bridge of light collapsed.
"You haven't eaten, right? I'll take you to this park within the Settlement's greatest food district, Bai He Shen's Park!"
"Very well then..."
Delight rose in her voice as she led Yue down the stone-paved streets.
A few breaths of time after they left, a silvery light shone down south, and another bridge of light condensed in the air.
...
The name of Immortal Adamant's monastery was Wu Zhong; the incomplete bridge sections were called the 'Tail' and 'Head' of Hong Long, with the Tail being connected to the Great River's bank, and the Head connected to the black plateau of Wu Zhong.
Hong Long's Tail was secluded, separated from the rest of Great River Bank Settlement.
Jiye An brought Yue through a few streets before arriving at a massive park around the centermost district of the Settlement.
One thing to note is the architecture of the Settlement being dominated by inert material.
Granite and white quartzite were the most common, with a few places having wooden elements.
This park was one such rare example, not only having wooden pavilions, but also natural flora and soil, which were absent throughout the majority of Great River Bank Settlement.
Yue stood beside her Senior Sister and read the banner over the front gate of the park.
'Bai He Shen's park...'
A vague memory rose into her mind, and she remembered visiting a park like this, albeit in another place she did not recognise.
"Come on, I'll handle the bill. Enjoy yourself, and take a look around while you're at it."
They walked through the gate and seated themselves in a pavilion with a scenic view.
Although Jiye An sat awfully close to Yue. When the latter tried to move away, Jiye An insisted on sitting closer.
"I'm sure you've noticed, right? This is one of the few places with natural flora."
"Yes... I did notice that."
"The Great River doesn't allow most forms of life to prosper, but with the Immortal's intervention, not only plantlife, but humans can prosper here, too."
As she explained, Jiye An retrieved a small slip from the centre of the table and casually dropped it into the hole in the centre.
A small cloud rose, and when Jiye An held a cup under it, a gentle orange rain filled the cup.
"Look through the slips, and pick one you would like."
"Okay..."
Yue perused the slips and read the various names of drinks, and dropped one into the centre.
Another cloud rose, and as Yue held a cup under it, a gentle red rain filled her cup.
"I hope you don't mind me taking a seat here."
The sudden appearance of a figure caused Yue to whip her head around.
His white robes waved gently in the wind, and his pale hair almost made him look old, but his face was of mature youth.
"It's fine. We were just about to begin our meal."
"My gratitude."
The formal tone of his voice held authority. As he sat down, Yue eyed him with weary, unwelcoming eyes and turned to her Senior Sister with a raised brow.
"Ah... I told you about our neighbouring Immortal Seeds, but I wasn't expecting that I'd get a chance to formally introduce you to one so soon."
She gestured to the man before them and introduced,
"This is Jian He Shuai, First Heir and Immortal Seed under Venerated Immortal Blade."
"Please, just refer to me a Jin, let it be a symbol of our newfound kinship."