The twenty-minute mark had arrived, and the denizens of Corpse Mountain Settlement were then put into motion.
Horses neighed and Oxen grunted, pulling the various carriages, and the resources, crops, or people within them.
Soil and stone crunching under wheels was all else that was heard.
The denizens of Corpse Mountain Settlement were quiet, for this moment was the beginning of new times. Leaving behind their homes, their past lives at the Settlement, and the history they built, it was all a tough decision to make.
But, it had to be made nonetheless.
Warrior of Spring and Corpse Mountain Settlement's Lord led the large group of people and carriages beyond the Northeastern border of the Settlement.
At a steady pace, and not accounting for any distractions or sudden ordeals, the journey would take eight nights.
Currently, Corpse Mountain would have experienced the last of the second tide, following the predetermined plan.
That means that there are three nights before Corpse Mountain would experience the third and final tide of the Tide of Beasts and Spirits.
Of course, the people would not be there for that ordeal, retreating to the safety of the ruins of Union Settlement.
...
After a few hours, the convoy of carriages and people had come to a halt, experiencing their first impasse.
Not that it wasn't expected, however.
There was a large ravine that stretched a few hundred meters to the left and to the right, opening a few dozen meters across.
Warrior of Spring clasped his hands together, conjuring a mass of light resembling a seed.
As it fell into the crimson soil, it sprouted into a large, thick bundle of tendrils. Roots lifted out of the ground and tangled in the soil, creating a sturdy base and binding the soil.
It then stretched to the other side and created a bridge between the two sides of the ravine.
At once, the convoy began to move, once again. Crossing the bridge and over the ravine.
...
After another few hours, the second expected impass had appeared before them.
A large river winding through the terrain halted their tracks.
This time, Call of Winter took action.
With a simple wave of her hand, mist flooded from her palm and froze the river solid.
"Be careful as you cross the ice; if you slip, you implicate us all!"
As the convoy had proceeded, they took caution in leading their horses, oxen, and carriages over the ice.
The entire river was frozen solid, so there was no worry about the ice breaking, for there was no water underneath.
After a few tens of minutes, the last of the convoy had crossed, and Call of Winter waved her hand again, shattering the frozen river.
Water flowed from upstream through the cracked ice, soon sweeping the ice along the currents and effectively restoring the flowing river of water.
...
Sun was stuck at the back of this leisurely travel.
There had yet to be any serious ordeals that warranted his battle strength, so he felt unsatisfied as they continued walking.
Although as he was walking, he felt as if he could feel a myriad more sensations than what was in the Settlement, even with a Dao Art withholding most of these sensations.
"Is it still bothering you, Sun?"
The voice that questioned him was none other than Shade of Autumn, who accompanied him in protecting the rear of the convoy.
"The 'Forced Immersion?' Yeah... a little."
Ever since returning from his battle against one of the Demonic Cultivators, Envoy of the Lion, Sun's mind was threatened to be overwhelmed by the very world itself.
If not for the Settlement Lord placing a Dao Art around his head, Sun's mind would be rended apart by the myriad of sensations.
"Have you ever used Immersion before this point, Sun?"
"No... I am only familiar with the fact that State Cultivators use a different type of Immersion than Foundation Cultivators..."
"That is true, but there is also a difference between Immersion users of the three Foundations of Cultivation."
"I have not heard of this... What do you mean?"
"Immersion can be divided into five different categories, referred to as the Five Eyes. Second Foundation Cultivators can access the first eye, Flesh Eye, which allows one to see further and more intricacies than a normal human could."
It is an extension of a person's normal vision. Similar to the properties of Qi amplification, which allows one to empower their muscles or blood flow with Qi, Flesh Eye Immersion operates similarly.
"The only limitation is that it only provides superficial perception. Which is where the difference between the first and second Eyes of Immersion."
Shade of Autumn pointed a finger at Sun.
"The second Eye, Divine Eye, seems to be what you are suffering from. That which allows a Cultivator to see through the superficial, to a degree, that is."
In other words, if normal perception could be described as seeing the 'outside' of things, perception that looks beyond the superficial can see beyond the 'outside' and see the 'inside' of things.
"Of course, Immersion goes beyond mere perception, but the sensing of sensations. To feel the muscles under another person's skin, to anticipate every twitch and ease, to read the very blood flow within one's veins. It even goes as subtle as the vibrations within the ground, the feeling of flame being recognised as 'hot' despite oneself not feeling such heat, or the sensation of water being wet despite oneself not being wet."
"This is all part of what qualifies a Cultivator for the Third Foundation."
"I heard from a friend that Third Foundation Cultivators must immerse themselves in Night for a long period of time... what does this mean exactly? Is this the other part you speak of?"
"Indeed. If Night is to be understood as suffering, the absence of hope, and darkness—the antithesis to life and the world—to immerse into Night is to immerse into all that is against human life, if not life in general."
"I see...? I understand that it is dangerous, but how exactly does it threaten a Cultivator? By rendering them mentally unstable?"
"Yes, being overwhelmed is usually a fate that most Second Foundation Cultivators meet with. But it is not so simple as being overwhelmed, but having your entire being overwhelmed. In other words, your Way is at threat of being stepped on by Night through Immersion."