Gentle winds caress the leaves of trees, starlight sheds a grey hue over the mountain.
The verdant scent in the breeze signals the start of springtide.
Dawn and Sun pace unhurriedly down the mountain slope. It was Early Hour, the quadrant where Immortal Union's gathering is supposed to commence; they decided to head there earlier.
After a few moments of descending the slope, Dawn and Sun reach the border between the innermost regions and the middle regions.
They were greeted with the blue and white architecture of Union Settlement's middle region, walled off from the all-natural environment of the region they're leaving behind.
The soil bleeds into the gravel road.
...
A few moments later, Dawn and Sun arrived at a grand hall.
This was the building where their gathering was located within. Wooden archs and mural walls, banners drapped from the overhanging ridges. It was coloured a royal blue and flawless white, like lapis and white jade mixed together.
Within, the hall was spacious, dozens of meters long and a few dozen meters wide. The architecture was incricate, but the room was modestly decorated.
Dao Art mediums were present, filtering the air and illuminating the hall.
The most notable object of attention was the large table in the centre, three meters wide and fifteen meters long.
There were four other people here, too.
Two men looked middle-aged, and the other two seemed to be young adults.
They were all dressed in dark blue robes, similar to Dawn and Sun's clothing.
One of the younger ones turned and saw Dawn and Sun approaching.
"Juniors, you must have lost your way; this is no place for you two to be."
"We are here on Lord Immortal Union's request, to aid the expedition heading for Union Settlement's subsidiary Mortal Settlements."
The man was surprised at Dawn's reply, the other three raised their brows and curious expressions.
"Is this true? So young yet the two of you are Cultivators, how far has your cultivation reached?"
"Second Foundation, my cultivation is only four hours from reaching the Third Foundation."
"First Foundation. I am merely missing a primary Dao Art to assimilate."
"Truly!? At this young age?"
Dawn's words surprised both the middle aged men, she looked no older than eighteen or nineteen years old.
Sun's progress was still surprising, but still modest in comparison.
The young man who called them out apologised, claiming that he wasn't expecting to see such young Cultivators take part in this expedition.
Truth be told, both Dawn and Sun were young compared to most Cultivators of their respective ranks, they were prodigious in a sense, but also amply raised.
The two middle aged men introduced themselves as Second Foundation Cultivators, their respective cultivation towards the Third Foundation only measures to ten hours and fourteen hours.
Dawn's cultivation towards the Third Foundation measures twenty hours.
The young adults were slightly older than Dawn, but they were only First Foundation Cultivators who lacked a primary Dao Art, similar to Sun.
They discussed for a while to pass the time and to familiarise themselves.
"So you two are from the fallen Star Gazing Settlement? I believe I met one of your people at Union Settlement's commerce district."
"Is that so? I have not been in touch with my own people for quite some time, it is good that they are adapting to life here."
"I'm rather bewildered that those ordinary people can recover from such ordeals so quickly; they have such admirable characters."
As they were chatting, two more people entered.
One was a tall and lean man with short brown hair, dressed in green robes and wearing peculiar ornaments.
The other was half a foot shorter, a woman with short brown hair, dressed in dark brown robes.
Along with their arrival came the verdant scent of nature.
Their presence was notable.
"Ah! You two are of the Four Seasons Cultivators!"
"...?"
Sun had not heard of them, but the name sounded familiar to Dawn. She pondered before raising a question.
"Are you two from the Veiled Forest Settlement?"
"Yes, we are."
This settlement was just an ordinary Mortal Settlement, but it remained without an Immortal aid. It was not a subsidiary force to any Immortal Settlement, yet it prospers due to its foundational Cultivators--the Four Seasons Cultivators.
The two of them didn't stay around too long, only conversing for a moment before walking to stand at the other side of the room, quietly discussing with one another.
Minutes passed as more people walked into the hall, and the time for Immortal Union's appearance was near.
All who walked into the hall were Cultivators. Dawn and Sun talked with the bulk of them, learning that the majority of them were First Foundation Cultivators lacking a primary Dao Art.
In other words, Sun was part of the majority.
Dawn was one of the few Second Foundation Cultivators, fewer were the Third Foundation Cultivators.
In total, there were at least thirty Cultivators in this hall.
When the third hour of Early Hour came, the gathering had officially started.
The doors part, and the world changes subtly in the presence of a sagely old man.
Immortal Union has arrived.
"We greet Lord Immortal Union."
Every Cultivator in the room greeted with bows in unison. Immortal Union waved his hand to greet and dismiss them.
"Please, I have kept you all waiting long enough. Let us take our seats and begin this discussion."
Immortal Union sat at the head of the table, sitting to his left were the two Cultivators from the Veiled Forest Settlement--'Spring's Warrior' and 'Shade of Autumn'.
On his right was a tall, lean man with broad shoulders and a thin waist. His physique was emphasised by his tight martial uniform, coloured a royal blue and embroidered in silver.
The other Cultivators lined down the sides of the table, Dawn and Sun sat at the end, opposite Immortal Union.
Immortal Union cleared his throat before addressing the Cultivators.
"You all have my gratitude for gathering here. Let us begin."
With a wave of his hand, wisps of Qi rose from the table, forming a roughly mapped depiction of the Western region, specifically focusing on Union Settlement and the surrounding area.
A pale, dark blue symbol, depicting two hands grasping eachother, marks Union Settlement. Two other, similar symbols of a lighter shade depicted the subsidiary Mortal Settlements, situated a few mountains away.
"This expedition revolves around the tides of beasts encroaching Union Settlement's subsidiary Mortal Settlements--Corpse Mountain Settlement and Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement."
"Due to the remnants of mist and rampaging of mindless beasts down south-east, a domino effect has caused surrounding beasts to relocate outwards, pushing other beasts out of their environments."
"Corpse Mountain Settlement and Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement have faced 'minor waves' of beasts from nearby areas, but the tides only grow more intense as the nights go by. This forces us to allocate forces to aid in their defence."
The past dozen-or-so nights have been full of predicaments, mundane and mystical beasts alike have been storming several Mortal Settlements all over the Western region.
Although beasts were relatively easy to repel, the greater threat lies within mystical beasts and spirits.
Immortal Union continued while gesturing to the two Cultivators at his left side.
"To aid us in our endeavours, I was able to recruit our respected friends from Veiled Forest Settlement--Spring's warrior and Shade of Autumn. They will be accompanying one group to defend Corpse Mountain Settlement."
Gesturing to his right side, Immortal Union proudly introduced.
"Union Settlement's revered disciple, Silver Extreme, will be accompanying the group defending Iron Mountain Quarry Settlement."
Immortal Union then created two spheres to represent Silver Extreme and Spring's Warrior, radiant and imposing.
"Disciple Silver Extreme and friend Spring's Warrior will represent the leaders of both parties, friend Shade of Autumn will be accompanying our latter party."
Raising his hand and bringing his attention to the end of the table, Immortal Union introduced Dawn and Sun as he declared.
"Our friends from Star Gazing Settlement, Junior Dawn and Junior Sun, will be accompanying our former party. I will leave them in your care, disciple Silver Extreme."
Silver Extreme nodded in response. Immortal Union continued.
"First Foundation Cultivators, Second Foundation Cultivators, and Third Foundation Cultivators will be spread evenly between both parties. Roles will be decided by the Leader's whim, but balance is to be ensured."
"I will allow you to discuss amongst yourselves after this meeting has concluded. I also hope that you all will get to know one another, it is wise to establish broad connections."
With a wave of his hand, he conjured a few dozen spheres of a variety of colours and brightness, representing the rest of the Cultivators in the hall.
"The majority of Cultivators present are First Foundation Cultivators, wielding Dao Arts but without a primary. The second most prevalent are Second Foundation Cultivators, such as friend Shade of Autumn or Junior Dawn."
The total number of First Foundation Cultivators reached twenty, Second Foundation Cultivators numbered eight.
"Third Foundation Cultivators are few but very admirable, I hope the four of you can spare advice for the Cultivation journeys of your juniors."
"As for our leaders, due to the likelihood of Spirits being present at these difficult times, Silver Extreme and Spring's Warrior are First State Cultivators."
"They will lead as the vanguard, and hopefully, as inspiration for you Foundation Cultivators trying to breach your Second Breakthrough."
...