"How could this happen?"
Gu Que murmured, his voice thick with bewilderment.
"Xugeng was clearly trapped deep within the heart tribulation just now, unable to free himself. Why did he suddenly pass it without any explanation?"
Song Wen heard a trace of resentment in Gu Que's voice.
It was as though he were accusing the Heavenly Dao of injustice.
When Gu Que had undergone his tribulation all those years ago, his circumstances had been almost identical to Xugeng's. Both had fallen at the heart tribulation.
Yet the outcomes were entirely different.
Xugeng had inexplicably passed his heart tribulation.
Gu Que, however, had lost his physical body, and his soul had suffered grievous damage. Had Jing Chen not intervened to preserve his soul, Gu Que would long since have been scattered into oblivion.
Although Song Wen was also curious about how Xugeng had passed the heart tribulation, he was not as fixated on it as Gu Que.
Perhaps only Xugeng himself knew the reason. But this involved Xugeng's secrets; he might possess some special means. There was no way he would readily reveal it to others.
Thus, pursuing the answer too far would only invite needless anguish, and might even bring trouble.
"Is Xugeng about to ascend?" Song Wen asked within his sea of consciousness, gazing at Xugeng, who was enveloped in seven-colored radiance.
"No," Gu Que said. "He is receiving the Heavenly Dao's blessing."
Something suddenly occurred to Song Wen, and he asked in surprise and doubt.
"Hmm, that isn't right. Although Gu Que has successfully passed the third heavenly tribulation, his cultivation is only at the peak of Tribulation Transcendence. He has yet to become an immortal. How can he ascend?"
"Who told you that one must become an immortal before ascending?"
A trace of irritation crept into Gu