As Xu Qingtong sat in meditation, he suddenly discovered that he had returned to Swallowtail Peak in Gloomwind Valley. His master, Yu Tiancheng, was calling him!
"A heart tribulation?" Xu Qingtong smiled faintly and walked slowly toward his master's cave abode.
He had experienced a heart tribulation before, and a scene like this was not enough to trouble him. After his cultivation through entering the world, he had grown accustomed to all the ways of mortal life and could calmly remain "free of confusion"!
"Qingtong, you brought me to Central Province, then went to the Netherworld yourself, leaving me to perish in the calamity. Do you feel no guilt?"
"Master, if I hadn't brought you to Central Province, what could you have accomplished in Bingzhou? With your aptitude and Bingzhou's resources, even reaching mid-stage Golden Core would probably have been difficult! Cultivating immortality means going against heaven. Throughout our lives, we contend with heaven, with fate, and with others. Win, and we live; lose, and we die! Have you still not seen through this, Master?"
Xu Qingtong spoke with his master for a long time. Eventually, Yu Tiancheng withdrew, and Xu Qingtong appeared at the Biluozong.
"Qingtong, we meet again!" Si Yuanzhi, the Witch Clan's old clan chief, stood at the entrance to the Biluozong as though he had been waiting specifically for him.
"Clan Chief, I'm undergoing tribulation. What brings you here?"
Si Yuanzhi chuckled and said, "Qingtong, I haven't come here-you have! As you undergo your heart tribulation, wherever your thoughts dwell is where your tribulation lies!"
"Wherever my thoughts dwell is where my tribulation lies!" Xu Qingtong lowered his head in contemplation, his experiences among the Witch Clan constantly running through his mind.
When he raised his head again, he discovered that Si Yuanzhi was gone, and