Soon, Xu Qingtong realized that things were not as simple as he had imagined. Over the next month, people continued coming to him in an unending stream to have elixirs refined. Even the disciple surnamed Wang from Heavenly Pillar Peak came to him a second time. Moreover, the terms were even more generous than before, leaving him unable to voice a refusal even if he wanted to.
As a result, he had almost no time left to cultivate, and all his plans were thrown into disarray.
One day, while Xu Qingtong was refining elixirs, Yu Tiancheng came to his cave abode.
"Qingtong, as an alchemist, refining elixirs is only right. But do not let what is before your eyes blind you!"
Hearing his master's words, Xu Qingtong's heart suddenly tightened. His master seemed to be saying something more. He hurriedly rose and stood with his hands clasped, waiting for his master's instruction. Yet after dropping that seemingly cryptic remark, Yu Tiancheng said nothing further and turned to leave.
What did Master mean? What did he mean by 'let what is before your eyes blind you'?
He pondered for a long time and seemed to understand, yet understood nothing at all. With no other recourse, he could only seek out his fourth senior brother, Information Gatherer Bao.
Not long after Xu Qingtong returned to the sect, their master had released Gong Chu from confinement. But Gong Chu felt a little too embarrassed to face Xu Qingtong, so even after all this time, he had not visited him.
Arriving outside his fourth senior brother's cave abode, Xu Qingtong called out loudly, "Are you there, Fourth Senior Brother? Your junior brother Xu Qingtong requests an audience!"
He called for quite some time, but Gong Chu never appeared. Just as Xu Qingtong was about