Hatred, resentment, anxiousness, and fears were the emotions that were hindering the cultivators. They were like sticks of firewood that hung by one's Taoist Heart and become a fence that blocked the fresh air and water from the outside. Should this situation remained for long, everything inside the fence would wither.
The inability to enter the Back Mountain of the Academy was the first hurdle Prince Long Qing had met on his path towards Taoism. Ning Que was the firewood outside his Taoist Heart. One of his major motives for cultivating in the Wilderness was to move this firewood. There were many ways to break the fence around one's Taoist Heart. For example, one could learn the classics, or force himself into an impasse before erupting. However, the simplest method was to chop up the firewood into sawdust and allow the wind to blow it away.