Luxury and torment of two states

If the three members had not yet broken through, then that left two scenarios as to their likely fates;

One of the scenarios Yang Qing had in mind was that they were in deep seclusion looking to breakthrough, and have been in said seclusion for a long time hence their noted absence from the current known sect experts. 

And if their state was truly desperate, they might have even decided to enter a death seclusion where they wagered their lives. Such a state could not be interrupted neither could it be broken. There were only two ways to come out of it; one was to achieve the intended breakthrough or the other was as a corpse.

In death seclusion, one converted everything, their life essence, their souls, their cultivation realm, everything that comprised said cultivator both body and soul would be converted into a singular energy to aim for that one push.