"Enough, let's go clean up, Liang," Bao said, patting Liang's shoulder, and the two walked away from the gate to rejoin their wives.

  The sky was completely bright, and the Star Village square, which was usually a quiet place for weaving and gathering, was now bursting with energy. A rickety wooden stage was erected under the large starfruit tree, the same spot where Mingling was humiliated and then given water by Lin.

  Grandfather Wu, wearing a clean grey robe and holding his sturdy staff, stood on the stage. Although Grandfather Wu was known for his strict discipline, an aura of happiness and pride enveloped his aged face. In front of him, a crowd of villagers gathered, from the youngest to the oldest, laughing at the heroic—and ridiculous—stories brought home by the hunters and the youths.

  "All of you must thank Heaven, and yes, these naughty children!" Grandfather Wu exclaimed, his calm voice carrying a resonance that silenced everyone. "We lost one Fire Roaring Ape, but gained a Fire Core, a Pure Water Crystal, and most importantly, a Thousand Year Jade Root!"

  A loud cheer immediately erupted.

  "A Thousand Year Jade Root! That will make our foundation solid!" shouted a youth with sparkling eyes.

  "And a Pure Water Crystal! I can sell it and buy three new goats!" yelled a wheat farmer, making everyone laugh.

  In the front row of the young men, Tang stood proudly, his arm still loosely bandaged, but he was grinning widely. Next to him, Mingling shone like the sun. He was wearing his best dry robe and repeatedly glanced towards Lin, who was smiling at him from the row of weaving girls.

  "Tang, I told you, we are heroes," Mingling whispered, nudging Tang. "Look! Lin is looking at me. She must know the Pure Forest Ginseng is mine!"

  "Of course she knows, Ming," Tang retorted, his tone teasing. "You screamed as loud as a sick goat yesterday about the Ginseng in front of the little children. Besides, you are the dirtiest."

  Zhuwei, now standing next to Bashan, snorted. His cold face still looked rigid, but he listened to Grandfather Wu's announcement with full attention.

  Bashan smirked. "Don't listen to Tang, Ming. Zhuwei is the most surprised by our miracle. He can't sleep soundly after you embarrassed him in front of Yun Xiao."

  "I am not surprised," Zhuwei replied flatly. He adjusted his posture. "I was only analyzing the risk factors associated with unwarranted madness. And I was not embarrassed. I merely... conveyed structural criticism."

  Mingling laughed loudly. "Structural criticism! Yun Xiao said your knot was too rigid, Zhuwei! I saw her look!"

  Suddenly, Uncle Chen stepped forward. He held a small jade container.

  "Attention! Grandfather Wu has processed a small portion of your Pure Forest Ginseng. This will stabilize the remaining essence in your bodies. Mingling, Tang, this is for you."

  Mingling and Tang stepped forward with gleaming eyes, receiving an orange-colored pill that emitted a strong medicinal aroma. They immediately swallowed it without hesitation.

  "Thank you, Uncle Chen!" Mingling exclaimed. "I will hit the grain sack five times harder today!"

  "Good," Uncle Chen said, smiling. He turned towards the crowd. "Now, where is Zhi Xuan?"

  Grandfather Wu, who had been smiling, now folded his arms, his gaze becoming stern. He looked towards the crowd of youths.

  "Zhi Xuan," Grandfather Wu called, his voice containing authority. "Step forward and take your share."

  There was no answer.

  Mingling, who had just swallowed the Ginseng pill, felt a warm flow through his meridians. He turned back, towards their hut.

  "Zhi Xuan!" Mingling shouted. "Come on! Don't be shy! Grandfather Wu isn't angry anymore!"

  Tang, feeling uneasy about his friend's absence, walked closer to Grandfather Wu. "I'm sorry, Grandfather Wu. We cleaned up after the run around the village. But Zhi Xuan... he didn't join us for a bath. He said he was too tired."

  "Yes!" Mingling chimed in, his face flushing with embarrassment. "He slept like a wild boar! He's still in our hut. He... he said he slept soundly after the punishment!"

  Grandfather Wu sighed. "Fallen asleep? After a fight with the river current and the forced purification of Ginseng I saw yesterday? That is a deep sleep."

  All eyes were turned towards the small hut where the young men lived. The crowd started whispering.

  "Look! He's too afraid of Grandfather Wu!" whispered a girl.

  "Or he is too weak!" exclaimed Fourteen, who had just received praise from Lu Xi. "He was just lucky. A strong person wouldn't sleep in the middle of a celebration!"

  Bashan nudged Fourteen. "Quiet, Fourteen. Zhi Xuan is not a weak person. He was the one who made the fire when we were all nearly freezing to death."

  Grandfather Wu raised his staff. "Enough! Bashan, Zhuwei, go. Bring Zhi Xuan here. If he is too tired, douse him with well water. He must take his pill before the dawn is fully gone."

  Bashan and Zhuwei nodded, then rushed towards the hut, leaving the crowd to return to whispering.

  "Do you think Zhi Xuan truly deserves to step onto the Divine Wheel now?" Aunt Lian said to Uncle Chen, her voice filled with worry.

  Uncle Chen turned for a moment and calmly held Aunt Lian's hand, a faint smile creeping on his lips. "Calm down, Lian. Although the boy is full of mystery, seeing his struggles so far, he deserves it."

  Aunt Lian sighed. "But Zhi Xuan is different, Chen. Grandfather Wu has been watching him for several days now. He said Zhi Xuan acted too quickly, as if... something was urging him."

  Uncle Chen nodded, his eyes turning serious again. "I know. I was shocked when he desperately sought Pure Forest Ginseng, truly very reckless!"

  Suddenly, Grandfather Wu's voice cut through their conversation. His voice no longer resonated with the authority of a village elder, but contained a cold grandeur, as if the air around them had frozen.

  "Zhi Xuan has a defective mortal wheel, Chen. That is no longer a secret. I knew it since the first years. But the problem now is not about the mortal foundation."

  Uncle Chen and Aunt Lian froze. They looked at Grandfather Wu. Among the senior hunters, only they knew that Grandfather Wu had reached a level of cultivation beyond Organ Transformation, a secret he guarded strictly.

  "Grandfather Wu," Uncle Chen whispered, his tone filled with deep reverence. "With your spiritual senses... have you reached the Consciousness Realm?"

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  Grandfather Wu smiled, the smile not reaching his eyes. "It has been a long time, Chen. This Village's Golden Foundation would not stand upright without oversight that transcends the mortal limit. And it is from this Consciousness Realm that I see into Zhi Xuan."

  "His mortal wheel was indeed badly cracked," Grandfather Wu continued, sighing. "But, somehow, that wheel has been patched with a layer of cold, complex spiritual energy. It is not Ginseng essence, nor mortal essence. It is... a rune carved upon his soul. I have never seen such a spiritual patching technique. That is not the work of an ordinary cultivator."

  Silence fell over the small area of the square among the three elders, a silence far more terrifying than the roar of the Fire Roaring Ape.

  Liang, standing not far from them, realized he shouldn't touch the precious pills anymore. He quickly stepped forward, taking the small jade container from Uncle Chen's hand, which was still frozen.

  "Uncle Chen, Grandfather Wu," Liang said calmly. "Let me handle the pill distribution. I will ensure every youth gets their share to prepare for the Divine Wheel tonight."

  Uncle Chen nodded, his eyes still fixed on Grandfather Wu, filled with dread.

  Grandfather Wu, ignoring Liang, reached into the pocket of his clean robe. He pulled out a bamboo scroll that looked worn and ancient, tied with a faded red thread. The scroll was a remnant of the baby basket that carried Zhi Xuan, along with the red-embroidered black robe, washed up on the riverbank years ago.

  Grandfather Wu handed the bamboo scroll to Uncle Chen. "You were the first to see that basket, Chen. You must see this message."

  Uncle Chen took the scroll with trembling hands. The bamboo felt dry and brittle, and the writing on it looked rushed, as if carved in a state of panic. Uncle Chen began to read it in a soft voice that was barely audible.

  "This... this is written with spiritual essence. Not ordinary ink." Uncle Chen stared at the messy writing, then read it aloud.

  "'Whoever finds this baby basket, please, for Heaven's sake. Never... never teach him to cultivate. If he touches spiritual essence, a catastrophe will come. The mortal limit is his only protection'."

  Uncle Chen fell silent, the scroll trembling in his hand. He looked towards the hut, where Zhi Xuan slept in ignorance. Zhi Xuan had not only touched spiritual essence; he had swallowed it, purified it, and even forcibly repaired his defective wheel, all happening mysteriously.

  "Catastrophe..." Uncle Chen whispered.

  Grandfather Wu, who had closed his eyes, nodded slowly. "The catastrophe has begun. I saw the patch. The hot Pure Forest Ginseng triggered the patch in his core. Now, we can no longer stop it. We can only control it. And the Thousand Year Jade Root, that is our only chance to stabilize the boy, at least for a while."

  Grandfather Wu then opened his eyes, his gaze now filled with determination. "Hurry, Zhi Xuan must be woken up. He will be the first to receive the pill I have prepared. That pill will determine whether he lives as a mortal, or as the seed of a disaster."

  Aunt Lian, who had been covering her mouth and had watery eyes, her heart like a mother who loved her children, stepped closer to Grandfather Wu and Uncle Chen. Her face, usually filled with laughter and the warmth of cooking, was now shrouded in fiery determination.

  "Zhi Xuan is not a disaster," Aunt Lian stated, her voice steady though slightly trembling with emotion. She ignored the crowd in the square, ignored the faint cheers, her focus only on the two old men holding the boy's destiny. "He loves us, this Village, and everything here. This is his home."

  Uncle Chen lowered his head, clutching the ancient bamboo scroll tightly. He knew Aunt Lian and Zhi Xuan had a strong bond, the bond of a mother with a son she watched grow.

  "Lian, we understand," Uncle Chen said gently. "But this writing... 'catastrophe'. This is a warning from a high-level cultivator. We must be careful."

  Aunt Lian took another step forward. She looked at Grandfather Wu, her watery eyes now challenging. "Grandfather Wu, you said you saw a cold rune in his core. You saw a complex patching. You saw a power that is not mortal."

  Grandfather Wu remained silent, his staff upright, listening.

  "I only see those sapphire eyes," Aunt Lian continued. "Eyes that always protect the other children when they play. Eyes that never let Mingling or Tang go hungry, even though he himself had nothing. This morning, when we punished him, he didn't run, he accepted it. That is not the nature of a catastrophe, Grandfather. That is the nature of a protector."

  She pointed towards the hut which Bashan and Zhuwei had now reached. "That boy has struggled alone since day one. A cracked wheel, suspicious glances, the secret he carries—he never complained. Now, he desperately sought Ginseng, not for himself, but to prove he was worthy to join his friends in the Divine Wheel. And he almost died. But he returned with a blessing for the entire Village."

  Aunt Lian lifted her chin, tears streaming down her cheeks, but her voice did not break. "I believe in Zhi Xuan. That boy will one day be able to surpass everyone in this Star Village. He will not be a disaster. He will be our new Golden Foundation. He will always be there to protect this Village, just as he has done since the day he struggled against the river current for his two friends."

  Silence once again fell over the small area between them. Grandfather Wu stared at Aunt Lian for a long time, his deep eyes now showing a slight doubt and tenderness.

  "Strong faith, Lian," Grandfather Wu muttered, a faint smile finally returning to his aged face, a smile this time filled with compassion. "I hope you are right. I hope the Golden Foundation I see in his future is light, not shadow."

  Grandfather Wu then glanced towards Bashan and Zhuwei who were now standing in front of the hut. "Very well. Your faith has bought time for the boy. But we can no longer postpone his fate."

  Grandfather Wu shifted his gaze to Uncle Chen. "Chen, no matter what happens, keep this scroll. Don't let others know its contents. And now, help me. We will give this pill to him. A pill made from the fiery Pure Forest Ginseng and the cold Thousand Year Jade Root. This will be his first Foundation Opening Pill, and also the first test for his soul rune."

  Uncle Chen, with a heavy heart, nodded. He folded the bamboo scroll and tucked it into his robe, near his heart. He no longer saw Zhi Xuan as a "mortal child," but as a "destined seed."

  Liang, with a calm face, immediately addressed the crowd of youths. He held the small jade container and called out their names.

  "Alright, Deng, take your Foundation Shaping Pill. This will open your Divine Wheel gate tonight. Use it wisely, and don't be greedy."

  The youths lined up. Their faces showed a mixture of deep excitement and anxiety. They had spent years hitting grain sacks, practicing horse stance, and washing marrow. Tonight was the climax.

  "Liang! Will this really work?" whispered a youth named Huo, his hands trembling as he received his light blue pill. "I am afraid. If I fail, will I remain mortal forever?"

  "Fear is a weak foundation, Huo," Liang countered, his tone firm but not judgmental. "This pill is just a tool. What works is your perseverance over the years. Take it, and keep it. Cultivation tonight must be done with a clear mind."

  Tang and Mingling, who had already received their stabilizing pills, stood on the side, grinning at their friends.

  "Hey, Huo! Don't worry! If a coward like me can get Ginseng, you can definitely break through to the Divine Wheel!" Mingling exclaimed, trying to encourage his friend.

  "Yes, Huo! This pill is very valuable! And that Pure Forest Ginseng is ours! This will be the best night in Star Village history!" Tang added.

  Several other youths looked hesitant. One of them, Lin Zi, a youth who worked in the fields, stood there with a pale face.

  "I... I might wait, Uncle Liang," Lin Zi said, his voice small. "I'm not sure my grain sack-hitting foundation is enough. I will wait until the next harvest."

  Liang nodded, without judgment. "That is your choice, Lin Bao. Cultivation never forces. Opportunity is always there."

  Grandfather Wu, who had returned to the stage, watched the interaction. He stamped his staff on the stage.

  "Listen to me, young men!" Grandfather Wu called out. "Tonight, we are not just opening the Divine Wheel gate. We are opening the gate of responsibility! You will possess power that transcends the mortal. That power is not for personal ambition, not for showing off in front of girls, and not for seeking wealth!"

  Grandfather Wu leaned in, his voice becoming heavy and threatening. "That power is to protect Star Village! We are the Golden Foundation on the border of this chaotic forest! If you choose to break through, you choose to carry the fate of these weak people on your backs! If you are not ready to carry it, step back! I will give this pill to another youth! Never touch the Divine Wheel if your hearts are not ready for sacrifice!"

  Grandfather Wu stared intensely at the crowd of youths who were now silent, tension hanging in the air.

  "You can choose to let this opportunity pass and you may get another chance later! But once you step forward, there is no turning back!"

  After a long silence, Lin Zi sighed, his body trembling slightly, and he stepped back from the line. Several other youths followed. Grandfather Wu nodded, respecting their decision.

  "Very well," Grandfather Wu said, his voice returning to a calm tone. "Now, Bao, Fourteen, Mingxu, Jiang, and Hai Jin! You are the strongest and most meticulous in craftsmanship! You must form the Opening Stone Altar in the square before sunset. We must perform the foundation opening ceremony under the perfect moonlight tonight!"

  The five mentioned hunters, including Mingling's father, the sturdy blacksmith Mingxu, immediately nodded. They rushed to gather the largest basalt stones from the village warehouse to erect the altar.

  As the square filled with preparation bustle, Grandfather Wu's eyes returned to the hut. Bashan and Zhuwei stood there, looking at him with unreadable expressions.

  Grandfather Wu sighed, the processed Ginseng-Jade Root pill hidden in his robe. Zhi Xuan's destiny would not be decided in the square, but in his bed.

  "It is time," Grandfather Wu muttered to Uncle Chen. "Let us face the catastrophe, or the Golden Foundation of the future, it all depends on this Pill."