Zhi Xuan was thrown upwards from his sea of consciousness, sprawling on the dark surface that now trembled gently, as if the sacred majesty of the monument was capable of moving his entire consciousness.

  "Tsk tsk tsk." A soft click came from the Monument, containing a condescending mockery that stung. "Only a tiny touch as a meeting gift, why be so dramatic?"

  Zhi Xuan forced himself to stand straight, ignoring the pain and the vibrations that crept from the Ancient Devil Monument. His fear had been replaced by cold anger and determination. He knew he could not win a power struggle against this ancient entity, but he could win a battle of will; this was his body.

  "Gift?" Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice filled with challenge. He stared at the towering Monument, its blood-red runes pulsing slowly, terrifyingly, and somehow, alluringly. "You destroyed my foundation. You swallowed me, and you cut me off from Heaven. You are a curse, not a gift!"

  Silence descended upon the dark Sea of Consciousness. Then, Ruo Xianxue's cold laughter returned.

  "Cut you off from Heaven? Oh, how naive. I am the Heaven you seek, boy," Ruo Xianxue retorted, her voice shifting to one of majesty and oppression. "So, call me... Jiejie perhaps? It would suit you coming from your mouth."

  Zhi Xuan felt his anger peak. "Jiejie? 'Devil' suits you better!"

  "I am the Sacred Devil, boy, and 'Jiejie' sounds much more palatable than 'parasite'—which you bravely threw earlier," Ruo Xianxue hissed back, her voice now softening with hidden danger. The Monument trembled, and this time, thousands of blood-red runes on its surface lit up simultaneously, emitting a light that made Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness feel burned.

  "I don't know what allowed the Nine Heaven Bead to be in your possession, your body is like a withered stem. And what is that? You smell like a dirty sheep!"

  The runes lit up, generating a suffocating dark shadow. Zhi Xuan felt his consciousness shake, and he fell to his knees again. The runes were not just magical runes, but a direct manifestation of Primeval Laws that surpassed mortal understanding.

  "Listen, Sacred Devil!" Zhi Xuan roared, forcing his voice out amidst the pressure. "I don't care what you are! I don't care about the Nine Heaven Bead or the Heaven you claim! This body belongs to me! You destroyed my Mortal Wheel, which means now, I will die here! How can an almighty Sacred Devil die of spiritual essence starvation inside a 'dirty' mortal body?"

  Zhi Xuan turned the tide of the battle. He could not fight strength, so he attacked with the fact of Ruo Xianxue's weakness.

  Ruo Xianxue's laughter immediately subsided, replaced by a chilling silence. The gigantic shadow finger reappeared from the Monument, but this time, instead of threatening, it flicked Zhi Xuan's core consciousness on the forehead.

  PANG!

  Zhi Xuan was sent tumbling dozens of meters across the surface of the Sea of Consciousness. The pain, though spiritual, was very real.

  "Brave," Ruo Xianxue's voice was sharp. "But you are right. I am bound to this withered stem. And yes, if you die, then my soul fragment will return to slumber in the eternal abyss, perhaps for another ten thousand years, or perhaps forever."

  "The foundation of a Sacred Devil should not be enslaved by a fragile mortal shell," Ruo Xianxue continued, her tone now shifting to a condescending lecture. "That stupid pill you swallowed is trash unworthy in my eyes."

  Zhi Xuan struggled to get up. "What... what do you want from me?"

  "I want you to survive," Ruo Xianxue replied coldly. "Because with your life, I can crawl out of this foul hole. However, to survive, you must understand. You can never cultivate like the monkeys out there. You must surpass them."

  Zhi Xuan staggered forward as he managed to rise again, he did not understand what this devil monument meant. "The monkeys out there? They are my family!"

  Ruo Xianxue sighed, the extremely ancient and majestic voice let out a sigh that seemed inconsistent with her status. "They are the 'family' that allowed you to grow with a false foundation and disgusting runes. They only know mortal methods, little child. Their cultivation method is too rigid and too dependent on Heaven. And Heaven... Heaven hates me, and it also hates you."

  Zhi Xuan frowned and raised his hand, his index finger pointed at the monument. "You! Only you are cursed by heaven! Not me!"

  The Ancient Devil Monument trembled violently. This time, not out of anger, but out of endless exasperation towards the disobedient Zhi Xuan.

  "You! You don't know—" The Ancient Devil Monument paused for a moment, as if seeing something behind Zhi Xuan. Then a terrible cold laughter echoed again, spreading until it made Zhi Xuan feel horror.

  At that moment, something deeper happened. A quick flash of blood-red runes emanated from the Monument's core, as if Ruo Xianxue had forcefully penetrated the last layer of memory erased by a crazy old man. In an instant, a vision of a tattered scroll of skin, pure golden Dao runes, and an image of perfect meridians adorned with the Breath of Four Seasons unfolded before Ruo Xianxue.

  "The Breath of Four Seasons Scroll..." Ruo Xianxue whispered. Her voice was no longer cold or majestic, but softened, melodious and gentle as if discovering a rare treasure right before her eyes. Pure fascination dominated her consciousness. "I did not expect you to possess such a treasure."

  The runes on the Monument pulsed wildly, processing the newly acquired information. Ruo Xianxue quickly realized: Zhi Xuan did not remember, but his body and soul had recorded the technique. This technique, designed to compete with Heaven, was the only way to awaken Zhi Xuan's now-empty foundation—truly an unexpected thing.

  "W-what do you mean?" Zhi Xuan asked, more wary because of the change in voice and the suffocating fascination.

  "That crazy old man. Interesting," Ruo Xianxue retorted, her voice now cold again, but with a new tone of authority. "I see something in your soul foundation. Such a pure remnant of Dao runes, how fascinating. You tried to cultivate with the monkey method that worships Heaven, when you have been touched by the Law of Four Seasons."

  Zhi Xuan tensed. "Law of Four Seasons? I... I never knew."

  "Of course you don't know. Because you are foolish," Ruo Xianxue hissed. Her voice was filled with sickening annoyance.

  Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth, he had never been belittled like this. However, Ruo Xianxue's majesty and knowledge, which felt deeply sacred, dispelled his vigilance, as if a part of his memory about the Law of Four Seasons had been erased. Zhi Xuan looked up to stare at the monument again, this time he would use a small trick, a trick he usually used to deceive merchants at the Exchange Market.

  "Return my divine wheel, I don't want to be considered a catastrophe."

  Silence again descended upon the Sea of Consciousness. A silence deeper than before. Ruo Xianxue, who had just revealed the highest cultivation technique, now had to deal with such a mortal and childish request.

  Then, Ruo Xianxue's laughter exploded—not cold laughter, but laughter filled with irony and ancient sarcasm that spanned millennia.

  "Return the Divine Wheel? Mortal boy! Do you think I am a potter who can put a Mortal Wheel that has become dust back together?" Ruo Xianxue exclaimed, the Monument shaking violently from the laughter.

  Zhi Xuan snorted softly, he pointed his finger at the Monument. "I don't care, return my Divine Wheel!"

  "Silence!" Ruo Xianxue's roar cut off the laughter, her voice returned to an oppressive majestic echo, revealing the uncompromising side of her Sacred Devil nature. "Listen closely, you stupid insect! Your Mortal Wheel is completely destroyed, and that is an unexpected blessing!"

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  The Ancient Devil Monument rotated slightly, its blood-red runes pulsing until they emitted a vibration that made Zhi Xuan almost kneel again.

  "However... With this fragile body of yours, it is indeed fitting to just have that stupid Divine Wheel."

  The Monument stopped trembling, and the atmosphere in the dark Sea of Consciousness felt so pressing it nearly fractured Zhi Xuan's core consciousness. Ruo Xianxue, through the Monument, now spoke in a tone that was no longer dismissive but dominated by cold despair and cruel pragmatism.

  "I cannot restore your false foundation, but I can give you something much better," Ruo Xianxue continued, her voice now sounding like a cruel instructor. "Since you care so much about the Divine Wheels of those monkeys, I will give you a Divine Wheel. But not the stupid, fragile Divine Wheel formed by Heaven."

  The Ancient Devil Monument trembled. And for the first time, an object emerged from the Monument. The object was not made of shadow, but of pure silver liquid that pulsed with unimaginable ancient energy. The liquid gathered, spinning in the air above the dark Sea of Consciousness.

  Zhi Xuan looked up, his sapphire eyes widening. The silver liquid formed a ring, then the ring spun at a dizzying speed, radiating an aura that was both sacred and ancient.

  "This is the Yin-Yang Samsara," Ruo Xianxue whispered, her tone now showing unrivaled cold pride. "You think the Divine Wheel is the upper limit? The Divine Wheel is merely a flawed and inferior version of this sacred wheel! This wheel is the Heavenly Samsara Wheel, a sacred foundation that surpasses the Three Thousand Worlds!"

  The silver wheel, now formed, spun and began to draw in the dust fragments of Zhi Xuan's shattered Mortal Wheel. The dust was absorbed, processed, and expelled as a purer energy mist, which was then re-absorbed into the silver wheel.

  "This is the Wheel you should have. A Wheel that does not need to beg for resonance with that rotten Heaven!" Ruo Xianxue exclaimed. The Heavenly Samsara Wheel now spun calmly. Ruo Xianxue directed her gigantic shadow finger. The silver wheel moved, floated, and landed exactly at the center of Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, where the shattered Mortal Wheel once was.

  "Divine Wheel... Y-you made it... J-just like that?"

  Zhi Xuan knelt again, not because of pressure, but because of pure shock. He stared at the calmly spinning silver Wheel at the center of his Sea of Consciousness. The Wheel did not radiate orange or milky white light like the Spirit Shaping Pill; it radiated a pure silver light that pulsed with a cosmic rhythm, breaking the suffocating darkness of the Sea of Consciousness.

  "Just like that?" Ruo Xianxue repeated with a tone filled with ancient irony. Her cold laughter stopped, replaced by a harsh, uncompromising instructional voice. "This is not 'just like that', boy. This is the Spiritual Creation technique from the Ancient Devil Monument. I merely used the fragments of soul energy I stored for millennia and manifested it."

  The Ancient Devil Monument trembled violently, its blood-red runes glowing with painful intensity. Ruo Xianxue, through the Monument, channelled an aura filled with frustration and wounded pride.

  "Now, go back and meet those monkeys outside. I will be silent, watching how far you will go." Ruo Xianxue exclaimed, her voice filled with ancient and majestic sanctity.

  Zhi Xuan flinched and rose from his knees, staring at the majestic devil monument. He couldn't believe this, he felt like he was seeing heaven before his eyes, what kind of being could even rebuild his Divine Wheel like this?

  "Thank you... Jie... Jiejie." Zhi Xuan mumbled, cupping his hands in front of his chest and bowing slightly.

  The Monument's roar split the Sea of Consciousness again. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

  Ruo Xianxue's voice, now filled with cosmic exasperation, trembled until the Heavenly Samsara Wheel at the center of Zhi Xuan's consciousness shook.

  "I just gave you a foundation that surpasses the Three Thousand Worlds! A foundation that can withstand Heaven's curse itself! I just used a fragment of my primeval soul essence to prevent this spiritual framework of yours from shattering in the next ten breaths! And you are only calling me 'Jiejie' now?!"

  The Ancient Devil Monument seemed close to collapsing from an anger too ancient to express. A faint crack appeared on one of its blood-red runes, indicating the great price Ruo Xianxue paid for the creation.

  "Insolent child! You are the most disgusting insect I have met in all my eternity! After all this drama, after you received the Heavenly Samsara Wheel, you only give this sweet acknowledgment now?!"

  Zhi Xuan, although he had just experienced spiritual trauma, could not help but smile in his core consciousness. He knew he had turned the tables; he had tricked the Sacred Devil.

  "I am just being polite, Jiejie," Zhi Xuan replied, his tone soft and full of false gratitude. "I am deeply grateful for the gift. The Heavenly Samsara Wheel... sounds much stronger than the Divine Wheels of the Star Villagers outside. Now, can you return my consciousness? I don't want to make Aunt Lian worry."

  Ruo Xianxue took a cold, ancient breath, which echoed like a storm in the Sea of Consciousness, now slightly illuminated by the silver light of the Samsara Wheel.

  "Go, you annoying parasite!" Ruo Xianxue hissed. Her tone now contained a mixture of majestic defeat and waiting vengeance. "I will sleep. Do not wake me unless you find enough potent Spiritual Essence to replenish the soul fragment you just stole from me! And remember, if you try to use the mortal methods of those monkeys, I will let Heaven destroy you!"

  With that command, the Ancient Devil Monument dimmed, its blood-red runes returning to pitch black, and the aura of the Sacred Devil was absorbed back into the abyss of darkness. Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness returned to darkness, but was no longer suffocating. Now, at the center of the void, calmly spinning and shining, was the pure silver Heavenly Samsara Wheel.

  Zhi Xuan still stood motionless in the middle of his sea of consciousness, his mind racing with what had happened to him. Law of Four Seasons... Sacred Devil... Heavenly Samsara Wheel... it all felt confusing and very sudden, beyond his comprehension.

  With a calm sigh, Zhi Xuan closed his eyes, returning his consciousness to meet the villagers and family who were waiting for him.

  Under the Large Starfruit Tree, Zhi Xuan's sitting body suddenly radiated a pure silver light. The light came from within, flowing intensely from his core, and quickly flooded the spiritual cage created by Grandfather Wu's Star Disc.

  BOOM!

  The silver light did not explode, but pierced! The fine energy nets of the Star Disc, designed to imprison chaotic aura, suddenly tore as if they were made of paper. The pure silver beam shot straight up into the night sky, penetrating the layer of thick black clouds that had previously looked like a devil's eye.

  CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

  The sky rumbled! The black clouds, which had gathered due to the Sacred Devil's aura, now reacted angrily to the silver light that was too sacred yet too majestic. The vortex in the sky split in two. The moonlight, which had been blocked, suddenly radiated back through the gap, meeting the rising silver beam, creating a dazzling, painful sight.

  "This... is not the aura of catastrophe," Grandfather Wu whispered, his voice broken by immense surprise. "This is... the aura of an extremely pure Divine Wheel! A Pure Aura that surpasses the Five-Star Formation! He did not fail... he succeeded!"

  Grandfather Wu flinched. The silver light, though radiating a nearly crippling majestic aura, was not oppressive. Instead, it spread into the square, creating a gentle wave of warmth.

  At the side of the Opening Stone Altar, Uncle Chen was startled. His tense and worried eyes, which had been focused on the Formation, now widened at the sight of the pure silver beam. The aura was no longer cold and chaotic, but pure, strong, and contained an indescribable majesty. The Organ Transformation Essence he channelled into the Formation suddenly trembled, but not because of danger—but because of a deep resonance.

  "This light..." Uncle Chen murmured, tears streaming down his cheeks from sudden relief. "This is such a sacred light! This is a true spiritual foundation!"

  Aunt Lian, standing behind Grandfather Wu, witnessed the change. The pure silver light enveloped Zhi Xuan, erasing all the fear she had felt. Her tears changed from tears of fear to tears of unexpected happiness.

  "My son... My son succeeded!" Aunt Lian exclaimed, her sobs interrupted by overflowing joy. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but now not out of fear, but out of ecstasy and proven belief.

  Grandfather Wu turned, his wrinkled face now shining with the miracle he witnessed. He grabbed Aunt Lian's hand. "Lian! Your belief was right! That child has created something beyond our understanding! His Divine Wheel radiates such a sacred aura!"

  The aura of Zhi Xuan's newly formed divine wheel, though spinning calmly at the center of his dark consciousness, emitted a pure silver wave that enveloped the entire square.

  The eight youths who were cultivating in the Altar Formation—Tang, Mingling, Zhuwei, Bashan, and the other four—suddenly felt their Golden Divine Wheels tremble. The tremor was not due to threat, but due to resonance.

  Tang's Divine Wheel, which had previously spun quickly due to euphoria, now slowed down, each rotation becoming more stable and measured.

  Tang, who had just stabilized his Golden Divine Wheel, suddenly felt his Wheel spin with a more harmonious speed. The small imperfections remaining from his breakthrough seemed to be smoothed out by the pure silver wave.

  "My Divine Wheel... it's becoming more stable! This wave... this is nourishment!" Tang exclaimed, his eyes closed in ecstasy.

  Bashan, who was already the most stable, felt his Divine Wheel tremble and resonate with the silver light. He did not absorb the light; he united himself with its rhythm. "Grandfather Wu was right," Bashan whispered. "This aura is the true Heaven. This aura calms all turbulence. It feels like... I have found the perfect path."

  Mingling, whose Divine Wheel was the most fragile, felt a subtle energy crawl over the small cracks in his Wheel, gently fusing them back together. His fear was gone, replaced by peace. He absorbed the silver wave like a plant thirsty for water.

  "I... I am saved," Mingling muttered, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes, relief and awe creeping into his voice. "Zhi Xuan... He succeeded..."

  Even Zhuwei, whose Divine Wheel was rough and square-shaped, felt the tension on its surface soften. The structure he had tried to build forcibly now spun more freely. "Impossible... This rigidity... it's becoming soft," Zhuwei said, pure shock dominating him. He felt his Divine Wheel become slightly rounder. "The structural flaw... is gone? This is impossible! This aura... is stabilizing our foundations!"

  Uncle Chen, standing beside Grandfather Wu, stared wide-eyed at the Star Disc that was now useless and limp in the air. "This aura not only pierced, Grandfather Wu, but stabilized! The chaotic energy we felt earlier has been absorbed and transformed! Zhi Xuan's Divine Wheel... it is perfecting the other Divine Wheels!"