"These are grimoires," Lin explained as Jin Huang sniffed the dust off of some books.
"Ahchoo!" Jin Huang sneezed, blowing even more dust from them. "Grimoires are sneezy business," he said as he tossed the books aside.
They clattered onto the floor, where they remained for a short while before magically returning to the shelves.
"Isn't there anything good here?" Jin Huang groaned, walking through the narrow way between the shelves.
"What do you mean? Any of these are immensely valuable. Do you know how many generations of wizards and witches contributed to this Library?" Lin picked up a book and eagerly perused its contents.
"I can't believe Merlin's been collecting them all. He's really been busy these past millenia."
Jin Huang groaned again, more dramatically. As he did so, he sudenly froze. All about him was still, except for his nose twitching incessantly.
"What is it?" Lin peered over at him, noting his odd behavior.
Sniffing loudly, then taking a deep breath though his nostrils, Jin Huang cried out in excitement.
"Now that's the stuff! I haven't caught a scent like this in a while!" Racing off in a particular direction, Jin Huang laughed excitedly.
Lin hurried to follow, totally confused. "Slow down!"
Although they were making quite a racket, the Librery was kept tranquil and serene due to some kind of enchantment.
Also, it was so vast that they never ran into anyone else.
At an entirely different spot, Hei Shisan and Shen Wuyou were walking together, casually looking at scrolls and scripts.
"The Legend of Z... and then some scribbles," Hei Shisan read out loud.
"Look at this one," Shen Wuyou presented the scroll in his hands to Hei Shisan. "It details some kind of summoning ritual. Pretty cool, right?"
"You know it is. I wonder if I can use the bones of an extinct creature to summon a living one!" Hei Shisan licked his lips at the thought.
"Where would you even get those bones?" Shen Wuyou shook his head.
"I always keep a few skeletons of extinct spirit beasts in my spatial ring. Never know when you might need a strong bone."
There was silence before the two exchanged a look and laughed.
Continuing the much the same manner, the two kept inspecting items and going further and further in.
Eventually, they became lost.
__________
Lu Chen and Cho Yanshi were off somewhere together as well.
"Yanshi, how much do you truly think the Realm has changed since we left?" Lu Chen asked as he looked at a magical map.
"Its become a lot more hostile, that's for sure," Cho Yanshi sighed as she inspected the many rolls of paper inside an open chest.
"When we left the Lower Reaches, I thought that things would only get worse for us. I never stopped to consider what might become of the Realm," he frowned, his grip tightening around the map.
Sensing this, the map itself actually freed itself from him grip and returned to the shelf with what he imagined was a cold snort.
He nodded apologetically at the map.
Cho Yanshi straightened, looking back at him.
"We were fulfilling the final wish of His Majesty; living our lives the way we wanted to. I don't think he wanted us to worry about the fate of the Realm."
"You've got a point there."
As they perused, a faint mystical chirping sound reached them, coming from further in the library.
Stunned, they paused and listened.
This time, after a flash of bright light, the chirp echoed again, sounding like it was getting further away.
Exchanging a look, the two ran off in its direction.
_________
All on her own, Qin Shuyue exhaled as she aimlessly wandered.
"There's no way anything here is going to help me."
Qin Shuyue grew up in a God Clan, so she was acutely aware of her situation regarding cultivation talent.
Her energy had stagnated ever since she arrived at the Energy Gathering realm, forcing her to stay at its first level.
All she felt ever since they arrived in the Netherworld was the weight of her inadequacy. It was a weight she had more or less felt all her life.
Living with that, it was hard for her to hope.
Thus, she walked past the shelves without even glancing at anything.
Eventually, she came across a railing that separated a lower point of the library from where she was standing.
Gazing past it, she saw a singular book lying flat on a podium, closed and gathering dust.
She tried to look past it, but something wouldn't let her. Inexplicably, she became anxious.
Finding her way down, Qin Shuyue approached the book. Her heart quickened its pace before she could even figure out what it was, her blood running hot.
At first, she felt as though her blood vessels were about it ignite.
Wiping at the cover, she finally saw the writing on the cover and gasped.
"How can this be...?"
Immediately, she took up the book and forced it open.
________
Han Jianyu walked through the library with his eyes shut. He knew better than most just how fate and karma worked.
With his eyes shut, he let nothing but his senses and the Dao guide his way. He felt himself walking past a variety of items, but there was never something that pulled at him.
So, he carried on for quite a long time, almost running into railings, ladders and other objects.
He did not how long he had been walking for.
Eventually, his shoulder brushed against something and he paused. His eyes opened, snapping over to the precise book that he had touched.
Han Jianyu's gaze settled upon that book, which was entirely simple and inconspicuous.
No markings, no decoration, just a plain cover.
For some reason, it drew his attention immediately.
"Strange..."
He approached, and touched it. When nothing happened, he tried to pull it out. At a certain point, he met resistance from the book.
There was a click, and Han Jianyu froze.
The ground trembled as the entirely bookshelf began to slide backward, revealing a hidden opening in the floor.
Rumbling echoed as the dust settled and the bookshelf finally ceased all movement.
Looking down, Han Jianyu saw that the opening led to a staircase, which descending in winding turns.
Cold air drifted upward from the darkness below. Han Jianyu stared silently.
For a second, he instinctively became wary. Was it a trap?
After a moment, he seemed to recall something and relaxed. Han Jianyu glanced once toward the endless shelves of the Library, then toward the darkness beneath.
Without hesitation, he stepped down into the opening, the staircase descending further and further with every turn.
Soon, even the candlelight above disappeared.
Closing his eyes and following nothing but the intangible strings of fate, Han Jianyu vanished into the depths below.
_________
Relaxing, Merlin suddenly opened one of his green eyes and gazed around at the library around him.
"Well then, it seems they've had enough time to find what they need-" He suddenly paused, his other eye opening.
"Oh? This one just needs a little more time, then. Very well."
Stretching, Merlin yawned as his old bones popped.
"I should probably let them reuinite, since they won't be seeing much of each other after this. We've wasted too much time already... but I guess I can give them that much."
Sinking back into his comfortable chair, Merlin adjusted his feet on the pouf and yawned again.
"After that, they both need to begin their journeys anew."