The Unruly Immortals

As they spoke, they had already walked into the bookshelf, with the rich scent of ink filling the air. Just as Zhuge Yuan was pondering what place this was, Li Jinshu suddenly pulled him aside. There was light ahead.

This time, Li Jinshu didn't say a word, only signaled Zhuge Yuan with his hand not to make any noise, and followed him gradually, step by step, moving forward.

The dim light trickled through the gaps in the bookshelf, like stars peeking through. As they got closer to the light source, a faint sound of reading echoed inside the room where others were present.

But separated by the bookshelf, Zhuge Yuan couldn't see where the people were, yet observing Li Jinshu's composed expression, the current situation seemed not dangerous.

And with the increase of the light source, Zhuge Yuan only then discovered there were carvings on the stone pillars around. The giant pillar ahead was barely visible. Anyway, the contents on the nearest pillar depicted someone creating words.

To say "someone" yet not quite human, the person creating words on the stone remarkably had four eyes, six ears, and eight hands, appearing as multiple individuals overlapped, extremely bizarre.

Next was the content of another pillar, and this time it was similar to the previous one, except that words began to appear on the stone while the person lost one hand.

As he continued to watch, Zhuge Yuan found the words created by the bizarre figure on the pillar seemed to possess some divine skills. As more words were written, the extra features of his body gradually diminished.

By the time of the last writing, apart from the four eyes, the person creating the words had become just like a normal human.

Then new changes appeared on the giant pillar; various scenes emerged beside the person, seemingly outdoors while creating words.

What was strange, however, was that aside from the sun in the sky, everything around—the overlapping mountains and waters appeared stacked.

Other people also emerged around, but like the previous word creator, they had seven hands and eight feet. Moreover, they were all lying naked on the ground, just like beasts.

As the person continued writing, the more they wrote, the surrounding people gradually transformed into normal human appearances, starting to wear clothing.

These individuals began following the four-eyed person in creating words and writing books. As more wrote, the overlapping mountains and waters gradually separated, eventually forming a beautiful landscape painting.

The story of two white snakes followed this painting, but the pillar behind had no light, making it invisible to Zhuge Yuan.

Thinking about the contents on those pillars, Zhuge Yuan peered closely at the bookshelves in the dim light, discovering the bookshelves were filled with historical records.

"Aren't these pillars recording events of the past? But what do they represent?" Zhuge Yuan thought deeply for a moment.

Before he could think further, a vague silhouette appeared in the gaps of the nearby bookshelf, where Li Jinshu quickly pushed Zhuge Yuan's head down.

Behind those layers of bookshelves, in a circular clearing surrounded by bookshelves, eight people were sitting cross-legged on the ground.

They were dressed in black long robes reaching the ground, wearing oversized white crown scarves that not only covered their heads but tightly over their eyes.

Though dressed as scholars, their appearance hardly resembled students. Each was pressing a book firmly against their face, while a hand extended from their abdomen, swiftly recording something on the bamboo slip laid on the ground.

Even more eerie were the occasional hands, feet, and heads flashing in and out of the black robes, reminiscent of the person creating words on the giant pillars.

Witnessing such a scene in the dim surroundings made Zhuge Yuan's hair stand on end.

If it was merely extra hands or feet, Zhuge Yuan wouldn't fear, but it was clearly not naturally grown limbs, they moved strangely and intermittently appeared and disappeared.

Disregarding his gaze, Zhuge Yuan looked at Li Jinshu beside him, finding no trace of panic on his face.

He walked two fingers across the back of his hand, signaling Zhuge Yuan to quietly make an escape.

With a complex expression, Zhuge Yuan glanced once more at those strange figures using books to cover their faces, slowly moving forward.

As they left, the layers of bookshelves gradually covered the figures in black robes, dimming the candlelight, and the sound of reading also slowly diminished.

Finally, with a soft creak, a side door opened, and the lush greenery and chirping of insects outside isolated everything within.

"Hahaha, we made it through," Li Jinshu punched Zhuge Yuan's shoulder joyfully. "Having crossed this Jiezi Lodge, it will be easier ahead, let's go."

Li Jinshu took two steps, but, surprisingly, found no movement behind him. Turning back, the Zhuge youth was standing before the door with a grave expression, unmoving.

"Come on, Zhuge little brother, what are you standing there for?"

Hearing Li Jinshu's words, Zhuge Yuan pressed his lips and spoke, "Senior Li, could you answer a few questions?" He said while casting a doubtful glance at the wooden door behind.

"No worries, no worries, go ahead and ask."

"What were they doing earlier? Why so bizarre? If I don't find out, I really don't know whether to enter this Bright Wheel Hall."

Though it was right for the Master to come to this place, the Master hadn't anticipated many things, including not knowing his friend had been dead for over a hundred years.

In such a long time, only heaven knows how much has changed in this Bright Wheel Hall.

Faced with Zhuge Yuan's inquiry, Li Jinshu chuckled and replied, "It's not that I won't tell you, but some things must be known upon entering this Bright Wheel Hall, as per its rules."

Clearly disagreeing with this, Zhuge Yuan said, "Senior Li, you can't put it that way. We snuck into this place, did we follow the rules of the Bright Wheel Hall?"

Li Jinshu paused, then laughed, "Hahaha, you kid, but you're correct. Since we're here, there's no need to follow Bright Wheel Hall's rules. Besides, you're about to enter, whether you know earlier or later is the same."

Upon hearing the change in tone, Zhuge Yuan stepped forward eagerly. "Senior Li, what were those people doing earlier? And about the limbs on their bodies?"

"Actually, there's nothing much. The people in Jiezi Lodge are merely reviewing and recording histories; as for the limbs and heads on them, they're not theirs, but rather the Taoists' of the reverse and forward paths."

"Ah?" These words left Zhuge Yuan even more perplexed.

"Don't rush, let me explain slowly."

"Zhuge little brother, do you know about the five realms of Buddhism?"

"I know a little, I've read from miscellaneous booklets that the Buddhist Sect believes the world comprises five realms, governed by the Buddha."

"That's the old belief; now the five realms aren't under Buddha's control."

This statement made Zhuge Yuan's pupils narrow, "So, the stories are real?"

"Naturally, they're real; otherwise, where do you think the reverse immortals and forward humans come from? Simply put, they're merely us from other five realms."

"So there are five realms? And within them, other versions of us?" Zhuge Yuan instantly felt his mind in chaos, with past beliefs clashing fiercely with the new understanding.

Meanwhile, Li Jinshu continued, "Actually the world in the past wasn't among the five realms; it was entirely chaotic, where worldly states and livestock intertwined without rules. Nothing was fixed, and events had no precedence."

"Originally, people lived in ignorance, yet some began questioning this wrongness. Is the age-old way truly right? Thus emerged the Master of eternity."

Upon hearing this, the contents on the stone pillars in Jiezi Lodge flashed through Zhuge Yuan's mind rapidly, and suddenly some things connected.

"The Master of eternity led with the first stroke, embracing the world through words, shattering chaos and establishing order, dividing this Jiezi world into five." Li Jinshu explained, drawing a circle in the air and pointing at it, East, South, West, North, and Center. "Five points connected as a circle, this is the Bright Wheel."

"As for the Buddhist explanations, just listen casually; it's all mistaken causality. In their world, it's not about Buddha doing something; rather, someone did something and became their Buddha later."