After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

"Xiao Yan, go down and take another look."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhou Yan's reply, he plunged into the water.

The sea was completely still, and Zhou Yan squinted at the little Yama who had gone into the water.

Five seconds passed, no response; ten seconds passed, still no response.

At the twentieth second, a small head popped out from under the water. Little Yama floated in the water and spoke to Zhou Yan.

"This is the sea of ​​the subconscious. Come down. It's not dangerous inside, but it's very eerie. Be prepared."

Zhou Yan pointed to the boat beneath his feet.

"What about this? You don't want it anymore?"

Little Yama nodded.

"It's just a small thing, there's no point in it wandering around up there anyway."

Indeed, Zhou Yan had been wandering around for more than two days, but he hadn't found anything useful.

"Slurp..."

Zhou Yan stared at the seawater beside Little Yanjun, took a breath, and then plunged into the sea.

As Er entered the water, many voices flooded Zhou Yan's mind.

He declared, "It's not my fault, it's the world's fault!"

"Keep feeding, jungler! I'm definitely reporting you!"

Ling: "How could you do this to me?"

"I like you……"

"How can I make money?"

5. Little Yama swam to Zhou Yan's side and tugged at him.

Zhou Yan awoke amidst a cacophony of sounds.

4. Little Yama reminded him.

"We're like we have telepathy now; everyone's thoughts can enter our minds without reservation. You need to clear your mind and not be misled by these messy memories, otherwise..."

Little Yama's smile was ambiguous.

"If you know too much, you won't want to leave."

Zhou Yan: "..."

Indeed, what could be more interesting than gossiping about other people?

In this ocean of subconsciousness, there is gossip about others everywhere. As Zhou Yan wanders around here, he may see the memories of countless people.

What do we do next?

Zhou Yan asked Little Yama.

Little Yama pointed to the ground.

"If Sun Wukong really exists, he should be deep within the sea of ​​subconsciousness."

Little Yama lowered his body and dived down into the sea.

Seeing this, Zhou Yan followed.

As he continued onward, various memories appeared and receded from Zhou Yan's sight in different ways.

Zhou Yan witnessed a drug addict's memories of using drugs, a mother's arduous efforts to raise her child, how a scumbag deceives an innocent girl, and a criminal's desire to reintegrate into society, but who faces discrimination due to his past actions and ultimately returns to his old profession.

This is the most superficial level of memory.

After passing through this most superficial layer of memory, the surrounding scenery began to darken.

In this dark environment, the memories of joy and anger, tears and laughter are no longer there. Zhou Yan and Xiao Yanjun begin to come into contact with the deepest desires in people's hearts.

These desires are: seeing the opposite sex and wanting to reproduce; seeing wealth and wanting to possess it; seeing delicious food and wanting to devour it.

Humanity's deepest desires are being gradually revealed.

Zhou Yan felt as if he had been struck by the Womb Realm, but not the Buddha-nature Womb Realm, but the Demon-nature Womb Realm. In the depths of this sea of ​​subconsciousness, Zhou Yan was facing the most primal and vile version of himself, belonging to the demon.

"Ok?"

"what happened?"

As Zhou Yan sank to a sufficient depth, the primal human desires in Xiao Yanjun's mind suddenly vanished, leaving the area utterly silent.

Little Yama had no choice but to make a move for Zhou Yan. After the two floated up a bit, the sound of humanity's most primal desires rang in their ears once again.

Zhou Yan and Little Yama looked at each other. Little Yama, with a solemn expression, sank and rose several times. Then Little Yama pointed upwards and rose up.

Zhou Yan floated up with Little Yama.

Having passed through the primal desires of humanity and the superficial level of human consciousness, the surrounding seawater began to brighten, a characteristic of approaching the sea surface.

"call……"

"Cough cough..."

Zhou Yan and Little Yama emerged from beneath the sea one after the other.

Not far from where the head was located, the ship that had previously carried Zhou Yan and Little Yama was still there.

Little Yama pointed to the ship not far away.

"Go there first, and I'll tell you about my discovery later."

Zhou Yan nodded, and the two swam to the side of the boat and climbed aboard.

Because the seawater of this subconscious sea doesn't get on their bodies, the two of them didn't end up in the embarrassing situation of being soaking wet after boarding the boat.

Little Yama walked into the boat and sat down, and Zhou Yan sat down in front of him.

Little Yama rubbed his eyes.

"Xiao Yan, what did you see when you went down?"

Zhou Yan smiled wryly.

"This is my first time here, so I don't know what's going on here."

Little Yama sighed.

"Then I'll tell you some bad news. The shallow layer of the subconscious sea can observe a person's thoughts, the middle layer is a person's most direct desires, and the deepest layer is actually just one concept."

Little Yama said in a deep voice.

"Survive!"

Zhou Yan understands.

For any living being, the most basic desire is to survive. Eating is for survival, reproduction is for survival, plundering is for survival, murder and arson are for survival, and everything is for survival.

The deepest part of the subconscious is the desire to survive, which is indeed very reasonable.

Little Yama sighed.

"But in the deepest part of our subconscious sea, there is no longer any life. In the deepest part of this subconscious sea, there is only death."

As the second-in-command of the underworld, Little Yama is all too familiar with death.

Zhou Yan was taken aback.

"die?"

Little Yama explained.

"Yes, death."

Little Yama looked at the calm sea around him again.

"As I understand it, the deepest part of this subconscious sea is dead, which can only mean one thing: all living things in this world are actually dead."

Zhou Yan: "(?°?°?)Jiusiba≮№private◆<≮三艉〔swelling:ＺhuaａＱ:"

That's a statement that sounds impressive but is actually a bit obscure.

Little Yama stroked his chin again.

"But it's very subtle. Even though the foundation is gone, the middle and shallow levels of consciousness still exist, as if someone..."

"They dug up the foundation and the first floor of a house. Normally, the house should have collapsed and crumbled above the second floor, but the house is still floating in mid-air without the first floor and foundation."

"Xiao Yan, do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand a little..."

Zhou Yan looked at the sea around him.

"Brother Yan, you mean that a person is brain dead, their heart has stopped beating, and all the procedures prove that they are dead, but they are still alive?"

Little Yama echoed.

"Yes, those with great supernatural powers have upheld the foundation, allowing all living things to survive. But when I went into the water, I could clearly feel the death at the bottom spreading upwards."

They upheld the foundation, allowing all living things that should have died to survive...

Zhou Yan had a feeling that the subconscious sea in which all living beings reside might be quite similar to the state of his own world.

Chapter Thirteen: The Chase

Having said that, Zhou Yan knew roughly what he needed to do.

It should be about repairing the deepest layer of this subconscious sea.

The question is, how do I fix it?

"Um, this... Brother Yan..."

Zhou Yan reached out and paddled in the water beside the boat.

"If I'm not mistaken, we should lift up this sea of ​​the subconscious, right?"

Little Yama's expression was solemn.

"It's not that bad, we're not that strong. But I suspect the powerful being holding up the sea of ​​subconsciousness isn't in good condition. If we can find a way to restore their condition, we should be able to resolve this situation."

Zhou Yan looked at the sea surface around him, which was constantly rippling.

"So we have to go down and find this powerful being?"

Little Yama shook his head.

"I don't think so, um, directly..."

Little Yama patted the edge of the boat.

Do you know what the human body is called in Buddhist scriptures?

A sudden inspiration struck Zhou Yan.

"A ship to cross the sea?"

Buddhism refers to the physical body as a "stinking skin bag," but also as a "boat in the sea of ​​suffering." To cross the sea of ​​suffering, one truly cannot do without this "stinking skin bag."

Little Yama said with satisfaction.

“Yes, I was wondering before what it meant that we came out into this ship. Now that I’ve seen what’s going on underwater, I understand. This ship is probably a symbol of our physical bodies in the spiritual world.”

"We should be in a state of astral projection right now, and this ship is where our physical body is located."

Zhou Yan looked down at the boat, then at himself and Little Yama.

Why are there only one boat for the two of us?

Little Yama asked, puzzled.

"Shouldn't you be thinking about whether this ship is male or female?"

Zhou Yan asked, puzzled.

Is this a big deal?

Little Yama mentioned it.

"Thirty-two times!"