The dream was like a vast ocean.
Each dream was like a creature in the ocean, some constantly dying, others constantly being born.
The entire world, as long as one dreamed, would appear in the Sea of Dreams.
Those with great abilities could enter the Sea of Dreams and peer into the dreams of those around them.
The Sea of Dreams was not stagnant water; it also had dream creatures, nightmares that could traverse dreams, dream-eating tapirs that fed on dreams, and Ran Yi, the nemesis of nightmares, among others.
Liu Nanfeng's ability to enter dreams actually originated from nightmares, which was why he could traverse through various dreams.
He could roam freely in the Sea of Dreams without spatial limitations, which had actually broken through the barriers of ordinary cultivators. No matter how strong their abilities were in normal cultivation, they could only glimpse the dreams produced by creatures near their physical bodies, the only difference being the scope of their perception based on their strength.
But Liu Nanfeng's consciousness had detached itself from the Sea of Dreams, floating above the ocean, like a nightmare that could tread on air, moving freely between dreams without being restricted by distance.
At this moment, Liu Nanfeng had transformed into a colossal Buddha hundreds of feet tall, looking down upon the dream ocean.
However, even so, he could not see the entire Sea of Dreams.
The Buddha leaned down to observe the creatures swimming around him. They were illusory and ethereal, with diverse appearances and colors, and their colors were constantly changing, forming a wondrous marine spectacle.
The only commonality was that the "seawater" around their bodies intermittently reflected scenes – these were the dissipated dream memories.
Sometimes, two different dream creatures would collide by chance, causing people who didn't know each other to see each other in their dreams, and then a larger dream creature would be formed, and the dream masters would even have the same dream.
Of course, many times, such violent collisions would cause dreams to break apart and generate new dreams, rather than merging.
The Sea of Dreams was colorful and very dreamlike, and from time to time, a spark would shoot up into the sky, drawing a long line in the air, varied and colorful, like seven-colored strings.
These were sparks of thought; many people broke through the barriers of their minds in dreams, giving rise to all sorts of brilliant ideas.
The size and color saturation of dreams were also linked to the souls of the dream masters in reality.
The stronger a person's soul in reality, the larger the dream creatures born in the Sea of Dreams, and the brighter and purer their colors would be. The dreams of such people were also more prone to sparks of thought.
Liu Nanfeng's eyes were like lightning, scanning the dream creatures around him.
He directly ignored those with dim colors, impure hues, and small sizes.
He wanted to use dreams to spy on some powerful individuals lurking in Jiangcheng.
Of course, truly powerful individuals had no dreams, or if they did, they were exceptionally vigilant, like the Su sisters.
However, Liu Nanfeng didn't mind. If he got it, it was his fortune; if he didn't, it was his destiny. Moreover, he just wanted to test his abilities.
Liu Nanfeng searched through several promising-looking dreams and quietly infiltrated them, only to find they belonged to ordinary people.
However, most of these ordinary people were top students, their souls all stronger than others.
To his disappointment, he found no dreams of special individuals. Just as Liu Nanfeng was preparing to withdraw from the dream, a small red fish swam past his feet.
As it swam, scenes dissipated into the surrounding "seawater."
A little girl was seen lying on a sofa, with her legs crossed, eating snacks, her little feet swinging back and forth, full of joy.
A smile crept onto Liu Nanfeng's lips. He lightly tapped the fish's back, and his massive body rapidly shrunk, eventually transforming into a wisp of light that merged into the little fish's body.
The little fish's body paused for a moment but then continued to swim.
This was the dream of Little Carp. In the dream, her big brother invited her to his house to play and bought her a lot of delicious food.
She lay on the sofa, watching cartoons, looking very pleased.
"Go go go... you can't eat it, can you? This is so delicious, I won't give it to you, munch."
Little Carp took a bite of a strangely shaped snack in her hand and said triumphantly to Mo Yu, whom she had locked in a cage.
"Meow, meow..."
"It's no use calling. I won't give it to you even if you call. Munch, munch..."
Little Carp was watching "Little Carp's Adventures" on TV. As it reached a crucial moment, her eyes widened, and she looked tense, as if she were experiencing the adventure herself.
In reality, the plot on the TV wasn't tense; all the tension was generated by herself, meaning she was fooling herself.
For instance, many people felt excitement, thrill, and nervousness about what happened in their dreams.
Their bodies would even have physiological reactions corresponding to their emotions.
But upon waking and recalling, the feeling from the dream was gone.
This was because after waking, reason returned, and the body was no longer swayed by emotions.
Little Carp was just like this. Although the TV plot was not tense at all, she looked as if she had encountered great danger, pursing her lips, her whole body tense, ready to face anything.
"He's just going to the restaurant to eat, why are you so nervous?" Liu Nanfeng gently patted her.
Little Carp was startled. She looked up at Liu Nanfeng, then at the TV screen, a confused expression on her face.
What was going on? She felt something was not quite right.
She was a guest at her big brother's house, and it was reasonable for her big brother to be there, but she just felt something was off.
She scratched her little head, unable to figure it out.
At that moment, Zhu Yin'e came out of the kitchen.
Holding dishes in her hands, she called out, "Little Fish, come and eat!"
"Wow, it's time to eat!" Little Carp cheered and ran to the table to sit down.
Then, she stretched out her neck to look at the table, and with a pouting face, asked, "Mom, are we eating fish and seaweed again today? I don't want to eat these, I want fried chicken and beef."
"There's none of that, we can only eat this," Zhu Yin'e said sternly.
"I don't want it, I don't want it, I just want to eat..." Little Carp said stubbornly, shaking her short legs and her head.
Just then, Liu Nanfeng walked over, looking at Zhu Yin'e with some curiosity.
This was not the real Zhu Yin'e, but merely a person created by Little Carp's dream, like a puppet, controlled by Little Carp's subconscious.
"If you don't want to eat, then we won't eat," Liu Nanfeng said with a smile.
Then, the fish and seaweed on the table disappeared, replaced by a dazzling array of delicacies.
Little Carp, who had been throwing a tantrum, widened her eyes in surprise.
She looked at the delicacies on the table, then at Liu Nanfeng, and suddenly exclaimed with surprise, "I know! You're in my dream!"
"Haha, you finally figured it out," Liu Nanfeng chuckled.
Little Carp was also very happy, causing the dream to shake, on the verge of collapsing. The Zhu Yin'e beside them even disappeared directly.
But it quickly stabilized. They were no longer at home but on a grassy slope.
This was a dream constructed by Liu Nanfeng's abilities, stable and not prone to collapse. He had simply pulled Little Carp into it.
"Huh? Where did all my delicious food go?" Little Carp looked around in surprise.
She didn't care if it was in a dream or not; even in a dream, she just wanted to eat and drink to her heart's content.