"Because whether it's the positive or negative plane, human and demon races, as humanoid beings, are the most intelligent. Therefore, among the memes that have gained sentience, humanoid forms are the most common."
"There are native races in the Sea of Suffering. Do the positive and negative planes not care when they fight to the death in the Sea of Suffering?"
Wan Lei's words made Wan Qianxin glance at him curiously.
"The Weiyang race as a whole isn't too strong. Apart from some members with peculiar abilities who can cause widespread damage to the positive and negative planes, the rest are essentially dealt with by a round of artillery fire, directly transcending physically.
And they don't have any authority, Immortal Venerables, Demon Venerables, or the like. How could they be a match for the positive and negative planes?
However, due to their small numbers, the Weiyang race is relatively united. Some of their abilities are very strong, but they only allow them to survive precariously in the Sea of Suffering.
Their abilities, if placed in the chaotic plane, could each cause immense destruction. But they cannot go to normal planes; the rules there will automatically reject them, much like how the Black and White Silk was trapped in the Immortal Realm.
Therefore, they can only live in the Sea of Suffering."
"Then don't the positive and negative planes fight with the Weiyang race normally?"
"Major friction is almost nonexistent, but minor skirmishes are constant. After all, sentient memes are not fools; they wouldn't dare provoke a military base.
Occasionally, they encounter scattered small teams and come into conflict with the Weiyang race, in which case a battle would ensue.
But generally speaking, the Weiyang race and the positive and negative planes mostly keep to themselves.
The positive and negative planes fight each other. After the battle, if there are any severely injured individuals or corpses that they cannot take away in time, they will quietly drag them to the bottom of the Sea of Suffering and infect them into memes.
The infection rate is one hundred percent, but the chance of developing sentience is less than one in ten thousand."
Wan Lei nodded heavily.
"Alright, this is truly a more formidable opponent than memes. Sentient memes, capable of infinite infection..."
"Hey, hey, hey, retract that statement about infinite infection. Do the memes in the Sea of Suffering have the ability to infect infinitely? Did a meme ask for permission from other memes before spreading?"
"So what do we do now? The mastermind might be the Weiyang race, but the Weiyang race are memes. If we get too close, we'll be infected. Should we still go and take a look?"
Wan Lei sought Squirrel's opinion, as it was the oldest and strongest among them.
"Go, why not? What can a small Weiyang tribe in a small gathering point do to us? With a single move, Squirrel Lord can wipe them all out."
Squirrel completely lost its initial caution. Wan Lei realized that Squirrel's intelligence significantly dropped whenever it started bragging.
"Aren't memes said to be unsolvable?"
Wan Lei was somewhat surprised.
"Yes, that's right. The characteristics of most memes are that they have no rules, no logic. You can't find a way to crack them, but...
that doesn't mean they are immortal. As the saying goes, 'Strength breaks all techniques,' and 'Miracles come from great power.' As long as your strength is great enough, there is nothing in this world you cannot destroy."
Squirrel waved its paw.
"Let's go, we're going to find the mastermind."
"Wait a moment."
Wan Lei stopped it.
"Let's change our appearances. Right now, both of us are wearing the disciples' clothes of the Five Elements Hall, and those few are all children. We don't look like a criminal organization at all. I remember the appearance of the people we last killed. Let's change."
"Yes, I was thinking the same. Let's begin then."
Squirrel nodded with an air of dignified composure.
Everyone looked at Wan Lei with disdain.
Everyone looked at Wan Lei curiously, waiting for him to transform. He had proposed this idea, so he must possess some divine ability to change appearances.
Without any visible spellcasting from Wan Lei, his entire body transformed into the appearance of a disheveled rogue cultivator. Immediately after, his field of force spread outwards, and everyone else transformed into the likeness of their previous enemies.
"Wow, this is so magical! Little Lei, you can actually change appearances? Can you also make me as beautiful as Xiao Yun?"
The burly man, Bao Bao, looked at the disheveled rogue cultivator Wan Lei with starry eyes.
"Heh, as I thought, you envy my peerless beauty."
The withered old man, Han Xiao Yun, sneered.
"Hmph, who envies you?"
The burly man, Bao Bao, pouted his plump lips.
It was an eyesore, an eyesore...
"I can only affect a range of ten feet around me. Don't stray too far from me. And Bao Bao, it's alright for me to transform you, but this has a distance limitation."
Wan Lei explained. Bao Bao pouted even more upon hearing this.
"Alright, Bao Bao, your appearance is already very beautiful; there's no need to envy my niece."
Wan Qianxin rubbed the burly man's large head.
"Niece?"
Wan Lei, Fang Xiao Yu, and Da Da were all shocked.
"Wan Qianxin, you shut your mouth! If you mention this again, I'll tear you apart!"
The withered old man roared.
"What's going on?"
Wan Lei transmitted his voice quietly.
"My mother is the paternal aunt of Xiao Yun's mother. According to seniority, she has to call my mother 'Great Aunt.' I am her maternal uncle, so she is my niece."
Wan Qianxin also transmitted his voice.
"Whoa, you have this kind of family relationship."
In Wan Lei's mind, he recalled the mischievous young girl Wang Xiao Yu, whose two fair little feet were dangling from the seat of the Earth Immortal Venerable when he faced the Immortal Venerables.
She was already old enough to be a great aunt.
"Then your mother must have a high辈分 (bèi fèn - seniority/generation)."
"Isn't that so? Do you know who has the most distinguished seniority in the positive plane?"
"Who?"
"My eldest maternal uncle, who is also Xiao Yun's paternal grandfather, Wang Qian. He is the elder brother of the Earth Immortal Venerable's wife, the father of the Fire Immortal Venerable, and the father-in-law of the Water Immortal Venerable."
"Is your circle's relationship this messy? The seniority of the Water and Fire Immortal Venerables is arbitrarily a generation lower than the Earth Immortal Venerable... No, wait. Your eldest maternal uncle's surname is Wang, and your mother's surname is also Wang. This is correct. Then why is the Fire Immortal Venerable his biological daughter, but her surname is Han?"
"...The Fire Immortal Venerable is my cousin. She was abducted from a mortal plane. By the age of two or three, she had met the Water Immortal Venerable. They were called Xiao Feng and Xiao Yu respectively. Later, at the age of five, she was rescued by the Wood Immortal Venerable, She Yu, but She Yu died.
Then they were taken away by the enforcers. The enforcer who rescued them from the criminal organization had the surname Han. Out of gratitude, they also took the surname Han. Later, they grew up in an orphanage."
"...Your circle is truly messy. I still can't straighten out your relationships."
"There's no need to straighten them out, really. The Five Great Immortal Venerables have equal status. We all grew up together and are considered peers, good friends.
That's why when I say I'm Xiao Yun's maternal uncle, she gets angry, because we're all children, and why should I be a generation older than her."
"Oh~~ I see. No wonder you chose Bao Bao instead of the prettier Xiao Yun. It turns out there's a blood relationship, so you can't make a move."
"You... What are you talking about? I didn't choose Bao Bao. I didn't, you're talking nonsense."