Chapter 284: Who Gives to No One

The surrounding darkness and emptiness gradually receded, first revealing the silhouettes of mountains, and then the colors of vegetation. Opposite Li Banfeng, a man stood among the weeds. His head was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, forming a triangle, and his nose, half a foot long, covered his mouth and dangled down to his chin.

Train Grandpa blew his whistle and announced, "Passenger friends, the creature ahead is called Meng Xuan. Its original form is a dream-eating tapir, a ten-level dream cultivator!"

Li Banfeng was startled; the strange person opposite him had a ten-level cultivation. He had seen a lot, yet at this moment, his heart was in his throat. If it were anyone else, they would probably lose their mind. In the normal understanding of Puluo Province, the tenth level is the peak of cultivation, an insurmountable existence.

"This won't be easy to fight!" Train Grandpa blew a whistle. "Dream cultivators are different from other cultivators; their true forms can enter others' dreams. If we fight his true form in a dream, imagine how disadvantaged we'd be?"

As he spoke, the ten-level dream cultivator had already vanished. Train Grandpa continued, "He can change freely within the dream, turning into plants or animals. It's impossible to tell if he's near or far, where he is, or when he'll attack, but..."

Before he finished speaking, the ten-level dream cultivator suddenly appeared beside Li Banfeng, preparing to pull him off Train Grandpa's back. Li Banfeng was completely unprepared; he didn't even have time to react. The ten-level dream cultivator reached out, and just as he was about to grab Li Banfeng, a faint smile appeared on his triangular face. His smile flashed and quickly disappeared because his face was covered by Train Grandpa's shoe sole.

"But so what?" Train Grandpa kicked the ten-level dream cultivator in the face, then continued his previous thought, "Couldn't we just be faster than him?"

Boom!

The ten-level dream cultivator was sent flying, his body embedded in the mountain rocks. Train Grandpa paid no attention to the ten-level dream cultivator; carrying Li Banfeng on his back, he sprinted forward.

"Passenger friends, you've had a long journey," Train Grandpa announced. "The final destination is almost here. This train will now present the 'Train Ballad' to ease your travel fatigue."

As he spoke, hundreds of people appeared around them, surrounding Train Grandpa.

"Are these all ten-level cultivators?"

"Some are even stronger," Train Grandpa replied, striding forward and singing a children's rhyme:

"Across plains and through mountains, puffing smoke with a chug-chug sound,Add coal and water, we're on our way, the train starts, boundless power is found.Over bridges, through tunnels it drills, iron wheels rolling through dangerous passes,No fear of myriad perils, through wind and rain, it travels across countless rivers."

Train Grandpa sang the rhyme while sprinting forward. A bull-headed cultivator with a pair of horns blocked Train Grandpa's path; it was clear he was very afraid. But there was no alternative; only by achieving this merit could he qualify to compete for the local deity position.

Train Grandpa sang as he simply bypassed the bull-headed cultivator. By the time the bull-headed cultivator reacted, Train Grandpa was already far away. The bull-headed cultivator looked back at Train Grandpa's retreating figure and then instantly burst into a mass of flesh and blood.

Is this the 'Viewing Flowers from a Galloping Horse' technique? Li Banfeng could not discern any fatigue or exertion from Train Grandpa.

Ahead, another group of burly body cultivators blocked the path, and Train Grandpa stomped his foot heavily. Li Banfeng first felt the ground shake, then experienced a ringing in his ears. Stones rained down, blood splattered everywhere, and the body cultivators immediately collapsed. Train Grandpa walked over their bodies. Li Banfeng looked back, watching the dust and smoke rising into the air, as if forming a cloud.

Is this the 'Trampling Through Ten Thousand Rivers' technique?

"Attention, passenger friends, we're about to enter a tunnel!"

Li Banfeng looked ahead; he only saw rocky cliffs, no tunnel. "Brother, it looks like there's no path ahead."

Train Grandpa's expression became slightly grim. "There was a path originally," he said, "but a ruthless person came and blocked it."

As he spoke, Train Grandpa glanced up at the sky. Li Banfeng looked up as well and saw a woman in white circling in the sky.

Meng Qian!

Train Grandpa didn't stop his pace; he charged straight towards the cliff face, shouting, "Open!"

From the cliff face, a cloud of dust and debris rose, and a tunnel appeared, cutting through the mountain.

Is this the Level Six technique? Is this the 'Breaking Path, Opening Road' technique? Can a technique possess such power?

Train Grandpa let out a breath and said, "The place has changed; we've entered that woman's dream. This time, the exertion was quite significant." As he spoke, the rocks on both sides of the tunnel quickly converged, as if a wound was rapidly healing, and the tunnel rapidly shrank.

"Open!" Train Grandpa shouted again, and the continuously shrinking tunnel expanded slightly.

"Duck!" Train Grandpa roared, and Li Banfeng quickly lowered his head. The moment the train burst out of the tunnel, it instantly closed, almost trapping Li Banfeng inside.

Train Grandpa chuckled, "That was close! If I'd been a step slower, you would have been stuck in the mountain forever."

Li Banfeng was very curious. "What would happen if I died in a dream?" he asked.

"You'd be dead, and your remaining body would be soulless," Train Grandpa replied very concisely.

Li Banfeng looked around. A large number of vines and thorns appeared around them; they were now in a thorn bush. "Are we still in that woman's dream?" he asked.

"Yes," Train Grandpa said, blowing his whistle. "Passenger friends, the train is accelerating!"

A strong wind swept in, and the thorns cut at his face like knives. Train Grandpa charged ahead. Li Banfeng dared not lower his head; he had to constantly observe the dream's boundary.

Meng Qian, circling in the air, frowned. She usually showed little emotion, but this opponent was too powerful. Train Grandpa had already reached the edge of the thorn bush. Meng Qian waved her long, flowing sleeves, and the thorn bush's range began to expand rapidly. Within a dream cultivator's dream, the cultivator has powerful control. The thorn bush represented the dream's boundary; if her stamina allowed, Meng Qian seemed capable of infinitely expanding her dream. But the premise was that the speed at which the dream expanded had to be faster than Train Grandpa's speed.

Ahead of Train Grandpa, there were not many thorns left. Some thorns had just sprouted vines but hadn't yet grown sharp spikes; they were already being trampled under Train Grandpa's feet. Meng Qian was drenched in sweat. She bit a lock of her hair, flung her long sleeves open, and tried with all her might to extend the dream. Train Grandpa ran faster and faster, having already charged to the dream's edge.

Meng Qian gasped, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and clutching her chest, she collapsed to the ground. She had failed. She couldn't stop Train Grandpa. The opponent's power was simply too great. Even though she was the dream cultivators' leader and this was her own dream, she was no match for Train Grandpa.

"Woo-woo!" Train Grandpa blew his whistle. "The final destination is here, brother, are you ready?"

Li Banfeng could already see the dream boundary. "Brother, aren't you coming with me?"

"I can't go. My body is in Neizhou," Train Grandpa said, slowing down.

"Brother, I'm leaving," Li Banfeng said, leaping up and rushing towards the boundary. Train Grandpa reached out and widened the boundary line.

Although he wasn't very familiar with the crazy old man, at the moment of parting, Li Banfeng felt a touch of sadness. Perhaps he would never find such a kindred spirit in this world again.

"Brother..."

"Hurry and go," Train Grandpa said, also feeling a little reluctant to part with Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng ran headfirst into the boundary line but didn't pass through. Train Grandpa smacked his lips; the situation had become a bit awkward.

Meng Qian had already caught up from mid-air. Although this was beyond her dream boundary, as long as she was still within the dream, a dream cultivator had absolute control. The peerless beauty rushed towards Li Banfeng, who was sprawled on the ground, about to pick him up.

Train Grandpa shouted, "Break!"

As his voice fell, a rock wall burst out of the ground. The peerless beauty crashed head-on into it. She clung to the rock with both hands, ethereal energy trailing behind her, and slid down. The 'Breaking Path, Opening Road' technique could both open and block paths.

Seizing this opportunity, Li Banfeng scrambled to his feet. Using the footwork Train Grandpa had taught him, combined with the 'Unobstructed Passage' technique, he crashed headfirst into the dream's boundary line. His figure disappeared.

Train Grandpa smiled, withdrew his technique, and looked at Meng Qian on the ground. Meng Qian tidied her torn clothes and disheveled hair, maintaining her usual placid, languid expression. She said to Train Grandpa, "It's not easy for me to run an inn. Why make things difficult for me?"

Train Grandpa chuckled, "It's not easy for my Daoist sect to produce a good disciple either. He shouldn't perish here."

Meng Qian shook her head and said, "Precisely because they knew he was a talent from your Daoist sect, they invited him into the Dream Weaver Pavilion."

Train Grandpa nodded and said, "And then, using this Daoist talent, they tried to trick me into revealing the train construction methods."

Meng Qian sighed softly. "What they do is not within my control," she said. "As long as his true body remains in the Dream Weaver Pavilion and he doesn't wander off, he'll be fine. They will naturally release him once they permit it."

"Girl, don't talk nonsense," Train Grandpa chuckled. "His true body isn't in the Dream Weaver Pavilion; otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to such lengths to chase me. And let me tell you something else: this disciple of my Daoist sect leaves when he wants; he doesn't need anyone's permission. My Daoist sect's fine young men don't have a habit of kowtowing to others."

A train whistle startled Li Banfeng awake. He opened his eyes and found himself still on a train.

A train...

A train!

"How am I still on a train!" Li Banfeng exclaimed, thinking he was still in a dream. As he looked around, he noticed the surrounding passengers staring at him with strange looks.

What kind of train is this? It certainly wasn't Train Grandpa. This one had a locomotive, carriages, and windows. The buildings outside the window were only a few meters from the carriage. This was a train that could pass through narrow alleys. This was the train from Blackrock Slope.

I'm back at Blackrock Slope? Was my body here at Blackrock Slope all along? Or perhaps, this is still a dream?

At the station, the ticket sellers changed shifts and exchanged a few words. "Is that person here again?"

"Yes, this is the third day," one replied. "He definitely gets on the first train, then in the evening, he switches to a night train and keeps riding."

"Shouldn't we make him get off?"

"Why make him get off?" the other scoffed. "He pays two hundred for the fare each time, no change needed. Just let him sit here."

"Little brother, you're finally awake," a voice said. "You've been sleepwalking for the past three days, riding this train every day, and we couldn't wake you up."

"Master, what happened? Are you sick?"

Several artifacts kept asking questions, so Li Banfeng told them to quiet down. In his ear, the faint singing of a ballad drifted:

"Across plains and through mountains, puffing smoke with a chug-chug sound,Add coal and water, we're on our way, the train starts, boundless power is found.Over bridges, through tunnels it drills, iron wheels rolling through dangerous passes,No fear of myriad perils, through wind and rain, it travels across countless rivers."

Brother?

Li Banfeng stood in the carriage, looking around, but he couldn't find the source of the sound. He also faintly heard someone speaking to him:

"Brother, you're out. Keep the train; don't give it to anyone, not even if I come asking for it one day. Remember my words; I've entrusted it to you."