Chapter 285: Not One Will Be Given

The surrounding darkness and emptiness gradually receded; first the outlines of mountains reappeared, then the colors of grass and trees emerged.

Opposite Li Banfeng stood a man whose head was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, shaped like a triangle, with a nose half a foot long that covered his mouth and hung straight down to his chin.

The Eunuch Train pulled his whistle and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the creature ahead is called Meng Xuan; his original form is a Dream Eater, a Dream Cultivator at the tenth layer!"

Li Banfeng was startled—the monstrous man opposite him had a cultivation base of the tenth layer.

Though he had seen much, his heart now rose to his throat.

If anyone else were here, they would likely lose their sanity; in the normal understanding of Pulu Province, the tenth layer was the pinnacle of cultivation, an insurmountable existence.

"This won't be easy!" The Eunuch Train blew his whistle. "Dream Cultivators are different from others—they can enter others' dreams. If we fight his true self inside a dream, how much of an advantage do you think you'd have?"

As he spoke, the tenth-layer Dream Cultivator vanished.

The Eunuch Train continued, "He can change at will within dreams—become grass and trees, birds and beasts. You can't tell if he's near or far, where he is, or when he'll strike—but…"

Before he finished, the tenth-layer Dream Cultivator suddenly appeared beside Li Banfeng, reaching to drag him off the Eunuch Train's back.

Li Banfeng was completely unprepared, with no time to react.

The tenth-layer Dream Cultivator reached out, about to grasp Li Banfeng, a faint smile creeping across his triangular face.

The smile vanished instantly, for his face was covered by the Eunuch Train's shoe sole.

"But so what?" The Eunuch Train kicked the tenth-layer Dream Cultivator in the face, picking up his previous thread: "Aren't we just faster than him?"

Boom!

The tenth-layer Dream Cultivator was flung away, embedded into the mountain's rocks.

The Eunuch Train ignored the tenth-layer Dream Cultivator, sprinting forward with Li Banfeng on his back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your journey—the final stop is near. This train presents you with 'The Train Ballad' to ease your fatigue."

As he spoke, hundreds of figures appeared, surrounding the Eunuch Train.

"Are all these tenth-layer cultivators?"

"Some are even beyond that," the Eunuch Train strode forward, singing a nursery rhyme as he went:

"Across flat ground, over mountains and rivers, puffing and steaming,

We add coal and water, then set off—our train's power knows no bounds,

Cross bridges, drill through tunnels, iron wheels roll through perilous passes,

A thousand dangers, ten thousand hardships—we fear none, through wind and rain we travel ten thousand rivers."

The Eunuch Train sang the nursery rhyme as he raced forward.

A bull-headed cultivator with horns blocked the Eunuch Train's path; clearly, he was terrified.

But he had no choice—only by claiming this feat could he compete for the title of Local God.

The Eunuch Train kept singing, simply circling past the bull-headed cultivator.

By the time the bull-headed cultivator reacted, the Eunuch Train was already far away.

The bull-headed cultivator glanced back at the Eunuch Train's retreating back—and exploded into a burst of flesh and blood.

Is this the "Horse-Viewing-Flowers" technique?

Li Banfeng saw no sign of exhaustion or fatigue on the Eunuch Train.

Ahead, a group of bulky Body Cultivators blocked the way; the Eunuch Train stomped hard.

Boom!

Li Banfeng first felt the earth shake, then a ringing in his ears.

Rocks rained down, blood sprayed everywhere—the Body Cultivators collapsed instantly; the Eunuch Train stepped over their bodies.

Li Banfeng looked back; dust rose like a cloud.

Is this the "Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers" technique?

"Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for a tunnel!"

Li Banfeng looked ahead—only sheer rock walls, no tunnel in sight.

"Brother, there seems to be no path ahead."

The Eunuch Train's expression grew grave: "There was a path, but someone powerful sealed it."

As he spoke, the Eunuch Train glanced upward.

Li Banfeng followed his gaze and saw a white-robed woman circling above.

Meng Qian!

The Eunuch Train didn't slow—he charged straight at the cliff, shouting, "Open!"

Dust and shattered rocks surged upward, revealing a tunnel piercing through the mountain.

Is this the sixth-layer technique?

Is this "Severing the Path, Opening the Way"?

Can a technique have such power?

The Eunuch Train exhaled. "The terrain has changed—we've entered her dream. This took more energy than usual."

As he spoke, the rocks on both sides of the tunnel rapidly closed inward, like a wound healing, the tunnel shrinking fast.

"Open!" The Eunuch Train shouted again, forcing the shrinking tunnel to widen slightly.

"Bend low!" The Eunuch Train barked. Li Banfeng instantly ducked.

As the train burst from the cave, the tunnel snapped shut instantly, nearly crushing Li Banfeng inside.

The Eunuch Train laughed. "That was close—if I'd slowed a step, you'd be stuck in the mountain forever."

Li Banfeng was curious: "If I die in a dream, what happens?"

"You die. The body loses its soul," the Eunuch Train replied bluntly.

Li Banfeng looked around; vines and thorns filled the surroundings—they were now in a thicket of thorns: "Are we still in her dream?"

"We are," the Eunuch Train blew his whistle. "Ladies and gentlemen, the train is accelerating!"

Whoosh!

A gale struck, thorns slicing like knives against their faces; the Eunuch Train charged forward, and Li Banfeng dared not lower his head—he had to watch the dream's boundary at all times.

The woman circling above, Meng Qian, frowned.

She rarely showed expression, but this opponent was too powerful—the Eunuch Train had already reached the edge of the thorn thicket.

Meng Qian swept her long sleeves, and the thorn thicket expanded rapidly.

In a Dream Cultivator's dream, the Dream Cultivator holds absolute dominion; the thorns represent the dream's scope. If her stamina allowed, Meng Qian could seemingly expand her dream infinitely.

But only if the dream's expansion outpaced the Eunuch Train's speed.

Ahead of the Eunuch Train, thorns were nearly gone.

Some thorns had just sprouted vines, still without thorns, already crushed beneath the Eunuch Train's feet.

Meng Qian sweated profusely, bit a strand of her hair, flung her sleeves wide, and pushed her dream to its limit.

The Eunuch Train ran faster, reaching the dream's edge.

Meng Qian gasped, blood trickling from her lips; she clutched her chest and collapsed to the ground.

She had failed.

She could not stop the Eunuch Train.

His strength was simply too great—even as the leader of Dream Cultivators, even within her own dream, she was no match for him.

"Woo~" The Eunuch Train blew his whistle. "Final stop reached, brother—are you ready?"

Li Banfeng had already seen the dream's boundary.

"Brother, won't you come with me?"

"I can't. My body is in Neizhou," the Eunuch Train slowed his pace.

"Brother, I'm going," Li Banfeng leapt up and charged toward the boundary.

The Eunuch Train reached out, widening the boundary line.

Though he hadn't known the mad old man well, at this moment of parting, Li Banfeng felt sorrow.

Perhaps no one else in this world would ever be so perfectly matched to him.

"Brother…"

"Go quickly," the Eunuch Train, too, was reluctant to let Li Banfeng go.

Bang!

Li Banfeng slammed into the boundary line—didn't pass through.

The Eunuch Train clicked his tongue; the scene grew awkward.

Meng Qian had chased from the air; though she had crossed her dream's boundary, as long as she remained within the dream, the Dream Cultivator held absolute control.

The peerless beauty rushed toward Li Banfeng, lying on the ground, reaching to lift him.

The Eunuch Train shouted: "Sever!"

The moment the word left his lips, a rock wall burst from the earth; the peerless beauty crashed into it, her hands gripping the stone, trailing ethereal aura, sliding down.

The "Severing the Path, Opening the Way" technique could open a path—or cut one.

Seizing the chance, Li Banfeng rose from the ground, using the Eunuch Train's taught footwork combined with the "Unimpeded Passage" technique, and slammed into the dream's boundary.

His form vanished.

The Eunuch Train smiled, dismissed his technique, and looked down at Meng Qian.

Meng Qian tidied her torn robes and disheveled hair, maintaining her expressionless, languid posture, and said to the Eunuch Train: "Running an inn isn't easy. Why make things hard for me?"

The Eunuch Train chuckled: "Producing a fine disciple for my Dao sect isn't easy either. He shouldn't perish here."

Meng Qian shook her head: "Precisely because we knew he was your sect's prodigy, they brought him into Dream Qian Tower."

The Train Eunuch nodded and said, "Then, using this talented disciple of the Dao sect, you tricked me into revealing the Train's crafting method."

Meng Qian sighed softly: "What they intend to do is beyond my control. As long as his true body remains inside the Dream Qian Tower, and doesn't wander off, he won't come to harm. Once they grant permission, they'll let him go."

"Girl, stop talking nonsense," the Train Eunuch chuckled. "His true body isn't in the Dream Qian Tower—otherwise you wouldn't have gone to such lengths chasing me."

"Also, let me tell you this: my Dao sect's disciple can leave whenever he wishes—he doesn't need anyone's permission. Our Dao sect's fine sons don't bow to others' wills."

……

A whistle jolted Li Banfeng awake; he opened his eyes and found himself still on the train.

The train…

The train!

"Why am I still on the train?!" Li Banfeng thought he was still dreaming. As he looked around, he noticed the other passengers staring at him with strange glances.

What kind of train is this?

It certainly isn't the Train Eunuch.

It has a locomotive, carriages, windows.

The buildings outside the windows are barely a few meters away.

This is a train that can pass through alleyways.

This is the train from Heishipo.

Have I returned to Heishipo?

Has my body been in Heishipo all along?

Or is this still a dream?

At the station, the ticket clerks changed shifts and exchanged a few words.

"Did that man come again?"

"He did. It's already the third day—he always boards the first train, and at night, he switches to the night shift."

"Shouldn't we kick him off?"

"Why kick him off? He pays two hundred coins per ride, no change needed—let him stay."

……

"Young brother, you're finally awake! For three days you've been sleepwalking, riding this train every day—we couldn't wake you."

"Master, what's happened? Are you ill?"

Several magic treasures kept asking questions; Li Banfeng told them to be quiet.

Faintly, a folk song drifted to his ears:

"Over flat ground, through mountains and rivers, puffing and steaming,

Add coal, add water, we hit the road—once the train moves, power knows no bounds,

Cross bridges, drill through tunnels, iron wheels roll through perilous passes,

No matter how many trials, we fear nothing—rain or shine, we travel ten thousand rivers."

Brother?

Li Banfeng looked around the carriage, but could not find the source of the voice.

He also faintly heard someone speaking to him:

"Brother, you've already left.

Keep the train—give it to no one. Even if I come someday to ask for it, you must not give it up.

Remember my words—I've entrusted it to you."

PS: The Traveling Cultivation Master owes Li Banfeng a debt of gratitude—will he ever have a chance to escape from Neizhou?

(End of Chapter)