The surrounding darkness and emptiness gradually receded. First, the outlines of mountains reappeared, then the colors of vegetation returned.

In the wild grassland opposite Li Banfeng, there stood a man. His head was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, forming a triangular shape. His nose was around sixteen centimeters long and hung over his mouth, all the way down to his chin.

Grandpa Train pulled the whistle and said, "Dear passenger, the creature ahead is Meng Xuan. His original form is a dream-devouring tapir, a level-ten Dream Cultivator!"

Li Banfeng was astonished. To think that this strange person is actually a level-ten cultivator...

He had seen quite a lot in his life, yet he was so shocked that he could feel his pulse thumping at the base of his throat. If it were someone else, they would likely have lost their composure. In Puluo, a level-ten cultivator was considered the peak, an insurmountable existence.

"Not easy to deal with!" Grandpa Train sounded the whistle again. "Dream Cultivators are different from other cultivators. He can enter people's dreams with his main form. If we were to fight his main form with our dream forms inside a dream, we'd hold a massive disadvantage!"

Before Grandpa Train finished talking, the level-ten Dream Cultivator had already vanished.

Grandpa Train continued, "Within dreams, he can change at will. He can become plants, beasts, or birds. You can't tell if he's near or far, where he is, or when he'll strike, but—"

Before he finished speaking, the level-ten Dream Cultivator suddenly appeared beside Li Banfeng, reaching out to pull him off Grandpa Train's back. Li Banfeng was caught completely off guard and didn't have any time to react.

The Dream Cultivator stretched out his hand, about to grab Li Banfeng. His lips curved into a slight smile on that triangular face of his. However, LI Banfeng only saw it for an instant. It disappeared very quickly, covered up by Grandpa Train's shoe.

"But so what?" Grandpa Train said as he kicked the Dream Cultivator in the face. "We just need to be faster than him, right?"

Boom!

The level-ten Dream Cultivator was sent flying, and he ended up embedded in the mountain rock.

Grandpa Train did not spare him another glance. Still carrying Li Banfeng on his back, Grandpa Train dashed forward at full speed.

"Dear passenger, you've had a long journey. The terminal station is just ahead. This train will now present you with 'Ballad of the Train' to ease your fatigue."

As he spoke, over a hundred people appeared and surrounded them.

"Are these all level-ten cultivators?" Li Banfeng asked.

"Some are even beyond that," Grandpa Train replied. He pushed forward with large strides, singing a nursery rhyme as he walked.

"Moving across plains and over mountains, chugging and puffing out smoke.

Add water and coal, and off we go. Once the train starts, there are no borders it can’t break through.

Crossing bridges, tunneling through caves, iron wheels roll through perilous mountain passes.

We fear no hardship or danger. Through wind and rain, we travel across countless lands and rivers. ♪"

Grandpa Train kept singing as he ran.

A bull-headed cultivator with a pair of horns stepped forward to block Grandpa Train. It was clear he was terrified. However, the bull-headed cultivator had no choice. It was only by earning this merit that he would qualify to compete for the position of a land deity.

Yet, Grandpa Train just kept singing and ran right past the bull-headed cultivator. By the time the bull-headed cultivator reacted, Grandpa Train was already far away.

The bull-headed cultivator turned to look behind him at Grandpa Train's retreating figure, then he exploded into a splatter of flesh and blood.

Is this the ability of Passing Flowers on Horseback?

Li Banfeng could not see the slightest indication of exhaustion or depletion of strength on Grandpa Train's face.

Up ahead, a group of burly Physique Cultivators blocked the path. Grandpa Train stomped heavily.

Boom!

Li Banfeng first felt the ground shake, then a shrill ringing filled his ears.

Rocks fell like rain, and blood splattered in all directions. The Physique Cultivators collapsed instantly, and Grandpa Train stepped over their bodies as he continued forward.

Li Banfeng glanced back at the group of Physique Cultivators and saw dust rising into the air like a cloud.

Is this Treading Through Ten Thousand Rivers?

"Dear passenger, please take note. We're about to pass through a tunnel!"

Li Banfeng turned back to the front. He saw steep cliffs and jagged rock but no tunnel.

"Elder Brother, it looks like there's no path ahead."

Grandpa Train's expression turned slightly grave. "There used to be a path. It seems a ruthless person has come and sealed it off."

He glanced upward.

Li Banfeng followed his gaze and looked up, seeing a woman in white circling above.

Meng Qian!

Grandpa Train did not slow down. He charged straight toward the rock wall and shouted, "Open!"

Dust and shattered stone burst from the cliff face, revealing a tunnel. It ran through the mountain.

Is this a level-six ability? Is it Severing Paths to Forge a Way? Can an ability really be this powerful?

Grandpa Train let out a breath. "The place has changed. We've entered that woman's dream. This time, the consumption is indeed quite heavy."

As he spoke, the rock walls on both sides of the tunnel pressed inward rapidly, like a wound healing at high speed. The tunnel was shrinking quickly.

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

"Duck!" Grandpa Train shouted.

Li Banfeng immediately lowered his head. The moment Grandpa Train burst out of the tunnel, it sealed shut instantly, almost trapping Li Banfeng inside.

Grandpa Train laughed. "That was close. If I had been a step slower, you would've been stuck in the mountain for good."

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

"You die. Your body will remain, but it will have no soul," Grandpa Train replied curtly.

Li Banfeng looked around. Vines and thorns had appeared everywhere. The two of them were now inside a thicket.

He asked, "Are we still in that woman's dream?"

"Still are." Grandpa Train sounded the whistle. "Dear passenger, the train is about to accelerate!"

Whoosh!

A violent wind surged forward, and the thorns slashed across their faces like blades. Grandpa Train charged ahead at full speed. Li Banfeng did not dare lower his head, as he had to constantly watch for the boundary of the dream.

Meng Qian was still circling in the sky, and upon noticing Grandpa Train and Li Banfeng, she frowned. She rarely showed emotion, but this opponent was too formidable. Grandpa Train had already reached the edge of the thorn field.

Meng Qian waved her long sleeves, and the thorn field began to expand rapidly.

Dream Cultivator held immense control within their dream. The thorn field represented the extent of the dream. If her strength allowed it, Meng Qian seemed capable of expanding her dream without limit. However, the current issue was whether the dream could expand faster than Grandpa Train could run.

Ahead of Grandpa Train, only a small stretch of thorns remained. Some of the thorns had only just sprouted vines, and before they could even grow spikes, Grandpa Train trampled them flat.

Sweat streamed down Meng Qian's face. She bit down on a lock of her hair, flung out her long sleeves, and pushed herself to the limit to expand the dream.

Grandpa Train ran faster and faster, already reaching the edge of the dream.

Meng Qian gasped, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth. She clutched her chest and fell to the ground. She had failed. She could not stop Grandpa Train.

Her opponent was simply too strong. Even as the best among the Dream Cultivators... Even though she was within her own dream, she was no match for him.

"Woo~" Grandpa Train sounded the whistle. "We're approaching the terminal station, brother. Are you ready?"

Li Banfeng could already see the boundary of the dream.

"Brother, aren't you coming with me?"

"I can't. My body is in the Inner Provinces," Grandpa Train said, slowing down.

"Then I'm leaving now, Brother."

Li Banfeng leaped forward and rushed toward the boundary.

Grandpa Train reached out and widened the boundary line.

Li Banfeng had not known the crazy old man for long, but he still felt a little sad at the moment of parting. He might never again find someone he got along with so well.

"Brother..."

"Go quickly," Grandpa Train said. He too was rather reluctant to part with Li Banfeng.

Wham!

Li Banfeng slammed headfirst into the boundary, but he failed to pass through.

Grandpa Train smacked his lips. The situation had become a bit awkward.

The peerless beauty Meng Qian had already chased over from midair. This had exceeded the boundary of her dream, but as long as it was still within a dream, a Dream Cultivator held absolute control.

Meng Qian rushed toward Li Banfeng, who was lying prone on the ground. She was about to grab him.

Grandpa Train shouted, "Sever!"

Right then, a rock wall burst from the ground. Meng Qian crashed straight into it. Grabbing onto the stone with both hands, she slid down, leaving a spiraling trail of immortal qi.

The ability Severing Paths to Forge a Way could open paths, and it could also cut them off.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Banfeng scrambled to his feet. He used the footwork Grandpa Train had taught him, along with the Path of Unhindered Steps, and crashed into the dream's boundary.

He disappeared right then.

Grandpa Train smiled, deactivated his ability, and looked at Meng Qian on the ground.

Meng Qian adjusted her torn clothes and disheveled hair, maintaining her usual indifferent, languid expression. She said to Grandpa Train, "It's quite hard to run an inn. Why must you make things more difficult for me?"

Grandpa Train chuckled. "Likewise, it's quite hard to find a good disciple that follows my Daoist path. He shouldn't fall here."

Meng Qian shook her head. "It was precisely because they knew he was a talented individual who followed your Daoist path that they brought him into Dreambinding Tower."

Grandpa Train nodded. "They planned to use him to trick me into revealing the train's methods."

Meng Qian let out a soft sigh. "What they intend to do isn't something I can control. As long as his real body remains in Dreambinding Tower and doesn't wander, he'll be fine. Once they permit it, they will naturally let him leave."

"Girl, cut the nonsense," Grandpa Train said with a smile. "His real body isn't in Dreambinding Tower. Otherwise, you wouldn't need to go to such lengths to chase me.

Let me tell you one more thing. A disciple of my Daoist Path leaves when he wants. He doesn't need anyone's permission. The sons of my Daoist Path don't have the habit of trying to please people."

***

A blast of a train whistle jolted Li Banfeng awake. He opened his eyes and found he was still on a train.

A train... A train!

"Why am I still on a train?!"

Li Banfeng thought he was still in a dream. As he looked around, he noticed the surrounding passengers staring at him with strange expressions.

What kind of train is this? It's definitely not Grandpa Train. This one has an engine, carriages, and windows.

The buildings outside the window were only a few meters away from the carriage. This was a train that could pass through alleys.

This is the train of Blackstone Slope. Have I returned to Blackstone Slope? Was my body always in Blackstone Slope? Or is this still a dream?

When the train reached a stop, the ticket sellers changed shifts and exchanged a few words.

"Did that person come again?"

"He did. It's already the third day. He always boards the first train in the morning, then switches to a night train in the evening and keeps riding."

"Should we make him get off?"

"Why bother? He pays two hundred each time and doesn't even need change. Just let him stay."

***

"Little Brodie, you're finally awake. You've been sleepwalking these past three days, riding this train every day. We couldn't wake you no matter what we tried."

"Master, what happened? Are you sick?"

Several of Li Banfeng's enchanted artifacts kept asking questions nonstop. Li Banfeng told them to be quiet.

By his ear, he faintly heard a song:

"Moving across plains and over mountains, chugging and puffing out smoke.

Add water and coal, and off we go. Once the train starts, there are no borders that can't be broken.

Crossing bridges, tunneling through caves, iron wheels roll through perilous mountain passes.

We fear no hardship or danger. Through wind and rain, we travel across countless lands and rivers. ♪"

Elder Brother?

Li Banfeng stood in the carriage and looked around, but he couldn't find the source of the voice.

He then heard someone talking to him faintly.

"Brother, you've already made it out. Keep the train with you. Don't give it to anyone. Even if I come to ask for it one day, you must not give it to me. Remember my words. I'm entrusting it to you."