CHAPTER 429: CHAPTER 302 NOT VERY THICK-SKINNED_2

Lian Bud was no longer pursuing him.

The calm surface of the Oil Lake suddenly rippled. A wave spread, and the entire lake quivered.

Li Banfeng knew where the problem lay. The mysterious creature he had sensed in the Oil Lake was emerging.

Amidst his rapidly shifting thoughts, a shrimp-headed giant broke through the lake’s surface. It crawled towards Li Banfeng on two short, sickle-like limbs.

He called it a shrimp-headed giant because Li Banfeng truly couldn’t find a more suitable description. The creature’s head resembled a shrimp’s, though not as pointed. It also seemed eyeless and had many more antennae than a shrimp.

The giant beast was estimated to be seven or eight meters tall and over twenty meters long.

Li Banfeng turned and asked Lian Bud, "What is this?"

Lian Bud’s face flushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed. "These are mites. Actually, I wash my face quite often, but I can never get rid of them. Some crawl on legs, others slither with their bodies. Sometimes it’s quite itchy."

Mites?

The mites parasitizing his face are this big?

Had these creatures evolved on his face, or were they naturally this size and could only parasitize such large beings?

The greasy mite swung its short limbs and lunged at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng swiftly dodged.

His speed was extreme. The mite, with its poor vision, couldn’t see Li Banfeng’s form at all.

When Li Banfeng stopped, the mite sensed his position with its antennae. It was just about to turn when its sturdy body suddenly swelled rapidly. The mite had only turned halfway when its body exploded.

Shattered carapace and flesh, along with a great amount of grease, splattered in all directions.

Lian Bud exclaimed in admiration, "Passing Glance! They say this technique isn’t very useful, but you handle it quite smoothly. It seems a true master taught you."

One mite exploded, and dozens more emerged one after another from the lake, surrounding Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng used the Passing Glance Technique again, blowing up two mites in an attempt to create a gap.

But as soon as the two mites exploded, the others behind them immediately filled the gap. The layers of encirclement left Li Banfeng no opening to break through.

Was there another way?

Weave through the mites and blow them all up?

It wasn’t impossible, but the cost would be too great. The number of mites on this face might be shockingly high, and Li Banfeng still needed to conserve energy to deal with Little Lian Bud.

As a group of mites closed in step by step, Li Banfeng focused on the ground beneath his feet and shouted, "Open!"

The ground suddenly cracked, creating a path over a hundred meters long that cut through the swarm of mites and stretched far into the distance.

Traveling Cultivation Technique: Path-breaking Technique.

It had to be said, if this were normal soil, Li Banfeng could have only opened a passage of twenty to thirty meters at best. But Lian Bud’s face skin was indeed quite soft.

Li Banfeng dashed along the cleared path. Though the mites on both sides tried to rush onto the path, an invisible force prevented them from breaking through.

The Old Teapot gushed out tea, creating barriers on either side of the path.

Li Banfeng sprinted for over a hundred meters, leaving most of the mites behind, but he couldn’t shake off Little Lian Bud.

Little Lian Bud shouted from behind, "Li Bufeng, you’re going too far! Slashing a hole in my face and pouring hot water on it? What if it leaves a scar?"

I actually can’t shake this fellow off; it seems I have to go even faster.

Just as Li Banfeng was about to accelerate, a gargantuan, nested, ring-shaped mouth appeared before him at the end of the canyon.

The so-called nested, ring-shaped mouth meant a large mouth containing a slightly smaller one, with a ring of dark yellow, sharp teeth lining the space between them.

Where did this nested giant mouth come from?

Li Banfeng leaped out of the canyon and saw its full form.

A blood-red worm burst from the ground.

"’A Blood Leech, a type of facial parasite. This thing is quite troublesome,’ Lian Bud said, touching his nose again. ’You just had to provoke it. Now I’m going to suffer; I’ll be itching all day long.’"

The worm, tens of meters long and resembling a combination of an earthworm and a leech, wriggled rapidly towards Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng dodged to the side. A pursuing mite was caught and bitten by the Blood Leech.

With its sharp teeth, the Blood Leech quickly breached the mite’s shell, then sucked the mite completely into its giant mouth.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Banfeng took out his Wine Gourd and sprinkled some of the alcohol on the Blood Leech.

Little Lian Bud sniffed and said, "This is Old Yao’s alcohol. Did Old Yao send you? What would Old Yao want with me?"

After a moment of thought, Little Lian Bud continued, muttering to himself, "It shouldn’t be Old Yao. There’s no reason for him to look for me. He’s familiar with the Peddler—could it be the Peddler who asked you to find me?

"If it’s the Peddler, then we still have room for negotiation. I might consider letting you go!"

Li Banfeng ignored Little Lian Bud. He struck a match and set the Blood Leech on fire.

Aided by the alcohol, only a small flame erupted on the Blood Leech’s body.

However, the surroundings were greasy. As the Blood Leech struggled, the flames quickly spread across the oily Earth Skin.

Little Lian Bud grew angry. "Why are you setting my face on fire again?"

He blew a breath from his own nose, and a fierce gust of wind swept in, extinguishing all the surrounding flames.

So that was why the Tang Sword and Clock Pendulum couldn’t fly steadily.

The connection between Little Lian Bud and True Face Not Big was something Li Banfeng couldn’t understand.

"I don’t want to talk to you anymore!" Little Lian Bud looked at Li Banfeng angrily. "You always ruin my face! I want to take your life right now!"

As his words fell, Little Lian Bud’s face became even greasier.

At the same time, grease began to surge around Li Banfeng’s feet, quickly rising above his ankles.

Without hesitation, Li Banfeng continued to flee.

No matter what tricks he has, my only hope of survival is to get off his face.

The grease underfoot grew deeper. Li Banfeng pushed strength into his legs and began to sing, hoping to distract Little Lian Bud.

There was one song that was indeed especially suitable for exerting force!

"Running on flat ground, crossing mountains and rivers, HUFFING AND PUFFING, smoke billowing! Add coal, add water, let’s hit the road! Once the train starts, its power is boundless..."

Li Banfeng’s singing was shrill, giving Little Lian Bud a headache.

Yet, the familiar melody and lyrics made Little Lian Bud unable to resist listening.

"Are you singing the ’Train Ballad’?" Little Lian Bud was stunned, and the grease stopped rising.

Li Banfeng didn’t reply.

"Where did you hear this ballad?"

Li Banfeng remained silent.

"Did you learn your Footwork from him too?"

Li Banfeng ran farther and farther away.

Only when Little Lian Bud’s figure completely disappeared did Li Banfeng find a patch of forest to stop and catch his breath.

The vegetation in this forest was lush, but the wind was quite strong. He had rested for only a moment when Little Lian Bud’s voice came from deep within the woods.

"Don’t stay here. If the wind gets stronger later, there’s no telling where it might blow you."

Li Banfeng said in surprise, "You caught up so quickly?"

"This is my face. I know where the shortcuts are."

There are shortcuts on a face?

Little Lian Bud didn’t want Li Banfeng to escape again. Maintaining a certain distance, he said, "If he really sent you, please relay a message for me. To this day, I still say the same thing: whether it’s a train or a car, burning oil is better than burning coal."

Is he referring to Grandpa Train?

Do these two have some kind of agreement?

Li Banfeng said, "Puluo State can’t burn oil; fuel can’t be stored in large quantities there."

"That’s because they haven’t found good oil! That’s because..." Lian Bud’s tone suddenly changed. "You’re deceiving me, aren’t you? You’re here to steal oil, right? You sang his Train Ballad to steal my oil?"

Li Banfeng frowned. "To accuse a thief, you need to catch them with the goods. You need evidence for your claims. When did I steal your oil?"

"You’re covered in oil, and you say you haven’t stolen it?"

"Anyone who comes to this place ends up covered in oil!"

Lian Bud gnashed his teeth. "No one is going to steal my oil! Even if it drives my Taoist Sect to extinction, I won’t let you steal my oil!"

PS: Oil Cultivators are indeed rare.