86: Snow-capped mountains and sacred lakes

"Jiang Yuan!" Seeing that figure standing in the wind and snow, a brilliant light of surprise erupted in her eyes.

"I've reached the summit." Jiang Yuan held up the sphere and spun around in place, displaying the magnificent scenery from the top of the world to her without reservation.

"Wow... it's so beautiful..." Kelsang Lhamo covered her mouth, letting out an exclamation: "Jiang Yuan, you're amazing! You reached the top so quickly!"

"Hold on, let me let you experience it too." Jiang Yuan's lips curled slightly as he gave an order to the air: "Xiao Jiu, activate remote holographic sensory synchronization."

"Very well, Master." Inside the RV thousands of meters below at sea level, the scene shifted instantly.

The cozy cabin vanished, replaced by biting cold winds and an endless sea of clouds.

Kelsang Lhamo felt as if she had instantly traversed space, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jiang Yuan at the summit of Mount Everest.

The whistling wind, the bone-chilling cold, and even the white mist from their breath were clearly visible.

"Is this the highest place in the world..." Kelsang Lhamo looked around, reaching out to touch the golden sunset, her eyes filled with shock and emotion.

"Alright, I'm going to get ready to head down." A few minutes later, Jiang Yuan said gently: "The path is difficult to navigate after dark."

"Mm!" Kelsang Lhamo nodded vigorously and exited the holographic mode, her face beaming with a bright smile: "I'll go cook right now, so we can eat together when you get back!"

"Alright, I'm familiar with the route, I'll be home soon." Jiang Yuan replied with a smile.

Ending the call, he took one last look at this landscape he had conquered. He turned and leaped down towards the foot of the mountain.

Climbing up might have required finding footholds, but coming down was nothing more than a controlled freefall for him. He wasn't running; he was flying.

With every leap, his figure traced a long parabola through the air, instantly covering dozens of meters. If he unleashed his full power, he could jump even further.

But he deliberately held back his strength, absorbing the impact the moment his toes touched the ground; otherwise, that terrifying force might have triggered an avalanche and accidentally injured the group of innocent mountaineers below.

When that black afterimage appeared in the line of sight of that commercial climbing team again, the group of people who had just climbed to the halfway point and were still struggling with oxygen deprivation felt their vision blur.

Many even took off their goggles and rubbed their eyes hard, suspecting they were experiencing severe hallucinations due to altitude sickness. Before they could see clearly, that gust of wind had already swept past the team.

No one spoke, because there was simply no time to open their mouths. Only a few quick-reacting guides instinctively gave a thumbs up to that retreating figure.

Tomorrow, or perhaps even sooner. The legend of the "Mount Everest Superman" and "Free Solo Speed Run of Mount Everest" would likely shake the entire mountaineering world.

A few minutes later, he had completely left human traces behind. As the altitude decreased, the terrain became relatively flatter, and his speed reached its extreme.

In just two hours, Jiang Yuan's figure pierced through the last glacier and stepped back onto the solid, frozen tundra.

At this moment, the sunset on the horizon had just faded, and the night had not yet completely enveloped the land. In the distance, the black and white colored guardian was parked quietly in the dim light.

From setting off to reaching the summit, and then returning now, this feat worthy of being recorded in history was completed in this short day. And this secret was known only to him and the girl in the vehicle.

Walking to the side, the sensor system identified his identity. The heavy hatch slid open silently. A wave of warm aroma of food rushed toward him, instantly dispelling the extreme cold remaining on his body.

The lights inside the cabin were warm. Kelsang Lhamo was wearing an apron, bustling about in the open kitchen in a flurry. She wasn't very skilled at cooking, but had simply boiled a pot of noodles, with thick slices of yak meat placed on the side.

Hearing the movement, she turned back. "Jiang Yuan?!" Looking at the man standing at the door, whose clothes weren't even messy, Kelsang Lhamo widened her eyes, looking incredulous: "You... you came down so quickly?"

Although she had seen the scenery of the summit with her own eyes just now, this was still too fast. If not for the undeniable realism of the holographic projection, she would have even suspected that Jiang Yuan had only gone to the base camp at the entrance and circled back.

"Mm, I'm just pretty good." Jiang Yuan smiled, his tone casual. This understated confidence was almost devastatingly lethal to a Tibetan girl like Kelsang Lhamo who admired strength.

Her eyes seemed filled with shimmering starlight, representing an instinctive admiration and affection for the strong. That night, Jiang Yuan didn't manage to sleep on the sofa.

Under Kelsang Lhamo's half-insistent and half-shy invitation, the two of them eventually lay on the same large bed. The reason was sound: climbing Mount Everest consumed too much energy, and the spacious bed was better suited for recovering their strength.

Jiang Yuan slept soundly, his breathing steady and long. Meanwhile, Kelsang Lhamo lay on her side, eyes closed, reciting scriptures silently.

Yet in that quiet cabin, even across the air, Jiang Yuan's keen perception could clearly capture—the heart beside him was pounding like a startled deer. An ambiguous undercurrent flowed throughout the night.

The next morning, after breakfast, they set off from Mount Everest, aiming for Ali, eight hundred kilometers away. The wheels rolled, driving onto the G219 National Highway.

When the huge archway by the roadside that read "Heavenly Ali" was left behind, the style of the entire world changed abruptly. This was the "roof of the roof of the world."

The field of vision was instantly stretched infinitely, leaving only the purest blocks of color between heaven and earth. Overhead was a deep blue sky with extremely high saturation, and underfoot was the endless, desolate frozen tundra.

That sense of desolation, loneliness, yet expansive beauty struck the soul directly. "Look! Tibetan antelopes!" Kelsang Lhamo suddenly pointed out the window and exclaimed, her voice full of surprise.

On the golden wasteland not far away, a few plateau antelopes were lowering their heads, leisurely grazing on the sparse grass roots. Jiang Yuan tapped the brakes lightly, bringing the guardian to a steady stop. The two pushed the door open and got out.

Magically, these naturally vigilant creatures did not flee. The leading male Tibetan antelope, with two sharp, pitch-black horns like spears, raised its head. Its moist and lively black eyes stared quietly at the two, a hint of curiosity in its gaze.

Click. The shutter pressed. In the lens, Kelsang Lhamo, in a red and white Tibetan robe, stood in the wind of the wasteland, one hand raised high in a peace sign. Her smile and the Tibetan antelope standing quietly beside her formed the most vivid picture of this no-man's land.

Continuing west. This journey was simply a carnival of wild animals. Gray wolf packs ran on the distant ridgelines, square-faced Tibetan foxes peeked from behind earthen slopes, and herds of Tibetan wild donkeys were crossing the road.

This was Ali, nature's own private territory. As they went deeper, the weather began to show its tyrannical yet charming side.

One second it was a cloudless, sunny day, but after crossing a few withered yellow hills, ink-black clouds pressed down like an inverted pot. Strong winds mixed with rain and snow ravaged the wasteland.

But the guardian's specially made body seemed to have its own force field; those cold rain and snow could not adhere at all and slipped off instantly. When the vehicle climbed over the last and highest mountain pass, the wind stopped abruptly, and the snow began to clear.

The scene before them caused even Jiang Yuan, who had seen plenty of beautiful scenery, to involuntarily hold his breath.