Li Yundong chuckled dryly and strode ahead quickly. After a few steps, worried that his pace might be too fast for Ziyuan to follow, he turned to look back. He saw Ziyuan trailing him by about a meter, walking at an unhurried, steady pace.

Li Yundong felt a surge of curiosity: Could this transcendent, almost celestial being always maintain such a detached and serene demeanor?

He couldn't help quickening his steps, his fast walk turning into a light jog. He ran for a stretch, then couldn't resist glancing back again, only to find Ziyuan still keeping pace, neither too fast nor too slow, her stride as effortless and graceful as a casual stroll.

Li Yundong decided to simply run. When he did, his speed was astonishing, rivaling that of a cheetah. Yet, even at this pace, he looked back once more, and Ziyuan was still following steadily behind him, utterly composed and unruffled!

Li Yundong conceded defeat, shaking his head and murmuring to himself, "Good heavens, those who come from true prestigious sects are indeed different!"

He ran for a while before returning to the spot where he had fought Wu Hao and Lü Fengping. Li Yundong saw that although bloodstains remained, the bodies were gone. Their Land Rover, however, was still parked there. He froze for a moment, a flicker of confusion crossing his mind, but he quickly rationalized: Duoji Danzeng must have cleaned up the scene.

He turned to Ziyuan and said, "The car is indeed still here!"

With that, he hopped into the back seat of the Land Rover, slapped the door panel, and grinned at Ziyuan, "No use leaving it for someone else to benefit from, right?"

Ziyuan sighed, shook her head, and thought to herself: How can this man switch between the composure of a Grandmaster and the impulsiveness of a child? Which facet is his true nature?

She followed suit and settled into the back seat, sitting right next to him.

Li Yundong blinked, looking at Ziyuan sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and couldn't help asking, "Why are you sitting back here? You—you can't drive, can you?"

Ziyuan gave him a helpless look: "I cannot!"

Li Yundong was caught between laughter and tears: "If you can't drive, then why follow me? Why didn't you stop me? This whole trip was pointless!"

Ziyuan stared at him speechlessly: "I assumed you could drive."

Li Yundong threw both hands to his head and shouted, "Heavens! Isn't this a joke!"

Li Yundong and Ziyuan locked eyes in the back seat, staring at each other wide-eyed for a moment. Then Li Yundong slumped his shoulders and said dejectedly, "Does this mean we have to walk the rest of the way?"

Ziyuan couldn't help but laugh: "What? Has True Man Li, who just ran over two thousand kilometers, suddenly decided he won't walk this short distance?"

Li Yundong sighed deeply. "I really want to tell Su Chan the news of my Foundation Establishment success right away. She must be worried sick; I haven't sent any word for nearly two months. I'm desperate to get home!"

Ziyuan smiled faintly. She had been about to say, The last ten miles are the hardest, but as the words reached her lips, she looked at Li Yundong's anxious and concerned gaze and ultimately held them back.

Li Yundong gritted his teeth and announced, "Forget it, I'll drive."

Ziyuan looked surprised: "You? Didn't you just say you couldn't drive?"

Li Yundong snorted: "I may not have eaten the pork, but haven't I seen people eat it? Haven't I seen them drive?" Saying this, he got out and moved to the driver's seat.

Li Yundong tried to recall the techniques and movements he'd observed from other drivers. He twisted the key, then stomped on the accelerator. The Land Rover's engine roared loudly, but the vehicle refused to move an inch.

Li Yundong frowned in confusion: "Strange, why isn't this thing moving? Is it broken?"

Ziyuan leaned over from the back seat, smiling faintly as she pointed to the clutch and the gear lever: "If you don't press the clutch, how can you shift gears? If you don't shift, how can the car move?"

Li Yundong suddenly understood. He slammed his foot down on the clutch, then shoved the gear lever into Reverse (R). Immediately, the car lurched violently backward with a heavy thud. Although Ziyuan possessed the gift of divination, such foresight required consulting an oracle beforehand. She was not an immortal, after all; how could she have known Li Yundong would immediately engage reverse?

Caught completely off guard, Ziyuan was thrown forward, her forehead striking the back of Li Yundong's head with a sharp impact.

Both Li Yundong and Ziyuan cried out simultaneously, clutching their respective pain points.

Li Yundong slammed on the brakes, and the engine instantly died. Rubbing the back of his head, he grimaced as he looked back to see Ziyuan clutching her forehead, her face contorted in pain.

"Accident, purely accidental!" Li Yundong offered a sheepish grin, massaging his own injury as he explained, "I didn't realize this thing was so disobedient."

Though Ziyuan was a top-tier cultivator among the younger generation, she hadn't yet achieved the Vajra Indestructible state. This delicate beauty, having been struck by Li Yundong, was so jarred that tears nearly sprang to her eyes.

"If you can't drive, don't try!" Ziyuan grumbled, rubbing her brow.

Li Yundong apologized profusely: "A mistake, absolutely a misstep! As the ancients say: If man is not a sage, who can avoid error? Give me one more chance!"

Taking a deep breath, Li Yundong carefully restarted the engine, tentatively engaged first gear, and gently pressed the accelerator. Yet, the engine roared, but the car remained motionless.

Li Yundong stared, thinking: Impossible, why is it still not moving? I shifted the gear this time!

Li Yundong instinctively pushed the accelerator further down. The engine noise grew louder, but the vehicle stayed put. Only when Li Yundong stomped the pedal all the way to the floor did the Land Rover roar like a monstrous beast, and only then did the vehicle begin to crawl forward sluggishly.

Li Yundong couldn't help but smile smugly: "I truly am a genius! Self-taught! I learned to drive without a teacher!"

But after driving for a while, he noticed that no matter how hard he pressed the gas, the car refused to speed up. He was puzzled: This vehicle was slower than an ox cart—what was wrong? This was not normal!

Moreover, the longer he drove, the more Li Yundong smelled a distinct burning odor. He sniffed the air, muttering curiously, "Why is there a smell of scorching?"

Ziyuan gave him a look that clearly communicated, I am defeated by you. She massaged her temples, then pointed to the parking brake with an expression of helpless amusement: "You haven't released the handbrake!"

Li Yundong threw his head back and laughed heartily: "So that's the problem!" He then pushed the handbrake lever down!

Instantly, the Land Rover shot forward like a wild horse breaking free of its tether.

Ziyuan cried out, and her body was thrown against the rear seat. She couldn't help a bitter laugh, thinking: What possessed me to indulge this lunatic?

Driving, in reality, was a task requiring very little skill, especially on the Tibetan Plateau where vehicles were scarce and settlements few. Li Yundong could treat the terrain like a rally course, and no one would care.

Once the vehicle was moving, driving became easy. Li Yundong finally found the rhythm, feeling the wind whistle past his ears, and laughed out loud: "See? I told you I could handle it! This thing is exhilarating to drive—fast as lightning!"

Ziyuan replied wryly: "You call this 'fast as lightning' in first gear?"

Li Yundong grunted a couple of acknowledgments, then quickly shifted into second gear. Soon after, second became third, and before long, the Land Rover was rumbling in fifth gear.

Once the speed reached fifth gear, the acceleration became noticeable. The wind howled past the side windows, truly giving the sensation of speed. Li Yundong grew increasingly thrilled and couldn't resist looking back to boast: "See? No problem, right?"

But when he turned, he saw Ziyuan sitting rigidly in the back seat, gripping the door handle with both hands, her face etched with sheer terror, as if the next second would bring certain doom.

Li Yundong was accustomed to Ziyuan's tranquil, otherworldly demeanor; he had never seen her look so frightened. He burst out laughing: "Even the Fairy is afraid of speeding?"

Ziyuan was genuinely terrified by Li Yundong's crude driving style. Although cultivators might be powerful, they were not immortal. If a crash occurred, the doors would be locked, leaving her nowhere to flee—the car would become an instant coffin!

Ziyuan struggled to regain her composure and forced herself to say, "I'm not afraid of speeding; I'm afraid of you driving!"

Li Yundong choked on his laugh, managing a dry chuckle. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Ziyuan suddenly widen her eyes, sit bolt upright, point ahead, and shout: "Careful!"

Li Yundong jerked his head forward and instantly realized he had driven off the road. He let out a sharp yell and instinctively slammed his foot down hard.

This reflexive action was the common mistake made by almost all novice drivers: stepping on the accelerator instead of the brake!

The Land Rover roared and plunged off the asphalt!

Fortunately, the Tibetan Plateau was vast and open; the roadside was merely grassland, not the concrete hazards of a city where leaving the road meant immediate collision.

However, the grassy terrain was uneven, and the Land Rover was moving too fast. The vehicle instantly transformed into a mad bull in a Spanish arena, bouncing and leaping wildly across the field.

In the back, Ziyuan was so violently jostled that her body felt like it was coming apart. Her hair was a mess, her appearance utterly wretched. She tried to tell Li Yundong to stop, but the shaking made it impossible to form a complete sentence: "Fast, fast, stop, stop, stop the car!"

With such difficulty, Ziyuan almost bit her own tongue!

For the undisputed top figure among the younger generation of cultivators to nearly bite her tongue due to rough driving—no one would ever believe such a story!

Only then did Li Yundong snap back to reality and violently stomp on the gas pedal!

The roaring Land Rover screeched to a halt with a terrible squeal. Ziyuan couldn't arrest her momentum and shot forward, slamming directly into the back of Li Yundong's head with a resounding thud. The impact, combined with the car's inertia, sent Li Yundong's forehead crashing solidly against the windshield.

Thankfully, the glass was bulletproof, saving his body—which had been remade by the Golden Core—from injury!

Li Yundong clutched his forehead, feeling lightheaded and seeing stars. He grit his teeth and managed to prop himself up, looking back cautiously: "Hey, are you alright?"

As soon as he asked, Li Yundong knew the question was redundant.

Ziyuan sat slumped in the back seat, hair disheveled, covering her nose with her hand while glaring at him with an expression of deep resentment and anger.

How could the future sect leader of the dignified Ling Palace Sect be subjected to such rough treatment and be fine?

Li Yundong forced a dry laugh: "It's just an accident, a minor one! Is... is your nose okay?"

The question, instead of comforting her, ignited Ziyuan's fury. Yes, she was an ascetic cultivator who valued serenity and composure, but this scoundrel couldn't treat her this way! Insisting on driving when he didn't know how—now her nose was nearly broken!

The realization brought a wave of grievance.

From the moment she left the womb, she had been cultivating; she achieved Foundation Establishment at ten and became a leading figure among the young cultivators by eighteen. Everyone who met her treated her with utmost respect and courtesy, especially the male cultivators, who practically worshipped her as a celestial being.

And this man? He possessed no capacity for gentleness or tenderness toward women! How infuriating!

Ziyuan couldn't hold back her anger. She dropped her hand from her nose and loudly demanded, "Fine? How could I be fine?"

The collision had been shockingly hard. If her powerful internal energy hadn't instantly constricted the blood vessels in her nasal cavity, she would have been bleeding profusely, a terrible humiliation. But even avoiding that disaster, her nose was still visibly red, making her look rather comical.

Li Yundong, used to seeing Ziyuan's ethereal, divine face, blinked at this sudden sight of awkward distress and almost burst into laughter. But he reacted quickly and managed to suppress the urge to guffaw.

Suddenly, he felt that this transcendent Fairy had, for the first time, tumbled into the mortal realm. While she lacked her usual ethereal grace, she had gained a touch of genuine closeness.