Chapter 1174: Climbing the Mountain

From the distant void, a long and low chanting suddenly came, followed by bursts of desolate sounds that seemed to drift near and far, elusive and unfathomable.

Han Li listened intently, only to find that the sounds had melody but no specific words, so he could not discern their meaning. Yet, as soon as they entered his ears, he felt his whole body brimming with strength.

“Could this be the ancient war songs of the barbarian tribes?”

While Han Li was still astonished, he noticed that the sounds around him were growing louder and louder.

He turned his head to look at Xiao Bai beside him and found that the latter was also humming a low chant in his throat.

“I don’t know what’s going on either. Hearing that desolate tune, I couldn’t help but follow along…” Seeing Han Li looking at him, Xiao Bai transmitted his thoughts to Han Li through their spiritual connection.

Han Li simply nodded and began to climb the mountain with Xiao Bai.

When he truly set his first foot on the stone steps of the mountain path, he immediately felt an indescribable force enveloping him from all directions, and his steps became somewhat heavy.

Yet this heaviness did not come from external pressure; rather, it was as if the entire Bāhuāng Mountain had turned into a magnet, generating a pulling force from within, firmly adhering all climbers to its surface.

However, this level of force was not too strong for Han Li, and walking was essentially unimpeded.

The members of the Tianhu clan and the Bānshān Yuán clan also walked without difficulty, climbing at a not-so-slow pace, quickly ascending over a hundred steps.

Han Li and Xiao Bai’s speed was roughly on par with the Tianhu clan members. When they looked back down, they saw that there were still several thousand people standing in the square below, not climbing.

“Lè’er, why are those people staying at the foot of the mountain?” Han Li transmitted to Liu Lè’er.

“They are not within the quota of the top hundred tribes. Only as affiliated tribes of the sixteen great wasteland clans are they qualified to stay at the foot of the mountain. More tribes can only remain in Zhènhuāng City, unable even to approach the sacred mountain,” Liu Lè’er quickly replied.

“It seems that being able to participate in the Blood Sacrifice Assembly is indeed a matter of great honor,” Han Li remarked.

“Indeed. The top hundred tribes allowed to ascend the mountain all bear, to some extent, the bloodline remnants of the ancient eight kings. That is why they are permitted to climb. So, when the king specially allowed you to accompany Xiao Bai up the mountain, even the clan leader found it quite unexpected,” Liu Lè’er replied.

Upon hearing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing more.

After climbing several hundred more stone steps, ancient runic patterns began to appear on the stone platforms. Every time the climbers set foot, it felt like stepping into mud—easy to place but hard to lift, causing many to adopt awkward postures.

Except for the members of the Skyfox and Mountain-Moving Ape tribes, who could still maintain their original pace, the others from the following tribes began to slow down, and the line on the steps grew increasingly stretched.

Han Li, as a human, was in no way inferior to the Skyfox and Mountain-Moving Ape tribes in climbing speed; instead, he moved with ease and leisure, which surprised the members of the other two tribes.

One by one, they redoubled their efforts, quickening their pace, afraid of falling behind Han Li and being looked down upon.

Han Li, naturally, had no desire to compete; he simply accompanied Little White, climbing unhurriedly.

At that moment, the little white ape, who had been among the Mountain-Moving Ape tribe, suddenly took two steps and then paused, moving closer to Han Li and Little White.

Its gaze kept shifting between Han Li and Little White, filled with both curiosity and caution.

Perhaps because he himself carried the bloodline of the Mountain Giant Ape, Han Li found the little white ape trying to approach quite pleasing to the eye, so he responded to its cautious probing with only a smile.

The Mountain-Moving Ape tribe seemed to tacitly approve of the little white ape's actions, not calling out to stop it.

The little white ape's wariness was mostly directed at Han Li, so after circling around, it came to the other side and actively approached the Pixiu Little White.

"Why aren't you sticking with your own tribe and coming over here?" Little White asked, not politely.

"I heard you have the bloodline of the Ink-Eyed Pixiu?" the little white ape asked, unperturbed.

"So what if I do?" Little White said, climbing without turning its head.

"Our ancestor is Lord Yuan Hong, one of the Eight Great True Spirit Kings, who was a close friend of Lord Mo Yu, the Ink-Eyed Pixiu and another True Spirit King..." the little white ape said.

"They were close friends... so what?" Little White was initially puzzled, then asked.

"It is said that they disappeared together back then," the little white ape said.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai suddenly fell silent.

"What's your name?" After a moment, Xiao Bai finally looked at the little white ape and asked.

"Yuan Shanbai," the little white ape replied.

"You're Yuan Shanbai, and I'm Xiao Bai... There really is some fate between us." Xiao Bai mused for a moment, then smiled.

"You're Xiao Bai, Mo Xiao Bai?" The little white ape raised an eyebrow and asked.

Xiao Bai hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded somewhat dazedly. Without his memory restored, he didn't even know his real name, so he could only vaguely agree.

Han Li had been paying attention to the exchange between the two little ones, and seeing this, he felt a slight stir in his heart.

Xiao Bai and Yuan Shanbai chatted away, quickly shedding their previous gloom. Xiao Bai's old roguish demeanor resurfaced, with a "this young master" here and a "this lord" there, bamboozling Yuan Shanbai, who had rarely left his clan and was clearly not yet an adult little Mountain-Moving Ape, into a daze.

When he heard that Xiao Bai had an even more formidable boss, Yuan Shanbai's eyes practically sparkled with stars, showing great envy and longing.

"Hehe, don't rush! When there's a chance, I'll introduce you to my boss. She has a bad temper, but she's loyal. Prepare a gift for her, and once she accepts you as a little brother, we'll both look out for you." Xiao Bai winked and patted the other's shoulder, saying.

Hearing that Xiao Bai was planning to recruit another little brother for Tong'er, Han Li rubbed his nose, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Listening to the two chatter back and forth added some amusement to the journey, but Han Li's mind never relaxed; he carefully scrutinized the changes around him.

As they climbed higher, he found that the attraction force on the stone steps grew stronger, and many tribes had already fallen behind the leading Celestial Fox and Mountain-Moving Ape clans.

Moreover, besides the attraction from the ground, a powerful oppressive force began to emerge from the surrounding void, making it increasingly difficult for the Celestial Fox and Mountain-Moving Ape clans to move forward.

By the time they reached the mountainside, the oppressive force of heaven and earth was already a hundred times stronger than at the foot. Walking through it, Han Li began to feel short of breath and overwhelmed by the pressure.

He slowed his pace and silently activated the Heavenly Fiend Suppression Art within his body, feeling the force ease slightly before continuing upward.

All tribes except the two major clans had fallen behind. Even those that had followed up had now given up climbing further, instead branching off onto horizontal plank roads along the mountainside to platforms on either side.

As Han Li's gaze swept over, he saw round stone platforms resembling meditation cushions scattered on the platforms on both sides. The people from various tribes who had arrived there consciously chose a cushion and sat down.

As for the Celestial Fox and Mountain-Moving Ape clans, none showed any intention of stopping; they continued climbing upward.

Logically, the Mountain-Moving Ape clan should have stronger physiques than the Celestial Fox clan, but oddly enough, their overall climbing speed was slower, gradually falling behind.

On the contrary, Yuan Shanbai, who had been chatting with Xiao Bai all along, remained at the forefront.

Seeing his clansmen lagging behind, Yuan Shanbai bid farewell to Xiao Bai and returned to the side of an elderly ape elder who looked very aged, accompanying him as they climbed.

Most of the Celestial Fox and Mountain-Moving Ape clans were silent along the way, only occasionally glancing toward Han Li. They were all puzzled: how could this mere human walk so easily on this mountain path?

In truth, only Han Li himself knew that the force pressing on him now was almost equivalent to a great mountain. Thus, with each step upward, he left a shallow imprint on the stone steps.

After walking for about another half quarter of an hour, Han Li noticed that Xiao Bai beside him seemed to have reached his limit. Every step was extremely difficult, and after every few steps, he had to stop, stick out his tongue, and pant for a long time.

Seeing this, Han Li slowed down and accompanied him as he climbed slowly.

The Celestial Fox clan gradually overtook them and moved ahead, feeling somewhat more balanced in their hearts.

Han Li glanced up at Liu Le'er, seeing her stop ahead and turn back to look at him. Her cheeks were covered with glistening sweat, her pretty face flushed, and her eyes were full of inquiry.

"Go on ahead with Senior Liu Qing; we'll catch up later," Han Li transmitted to her.

Liu Le'er hesitated for a moment before continuing upward under Liu Qing's urging.

"How is it? Need my help?" Han Li knew that the power of the Mo Yan Pi Xiu within Xiao Bai had not yet awakened, and with his current strength, reaching this point was indeed near his limit.

"No need. The little white ape said that climbing this mountain path is a test of the Eight Kings' bloodline. The thicker the bloodline, the more one can strive upward. I can't disgrace the bloodline I carry." Xiao Bai shook his head and said through gritted teeth.

With that, he lifted his head, his eyes shining with spirit as he looked toward the mountaintop and continued climbing.

Han Li looked at Xiao Bai's eyes and vaguely seemed to see a ring of pale golden light, but it vanished in a flash. He then smiled and continued toward the summit as well.