Chapter 1175: The Summit

Time trickled by, and soon the sun had reached its zenith.

Through the dark red barrier of light, the sunlight softened considerably, but those who could already see the mountaintop in the distance now felt nothing but despair.

Above them, only a hundred dark red stone steps remained. Once they climbed them, they would reach the peak. Yet these very hundred steps seemed like an insurmountable chasm, blocking nearly everyone.

"Ah..."

Just then, a cry of agony rang out from the mountain path.

A man of the Tianhu clan, after resting for a long while, finally mustered the courage to charge onto the first stone step.

But the moment his foot landed on the step, a tremendous force surged from all directions, instantly pressing down, sending him sprawling forward. A series of cracking sounds came from his body—bones breaking under the pressure.

Seeing this, Liu Qing frowned, stepped into the red mountain path, grabbed the clansman, and with a mighty pull, dragged him back.

"This next section of the path is not for everyone. For those among you with weak bloodline power, this is the end of the line," Liu Qing said to the others, holding the now-unconscious clansman.

Hearing this, everyone's faces turned grim.

They all knew that if they could successfully reach the summit, a great fortune awaited them. But the peak, though seemingly close, felt impossibly distant.

Han Li, following with Xiao Bai, finally arrived before these hundred steps and stopped.

Even he now felt as if a boulder were pressing against his chest and back, making it hard to breathe. The true spirit bloodline within him had already been activated to help alleviate the oppressive force of this realm.

So when he saw Xiao Bai lying at his feet, fur soaked through like a drowned dog, he felt no mockery but rather thought Xiao Bai was somehow different now.

Before long, the members of the Banshanyuan clan also caught up, but their group, including the elderly patriarch and the young white ape, numbered only four or five.

They stopped as well. Yuan Shanbai glanced at Xiao Bai on the ground, smiled, and gave him a thumbs-up in admiration.

Xiao Bai struggled to his feet, rallying his spirits.

Liu Qing looked back at everyone who had made it this far, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Han Li, his confusion deepening rather than diminishing.

Han Li was used to this by now.

He even noticed that the old man from the Banshanyuan clan, whose eyebrows nearly covered his eyes, was also stealing glances at him. He could only smile wryly.

At the same time, Han Li wondered why he had been able to endure this far. Could it be related to the Mountain Ape Giant true spirit bloodline within him?

After all, it was one of the eight ancient True Spirit Kings!

Just then, the Tianhu clan set off again. Of the dozens who had reached this point, only seven, including Liu Qing and Liu Le'er, continued toward the summit. The rest sat cross-legged on the steps.

As these seven stepped onto the final hundred steps, brilliant white light burst forth from behind each of them except Liu Qing. Thick white fox tails extended, and rings of white light glowed around their bodies.

Han Li looked closely and saw that the number of tails varied—most had seven or eight, with Liu Le'er having the fewest at six. Yet the white light around her was the brightest.

Moreover, from Han Li's intuition, the primal aura on Liu Le'er was the purest, even surpassing that of the clan leader Liu Qing.

Seeing that Liu Le'er was unharmed under the immense pressure, Han Li felt somewhat relieved.

"Let's go. We're going up too," Han Li said to Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai struggled to his feet from the stone steps, stuck out his tongue, and nodded.

They glanced back at the young white ape and the others still resting, then stepped onto the final hundred stone steps.

Though Han Li had mentally prepared himself, the moment his foot landed on the step, an enormous force pressed in from all directions, causing him to stumble.

He braced his hands on the step above, lying prone on the stairs, unable to rise for a long time.

Beside him, the pixiu Xiao Bai was in a similar state, limbs trembling on the ground, struggling to stand, letting out muffled whimpers.

Han Li turned his head, forced a smile, and let out a low shout.

His Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art surged at full power, his true spirit bloodline activated simultaneously. A dark light burst from his body, transforming him into a three-headed, six-armed divine demon.

Using his six arms to support himself on the steps, he moved sideways, shielding Xiao Bai beneath him, and crawled upward like a spider.

Beneath Han Li, Xiao Bai still endured the spatial pressure but gained a moment to breathe. He struggled to his feet and began climbing step by step.

After ascending a dozen or so steps, Xiao Bai felt somewhat acclimated and communicated with Han Li through their mental link, wanting to climb on his own.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Li decided to respect Xiao Bai's wish and moved aside.

Without Han Li's protection, the full weight of the pressure fell back on Xiao Bai, causing his limbs to tremble again, nearly collapsing.

But after struggling for a while, Xiao Bai managed to stay upright and began climbing upward bit by bit.

However, the higher they went, the spatial pressure multiplied exponentially. Even Han Li felt he could barely hold on, let alone Xiao Bai.

When only ten steps remained, blood began to seep from Xiao Bai's mouth and nose, dripping all the way, staining the already red steps even brighter.

Han Li watched, frowning deeply, his heart filled with worry.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

Above, a Tianhu clansman who was one step away from the summit suddenly collapsed under the pressure, fainted, and tumbled backward down the steps, hurtling toward Xiao Bai.

Though not large in build, under this terrifying pressure, the force of his fall was no less than that of a mountain.

At this moment, Xiao Bai's strength was nearly exhausted. His ears rang sharply, his vision blurred, and he couldn't dodge. Even a straw falling on him might cause him to collapse completely.

In that critical moment, he saw only a blurry shadow flash before him, seemingly colliding with something, and then both rolled past him.

At the same time, Han Li's voice reached his ears: "Almost there. Hold on."

With a jolt, Xiao Bai regained some clarity. He looked ahead—Han Li was nowhere to be seen.

Turning to look down, he saw Han Li tumbling downward together with the unconscious Tianhu clansman.

A warmth surged in Xiao Bai's heart. Gritting his teeth, he let out a wild roar from deep in his throat.

At the same time, a golden light appeared at the edges of his dark pupils. Cracking sounds came from his bones, and his entire body seemed to gain unprecedented strength.

Using all four limbs, he began to climb rapidly upward, charging straight to the summit in one go.

"I made it, I made it..." Xiao Bai exclaimed, but before he could rejoice, he felt a sudden exhaustion, his vision went black, and he collapsed unconscious.

Liu Le'er, who had already reached the summit, saw this and rushed over, forgetting to continue her meditation.

"He's fine. He just briefly activated his sealed bloodline power. He'll recover after some rest," said a handsome man in a white robe as he approached.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," Liu Le'er said, surprised to see the True Spirit King Bai Ze.

"Go and rest. I'll look after him," Bai Ze said to her.

After a moment's hesitation, Liu Le'er nodded and returned.

Bai Ze picked up Xiao Bai, twisted his wrist to produce a dark red pill, and fed it to him. Then he looked down the mountain, a hint of relief in his eyes, and said with a smile:

"For a human to do this for you is truly not easy..."

On the ancient mountain path, Han Li had freed himself from the Tianhu clansman. He extended his six arms to grab at the steps around him but still couldn't steady himself, continuing to roll downward.

Under the spatial pressure, each roll carried immense force. If he kept tumbling all the way down, his bones might not suffer much damage, but the impact on his internal organs would be significant.

Just as he was flung high into the air, a giant hand suddenly reached out from below, absorbing the terrifying force of the collision and pulling him back.

After landing, Han Li spat out a mouthful of blood. Regaining his balance, he realized it was the long-browed elder of the Banshanyuan clan who had stopped him.

"Thank you, senior," Han Li said, cupping his fist.

The elder merely shrugged his white brows, smiled at him, and then continued climbing slowly with the young white ape.

Han Li watched their retreating figures, sat cross-legged, took a pill, and closed his eyes to meditate. After a moment, feeling somewhat restored, he stood up and looked toward the summit.

Having been injured once, climbing again was even more difficult than before.

Han Li silently activated his Spirit Refining Art, gathered his divine sense, and fully mobilized his Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art and true spirit bloodline, beginning to climb upward once more.