Chapter 1178: The Asura Blood Gate

"Fellow Daoist Yuanjing, that young white ape of your clan seems not yet mature, his bloodline power insufficient..." Elder Qingyuan spoke first.

"Hmph! I've long said you're useless, yet you still have the nerve to be counted among the sixteen great wild tribes. Where in your bodies is the blood of the ancient true spirit kings?" a tall man with an ape-like face and white fur on his back shouted loudly.

He was the chieftain of the White-backed Ghost Ape tribe, one of the sixteen great wild tribes, a collateral bloodline of the true spirit king Zhu Yan, naturally inferior to the Qingyuan Apes, and always followed their lead.

Upon hearing this, the long-browed elder merely glanced at him, sighed, and said nothing.

Unlike other true spirit kings, the Mountain Giant Ape had left behind only one bloodline descendant—the Mountain Moving Apes—and it was not a true lineage in the orthodox sense, so after generations of inheritance, their bloodline power had grown increasingly weak.

Yuan Shanbai was an anomaly for the Mountain Moving Apes; his Mountain Giant Ape bloodline was much purer than that of other clan members, but perhaps because he was still immature or for some other reason, his bloodline power was ultimately insufficient.

The accusations around them grew louder, reaching a fever pitch.

Inside the Wild Sacred Hall, doubts also abounded. The young white ape stood surrounded, his eyes full of guilt.

"Bloodline is not something he can decide for himself! Stop blaming him!" Xiao Bai, unable to bear it any longer, stepped in front of the young white ape and shouted angrily.

Liu Le'er said nothing but chose to stand with them.

"If you're useless, you have to endure others' criticism..." said the young chieftain of the Zouwu tribe.

"Guilt is useless. Now that the Asura Blood Gate cannot be opened, your Mountain Moving Ape tribe cannot escape blame." At Qing Dian's cutting words, the crowd grew even more agitated.

Their anger stemmed solely from the fact that if the blood gate could not be opened, they would lose the chance to inherit the true spirit king's bloodline.

Han Li watched this scene, his gaze darkening, hesitation flickering in his eyes.

"Young friend Han..." At that moment, Bai Ze, who had been sitting on the stone chair, suddenly called out.

Hearing this, the crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to Han Li.

Han Li sighed inwardly. This true spirit king had indeed planned all along for him to climb the mountain and enter the hall.

"Your Majesty..." Though he understood Bai Ze's intent, Han Li still feigned ignorance and cupped his fist in salute.

Seeing this, Bai Ze was not offended. He rose from his stone chair and swept his gaze over the crowd, saying:

"Earlier, you were unwilling to let Young Friend Han climb the mountain and even considered his entry into the hall a disgrace. Little did you know that to open the Asura Blood Gate, Young Friend Han's help is indispensable."

"What..." The crowd was astonished.

"Rely on him, a human..." Qing Dian's face was full of disbelief.

"The young white ape's bloodline is not flawed; it's just that he is young and his bloodline has not fully awakened. Though Young Friend Han is human, he possesses the bloodline of the true spirit king Mountain Giant Ape. Though not inherited through reproduction, it is far purer than that of the Mountain Moving Apes." Bai Ze slowly walked toward the crowd and said.

At these words, the crowd was even more astonished, and Yuan Shanbai was also full of surprise.

"Young Friend Han, would you... be willing to lend a hand to our Wildlands?" Bai Ze came before Han Li and asked.

"Your Majesty, my body contains many mixed bloodlines; I fear I may disappoint your expectations." Han Li did not give a clear answer but made excuses.

"The mixing of bloodlines is no problem; I have a method to separate them. If you agree, once the Asura Blood Gate opens, you may also enter the gate, and then the defects in your physical body can be made up for." Bai Ze said.

Hearing this, Qing Dian and the others were filled with mixed feelings. On one hand, they did not want Han Li to enter the blood gate; on the other, they had to rely on him to open it.

Han Li's heart stirred slightly at these words. He curled his lips and looked at Qing Dian and the Zouwu young chieftain.

Seeing his expression, the two felt a tightening in their hearts, both sensing something ominous.

"Your Majesty, I have one more request. If it can be fulfilled, I will comply." Han Li said.

"Speak freely." Bai Ze said.

"I need two drops of essence blood from Taowu and Zhu Yan." Han Li said.

"That's easy. After the Asura Blood Gate opens and someone inherits their bloodlines, I will take two drops of the purest essence blood for you." Bai Ze was momentarily taken aback, then smiled.

"No need for such trouble. Just extract one drop of essence blood from each of these two Qingyuan and Zouwu tribesmen." Han Li said.

Bai Ze was also surprised, for after inheriting the true spirit king's bloodline, the essence blood obtained would be the most powerful.

He did not know that Han Li's body contained a mixture of various essence bloods, and he never sought the strength of a single bloodline but rather a state of balance. Moreover, Han Li's request was not deliberately to oppose Qing Dian and the others.

Rather, among the four divine demon forms he could transform into through the fusion of the Heavenly Prison Suppression Art and the Awakening of the Twelve Transformations, he was precisely lacking two bloodlines with strong physiques.

Taowu and Zhu Yan, as the two with the most powerful physiques and strongest defensive abilities among the eight great true spirit kings, were naturally the most suitable choices.

After a brief hesitation, Bai Ze nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Qing Dian looked at Han Li, the hatred in his eyes growing stronger.

"Since Fellow Daoist Han is the benefactor of our Wildlands tribes, our Zouwu tribe naturally has no objection." The Zouwu young chieftain's eyes flashed with reluctance, but he quickly put on a smiling face and said proactively.

With that, he raised his palm, and light flickered in its center as a drop of essence blood condensed and flew forward.

Qing Dian looked at the Zouwu young chieftain in confusion, but before he could speak, the latter's voice transmission echoed in his mind:

"Fellow Daoist Qing Dian, don't dwell on temporary gains and losses. Once we inherit the true spirit king's bloodline, our status will be different. Then, crushing him will be as easy as snapping a finger."

Qing Dian suddenly understood. He then condensed a drop of essence blood and shot it toward Han Li.

The two drops of essence blood hung in the air. Han Li received them and examined them, finding no tampering. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Thank you..." Han Li put them away in a jade bottle and said.

With that, he also condensed a drop of his own essence blood and sent it to Bai Ze.

Bai Ze raised his hand and swept it into his grasp. With a casual wipe, the drop of essence blood seemed to boil, emitting wisps of smoke as it burned away the other bloodlines, leaving only the Mountain Giant Ape's essence blood.

He flicked his finger, and the drop of essence blood flew into the brazier.

With a loud "boom!"

The brazier blazed up as if oil had been poured into it, flames shooting toward the brow of the Mountain Giant Ape statue, and the entire hall was once again enveloped in light.

Outside the hall on the square, the crowd was still arguing when they suddenly felt the ground tremble violently. Dark red light seeped out from the earth everywhere, forming enormous runic patterns.

Light shot up from the eight ancient paths up the mountain, and the eight true spirit king phantoms that had disappeared earlier reappeared, shining even brighter.

Following that, at the waist of the Eight Desolations Mountain, at its foot, and in the Town Wild City, all the Wildlands tribesmen prostrated themselves, praying to the heavens in their unique tribal rituals.

On the ground, rays of light shot into the sky, gathering at the dome of the firmament into a dazzling radiance.

On the more distant and boundless Wildlands earth, ancient altars buried for millennia awakened at this moment, emitting golden light that illuminated the heavens without any human control.

Countless tribesmen at this moment, as if sensing something, all assumed postures of prayer, as if the entire Wildlands world was connected and had become a single entity.

Atop the Eight Desolations Mountain, countless blood-colored lights converged from all directions in the void, condensing into a colossal blood-colored gate of light.

On the two pillars flanking the gate, two enormous Asura faces appeared—one with eyes wide in anger, the other with a welcoming smile.

On the two massive doors in the center, various phantom images of Wildlands true spirits appeared, not only the eight true spirit kings but also their bloodline descendants and true spirits of the immortal realm such as true dragons, phoenixes, white tigers, and black tortoises.

"It's appeared, it's appeared..."

"The Asura Blood Gate has appeared..."

...

Cheers erupted on the square, and everyone was ecstatic. The long-browed elder of the Mountain Moving Apes also relaxed his brows, showing a hint of a smile.

But inside the stone hall, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Of the eight stone chairs before the eight true spirit king statues, six were no longer empty. However, except for Bai Ze's chair in the center, where his true body sat, before the statues of Taowu, Zhu Yan, Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, Ink-eyed Pixiu, and Mountain Giant Ape, blood-light phantoms had condensed into figures.

They were all in human form, lifelike, but each was merely a remnant soul of bloodline.

Looking at their phantoms, everyone felt a strange sensation of bloodline connection yet unattainable distance. Were these their bloodline ancestors?

Xiao Bai walked up to the phantom of the Ink-eyed Pixiu, looking up at the ethereal male figure with a handsome, carefree expression. His eyes shimmered with faint golden light.

"It seems that aside from Rahu and the Roc of Wandering Heaven, the other eight kings have all fallen..." Bai Ze stood up and said slowly, his tone revealing neither joy nor sorrow, only a faint trace of reminiscence.

With that, he waved his hand, and the blood-colored phantoms flowed like smoke into the brazier in the hall.

The flames in the brazier then condensed into a blood-flame sphere the size of a fist.

"Let's go..."

Bai Ze called softly, took the blood-flame sphere into his hand, and led the crowd to the square outside the hall.

"Your Majesty..." The crowd shouted loudly as they saw them emerge.

"The revival of the Wildlands begins today!" Bai Ze went straight to the blood gate in the square and declared loudly.

As his words fell, he raised his hand and flicked, and the blood-flame sphere rose and landed on the blood gate.

With a soft "bang,"

The blood-flame sphere shattered, turning into a sea of blood-red fire that engulfed the entire blood gate.

Under the intense burning of the flames, all the true spirit phantoms danced unsteadily, and a blood-colored vortex emerged from within. The Asura Blood Gate was thus officially opened.