Chapter 1175: Reaching the Summit

Before long, it was already noon.

The harsh sunlight was made much softer by the dark red light barrier that the mountain was encompassed within, but many of the primordial beings were beginning to feel a sense of despair at the sight of the distant mountain summit.

There were only a hundred dark red stone steps left between them and the summit, but those hundred stone steps were like an insurmountable barrier to virtually everyone left.

Right at this moment, an agonized cry rang out from the mountain path.

After a long rest, a male Heavenly Fox being had finally mustered up the courage to step onto the first of the hundred dark red stone steps, but in the instant that he set foot onto the stone step, a burst of tremendous power instantly came crashing down upon him from all directions.

As a result, he was crushed to the ground, and a string of loud cracks rang out within his body, indicating multiple broken bones.

Liu Qing's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he strode over to the Heavenly Fox being before tugging him back down a step.

"This is where the real test begins. For those of you who possess weak bloodlines, do not proceed any further beyond this point," Liu Qing warned, and everyone's expressions darkened slightly upon hearing this.

Everyone knew that a massive opportunity had to have been waiting for them on the mountain summit, but the summit was so tantalizingly close, yet simultaneously impossibly far away.

Finally, Han Li also arrived at the foot of the dark red staircase with Xiao Bai.

At this point, he was barely able to breathe, and he was forced to channel the true spirit bloodlines in his body to help alleviate the immense pressure weighing down upon him.

As for Xiao Bai, his fur was completely drenched in sweat, and he was laying at Han Li's feet like a dead dog.

Before long, the Mountain Moving Ape beings had also caught up, but there were only four or five of them left, including Yuan Shanbai and the elderly chief.

All of them stopped near Han Li and Xiao Bai, and Yuan Shanbai took a glance at the latter before giving him a thumbs-up as a sign of respect.

Xiao Bai immediately struggled to his paws again with renewed vigor.

Liu Qing turned back to look at all of the people who had made it to this point, and as his gaze swept over Han Li, the befuddlement in his eyes only grew more pronounced.

Han Li had already grown accustomed to this.

He had even noticed that the elderly chief of the Mountain Moving Ape Tribe was also secretly watching him through his long eyebrows.

Not only were they perplexed, Han Li was also wondering how he had managed to make it to this point. Could it have something to do with the Giant Mountain Ape bloodline in his body? After all, the Giant Mountain Ape was also one of the eight ancient True Spirit Kings.

Right at this moment, the Heavenly Fox Tribe continued its ascent, but only seven of them, including Liu Qing and Liu Le'er, continued onward, while the rest sat down with their legs crossed on the stone steps.

As these seven Heavenly Fox beings stepped onto the first dark red step, all of them began to glow with radiant, white light, with the exception of Liu Qing, and a series of thick, white fox tails extended out of their bodies.

Han Li noticed that most of them possessed seven or eight tails each, while Liu Le'er was the only one who possessed only six tails, but the white light radiating from her body was the brightest of all.

On top of that, Han Li could sense the purest and most potent primordial aura from Liu Le'er, excelling in this regard even beyond Chief Liu Qing.

This was quite reassuring to Han Li, and turned to Xiao Bai as he said, "Let's go up as well."

Xiao Bai nodded arduously in response, and the two of them continued their ascent.

Even though Han Li was already mentally prepared, as soon as he set foot onto the first dark red stone step, he still couldn't help but stumble forward under the immense pressure that abruptly came crashing down upon him.

He was forced to press his hands against the stone step to support himself, and he was unable to stand up from his hunched over posture.

Xiao Bai wasn't faring much better. His legs were trembling incessantly as he struggled against the tremendous pressure, and a strangled sound was coming out of his mouth.

Han Li turned his gaze to Xiao Bai, then let loose a low roar as he channeled his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts and true spirit bloodlines with all his might, instantly transforming into a devilish deity with three heads and six arms.

In this form, he resembled a giant spider that loomed over Xiao Bai, shielding him from some of the pressure in the air.

With Han Li standing over him like a protective umbrella, Xiao Bai was able to just barely steady himself, and he began climbing up the steps.

After climbing around a dozen steps, Xiao Bai felt like he had grown somewhat accustomed to the pressure, and he expressed a desire to continue the climb through his own power.

Han Li hesitated momentarily, but ultimately decided to respect Xiao Bai's wishes and moved away to the side.

As a result, the pressure in the air came crashing down upon Xiao Bai once again in full force, almost crushing him to his haunches.

However, after an almighty struggle, he was able to remain upright and began trudging arduously up the steps.

As they progressed up the stone staircase, the pressure was only becoming more and more immense, and even Han Li felt as if he were nearing his limits, let alone Xiao Bai.

With only ten steps left, blood was beginning to flow out of Xiao Bai's nose and mouth, staining the already red stone steps an even more vibrant shade of red, which Han Li looked on with his brows tightly furrowed with concern.

Right at this moment, a Heavenly Fox being who was only one step away from reaching the mountain summit suddenly fell unconscious, and he toppled backward before hurtling down toward Xiao Bai.

His body wasn't particularly imposing, but compounded by the terrifying spatial pressure, it was akin to a mountain tumbling down in freefall.

At the moment, Xiao Bai was so close to reaching his limit that his ears were ringing incessantly, and his vision had become completely blurred, rendering him completely unable to take any evasive measures. In his current state, even a feather would've been enough to crush him, let alone a tumbling body.

In this dire situation, he saw a black shadow flash past his eyes to intercept the falling Heavenly Fox being, following which both of them were sent tumbling down the mountain.

At the same time, Han Li's voice rang out beside him.

"You're almost there, don't give up!"

Xiao Bai shuddered as some clarity returned to his vision, but Han Li was already nowhere to be seen.

He turned back to discover Han Li tumbling down the mountain with the unconscious Heavenly Fox being.

Moved by Han Li's sacrifice, a sense of renewed strength and determination welled up in his heart as he gritted his teeth and let loose a feral snarl.

At the same time, a ring of golden light appeared around each of his pupils, and all of a sudden, it was as if his body had been granted a burst of unprecedented power.

With this newfound power, he was able to quickly climb his way to the mountain summit, but before he even had a chance to celebrate, his vision faded to darkness as he fell to the ground in an unconscious state.

Liu Le'er had already reached the mountain summit, and she hurriedly rushed over to Xiao Bai to examine his condition.

A handsome, white-robed man approached the scene and said in a reassuring voice, "He's fine. He fell unconscious because he forcibly tapped into the bloodline power that's been sealed away in his body, but he should regain consciousness soon."

"Your Majesty!" Liu Le'er exclaimed as she looked up to discover that it was True Spirit King Bai Ze.

"You can go rest, I'll look after him," Bai Ze said, and Liu Le'er did as she was told.

Bai Ze gently picked Xiao Bai up from the ground, then fed him a red pill as he cast his gaze down the mountain with a pleased expression.

It looks like you chose a splendid master...

At this point, Han Li had already disentangled himself from the unconscious Heavenly Fox being, and he was frantically grabbing at the surrounding stone steps with his six arms to try and steady himself, but he continued to tumble downward in an involuntary manner.

Under the immense spatial pressure, each tumble that he took jolted his body to the core. If he were to fall all the way to the foot of the mountain in this manner, perhaps his external injuries wouldn't be very severe, but his internal organs were sure to sustain some damage.

Right at this moment, a giant hand suddenly reached out from down below to catch him, withstanding the momentum of his tumbling body to stop him cold in his tracks.

Han Li threw up a mouthful of blood upon impact, then turned to discover that he had been intercepted by the chief of the Mountain Moving Ape Tribe.

"Thank you, Senior," Han Li hurriedly said with a grateful salute, and the elderly man gave him a smile before continuing to ascend the mountain with Yuan Shanbai.

Meanwhile, Han Li sat down with his legs crossed, then took a pill before closing his eyes to rest. A short while later, he felt like he had recovered some strength, and he rose to his feet again as he cast his gaze toward the mountain summit.

In the wake of the injuries that he had sustained, scaling the mountain had become even more difficult than before, but he was determined to persevere.