In the distant void, a long and deep chant suddenly echoed, followed by desolate sounds that seemed to drift from far away, yet also seemed near, making it hard to discern their source.

As Han Li listened intently, he realized that the sounds consisted only of intonations, lacking specific words, making their meaning incomprehensible. Yet, upon hearing them, he felt filled with strength.

"Could this be the ancient war song of the Barbarian tribes?"

While Han Li was in astonishment, he noticed that the surrounding sounds grew louder and louder.

He turned to look at Bai Xiao beside him, and found that the latter was also emitting a low hum from his throat.

"I don't know what's happening, but upon hearing that desolate melody, I couldn't help but start humming along…" Seeing him look his way, Bai Xiao conveyed this to Han Li through mental communication.

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

As he took his first step onto the stone steps of the mountain path, he immediately felt an indescribable force envelop him from all directions, causing his pace to become somewhat heavy.

However, this heaviness did not feel like external pressure. It was as if the entire Barren Mountain had transformed into a giant magnet, emitting waves of attraction that firmly adhered all climbers to its surface.

However, this level of power was not too strong for Han Li, and he could walk without much difficulty.

The Sky Fox and Mountain Ape clans also seemed to be walking without difficulty, their climbing speed was not slow, and they soon reached more than a hundred steps.

Han Li and Bai Xiao's speed was basically the same as that of the Sky Fox clan. When he looked back at the square below the mountain, he saw that there were still thousands of people standing in place, not climbing.

"Le'er, why are those people staying at the foot of the mountain?" Han Li asked Liu Le'er through mental communication.

"They are not within the quota of the top 100 tribes. Because they are affiliated tribes of the Sixteen Great Barren Clans, they are qualified to stay at the foot of the mountain. More tribes can only stay in Zhenhuang City and cannot even approach the Sacred Mountain." Liu Le'er quickly replied.

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

"Indeed, the top 100 tribes that can ascend the mountain all have some remnant of the bloodline of the ancient Eight Kings, so they are allowed to climb the mountain. That's why the king's special permission for you to accompany Bai Xiao up the mountain surprised even the clan leader," Liu Le'er replied.

Hearing this, Han Li raised his eyebrows slightly but said nothing more.

After climbing hundreds of stone steps, ancient runes began to appear on the stone platform on the ground. Every time the climbers stepped on the ground, they felt as if they were sinking into mud, making it easy to step down but difficult to lift their feet. As a result, many people's postures became strange.

Except for the Sky Fox and Mountain Ape clans, who could still maintain their original speed, the climbing speed of the other following tribes began to slow down, and the line on the stone steps began to stretch longer and longer.

Han Li, as a human, was not inferior to the Sky Fox and Mountain Ape clans in terms of climbing speed. Instead, he walked quite easily and leisurely, which surprised the other two clans.

One by one, they mustered up their strength and accelerated their climbing speed, fearing to fall behind Han Li and be looked down upon.

Han Li naturally had no desire to compete. He simply accompanied Bai Xiao, climbing at a leisurely pace.

At this moment, the little white ape, who had been among the Mountain Ape clan, suddenly took two steps and stopped, approaching Han Li and Bai Xiao.

Its gaze kept shifting back and forth between Han Li and Bai Xiao, showing both curiosity and vigilance.

Perhaps because he himself possessed the bloodline of the Mountain Giant Ape, Han Li found the little white ape trying to approach him quite pleasing to the eye. Therefore, he simply smiled at its cautious probing.

The Mountain Ape clan seemed to tacitly approve of the little white ape's actions and did not stop it.

Most of the little white ape's vigilance was directed toward Han Li, so after it circled around, it came to the other side and took the initiative to approach the Pixiu Bai Xiao.

"Why are you crowding over here instead of following your own clan?" Bai Xiao asked rudely when he saw this.

"I heard that you have the bloodline of the Dark-Eyed Pixiu?" the little white ape asked, not caring.

"So what?" Bai Xiao continued to climb, not even turning his head.

"Our ancestor was Lord Yuan Hong, one of the Eight True Spirit Kings, and he was a close friend with Lord Mo Yu, the Dark-Eyed Pixiu who was also a True Spirit King…" the little white ape said.

"They were close friends… so what?" Bai Xiao asked, initially puzzled.

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

Hearing this, Bai Xiao suddenly fell silent.

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

"Yuan Shanbai," the little white ape replied.

"Your name is Yuan Shanbai, and my name is Bai Xiao… there's really some kind of fate here." Bai Xiao pondered for a moment and smiled.

"Your name is Bai Xiao, Mo Bai Xiao?" the little white ape raised his eyebrows and asked.

Hearing this, Bai Xiao hesitated for a moment before nodding somewhat absentmindedly. Since he had not recovered his memory, he did not even know his real name and could only vaguely agree.

Han Li had been paying attention to the exchange between the two little fellows, and seeing this scene, his heart was also slightly touched.

Bai Xiao and Yuan Shanbai started chatting and soon lost their previous depressed mood. Bai Xiao's original street smarts came back, calling himself "This Young Master" and "This Great Master" every other sentence, leaving Yuan Shanbai, who had hardly ever left his clan and was obviously not yet an adult, dumbfounded.

When he heard that Bai Xiao also had an even more powerful boss, Yuan Shanbai's eyes almost sparkled with envy and yearning.

"Hehe, don't worry! When there's a chance, I'll introduce you to my boss. She's not very good-tempered, but she's loyal. Prepare a gift for her, and after she recognizes you as her little brother, we'll protect you together," Bai Xiao winked, patted the other's shoulder, and said.

Han Li couldn't help but touch his nose, feeling a little dumbfounded, as he listened to Bai Xiao recruiting another little brother for Jin Tong.

Listening to the two of them talking back and forth, the journey was also a bit of fun, but Han Li's mind never relaxed as he carefully checked the changes around him.

As he climbed higher and higher, he discovered that the higher he went, the stronger the attractive force on the stone steps became. Many tribes had already fallen behind the two major tribes, the Sky Fox and the Mountain Ape.

Moreover, in addition to the attractive force coming from the ground, powerful oppressive forces began to appear in the surrounding void. The Sky Fox and Mountain Ape clans also began to find it increasingly difficult to walk through it.

When they reached the halfway point of the mountain, the oppressive force between heaven and earth had already exceeded that at the foot of the mountain by a hundred times. Han Li began to feel a little short of breath and unable to withstand the heavy pressure.

He slowed his pace and silently activated the Heavenly Fiend Suppressing Prison Art in his body, and only then did he feel the force slightly loosen, and he continued to climb upward.

All the tribes except for the two major tribes had been left behind. Even the tribes that had followed up had now given up climbing and were diverted along the horizontal plank roads on the mountainside to the platforms on both sides of the mountainside.

When Han Li scanned them, he saw that the platforms on both sides were dotted with round stone platforms like futons. The people of all races who came to the platforms consciously chose a futon and sat down.

As for the Sky Fox and Mountain Ape clans, they had no intention of stopping and continued to climb upward.

Logically speaking, the physique of the Mountain Ape clan should be superior to that of the Sky Fox clan, but strangely, the overall climbing speed of the Mountain Ape clan was not as good as that of the Sky Fox clan, and they were gradually falling behind.

On the contrary, Yuan Shanbai, who had been chatting with Bai Xiao all the way, had been walking in the front.

Seeing his clansmen falling behind, Yuan Shanbai said goodbye to Bai Xiao and returned to the side of the ape clan elder who looked very old, accompanying him to climb the mountain together.

The Sky Fox clan and the Mountain Ape clan were mostly silent along the way, but they would occasionally look toward Han Li. They were all puzzled as to why this mere human could walk so easily on this mountain path.

In fact, only Han Li himself knew that the force currently pressing on him was almost equivalent to a majestic mountain, so every step he took left a shallow mark on the stone steps beneath his feet.

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

Seeing this, Han Li also slowed down and accompanied him to climb the mountain slowly.

The Sky Fox clan gradually surpassed them and walked to the front, and they felt a little more balanced in their hearts.

Han Li glanced up at Liu Le'er and saw that she was standing in front, turning back to look at him. There were sparkling beads of sweat on her cheeks, her pretty face was flushed, and her eyes were full of inquiring looks.

"You go up with Senior Liu Qing first, we'll be there later," Han Li said to her through mental communication.

Liu Le'er hesitated for a moment before continuing to climb upward at Liu Qing's urging.

"How is it? Do you want me to help you?" Han Li knew that the power of the Dark-Eyed Pixiu that truly belonged to Bai Xiao had not yet awakened. With his current strength, being able to get here was indeed close to his limit.

"No, Bai Xiao said that climbing this mountain path is a test of the bloodline of the Eight Kings. The thicker the bloodline, the more able they are to climb upwards. I can't lose face for the bloodline I carry." Bai Xiao shook his head and said with gritted teeth.

After saying that, he raised his head, his eyes filled with radiance, looked toward the top of the mountain, and continued to climb.

Looking at Bai Xiao's eyes, Han Li vaguely seemed to see a faint golden halo, but it disappeared in a flash. Then he smiled and continued toward the top of the mountain.