Journey to the West: Building a Celestial Empire Starting from Lion Camel Ridge

The plan was developed very quickly.

First, sufficient food and water.

Health is the foundation of everything, and only when you are well-fed and hydrated can you have the strength to do anything.

"The worst thing about the rainy season is the wear and tear."

Chen Ping'an spoke slowly, and Ali expressed her deep agreement.

The danger of going out hunting is extremely high, and the density of attacks is also high. Many people starve to death due to food shortages before they even have a chance to fight the monster head-on with bayonets.

Food will eventually run out, and water will eventually run out.

But the attacks from the monsters are endless.

Second, sufficient arrows and arrow towers.

The arrow tower is a newly spawned building. As long as there are enough demon crystals, it can fire autonomously.

When the rainy season arrives, bone demons will gather from all directions, unlike now when they only attack head-on based on their scent.

Furthermore, with so many bone demons, it would be exhausting for Ali to handle them all by herself.

"The retrieval of the arrows is also a problem."

Ah Li astutely pointed out that in the past, when the bone demons attacked the barrier wave after wave, the two of them had a brief respite to go out and retrieve the demon crystals or collect the arrows.

But when the rainy season arrives and the deathly energy surges, this behavior is no different from suicide.

Chen Ping'an nodded, "Then we'll prioritize building arrow towers, but we still need to stockpile arrows."

The arrow towers you build don't consume arrows, which is a natural advantage; but having enough arrows in reserve always gives you more confidence.

Chen Ping'an glanced around the shelter.

A tower was built at each of the four corners, making four towers in total.

Third, defense upgrades.

The barrier's durability has been reduced by nearly half, all thanks to the Death Toad's relentless attacks.

If such a rainstorm were to hit during the rainy season, both of them would definitely be gone without a trace.

Chen Pingan flipped through the building list and was pleasantly surprised to find a building he hadn't paid much attention to before.

"Stone walls can increase the durability of barriers."

"A one-meter-high level 1 stone wall consumes one demon crystal and can increase the barrier's durability by 10%."

"The higher the level, the more you gain."

Ali also showed a happy expression, and carefully counted on her fingers, "The current area is four zhang in diameter, so the circumference is more than forty meters."

"Moreover," Chen Pingan added, "if there were stone walls, they could also offer some protection against the Death Toad's ranged attacks."

As they spoke, the two looked at the ground not far away, which was corroded beyond recognition, and they were still shaken by the battle they had fought the night before.

"By the way, Ali."

Chen Pingan pointed to the third empty slot on the weapon rack and asked, "What kind of weapon do you think we need?"

......

"Solve the food problem before the rainy season."

Chen Ping'an glanced at the rough map drawn on the ground with a twig and pointed to the area to the north.

"Over in Beishan, we can still harvest before the rainy season. During this time, we should harvest as much as we can, dry it, and store it."

"We need to check out the salt shop on the north side of town."

Ali pondered the route carefully: "Avoiding the ancient well in the center of town shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay, let's go take a look today."

Chen Pingan did the math; there were still more than ten days left, enough time.

But the salt issue needs to be resolved today.

Chen Ping'an glanced at the wild boar meat not far away and sighed.

The shelter's barrier can protect against the Corruption Demon, but it can't prevent corruption!

---

Southwest corner of White Bone Town.

Earth God Temple.

Geographically speaking, this place is somewhat safer than Chen Ping'an and his group's sanctuary.

Because we are further away from the Blood Swamp, we were not attacked by the Death Toad last night.

The incense smell at the local temple was a little weak.

It's not that no one is burning incense, but that there isn't enough incense material.

Only half of it could be burned, barely enough to maintain the barrier.

Fortunately, the ghosts don't appear much during the day, so safety can be guaranteed.

Fan Qiming sat cross-legged in front of the altar in the main hall, his face expressionless, but his right hand unconsciously clenched his left arm.

On his left arm, where the cuff covered, black lines slowly crept upwards.

The deathly aura wasn't eroding quickly, but you could sense the countdown to death.

Over the years, Fan Qiming has gotten used to this feeling.

Sometimes at night, when he couldn't sleep because of the pain, he would sit here, staring at the half-face of the clay sculpture of the Earth God, and ask himself, how much longer can I hold on?

The clay sculpture did not respond.

But the incense-burning barrier remained, and Fan Qiming took that as an answer.

He rolled up his sleeves again, completely concealing the black patterns, and slowly stood up.

My legs were a little numb, so I stomped my feet on the ground a couple of times and walked toward the back hall.

Liu Cheng was practicing his martial arts in the back hall, and several children followed suit, practicing their breathing exercises.

Fan Qiming felt a little relieved, but for some reason, the look in Ali's eyes when she left reappeared in his mind.

"Still no news from over there?"

Liu Cheng didn't even look up. "No."

Fan Qiming stood by the door, looking into the distance.

"If you count the days, he said he would come before the rainy season, but the rainy season hasn't arrived yet, so it's understandable that he didn't come."

Liu Cheng explained.

"Well..." Liu Cheng glanced at Fan Qiming, "we can't keep waiting. Once the rainy season comes, it will be difficult for the bone demons outside to travel. If we go now, we can still make it in time."

Fan Qiming knew what Liu Cheng was talking about, and before the rainy season, he went to bring the person over.

Do you think they would face survival pressures?

Liu Cheng thought for a moment, then shook his head. "It's hard to say. From what I've seen... their side is much more stable than I thought."

"That means they're not in a hurry."

"right."

Fan Qiming stood by the door for a while, looking at the clay sculpture of half a face in the main hall, and then at the several huddled figures in the inner room—two old men, a woman, and a hunter whose leg had not fully healed.

He knew everyone here; they all had names and faces.

"Prepare some things," Fan Qiming said. "I'll go there myself tomorrow."

Liu Cheng was taken aback. "You personally..."

"Hmm." Fan Qiming walked away from the door and returned to the main hall. "Whether or not a deal can be reached depends on my intervention."

Even if it doesn't work out, if Chen Ping'an really has a way to expel the death energy, we can still make a deal.

He knew very well that in the sanctuary of the Earth God Temple, he was the pillar of support for everyone.

It can't fall!

What does the prestige of being at the ninth level of Qi Refining matter compared to that method of expelling death energy?

In this damned world, living is the only thing that matters.

Fan Qiming stood in front of the altar for a moment, then moved the half-burnt incense sticks forward to prevent the ash from covering the incense heads too quickly.

The clay sculpture still had the same expression, half of its face was in shadow, while the other half was illuminated by the faint light of incense, looking both compassionate and indifferent.

Then he slowly closed his single eye and took a deep breath.

------

"As for the third weapon, I suggest..."

Boom!

Before Ali could finish speaking, the two heard a loud bang coming from beneath their feet.

Chen Ping'an quickly stood up, his spear already in hand.

It wasn't an enemy attack!

Instead...

Chen Ping'an stared at the ground that had been soaked in the putrid liquid of the Death Toad all night, still unsure how to deal with it.

But by this time, the black soil layer had become soft and the entire area was much darker than the surrounding area, with black marks still visible at the edges.

Just as he was staring at it, the soil trembled slightly, and then silently sank in.

A hole appeared on the ground.