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

"You young man, you are so intelligent that it makes one envious."

Fan Qiming's tone was full of praise for Chen Ping'an.

The fact that one person could build a shelter in the ruins is already amazing enough.

But the survival wisdom shown by this young man made Fan Qiming think more highly of him.

Fan Qiming believed he had some ability to judge people, but he repeatedly misjudged Chen Ping'an and suffered setbacks.

Am I really getting old and my eyesight is failing?

How old is Chen Ping'an again?

eighteen?

He seems to be only two years older than Ali?

......

There were no wooden chairs or benches in the shelter, only piles of stones.

Fan Qiming didn't mind and sat down on a rock, ready to start his homework for the day.

The shelter was quiet; Ali and Zhao Gou'er had gone fishing again.

But before starting, Chen Ping'an thought about it and decided to ask a question.

He had discussed this issue with Ali, but Fan Qiming had survived in the ruins for many years and should have a deeper understanding of them.

For example, the combination of the Mirage Demon and the Bone General last night.

Was it a coincidence, or was it intentional?

Chen Ping'an suppressed the slight disdain for the ruins that had previously surfaced in his mind and asked.

"Brother Fan, I'd like to know, just how dangerous are these ruins?"

"I want to know, just how powerful are the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge?"

"..."

Once the conversation starts, the questions keep piling up.

Fan Qiming listened for a while, then smiled and said, "Alright, let's talk about it, starting with the strange things in the ruins."

"The more you know about this world as the lord of the sanctuary, the safer the sanctuary will be."

"The things in this ruin of White Bone Town can be divided into several categories, from weakest to strongest."

"The first type is devoid of intelligence and driven solely by instinct."

"Bone demons and bone generals are all the same. These are skeletons eroded and gathered by death energy. They have no consciousness of their own. They are driven by instinct when they are near blood and living people. Once they are scattered, they are scattered. There is no planning or cooperation."

Chen Ping'an nodded; he had seen these two things far too often.

But in an instant, the scene of "Three Battles with the White Bone Demon" flashed into his mind.

This White Bone Demon should also be a type of bone demon?

Fan Qiming, unaware of what Chen Ping'an was thinking, continued speaking.

"The second type has intelligence, but it is weak."

"Mirages and death toads are creatures with their own desires and know how to seek advantage and avoid harm."

"The mirage demons know to create mist to cover the bone demons, and the death toads know to find weak spots to spray corrosive liquid—they are not much better than the first type, nor are they particularly intelligent; they just have some basic survival skills."

"But they're very difficult to deal with."

Fan Qiming looked at Chen Ping'an and said, "You should have encountered that thing before. Once it gets vicious, even I might not be able to handle it."

"As for the third category..."

Fan Qiming paused for a moment, then clenched the demon crystal he was playing with in his palm.

"It has intelligence, can scheme, can hold grudges, and can target you."

He put the demon crystal back into his sleeve. "I've seen this kind of thing twice in the last four years."

"The first time was a demonized wolf that chased me relentlessly for two days; I finally managed to shake it off by using the terrain. That thing even knew how to outmaneuver and surround me, and knew to wait until I was exhausted before making its move—it wasn't an ordinary wild beast, it was a true schemer."

"And the second time?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Fan Qiming did not answer immediately, but went over the question in his mind.

"It was a human-shaped black cloud that was in the warehouse north of the ruins; when I approached it, it retreated, but as it retreated... it looked back at me."

"I still remember that glance very clearly."

Fan Qiming considered his words for a moment, "It's not the look of a demon, it's the look of a human."

The shelter was quiet for a while.

"As for the demon soldiers of Lion Camel Ridge, their leaders possess magic and supernatural powers, making them far more terrifying than these things."

"I remember you killed some wolf soldiers before?"

Chen Pingan smiled and said, "That's true, it was just luck."

"I don't know the situation at the time," Fan Qiming pondered. "The demon soldiers in Lion Camel Ridge are at least at the Foundation Establishment level. Given your and Ali's level at the time, it would have been as easy for those demon soldiers to kill you as snapping their fingers."

Chen Ping'an was completely stunned.

Is it really that ridiculously strong?

The strongest fighters in the two shelters were actually the weakest in Lion Camel Ridge?

This suddenly reminded him of some novels from his past life.

A mortal with extraordinary talent, after thousands of years of arduous cultivation, finally ascended to the celestial realm, joined the ranks of immortals, and then became one of the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals who besieged that monkey.

......

"Yes, that's not an exaggeration at all."

Fan Qiming looked at Chen Ping'an with a solemn expression, "That's a den of demons, a real den of demons."

Before you established your foundation, in their eyes you were no different from an ant on the ground.

"And what happens after Foundation Establishment?" Chen Ping'an couldn't help but ask.

"In the eyes of the three demon kings, it should be considered a relatively large ant, but it's still just an ant."

"It's just a breath."

"I've heard that the green-maned lion of Lion Camel Ridge once swallowed 100,000 heavenly soldiers in one gulp?"

These were all descriptions from Journey to the West, which gradually came to life before Chen Ping'an's eyes.

"I've heard from the older generation that it's similar to the monkey that was trapped under the Five Elements Mountain."

Chen Ping'an's heart stirred.

"How many years has that monkey been trapped there?"

Chen Ping'an's tone was somewhat agitated.

"I can't remember exactly, but it's been almost five hundred years."

Fan Qiming looked at Chen Ping'an in surprise, "Why are you so concerned about that monkey?"

"No, no, I was just curious."

Chen Pingan chuckled.

"Speaking of which, that monkey is indeed quite strong. It is said that he even smashed the Lingxiao Palace, but in the end he was only suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain. It seems that neither the Jade Emperor nor Buddha can do anything about this guy."

His words were full of envy and admiration.

"What level are that monkey and the three demons at now?"

"The Azure Lion and the White Elephant should be Demon Saints; as for the Roc, he should be stronger than the two of them, but he is also a Demon Saint."

"Referring to the cultivation methods of the human race, there should be six more realms above the Foundation Establishment stage."

"So, now you know how weak you are, right?"

Fan Qiming couldn't help but give Chen Ping'an a nudge, hoping that it would be a good thing for the young man to realize the cruelty of the world sooner.

Chen Pingan pondered for a moment, then shook his head helplessly.

Looking at Chen Ping'an's expression, Fan Qiming teased, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm a bit frustrated, so I need to hurry."

Fan Qiming paused for a moment, then nodded. "We need to hurry."

"and."

He glanced around Chen Ping'an's shelter.

"People can't stay in a shelter forever."

You must become your own sanctuary.

-------

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the shelter.

Liu Cheng.

They ran there, stopped at the edge of the barrier, bent over to catch their breath, and then looked up.

His expression was off.

"Come in and speak."

Chen Ping'an didn't stand on ceremony and simply stepped aside.

Liu Cheng stepped into the barrier, walked straight to Fan Qiming's side, and lowered his voice.

"Boss, something's happened at the shelter."

Fan Qiming's eyes narrowed immediately. "What is it?"

"Little Stone," Liu Cheng said, "is gone."

"Small stones?"

Chen Ping'an had never seen this name before.

"A thirteen-year-old child," Fan Qiming said, "an orphan whose parents died two years ago and who has been living in a local temple ever since."

"How did it disappear?"

Liu Cheng took a breath and explained, "He was asleep last night, but I couldn't find him this morning."

"I searched the entire shelter but couldn't find it; the edge of the barrier was intact, there was no blood or signs of a struggle outside... it was as if it had walked out on its own."

"Was there anything unusual before you left?" Chen Pingan asked.

Liu Cheng frowned and thought for a moment: "A couple of days ago, he said he had a dream about his father and mother, and that his father told him to go to a place."

"How did his parents die?"

Liu Cheng and Fan Qiming exchanged a glance.

Liu Cheng spoke, his voice heavy: "Two years ago, in the ruins north of White Bone Town, I was eaten by a tiger."

The shelter fell silent.

Chen Ping'an pieced these events together in his mind—his parents were eaten by a tiger two years ago, and appeared in his dreams two years later.

Lure your child to a certain place, and the child disappears without a trace, without bloodshed, and without any fighting.

They weren't kidnapped.

He went out on his own.

"Has that tiger appeared near the local temple in the past two years?"

Fan Qiming looked up. "No, there's an incense barrier in place, so ordinary wild animals won't come near."

"If those who are eaten by tigers don't disperse..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the words were left unsaid, and Fan Qiming and Liu Chengdu understood.

Fan Qiming considered the thought for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Changgui" (伥鬼).