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

Yuan Shoucheng paused for a moment when he heard the question.

It wasn't the question itself, but the tone of Chen Ping'an's voice when he asked it.

—This tone is clearly different from the previous ones, which inquired about the situation and asked about life and death.

It's not about analysis, it's about caring.

Yuan Shoucheng looked up at Chen Ping'an, stroked his beard, and slowly shook his head.

"Ali is a native of White Bone Town, and his family has been hunters for generations."

"Her parents died in the massacre of the city by demon soldiers, and she lived alone in the ruins for four years."

Yuan Shoucheng paused for a moment: "The expulsion of Ali by the Earth God Temple was indeed authorized by the Heavenly Court, but Ali herself was not the Heavenly Court's eyes and ears."

"This child doesn't belong to anyone; she's her own person."

Chen Pingan pondered those words and remained silent for a while.

The smoke from the incense burner was still rising slowly, filling the room with fragrance.

"It's getting late."

Yuan Shoucheng stood up, closed the divination book on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Some things require you to act according to circumstances. I can predict the general direction, but I can't predict every step of the way. You need to think things through carefully."

"Also, take good care of that fish; it's more useful than you think."

"Stop thinking about stewing it for this old man."

Chen Ping'an stood up and cupped his hands in greeting.

The next moment, the scene inside began to blur.

The aroma faded, and the wisps of smoke dissipated.

The calligraphy and paintings covering the wall lingered in my sight for a second before disappearing completely.

The sound of the underground river became clear again.

Chen Ping'an opened his eyes. The jade basin was right at his feet, and golden carp were swimming in the water, their tail fins swaying gently, leisurely and content.

Seeing Chen Ping'an open his eyes, it flicked its tail and blew a bubble.

......

Many of my doubts have been resolved.

Chen Pingan felt a sense of relief.

He carried the jade basin and walked lightly out of the cellar.

Zhao Gou'er had prepared a meal, and its aroma filled the shelter.

Ali ate the fish in small bites, but her eyes immediately fell on Chen Ping'an, filled with worry and inquiry.

Chen Pingan smiled in response and shook his head.

He strode over to the stone stove and picked up the fish soup that had been prepared for him that night.

I took a big gulp.

So fresh!

"The stove isn't working very well."

Zhao Gou'er, standing to the side, said in a muffled voice, "It would be great if we had a real stove."

"A good pot and stove can truly bring out the freshness of food, and with some seasonings, the fish soup will be even more delicious."

As the head chef of the shelter, Zhao Gou'er has the most authority to speak on cooking, but he soon realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Surviving in the deathly atmosphere of Lion Camel Ridge is already extremely difficult, so how can one be picky?

The Earth God Temple does have a few stoves, but those were gradually built up over the past four years by the people of the Earth God Temple searching for materials in the ruins. In a sense, they were strategic resources of the Earth God Temple.

"The pot stove is..."

Chen Ping'an pondered for a moment, then opened the system panel and pulled up the building list without saying anything more.

[Currently Available Buildings]

[Level 1 Arrow Tower, 20 Demon Crystals]

[Level 1 Stone Wall, 1/1 meter of Demon Crystal]

[Level 1 Planting Rack, 15 Demon Crystals]

[Level 1 Weapon Rack, 15 Demon Crystals]

[Level 1 Earthen Stove, 10 Demon Crystals]

......

Chen Ping'an's gaze was fixed on the first-level earthen stove.

Now I have 576 demon crystals in my possession. In the past few days, I have been automatically hunting bone demons and hungry ghosts, and my daily income has increased from 200 to nearly 300.

The barrier can finally be upgraded without worry, no longer needing to fear being shattered into pieces by the three demons.

Then let's be extravagant.

Start with a simple earthen stove and take good care of your stomach first.

confirm!

The ground began to arch gently, as if something was about to grow out of the soil.

Zhao Gou'er was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously took half a step back, widened his eyes, and stared at that spot.

A moment later, a clay stove stood there steadily.

The brick surface is neat, the fire opening is wide, and the stove body is thick.

It looks much more solid than those hastily piled-up ruins.

"What do you think of this stove?"

Chen Ping'an gestured for Zhao Gou'er to test it. It wasn't that he doubted the system's construction quality, but rather that its final quality would depend on whether the chefs using it were satisfied.

Zhao Gou'er nodded and stepped forward to examine him cautiously.

He walked around the stove, reached out and touched the stove wall, looked down at the angle of the fire opening, and nodded.

"This stove is very well made, sturdy, and the burner openings are positioned well."

He paused, then looked up at Chen Ping'an: "There's only one stove opening. It would be great if there were one more—one for stir-frying and one for stewing. That would be perfect."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Chen Ping'an with expectant eyes.

For a chef, having perfect kitchen utensils is always a dream.

"That's easy to say."

Chen Pingan opened the panel again.

[Level Two Earthen Stove]

【Consumes 20 Demon Crystals】

【Function: Cooking】

【Features: Flame control (precisely controls the flame according to the user's desired temperature)】

[Note: A level one earthen stove must have already been built]

Without any hesitation, confirm!

In less than three breaths.

A new stove had appeared in front of the three of them, perfectly integrated with the original one, with no gaps at the joint.

"This stove is even better than the one made by the best craftsman in White Bone Town."

Zhao Gou'er couldn't wait to step forward and stroke the rough surface of the stove, his admiration for Chen Ping'an's miraculous skills growing even stronger.

He had seen the earth god temple being built by the crowd of people, and the scene was quite lively.

Some laid out blue bricks, while others applied yellow mud.

After it's set up, it needs to be dried for a while before it can be used.

Unfortunately, none of them were qualified bricklayers, and even now, when those few stoves are lit, sparks still spurt out from the gaps.

To the layman, it's simply a matter of controlling the temperature; to the expert, it means that the cooking time is difficult to control, and the taste of the food cannot be just right.

Several people wasted a whole day on the land temple, and the final result was still crooked and messy.

But Brother Ping An's casual actions far surpassed those of others.

So, Brother Ping An is really amazing!

Zhao Gou'er, like Ali, had gradually gotten used to Chen Ping'an's amazing operations and no longer cared about where the materials came from.

"Now, all we need are two pots."

Zhao Gou'er's eyes were shining; he was already rubbing his hands together, eager to try.

"No, we don't have that."

Chen Ping'an flipped through the entire building list and could only shrug helplessly.

"There are several large pots over at the local temple that are not being used. We can take them and use them."

Zhao Gou'er suddenly said.

"Brother Fan and the others don't need it?"

Zhao Gou'er nodded, looking very excited: "There are six or seven pots in total at the Earth God Temple. I remember at least two of them are gathering dust in the corner."

Today, shall we go to the Earth God Temple?

Chen Ping'an pondered.

Yuan Shoucheng said that everything was arranged properly and that the Heavenly Court would not be able to find out anything.

He met Zhao Gou'er's expectant gaze, glanced at Zhao Gou'er's loyalty score which was now 92, and finally nodded with a smile.

"Since we have nothing else to do, let's go get the pot."

"Um!"

Zhao Gou'er nodded happily and rushed out of the shelter first.

"Ah Li, you stay here and guard the place. I'll pick up the demon crystals that the Bone Demon dropped when I come back."

Ali nodded: "You two, be careful on the road."

Chen Pingan waved his hand, and stepped out of the barrier.

Since I'll have to go sooner or later anyway, I might as well go now.

He looked up at the sky; the sun was shining brightly.

A few white clouds drifted lazily across the sky.

The air was still filled with a deathly aura, but it no longer made him feel as unbearably uncomfortable as it had at the beginning.

Unbeknownst to me, I had already adapted to life in the ruins of Bone Town.