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

The rain intensified in the latter half of the night.

Ordinary bone demons and hungry ghosts were attracted by the aura of the living and gathered in greater and greater numbers, completely surrounding the golden light barrier.

It would be no exaggeration to call it a parade of a hundred ghosts.

Inside the barrier, Chen Ping'an held his breath and focused his mind, taking advantage of the barrier's "one-way protection" to continuously harvest the slow-moving monsters, with the sound of demon crystals falling constantly ringing in his ears.

[Defeat 1 low-level Bone Demon to obtain 1 Demon Crystal]

[Defeat 1 low-level hungry ghost and obtain 1 demon crystal]

......

After accumulating a full eight demon crystals, Chen Ping'an finally felt he had reached his limit and shook his head helplessly.

This body was already weak, and during the day it had only eaten some low-nutritional-value bread and nibbled on some dried meat. It's quite remarkable that it has managed to hold on until now.

Chen Pingan slowly stepped back and sat down against the cold wall.

He picked up the earthenware jar, took a sip of rainwater, and began to ponder.

Although the two are temporarily out of danger thanks to the shelter, there are a few things that urgently need to be addressed.

The number one issue is drinking water.

Rainwater falling from the sky, also known as rootless water, nourishes all things and people in the context of Journey to the West, which is not a problem in itself.

The problem is, this is Lion Camel Ridge.

Blood and qi mingled, death and qi spread.

This results in rainwater containing wisps of deathly aura, making it not only unpleasant to drink, but also, with prolonged consumption, inevitably leading to the corrosive effects of this deathly aura on the person, tantamount to slow suicide.

Secondly, there's the issue of food.

The two of them had already eaten up the last bit of bread and dried meat. They would have to go out to find food again early the next morning after the monster had left.

Right now, we've survived.

How could they possibly survive until Tang Sanzang and his companions arrived at Lion Camel Ridge? They would have to plan this carefully.

......

Just as Chen Ping'an's mind was racing.

Heavy footsteps echoed from outside the barrier.

He glanced at Ali, who had raised her head, and both of them had uncontrollable fear in their eyes.

dong dong!

The heavy, enormous footsteps shook the ground, sending mud and water flying everywhere.

The surrounding low-level ghosts seemed to have encountered their natural enemy, and scattered in terror.

In the gloomy rain, a nine-foot-tall "Blood Fiend Bone General," forcibly stitched together from the bones of humans and wild beasts, dragged a massive, rusty horse-slaying sword into view.

Its scarlet eyes were fixed on the pale gold barrier, then turned to Chen Ping'an inside the barrier.

It not only wants to drink demon blood, but also covets the life force of the living!

Roar!

Blood Fiend Bone General let out a soul-piercing shriek, swung his horse-slaying saber, and charged toward the shelter like a runaway heavy chariot!

Ali seemed terrified by the terrifying pressure, her face drained of color.

"Back off!"

Chen Ping'an gave a low shout.

He knew that his mortal body could never possibly confront such a behemoth head-on, so the two quickly retreated to the edge of the barrier.

Chen Ping'an gripped the simple spear with both hands, staring intently at the monster outside.

Ali silently examined the dark spots that covered almost her entire forearm, took a deep breath, and pulled a broken bow from her cloth bag.

boom!

The heavy saber slammed down on the barrier!

The pale golden light curtain dented violently, bursting out with blinding light and an extremely terrifying recoil force!

[Warning! Barrier durability has decreased: 100 → 68/100!]

Chen Ping'an's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized what the alarm meant.

Although I know in my heart that this barrier is not endless!

But this bone will lose more than thirty points with a single cut, and a few more cuts will reduce it to zero!

The joy of surviving the ordeal was completely washed away by the sudden crisis!

Click!

The thick arm bone of the Blood Fiend Bone General, which was gripping the knife, was cracked by the recoil force of the light barrier. The massive skeleton instantly lost its balance and tilted forward violently, with the ghostly green core fire in its chest cavity almost touching the light barrier!

good chance!

It's now!

Chen Ping'an's expression was solemn. He firmly planted his feet on the ground, raised his spear, aimed at the core ghost fire that was so close at hand, and used all the strength he had left to thrust it out fiercely!

The spear pierced through the light barrier, precisely embedding itself in the bone general's chest cavity, directly penetrating the core ghost fire!

Awooo!

Blood Fiend Bone General let out a shrill scream, staggered back two steps, leaned on his huge horse-slaying sword, and knelt on one knee.

The will-o'-the-wisp in his eyes vanished instantly.

He must be dead, right?

Chen Ping'an stared intently at the Blood Fiend Bone General, not daring to even breathe.

Behind him, Ali also gripped the broken bow tightly, and before anyone knew it, she had already drawn the bow and nocked an arrow.

Crunch!

A tooth-grinding sound echoed in the darkness.

Chen Ping'an felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his face filled with horror.

This Blood Fiend Bone General is indeed extraordinary.

......

Blood Fiend Bone General stood up and staggered toward the barrier.

Chen Ping'an wanted to continue stabbing him in the back, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

This strange creature seemed to possess some intelligence, knowing that its weakness lay in the ghostly fire in its chest, and immediately changed its tactics.

It deliberately slashed at the barrier with its saber, but retreated before Chen Ping'an could extend his spear.

Chen Ping'an was extremely anxious.

Although the spear in his hand could barely reach the ball of ghost fire, it was clearly not as effective as the first time when it hit a vital spot directly.

Similarly, the damage of the Zhanmadao to the barrier has decreased by one level, but it is still visibly weaker.

68-> 60!

60->54!

Damn!

do my best!

Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth, prayed silently, then aimed at the monster's chest and hurled the spear fiercely.

......

But clearly, Chen Ping'an overestimated his throwing ability.

They also underestimated Blood Fiend Bone General's evasion skills.

Despite its enormous size, this thing remained incredibly agile, easily dodging Chen Ping'an's throw despite the damage to its ghost fire.

Blood Fiend Bone General grinned silently and charged forward again, raising his saber high!

A powerful, sweeping strike!

50 -> 20!

Whoosh!

The arrow pierced the sky.

Chen Ping'an only caught a fleeting glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye.

The Blood Fiend Bone instantly shattered the ghostly fire at its chest, and the massive skeleton collapsed with a crash, smashing into the mud and water, shattering into a pile of broken bones.

There has been no movement for a long time.

The despair brought by death slowly dissipated.

Chen Ping'an gasped for breath and sat down heavily on the ground.

A message flashed by.

[Slay one Bloodthirsty Bone General of Monster Level]

[Received: 10 Demon Crystals]

The list of buildable structures has been updated.

Get rich quick!

Chen Pingan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Adding the 8 I farmed before, and the 3 I already had, my Demon Crystal reserves have skyrocketed to 21! That's enough to build the first building!

More importantly, we can finally build structures!

......

Aftermath.

Chen Ping'an looked at the faintly white light outside and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The night is finally over.

He turned to look at Ali, who was silently putting away her bow.

This girl is really something, she survived in such a desperate situation.

Chen Ping'an's gaze fell on the bow in the girl's hand.

Calling it a bow is an understatement; it's more like a pile of scraps that barely retains its bow shape. The bow arms are made by binding two thin bamboo sections together, with oil-soaked hemp rope wrapped around the joint. The bowstring is just a few cow tendons twisted together. The waxed skin on the bow is cracked and brittle, and could break at any moment.

This thing looks like it was hastily cobbled together overnight, or like a piece of junk that has been used and repeatedly repaired to its limit for many years.

"Did you make this yourself?"

"It was pieced together from parts found in the ruins."

Ali held the bow horizontally in her hand, slightly curled her thumb, and gently placed her index finger on the string. She retested the tension. "I found this old bow frame in the ruins of the market three years ago. Half of the bow arm was broken, so I just picked up a bamboo stick and fixed it. The string has been replaced eight times in total."

Chen Ping'an didn't speak, but just watched her raise the bow, spread one arm, and draw the string.

The movement was silent, yet surprisingly fluid.

It's not the stiffness of a beginner, nor the rustiness from long periods of disuse, but the fluidity etched into muscle memory—only those who practice every day for many years possess this kind of bow stance.

How old were you when the town was massacred?

"Eleven years old."

Chen Pingan did the math.

She was eleven when the town was massacred; now she is fourteen or fifteen, having spent four years struggling to survive in the ruins.

She wasn't "learning to use a bow"; she survived because of a bow.

I survived for four years in a ghostly ruin with this broken, nearly falling-down weapon.

A thought exploded in Chen Ping'an's mind.

This girl is the luckiest thing he's ever encountered.