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

"Brother Fan, have you started mining at the iron mine in White Bone Town?"

During the meal, Chen Ping'an suddenly remembered this matter and then asked about it.

"We were planning to go, but the local temple has collapsed, so we've postponed our plans."

Fan Qiming glanced at Chen Ping'an: "What's wrong?"

"I think, if I have time, I'll forge a batch of ironware."

"I see that many people still use wooden sticks when hunting. If they all switched to iron tools, both their attack power and safety would be significantly improved."

Fan Qiming nodded: "Okay, I'll make time to go."

"However, in order to truly forge iron ore into weapons, we still need a place where we can work as blacksmiths."

"A blacksmith's furnace is needed."

Blacksmith shop?

Or perhaps, the Weapon Refining Pavilion?

The word popped into Chen Ping'an's mind.

......

After lunch, everyone returned to their cabins for a short rest.

Chen Ping'an sat alone on the purification altar in the center of the shelter, carefully surveying his territory.

Ultimately, the focus shifted to the weapon rack.

[Weapon Rack (Level 2)]

[Function: Weapon Forging]

[Features: Fixes, Upgrades]

[Note 1: The weapon rack can be upgraded to the same level as the barrier.]

[Note 2: Weapons can be upgraded to the same level as the weapon rack; some weapons may not be able to be upgraded to the weapon rack level due to limitations of their original materials.]

The reason Fan Qiming was sent to mine iron ore was because of this limitation.

The weapon rack offers limited upgrades to weapons; for example, the spear in Chen Ping'an's hand is still at level two.

Since the Bone Spear is a crude weapon made of wooden sticks, hemp ropes, and bone knives, it is already quite good that it can be upgraded to level two and gain two additional characteristics.

Therefore, only by mining iron ore and forging real iron weapons, along with upgrading weapon racks, can one create truly divine weapons.

......

According to the map of Bone Town, the iron mine is located directly east of the town.

Fan Qiming selected a few people and got them ready before the afternoon hunt.

Because his magical artifacts were destroyed before, Fan Qiming is still unarmed, but with his Foundation Establishment stage strength, no one in White Bone Town can hurt him.

"Brother Fan, come with me."

Everyone was ready to go, and Chen Ping'an called Fan Qiming over.

"Try handling this Bone-Splitting Spear first to see if it feels comfortable."

"It has two additional properties: cracking and burning, which should be able to help you."

As a lord, Chen Ping'an knew he would rarely have the opportunity to use this weapon again.

As the backbone of the group, both Fan Qiming and Ali have repeatedly advised that unless there are special circumstances, they should not leave the shelter easily.

If Chen Ping'an were to perish somewhere, the only barrier that everyone can rely on right now would also crumble.

"Are you willing to part with it?"

Fan Qiming hesitated and said, "This weapon has been with you for quite some time now."

"What's there to be reluctant about?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "You've been out there risking your lives, leaving only me, the elderly, women, and children in the shelter. I already feel a little guilty about that; besides, if this weapon can be put to good use, that's its true value."

Fan Qiming nodded without saying much, took the spear and waved it a couple of times in his hand, then couldn't help but sincerely admire it.

"What a weapon!"

He then channeled his magic power, and a foot-long blade suddenly emerged from the spear, cutting marks into the ground.

"It's easy to use and can withstand the mana of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator."

Seeing Fan Qiming put away his spear, Chen Ping'an recalled the divine power called Kunyuan Guardian.

[The candidate selected for shared management has been Fan Qiming]

[Sharing immediately?]

Chen Ping'an nodded without hesitation.

hum!

A beam of light slowly detached from Chen Ping'an and landed on Fan Qiming in his astonished gaze.

And related information immediately came to Fan Qiming's mind.

"Is this... a supernatural power? Or a protective supernatural power?"

Fan Qiming was both surprised and delighted.

Chen Ping'an nodded, his expression grave: "The southeast corner of the town is Wanyan Liang's territory. If a direct conflict really breaks out, this supernatural power might come in handy."

"There are also people in the northeast corner, whose identities are unknown; therefore, please be extremely cautious when going out this time."

Chen Ping'an doesn't want to fight the remaining people of White Bone Town yet, but he has no choice. The guys from Fangcun Mountain killed the local earth god with a slap, so Wanyan Liang and his group at the Mountain God Temple must have already found out.

Are the guys in the mass grave to the west the only potential threat to everyone right now?

Chen Pingan disagreed.

In the ravaged town of White Bone, any resource could spark a bloody battle.

......

Watching Fan Qiming and the others leave, Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief.

Before he knew it, Ali had come to his side.

"Brother Fan and the others went to...?"

"I'll have them go check out the iron mine on the east side of town."

Ali nodded, recalling the red dot on the map: "We do need to be careful. I heard that Wanyan Liang is a veteran Foundation Establishment expert, and he is domineering and tyrannical. The iron mine is not far from them, so we may encounter their obstruction."

"Let's not talk about this now."

Chen Pingan turned to look at Ali.

[The shared candidate has been selected: Ali]

[Sharing immediately?]

Yes!

Another ray of light flew out from Chen Ping'an's body and gently flowed into A Li's body.

"Supernatural power, the profound connection to the earth's breath?"

Ah Li carefully sensed the power and activation method of this divine ability, and then realized that Chen Ping'an had not suddenly learned to hunt. He had clearly used this divine ability to extend his perception three zhang, and could see the movements of all creatures in detail.

This ability is practically tailor-made for hunters!

......

About an hour later.

Fan Qiming led everyone back to the shelter.

Everyone had a smile on their face.

Their baskets were filled with large chunks of iron ore, and the baskets were dumped on the ground, resembling small mountains.

"We will not fail the lord's trust."

Fan Qiming cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

Chen Ping'an noticed a trace of blood at the corner of Fan Qiming's mouth and his heart tightened: "How did he get hurt?"

Fan Qiming waved his hand and patted his chest.

"It's nothing."

"Wanyan Liang sent people to guard that iron mine, insisting that we use enough resources to obtain iron ore."

"I won't tolerate him. Iron ore is a public resource; why should they monopolize it?"

Seeing that Fan Qiming was unharmed, Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief: "So, you fought a battle? Wanyan Liang also joined the fray?"

"Um."

Fan Qiming nodded: "Wanyan Liang is indeed a veteran expert, and he also has a troublesome magic weapon on him. It looks like a tortoise shell, covered with strange and bizarre talismans."

"If it weren't for this weapon you gave me, lord, I'm not sure I could have defeated him."

Fan Qiming brandished his spear: "I used this spear to break through his defenses, while the old man opened a gash in me."

"That sounds pretty thrilling."

"The scene was indeed dangerous," Fan Qiming said, still somewhat shaken. "But thankfully, I had the supernatural power you bestowed upon me, Lord. Before that old bastard could take advantage of the situation to make a move, my injuries had already stopped."

"This really scared the old guy, and he left after uttering a few harsh words."

"They also brought back all the iron ore they had mined."

"With these things, we should have enough to forge weapons."

Chen Ping'an examined the mountain of iron ore.

The next step is the blacksmith shop!