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

The light of dawn shone through the gaps in the ruins, casting long shadows on the scattered bones on the ground.

The rain stopped.

The low-level bone demons and hungry ghosts outside the barrier slowly disappeared into the darkness as the night receded, and the entire ruins returned to deathly silence.

Chen Ping'an sat against the wall, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

I glanced at the panel.

[Shelter: Level 1 - Ruins Outpost]

【Characteristic: Golden Light Barrier (Protection Range: Three zhang (Non-humans cannot enter))】

Number of buildings: 0

[Demon Crystal Reserves: 22]

[Number of people seeking refuge: 2]

[Buildable structures: 2]

[More features to be unlocked]

Twenty-two demon crystals.

After a night of fierce fighting, twenty-one demon crystals were collected, and Ali, as the only resident of the shelter, contributed one more.

The barrier's durability is twenty.

Upon seeing this number, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but frown.

This means that if another Blood Fiend Bone General were to appear, the Golden Light Barrier would not be able to withstand the first strike.

I survived last night thanks to Ah Li's arrow and luck.

But luck can't be used as a talisman.

Chen Pingan switched to the [Building List].

The icons that were previously shrouded in gray fog are now revealed in two places.

---

[Weapon Rack - Tier 1]

【Consumable: 15 Demon Crystals】

[Effect: Can hold 3 weapons, automatically upgrades weapon quality daily (damaged weapons can be repaired), up to the highest quality corresponding to the current shelter level. Weapons in the weapon rack grant the user 20% more Demon Crystals from kills.]

[Note: Ordinary weapons, after being enhanced a sufficient number of times, have a small chance of being upgraded to spirit weapons.]

---

[Purify the Spiritual Platform - Tier 1]

【Consumable: 20 Demon Crystals】

[Effect: Centered on the Spirit Platform, continuously purifies the death energy within the shelter's area, slowing the rate of death energy erosion on human residents (-70%), and provides a small amount of purified spiritual energy daily to aid in cultivation.]

[Note: Lion Camel Ridge is filled with a deathly aura. Prolonged exposure will gradually corrupt the unpurified human inhabitants, causing irreversible depletion of their vitality.]

---

These are all good stuff!

Chen Ping'an felt a surge of excitement.

The logic behind the weapon rack is straightforward—Ah Li's nearly broken bow is currently the most valuable combat asset. Put it in there and slowly nurture it, and you can even continue to cultivate it towards becoming a spirit weapon. If this path is successful, the next time the Bone General comes, it won't be so dangerous.

It is an offensive building with a fairly good long-term return.

As for purifying the spirit platform.

Then its value is immeasurable.

Although the golden light barrier can currently protect the two, the deathly aura within the barrier still permeates the air; in other words, the short-term danger to their lives has been resolved, but long-term exposure to this environment still poses a great risk.

Chen Ping'an stared at the note.

"Unpurified human inhabitants will gradually be corrupted by death energy, leading to irreversible depletion of their vitality."

He subconsciously raised his head and looked at Ali, who was curled up in the corner.

After that arrow, Ali didn't sleep. She remained in that sitting position with her knees drawn up, the bow beside her and the quiver resting on her knees.

When Chen Pingan turned to look at her, she was leaning her head against the wall with her eyes closed.

It wasn't that I was asleep; it was that state where I was pushed to my limit and couldn't keep my eyelids open.

When she fired yesterday, the force of that arrow was not weak at all.

It was even stronger than the normal force, as if it had used up all its strength.

Although it can save lives, the cost is considerable.

Chen Ping'an didn't say anything, but his gaze slowly fell on her arm.

On his left forearm, the sleeve had slipped down slightly, revealing menacing black lines.

It wasn't a tattoo; it was seeping out from under the skin, like dead tree roots, starting from the wrist bone and spreading upwards, covering most of the inside of the forearm.

Chen Pingan saw it yesterday.

But she didn't ask any further questions, and Ali didn't mention it either.

Four years in ruins, without purification or cultivation, he only managed to deceive the ghosts by hiding himself in the deathly aura.

This may be Ah Li's wisdom for survival, but the erosion of death energy comes at a price. Although one can buy on credit, one must always pay back the debt.

The phrase "irreversible depletion of life force" in the notes on the purification platform is not a general term; it refers specifically to her.

Chen Pingan put the panel away and sat quietly for a while.

Then... purify the spiritual platform.

Chen Ping'an looked at the purification platform and subconsciously issued the command to build it.

[Purification Platform - Tier 1 - Under Construction...]

The twenty demon crystals vanished at the same time, as if they had been sucked away by something.

Chen Ping'an stared intently at the ground in the center of the barrier, which began to slowly rise.

There wasn't much of a commotion.

Instead, it's an extremely slow, undulating growth, like a plant breaking through the soil.

The bricks were pushed aside from below, and the rubble rolled to both sides, revealing a dark gray stone platform that gradually emerged from the ground.

The stone platform was not large, about three feet square on each side, with slightly concave corners and a rough surface, as if it were a raw stone cut directly from a deeper stratum of the earth, carrying the dampness of being buried underground for a long time and a very faint, indescribable scent.

After the stone platform was completely unearthed, the work stopped.

Immediately afterwards, the patterns on the table surface lit up.

Pale golden light spread outward from the stone platform, extending along the cracks in the bricks of the ground to the edge of the barrier.

Then they began to crawl along the golden light barrier, slowly making a circle.

close.

The deathly aura dissipated at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Chen Pingan took a breath.

Completely different from the outside of the barrier—no longer the pungent, cold, and deathly aura, but a clean, living atmosphere.

Chen Ping'an noticed that when the golden light patterns on the ground quietly spread to Ali's side and swept over her arm, the sleeping girl subconsciously stirred.

The black lines that stretched up from her wrist bone seemed to melt away the moment the light touched her arm.

it works!

Chen Pingan breathed a sigh of relief.

The system is not deceiving me.

After about half an incense stick's time, Ali opened her eyes.

Ali suddenly looked down at her forearm.

The black lines of deathly energy were still there, but they no longer spread; the edge stopped there, like a blocked flood line.

More importantly, that chilling feeling that seeped into her bones, that icy coldness that she had become completely accustomed to and thought would accompany her until death, was slowly melting away.

It's warm.

Her arms were warm.

Ali sat there blankly, her eyes suddenly reddening.

It's not sadness, but the kind of bewilderment you feel when you haven't experienced something for a long time and then experience it again, and you suddenly don't know how to react.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out; she just bit her lower lip hard.

"Can you stand up?"

Chen Ping'an squatted down next to her and asked tentatively.

Ali looked up at him, then struggled to sit up by supporting herself on the ground.

My legs are still weak, but I can hold on.

Chen Pingan pointed to the stone platform that had broken through the ground, the gold patterns on its surface still shining quietly.

"Try sitting on it."

If purifying the spirit altar is truly effective, then one should sit on it to maximize its effect.

Ali glanced at the stone platform, then at him, and without asking any further questions, sat down with Chen Ping'an's help.

For an instant.

A sudden burst of golden light.

The entire dilapidated house was bathed in this golden light, leaving no shadows, which made Chen Ping'an subconsciously turn his face away.

Ali groaned and bent forward slightly.

He gripped the edge of the stone platform tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The beam of light focused on her forearm, radiating intense heat that turned her skin a pale gold color.

"this......"

Ali's lips moved as she stared in disbelief at the black lines that had tormented her day and night, which now seemed to shrink rapidly, like snow meeting the blazing sun.

The black lines that clung to the inside of her forearms like withered tree roots faded away piece by piece in the golden light.

Finally—it disappeared.

The skin was clean and clear, without a single mark.

It took no more than three breaths.

The dilapidated house fell silent again, the golden light returned to its normal brightness, and the patterns on the stone tabletop shone evenly, warm and stable.

Ali lowered her head, staring at her forearm, motionless.

long time.

Then she looked up.

Chen Ping'an was sitting against the wall, using the back of his bone knife to support his body.

His face was still pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and he looked as if he had been drained of all his energy, but his eyes were calm as he smiled and gazed at her.

Ali opened her mouth.

For four years, she never said thank you in these ruins.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that the word has no meaning here—survival depends on oneself, there's no one to thank, and nothing to trust.

But now—

"Thanks."

The sound was so soft that it was almost drowned out by the morning breeze outside the window.

But she spoke up, looking directly at him without looking away.

Her eyes were still red.

Chen Ping'an didn't say "you're welcome" or any polite words. He just smiled, leaned his head against the cold brick wall behind him, and said something casually.

"Go to sleep first, we'll talk about it when you wake up."