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

It got dark very quickly.

The setting sun had just dipped behind the broken walls of the ruins, and the light changed from orange-red to gray, then from gray to bluish-black.

The entire town of White Bone seemed to be covered by a huge cloth, slowly sinking into darkness.

The temperature also gradually decreased.

Outside the shelter, the familiar sounds began again.

The faint sound of bones grinding together, the dull thud of footsteps dragging, and the occasional low, emotionless groan, slowly approached from all directions of the ruins.

But Chen Ping'an felt that the fear in his heart was not as intense as last night, and he thought that the rabbit meat he ate in the afternoon had given him some confidence.

When you're full, you have energy and hope.

"It's happening again."

Ali rested the bow on her knees, carefully checked the tension of the string, and turned her head to look at the darkness outside the barrier.

"Um."

The two remained silent for a while. The fire was still warm, and the dilapidated house was still barely warm enough.

Chen Ping'an gripped the bone knife tightly, staring at the bone demon that was slowly approaching.

He leaned against the wall, his gaze fixed on the increasingly dense darkness outside the window, but his mind was preoccupied with something else.

"I have a question for you," Chen Ping'an said.

Ali turned her head to the side. "Hmm?"

"Before the town was massacred—Have you ever heard of the Tang Dynasty?"

Chen Ping'an's memories of his predecessor were fragmented and incomplete, leaving him with many missing pieces. He had no choice but to ask Ali.

Ali thought for a moment and said, "I've heard of it. It's a big country in the east, with a vast territory and a large population. It's a very powerful country."

"Do you know Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin?"

"I know a little bit." Ali nodded. "He's the one who ascended the throne a few years ago. The storyteller mentioned him. He's very good at fighting wars, and even better at governing the country."

Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief. Li Shimin was still alive, so the journey to the West shouldn't deviate too much.

He made a mental note of it.

In previous years... that is to say, at the beginning of the Zhenguan era, not long after Emperor Taizong of Tang ascended the throne.

He continued, "And what about Sun Wukong? The monkey who wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace?"

Ali's expression was a little strange: "Wasn't that a long time ago? Five hundred years ago, he was suppressed under the Five Fingers Mountain."

"Yes, it's still being held down."

Chen Pingan tapped the bone knife lightly on the ground. "Do you know why he was pinned down?"

"He wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, turning the heavens into a complete mess, and was eventually subdued by Buddha."

Ah Li recalled, "The storyteller told it, everyone knows it, what does it have to do with us?"

"It's related."

Chen Pingan said.

Ali looked at him, puzzled.

These are all things that have never happened, so it's normal that Ali doesn't know them.

"The monkey was trapped under the mountain, waiting for someone to rescue him—this person was Tang Sanzang, a monk from the Tang Dynasty in the East, who was ordered by the Buddha to travel west from Chang'an to Leiyin Temple to retrieve Buddhist scriptures and bring back the Dharma to save all sentient beings."

Chen Pingan paused for a moment, then continued:

"On the journey to the West, one must overcome eighty-one tribulations. Lion Camel Ridge is one of them. By the time Tang Sanzang reaches this point, he will have already taken Sun Wukong as his eldest disciple, along with Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing—three disciples accompanying him. Sun Wukong will then take action and defeat the three demon kings, and only then will this tribulation be over."

The dilapidated house was quiet for a while, with only the sound of the bone demon approaching.

Ali didn't speak immediately.

She placed the bow across her knees, her expression strange, her gaze fixed on the embers of the fire, as if processing this information.

"Tang Sanzang... on his pilgrimage to the West..."

She slowly repeated it, then looked up and asked, "Where did you hear that from?"

"far away."

Chen Ping'an did not answer directly, "In White Bone Town, has anyone mentioned this matter—the journey to the West, Tang Sanzang's pilgrimage, these things?"

Ali shook her head, quite certain.

"No, I've never heard of it even once. Before the town was massacred, the storyteller told tales of all sorts of gods and immortals every day—from the Heavenly Court, the Underworld, and all sorts of demon kings—but not this one."

She paused, lost in thought: "If a monk really is coming, and even if he's acting on Buddhist orders... such a big matter couldn't possibly go unnoticed, could it?"

"So," Chen Pingan said calmly, "this hasn't happened yet."

Then I added to myself, "But it will happen eventually."

Ali frowned slightly as she looked at him: "Then how did you know?"

Chen Ping'an was silent for two seconds, then simply said, "I knew it would happen."

This answer was obviously unconvincing, but Ali didn't press the matter further. She simply turned her gaze back to the arrows, examining each feather and shaft one by one, picking out a few slightly crooked tail feathers and setting them aside.

In order to deal with the bone demon, the two had already made a batch of arrows that afternoon.

After hesitating for a while, Ali finally spoke, "So you said you'd stay here and wait for Tang Sanzang to arrive, for Sun Wukong to defeat the three demon kings—and then it'll all be over?"

"Probably."

Chen Ping'an thought to himself, perhaps this is not the end.

"How long will it take?"

Chen Ping'an did not answer immediately.

It had only been a few years since the beginning of the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong of Tang, before the mission to retrieve the scriptures was even issued, and Sun Wukong was still imprisoned under the mountain... He quickly went through the timeline in his mind, and the more he calculated, the heavier it became.

He originally thought it would take two or three years, but now it seems that the number may be pushed back quite a bit.

As for why it's two or three years...

Chen Ping'an estimated that the limit was that he could hide under the nose of Lion Camel Ridge for two or three years without being discovered.

"It's longer than I originally thought."

Chen Ping'an said in a steady voice, but he subtly tightened his grip on the bone knife.

The fire grew a little dimmer.

Ah Li put the chosen arrows back into the quiver.

As the last one was inserted, she looked up and said calmly.

"Then let's just stay and guard it."

He paused for a moment, then added another sentence.

"Let's stay together."

"Anyway, I have nowhere else to go."

---

The first bone demon outside the barrier crashed into the light barrier just after 7 PM.

It's earlier than last night, and there's a larger quantity.

Chen Ping'an pondered that it must be the fresh scent of the wild rabbit that attracted more and more creatures, turning the area outside the light screen from sparse to dense, with skeletons hitting the light screen and making dull thuds.

Durability is slowly decreasing.

"Let's try a different approach."

Chen Ping'an stood up, walked to the edge of the barrier, and held the bone knife horizontally in his hand. "You take care of the ranged attacks, and I'll guard the close range—when the bone demon gets within two steps, you don't need to worry about it, I'll handle it."

Ali drew her bow, nocked the first arrow, and glanced at the density beyond the light curtain:

"Can you do it?"

Chen Pingan patted his stomach, indicating that he was full and had plenty of energy.

Ali smiled, said nothing, drew the bowstring to its full length, and aimed it at a bone demon that was a little far away outside the light barrier, but was circling around looking for a gap.

"Um," Chen Pingan pointed, "put the ones that are winding first."

"I know."

The string is loosened.

The arrow pierced through the light barrier, precisely striking the core ghost fire within the bone demon's chest cavity. The skeleton shattered with a crash, and the demon crystal fell to the ground with a crisp thud.

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

Chen Ping'an picked up the demon crystal, clenched it in his palm, and turned to stare at the edge of the light screen.

The next bone demon was already rubbing against the light barrier, its hand reaching in at a tricky angle, making it difficult for Ah Li to shoot the core from that angle.

Chen Ping'an stepped forward, and the bone knife was thrust out through the gap in the light screen, piercing it precisely.

The skeleton collapsed.

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

The rhythm has been found.

Ali is specifically tasked with clearing out the bone demons on the outer perimeter that try to circle around and find blind spots in the barrier. Those that are somewhat intelligent and don't directly collide with the barrier require you to predict their landing point in advance.

Chen Ping'an stood guard at the edge of the barrier, specifically targeting those who were close to the light screen and whose shooting angles were limited. He engaged in close combat, taking them down one by one with a single strike.

The two worked together seamlessly, with almost no gaps in their coordination.

The demon crystals fell one by one, making a tinkling sound.

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

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

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

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

……

With one person guarding the nearby area and another controlling the distant ones, the practice of guarding the night to farm crystals began to take the shape of a proper assembly line for the first time.

Chen Ping'an glanced at the fluctuating demon crystal reserves on the panel, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, but said nothing.

---

The densest wave of bone demons will arrive after midnight.

More than twenty of them surged in, surrounding the light screen in layers. Their skeletons bumped against each other, pressing fine ripples into the edges of the light screen.

Chen Ping'an did not retreat. Ali fired seven arrows in succession, clearing out the most threatening ones on the outer layer and giving him enough space to deal with the situation.

Stab one cut at a time, collect the crystals after each stab, then stab again.

Neither of them spoke much; they simply maintained their own rhythm and endured the densest wave of tide.

As the tide receded, Chen Ping'an, his hand brimming with demon crystals, sat down on the ground, tossed the batch of demon crystals into the panel, and glanced at the total amount.

Fifty-one.

He was startled.

From two last night, I've gotten fifty-one; I've used forty in one night.

Ali took the bow off, leaned against the wall, took a sip of water, and looked over.

"How many?"

"Fifty-one."

Ali did the math, nodded, and without any particular expression, simply put the water bottle back in and prepared to lean back and doze off for a while.

Chen Pingan flipped the panel to the building list, just as he was thinking about what to build first, when a new prompt slid out from the top of the panel the moment his gaze swept over it:

[Shelter construction progress has met the requirements and can be upgraded to Level 2 Ruins Camp]

Upgrade requirements:

- Demon Crystal reserves ≥ 50, which meets the requirements.

- Number of buildings ≥ 1, already satisfied.

- Asylum population ≥ 2, already satisfied.

[Upgrade now? Consumes 50 Demon Crystals]

Chen Ping'an stared at the prompt, his eyes lighting up.

Finally waited.

Without hesitation, I pressed confirm.

The fifty demon crystals suddenly disappeared.

Followed by.

The pale golden barrier enveloping the shelter visibly thickened.

Chen Ping'an clearly felt that the golden light had faded, but the barrier had become more solid.

The area covered by the barrier has also been expanded.

[Shelter Upgrade Complete: Level 2 - Ruins Camp]

[Shelter: Level 2 - Ruins Camp]

[Barrier Range: Four zhang (Non-humans are not allowed to enter)]

Barrier Durability: 100/100

Number of buildings: 1

[Demon Crystal Reserves: 1]

[Number of people seeking refuge: 2]

[Unlock New Features]

[Exorcism: Causes a burn effect on nearby evil spirits; passively triggered, does not consume durability.]

[Pickup: Automatically picks up the demon crystals obtained from slaying monsters, which can be stored in a designated location within the shelter at the host's discretion.]

Unlock two new features at once!

Those fifty demon crystals were well spent!

Chen Ping'an was overjoyed.

With the upgraded defense of the barrier itself, plus this passive skill, their chances of surviving in Lion Camel Ridge have increased. Perhaps they can hold out until the pilgrims arrive!

It's not maybe!

Rather, it definitely can!