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

After daybreak, Chen Pingan placed the bone spear into the second compartment of the weapon rack.

This bone spear was made by him on the first day of his journey, using a bone knife left behind by a wolf demon as the spearhead, a wooden stick as the handle, and bound together with simple hemp rope.

Chen Ping'an used it to pierce the core ghost fire of dozens of bone demons.

Buzz!

Golden light emanated from the edge of the grid, carrying a hint of dark red, enveloping the entire spear.

The light lingered on the spearhead the longest, lasting for about half an incense stick's time before slowly fading away.

Then it travels along the shaft, spreading out along the grain.

Finally, it sank into the binding hole, and even the hemp rope changed color, from a dull yellow to a dark bronze, becoming one with the spear shaft.

When the golden light dissipated, Chen Ping'an's eyes lit up.

A panel pops up:

Upgrade complete

[Bone-Splitting Spear - Tier 1]

[Functions: Piercing, Chopping]

【Special Feature: Shockwave (When a piercing strike hits a hard target, it inflicts additional shockwave damage)】

Upon seeing this characteristic, Chen Ping'an instantly pictured a heavy iron mace.

The Dragon-Slaying Mace!

It is a divine weapon rather than a killing weapon. Once engaged in combat, it can immediately find the weaknesses of other weapons and break them upon impact.

Chen Ping'an took out the spear and weighed it in his hand.

It has become quite heavy, but it is still within the acceptable range.

He waved his hand casually twice.

With a reasonable weight distribution, it swings with great force.

As for the shattering...

Chen Ping'an looked at a piece of hardwood beside him.

I poked it hard.

The spear pierced through effortlessly, making barely a sound.

next second.

The crack burst outwards from the puncture site, like an ice sheet bursting open.

Chen Ping'an flicked his wrist.

The entire piece of hardwood crackled with a soft pop and shattered into countless powders.

What a weapon!

Chen Ping'an was overjoyed.

This upgrade greatly increased their chances of surviving in the ruins.

......

After putting away the upgrade records, Chen Ping'an casually flipped to the next page.

The building list has been refreshed; one more building has been added.

[Planting Rack - Stage 1]

【Required Demon Crystals: ×15】

[Functions: Can grow vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spiritual plants; the spiritual altar purifies the soil and accelerates the growth cycle]

[Note: The host must manually transplant the surface plants.]

Chen Ping'an's eyes lit up.

Whether in ruins or in the mountains to the north, hunting is an extremely dangerous activity.

With planting racks, we can achieve self-sufficiency.

Tsk tsk.

Having eaten meat every day for the past few days, Chen Ping'an was really craving the taste of fruits and vegetables.

He glanced at the blueprint but didn't immediately click "confirm".

Building planting racks is a long-term project, and there are currently no plants available for transplantation.

But there is something more pressing right now.

Chen Ping'an checked the remaining food from today: half a piece of dried rabbit meat, a handful of wrinkled wild vegetables, and together they would last until the night watch started.

He put the panel away and glanced at Ali, who had just opened her eyes in a daze.

I have to go out today.

---

The sound of hardwood cracking woke Ali up.

The first thing he did upon waking was look at the spear in Chen Ping'an's hand.

She stared at the spear for a second and recognized it—it was different from the one from last night.

"Weapon mounting?"

"Hmm, not bad, right?"

Chen Pingan swung it twice, "It also has the property of cracking."

Ali glanced at the sawdust on the ground. "It's really good."

She picked up the bow from the ground, slung it over her shoulder, glanced at the sky outside, and asked directly:

"Go out to find something to eat?"

Chen Pingan nodded. "There's nothing left in the shelter."

"Okay, let's go then."

Ali didn't say much, turned around and walked towards the door, casually tossing out, "Take the spear with you."

---

The timing for leaving the town was chosen to be at the end of the Si hour (9-11 AM), one of the two times when the monsters are least active.

Ali was still walking in front, her steps very light.

She made almost no sound as she stepped on the pile of broken stones.

Chen Ping'an followed behind her, trying to step on the places she had stepped on.

Strangely, the two landed in almost the same spot and moved in the same way, but they found it difficult to control themselves from making any noise.

Chen Ping'an noticed it during the last hunt.

It seems that Ah Li has some kind of trick or cultivation.

In this world of Journey to the West, with demons and monsters, it's perfectly normal for humans to have cultivators.

Never mind, we'll talk about it when we get back.

Heading north past the sandbar, the deathly atmosphere lessened.

Without lingering, the two went straight into the woods at the foot of the mountain.

Ali led him around two places with heavy yin energy, and walked southwest for about half an hour before stopping in front of a gentle slope sandwiched between two large rocks.

"I've seen a wild boar in this area before."

She lowered her voice, "It's not small, but I don't dare to attack it alone. It's tough and has strong defense; ordinary arrows can't penetrate its armor. This time, we have a spear, so we can give it a try."

Ali glanced at the spear in Chen Ping'an's hand again. Her gaze swept over the spear blade, and she could feel its chilling sharpness.

Chen Ping'an gripped the spear firmly.

"Make our move today."

"Hmm, there's potential."

Ah Li nocked an arrow, "Stay close to me."

The two of them walked down the slope, keeping their bodies low and avoiding the dry branches.

At the bottom of the slope is a sunken valley.

Because it is sheltered from the wind, the ground is warmer than the outside.

A thick layer of decaying leaves had accumulated, and there was an indescribable sweet smell in the air.

Chen Ping'an followed the smell and looked inside, then stopped.

On the inner side of the valley, there are seven or eight wild pear trees.

The tree trunk is not tall, but it is covered with yellow-green fruits, some as big as a fist.

The decaying leaves at the bottom were also scattered all over the ground.

As for why no one picks them.

Chen Ping'an thought about it. On one hand, there was the ferocity of the wild boar, and on the other hand, with death energy permeating the area, these wild fruits were also destined to be eroded.

Eating it is tantamount to slow suicide.

Fortunately, I have a purification altar, which can purify the death energy before planting it on the planting rack.

perfect!

Thinking of this, Chen Ping'an felt his mouth water.

There are also waist-high clumps of wild vegetables on the ground, growing very densely and extending into the depths of the valley.

There were several broad-leaved plants in the corner, with thick stems.

But Chen Ping'an didn't recognize what it was.

Just as he was about to take a second look, Ali stretched out her arm to the side and pushed him behind the rock—

There was movement in the low bushes on the north side of the valley.

The ground trembled slightly.

Chen Ping'an's expression turned serious.

A wild boar emerged from the bushes.

Black fur, broad back.

Its limbs are short and thick, and its fangs are upturned.

It was almost identical to the wild boar Chen Ping'an had seen in his previous life, except...

Chen Ping'an stared at its back for two seconds. Between the hair on its back and shoulders, there was a layer of hard, grayish-black ridges, which was the ossified shell formed after long-term exposure to evil energy. It extended along both sides of the spine towards the shoulder blades, like two rough armor plates.

Protect all vital organs of the body thoroughly.

Ah Li waited until it turned to the side, aimed at the gap below the shoulder blade and at the edge of the carapace, and then released the string.

The next moment, the arrow flew out diagonally.

Chen Ping'an's eyes narrowed.

Ah Li's accuracy is not a problem.

This wild boar's defenses are insane; the skin beneath its carapace is still incredibly tough.

He turned his head to look at Ali.

A look of surprise appeared on Ali's face, then she sighed: "Before, I could still get hurt, but this time I can't get hurt at all."

The wild boar suddenly raised its head and let out a squeal.

"You try to get its attention, I'll give it a shot."

Chen Ping'an stood up and slowly walked down the slope.

Ali wanted to lend a hand, but then realized there was no better way at the moment, so she took a deep breath and drew her bow.

The wild boar had turned around, locked onto their direction, pawed at the ground a couple of times, and charged this way.

Chen Ping'an circled around the side of the rock and thrust the spear forward.

There was no direct confrontation.

Instead, look for the seam between the right shoulder and neck plates of the wild boar—there's a narrow gap between the two plates, but it offers a chance.

boom!

The wild boar charged faster than expected, and Chen Ping'an only had time to dodge half a step to the side.

The sharp spear tip pierced its shoulder armor, but missed the mark.

The force of the impact caused him to stumble back two steps, nearly tripping over a rock to the side.

A crack appeared on the shoulder armor.

The cracking properties of the vibration system came into play.

Chen Ping'an gripped the spear tightly and took a deep breath.

The wild boar turned around and charged again.

"Wait until it turns its head—the neck guard will shift, and the seam on the right side will open."

Ali shouted from a high place.

The second time, Chen Ping'an didn't dodge. He stood still, lowered the spear tip, and waited for the wild boar's head to turn to the left—

The gap between the neck armor and shoulder armor is half an inch wide.

The spearhead was inserted steadily.

The rupture was triggered again.

Chen Ping'an felt a strange vibration in his hand, not the feeling of something piercing his muscles.

Instead, the shockwave travels inward from the spearhead, crashing into the bone joints and exploding outwards.

The wild boar's charge suddenly stopped.

As if something had gotten stuck, the momentum stalled, the front hooves missed their footing, and the massive body tilted to the right.

Ah Li's second arrow was fired at that instant, piercing deep into her neck.

This is the only weak point on the wild boar's body, a spot not covered by its tough armor.

The third arrow!

The fourth arrow!

The wild boar staggered a couple of steps and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Chen Ping'an pulled out the spear, glanced at the spearhead, and saw that it was still gleaming coldly, completely undamaged.

The spear shaft was made of some unknown material, yet it could distribute force evenly. Even when faced with the hundreds of pounds of force rammed by the wild boar, Chen Ping'an's hand only felt slightly numb.

The forest fell silent again, save for the sound of the wild boar kicking its legs one last time before stopping.

Ali walked over, squatted down to examine the wound under her neck, and turned it over.

"You can only go in once the nail sutures are open."

She stood up and pulled out the knife.

"I misjudged the first time and almost got knocked away."

Chen Ping'an was still shaken.

"Thankfully, I found the right spot on the second try."

"Um."

Ali didn't comment further, "Let's deal with the prey first."

---

After processing the prey, Ali stood up and clapped her hands.

Turning around, I saw Chen Ping'an squatting under the wild pear tree, pinching the fruit to see if it was ripe.

She paused for a moment, walked over, picked up a fallen wild pear, wiped it with her sleeve, and took a bite.

Without saying a word, he took another bite.

It's sour, but edible.

"Wait a few more days until they are fully ripe before picking them."

Chen Ping'an stood up, walked over to the patch of wild vegetables, squatted down, picked a handful, smelled it, and handed it to her.

"This can be used now; put it in when stewing meat tonight."

Ali took it, smelled it again, and nodded.

Fruit trees, wild vegetables, kudzu root.

There were several other plants she didn't recognize, scattered around, not lush, but all alive.

"This place," Ali pondered, "I've been here once before, and there was nothing here."

"The wild boar has been active in this area," Chen Ping'an deduced. "The deathly aura permeated the forest outside, but here it absorbed most of it, turning it into a dead end."

Ali didn't speak immediately, but looked at the wild boar that had already been processed, and then at the fruit trees.

"So this pig did us a favor."

Chen Ping'an didn't respond to that. He simply memorized the location of the kudzu root, thought for a moment, then flipped the panel back up and glanced at the building that was still waiting for confirmation.

[Planting Rack - Stage 1]

I'll remember this for now. Next time, I'll bring the tools and take back anything that can be transplanted.

"Let's go," he stood up, slung the spear across his shoulder, "let's carry the pig back first."

Ali glanced at the weight of the wild boar, then at him, and a slight smirk appeared on her lips:

"Can you carry it?"

"If you can't carry it, help me."

"On what grounds?"

"You eat the meat, you help carry it."

Ali scoffed, walked over, and picked up the wild boar's hind leg.

The two men, each carrying a pig, walked back towards the shelter, stepping on their own shadows.