Chapter 327: The Chen Family Head Is Setting Up A Formation! This Is Freaking Mathematics And Science!
【Daoist Sect Bewildering Formation（Beginner）Jade Slip: this jade slip records an arrangement method for a beginner Daoist Sect bewildering formation. By using geography and terrain and the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers, it can arrange a formation that confuses a person’s perception and vision, trapping them inside and making it difficult to escape.
Special version: within the sect or Merit Industry range, a special version of the bewildering formation can be arranged to gain special effects: Misty Shrouding +1, Deceptiveness +1, Deceitfulness +1, discrimination ability -】
After reading the remark information on this jade slip, Chen Han decisively chose to use the jade slip.
As the jade slip turned into specks of starlight, a stream of information poured into his mind.
In an instant, he completely mastered the information about the Daoist Sect Bewildering Formation（Beginner）.
This bewildering formation clearly had two versions.
One normal version, and one special version that could be arranged within the sect or Merit Industry range, carrying special attributes.
But after obtaining the detailed information of the bewildering formation, he knew that even the normal ordinary version was absolutely terrifying.
After all, by arranging it according to the geography and terrain, it could fully display the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers. If one did not understand the art of Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers, there was simply no method to get out.
Many people might not understand the power within the I Ching Evolution numbers, and even textual descriptions were not very clear, but if described in terms of mathematics, that would be octal.
Using Qian-1, Dui-2, Li-.. Kun-8 as the base, then aligning the classic numbers with a base number, that meant, for example, 1 as the first of the base numbers corresponded to 8 as the first and last of all numbers…
Expressed in mathematical permutations, it would be:
1-2, 1-3, 1-.. 1-8
2-3, 2-4, 2-.. 2-8
3-4, 3-.. 3-8
…
1-2-2-3, 1-2-2-.. 1-2-2-8
1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-.. 1-2-3-8
…
There were 64 sets of Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers like this. Just the first set listed above contained 28 numbers. Multiply it out and you would know how many numbers there were in total.
These numbers could shift silently. Rote memorization was useless.
You had to understand the Bagua Zhouyi Derived pattern to derive the correct numbers and find the correct way out.
And the key point was to find the duplicate trigrams within, then use the method of annihilating the duplicate trigrams to locate the correct numbers.
Expressed in mathematical sequence form:
When the sets 1-2-3 and 1-2-3-1 meet, annihilating the duplicate trigram leaves 1 is Qian, which is south, so heading that way is correct.
When the sets 1-2-3 and 3-2-3-1 meet, annihilating the duplicate trigram leaves 2-1, which is Dui-Qian. Qian is south, Dui is southeast, and the annihilation of the duplicate trigrams indicates east.
And the most important point here was that you needed a strong sense of direction and the ability to distinguish directions. Otherwise, even if you memorized everything, you would still be stuck inside for a lifetime.
Naturally, this was only one way of expressing it.
The I Ching Evolution numbers could also be expressed using the Binomial Theorem:
Let a represent the yang line and b represent the yin line.
According to the Binomial Theorem (a+b)^n, when n=0, (a+b)^0 = 1, corresponding to Tai Chi;
when n=1, (a+b)^1 = a + b, corresponding to the Two Forms;
when n=2, (a+b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2, corresponding to the Four Symbols;
when n=3, (a+b)^3 = a^3 + 3a^2b + 3ab^2 + b^3, corresponding to the Eight Trigrams;
…
By substituting into such formulas, one could also calculate the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers. But at the same time, this approach was even harder, as it required not only the ability to adjust directions but also memorizing the numbers of the Eight Trigrams.
Put simply, the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers were also science.
And among them, mathematics science was the outstanding representative.
There had been people online proposing that the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers could be applied in many areas of technology, not only making things more secure, but when foreigners saw a panel full of Bagua and I Ching numbers, they would be utterly bewildered.
That would truly realize the combination of metaphysics and science.
It was just that all this time, no one had managed to present the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers in a precise, concrete way.
The essence of this thing had been lost.
Now, the Daoist Sect Bewildering Formation（Beginner） he had obtained could do this, though the premise was still Feng Shui.
After all, only through Feng Shui could one determine where there was geography and terrain, what kind it was, and whether the trend of that geography and terrain was suitable for arranging a formation.
Otherwise, if the geography and terrain inclined east to west, and you insisted on arranging the formation in a section slanting west to east, would that not be a joke?
So, after “Feng Shui Geography Science” came out, could it trigger “Bagua Zhouyi mathematics”?
If this continued, the combination of cultivation and technology from his abstract videos might really be realized.
Naturally, all this was still about the beginner bewildering formation in its ordinary version.
With this version, as long as one had learned Feng Shui Knowledge and understood I Ching Evolution, it would be easy to walk out of the bewildering formation.
For example, for those Daoist Priests of the Daoist Sect, with a bit of time, it should not be difficult.
But the special version was different.
It had the attributes of Deceptiveness +1, Deceitfulness +1, discrimination -1, plus Misty Shrouding +
So no matter how proficient you were in I Ching Evolution, once you entered and were affected, you would turn into a husky. With Misty Shrouding on top of that, you would truly be like a headless fly.
While he was thinking this, he suddenly saw two donation notifications appear in succession on his mobile phone screen.
Both were large-amount donations with remark notes, and besides that Mr. Liu, the other donor was also a well-known company.
As for how well-known?
As long as the money in their accounts circulated domestically, did not involve official personnel, and was not the operation of a violating account, then no one would investigate them. They were exempt.
The reason was that the higher-ups also needed money to flow and did not want to dampen the enthusiasm of these well-known companies.
If everything were investigated, it would not only dampen enthusiasm but also affect the operation of these companies and even cause a negative impact on the internet.
Chen Han knew this must be Mr. Liu helping deal with some anonymous foreign bank cards.
The total of these two donations reached 250 million.
Another 300 million should still be in process.
In the next moment, the telephone ringtone sounded. It was Mr. Liu calling.
He answered, and the other party’s question came through: “Chen Family Head, two donations have arrived, right?”
“Mm, they have,” Chen Han replied with a smile.
Mr. Liu immediately said, “That’s good. The rest will arrive soon.”
…
The car stopped at the Chen Clan.
Chen Han returned to his own courtyard at once, took out a large A4 sheet, and began sketching and writing, all about this beginner bewildering formation.
Although the back mountain did not have natural geography and terrain, through the special Feng Shui Stones created by the game system, a large Conceal Wind Gather Qi Feng Shui formation had already been arranged.
So it was equivalent to having man-made geography and terrain.
The bewildering formation could be arranged by relying on this.
After that, he only needed to determine the range for arranging the bewildering formation. They could use the mountain near the north side, from mid-mountain downward across the entire mountain forest slope.
Moreover, he planned to arrange two sections of the bewildering formation: one special version and one normal version.
Although the attributes of this bewildering formation allowed the special version only within the sect or Merit Industry range, it did not require only the special version.
By then, the game system would definitely give him options to distinguish between the normal and special versions.
Naturally, the normal version would occupy most of the area.
This was aimed at ordinary tourists, while the special version would target some top experts.
Among ordinary tourists, there would definitely be many capable people. By studying I Ching Evolution, they might manage to walk out of the normal version.
Those people could then participate in the special version of the bewildering formation. Perhaps he could set up a formation-breaking competition by then.
Thinking this, Chen Han continued planning on the sheet.
If it were just a simple small bewildering formation, it would be enough to stir the geography and terrain to block people. As long as people could be trapped, there was no need to worry about other things.
After all, once people entered the formation, their perception and vision would be affected by the bewildering formation and deceived by the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers. Even if there were clearly a path ahead, they might see only grass.
They might think they were always moving forward, but perhaps they had already turned around and walked back.
Some would say in such a situation you could stab yourself with a needle to stay awake, but it was also possible that what you thought was awake at that moment was still influenced by the bewildering formation.
Simply put, individuals could not resist the influence of geography and terrain unless their strength was great enough to break the formation by force.
Otherwise, they could only honestly rely on the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers to find the exit.
And for the bewildering formation he wanted to arrange for tourists, not only did the range need to be large, but it would require many Feng Shui Stones to maintain it.
He would have to seek help from various fellow Daoists of the Daoist Sect again.
Also, the primary purpose of providing tourists with a challenge was not to trap them and ignore them but to give them participation and emotional value.
So it could not appear rough, overgrown with weeds and brambles. The paths had to be properly planned and developed so tourists could walk.
This would be quite a large project.
He also planned to plant many ornamental flowers of the same type, using these flowers to cooperate with the deceptive nature of I Ching Evolution.
That would make the entire bewildering formation fragrant and add ornamental value.
Then there was the ground: if the grass and brambles were cleared, the paths should be paved with uniform cobblestones so everyone would feel it was high-quality.
Finally, he could build piles of irregular rocks to further increase the deceptiveness, like the formations Zhuge Liang arranged with random rock piles. Once the formation was activated, the deceptiveness would be greater, making visual deception more effective.
He wrote everything down one by one.
In the end, he thought of another point: after the bewildering formation was set up, many tourists would surely be trapped inside, so there had to be a method for them to escape when they reached a desperate point.
He immediately thought of combining technology.
There were many positioning facilities nowadays; they could install fixed-point positioning devices throughout the bewildering formation, then use a special receiving device to determine location.
Tourists could press this receiving device to obtain the next path they should take.
After all, it was for tourists. They should feel the difficulty while also having a correct answer to pursue.
By then, tourists might think “I will try myself first, then ask for help,” attempting to break the formation while also seeking assistance. Obviously being noobs, they would still have a great time.
Of course, once the formation was activated, signals from outside might not get through. So they would have to design it as short-range scanning of a QR Code to obtain the correct path.
When tourists reached a spot and were completely lost, they could scan a QR Code nearby and receive the correct route from the internal devices.
Furthermore, in order to increase the fun, he could erect a statue of the Heavenly Lord in the center of the bewildering formation and specially give the tourists entering a set of I Ching Evolution numbers so that they could find the Heavenly Lord statue through this set.
When they found the Heavenly Lord statue, they would definitely worship. After experiencing the miraculous nature of the bewildering formation, most people’s psychology would develop some pious feeling, so contributing a bit of wish power should not be a problem.
This would increase the sources of wish power.
And those who found the Heavenly Lord would naturally receive rewards. Coincidentally, the craft souvenir factory that Uncle was in charge of had already started operation.
They could then specially make a “Chen Clan Bewildering Formation Worship Heavenly Lord” commemorative plaque.
And if tourists managed to walk out on their own without seeking help from the special device, they could be given a “Solo Breakthrough of Chen Clan Bewildering Formation” commemorative plaque.
But this would involve many pieces of equipment and computer programs, which required professionals. He alone could not handle everything.
So he called Xiao Yu and asked her to help assemble everyone for a meeting to discuss the development of a new project.
“Senior brother, you’re back?” Xiao Yu asked in surprise.
“Did you hear what I said?” Hearing her focus, Chen Han asked again with a smile.
“Yeah, I’ll notify them right away!” Xiao Yu said at once.
After hanging up, Chen Han wrote down everything he had just thought of, then took his simple design blueprint and left the courtyard.
The Chen Clan now had a dedicated office area and reception area over by the accommodation zone. It was at the very end corner and would not affect tourist access.
This had originally been the command and logistics center for the militia drills of strong young men from the Ten Miles and Eight Villages that the Chen Clan had gathered. A large first-floor warehouse dedicated to those drills had been converted into an ordinary office area.
The Chen Clan office staff all worked there.
As for why there had been a dedicated drill warehouse?
When the Chen Clan gathered the strong young men of the Ten Miles and Eight Villages, it was not only to protect the area from bandits, rebel soldiers, and routed soldiers; when they encountered such people, there would be battles.
If there were battles, there would be spoils of war.
Those spoils had to be shared with others and not monopolized by the Chen Clan.
Sometimes rebel soldiers or routed soldiers carried treasure, or bandits had looted wealthy households elsewhere and held large sums. If they could take them…
Those who understood would understand.
This was actually why in troubled times the Chen Clan could gather the strong young men of the Ten Miles and Eight Villages with a single call.
Those things were stored in that dedicated warehouse and, after distribution, taken home by the strong young men.
The Chen Clan never ate alone.
That was also why no great, ambitious genius had emerged for so long; otherwise, they might have tried beginning with a band of relatives in Linhe County and ending with an Imperial Dynasty Group.
Now, as the Chen Clan attracted tourists, they did not take all the benefits for themselves. They let others in Linhe County enjoy them as well, and those near the Chen Clan all benefited from the Tourism Economy.
Was that not similar in spirit?
Only now, the money came from tourists instead of rebel soldiers, routed soldiers, or bandits.
When Chen Han arrived at the meeting room in the office area, Chen Xiaoyan was already there. She worked in the office area, after all. Seeing him enter, she greeted him with a smile: “Patriarch.”
Soon after, Uncle, Uncle Dagou, and Uncle Shuisheng arrived, and finally Xiao Yu came with Xiao Mi. The two had obviously been together and came over as one.
Sometimes Xiao Yu did not treat Xiao Mi as an outsider.
This was not an important family ritual, just a discussion of a new family project. Maybe Xiao Mi Jie could offer some suggestions.
Her thinking was that simple.
“Senior brother, what new project do you plan to do?” Xiao Yu sat down and asked with an expectant look.
The others also looked at Chen Han, who took out the rough drawing he had just made and handed it to his junior sister and the others, saying, “I plan to arrange a bewildering formation on the north side of the back mountain and open it to tourists.”
The word “bewildering formation” clearly made Chen Xiaoyan freeze.
She was not very familiar with this. Did the patriarch want to arrange a formation for tourists to play in?
This kind of project was something she was hearing for the first time. Even though she had long known that there were many mysterious phenomena around the Chen Clan, hearing this suddenly still felt abrupt.
Instead, she saw that Xiao Yu, Uncle Dagou, and her own father all hurried over to seriously study the blueprint and did not seem to find it strange.
It seemed the Chen Clan’s foundation was deeper than she had imagined; she, as a married-out daughter, was not qualified to know.
Especially when she heard her father Chen Shuisheng say, “Xiao Han, to arrange this bewildering formation, are you also going to use a Feng Shui formation?”
Look at that: even her father understood formation layout. How had she never noticed before?
Chen Lin, however, said distressedly, “Xiao Han, when our Work Hall starts construction, I am supposed to study I Ching Evolution books, right? That’s what troubles me. What if I can’t understand them?”
Unexpectedly, Xiao Mi said, “Uncle, I Ching Evolution numbers are actually not that hard. You can just view them as octal mathematics. What’s really hard is how to display I Ching Evolution after deriving it, like Chen Han said, using it as the basis to arrange a formation.”
Xiao Yu subconsciously looked at Xiao Mi with admiration in her eyes again.
Xiao Mi Jie really knew too much. She had been right to bring her; she could help.
Chen Lin hesitated not at all and said directly, “Xiao Mi, when we start work, our Work Hall invites you to be a consultant.”
At this point Chen Han added, “I will list in detail how to build the formation and the construction methods and then produce detailed blueprints. So now we need to establish a project and figure out roughly how much investment this will need. Sister Xiaoyan, I’ll trouble you to estimate that. It would be best if we can finish within about half a month.”
The Chen Clan would invest this money themselves, and it was not a small project.
All along, what Chen Xiaoyan handled was exactly this kind of matter, so she could roughly estimate the investment amount.
In this area, she was the professional, and the others did not disturb her.
Until she produced a result: “Patriarch, according to your design for this development, and with such a large area, basic labor plus equipment and facilities, and other expenses, we need more than 70 million. If we want to finish within half a month, the final cost may reach over 100 million.”
Chen Han did not hesitate when he heard this. “Then we will do it like that. I will transfer 100 million to the Work Hall as special funds. Sister Xiaoyan, you will oversee the progress and get the project approval documents done as soon as possible.”
“Okay, I will contact the culture and tourism side right away,” Chen Xiaoyan nodded. After confirming the project and adjourning the meeting, she contacted the culture and tourism bureau.
The Chen Clan’s work was a Culture and Tourism Project, all under that bureau’s control. She could contact Director Chen directly.
Back in her own office, she prepared the materials for the 《Chen Clan Bagua Zhouyi Derived Bewildering Formation Application…》, left the Chen Clan, and headed for the county office.
The reason for adding “Bagua Zhouyi Derived” was to highlight a special feature.
However, when Chen Kai received her in his own office and saw the application materials, he became very unsettled.
According to the description in the documents, this was no ordinary tourism project; it sounded like a real bewildering formation, just like those in novels, movies, and TV dramas.
In the past, if someone had submitted such a culture and tourism application to him, they would have been either a liar or a troublemaker.
Who did they think they were to arrange a bewildering formation?
But this was from the Chen Clan. That was different.
The Chen Family Head had already turned Feng Shui, this metaphysics, into science, and had been granted the title Grand Scholar by the higher-ups (the “Academician” term was disallowed out of consideration）).
Now they said they wanted to arrange a bewildering formation. Would you believe it?
Of course he did.
Putting down the documents, Chen Kai said with a smile, “Ms. Chen, there is no problem with your application materials. I will approve them right away. But we need to adjust the name to 《Chen Clan Woodland Labyrinth》, because there are still review regulations.”
Chen Xiaoyan understood this, so she could only revise it. Apparently, the gimmick she had in mind could not be used at this stage and would have to wait for later promotion.
…
Chen Clan.
When Chen Han returned to his own courtyard, he unfolded the A4 drawing on the stone table and wrote a few large words on it: 《I will arrange a formation!》.
He naturally intended to film an abstract video. He turned on recording, aimed at the A4 sheet, and said, “Because the Demonic Forces are becoming increasingly rampant and many Righteous Path families have been attacked, to enhance the safety of the Chen Clan, I have decided to arrange a great illusion formation to protect the family.”
“So I have been seriously studying the I Ching and intend to use Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers to arrange this great illusion formation. When the formation is complete, I will definitely invite all fellow practitioners to come and observe it.”
The video zoomed in on the words 《I will arrange a formation》.
Although this was an abstract video, it was also a preview.
Later, daily videos of the Work Hall developing the woodland and the final bewildering formation arrangement could be shot too.
When people saw workers constructing and bulldozers at work, no one would think it was a bewildering formation, yet it would be.
When the tourists who came to Join the Fun entered the formation and found something was off, the impact would be imaginable.
Chen Han edited the video and uploaded it directly.
There were many people following him now, especially those closely watching his every move, such as Ming Di.
He was the first to see the new video from the Chen Family Head.
The video itself had little content, just a few words and talk about arranging a formation. If it were a newcomer, it would get no traffic at all.
But the Chen Family Head was different. This was someone with True Kung Fu. Even if people online in the Chen Clan Dreamscape did not believe it, the Chen Family Head still had an official Title of Feng Shui Geography Grand Scholar granted from above.
He had turned Feng Shui, this metaphysics, into geography science. How strong must his Feng Shui attainments be?
When such a person said he was going to arrange a formation using Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers, would you believe him?
So he naturally had popularity, and with more than 5 million fans, the video gained heat as soon as it was posted.
Besides, maybe this Chen Family Head would soon turn the Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers into science as well.
Ming Di had recently read some Daoist books, including some I Ching texts, and felt that some transformations in the I Ching were like mathematical progressions.
He did not understand the details.
But just because he did not understand did not mean the Chen Family Head did not.
Thinking of this, his eyes lit up. He definitely had to piggyback on this popularity. He directly started recording a video: “Fellow Holy Cult practitioners, I have received a very bad piece of news. Recently that damned Chen Family Head has been studying Bagua Zhouyi Derived Numbers using mathematics and has somehow worked out a powerful formation.”
“How on earth did he do it? Mathematics and formations? How are these connected?”
“Can anyone tell me? No, in order to break the formation developed by the Chen Family Head, I must go back and study math books again.”
Ming Di posted the video straight away.
In an instant, the internet became lively because of this. Both videos received a lot of attention.
Soon, Ming Di’s video even surpassed Chen Han’s video in numbers. The reason was simple: mathematics – Bagua Zhouyi Derived – formation.
Each of these three words was understandable alone, but put together, they were extremely abstract.
Not only did Ming Di not know how mathematics could be related to formations; no one else did either.
The key was that no one could tell whether Ming Di’s video was an abstract video or a statement of fact.
In the past, almost all of Ming Di’s viral videos had been real information, accurate and reliable.
What about this time?
And there was already a precedent of the Chen Family Head turning Feng Shui into science.
So Ming Di’s video first entered the Trending Topic list.
Chen Han saw Ming Di’s video because someone tagged him.
Honestly, he had to admire Ming Di.
Mathematics, formations…
How did this guy always manage to piggyback right on the key points?
After watching Ming Di’s video, he roughly calculated how many Feng Shui Stones he needed, then directly tagged people in a Daoist Sect Daoist Priest group, seeking help with Feng Shui Stones.
Wudang.
Qingwei Daoist Priest and Chen Daoist Priest and several other Daoist Priests were gathered on the Golden Summit, and it could be seen that they were in excellent condition.
Recently, through cultivating the Thunder Fire Refining Golden Summit with 《Tai Chi Fist》, they all felt their bodies much improved.
The key was that the progress of Tai Chi cultivation had truly opened a new chapter for Wudang.
After finishing their cultivation, several Daoist Priests took out their mobile phones to have a look. Chen Daoist Priest exclaimed, “That Chen Family Head has posted another video and says he wants to arrange a formation.”
Now, there was no well-known Daoist Priest in the Daoist Sect who did not follow this Chen Family Head, especially those who had interacted with him and were sure he would become a Great Master of the Daoist Sect in the coming centuries.
“I saw it too,” another Daoist Priest said. “And that Ming Di is also revealing that the Chen Family Head wants to use mathematics to arrange a formation.”
“Mathematics to arrange a formation, what the heck?” Qingwei Daoist Priest froze and picked up his phone to see for himself.
After checking, he understood what was going on and subconsciously said, “Do you think the Chen Family Head is serious or not?”
“He should be serious,” Chen Daoist Priest said without thinking. “Senior brother, look at the group. The Chen Family Head is asking us for help with Feng Shui Stones. What do you think he is going to do?”
“Arrange a formation,” Qingwei Daoist Priest answered instinctively.
When he opened the group, he saw Daoist Priest Xuan Shi asking, “Chen Family Head, our Baiyun Temple does not have Feng Shui Stones, but can we come to the Chen Clan to observe when you arrange the formation?”
This sparked a flurry of questions:
“Chen Daoist Priest, we have Feng Shui Stones here. I will deliver them personally and hope to observe the formation.”
“We also have Feng Shui Stones. However many the Chen Family Head needs, we have them. Please allow us to observe the formation.”
“…”
Seeing these Daoist Priests’ requests, Chen Han replied with a simple, “Yes.”
After all, this bewildering formation would quickly cease to be a secret. Most importantly, those versed in Feng Shui and capable of communicating with and using geography and terrain, with enough time and natural talent, might be able to replicate the ordinary version of the bewildering formation after observing it.
It would still be difficult, though. Those Daoist Priests might find it hard even to create the Five Emperors Sword.
Upon seeing Chen Han’s answer, the Daoist Priests of the Daoist Sect were excited. They believed this was a grand event, and being able to participate was a stroke of great fortune.
Qingwei Daoist Priest did not hesitate and instructed Chen Daoist Priest, “Prepare the Feng Shui Stones. We will deliver them personally. The others will stay behind.”
“Yes, senior brother,” Chen Daoist Priest replied excitedly. This meant he could go to the Chen Clan.
The other Daoist Priests, however, were full of helplessness.
So they had decided just like that?
Dictatorship.
As time passed, the topic of “Chen Family Head: mathematics – I Ching – formation” quickly spread online.
At first, people who saw it were confused but mostly took it as just another abstract video.
After all, connecting mathematics and formations was indeed rather abstract.
But soon, one piece of news attracted everyone: those well-known Daoist Priests of the Daoist Sect were once again all heading to the Chen Clan.
This scene seemed to stir many memories. Previously, many Daoist Priests had also gathered in one place and then created Feng Shui Science and repaired Wudang’s Leihuo Lianjinding Feng Shui Formation.
So this time, the Chen Family Head said he would arrange a formation, and then those Daoist Priests all went to the Chen Clan again. Who would believe there was no connection?
In an instant, the entire internet was boiling.
The Chen Family Head had already turned one area of metaphysics into science. Would he now turn another metaphysics into science?
Then the whole worldview would start to feel off.
(The chapter ends here.)
