Chapter 319: This Grotto-heaven Isn’t Ai-made! There’s Something Wrong With This Usb Drive!
This artifact refining furnace is not just for display, it can be used; in other words, it is one of the facilities attached to the family grotto-heaven, and this artifact refining furnace is one of them.
The options for the artifact refining furnace are the same as the one in the Chen Clan, but there are also differences.
Because the words “artifact refining furnace（+1）” on it were too conspicuous.
He instantly understood what it meant: a level-one family grotto-heaven construction scroll, so the artifact refining furnace quality is +
This is also one of the methods many xianxia game companies use to make players pay-to-win. Anyway, no matter what magic treasure or equipment it is, quality can be increased by clicking with special props.
+1, +2, +.. with each increase in quality, the attributes become better.
There are even games where people go straight to +
Those are still relatively kind. Some unscrupulous ones drastically lower the success rate after +7, repeatedly going +8, +7, +8, +..
And there are ones even more shameless, where failure during upgrading directly destroys the item, and all the money spent before goes straight down the drain.
Although the game system only copies the bad parts and not the good ones, at least the attributes are given; there is still a bit of conscience left.
It is just that even with higher quality, it still copied that broken furnace in the Chen Clan made of stone bricks and mud; that is really messed up and very careless.
But just as this thought rose in his mind, suddenly another prompt appeared behind the “artifact refining furnace（+1）” text:
【Current artifact refining furnace is the basic version. Provide 10 primary spirit stones + artifact refining furnace appearance blueprint to change appearance.（Remark: the first appearance change only requires 1 primary spirit stone）!】
“…” Seeing this prompt, Chen Han really wanted to ask the game system, are you sure you are not the Penguin game system?
You are even playing a skin system with him now?
This is truly messed up.
The key point is, is the first time not usually a free trial so that after players enjoy it they will spend money?
And you still charge 1 primary spirit stone for the first time?
Chen Han was too exhausted to complain, and directly walked over to look at the gas stove and pressure cooker. These two things were also +1, able to refine higher-grade pills, and pill refinement also had a chance to produce higher-quality products.
Next was the water reservoir, which turned out to be a spirit spring, also +
Damn, instead of copying the one in the back mountain, it copied the water reservoir in his courtyard?
The game system really was going through unnecessary trouble here.
However, he scooped up some spirit spring water and took a sip. He had to admit, after spirit spring +1, the spirit spring water was indeed sweeter than the one in the back mountain.
He then drew some more into the game warehouse to check the remark information:
【Spirit spring water: sweetness +2, stamina recovery +2, refreshment +】
Aside from refreshment +2 staying the same, the sweetness and stamina recovery effects were both improved.
Overall, the three facilities attached to the level-one family grotto-heaven were all things he had obtained before, then upgraded to +1 quality.
This was still satisfying.
After that, he did not forget the most important thing, which was spiritual energy +
That meant the family cave mansion now had spiritual energy.
Thinking this, he immediately sat cross-legged and ran the 《Nine Heavens Profound Scripture advanced qi cultivation method》, and indeed instantly felt spiritual energy.
The family grotto-heaven did have spiritual energy.
It was just that the quality of the spiritual energy was not good, inferior to that from the family’s special spiritual aperture.
The special spiritual aperture had already been upgraded once.
The spiritual energy in the family cave mansion now was equivalent to the quality of the spiritual energy from the special spiritual aperture at the beginning.
This kind of spiritual energy let his junior sisters cultivate like fish in water, but for his cultivation it still felt a bit thin, since his strength was higher.
Still, having spiritual energy at all was a benefit. No matter how thin, it was still spiritual energy. With his eight extraordinary meridians opened, having started breaking meridians, he still had 173 years of lifespan.
With so much time, no matter how thin the spiritual energy, he could cultivate something.
It was just a pity that in reality there were no faction cave mansions for him to break through, no place to get a level-two family cave mansion construction scroll.
There was no way to upgrade the family cave mansion.
Chen Han suddenly thought of something again, went back to the artifact refining furnace, and took out a USB drive from the game warehouse.
Previously, the artifact refining furnace in the Chen Clan, due to insufficient level, could not refine this space material. Now with artifact refining furnace（+1）, he definitely had to try.
【This is currently a piece of space material. There is no corresponding item blueprint for refinement. Refinement success rate is extremely low. Finished product unknown. Current refinement requires spending 1 primary spirit stone to draw in spiritual energy and condense true fire. Proceed with refinement?】
Clearly, the artifact refining furnace inside the family grotto-heaven was also different from the one in the Chen Clan.
The one in the Chen Clan needed firewood to ignite before it could refine.
Here in the family grotto-heaven, spiritual energy directly condensed into true fire. It was more intelligent and more environmentally friendly.
But similarly, this artifact refining furnace also required spirit stones for refinement.
Just like in games, the more advanced the things you can refine, the more energy you need to consume; this was normal.
As for the low success rate and the cost of 1 primary spirit stone, that was no big deal.
After all, there were still 5 USB drives of this space material left, and he had quite a few primary spirit stones. These things could all drop in the demon extermination instance.
If they can drop and maps can refresh, then consumption did not matter; what mattered was satisfying his curiosity, otherwise the thought would gnaw at him.
He directly took out one primary spirit stone and chose to refine.
【Inside the artifact refining furnace, the spirit stone draws true qi, true qi rises, artifact refining furnace is refining…】
The refinement prompt for the artifact refining furnace had also changed, clearly sounding more high-end.
However, this refinement could not be completed in a short time.
He took out his mobile phone and turned on the recording function.
Was this not excellent abstract video material?
Right now, the online popularity regarding the Chen Clan Dreamscape was very high, especially the topic of that old Daoist priest creating an Immortal Valley.
So if he posted a video now where the old ancestor was building a family grotto-heaven, except some elements in this grotto-heaven were off—like the artifact refining furnace and spirit fire stove that had appeared in previous videos—it would definitely attract attention.
The key was that the other scenery of this grotto-heaven was so beautiful, especially looking out from inside the cave mansion: the mountain forest scenery looked like fairyland, completely different from reality.
But then suddenly a cement-and-brick artifact refining furnace and a gas stove appeared. That was not only abstract but also very abrupt, absolutely eye-catching.
After that, he could post another video asking for submissions, inviting everyone to help design skins for remodeling the pill furnace and these things, and adopt the design with the most likes. What would happen then?
It would definitely be lively.
And after changing the skins, he could post another video, harvesting another wave of popularity.
This would absolutely bring him a large amount of reputation.
Although the requirement for upgrading a level-six sect base only needed 1 million reputation, reputation had other uses, such as refining special Cloud Barrier Pills.
Refining a level-six Spirit Jade Ball also required 5 million reputation.
And advanced repair of the Cloud Barrier Cauldron also required 5 million reputation.
But right now he only had a bit over 4 million reputation, not enough to even refine another level-one Spirit Jade Ball.
Currently, he had only two ways to increase reputation: one was online followers, the other was tourists visiting the Chen Clan and being shocked, which would provide reputation.
For example, seeing tourists being punished, confirming that the legends about bad deeds being punished were true; seeing the auxiliary function of the special spiritual aperture under the Three Old Elm Trees; and drinking spirit spring water and feeling its effects.
Naturally, if he publicly demonstrated ancient techniques, that could also increase reputation. At the beginning, he had gained reputation by performing the apple transformation, meeting the initial reputation requirement.
But now the Chen Clan only received a bit over 2,500 tourists per day, and not all of them provided reputation, so the base was still too small.
The main reliance was still online channels.
Chen Han turned on mobile recording and said, “Today the old ancestor of my family brought me to a miraculous place. He said this is the family grotto-heaven he built. I came in to take a look, and it truly deserves to be called a grotto-heaven. It is really magical and beautiful.”
As he spoke, he also filmed those scenes of the family grotto-heaven.
Especially the distant view from the stone platform: a different kind of mountain forest, not only lush and verdant, with misty qi swirling, but even golden clouds filling the sky, forming layers of rosy clouds covering the mountains, extremely spectacular.
Then inside the cave, there were all kinds of arranged flowers and plants, glowing with fluorescence, very fantastical.
Under such conditions, who would dare say this was not a place of cultivation, a cave-heaven for immortals?
But in the blink of an eye, the camera turned and started recording the cement-and-brick artifact refining furnace, and his voice sounded again: “It is just that this artifact refining furnace made by the old ancestor is a bit strange, and also this spirit fire stove and spirit pressure cooker, and this spirit spring…”
As he said this, he turned the camera toward the gas stove and the pressure cooker.
At this moment, Chen Han stopped recording, thought for a bit, put on the Thousand Illusions Mask to turn into the appearance of the old Daoist priest, then set up his phone on a tripod and started recording again.
He appeared in the frame looking like an angry old Daoist priest, and cursed at the camera, “What do you know, this is called keeping up with the times.”
Only then did Chen Han stop recording again.
Thinking about it, how big would the impact be when the old Daoist priest suddenly appeared in the video?
The plot could be designed like this: he takes off the Thousand Illusions Mask, returns to his own appearance, deliberately aims the camera at the artifact refining furnace again, and lowers his voice: “Screw keeping up with the times. I am asking in the comment section for designs for this artifact refining furnace and these things so my family’s old ancestor can learn what keeping up with the times really means. The design with the most likes may be adopted for building the Chen Clan grotto-heaven.”
Then he stopped recording.
He watched the video from start to finish. The content was very good.
It showcased the beauty of the family grotto-heaven, showed the abstract nature of the artifact refining furnace and those things, and included the old Daoist priest’s dissatisfied rant and “keeping up with the times” stance.
The final part where he asked viewers for help was the most explosive.
He would solicit design drawings to help his old ancestor understand what keeping up with the times meant, and say that those with the most likes might be used to build the grotto-heaven.
It was easy to imagine there would be countless people posting designs in the comment section, a lively scene.
After that, he would use the collected designs to change the skins of the artifact refining furnace and the other items, record it again, and once the attention rose, filming the remodeled finished product would definitely go viral.
With this in mind, Chen Han started editing the recorded video to make it smoother, cutting out unnecessary footage.
However, there was no signal inside the family grotto-heaven, so he could not upload the video. So he had another thought, exited the family grotto-heaven, and once again found himself on the barren stone platform and the empty cave.
It was the same place, which meant the family grotto-heaven was an alternate dimension here.
So even if tourists discovered this location, they would not know of the existence of the family cave mansion.
The entrance remodeling door, however, had to be properly used.
At that time, the entrance still needed to be placed inside the Chen Clan.
Otherwise, once he authorized his uncle and the others to enter in the future, they could not always come all the way out here; tourists would see them sooner or later.
In modern society, some things could be shown off for attention, but he still needed a mix of truth and falsehood and to leave himself a way out.
So he opened the edited video with Doubao AI video, added a light filter so it would not affect the overall feel, and most importantly, added a Doubao AI-generated logo at the end of the video.
Then the title would be: 《The old ancestor built a family cave mansion. I swear this is not AI-generated!》
With truth and falsehood mixed, once viewers saw the AI-generated text at the end, the netizens would probably explode in argument.
In this situation, even if the higher-ups took notice, or someone accused them of promoting superstition, he could righteously say, this damn thing is AI-generated.
“I used AI to generate an abstract video, and you say I am promoting superstition?
“You think AI is superstition, right?
“You do not believe in science, right?”
Thinking this, Chen Han directly opened Douyin, uploaded the video, gave it a title, and posted it without hesitation.
After finishing all that, he had another thought and returned to the family cave mansion.
Seeing that the artifact refining furnace had not finished refining, he looked at the two items in the game warehouse.
The special grotto-heaven entrance remodeling sign and the special Family Heritage Stone Tablet.
The grotto-heaven entrance remodeling sign was two-sided, able to create two special doors: one inside the family cave mansion, one in the Chen Clan. Once both were set up, they would serve as entrance and exit.
And the special Family Heritage Stone Tablet needed to be erected in a place nourished by spiritual energy.
For now, only the family grotto-heaven could host this stone tablet.
The stone tablet was over three meters high, so he also had to pick an appropriate spot.
Chen Han looked around and identified two spots.
One was right under that giant tree.
He could use the grotto-heaven entrance remodeling sign there as entry and exit.
With a thought, he took the grotto-heaven entrance remodeling sign from the game warehouse and walked there. A game prompt appeared:
【Do you choose the current position for remodeling? After remodeling succeeds, this place will become the location where authorized clan members enter the grotto-heaven!】
Chen Han directly chose yes.
The game prompt appeared again:
【Position confirmed. Family grotto-heaven entrance（inner side） remodeling in progress…】
In the next moment, a beam of light shot out from the grotto-heaven entrance remodeling sign, projected beneath the big tree. A streak of white light instantly appeared, blended, then expanded, finally forming the phantom of a door.
That phantom was gradually solidifying bit by bit.
This process clearly also required some time.
After finishing this, Chen Han looked toward the other side, where the view was wide open, with a more protruding platform.
If he set up the special Family Heritage Stone Tablet there, authorized clan members entering from the opposite entrance would be able to see it at a glance.
On that raised platform, he took out the Family Heritage Stone Tablet and set it there. The game prompt appeared again:
【The current position possesses spiritual energy and can nourish the Heritage Stone Tablet. Do you choose to erect the Heritage Stone Tablet at the current position?】
Chen Han again chose yes.
【The special Family Heritage Stone Tablet’s location has been confirmed. The stone tablet is connecting to the cave mansion’s spirit vein. Spiritual energy transmission and nourishment in progress…】
With the game prompt, he could clearly see special mysterious runes beginning to appear on the stone tablet, making it obvious at a glance that it was extraordinary.
Moreover, after the Family Heritage Stone Tablet was confirmed, its base began to fuse with the ground of the cave mansion.
It was a true fusion, as if they were becoming one.
At the points of fusion, glowing lines slowly spread, linking up with the special mysterious runes on the stone tablet.
This meant that once all these mysterious runes fully lit up, the Family Heritage Stone Tablet would take effect.
This also required considerable time.
So Chen Han had another thought and once again appeared outside the family grotto-heaven, climbed up from the cliff edge, and returned to the mountain top.
Going down the mountain back to the Chen Clan, he first went to his own courtyard.
At first, he had wanted to set the family grotto-heaven entrance there.
But placing the external entrance of the family grotto-heaven in his own courtyard felt wrong. In the future, when more people were allowed into the family cave mansion, more clan members would be going in and out; having them all pass through his home’s gate would be inappropriate.
He then looked toward the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall. The Ancestral Hall was one option, but there were many tourists there. Although tourists were not allowed into the Ancestral Hall, clan members going in and out constantly would still not be good.
The Ancestral Hall would usually be used as an important venue for major family meetings or family festivals.
So it was best to choose a separate, independent house to serve as a place for storing important items and handling family affairs.
For example, there was no specific storage place for the Body Tempering Pills and Beauty Pills refined by Xiao Yu. They were all kept with her and only taken out when needed as rewards.
In the future, those could be placed in a designated place.
This independent house could be called the Affairs Hall.
Family administrative affairs would be handled there. His uncle, Uncle Dagou, Uncle Shuisheng, the three hall masters, Aunt-Grandmother, Xiao Yu, and others could work there daily, and the Demon Subduing Hall could be stationed there.
Body Tempering Pills, Beauty Pills, and such could be stored inside.
Some of the medicinal wine in his game warehouse could have their uses written clearly and be stored in the Affairs Hall as well.
That way, if any important believers or personal connections, such as a tycoon like Liu Ye or someone like Old Master Zheng, needed that medicinal wine, Aunt-Grandmother, Xiao Yu, and his uncle could handle it themselves without going through him.
This was already a minor issue for him.
Strictly speaking, with his current status, a tycoon like Liu Ye might not even get a chance to meet him in person.
Conveniently, the external entrance of the family cave mansion could also be placed in this Affairs Hall.
And just then, he looked at one particular house.
That house was not far from his uncle’s house, built in a more modern style and two stories taller.
Without the game system’s attribute bonuses, this building would absolutely spoil the overall beauty of the Chen Clan Ancient Architectural Complex.
This building belonged to Chen Yong’s family.
Was this not the perfect location for the Affairs Hall?
Thinking that, he took out his mobile phone and called Chen Xiaoyan.
As soon as the call connected, he instructed, “Sister Xiaoyan, prepare a house acquisition contract. That Chen Yong should soon come to plead. When the time comes, buy his house back. He will no longer be part of the Chen Clan.”
In the Chen Clan office area, Chen Xiaoyan immediately responded, “Alright, Patriarch!”
Hanging up, she instructed the two young people beside her, “Go check the condition of Chen Yong’s house and also contact a lawyer to draft a purchase contract remotely for us.”
She was well aware of the recent big clan genealogy entry ceremony.
Although she was married out and not qualified to be in the clan genealogy, her father, Chen Shuisheng, was in charge of the specialty products department and was one of the three hall masters.
He knew clearly what had happened in the Ancestral Hall. This Chen Yong completely failed to understand the situation or the family’s true strength and actually tried to seize power.
Yes, from what her father said, she could guess his intentions.
She had not previously had an impression of Chen Yong; only after hearing her father explain did she learn that his family had moved out early and rarely returned, and that he was relatively successful in business.
The reason he did such a foolish thing was probably because he was thinking purely as a businessman and did not usually understand the family’s situation. Otherwise, even if he was in the family group, he would not have done that.
Now, he had been expelled from the clan, and he would be the one crying in the future.
The Chen Clan’s greatest strength was not money, but that profound and mysterious power.
Ordinary people could not access that.
So even a tycoon like Liu Ye had to treat the Chen Clan with respect.
The two young people were juniors from the Chen Clan who had graduated from university and were now interns. They had already been entered into the clan genealogy and naturally knew about someone being expelled.
They also thought he had been extremely stupid.
They clearly understood the benefits of the family.
Among their university classmates who were also interning, everyone envied them for coming back to the family for internships, with guaranteed placement and high salaries.
Many of those classmates had very low internship pay.
Chen Yong was indeed just as Chen Han had predicted. He could no longer endure it and had his secretary and driver take him from the hospital to the Chen Clan.
Along the way, while enduring his toothache and hemorrhoid pain, he watched the videos on Chen Han’s Douyin account from the first one.
He could clearly sense that the earliest videos were purely abstract, like luring dogs and making two groups of dogs fight, which was utterly monstrous behavior.
Several videos had no mystery at all. Only from the apple transformation onward did things become unusual.
He guessed that this was when that ancestor had appeared and taught Chen Han a bit, and then more and more mysterious elements began to appear in the later videos.
Before long, lightness skill and true kung fu also appeared.
He did not believe for a moment that the main family had always hidden this and outsiders simply did not know. He was sure there had been nothing like that before, and that it only emerged later.
He had heard his grandfather say how that elder had cursed at Chen Han’s grandfather for superstition. If he had such abilities, would his grandfather not have lived carefree?
He was absolutely certain that it was because Chen Han had so desperately lured dogs for videos, promoting the family even at the cost of his dignity, that he caught the ancestor’s eye.
So Chen Han got the benefits.
He even thought that if he had stayed in the family, invested 20 million, and led everyone to develop, maybe he would have been the one chosen.
He was sure of this, since they were all surnamed Chen and shared the same blood.
That old ancestor was over two hundred years old. How much affection would he have for the Chen Clan, or for any of the current juniors?
It was certain that when he suddenly appeared, he only had feelings for the Chen Clan as a whole and none for any individual. So he could choose anyone, and would choose the most outstanding.
And he believed he was better than Chen Han.
Based on this, as he watched Chen Han’s videos and saw the numbers grow and the mysterious elements increase, he felt that should have been his development path.
Very soon, they arrived at the Chen Clan.
Chen Yong knew that this time, he would be fully expelled from the clan, the house would be bought back, and he had no choice. Otherwise, he would be tortured to death by the toothache and hemorrhoids.
But he would not give up. This was only enduring humiliation. He had already booked long-term accommodation in Shangyuan Village and would lie low, looking for a chance to see that ancestor.
As long as he could meet that ancestor, everything could be reset; it would only take a single word from that ancestor.
He believed in his own ability, convinced that he was much better than the current messy development of the Chen Clan.
Most importantly, he could tell the ancestor that in modern society, one cannot let a single side dominate; constraints are needed. He himself would be the best constraint, beneficial to the family’s development.
Thinking this, he had his secretary and driver help him into the Chen Clan, called Chen Lin, and said, “Uncle Chen Lin, I know I was wrong. I agree to the Chen Clan’s terms and am willing to sell my house. I only hope to be spared. If this continues, I will die.”
Chen Lin immediately contacted Chen Han to report. Chen Han told him to bring Chen Yong over and notified Chen Xiaoyan to bring the contract.
Soon after, Chen Lin brought Chen Yong to his nephew’s courtyard. Chen Xiaoyan arrived as well with the purchase contract.
Chen Han directly handed the purchase contract to Chen Yong and said bluntly, “Chen Yong, sign this contract and you will no longer have any relationship with the Chen Clan. Then even the Chen Clan ancestor will have no way to punish you, and you will naturally be fine.”
Hearing this, Chen Yong felt humiliated but could only pick up the contract and sign his name.
Seeing this, Chen Han immediately instructed Chen Xiaoyan, “Sister Xiaoyan, go take the house over, handle the handover with him, and then inform me. From now on, that place will be the family Affairs Hall, and elders and hall masters will work there.”
“Alright, Patriarch!” Chen Xiaoyan nodded, then said to Chen Yong, “Mr. Chen, this way please.”
Chen Yong could only nod and follow her out of the courtyard.
Seeing this, Chen Han kept his promise, activated the two rings in his hand, and removed the Bite Teeth and Hemorrhoid Skill from Chen Yong.
Not long after Chen Yong stepped out of the courtyard, he noticed something different: the toothache and hemorrhoid pain were gone.
Was it really that fast?
So just selling the house fixed everything?
Damn it.
He had perfectly missed out on this power.
But he knew there was nothing he could do now. Only when he met that old ancestor would he have a chance to turn things around.
Is that not how it always plays out in television and movies?
Chen Xiaoyan worked quickly. After finishing the handover with Chen Yong, she reported to the Patriarch.
Only after receiving the news did Chen Han go to that house. Entering inside, he said to the waiting Chen Xiaoyan, “Sister Xiaoyan, later make a sign that reads ‘Affairs Hall’ and hang it outside. I will look around by myself now. If there is anything, I will let you know.”
“Alright, Patriarch.” Chen Xiaoyan nodded and left.
Chen Han went through the building, checking the layout of the whole place. Since it had two extra floors, the usable space was larger. In the end, he chose a room on the right side of the top floor and used the grotto-heaven entrance remodeling scroll.
After selecting the location and confirming, the game prompt appeared:
【Position confirmed. Family grotto-heaven entrance（outer side） remodeling in progress…】
Again, a white beam of light projected out, forming the phantom of a door. Likewise, this construction would take some time.
As for when it would be finished, he just had to wait for the game prompt.
Chen Han stepped outside and was about to return to his own courtyard when he suddenly received the prompt that the artifact refining furnace refinement was complete:
【Artifact refining furnace refinement failed. Space material shattered and became unknown product X2!】
Chen Han was not surprised by this. Since the system had warned beforehand that the success probability was low, failure was within expectations.
But the space material shattering and becoming unknown product X2 was something he had to inspect to see what these unknown products were.
Because the grotto-heaven entrance remodeling was not yet complete, he had to go in again from the back mountain top. After avoiding tourists along the way, he once more arrived in the family grotto-heaven.
He went to the artifact refining furnace, opened it, and was stunned at the two resulting items inside.
Damn, were they not still USB drives?
Except one USB drive had become two USB drives.
The USB interface had not changed; only the rest of the body had become thinner and lighter in color.
Chen Han was a bit dumbfounded.
The artifact refining furnace had failed to refine this USB drive, and then one USB drive became two?
This made him think of certain magic gags online, like turning one banknote into two.
Was this similar?
He really wanted to complain, then put the two USB drives into the game warehouse to check the remark information and see what these items were.
But when he saw the remark information for the two USB drives, his expression instantly showed astonishment.
This worked?
You call this a failure?
In a certain sense, this counted as a successful refinement, right?
