Chapter 329: From The Demon Realm! Manifestation Scroll! A New Chapter For The Daoist Sect!
Chen Han suddenly received this prompt, and his mind spun wildly. What kind of existence was both violent and evil yet held no malice toward a righteous family?
When he could not figure it out, his junior sister hurried in. “Senior brother, a strange foreigner has arrived outside our Chen Clan, and he is already on Douyin’s trending topics.”
As she spoke, she took out a mobile phone and handed it over. On the screen was a trending topic page on Douyin, with many videos whose stats were all very high.
Chen Han tried opening one video and saw a young man with brown skin worshiping on the highway. He would kowtow once, get up and walk a few steps, then kowtow again.
This surprised him and made him think of a certain domestic pilgrimage tradition.
He still did not see anything special from the first video.
By the second video, he felt something was off; in the third video, Shangyuan Village and the Chen Clan appeared in the distance.
The other party had been kowtowing all the way to the Chen Clan; there were already bloodstains on his forehead, and his palms were also bloody.
With such a scene, and with his destination clearly being the Chen Clan, plus the current online popularity of the Chen Clan due to the illusion array construction, it was normal that this would attract attention and go viral.
Chen Han returned the mobile phone to his junior sister, left the courtyard, and walked toward the Chen Clan Main Entrance. Before long, he saw a large crowd of tourists gathered around something.
What they were surrounding turned out to be that brown-skinned foreigner.
He also knew there was no brown race in the world; such skin color must be a white person long exposed to the sun and tanned dark.
Almost at the same time, Chen Han received another game prompt:
【You have discovered the source of the violent evil demonic energy, but the situation seems off. The other party is not of the Demonic Path, but an Outer Realm Expert whose body is tainted by demonic energy that cannot disperse. His mind seems to have been corroded by the demonic energy and is about to grow numb.
This arouses your curiosity. Perhaps it is a chance to explore the Outer Domain!】
Chen Han was surprised.
Until now, he had only encountered outer demonic path cultivators. Now he had met a righteous Outer Realm Expert?
Calling him an expert was indeed accurate. To be honest, making that kowtowing journey all the way here was not something an ordinary person could do.
Just then, he suddenly received a telephone call. It was from Mr. Zheng from the city.
Why was this man suddenly calling?
He answered, and a voice came through. “Chen Family Head, that foreign friend from the online news has arrived at your Chen Clan, right?”
Chen Han paused. He did not expect this call to be about that foreigner.
Chen Han replied, “Mr. Zheng, if he is special enough for you to call me personally, he must be quite unusual, right?”
“Mm, he is very special,” Zheng Ruixin did not deny it and then mentioned a place.
“That place?” Chen Han was immediately shocked.
If it was that place, calling it a Demon Realm would not be an exaggeration.
Under modern societal conditions, for a place to still have more than a hundred deaths in a single day, there had not been such a tragic Demon Realm chaos for a long time.
Zheng Ruixin continued to explain, “This Mahadra is from a faction seeking a new path. We do not yet know why he went to the Chen Clan. But the higher-ups have sent people to monitor. If any incident occurs, I hope you will not make things difficult for them.”
“Rest assured, Mr. Zheng, I understand.” Chen Han agreed, feeling curious about this Mahadra.
As for that Demon Realm, domestic netizens were divided into two camps and were fiercely arguing.
They even extended the arguments into many irrelevant issues.
In fact, these people did not understand one principle: the issue of that Demon Realm did not require them to support any side. They only needed to support the higher-ups.
Whichever side the higher-ups supported, they would support that side.
There was no other choice.
“Chen Family Head, is that Old Daoist Priest of the Chen Clan still well?” Zheng Ruixin suddenly asked, as one of the people who knew how terrifying the Chen Clan’s trump card was.
This was his real concern.
If abnormal methods appeared there, how great would the impact on that Demon Realm be?
“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Zheng.” Chen Han did not understand why Mr. Zheng suddenly brought this up, but he still replied.
When he hung up the call, he was surprised to see another prompt appear in the game system:
【New game submodule loading… System has detected new data packet fragments. Collecting Data Packet （3） data fragments…】
Chen Han was astonished. This was the second time Data Packet （3） was being collected.
The first time was when the Blood Moon appeared.
Back then, besides the collection of Data Packet （3）, a special module had been loaded, and a new data link had been discovered.
However, that new data link, after being analyzed until now, had shown no movement.
Chen Han subconsciously looked at Mahadra.
This Data Packet （3） data collection might be related to him.
Could module 3 also be related to demons?
If so, the Blood Moon seemed related to demons as well. After all, in many settings, a Blood Moon signified ill omen.
But since the game system had not finished collecting the data, he could not be sure; it was all too abstract.
Chen Han watched Mahadra kowtow his way forward. The man’s apparent destination seemed to be the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall.
Sure enough, before long, the other party entered the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall. A reporter-like person led him to receive incense sticks, then they went before the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation to offer incense and kowtow.
Out of curiosity at this foreign friend, the surrounding tourists all stopped and did not join him in offering incense.
Chen Han hid in the side hall and watched this scene.
It was his first time seeing a foreigner come to the Chen Clan to worship the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation; even his aunt-grandmother was surprised, her face full of astonishment.
【You have gained 1 point of wish power!】
When Chen Han received the wish power prompt, he was immediately stunned.
This worked too?
Right now, only Mahadra was offering incense, which meant that on his first visit to the Chen Clan he had already become a pious believer of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation?
Thinking about it, it made sense. He lived in a Demon Realm, long immersed in war, helpless before his homeland’s descent into a Demon Realm.
War could not save them, only bring more pain. When people were helpless, it was normal to pray to gods and buddhas. After arriving at the Chen Clan, he would naturally sense how extraordinary it was.
Even just the difference in air and climate was a huge impact for someone whose nerves had been stretched taut.
“I… I felt it… the god… the god is blessing me.” Mahadra felt a warm sensation in his body.
That feeling made him very comfortable, as if washing his exhausted soul.
He seemed to see a new hope.
But his excited expression made the surrounding tourists gape.
The Heavenly Lord’s believers who could sense blessings were shocked that a foreigner could also be blessed.
Even several hall wardens of the Chen Clan were surprised.
It was one thing for a foreigner to come offer incense to the Heavenly Lord, but he had actually been blessed by the Heavenly Lord.
It was truly miraculous.
As for those tourists who were not pious enough and had not been blessed by the Heavenly Lord, they curled their lips. This must be another stooge invited by the Chen Clan, right?
The Chen Clan really went to great lengths.
Most importantly, they knew how to attract attention.
A foreigner came to the Chen Clan to pray to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation and was blessed by the Heavenly Lord. This news would definitely trend.
But they absolutely did not believe it.
Because they themselves had not been blessed. Compared with other domestic believers, if you said they were not pious enough, they could accept that and reluctantly believe they were not stooges and this was not hype.
But now a foreigner, whose own god belonged to a different system from the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation, was blessed?
They refused to believe they were inferior to someone from a different religious system.
Mahadra did not hesitate. He went to receive incense sticks again. He wanted to once more feel the presence of the god.
He lit the incense again, went before the Heavenly Lord, offered incense, and prayed piously.
【You have gained 1 point of wish power!】
Chen Han received another prompt and became even more surprised.
“I felt it again. Thank you for the god’s blessing.” Mahadra shouted excitedly again, and he actually went to get more incense.
He continued offering incense and praying.
【You have gained 1 point of wish power!】
Chen Han was truly astonished. This foreigner on his first visit was actually this pious?
This was really beyond his expectations.
What surprised him even more was a sudden new game prompt:
【Due to your unremitting efforts, you have spread the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation’s fame far and wide, attracting an Outer Realm person to become a believer and allowing the Heavenly Lord’s power to influence the Outer Domain for the first time.
The Heavenly Lord is extremely satisfied and has granted you a special favor.
Congratulations, you have obtained Heavenly Dew Manifestation Scroll X1 and Special Outer Realm Sweet Dew Manifestation Scroll X
Note: Please continue your efforts and let the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation’s radiance shine upon more distant areas.】
Chen Han was instantly stunned.
People said pies fell from the sky; was this not exactly that?
He had done nothing and received rewards, and two manifestation scrolls at that.
The key information in this game prompt was that the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation wanted his fame to spread in the Outer Domain.
Moreover, if he did well, there would be rewards. This should count as a task, right?
Also, Outer Domain people could provide wish power. What about reputation? That should work too.
Was this not religious expansion and missionary work?
Just like how now, Daoist sects had many Daoist temples abroad.
Historically, the most famous example of this kind of thing was the Crusades.
But modern society was different. Such things could not be done in the same way, yet wish power and reputation still seemed achievable, especially with the internet being so developed.
Thinking this, Chen Han immediately checked the two new manifestation scrolls in the game warehouse.
【Heavenly Dew Manifestation Scroll: This is a manifestation scroll bestowed by the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation. After use, the miraculous scene of heavenly sweet dew descending will appear, providing tremendous benefit in healing injuries and repairing negative conditions of the body.】
【Special Outer Realm Sweet Dew Manifestation Scroll: This is a special manifestation scroll bestowed by the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation. It can be used in Outer Domain lands. However, Outer Domain demonic lands are shrouded in demonic energy all year round. The scroll requires pious believers’ blood as a guide and pious faith as the medium to be used.
After use, the miraculous scene of heavenly sweet dew descending will appear, providing tremendous benefit in healing injuries and repairing negative conditions of the body.】
After seeing the two manifestation scrolls, it was clear that the first one could be used by him at any time.
The second one was more interesting, requiring special conditions.
Namely, it involved believers’ blood as a guide and pious faith as the medium.
In other words, he could use this scroll, and others could also use it, as long as they met these two requirements.
For example, his aunt-grandmother, his uncle, and others could use it.
But considering the context, this item was clearly prepared specifically for Mahadra.
It was meant for him to take back to his homeland and use in that Demon Realm, to spread the Heavenly Lord’s fame and bring more believers to him.
While Chen Han was pondering this, Mahadra finished offering incense again, but this time he did not provide more wish power.
However, the fact that he had provided wish power three times showed he was pious enough.
At that moment, the reporter who had been filming suddenly pulled Mahadra over to a group of people, or rather directly in front of one person.
That person was Wu Yan.
The reporter immediately appealed to Wu Yan. “Mister, this Mister Mahadra has been blessed by the Heavenly Lord. He wants to enter the Chen Clan Dreamscape with you tonight. Please help him.”
Clearly, this reporter was very familiar with the Chen Clan, had likely been here before and experienced its mysterious phenomena, or had acquaintances who knew of them.
Otherwise, he would not know about the Chen Clan Dreamscape in detail, nor be able to find Wu Yan immediately.
Wu Yan was very surprised to see a foreigner.
But this was also his first time receiving such a foreigner. He did not hesitate and agreed at once.
Chen Han looked at the Outer Realm Sweet Dew Manifestation Scroll, then at Mahadra, and roughly understood his goal.
Could it be that he wanted to see his old daoist priest identity?
Highly likely.
This was something that could be handled well, and he could pass that special scroll to him too.
Thinking this over, Chen Han left the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall and returned to his courtyard to check the online situation. He figured Mahadra’s videos of kowtowing to the Heavenly Lord would quickly explode online.
As he expected, by evening, the related popularity had already hit the trending list.
Mahadra’s pilgrimage-like kowtowing journey to the Chen Clan had already generated enough news heat. Now that he had specially offered incense and kowtowed to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation, the heat naturally rose even higher.
Especially once his identity as someone from the Jia Sha Demon Realm was revealed.
Because of that Demon Realm, people online almost argued themselves hoarse.
When Chen Han scrolled to one video, he understood Mahadra’s purpose. Mahadra had created a Douyin account and posted a video.
It was a plea and appeal.
With tears and emotion, he described the current situation in the Demon Realm, where everyone lived in daily terror.
Many children’s biggest fear was that they would never grow up.
He hoped that Eastern Greatness, that giant, could bring peace to the Demon Realm. As an ordinary person struggling to survive there, he wished for an end to death and bloodshed as soon as possible.
The video attracted countless attention and had already become a hotspot.
This was an alternative public opinion route, trying to win international sympathy. If the major powers felt sympathy and public opinion formed, it might really change the situation.
If so, not only there but people from that Demon Realm in other major countries would likely also seek sympathy.
And that reporter was probably moved by compassion and chose to help Mahadra.
After all, there were still good people in this world.
While Chen Han was thinking, two Daoist priests came to visit: Qingwei Daoist Priest and Daoist Priest Xuan He.
“Two Daoist Priests, please sit.” Seeing them, Chen Han guessed they were here about the illusion array. In the hall, he prepared tea tools and Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea and brewed a pot.
Qingwei Daoist Priest suddenly said, “Chen Family Head, you must have seen the online news about Mahadra, right?”
Chen Han paused. He had not expected them to come for Mahadra’s matter.
Daoist Priest Xuan He added a reminder. “Chen Family Head, Daoist Priest Li will likely contact you very soon. And since Mahadra comes from that place, the higher-ups cannot possibly ignore it. Our Daoist sect’s foreign-ordained members and believers already exceed three hundred thousand.”
Hearing this, Chen Han roughly understood.
The higher-ups’ attention was a given; even Mr. Zheng had called.
In this new era, religious regulations stipulated that both Daoist sects and Buddhist sects had obligations to cooperate with the higher-ups in promoting and developing cultural inheritance.
For example, Daoist sects developing abroad, taking foreign disciples and believers, was a form of outward cultural export.
It was similar in nature to the cultural influence of Hollywood movies, though the emphasis and impact differed.
Of course, inheritance, promotion, and development of culture were the public explanation. What happened behind the scenes was another matter.
While they were talking, Chen Han’s mobile phone ringtone sounded. It was Daoist Priest Li calling, just as the two Daoist priests had said.
Chen Han answered and turned on speakerphone. Daoist Priest Li’s voice came through. “Chen Family Head, you are aware of the news about Mahadra, right? I can see that he is sincerely inclined toward our Daoist sect; otherwise, he would not have made that pilgrimage.”
“Our Daoist Association also has the duty to promote Daoist inheritance and culture abroad. We should accept him as a member. This will positively contribute to the external development of Daoism.”
Qingwei Daoist Priest and Daoist Priest Xuan He both smiled.
The same old line. Daoist Priest Li was best at this kind of phrasing, yet it could not be refuted, because they knew some of the reasons behind it.
Next year, Daoist Priest Li would retire. They did not know if those bastards would sacrifice others instead of themselves and push them into his position.
If that happened, they would have to speak the same way.
Nothing could be done about it.
So their Daoist temples also had many foreign Daoist members, some quite famous.
For example, Jack-Li Zigen, Chang Fu, Zhi Zhenlan, and others.
Even though Chen Han already knew what this was about, he still frowned slightly and said, “Daoist Priest Li, our Chen Clan does not accept foreign disciples. More importantly, taking a foreign disciple requires relevant regulations, right? Our Chen Clan should not meet the conditions for ordination.”
Daoist Priest Li seemed to have anticipated this and decisively explained, “The Chen Clan only needs to take him as a registered disciple. Ordination, conversion to the ‘Dao, scripture, and master’ three jewels, and so on will all be handled by the association. As for the other regulations, Secretary-General Ma will take care of them.”
When Secretary-General Ma was mentioned, Chen Han understood that this was the will of the higher-ups, and Daoist Priest Li was asking him to give face.
So he had no choice but to agree. A mere registered disciple was beneath even a Chen Clan Member.
Moreover, he did not plan to accept him personally. He would let his uncle or someone else go through the motions. Then that special manifestation scroll could be given as a gift. Perfect.
Importantly, this should also fulfill the Heavenly Lord’s task.
After hanging up, Chen Han waved somewhat helplessly at the two Daoist priests.
Time passed, and night fell.
Mahadra and the reporter who helped him arrived at the Chen Clan gate and found Wu Yan. Naturally, Wu Yan took them onto his dream-ferrying bus.
Seeing him again, Wu Yan was very surprised, having watched the news online.
Dream-ferrying bus was the name he had given it, since he used that bus to bring tourists into the Chen Clan Dreamscape.
Mahadra’s presence on the bus immediately drew the attention of the other tourists, who all glanced over.
Everyone had seen the news and felt sympathy for him.
After handing out the configured drugs to everyone on the bus, Wu Yan took his own dose.
Seeing everyone drink, Mahadra also drank his. Moments later, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his expression became strained.
He looked as if he were having a nightmare.
Wu Yan once again entered the Chen Clan Dreamscape. This had become routine, as he brought tourists in every day.
But this time, just as he gathered with the tourists, he suddenly heard intense gunfire and even the sound of shells exploding.
He instinctively looked over and saw an endless expanse of ruined city.
Wu Yan and the tourists were all stunned. Whose dream was this, to be so tragic?
Before they could understand, someone crawled out from a pile of ruins. It was Mahadra.
He was covered in blood, holding a woman and two children in his arms, one of whom had just been born. At that moment, a broken steel bar had pierced through the newborn’s head, an extremely horrific scene.
Mahadra wept with heart-wrenching grief, his face full of despair.
Seeing this, Wu Yan felt deep sympathy. He hurried forward to pull him up, bringing him out of the nightmare.
Mahadra clearly froze for a moment. Looking around, his eyes were still bloodshot, but he had not forgotten his purpose this time.
According to what the reporter had told him, there was someone in the Chen Clan Dreamscape who could communicate with a deity, an extremely terrifying person. He wanted to beg this person to let the deity protect them.
Looking at the scenes from his own dreamland, he said nothing and followed Wu Yan forward. Soon they arrived beneath the Light Gate and were drawn into it.
He knew that the Chen Clan Old Ancestor spoken of by the reporter was inside.
Very quickly, he saw an old daoist priest appear under a tree. He rushed forward to kowtow and, in clumsy learned Chinese, piously cried, “Please help us!”
But the old daoist priest only gave him a cup of tea. Not understanding, he could only continue kowtowing.
Seeing this, Wu Yan perhaps understood his purpose and kindly reminded him, “This is an NPC, not a real person!”
“???” Mahadra was clearly stunned.
NPC?
Was that not something from games, a virtual being and not real?
How could there be an NPC in a dream?
Only after the old daoist priest disappeared did he get up, dumbfounded.
Not long after, Chen Han appeared.
He had used the Thousand Illusions Mask to become the old daoist priest’s likeness.
Since Wu Yan sympathized with Mahadra, he quickly reminded him, “This one is real.”
Mahadra did not hesitate. He rushed to Chen Han, kowtowed heavily, and pleaded, “Please help us.”
Seeing this, Chen Han knew his guess was correct. Without wasting time, he said directly, “Starting tomorrow, come to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall every day to offer incense. Someone will come to you.”
With that, he exited the special dream realm, leaving Mahadra in a daze.
Daoist Priest Li’s side would come, and they would surely bring ordination documents and association credentials for Mahadra.
At that time, he would give Mahadra the special Demon Realm Sweet Dew scroll.
The people of the Jia Sha Demon Realm were already physically and mentally exhausted and steeped in despair. Many of them also had illnesses.
What effect would a heavenly sweet dew manifestation have there?
Mahadra could first erect a Statue of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation and lead people to kowtow, then use the scroll before the statue.
Then that Demon Realm would surely be shrouded in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation’s radiance. If the Heavenly Lord was pleased, he might give Chen Han some good reward.
Time passed. The next day came quickly, and attention on Mahadra only grew higher. Many people noticed that from the next day on, he went to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation at the Chen Clan every single day to offer incense.
For several consecutive days, many people came specifically to the Chen Clan to film him. His popularity was so high that his account surpassed one million followers.
While Mahadra prayed daily at the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall, the Chen Clan’s illusion array construction was also basically completed.
Those construction workers gradually left.
This naturally drew much attention. The hype over the Chen Clan illusion array had passed, and with bulldozers, excavators, and other modern tools publicly used and the development site exposed, many refused to believe it was a real illusion array.
To most, it was just a maze attraction, a popular modern project everywhere. The Chen Clan calling it an illusion array and stirring such high popularity had made many eager to challenge it.
For example, the number one maze player in the country, Wei Hang.
He had won awards, including first place at an international maze player competition. He had over one million followers on Douyin domestically.
He often posted videos of clearing maze attractions, especially easily conquering various mazes across the country, gaining a huge following.
The Chen Clan’s illusion array project naturally attracted him. Seeing that the Chen Clan was developing a maze, he did not hesitate. He had to piggyback on its popularity.
When he arrived at the Chen Clan maze project after the workers had withdrawn, he immediately went near the project and looked at the completed maze.
His assistant said at his side, “Boss, they really have withdrawn. It seems the Chen Clan will open this maze project soon. That will be your chance to gain popularity, thanks to them.”
“Then we will thank the Chen Clan later,” Wei Hang chuckled. He took out a drone, launched it, and controlled it to fly over the maze. Soon, it captured the entire Chen Clan maze from above.
Through the footage, he recorded the whole maze. The Chen Clan maze had two parts: a larger area, a big Eight Trigrams Path Labyrinth, and a smaller area, a small Eight Trigrams Path Labyrinth.
The Chen Clan maze was indeed built based on Eight Trigrams paths.
But was that all?
Wei Hang felt a bit contemptuous. In maze projects, the absence of pattern could make things harder, while a patterned design made the pattern easy to exploit.
For example, with this Eight Trigrams pattern. Filming from above, he could take it back, draw out the paths, memorize the route, and walk straight through.
The Chen Clan’s talk about Bagua Zhouyi evolution was just bluster.
Of course, to be sure, he controlled the drone to get closer and check whether the paths inside the maze could move.
If they could move, that would add changes and some difficulty.
But what amused him was that, based on his experience, not a single path or mechanism in the Chen Clan maze appeared movable.
Was that it?
Wei Hang felt the Chen Clan’s hype was grossly inflated and the execution rough. “With a maze like this, it wouldn’t even make the top fifty worldwide. When they open, that’ll be my time to shine.”
With that, he hurried off with his assistant.
The footage was enough. He only needed to use a computer to draw out the route.
The Chen Clan and Chen Han knew nothing of this. Chen Han entered the hall and, pretending, took out the New Five Emperors Sword from the game warehouse.
When he walked out of the courtyard, he could see a crowd of Daoist Sect Daoist Priests outside, drawing the attention of many tourists.
Those Daoist priests looked at the emerging Chen Family Head with hopeful eyes.
They were about to witness a new chapter for the Daoist sect.
