Chapter 330: A Miraculous Illusion Array! Is There Some Huge Misunderstanding?
“All of you daoist priests have been waiting!” Chen Han greeted them with a smile.
Qingwei Daoist Priest said, “We were just waiting for you, Chen Family Head. No one wants to miss the grand scene of you setting up the labyrinth.”
Daoist Priest Xuan He echoed, “The art of formations has been passed down in the Daoist sect for a long time, but no one has ever been able to verify it. Chen Family Head, you are opening a new chapter for the Daoist sect.”
The others were not stingy with their praise.
During this period they had all been helping at the labyrinth construction site, with the goal of understanding how the labyrinth was being built.
The front part of this labyrinth arranged by the Chen Clan Head was all normal construction, with nothing mysterious about it. The workers built it step by step according to the design drawings.
In its current state, it was actually no different from an ordinary maze.
So, the most crucial part of this labyrinth was still when the Chen Clan Head took action.
Qingwei Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest Xuan He, and the others subconsciously turned their eyes to the special Five Emperors Sword in the Chen Clan Head’s hand.
Clearly, the Five Emperors Sword would be used to set up the labyrinth.
Moreover, they already knew that the Five Emperors Sword was related to setting up feng shui formations.
This led them to suspect that arranging this labyrinth might also be related to feng shui, or to geography and terrain.
As for whether this was the case, it would naturally be confirmed when the Chen Clan Head made his move.
As Chen Han led the daoist priests toward the labyrinth, two people quietly followed the group.
Their goal was simple: figure out the situation of the Chen Clan labyrinth, report it to Minister Ma as soon as possible, and their task would be completed.
Before long, Chen Han led the group into the labyrinth, where they could immediately see paths paved with cobblestones.
These paths were built according to the evolutionary numerical patterns of the Eight Trigrams. Walking inward, they soon saw clusters of ornamental flowers and plants.
Though these ornamental plants looked beautiful, once the labyrinth took effect, they would become a great source of confusion.
After that came a series of special devices, each with a QR code. Tourists only needed to use the receiving part of the special devices to scan the QR code and obtain the correct path.
These QR codes were scanned through the local file paths of the special devices and did not require the internet. The idea that QR codes always required a network connection was a misunderstanding most people had.
Of course, this setup required programmers to maintain it.
The labyrinth covered a large area and needed more than five inspectors.
For this, the Chen Clan had one programmer clan member return to the clan.
He had been entered into the clan genealogy, but because of his specialization, the Chen Clan previously did not have a suitable salary for him. With his previous monthly salary of twenty thousand, he could not come back.
The Chen Clan did not yet have positions with such high salaries.
Now it was different. They offered the same twenty thousand, and even let him recruit five clan members to form a team under him. If he did not come back, he would be a fool.
Chen Han led them deeper inside, to the central area, where they saw a Statue of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation.
He had newly consecrated it and placed it here specifically for tourists entering the labyrinth to find.
He had even specially built a shrine, and a Chen Clan Member would be assigned to watch over it.
When Chen Han brought the daoist priests here, he said to them, “You have been at the Chen Clan for so long for this very moment. You must watch carefully.”
As he finished speaking, he raised the Five Emperors Sword in his hand, began to sense the surrounding geography and terrain, and, urging his true qi, started to draw upon the geography and terrain, linking it into the labyrinth and those feng shui stones to trigger the labyrinth’s effect.
At the same time, a game prompt appeared:
【The labyrinth you arranged has been activated. Because the labyrinth is set up within the merit industry range of the sect residence, it can be transformed into a special version labyrinth. Do you want to renovate it?】
Chen Han chose no.
This large-scale labyrinth was meant for tourists to play in, and to have them search for the Statue of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation to offer incense, adding another way to increase wish power.
Qingwei Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest Xuan He, and the others had already been drawn in by Chen Han’s gesture of raising the sword.
In that instant, they seemed to sense a powerful opportunity, and then an unbelievable scene appeared.
The leaves of the surrounding trees suddenly shook wildly, and they could even see fallen leaves on the ground being blown into frantic rolling.
At the same time, a strong wind swept over, making their daoist robes flap loudly.
Such a strange phenomenon left them dumbfounded.
Looking into the distance, they could see the wildly rolling leaves rapidly spreading outward.
Had the labyrinth been successfully activated?
Qingwei Daoist Priest and the others soon saw an even more shocking scene.
The path they had taken into this central area had vanished, replaced by dense woodland, as if heaven and earth had been changed.
“This… this is too miraculous.” One daoist priest could not help speaking out.
Another daoist priest added, “If we did not clearly know there was a path here, who could possibly imagine this after seeing such a scene?”
Chen Han had already lowered the new Five Emperors Sword.
The labyrinth had been successfully set.
The core was using the geography and terrain to arrange the labyrinth.
The most important thing was communicating with the geography and terrain.
If one could draw upon the geography and terrain and trigger the formation, it was that simple. If not, then no matter what, it would be impossible to set it up.
Seeing the daoist priests staring at the path they had used to enter, he knew their perception and vision were already affected by the labyrinth.
He lifted the sword and walked forward, passing straight through a tree, and said, “As long as you know the correct path, you do not need to care about the interference to perception and vision. Just move forward.”
Qingwei Daoist Priest and Daoist Priest Xuan He watched with their own eyes as the Chen Clan Head passed through the tree, and then followed.
When they reached the other side of the tree and looked back, the passage behind them had returned to normal.
All the daoist priests stared wide-eyed. Even though they knew it was a labyrinth, they truly had not expected that once activated by the Chen Clan Head, it could create such illusions.
This exceeded their expectations.
Precisely because of this, Qingwei Daoist Priest and the others began to try to break the formation, since they were already inside the labyrinth.
During this period they had been studying the Chen Clan Head’s base-8 mathematics and the Binomial Theorem, and had consulted mathematicians they knew, so they had some understanding.
Combined with their familiarity with the I Ching Evolution of the Eight Trigrams, they felt they could try to break the labyrinth.
Seeing that the daoist priests wanted to try, Chen Han did not object and simply followed behind them, watching.
Along the way he watched as the daoist priests grew excited when they found the correct path, passing through illusory ornamental plants and piles of rocks to reappear on the right route.
Of course, they also chose the wrong path many times in a row.
If this labyrinth had hidden killing intent, traps, and ambushed soldiers, these daoist priests would have died many times over.
Fortunately, this was only an ordinary labyrinth.
Even so, the impact on perception and vision was extremely strong.
And if all these daoist priests together struggled like this, the outcome for ordinary tourists was obvious.
At least in the short term, no tourist would be able to clear it, because right now, there was probably no one better than these daoist priests in the I Ching Evolution of the Eight Trigrams.
Outside the labyrinth, the two figures sent by Minister Ma had long followed to a spot not far from it.
So as not to be discovered, they did not rush to enter.
But they too saw a startling scene. In that instant, all the trees and leaves within the labyrinth’s range shook wildly.
Countless leaves were flying in the woods.
Such a scene was absolutely abnormal.
Driven by curiosity, the two subconsciously entered the labyrinth to check it out.
The abnormality in the forest soon disappeared.
But by then they had already gone some distance into the labyrinth. When they turned to look back, the path they had come along was gone.
Their eyes widened in horror.
…
Chen Han and Qingwei Daoist Priest and the others had already exited the normal version of the labyrinth. It was clear the daoist priests still looked tired.
Breaking the formation had obviously consumed a lot of their energy.
But having personally experienced the mystery of the labyrinth, their faces also showed excitement.
This proved that after feng shui, another thing from the Daoist sect had been verified.
Daoist Priest Xuan He’s gaze fell on the Five Emperors Sword in the Chen Clan Head’s hand.
This was not his first time seeing Chen Han holding this sword.
So he could not help asking, “Chen Family Head, is arranging this labyrinth related to feng shui geography and terrain, and does it also require this Five Emperors Sword to draw upon the geography and terrain?”
His words instantly made all the other daoist priests look toward Chen Han, their eyes full of desire for knowledge.
Chen Han had never intended to hide it, so he nodded. “That is indeed the case. Setting up this labyrinth requires a location where geography and terrain are present, and the Five Emperors Sword is the key to drawing on the geography and terrain to trigger the labyrinth.”
Daoist Priest Xuan He, seeing his guess confirmed, grew more anxious. “Chen Family Head, are there any limitations on making this Five Emperors Sword? At Baiyun Temple we tried to make one, but it had no effect at all.”
Qingwei Daoist Priest agreed. “We at Wudang also made a Five Emperors Sword. It had no special qualities.”
The other daoist priests were the same. They had all made Five Emperors Swords, but with no results.
Naturally, they now wanted to hear the explanation from the Chen Clan Head.
Chen Han explained, “To make a Five Emperors Sword you need Five Emperors Coins. As for what Five Emperors Coins are, all of you should know that.”
The other daoist priests all nodded.
If they did not even know that, they would have cultivated in vain all these years.
Chen Han continued, “However, for making a Five Emperors Sword, there are special requirements for the Five Emperors Coins. Coins eroded by earthly yin energy cannot be used. Also, Five Emperors Coins carry luck. Coins from different dynasties have different luck. Once made into a Five Emperors Sword, if their luck is incompatible, it is impossible to activate any effect.”
“And to refine the Five Emperors Coins so their luck becomes unified is the only way to make them effective. But this method required our Chen Clan to pay a great price to complete the refinement.”
“So the best method is to find Five Emperors Coins from the same era. Only then will the Five Emperors Coins naturally share unified luck. In particular, the small Five Emperors Coins are easiest. That way you can sense the presence of geography and terrain.”
He did not hide details about the Five Emperors Sword, because there was no need. Now that the higher-ups were already paying attention to feng shui, they would certainly be able to figure out the Five Emperors Sword soon.
They might even already have done so.
The power of resources gathered under a shared principle was extremely frightening. He had never doubted that.
If, under such principled power, they could not figure out something this simple, that would be abnormal. Their society would not be so stable.
However, he did not say that with the Chen Clan’s Artifact Refining Furnace, refining the Five Emperors Sword so that its luck became unified was very easy.
There was no need. Saying it would only cause trouble for himself.
Besides, now that he had revealed the fundamentals of the Five Emperors Sword to these daoist priests, with the foundation of their palace temples, it would be no problem for them to obtain one.
Surely they could at least gather enough Five Emperors Coins from the same dynasty.
Daoist Priest Xuan He, hearing this, asked another crucial question. “Chen Family Head, to arrange this labyrinth, it is not enough to just have geography and terrain and a Five Emperors Sword, is it?”
Chen Han had to admit that Daoist Priest Xuan He always grasped the key point. He said, “That is correct. The Five Emperors Sword can sense geography and terrain, but to draw on the geography and terrain to build a formation, and link it with the feng shui stones in the formation to activate it, certain special conditions are needed. At present, I am afraid only Wudang can do it.”
When he arranged the formation, he had to push his true qi to draw upon the geography and terrain and set up the labyrinth.
No one in the Daoist sect had true qi.
But Wudang had Thunder Fire Refining Golden Summit, which could decompose lightning attribute spiritual energy into much lower-level yin-yang microparticle energy.
By relying on this, Wudang daoist priests could cultivate 《Tai Chi Fist》. Over time, they should be able to condense some low-level energy in their bodies, something like internal force.
Using that, they should also be able to arrange formations. How much it would consume, they would only know after trying.
Daoist Priest Xuan He and the others subconsciously looked at Qingwei Daoist Priest and Chen Daoist Priest, and obviously understood. They were genuinely envious.
At this point only Wudang had restored a feng shui formation.
Under such circumstances, Wudang would soon pull far ahead of the others.
But there was nothing they could do. They could not even find their own palace temple’s feng shui formation diagrams.
Only Qingwei Daoist Priest and Chen Daoist Priest had smiles at the corners of their mouths, eager to return to Wudang and make a Five Emperors Sword as soon as possible.
Chen Han had already continued walking forward. What they had just seen was only the ordinary version of the feng shui formation. The next part was where he would arrange the special version of the feng shui formation.
Qingwei Daoist Priest and Daoist Priest Xuan He had been curious from the start why the Chen Clan Head wanted to set up a smaller labyrinth.
With the large labyrinth below, it seemed unnecessary, a bit redundant.
Was this smaller labyrinth reserved for insiders to play, or for personal connections?
It would be like the private rooms inside restaurants.
Upon entering this small labyrinth, Chen Han once again went to the center.
Using the same method, he used the new Five Emperors Sword to draw upon the geography and terrain, link the feng shui stones in the formation, and activate the labyrinth.
A game prompt appeared again:
【The labyrinth you arranged has been activated. Because the labyrinth is set up within the merit industry range of the sect residence, it can be transformed into a special version labyrinth. Do you want to renovate it?】
This time, Chen Han directly chose yes.
In the next moment, another game prompt appeared:
【Congratulations, the special version labyrinth renovation is successful. Special attributes activated: deceptiveness +1, deceitfulness +1, discernment -1, misty shrouding +】
Almost at the same time, an even more shocking scene appeared.
A layer of mist arose around them and quickly spread, engulfing Chen Han, Qingwei Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest Xuan He, and the others in an instant.
The mist rapidly expanded, at great speed covering the area of this special version of the labyrinth.
Crucially, the mist remained only within the labyrinth’s range. It was as if there was a clear boundary around it, with not a trace spreading beyond.
Inside the formation, Qingwei Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest Xuan He, and the others stood in the mist, completely stunned.
The fog had appeared out of thin air.
Given the season, although the weather outside was getting cooler, the temperature at the Chen Clan was still very comfortable. There was no way fog should form at this time.
They instinctively looked at Chen Han and understood that this was another effect of the labyrinth.
This labyrinth was clearly more powerful.
Illusions and mist, legends of the Daoist sect, were being experienced one by one.
Chen Han looked at the daoist priests and asked with a smile, “Daoist priests, do you have any interest in breaking this labyrinth?”
How could they not?
They were all eager to try.
“Haha, then let us work together once more,” Qingwei Daoist Priest said with a smile to the others.
In an instant, the daoist priests began to analyze their current location, intending to calculate the present I Ching Evolution numbers of the Eight Trigrams and use that to break the formation.
But this time, they frowned as they realized their calculation abilities had become sluggish.
In the large labyrinth below, they had clearly calculated quickly. Now they found it obviously more strenuous.
Perhaps they had simply used too much energy earlier.
They did not know this was the effect of deceptiveness +1, deceitfulness +1, discernment –
Eventually, the daoist priests calculated the current I Ching Evolution number and, after much effort, found the first path.
Chen Daoist Priest went first, heading straight for an apparently illusory pile of rocks.
Bang!
“Ouch!”
Chen Daoist Priest cried out miserably.
The pile of rocks was not illusory but solid.
They had gotten the very first evolutionary number wrong.
There was a hint of a smile at the corner of Chen Han’s mouth. This was the special version of the labyrinth modified by the game system.
The daoist priests suffered a loss right at the start.
With the ordinary version of the labyrinth, as long as these daoist priests familiarized themselves with the Eight Trigrams I Ching and mathematics, breaking the formation would not be difficult.
But for this special version, it would clearly be much harder. They would need to spend a great deal of energy and time studying it.
So before long, Qingwei Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest Xuan He, and the others were like deflated balls, sighing in despair.
They simply could not get out.
They were trapped.
Daoist Priest Xuan He could only say to Chen Han, “Chen Daoist Priest, we will have to trouble you to lead the way.”
Chen Han smiled, led the daoist priests out of the special version labyrinth, and once outside, looking again at the mist-shrouded labyrinth before them, they were all deeply shocked.
The labyrinth was completely covered by fog, which was totally out of place for this season and time of day.
After that, the group of daoist priests went down the mountain with Chen Han.
Back at the Chen Clan, some daoist priests, having seen the power of the labyrinth, immediately booked flight tickets, planning to leave the next day.
Qingwei Daoist Priest and Chen Daoist Priest, for example, wanted to hurry back and make a Five Emperors Sword.
When Chen Han returned to the Chen Clan, he received a call from Chen Xiaoyan and went to the conference room in the office area.
Chen Xiaoyan had long been waiting inside.
Also present were Chen Lin and a young man named Chen Qing, a programmer responsible for the special devices in the Chen Clan labyrinth.
“Patriarch.” When Chen Qing saw Chen Han enter, he greeted him respectfully.
Within the Chen Clan now, the patriarch’s authority was unrivaled.
With a monthly salary of twenty thousand at the family business, and being summoned by the patriarch, Chen Qing had decisively returned.
Moreover, he was now a team leader. His bonus was high; with full attendance and bonuses, his total monthly income could reach thirty thousand.
He would be an idiot not to come back.
His girlfriend had opposed his return and even threatened to break up.
He obliged her and broke up directly.
What a joke. Earning thirty thousand a month at his own family’s place, three hundred sixty thousand a year.
And that was a secure job, not even counting the income of his family and parents and grandfather.
What kind of girlfriend could he not find?
She had dared to threaten him with a breakup.
Had her brain been shelled?
When Chen Lin saw his nephew, he handed him some pieces of craftsmanship to look at.
Several of them were standard Daoist craftsmanship, to be given free to all tourists. The cost was low, but for tourists, getting an extra souvenir would certainly make them happier.
There were also two plaque-shaped souvenirs: one “Labyrinth Worship Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Commemorative Plaque,” and one “Independent Labyrinth Clearing Success Commemorative Plaque.”
Both commemorative plaques were exquisitely made and would definitely be meaningful souvenirs for tourists.
In particular, the “Independent Labyrinth Clearing Success Commemorative Plaque” required that one exit the labyrinth without ever seeking help from the special devices.
After reviewing these plaques, Chen Han instructed Chen Xiaoyan and Chen Qing to go to the labyrinth and shoot a promotional video to post on the Chen Clan Tourism account.
The Chen Clan Tourism account already had over 1 million fans. Because Xiao Yu was too busy with many matters every day, this account had been handed over to Chen Xiaoyan’s team.
Chen Xiaoyan agreed to handle it.
Only then did Chen Han leave the office area, unaware that inside the ordinary labyrinth, two figures were wandering like headless flies, their faces extremely ugly.
If they did not know this labyrinth had been set up by the Chen Clan Head, they would have thought they were trapped in a ghost wall. Roads they had clearly just used disappeared in an instant.
They would follow a road that looked familiar, only to circle around and end up back at the same place.
Was this the labyrinth arranged by the Chen Clan Head?
It was terrifying.
But how were they supposed to get out now?
Compared to them, Wei Hang had long since returned to Shangyuan Village. He had only managed to grab a room in the village accommodation.
In his room, he had been working at his computer for a long time, and on the screen was a screenshot from a video.
It was an overhead view of the Chen Clan labyrinth. He had drawn the paths on the image.
There were a total of three paths to exit the labyrinth.
One only needed to remember the path formula. For example, the first path: entrance-3-2-4-1-5-7… follow that sequence and you could get out.
“Done,” Wei Hang said with a smile.
His assistant laughed and said, “Boss, this time you drew the path in less time than the Stars and Stripes canyon maze.”
Wei Hang smiled. “How can the Chen Clan labyrinth compare to that? Just looking at the paths, you can see it is much simpler. Also, record a video. Publishing the Chen Clan labyrinth solution can bring us a lot of popularity. Once the Chen Clan maze opens, I believe many tourists will go with my path map in hand.”
The assistant nodded, picked up the phone, and started recording.
Soon, Wei Hang’s Douyin account posted a video titled: 《Chen Clan Labyrinth Path Map Solution》.
Even though the popularity of the Chen Clan maze had been overshadowed by Mahadra from the Demon Realm, there were still many people following it.
Seeing a solution to the Chen Clan labyrinth appear online before the project even opened was, of course, attention-grabbing.
Huang Tao had once again come to the Chen Clan. He had taken several days off, and the tens of thousands worth of Premium Thunder Bamboo Spirit Tea and high-quality Spirit Tea he had bought were all sold.
So with tens of thousands in spare cash, he felt he had to take some days off to come have fun at the Chen Clan.
After all, it was lively there now, with both Mahadra and the labyrinth.
He saw Wei Hang’s video as soon as it came out. Seeing the Chen Clan labyrinth paths so easily solved left him a bit disappointed.
He had thought it would be interesting, but it seemed, as people online said, that with modern equipment and tools, it was just a maze project like many others.
Huang Tao took a screenshot of the path map and felt that going with the right answer in hand would spoil the fun once the maze opened.
In the capital city.
After taking a call, Minister Ma was in a great mood. He glanced again at the “*Hailou” drawn on the wall. The report from there was good news: a feng shui formation diagram did exist. Now they only had to find it.
This put him in an even better mood. After hanging up, he summoned someone to ask, “How are Lin Dong and his team at the Chen Clan? Any updates on the Chen Clan labyrinth?”
Hearing this, the man frowned. “Minister, Lin Dong’s positioning signal disappeared. They have even lost contact and cannot be reached. We are still trying to contact them. However, there is already the latest news online about the Chen Clan labyrinth.”
“How could their signal just disappear? What are they doing?” Minister Ma frowned, then took out his phone to check.
He saw the path map and, after examining the three paths carefully, lost interest. “It seems the Chen Clan Head really just made a tourism project this time. With such maze construction and routes, I could easily walk out once I memorized them.”
“To think we sent two people for something this simple, wasting so much time. Get in touch with Lin Dong. Have them return immediately and report the cause of their loss of contact.”
In the Chen Clan labyrinth, as time passed, Lin Dong and his companion, who were still trapped, looked worse and worse.
As the sun tilted westward, they felt their physical strength draining, and under the ghost-wall-like pressure, their mental energy was also exhausted. They were completely worn out.
They could only lean against a pile of rocks to rest.
They had no doubt that if they stayed trapped for two or three days, their lives could be in danger.
If they did not find a way out soon, they really might die. Who knew how long it would be before someone from the Chen Clan came in and discovered them.
While they were thinking, they suddenly saw a terrifying scene. A few people suddenly emerged from another pile of rocks nearby.
They thought they were seeing things and rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
Someone had walked through solid stone?
When Chen Xiaoyan and Chen Qing came in and suddenly saw Lin Dong and his companion, they were stunned.
Why were there people inside?
She asked, “You were trapped in here? You did not know the labyrinth is not open yet?”
Once Lin Dong recognized they were from the Chen Clan, he was instantly embarrassed and could only make something up. “We were just curious. Who knew the Chen Clan Head’s labyrinth would be so terrifying.”
Chen Xiaoyan did not ask further. As she filmed, she also took the two unlucky men along and specifically instructed Chen Qing to bring people later to check whether there were any other victims of curiosity inside.
They had special devices for scanning codes. Those unlucky ones did not.
As Lin Dong followed Chen Xiaoyan and the others, he grew more and more shocked. Not only could they walk through rock piles, but ornamental plants and trees could all be passed through.
Could such a labyrinth really exist in reality? This was something you would see only in fantasy and immortal-cultivation shows.
The two left the labyrinth in shock and saw their communicator showing incoming calls one after another.
Lin Dong did not dare hesitate and immediately contacted the capital.
Minister Ma picked up and asked at once, “What on earth are you doing? Why were you out of contact for so long?”
Lin Dong quickly explained, “Minister Ma, we were trapped in the labyrinth set up by the Chen Clan Head.”
Minister Ma froze and instinctively said, “The Chen Clan labyrinth, that simple maze? I could easily get out of it. And you say you were trapped in there that long?”
Lin Dong was not happy hearing that. “Minister Ma, what is simple about it? Have you ever seen a road you just walked suddenly vanish? Ever experienced a ghost wall, circling around and ending up back where you started?”
“Have you seen people walk through rock piles? Seen people pass straight through flower beds and trees? You call that simple?”
Did Minister Ma have a huge misunderstanding about the labyrinth?
“???” Minister Ma was stunned by this report. In his mind appeared the path map of the Chen Clan maze that had gone viral online.
Was Lin Dong talking about the same place?
Was he joking?
As time passed and night fully descended, a viral piece of news quickly spread online: the Chen Clan labyrinth was about to open, and the first batch of experience tickets had already been released.
This instantly attracted countless people to start booking tickets. Since they held the path map that solved the labyrinth arranged by the Chen Clan Head, failing to clear it on their first attempt would be an embarrassment to the big shot Wei Hang who had cracked it.
Huang Tao was the same. He immediately grabbed a ticket. Even though having the path map took away half the fun, he still had to experience it.
……
（Tickets, tickets, tickets）
