Chapter 333: So These Are The 100,000 Heavenly Lord Believers?
Chen Han racked his brains trying to figure out what these 100,000 Heavenly Lord believers were supposed to be, but no matter how he thought about it, he could not imagine the Daoist sect having 100,000 believers offering to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation.
It seemed that if you added them up, there probably were that many, since the Daoist sect had plenty of believers, but those believers were all ordinary civilians. It was impossible for them to go to the Demon Realm, let alone go on a campaign.
Could it be internet paid commenters?
That was still possible. As long as someone organized them and they climbed over the firewall, it would not be hard to stir things up on foreign sites.
But internet paid commenters were not Heavenly Lord believers.
While Chen Han was still puzzled, his junior sister called. The second day of the Chen Clan illusion labyrinth experience was beginning.
He temporarily set aside the matter of the 100,000 Heavenly Lord believers and headed to the illusion labyrinth.
Today, even more people had gathered at the labyrinth, all drawn by yesterday’s popularity. Those who got tickets were itching to try, wanting to experience whether the illusions in the labyrinth were really that miraculous.
When Chen Han arrived, his junior sister was with his uncle. Today, the host on stage was a girl from the Chen Clan, whose major in university had been broadcasting.
But that line of work was hard to get into, so she had already come back to work for the Chen Clan, serving as a tour guide. Now she was called over to handle this job.
After all, Xiao Yu could not be stuck dealing with this all the time.
His uncle handed him another map. “We changed 7 positions, and we also had Chen Qing’s side update in sync.”
Chen Han took it and looked. This showed the positions where, after yesterday’s labyrinth closed, his uncle had led people to work through the night to change several key points.
This was also why they used piles of loose rocks: because they were easy to move and allowed changing a few paths at any time.
Since the illusion labyrinth itself already affected perception and vision, shifting a few areas combined with the labyrinth’s transformations could make it completely different. It would become another set of changes in the Eight Trigrams evolution.
There were 64 such sets and they could change them at any time.
So the path map that Wei Hang made was actually no big deal. What surprised him was that even with the correct path map yesterday, not a single tourist managed to successfully break the formation.
The main reason was that at first no one could tell the illusions were misleading them. By the time they realized it, they were already trapped in the labyrinth and their route no longer matched.
Even if they tried paths one by one, with that huge area developed at a cost of one hundred million, it was not something they could easily brute-force.
And they did not have that kind of stamina.
How many people can climb from the foot of a mountain to its waist without getting out of breath?
Let alone wandering around like this in mountain forests.
Yesterday some people tried to take shortcuts by skipping the paths and climbing over rock piles and so on, but the forested mountainside rose upward, steep and sloped. People who were already half dead just walking the normal mountain path had no way to keep climbing like that for long.
More importantly, it was dangerous.
The Chen Clan already had countermeasures in place.
However, now that the basics of the labyrinth were exposed, there would definitely be people on the second day who followed Wei Hang’s route, and even if they saw the path was wrong, they would attempt to feel their way.
They would discover today that the path map was really completely useless.
As time went on, tourists would realize the Chen Clan labyrinth could assemble more and more different paths.
Sixty-four sets, sixty-four paths. The workers only needed to adjust some rock piles to change the path.
If you pushed Eight Trigrams and I Ching Evolution deeper, you could even combine sets, creating more variables.
After all, the evolution of the Eight Trigrams and I Ching was infinitely variable. Without mastering its patterns, it was impossible to break the formation.
Right now they were only using the simple 64-set paths, which was already the easiest mode. It was for tourists. As long as they understood the I Ching Evolution and had some mathematics knowledge, they could break the formation.
People like Qingwei Daoist Priest could study mathematics a bit, and next time it would be easier for them to break this ordinary labyrinth. As for the special version, its game system attributes enforced stronger effects; without exceptionally strong willpower, it would be hard to break.
After finishing the map, Chen Han handed it back to his uncle and instructed, “Uncle, in the future change the labyrinth’s paths from time to time. We need to keep it fresh.”
“Mm.” Chen Lin nodded.
At this moment, the girl hosting announced that today’s labyrinth experience was starting. A figure hurriedly squeezed onto the stage and almost fell flat from rushing too hard.
It was still Wei Hang.
He had to hurry; he had to grab first place today.
Fortunately he had grabbed a ticket last night, giving him a chance to redeem himself.
Last night, his account was swarmed by people, especially those tourists who had entered the labyrinth. They accused him of harming people, and some said he would do anything for traffic.
Many people online supported those tourists. There were always people who disliked him, and he was really getting dragged badly.
But there was nothing he could do. His path map had indeed screwed over a lot of tourists, even if the real reason was that the Chen Family Head’s labyrinth was awesome.
So he had no excuse.
However, he rechecked his path map last night and found that his map was not wrong.
Then he suddenly worked something out.
The Chen Family Head’s labyrinth was so powerful it could deceive people’s vision, making them see extremely real illusions, as impressive as formation effects in movies.
But one point did not change: the path.
Those flowerbeds, trees, and rock piles were still physically there, so as long as you overcame the illusions and firmly followed his path from the start, you could break the formation.
Thinking of this, he slapped his thigh hard.
Wasn’t that solid?
As long as you did not make mistakes at the beginning, no matter how big the map was, you only needed to follow the path and you would be correct.
So he had to be first today, then announce this and restore his reputation, while also taking the first-place commemorative plaque and the fifty thousand bonus.
When people saw it was Wei Hang grabbing the first slot on stage again, those who recognized him immediately hissed. Many of them had been burned by him yesterday.
The key was that his QR code help requests had reached 132, worse than many tourists. And this guy called himself a professional player?
Professional maze player, really?
Hearing the boos, Wei Hang awkwardly raised his voice. “Everyone knows what happened yesterday. Many people think they were tricked by my path map; I thought I screwed myself too. Who could have guessed the Chen Clan labyrinth could deceive people’s eyes and show such realistic illusions?”
“Last night I thought about it for a long time and came to a conclusion: my path map is not wrong. Think about it, I used aerial shots to capture the entire labyrinth and then drew the path.”
“In that situation, the path itself does not change. The only variable is that the Chen Clan labyrinth deceives your eyes, causing illusions, making big trees and rock piles appear on the correct path to block your view.”
“But in that case, as long as our eyes are not fooled and we ignore those illusions, and just follow my path map, we can easily break the formation.”
His words stunned many people, especially those who had entered the labyrinth yesterday. They suddenly felt enlightened.
“That does sound right.”
“At the time I didn’t understand what was going on. By the time I noticed the illusions, I was already trapped inside.”
“Damn, what he says kind of makes sense.”
“…”
For a while, tourists buzzed with discussion.
Huang Tao was surprised too.
Yesterday he already felt it might not be fair to blame Wei Hang. Hearing this today, it really did make sense.
The key was he had also grabbed a ticket again last night, so today he could charge in using Wei Hang’s method.
So he had to get in early.
Thinking this, he squeezed forward.
On stage, Wei Hang naturally heard the tourists and felt relieved.
He knew that once he explained, people would understand.
Now it was time to redeem himself.
He did not forget to shout to the surrounding tourists, “Today, I will definitely take first place.”
Seeing Wei Hang finish speaking and go collect his special device bracelet, Chen Han, Xiao Yu, and Chen Lin all shook their heads. This guy was about to suffer another huge fall.
Wei Hang, unaware, took the special device bracelet and headed into the Chen Clan labyrinth.
This time he was full of confidence.
After entering, he moved quickly.
He passed the first fork, then the second.
Soon he reached the spot after the third turn where four forks appeared. But again, he discovered the forks did not match.
Another illusion.
One of the middle forks was correct. Passing through it would lead to the right path, but at that spot there now appeared a rock pile.
The same trick.
He even suspected that although the labyrinth could affect vision, maybe the affected positions were fixed.
Yesterday it was here, today it was also here.
Of course he would not fall for it again. He strode straight for the rock pile, overly confident and careless.
Bang!
“Ah!” Wei Hang’s scream followed immediately as he clutched his head, tears almost coming from the pain.
Then he stood there, stunned.
It was… actually a real rock pile.
No… no…
He had reviewed the path last night. It should not have been wrong, but this rock pile was clearly real.
Wei Hang could not believe it.
At the same time he realized something: the Chen Clan labyrinth’s path could actually be changed?
How was he supposed to play then?
Worse, it looked like he was about to embarrass himself again today.
The more he thought, the more unwilling he felt.
He immediately thought of a crooked way: just climb over the rock pile directly. Once he thought of it, he did it, starting to climb. Because the rock pile rose upward, climbing it burned a lot of stamina.
But halfway up, his special device bracelet vibrated, warning him that he was committing a violation. Based on the degree of violation, he would either be judged as failing directly or have his help request count increased, with the number depending on how serious it was.
This rule came from lessons learned yesterday. Chen Qing’s team had identified this issue and upgraded the bracelet’s program to detect it.
It was not that they absolutely forbade tourists from brute-forcing the formation if they had the stamina; in theory it might work. The real concern was safety.
After all, this labyrinth was built in mountain forest terrain.
Seeing the warning, Wei Hang was speechless. If he went out like this, he would lose qualification, and get no souvenirs or rewards.
He could only change course and continue gambling on random paths.
Soon, other tourists entered. Because of his earlier words, some still believed his path map, so many were blocked at the second path turn as well and started swearing.
One tourist even ran into something, causing a nosebleed.
That tourist had no choice but to press the help button on the special device and was escorted out by Chen Clan staff.
When that tourist came out at the entrance, the crowd’s attention locked on him.
Before they could react, they heard him, clutching his nose and cursing, “Bastard! That Wei Hang jerk, his path map is useless, liar… liar…”
The crowd froze.
What was going on? Wei Hang was a liar again?
What he had just said sounded reasonable. So ignoring the visual deception of the labyrinth did not work either?
That tourist was sent to the infirmary. Fortunately, nothing serious. The Chen Clan gave him a small gift and a souvenir craft, which made him very happy.
Visitors who could peacefully enjoy the Chen Clan and enter to get tickets were not bad by nature; otherwise they would already have been given a serious warning. So there would not be people trying to extort them over an injury or anything like that.
Compared to other scenic spots, this was an enormous blessing.
But outside the labyrinth, the waiting tourists were itching with curiosity. They had felt Wei Hang’s logic sounded convincing.
His path map was indeed from aerial photography, so in theory there should be no problem. If you did not get fooled by visual deception, you should be able to break the formation.
Now, it seemed that was not the case.
Chen Han had also heard the nosebleed tourist shouting and roughly understood.
If you fully believed Wei Hang, treating real objects as illusions, you were bound to smash your face.
Inside the labyrinth, Wei Hang soon sank into complete despair. He could not get out. He just could not.
He figured his reputation was doomed again.
He even thought about scanning the QR code to leave and getting out of the Chen Clan as soon as possible, but remembered how many tourists were outside. If he came out now, he would be a clown in front of all of them.
That was unacceptable.
So he decided to slip out near the end of the day. Yes, he planned to hide and wait until evening.
It was the only way he could think of not making it quite so humiliating.
But just as he had that thought, he heard a familiar voice: “Damn, we really got screwed by Wei Hang today, that bastard.”
And several voices echoed:
“Yeah, he sounded so sure of himself.”
“Bastard, we shouldn’t have believed him.”
“Seriously, believing his crap…”
Staring in disbelief, Wei Hang saw a familiar figure approaching with a few others.
Huang Tao was equally surprised to run into him again.
That made him grin wickedly at Wei Hang. Same as before: in this kind of situation, your exit stats would look awful.
If it looked bad, then let them all look bad together.
Wei Hang suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. Moments later he realized that his special device bracelet had fallen into Huang Tao’s hand. Shortly after, his own exasperated voice rang out. “Damn it… not again.”
He was utterly helpless. This guy was a bastard. Grabbing his bracelet and scanning every QR code he saw, not even needing illusions as an excuse, just scanning for fun.
Wouldn’t that rack up another hundred-plus scans?
My god.
What a disaster.
He was supposed to be a professional maze player. Was it appropriate to have that many help scans?
But there was nothing he could do. The guy was a menace, using the same trick on him twice.
And how could he be this unlucky, running into him two times in a row?
In the end, Wei Hang stopped resisting. When he appeared at the labyrinth entrance again, his spirit was gone.
The tourists immediately focused on him. Some clout-chasing internet celebrities rushed up to interview him.
They had already noticed something was off from seeing the nosebleed tourist earlier, and now, seeing Wei Hang’s dejected face, they were sure. Cameras pointed straight at his expression.
Wei Hang wanted to blow up, but did not want to look like he was having a shame-induced tantrum. He could only keep quiet, quickly let the Chen staff take his special device bracelet away, then lower his head and flee.
His pathetic escape was, of course, recorded.
Chen Han did not know any of this, because he had already received a call from Daoist Priest Li and gone to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall.
Daoist Priest Li had contacted him because of Mahadra. Bringing this Outer Realm expert into the Daoist sect was already somewhat of an official task.
Using the banner of cultural inheritance and promotion, no one could find a good excuse to oppose it.
When Chen Han arrived at the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall, his aunt-grandmother came to greet him. “Daoist Priest Li and the others are in the reception hall.”
Chen Han nodded and walked with her to the hall. Entering, he saw Daoist Priest Li talking with Mahadra, guiding him through filling out paperwork to join the Daoist sect.
Mahadra was very serious. He had previously entered the Chen Clan dream and seen that miraculous old Daoist priest, who told him that if he devoutly offered incense and prayed, someone would come for him.
Now someone had indeed come and wanted to bring him into the Daoist sect.
Though he did not fully understand the Daoist sect, when he heard that the Heavenly Lord was protecting the Daoist sect, he knew it was extraordinary.
After all, these days when he offered incense, he received the Heavenly Lord’s blessing daily and felt that the pains he suffered in the Demon Realm were much improved.
Even the psychological trauma.
A few Daoist priests were seated nearby.
With one glance, Chen Han could tell that three of them were wrong in posture, their cross-legged sitting not standard. They were likely temporary Daoist priests.
The surrounding priests should be those arranged by the Daoist Association to accompany Mahadra to the Demon Realm to help build a Daoist temple.
When they saw Chen Han enter, all the Daoist priests looked at him together. Everyone knew he was a key figure in the Daoist world.
“Chen Family Head, we meet again,” Daoist Priest Li greeted him with a Daoist salute.
“Daoist Priest Li.” Chen Han returned the salute.
Everything else they both understood without needing to say more.
Daoist Priest Li knew the Chen Family Head could guess what was going on and knew he did not want to get too involved. But Mahadra had sought out the Chen Clan, had worshiped at the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall for days, and they wanted the Chen Clan to accept Mahadra as a registered disciple.
For them, it was merely an accommodation; for Mahadra it was something very different, and the explanations for various aspects would differ as well.
So Daoist Priest Li said, “Chen Family Head, I leave the registered disciple quota for Mahadra in your hands.”
Chen Han could only nod.
He had already discussed this with his aunt-grandmother and uncle. They felt it did not matter whether it was the Family Head, a Hall Master, or his aunt-grandmother who accepted him.
So in the end they chose Chen Jun（102nd chapter） to take this registered disciple.
First, Chen Jun, like Dalong, had been his childhood playmate, always tagging along with him and his junior sister.
Chen Dalong, Chen Dao, and Chen Linlin had all gone to the national team, so they were selecting the next batch of clan members to cultivate 《Tai Xu Chasing Wind Leg》.
Chen Jun had already been internally designated, so letting him take Mahadra was perfect.
As for others who would be allowed to learn 《Tai Xu Chasing Wind Leg》, the clan would select two more people. Who they chose would depend on performance, and younger candidates were better.
If they were too old, it would cost more resources and they would have missed the optimal cultivation age.
His uncle’s group was different. They were inner people, core of the main line. Even if it meant spending extra resources, from his perspective it was necessary.
They also needed to continue building up the personas of his uncle and the other two as Chen Clan Masters and Hall Masters.
In the end, Chen Jun, completely bewildered, was dressed in a Daoist robe, and Mahadra happily put one on too.
For him, the Daoist robe was very special; it was associated with deities.
In the great hall where deities were enshrined, the attendants wore Daoist robes, and now the people who accepted him into the Daoist sect also wore Daoist robes.
Putting on this robe drew him closer to the deity.
“Mahadra, congratulations on becoming a believer of the Heavenly Lord. From now on your Dharma name will be Luo Haide!” Daoist Priest Li, as a witness, smilingly performed the ordination.
It was a credential from the Daoist Association.
Seeing this step completed, Chen Han said to Mahadra, “Our Chen Clan has received instructions from the Heavenly Lord. There is something to bestow upon you. Tomorrow at ten thirty in the morning is an auspicious time. Our Chen Clan will hold a summoning ceremony and consecrate a Heavenly Lord statue for you.”
“Then you will take the statue back and build a Daoist temple. The Heavenly Lord will protect you, and you will be able to use the items granted by the Heavenly Lord.”
What he intended to give was naturally the special Demon Realm Manifestation Scroll, meant for Mahadra to take back and use for a divine manifestation.
Whether he would receive a good reward from the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation would depend on how well Mahadra used this scroll.
Hearing this, Daoist Priest Li and the others instinctively looked toward Chen Han.
Originally the ceremony was supposed to end here. They were mainly humoring Mahadra, with the Daoist sect merely cooperating.
Who knew the Chen Family Head would add this part, and, crucially, in the name of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation. That could not be simple.
After all, he would be giving Mahadra something. If it were useless, all the buildup and “deception” would lose its effect.
But one thing was clear: the Chen Clan had many extraordinary things, and what the Chen Family Head planned this time was probably not simple. It felt like he had a goal.
They had no way, and no right, to ask.
Instead, they were somewhat expectant.
They could only wait until tomorrow to see what he would give.
A day passed, and that evening, news about the Chen Clan labyrinth once again heated up online, especially regarding Wei Hang.
Because he had once more screwed over many tourists, he indeed gained the popularity he wanted, but it was negative. His fans dropped sharply.
The next morning, after finishing cultivation at his special spiritual aperture and handling the medicinal cuisine stewing in the uncle’s kitchen, Chen Han saw the news videos about Wei Hang. One of them even escalated the criticism:
《A ridiculous internet celebrity with cat-level skills actually thought he could smash the Daoist sect’s inheritance. Laughable!》
The blogger who posted it did not hold back at all, speaking sharply: “These past two days, everyone must have heard about the Chen Clan labyrinth and know it was arranged by the Chen Family Head who turned Feng Shui into Feng Shui Science, together with many Daoist priests, including several purple-robed Daoist priests.”
“Before this, these Daoist priests had already released arrays and formulas about the evolution of the Eight Trigrams and I Ching, which were also the key to arranging and breaking the formation. They even said the key to breaking it is understanding that evolution.”
“And the Eight Trigrams and I Ching Evolution is part of our country’s long-standing cultural inheritance. Yet an internet celebrity jumped out to grandstand, thinking that just because he has played a few mazes, he could bypass the Eight Trigrams and I Ching?”
“On the first day, this internet celebrity even posted a path map and slandered online that the Chen Clan labyrinth was nothing special. But in reality, he got covered in dust, utterly ridiculous, and dragged down many tourists.”
“Even more laughable, he refused to accept it, thought he spotted a little trick, and decided he could break the formation again. And then? Another farce, shame dumped all over the internet, and he could only slink away. Yet this internet celebrity calls himself a professional maze player. Truly laughable.”
As he said this, the video cut to Wei Hang’s slinking-back view, matching that line from a movie: his back looked like that of a dog.
“Honestly, what I see is not only a traffic-hungry internet celebrity’s ignorance, but also the miracle of Daoist Eight Trigrams and I Ching Evolution, which further proves the depth of Daoist cultural inheritance. So I hope these ridiculous internet celebrities stop trying to piggyback on Daoist inheritance. You are not worthy.”
After watching, Chen Han had to admit the blogger’s sharpness. This was lethal for Wei Hang; he would be miserable for some time.
Then Chen Han checked the time and headed to the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall.
Consecrating a Heavenly Lord statue took time and preparation. But as the Chen Clan became more standardized, his aunt-grandmother kept consecration-ready statues on hand. They had already had their preliminary rituals, were kept wrapped away from light, and placed in the back hall behind the main Heavenly Lord statue, and no evil dared try to replace them.
The statue to be consecrated for Mahadra today would be done in another side hall.
When he arrived, Mahadra was already there, along with Daoist Priest Li and the others. They were all just waiting for him.
As he entered, everyone turned to look at him.
At that moment, Chen Han froze, staring blankly as the game prompt appeared in his mind:
【The Demon Realm expert has officially become a believer of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation and will lead Heavenly Lord believers into the Demon Realm to spread the Lord’s glory.
100,000 Heavenly Lord believers are ready, awaiting your guidance to lead the Heavenly Lord’s power!】
“???” Chen Han instinctively looked around.
100,000 Heavenly Lord believers are ready.
One hundred thousand?
He glanced around and counted.
One, two, three… eight, nine, ten.
Daoist Priest Li had brought exactly ten Daoist priests.
Screw this.
The game system had just trolled him hard. One hundred thousand believers reduced to ten people?
What was this, short-drama logic where one person represents ten thousand?
And he had been overthinking it before.
But he knew the serious matter came first. He turned his hand and took out the special Demon Realm Manifestation Scroll, drawing more sidelong looks from Daoist Priest Li and the others.
Clearly, they did not yet know how much of a sensation this Manifestation Scroll would cause.
……
（Tickets, tickets, tickets）
