Chapter 403: Chapter 192: This Stone Stele Is Pretty Awesome! (Part 2)
The stone stele is sent by the Hundred Flowers Palace, so naturally it’s just for show and won’t be easily damaged like a newly unearthed stone stele; even cleaning the soil off requires careful handling.
Chen Dagou quickly found the tools Chen Han needed, and Chen Han picked up the garden hose and started pouring water on the stele, beginning the cleaning process.
It didn’t take long for him to realize this was indeed the case.
The stele sent by the Hundred Flowers Palace is not that fragile, after all, it’s bearing a Dust-removal Array, though the array seems to have some issues, as he didn’t feel the slightest fluctuation from it.
Still, he decided to put on a show first; in front of people like Chu Ping, he’d clean up the stele and address the matter later.
Chu Ping and Chen Kai watched the Patriarch Chen’s actions and felt that his method of handling the stele was rather rough and aggressive, as they had seen videos of historians handling unearthed steles.
But they didn’t understand these things, and since this object belonged to the Chen Family, they could only watch as he handled it.
After some time, Chen Han completely cleaned the stele, revealing the ancient text and runes clearly.
The ancient text was not extensive; there were more runes, and the ancient text was unfamiliar to them.
Chu Ping curiously asked, "Patriarch Chen, what’s written on this stele?"
Chen Han replied honestly, "The stele states that it was sent to the Chen Family by a force called the Hundred Flowers Palace, and it has an array called the Dust-removal Array carved on it."
"Hundred Flowers Palace?" Chu Ping was stunned for a moment, as he remembered seeing the name Hundred Flowers Palace multiple times in Patriarch Chen’s videos.
Chen Han understood his thoughts, and made up a story, saying, "The Hundred Flowers Palace in my videos was purely fictional and has nothing to do with the Hundred Flowers Palace mentioned on the stele. I truly didn’t expect there actually to be a Hundred Flowers Palace that sent something to the Chen Family."
Chu Ping and Chen Han couldn’t help but stare at Chen Han, unsure if he was telling the truth or not.
Could you casually mention a place called Hundred Flowers Palace, and it turns out there was really such a place that sent a stone stele to the Chen Family, even with an array inscribed on it?
Is there such a coincidence?
Then, Chu Ping reacted and asked, "Patriarch Chen, you mentioned the Dust-removal Array earlier; what does that mean?"
Chen Han had no idea, as he hadn’t yet put the stele into the game’s warehouse to check the notes, so he couldn’t understand it.
Therefore, he continued to make up a story, "This should be the legendary array stele of the Taoist Sect. Once the stele is erected through a special ceremony in a special place, it interacts with the surrounding environment, displaying mysterious supernatural abilities."
"Have you both seen some movies? A stone stele erected there, and the scenes inside become completely different; it’s probably something like that."
Although he was making it up, he knew the stele sent by the Hundred Flowers Palace definitely had a special effect of the Dust-removal Array, so it wasn’t entirely fictional either.
Chu Ping and Chen Kai were stunned upon hearing this, as they had certainly seen such movie and TV scenes, like Zhuge Liang’s stone array, appearing ordinary on the outside but filled with mist inside.
Now, this stone stele erected through a special ceremony in a special location could supposedly have such effects?
"Patriarch Chen, is there really such a thing?" Chu Ping couldn’t help but ask again.
Chen Han met his expectant gaze and immediately declared, "How could it be possible, those are merely Taoist legends. If such miraculous things truly existed, why wouldn’t the Mystic Sect be able to see them?"
"That’s why it illustrates that the legend of the array stele is just nonsense, dear leaders, in this modern society, we must believe in science."
"Could it be that the two leaders don’t believe in science?"
"..." Chu Ping.
"..." Chen Kai.
The two fell into an instant silent conflict; could they dare to say they don’t believe?
Given their status, they have to believe in science.
There was a palpable sense of powerlessness, as if Patriarch Chen was setting traps in front of them, and they had no way out.
The key was, Patriarch Chen kept showing off somewhat unscientific things on one hand, while forcefully stuffing scientific explanations into their minds.
Indeed, their status and stance robbed them of the ability to argue with Patriarch Chen, as they could only accept his ’believe in science’ argument, repeatedly catching them off guard.
Chu Ping coughed and said, "Patriarch Chen, of course, we believe in science, but now that the stele’s here, finding a location and having a ceremony wouldn’t hurt, would it? What if...?"
He added, "I’m saying... by erecting the stele, we might create a story, maybe attracting more tourist visits."
Chen Kai, aligned with Chu Ping’s thoughts, immediately understood the leader’s intentions, saying, "Yes, Patriarch Chen, we all believe in science, but that doesn’t stop us from finding a location, erecting a stele, does it?"
While professing their belief in science, their words were laden with hidden meanings, as they put significant effort into persuading Patriarch Chen to give it a try.
As Chu Ping suggested, putting up a stele and creating a story could indeed attract more tourists, especially since the Hundred Flowers Palace already appeared in Patriarch Chen’s videos.
At worst, the stele could become an amusement for tourists, and that would be its role.
But what if?
The legend...
Chen Han understood their intention and smiled, saying, "Well, I’ll give it a try, but I need to first find some relevant ancient texts and review the information, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to proceed."
Of course, entering it into the game’s warehouse to check the notes is most important.
Chu Ping and Chen Kai were relieved when he agreed to try, then chatted with Patriarch Chen briefly before leaving to not disturb his investigation.
But as they left the Chen Family, they realized something was off.
During their discussion, their positions with Patriarch Chen seemed to have swapped, with Patriarch Chen firmly believing in science, while they...
The two looked at each other with a helpless smile, then got into the car.
Once the car hit the road, Chu Ping couldn’t help but instruct, "Chen Kai, check the records when you get back, see if there’s any document about the Hundred Flowers Palace."
"Mmm." Chen Kai nodded, feeling it necessary to investigate.
The sudden appearance of the Hundred Flowers Palace had truly surprised him.
...
Chen Family.
Chen Han packed up the tools in the yard after the county folks left, then instructed Uncle Dagou, "Uncle Dagou, there’s nothing more to do here. Please take your team and help Little Uncle with the Jade Flower Tree and flower planting tasks; a considerable amount needs to be planted these days."
Just as this stele appeared, he felt that the effect of the Hundred Flowers Dew Talisman could be attributed to the stele later.
Upon receiving instructions, Uncle Dagou nodded naturally and took his team to find Chen Lin.
After everyone left the yard, Chen Han finally reached out and touched the stele, a thought placed it into the game’s warehouse, and he saw the stele’s notes:
[Array Stele (Dust-removal Array): This is an auxiliary type of array refined by the Hundred Flowers Palace, capable of purifying air, preventing pollution. The Hundred Flowers Palace can maintain clean air within the sect’s base by deploying the Dust-removal Array.
Special Effects: 1. Once this stele is erected, it grants a special attribute of Air Freshness +1 within the sect’s base. 2. Air purification originating from the sect’s base will spread outward, covering up to 30 square kilometers, with effects decreasing with distance.
Trigger Conditions: 1. Requires True Qi to activate the Dust-removal Array runes on the stele. 2. Must be erected with a special Taoist Sect stele ceremony at a marked special location to be effective.]
Upon reading the stele’s notes, Chen Han thought this effect certainly wouldn’t be any less impressive than what he had made up before, right?
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