CHAP takes a more sophisticated and secure approach to authentication by creating a unique challege phrase (a randomly generated string) for each authentication. The challenge phrase is combined with device host names using oneway hashing functions to authenticate in way where no static secret information is ever transmitted over the wire.
RFC 2759 Microsoft MS-CHAP-V2 January 2000 The
Appendix A. Encryption Standards Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Cisco IOS Password Encryption Facts - Cisco Jul 21, 2008 StorSimple 8000 series security | Microsoft Docs
Does a VPN utilizing PPTP and MS-CHAPv2 without encryption
CHAP MSCHAP & SPAP -Which 2 require the password to be MS-CHAP stores hashes, the password is not stored. Reversing the encryption is an optional checkbox, that is NOT recommended. Also, the reason the VPN's fail is that they aren't designed to work with the randomizing that occurs with MS-CHAP's regeneration of magic numbers and whatever other hocus-pocus it tries to throw out there to make you "think" you have a more secure connection.