CHAPTER 920: CHAPTER 466:

The uneasy atmosphere quickly spread, even the sound of chanting seemed unable to suppress it,

"This must be the Chen Family’s bloodline ability at work!"

An old voice suddenly echoed from the crowd, breaking the commotion.

People turned towards the source of the voice and saw Elder Chen Dehai, leaning on a cane, step forward.

He glanced at the panicked clan members, then looked up at the coffin within the fire and continued:

"Hongye was a once-in-a-century genius of our Chen Family. During his lifetime, he was exceptionally talented, and his cultivation of the family’s bloodline ability ’Solidification’ reached the Transformation Realm. Even after death, his body is as solid as gold and stone."

Chen Dehai paused, trying hard to make his voice sound calmer:

"Now, three years after his death, it’s normal for some residual bloodline power to protect his corpse. There’s no need for everyone to panic!"

These words were like a calming pill, allowing many clan members to secretly breathe a sigh of relief and reducing the murmuring.

Yet some still frowned, their gaze falling on the coffin.

The explanation that residual energy protects the body seemed barely plausible.

But even the shroud and hair not burning appeared too eerie to be explained by normal phenomena.

Chen Xu’an stood by the pyre, staring intently at the body within the coffin.

He remembered his grandmother once saying similar things, causing a sudden wavering in his heart.

Could I be wrong?

Chen Xu’an’s expression shifted unpredictably, pale one moment and dark the next.

Then he slightly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, the hesitation had been replaced by determination and resolve.

Things had reached this point, the fire had been started, the clan was watching, there was no turning back.

He couldn’t just stop now.

"You guys, go bring all the remaining gasoline from the warehouse!"

Chen Xu’an immediately turned around, sternly directing the nearby servants, his tone leaving no room for defiance.

He intended to make the fire blaze higher, hotter, to thoroughly burn away all the eeriness before him!

A moment later, several servants came huffing and puffing with oil drums one after another.

Chen Xu’an stepped forward, personally taking one barrel of oil.

As he unscrewed the cap, the pungent smell of gasoline spread instantly, mingling with the charred scent of the firewood in the air.

He poured it down through the gaps in the woodpile, his actions crisp and efficient.

The gasoline seeped slowly into the texture of the firewood.

As soon as it touched the flames, with a "boom," an orange-red flare leaped over two meters high.

The crackling sounds of the wood were more intense and frequent than before.

Even the surrounding air was scorching hot, with the heat on the skin palpable even from several meters away.

Yet despite this, Chen Hongye’s body still seemed unscathed.

Seeing that the space above the coffin was not completely enveloped by the flames, Chen Xu’an frowned deeply.

He then ordered the servants to bring more firewood, continuously piling it onto the coffin, wanting to fill it tightly.

"Hey, don’t stack it too tightly."

Seeing this, Lin Chuqiao calmly reminded:

"Leave some gaps, let the wind in, with enough oxygen, it will burn better."

Chen Xu’an was startled by her words and realized he had been too impulsive.

He immediately followed Lin Chuqiao’s advice, directing the servants to adjust the structure of the woodpile.

He first pushed the half-burnt outer wood beneath the coffin, creating gaps.

Then he had the servants stuff new dry wood into the gaps, even intentionally hollowing out small openings at the bottom of the pile.

Finally, he inclined the new wood against the sides of the coffin, ensuring the wood was tightly against it, yet not blocking the airflow completely.

After the adjustment, the flames indeed seemed to smooth out, rising up through the gaps, gradually weaving a dense web that enveloped the entire coffin.

The camphorwood coffin began to be charred black, the crackling grew more hurried, and the wood boards showed signs of burning red.

The funeral robe on the body, long scorched to a brittle yellow, finally seemed to reach its limit.

At the moment touched by the flames, it quickly caught fire, the orange-red flames rapidly consuming the fabric, turning it into fine ash in no time.

A thin layer covered the body, like a dusting of grey powder.

Chen Xu’an gritted his teeth, grabbing a long wooden stick nearby, carefully prodding the woodpile.

He occasionally shouted to the servants, ordering them to continuously add new dry wood and pour gasoline.

Watching Chen Xu’an’s relentless determination, it was clear he wouldn’t stop until his grandfather’s body was reduced to ashes.

Fang Cheng was rather impressed by him, such filial piety indeed.

There was a disturbance at the cremation site.

Meanwhile, the water and land dharma assembly continued in an orderly manner.

Master Yuan Jue sat cross-legged at the center of the Dharma Platform, holding a string of Buddha Beads and softly chanting scriptures.

The dozens of monks behind him chanted in unison, striking the Magic Artifacts.

Dong dong — clang clang —

The low chanting and the sound of bells and drums echoed in the manor, mingling with the crackling of the burning firewood, permeating an indescribable eerie feeling.

The last bit of the sunset was finally swallowed by the horizon, leaving only a lead-grey twilight in the sky.

Soon, the Chen Family Manor was completely shrouded in night.

Everywhere turned dark, with only the blazing fire before the Dharma Platform shining ever brighter in the night.

The orange-red flames shot straight up, dyeing almost half of the night sky red.

The flames cast the monks’ shadows tall and lean, and illuminated the faces of every onlooker.

The soul-recalling banners beside the Dharma Platform gently swayed in the evening breeze, the runes on the fabric flickering under the firelight as if beckoning something.

A large pile of firewood continued to crackle and burn, with thick smoke laden with fine ash rolling upwards, leaving a choking burnt smell on the faces.