CHAPTER 923: CHAPTER 467_2

Each word was like a heavy hammer striking at everyone’s hearts.

All the Chen Family members, faced with this sudden questioning, were dumbfounded, unable to utter a response.

Their hearts were churning with turbulent waves.

Could the monster standing here, risen from the fire, truly be the old family head reborn?

If that’s the case, then their crime of burning the grandfather’s corpse would indeed be unforgivable.

The clearing was silent, with only the matchsticks still crackling in the fire.

Everyone was so overwhelmed by its powerful aura that they couldn’t speak.

Chen Hongye’s eyes turned even redder, like two burning masses of blood.

His head tilted slightly, and his crimson gaze seemed to penetrate human bones, whoever it swept over couldn’t help but shiver.

That posture, it didn’t resemble a resurrected corpse.

It was clearly a fierce beast that had been hibernating for a long time, observing everyone with the gaze of a predator assessing its prey.

A few family members with weaker psychological endurance were already trembling in the legs.

The servants were even more beside themselves, so scared that their legs gave way, directly collapsing to the ground.

"Awooo—"

Suddenly, Chen Hongye raised his head and let out a long howl.

The howl was unlike a human sound, rather like a wild beast’s roar, carrying strong penetration, crashing directly onto everyone’s eardrums.

The surrounding wind instantly became violent, sweeping dried branches and leaves from the ground towards the crowd.

The wood in the firepit was blown to a crackling roar, burning fragments with sparks like raindrops, splashing outward.

"Quick, get out of the way!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly descended into chaos.

Whether it was the Chen family’s people or the monks invited to conduct the ritual, they all retreated.

Someone raised a hand to block the swirling dust that narrowed their eyes, but was burned by flying firewood on the back of their hand, causing them to gasp in pain.

Someone scurried blindly, knocking over the offering table, with incense, candles, and offerings crashing to the ground.

In the chaos, no one dared to stare at the firepit, only thinking of getting as far away from that frightening figure as possible.

When they finally regained their footing and looked back at the firepit, their hearts sank sharply again.

The figure standing in the fire was nowhere to be seen.

"Where?"

Someone asked in a trembling voice.

As soon as the words were spoken, a scream echoed from behind.

Everyone turned around, only to see Chen Hongye somehow leaped down from the firepit, grabbing hold of a fallen Chen family servant.

The servant’s face turned purple, hands desperately grabbing at Chen Hongye’s wrist, unable to pry it open.

At this moment, Chen Hongye was bending down, viciously biting into the servant’s neck.

"Glug... Glug..."

The clear sound of swallowing echoed through the night, making the listeners’ scalps tingle.

Everyone watched as the servant’s body shriveled at a visibly fast pace.

And the charred skin on Chen Hongye began to peel off piece by piece.

Then, the peeled areas revealed new skin.

The skin had a strange pale red hue, with the previously burned scars gone, except for the dark red spell marks.

In just a few seconds, the servant turned into a husk.

Chen Hongye let go, letting the body fall to the ground.

He raised a hand to touch his cheek, looking at the few remnants of charred skin, shook his head in discontent, his voice tinged with disdain:

"The quality of a common person’s blood is so poor, the blood and flesh of noble family descendants are much more nutritious..."

With that, he turned his gaze towards the members of the Chen family.

That gaze felt tangible, like sharp knives; whoever it swept over instinctively shrank back.

The Chen Family members were so frightened they retreated repeatedly, not even daring to breathe loudly.

"Speak."

Chen Hongye stood proudly, calling out in a deep voice:

"Which disgraceful descendants among you decided to burn my body?"

His voice echoed in the night sky as if containing some kind of power, buzzing and resonating.

As the words entered their ears, an inexplicable sense of guilt surged up within everyone present.

The members of the Chen Family turned even paler, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Someone couldn’t hold back and knelt down, their voice tinged with sobs:

"Family Head, forgive us, we were foolish to listen to the words of treacherous individuals and even thought of burning your physical body!"

"Grandfather, we didn’t mean it, please, for the sake of our blood relations, spare us this once..."

More and more people followed suit, kneeling down, their heads touching the ground as they continued to knock their foreheads in apology.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sound of dull thuds rose and fell on the open ground.

Soon, many had red marks on their foreheads, bleeding, yet they lacked the courage to even justify themselves.

This eerie scene left the monks of Cui City Temple dumbfounded,

as if the one here to offer peace to the souls of the dead and atone for sins was that monster claiming to be Chen Hongye, and not them, the Buddhist disciples.

Chen Dehai stood on the spot, looking at Chen Hongye with disbelief, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But the invisible pressure was too heavy; he couldn’t hold on for more than a few seconds,

in the end, his knees buckled and he fell to the ground, his cane hitting the ground with a thud.

Among the crowd, only Chen Xu’an remained standing.

His face was twisted, the veins on his forehead pulsed violently, clearly under immense pressure.

Yet the hatred in his eyes only burned more fiercely, like a fire growing ever stronger.

His clenched fists drove his nails almost into his palms, drawing blood.

Suddenly, he jerked his head up and yelled angrily at Chen Hongye:

"Stop pretending! You’re not my grandfather at all!"

This angry roar was like a thunderbolt, shattering the eerie atmosphere of the ceremony in an instant.

Everyone was jolted, even those kneeling couldn’t help but lift their heads to look at Chen Xu’an, filled with astonishment.

The sinister wind continued to howl, the sound of the soul-summoning banners was particularly harsh.

The remnants of the bonfire continued to burn, the sparks flickering in the darkness, making the ceremony site seem even more desolate.

The monks beside the Dharma Platform were already scared out of their wits, and upon hearing this roar, their bodies stiffened even more.

Master Yuan Jue clasped his hands together, his lips rapidly reciting scriptures, but the hand holding the Buddha Beads trembled more violently than before.

Chen Hongye’s gaze slowly shifted to Chen Xu’an, a hint of surprise flashed in the blood-red eye sockets, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

He tilted his head as if scrutinizing an interesting prey, and a strange curve slowly formed at the corners of his mouth.

Gathering all his courage, Chen Xu’an glared fiercely, his voice trembling with excitement but still clear:

"You’re just a monster! My father, Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, even my little brother... you killed them all! The disasters that have befallen the Chen Family over these years, they’re all your doing!"

"Heh heh..."

Chen Hongye let out a cold chuckle, full of mockery:

"A little thing who dares to speak the truth, but, alas, too foolish."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and beckoned at Chen Xu’an, his tone commanding and irresistible:

"Come over, let Grandpa show you some ’care’."

Chen Xu’an had been staring defiantly, but as soon as his eyes met those blood-red sockets, his body jolted suddenly.

It felt as though something had invaded his mind, and his body began to move forward uncontrollably.

Even though his mind screamed "Don’t go," his legs felt like they were being pulled by strings, taking step after step towards Chen Hongye.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back, his clothes clinging to his skin, cold and sticky.

He wanted to stop, he wanted to turn and run, but his body wouldn’t obey.

The other’s words felt like commands inscribed in his blood, pushing down even his thought of resistance.

"Don’t go over!"

Just as Chen Xu’an was about to reach Chen Hongye, a hand suddenly reached over, tightly grasping his wrist.

The grip was strong, the palm’s touch like a burning brand, making him shudder violently.

And in an instant, it pulled him back from the brink of losing control.

Chen Xu’an snapped back to his senses and, looking back, he saw it was Fang Cheng.

A prey that was almost in hand suddenly encountered a change.

Chen Hongye’s gaze instantly fixed on Fang Cheng, his blood-red eyes constricting slightly.

He stared at Fang Cheng holding Chen Xu’an’s hand, then raised his eyes to see the same flickering red light in Fang Cheng’s eyes, with a hoarse voice tinged with caution:

"It’s actually you..."