Bai Lao uttered this sentence, and I couldn't help but look at him more closely.
This was an expert.
His own cultivation was definitely not low.
Bai Lao wasted no more words. After speaking,
he walked to Master's coffin and raised his hands.
Seeing this, Bai Ye quickly handed over a black rod and a large white fan.
These were ritual implements for corpse burners.
The black rod was made of lychee wood, capable of suppressing and controlling corpses.
The large white fan was woven from palm leaves, its white surface reportedly coated with a layer of oil.
The nature of this oil was unknown, but this large fan was said to be able to fan souls.
After all, everyone worked in their respective professions, and each profession had its own special ritual implements, magical artifacts, and the like.
We Taoists had peach wood swords and copper coin swords as standard equipment.
Corpse retrievers in rivers had dark iron hooks, black iron rulers, and so on.
At this moment, Bai Lao held the black lychee wood rod and the large white fan,
squinted his eyes, and then began to sway his body.
He also chanted words: "Today, the official Lang Gu Hui Ren, fan the wind and draw fire, entering the ancestral shrine of life.
May the soul return to heaven and earth, the body transform into ancient..."
As Bai Lao chanted, he made movements.
This was likely a high-level ritual within the corpse-burning profession.
Although burial was common in the past, cremation had been a primary method of burial for some states as early as the pre-Qin period.
The "Mozi: Jie Zang Xia" records:
"In the west of Qin, there is a country called Yi Qu. When their relatives die, they gather firewood and burn them."
Corpse burners were also a profession with a long history.
The culture it contained, the hidden lineages, the methods of sending off the deceased, were all extensive.
To outsiders, it was just burning a fire.
But if you were not in the profession, you would not know how profound its way was, nor how deep its sea was.
During the ritual, my junior uncle quietly explained to me and Lao Mo on the side:
"This Bai Lao is the most famous corpse burner in Qing Shan City, and even in the entire southwestern region.
Many people pay money to invite him, but still cannot get him!"
Hearing this, I nodded slightly.
At this moment, I did not understand the prowess of a corpse burner.
But since it was a profession of the Yin, and my junior uncle spoke of him with such respect, it indicated that the man must have his own strengths and uniqueness.
I watched quietly without speaking.
Lao Mo, after listening, asked with a confused expression:
"Master, I really don't understand.
What's so amazing about just burning a corpse?
Isn't it just pushed into the incinerator and burned directly?"
My junior uncle listened and then smiled calmly:
"If you have such a thought, you truly underestimate corpse burners.
Among the nine Yin professions, paper crafting is first, and corpse burning is second.
Since corpse burners rank second, they naturally have their own formidable aspects.
Traditional corpse burners can control fire, command fire, and ignite fire.
This Bai Lao before us is a relatively skilled senior corpse burner in today's martial world.
He can control three types of fire.
The first is Blazing Sun Fire.
This fire burns the corpse completely, leaving no residual filth, arriving clean and departing clean.
It can burn away the corpse's resentment, bad luck, and illness.
It helps the deceased sever earthly ties, allowing their soul to depart peacefully.
The second is called Ghost Fire of the Netherworld. This fire is illusory and unseen, and has no temperature.
But it can burn ghosts; if Yin evil beings are tainted by it, it is like being consumed by ten thousand fires, instantly perishing.
It burns away illusory malevolent entities, cleansing impurities.
The third is Righteous Qi True Fire.
This one is truly formidable. It is said to be able to burn karmic debts and sins.
As for what form it takes, I have never seen it."
My junior uncle told us everything he knew, one by one, to me and Lao Mo.
When Lao Mo and I heard this, we were filled with shock.
We looked at this long-eyebrowed old man, who was currently "dancing like a shaman."
We never expected that the prowess of corpse burners lay in their ability to control flames.
"Blazing Sun Fire, Ghost Fire of the Netherworld, Righteous Qi True Fire"—just hearing these names felt incredibly impressive.
Bai Lao danced for about ten minutes before stopping.
He used the black wooden rod to point at Master's brow:
"Dotting the Heavenly Official, the earthly realm dissipates, with no further ties."
After speaking, he pointed to Master's chest:
"Dotting the chest, the heart returns to peace for ten thousand generations, a lifetime completed."
Finally, Bai Lao pointed to Master's feet:
"Dotting the soles, walk the earthly path, cross the Yin bridge, and enter the underworld smoothly.
Move the coffin, send off the official Lang Gu Hui to the Hall of Incense."
As soon as Bai Lao finished speaking, Bai Ye and the other disciples standing guard on both sides stepped forward.
They began to lift the coffin, preparing to send Master's coffin into the incinerator.
The "Hall of Incense" referred to the furnace.
Seeing that Master was about to be sent to the furnace to be cremated,
I looked at him deeply, and then the corpse burners closed the coffin lid.
On the other side, I immediately knelt down:
"Master, travel well!"
After speaking, I kowtowed to Master again.
At this moment, Master's coffin was sent to the mouth of the furnace and pushed directly inside.
With a "clang," the furnace's fire door closed.
Bai Lao came to the furnace and suddenly formed a single-finger mudra.
He pointed into the furnace:
"Arriving clean, departing clean.
Blazing Sun Fire, open!"
As these words were spoken, a "boom" erupted from within the furnace, and it instantly ignited.
The flames were an abnormal red, instantly filling the entire incineration chamber.
Bai Lao held the black rod, poking and prodding, while fanning with the white fan.
Strangely, each time Bai Lao prodded the rod and fanned,
the flames within the incineration furnace would fluctuate to varying degrees...
On average, the time it took to cremate a body in a crematorium was about forty minutes.
Although cremation equipment varied in different regions, the time was always over half an hour.
However, when Bai Lao cremated my Master,
it only took a mere five minutes to complete the cremation...