Gongsun Zhuo was watching in shock; he knew Wang Lian's strength firsthand and never imagined she could be reduced to such a state by a mere guard dog.
"Chen Guan, is this really just a guard dog?" Gongsun Zhuo began to suspect that Warring States wasn't simply a guard dog; otherwise, how could it be so formidable?
Even those guard dogs trained to a high level by the cultivators, though their raw power may have greatly increased, their intelligence doesn't compare to Chen Guan's Five Red Dogs.
A guard dog that could even employ tactics; its level of intelligence was quite frightening.
"Apart from the Five Red Dogs, is there any other Secret Spirit that looks like this?" Chen Guan retorted.
Gongsun Zhuo thought about it and agreed; it wasn't easy to mistake the appearance and fur color of a Five Red Dog.
"For the Five Red Dogs to be this powerful is truly unprecedented; its quality must not be ordinary, right?" Gongsun Zhuo still found it hard to believe. Guard dogs are usually of ordinary quality; there's no concept of rarity or uniqueness, so he couldn't understand why Chen Guan's guard dog was so extraordinary.
"Let's tie her up first to avoid any more trouble." Chen Guan didn't want to discuss the Warring States matter further and glanced at the unconscious Wang Lian on the ground.
"This woman is sinister; keeping her might pose a future threat," Gongsun Zhuo said with a frown, evidently inclined to eliminate her.
Chen Guan took a tendon rope from his backpack and, while tying the unconscious Wang Lian tightly, said to Gongsun Zhuo, "I suspect she knows more than she's letting on. In case Qin Ziyu and my pet can't handle it, perhaps we can find some useful information from her."
Hearing this, Gongsun Zhuo said no more.
In a short time, Chen Guan had tied Wang Lian up like a dumpling, with both her hands and legs tied behind her back, making her position look quite awkward.
Chen Guan didn't know the art of dislocating joints, so he simply tied her securely to ensure she couldn't exert any strength even after waking up.
"I'll get some water to wake her up," Gongsun Zhuo said, seeing that Chen Guan had tied her up.
"No need." Chen Guan raised the Miaoshu Sword in his hand and stabbed it directly into Wang Lian, waking her up with pain immediately.
Gongsun Zhuo was slightly startled, looking at Chen Guan with a peculiar expression. For young men who had just graduated and entered the secret realm for the first time, such a ruthless method was something they hadn't seen before.
"Bastard!" Wang Lian's face twisted in pain as the sword in Chen Guan's hand stabbed her thigh wound, slowly twisting the blade to let the tip rotate and cut within the wound.
"Answer whatever I ask; if not, answer slowly, or answer wrongly, I will reward you with another stab." Chen Guan didn't waste words, directly posing the first question: "Just now you mentioned the carving of the Ah Fang Sutra on the Seven Treasure Glaze Tree to entice us. You knew the Water Burial Buddha hadn't truly died, right?"
"I didn't... ah..." Wang Lian had barely said three words when Chen Guan's sword stabbed down, the tip ravaging her wound, making Wang Lian emit inhuman screams.
"Why hasn't the Water Burial Buddha died?" Chen Guan withdrew the sword and asked the second question.
Wang Lian's face was full of cold sweat, her complexion white as a ghost, nearly tortured beyond recognition. She dared not speak hastily, thinking about how to answer when the unbearable pain returned to her leg, causing her to scream once again.
"You were too slow to answer. Third question, how can the Water Burial Buddha be truly killed?" Chen Guan took back his sword and coldly continued to ask Wang Lian.
Wang Lian wished she could gnaw Chen Guan to death, in her heart cursing madly: "Chen Guan… you just wait… don't let me get out alive… otherwise, I'll make your life a living hell…"
Despite her hatred, Wang Lian dared not hesitate. She immediately replied, "The Water Burial Buddha can resurrect because of the Buddha's blood in the Gaba Bowl. It's the essence blood transformed from a deceased Buddha Secret Spirit, absorbed and refined by the Gaba Bowl, becoming a miraculous Buddha's blood capable of regenerating flesh and bones. But the Buddha's blood is limited; it can't permanently give the Water Burial Buddha an undying body. The Buddha's blood in the Gaba Bowl is depleted; now, if killed again, he won't resurrect."
"Finished talking?" Chen Guan questioned Wang Lian, watching her intently.
For some reason, when looking into Chen Guan's eyes, Wang Lian felt a sense of dread, as if a bad omen was looming.
Before Wang Lian could react, Chen Guan's sword struck again, accompanied by his cold voice: "When I asked how to kill the Water Burial Buddha, what did you answer?"
"Ah… sorry… I was wrong… I… I'll say it now… ah…" Wang Lian couldn't endure the pain, her teeth nearly shattering, the tendon rope on her body stretched taut, almost on the brink of snapping, yet it held firm.
Even Gongsun Zhuo, merely watching from the side, felt a shiver down his spine, holding a newfound fear in his gaze toward Chen Guan.
"Last chance." Chen Guan withdrew his sword, looking at Wang Lian with a stern expression.
"Qin Ziyu's Purple and Cyan Qi Profound Skill is formidable, having reached the level of unleashing Purple and Cyan Sword Aura. Though just a flicker of aura, it can pierce anything at its stage, capable of killing the Water Burial Buddha. Unfortunately, he used it once already; with his current level and state, he can't trigger a second Purple and Cyan Sword Aura in the short term, so Qin Ziyu has no ability to kill the Water Burial Buddha now."
Chen Guan had seen it for himself that although Qin Ziyu's swordsmanship remained fierce, he couldn't use the sword aura again.
"Your pet's attack power is strong too; if its level were equal to the Water Burial Buddha, perhaps with Qin Ziyu's help, killing the Water Burial Buddha might be possible. But its level is too low to achieve this," Wang Lian said, noticing Chen Guan's off expression and hurriedly added, "To kill the Water Burial Buddha now, there's only one way: I use the Flying Needle Acupoint Technique with Qin Ziyu and your pet—we might stand a chance to kill it."
"Are you capable of harming the Water Burial Buddha while so gravely injured?" Chen Guan squinted at her.
"No, which is why I need you to fetch those Seven Treasures Glaze Fruits. Seize a moment when the Water Burial Buddha is occupied, pluck a fruit for me to swallow, and in mere moments I'll recover most of my primordial energy, then help with the Flying Needle Acupoint Technique to kill the Water Burial Buddha." Wang Lian's confidence started to grow, as her statements were indeed truthful; under the current circumstance, unless she collaborated with Qin Ziyu, it was impossible to kill the Water Burial Buddha.
If Chen Guan and his group didn't want to die, this was their only path.
"I don't want to die here, and my strength isn't comparable to Qin Ziyu or your pet. Even if I recover some primordial energy, I won't be a threat to you. The Seven Treasures Glaze Fruit is known for enhancing intelligence attributes; its effects in other aspects aren't significant. A single fruit could never restore my full energy…" Wang Lian continued to persuade.
Chen Guan watched Wang Lian in silence. For others, without Wang Lian's assistance, the task of killing the Water Burial Buddha and escaping alive seemed nearly impossible. Yet he had the Spirit of the Cheerleaders, not leaving him without hope.
"You mentioned the Ah Fang Sutra being divided into six parts, each protected by six World-Defying Secret Spirits. Why did you come here first? Don't tell me it was merely because of the proximity," Chen Guan inquired, looking at Wang Lian.
Wang Lian didn't expect this sudden question from Chen Guan, her heart quickened, her expression changing slightly.
"You didn't come here solely for this part of the Ah Fang Sutra; you have other motives. Otherwise, given your strength, without Qin Ziyu's assistance, how could you defeat the other five World-Defying Secret Spirits? You're trying to dispose of Qin Ziyu so fast because what you get here can help you eliminate the other Secret Spirits…" Chen Guan left no room for Wang Lian to speak, but as she listened, her complexion slowly changed.