Beast God
Chapter 25: Ruthless Methods

Gongsun Zhuo stood dumbfounded as he watched. He had personally experienced Wang Lian's formidable abilities, never imagining she could be reduced to such a state by a mere guardian dog.

"Chen Guan, is this really just a guardian dog?" Gongsun Zhuo began doubting whether Warring States was actually a guardian dog at all, given its extraordinary prowess.

Even those guardian dogs trained to high levels by practitioners might possess greater brute strength, but their intelligence could never compare to Chen Guan's Five-Red Dog. A guardian dog employing military tactics - such intellect was genuinely terrifying.

"Aside from a Five-Red Dog, what other mystical spirit looks like this?" Chen Guan retorted.

Gongsun Zhuo had to admit this was true. The Five-Red Dog's distinctive appearance and fur color made misidentification nearly impossible.

"I've never seen or heard of a Five-Red Dog being this powerful. It can't be ordinary quality, can it?" Gongsun Zhuo still found it unbelievable. Guardian dogs were universally ordinary quality - there were no rare or exceptional variants. He couldn't comprehend why Chen Guan's guardian dog defied all norms.

"Let's tie her up first to prevent further trouble." Chen Guan avoided discussing Warring States further, turning his attention to the unconscious Wang Lian on the ground.

"This woman is pure evil. Keeping her alive invites future disaster." Gongsun Zhuo frowned, clearly contemplating eliminating her.

Chen Guan retrieved a tendon rope from his backpack. As he began tightly binding the unconscious Wang Lian, he told Gongsun Zhuo, "I suspect she knows more than she's revealed. If Qin Ziyu and my pet fail, we might extract useful information from her."

Within moments, Chen Guan had trussed Wang Lian like a zongzi dumpling, her arms and legs bound behind her back in an extremely awkward position.

Lacking knowledge of tendon-severing techniques, Chen Guan could only ensure the bindings were as tight as possible to prevent Wang Lian from mustering strength upon waking.

"I'll fetch water to wake her." Seeing Chen Guan finish the binding, Gongsun Zhuo moved toward the pool.

"Unnecessary." Chen Guan raised his Miaosha Sword and stabbed it directly into Wang Lian's body, the sudden pain jolting her awake.

Gongsun Zhuo froze momentarily, his gaze toward Chen Guan turning peculiar. As fresh graduates entering their first mystical realm, such ruthless methods were unprecedented in their experience.

"You beast!" Wang Lian's face contorted in agony as Chen Guan twisted the sword embedded in her thigh wound, the blade slowly rotating and cutting within the injury.

"Answer my questions truthfully. For every refusal, delay, or lie, you'll receive another stab." Chen Guan wasted no time with preliminaries, posing his first question directly: "Earlier you claimed the seven-treasure glazed tree bore inscriptions of The Epang Scripture to lure us there. You knew the Water Burial Buddha wasn't truly dead, correct?"

"I didn't...ah—!" Wang Lian barely uttered three words before Chen Guan's sword plunged deeper, the tip ravaging her wound mercilessly, eliciting inhuman screams.

"Why didn't the Water Burial Buddha die?" Chen Guan withdrew the sword slightly before posing his second question.

Wang Lian's face was drenched in cold sweat, her complexion ghostly pale, her form nearly unrecognizable from torment. Daring not to prevaricate, she was still formulating her answer when unbearable agony shot through her leg again, drawing another scream.

"Too slow answering. Third question - how can the Water Burial Buddha be truly killed?" Chen Guan pulled back his sword, glaring coldly at Wang Lian.

Wang Lian's hatred for Chen Guan burned fiercely. She mentally screamed: "Chen Guan...just wait...if I survive this...I'll make you beg for death..." Yet her mouth moved obediently: "The Water Burial Buddha's resurrection comes from the Buddha's blood in that Kapala bowl. It's the essence blood of deceased Buddhist mystical spirits, absorbed and refined by the bowl into a miraculous substance that can regenerate flesh and resurrect the dead. But the Buddha's blood has limits - it can't grant eternal immortality. The Kapala bowl's supply is exhausted now. Kill him once more, and he won't revive again."

"Finished?" Chen Guan's gaze made Wang Lian's heart tremble with inexplicable dread.

Before she could react, the sword descended again accompanied by Chen Guan's icy voice: "I asked how to kill the Water Burial Buddha. What was that answer?"

"Ah...forgive me...I was wrong...I'll...I'll explain properly...ah—!" The pain became unbearable, Wang Lian's teeth nearly shattering as she strained against the tendon ropes stretched to their limit yet holding firm.

Even as a mere observer, Gongsun Zhuo felt chills watching, his view of Chen Guan now tinged with unspoken fear.

"Last chance." Chen Guan withdrew the sword, his voice frigid.

"Qin Ziyu's Purple-Green Dual Qi Profound Skill is extremely powerful - he's reached the level of generating sword radiance. Though just a glimmer, at his stage it can pierce anything, capable of killing the Water Burial Buddha. But he's already used it once. At his current level and condition, he can't produce a second radiance soon enough. So Qin Ziyu can't kill the Water Burial Buddha now."

Chen Guan had indeed noticed Qin Ziyu's sword techniques remained sharp, but that crucial radiance never reappeared.

"Your pet's attacks are strong too. At equal level to the Water Burial Buddha, with Qin Ziyu's help it might succeed. But its level is too low now - impossible alone." Seeing Chen Guan's darkening expression, Wang Lian hastily added: "There's only one way now - my acupoint-striking needle technique could assist Qin Ziyu and your pet. Combined, we three might have a chance."

"With your severe injuries, can you still harm the Water Burial Buddha?" Chen Guan narrowed his eyes.

"No. That's why you must retrieve a seven-treasures glazed fruit for me. While the Water Burial Buddha's distracted, just pluck one fruit for me to consume. Within moments I'll recover most of my primordial energy, then use my needle technique to help kill it." Wang Lian grew more confident - everything she said was true. Without her and Qin Ziyu cooperating, killing the Water Burial Buddha was impossible.

If Chen Guan wanted to survive, this was their only path.

"I don't want to die here either. Even recovered, I'm weaker than Qin Ziyu and your pet. The seven-treasure glazed fruit mainly enhances wisdom attributes - other effects are minor. One fruit couldn't restore me fully..." Wang Lian pressed her argument.

Chen Guan remained silent. For others, Wang Lian's help might indeed be essential against the Water Burial Buddha. But he possessed the Cheerleader's Soul - hope remained.

"You said The Epang Scripture was divided among six legendary-grade mystical spirits. Why come here first? Don't claim proximity." Chen Guan's sudden shift made Wang Lian's heart race, her eyes flickering.

"You're not just after this scripture fragment. There's another purpose here. Without Qin Ziyu, how could you hope to defeat the other five legendary spirits? You eliminated Qin Ziyu so quickly because what you gained here helps against the others..." Chen Guan continued relentlessly, watching Wang Lian's expression darken with each revelation.