"That's right, it's me; Basha, you look rather pathetic."
Seeing Basha's disheveled state, Bai Qi displayed an unconcealed smile.
Upon witnessing Bai Qi's smug demeanor, Basha felt an overwhelming surge of anger, yet she was powerless. She was no match for him currently, not even in the sea.
While Basha could suppress her rage, her surrounding Trench Clan companions could not. Their absolute loyalty to Basha made them disregard the terrifying aura emanating from Bai Qi. The Trench Clan members who approached Basha let out beastly growls towards him, influenced by her.
In the next instant, with just a glance from Bai Qi, all the Trench Clan members growling at him exploded simultaneously, their flesh and blood flying in a gruesome display.
"Holy Lord! What exactly do you want?!"
Although Basha couldn't defeat the Holy Lord and didn't value the lives of these Trench Clan members, treating them like disposable toys, it was her prerogative to discard or destroy her own toys. However, now that her toys had been destroyed by someone else, regardless of whether she liked them or not, their destruction was no longer just about a broken toy.
Seeing Basha roaring at him in fury, Bai Qi remained unhurried and casually tossed a small object.
Basha instinctively caught it. Upon opening her palm, she saw a black pill the size of a broad bean.
Sensing the pill's unique material, Basha swallowed it without hesitation.
The pill dissolved in Basha's mouth, transforming into a wisp of black energy that entered her abdomen and eventually merged with her body.
"Consider this compensation for breaking your toy. I have plenty more anyway."
Bai Qi produced a palm-sized bottle filled with these small pills made of black energy.
Upon seeing the bottle brimming with small pills, Basha's eyes lit up.
For an Origin Demon like Basha, this bottle of black pills wasn't a vast quantity, but it was precisely what she needed at the moment. Yet, her pride as a demon prevented her from voicing her desire and accepting Bai Qi's charity.
From Basha's conflicted expression of resistance and reluctance, Bai Qi could discern her difference from Xi Mu.
Indeed, it was Xi Mu who had now drawn Bai Qi's attention.
Bai Qi continuously monitored the every move of the three demons on the ground: Xi Mu, Bo Gang, and Xiao Feng. However, not long ago, Bai Qi discovered that he could no longer pinpoint Xi Mu's exact location. Even with technological and magical means, he couldn't track Xi Mu. Even when he asked his beloved Black Qi Mother, she was evasive and couldn't provide a clear answer.
If Xi Mu were in Basha's position, faced with a whole bottle of small pills from Bai Qi, he might have been wary and wouldn't have used them readily before confirming their safety. However, he would have immediately taken them from Bai Qi's hand.
Seeing Basha still hesitating, Bai Qi produced two more bottles, totaling three, and tossed them to Basha, saying, "This black energy can help you recover a significant amount of power. Of course, I won't give it to you for free. Help me with something, and if you succeed, these will be yours."
Catching the three bottles of small pills, Basha asked, "What do you want me to do?"
As she spoke, Basha uncapped the bottles and swallowed all the pills inside.
Bai Qi didn't stop her. He gave Basha a coordinate and said, "Go there and retrieve something. These three bottles are your reward."
Upon receiving Bai Qi's coordinates, Basha frowned slightly and asked, "Why don't you go get it yourself?"
"That thing is in the deep sea, protected by several magical seals. I don't want to go."
After hearing Bai Qi's words, Basha accepted the task without much thought. After all, it was not a difficult task for her, a Water Demon. Moreover, analyzing the Holy Lord's past behavior, it wasn't unusual for him to act this way.
Seeing Basha agree to his request, Bai Qi did not linger any longer and turned, disappearing into the darkness.
As soon as Bai Qi left, Basha twisted open the caps of the other two bottles and gulped down all the pills inside.
Feeling the black energy coursing through her body, Basha rarely showed a hint of a smile. However, the thought of having to retrieve something for the Holy Lord caused her nascent smile to vanish.
Although Basha strongly disliked the Holy Lord, she had accepted his benefits and explicitly agreed to help. As the most trustworthy among demons, Basha could only set aside their past grievances for the time being. Once she handed over the item to the Holy Lord, this favor would be repaid.
After reading the coordinates given by Bai Qi, Basha discovered they were not too far from their current location. With the mindset of finishing the task as soon as possible, Basha rested briefly before leading the Trench Clan towards the designated direction.
The coordinates led to the interior of a bottomless undersea trench. Upon arrival, Basha indeed saw several magical seals obstructing her path.
Sensing her surroundings, Basha finally understood why the Holy Lord was unwilling to come here himself.
Despite being in the lightless depths of the ocean, the area was imbued with considerable righteous energy. Furthermore, those magical seals, though weakened by time, were undeniably genuine seals of righteous energy.
To be honest, Basha would not have wanted to come to such a place if not for fulfilling her deal with the Holy Lord.
"I should finish this quickly and leave."
Saying this, Basha tentatively tossed a few water balls at the seals. Without exception, they were repelled.
Although the seals' power was no longer at its peak, a head-on confrontation would undoubtedly result in significant losses for Basha. She did not want to expend her limited black energy in such a place.
With that in mind, Basha beckoned. The Trench Clan behind her instinctively rushed towards the seals.
After years of evolution, although the Trench Clan still obeyed their creator Basha, they had transformed from creatures of black energy into neutral beings.
Consequently, while the righteous energy seals still affected them, the impact was significantly less compared to Basha, a powerful demon. Nevertheless, it still caused these Trench Clan members to collide until their heads were bloody.
As one Trench Clan member after another fearlessly charged forward, the outermost seal was soon breached, creating a hole.
Seeing this, Basha immediately ordered the Trench Clan members preparing to charge again to stop. She personally controlled two Trench Clan members to pass through the hole and locate the core of the seal, then struck it with all her might.
*Crack!*
Despite the seal's apparent robustness, its core was incredibly fragile. It could not withstand the full force of the Trench Clan's attack and shattered. Following two more forceful blows, the seal's core completely disintegrated.
Finally, after sacrificing four Trench Clan members, the first seal was successfully broken.
Looking inside, Basha saw three more such seals. Moreover, the one that was broken, being the outermost, had suffered significant damage. The inner seals would likely require the sacrifice of even more Trench Clan members.