Under Bai Qi's relentless assault, even with Basha's full resistance, the vast disparity in power meant defeat was only a matter of time.
As the two sides clashed, the seawater Basha could summon was depleted. She had also expended a large amount of her internal moisture to contend with Bai Qi, her body shrinking at a visible rate.
However, it was precisely because her body had shrunk that she found an opportunity, escaping through a rift in space with magic.
Upon escaping, Basha shot Bai Qi a hateful glance before turning and fleeing without a word.
Seeing Basha attempt to escape, Arthur couldn't stand idly by before Bai Qi could react.
This kind of lured-in trap was only effective the first time. If Basha wasn't completely dealt with now, even if she temporarily retreated after being severely wounded, the threat to Atlantis would never end.
The best course of action was to eliminate her completely at this moment.
With this thought, Arthur hesitated not for a moment, raising his Trident of the Sea God and charging towards Basha.
"What trash dares to get in my way!"
Already agitated from being severely wounded by Bai Qi, Basha was further provoked by an Atlantean daring to block her path so recklessly. With a wave of her hand, several water arrows shot towards Arthur.
Facing the incoming water arrows, Arthur hurriedly wielded his trident to block. However, his strength was limited. He managed to block most of them, but two arrows slipped through and pierced his body.
Yet, Arthur couldn't afford to care about that now. Disregarding the biting pain, he fully activated his trident, creating a water wall to stop Basha from leaving.
Using a water wall to stop the Water Demon was a truly brainless act.
As expected, Basha passed through Arthur's desperately created water wall as if it were thin air, without the slightest pause.
Fortunately, Bai Qi was not as foolish as Arthur. Seeing Basha escape, he immediately accelerated his pursuit.
Basha absorbed seawater as she fled to mend the damage from the recent battle. Seeing Bai Qi closing in behind her, she knew she would be caught sooner or later. If she were trapped again, she feared she would truly be finished.
To survive, Basha gritted her teeth, expending her already limited magical power to create numerous clones that scattered in all directions.
Seeing Basha split up, Arthur summoned a dolphin, mounted it, and gave chase. Although the dolphin's speed was no match for the other two, it managed to keep pace, not losing track.
But when he saw Basha split into so many clones, Arthur was dumbfounded. With so many clones mixed together, which one was the real Basha?
It wasn't just Arthur; Basha thought the same.
"Hmph, so many, let's see how you..."
Before Basha could finish speaking, she collided with an air wall. By the time she realized what had happened, she found herself trapped in a space again. However, this time, she was the only one trapped.
Due to her energy-draining split, Basha's body was now extremely small, no larger than Bai Qi's palm. The space Bai Qi had enclosed her in was also tiny, with no room to spare.
Basha still tried to struggle, hoping to escape through a rift in space like last time.
Unfortunately, Bai Qi, having learned from his previous mistake, would not give Basha any chance to exploit loopholes.
This time, the spatial barrier Bai Qi created was incredibly dense, so tight that even if Basha shrank further, she could not escape.
Bai Qi beckoned, and the spatial cube returned to his hand. Looking at Basha struggling within, Bai Qi's lips curved slightly. In the next moment, countless bolts of lightning surged within the spatial cube.
The intense lightning coursed through Basha's body, its destructive power making it difficult for her to maintain her form.
Arthur then approached. Seeing Basha being toyed with and tormented by Bai Qi, Arthur's eyes held no joy, but rather a deep-seated fear.
He remembered that Basha alone had once destroyed several underwater kingdoms, leaving only Atlantis from the seven great underwater kingdoms. If Atlantis hadn't been protected by a forbidden art, it would have likely been annihilated by Basha.
Such a powerful being was now being held and toyed with by Bai Qi, making it evident how terrifying his strength truly was.
Of course, besides fear, Arthur's eyes also held a hint of relief. He was glad he had agreed to Bai Qi's three conditions. As long as Atlantis remained obedient, it should not become a target of Bai Qi's wrath.
Bai Qi looked at Arthur and waved his hand impatiently, "Are you that idle? Basha has been captured by me. Why are you standing here foolishly instead of returning to your kingdom?"
Arthur, snapping back to reality, said no more. He bowed respectfully to Bai Qi before mounting his dolphin and quickly heading towards Atlantis.
After Arthur left, Bai Qi looked at Basha within the spatial cube. Basha had finally managed to stabilize her form and was also looking at Bai Qi.
However, compared to before, Basha had lost her former arrogance, speaking to Bai Qi with much humility.
"Holy Lord, we are of the same kind. There's no need for fighting. If you spare me, I am willing to submit and become your subordinate, serving you day and night. As long as you let me go, I will..."
Bai Qi didn't hear a word of Basha's continuous pledges of loyalty.
What a joke. Bai Qi himself was a demon. Did Bai Qi not know the nature of demons?
It would be truly foolish to believe Basha's words. As for contracts, Bai Qi didn't believe in them either. It was a joke; Bai Qi was a master of word games, or rather, all demons were.
Therefore, instead of trusting Basha's conscience and guarantees, Bai Qi chose a more secure method.
Circulating his magic, Bai Qi began to extract large amounts of energy from Basha, who was trapped within the spatial cube.
With the last drop of power absorbed by Bai Qi, the Water Demon Basha completely vanished from the main world. At this moment, the power of the eight great demons had converged within Bai Qi.
The eight forces complemented each other, unleashing even more astonishing power.
"This feeling is simply... too marvelous."
On Bai Qi's body, the trigrams representing the eight demons lit up.
With each trigram that lit up, Bai Qi's original power doubled. The moment all eight trigrams were illuminated, Bai Qi's strength surged by more than tenfold.
"It's too wonderful. Power gushes forth endlessly. This feeling is truly magnificent."
Under the influence of the eight trigrams, Bai Qi's entire body was undergoing visible changes. His original green dragon scales rapidly shed, replaced by brand new black scales, interspersed with flecks of gold.