"The Ancestor Master succeeded, kill that bastard!"
Er Lengzi was extremely excited and began to fully activate the Sword Essence Azure Stone, unleashing a fierce attack.
Brilliant sword energy crisscrossed, severing countless vines and easily breaking through the encirclement of the Nether Undying Vine.
Without its regenerative abilities, the Nether Undying Vine was merely a giant target.
The others on the flying ship were first stunned, then incredibly excited, and began to counterattack.
Their attacks easily destroyed swathes of vines, and the Nether Undying Vine truly failed to repair itself, appearing to have become an ordinary plant.
"Kill! The Nether Undying Vine has lost its immortality!"
No longer fearing it, everyone rushed out of the flying ship, attacking with full force, madly destroying the vines and roots of the Nether Undying Vine, seeking revenge for their deceased loved ones or fellow disciples.
The more miserable they had been before, the more frenzied their revenge now was.
"What's going on? That young disciple from the Void Sword Sect can actually absorb the Nether Undying Vine's immortal attribute!"
The Slit-Mouthed Woman quickly understood what was happening, discovering that Ji Mo was holding the main root of the Nether Undying Vine and absorbing it with all his might.
She was incredibly astonished, her jaw nearly hitting the ground, never having imagined such a thing could happen.
Even powerful deities might not be able to refine this special attribute of the Nether Undying Vine; how had this young man managed it?
Then, she suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but show a look of ecstatic joy: "It seems I've caught a big fish. This brat must be a contingency left behind by the Great Immortal Kongxu, possessing unimaginable talent. If I kill him, my master will surely reward me handsomely."
Under the frenzied attacks of everyone, the Nether Undying Vine was pushed back, with most of its vines and roots pulverized into mud, no longer posing a threat.
Having narrowly escaped death, Duke Wu策 let out a wild laugh and taunted, "I understand now. The Void Sword Sect must have known that the Nether Undying Vine's immortal characteristic is time-limited, so they calculated the timing, pretended to be saviors, and took the opportunity to swindle you out of your money. You fools, you've been played for fools, paying one thousand immortal crystals each, which is likely to drain your coffers dry."
Although he didn't understand why the Nether Undying Vine had become like this, it didn't stop him from slandering the Void Sword Sect and smearing their name.
This was clearly an attempt to sow discord.
It had to be said that Duke Wu策's words were quite effective, and everyone's expressions immediately changed.
"Sima Hongfeng, I didn't expect you to be so insidious. Hurry and return the IOUs we wrote!"
"Return my immortal crystals, or this matter is not over!"
"Old thief Sima, how dare you scheme against us! You must compensate us, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
After escaping danger, some people's ugly faces were immediately revealed.
Not only did they want to renege on their debts, but they also shamelessly demanded compensation from the Void Sword Sect.
Of course, they didn't truly believe Duke Wu策's nonsense, but they cunningly seized this baseless excuse to try and back out of their promises.
They had shamelessly begged to board the flying ship before, and now they were crossing the river and tearing down the bridge, even trying to turn the tables.
Of course, there was a small minority who still had some integrity and couldn't bring themselves to betray their benefactors, remaining relatively true to their word.
After all, at the brink of death, if the Void Sword Sect hadn't intervened in time, they would have certainly perished.
"You ungrateful bastards, shameless, truly shameless!"
Xia Wan'er, being an upright young lady, couldn't stand the shameless faces of these people.
Tu Shan Mingyue also couldn't help but speak up for the Void Sword Sect, stating that Duke Wu策's words were utter nonsense and that there was no scheme involved.
She knew best what had happened; the Void Sword Sect had indeed saved everyone, but the most significant contribution wasn't from Er Lengzi, but from that handsome young man who, disregarding his own safety, fearlessly and righteously charged towards the Nether Undying Vine to cause destruction.
At this moment, her feelings for Ji Hanhan soared.
The crowd sneered, having made up their minds to default on their debts, as a thousand immortal crystals was a substantial sum, and only a fool would pay.
If they hadn't been wary of the power of the Sword Essence Azure Stone, they might have already resorted to force to snatch back their IOUs.
"You think you can turn your backs on us so easily? Do you really think my Void Sword Sect is so easy to bully?"
Sima Hongfeng's face turned ashen. He was too lazy to argue with these scoundrels and plainly stated that those who kept their promises could stay on the flying ship, and those who didn't could leave.
Did they really think that with the Ancestor Master's temperament, he would let these bastards get away with taking advantage of the Void Sword Sect?
What awaited these scoundrels was the Ancestor Master's reckoning.
Suddenly, over ten thousand beings chose to default on their debts, with less than a thousand remaining on the flying ship.
Feng Kun was also about to leave, but lacking the confidence to reclaim the hundred thousand immortal crystals, he could only accept his loss, resolving to make the Void Sword Sect pay the price in the future.
The divine beast had been quietly lying on the flying ship, completely ignoring the commotion of the crowd, its gaze fixed on the Slit-Mouthed Woman, knowing that things were not that simple.
Because after the Nether Undying Vine was crippled, the Slit-Mouthed Woman not only didn't flee but was grinning broadly.
"You ants are simply laughable. You're all on the verge of death, yet you're still arguing over mere immortal crystals. You really think you can survive? How naive!"
The Slit-Mouthed Woman's face was full of mockery, and she wasn't flustered at all.
She had been assigned to deal with the Great Immortal Kongxu, and naturally, she had backup plans.
She had originally thought she wouldn't need to use them, but now, to deal with Ji Mo, she had no choice.
"Without the Nether Undying Vine, you still dare to be arrogant? You're courting death!"
Suddenly, dozens of people couldn't stand it anymore. They lunged at the Slit-Mouthed Woman with fierce expressions, intending to hack her into pieces.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman sneered repeatedly, taking out a transparent crystal bottle containing a drop of incredibly vibrant blood.
She opened the bottle, and a terrifying blood-red light shot into the sky, emitting a bloody and demonic aura that permeated heaven and earth.
The dozens of Heavenly Immortals who charged forward didn't even have time to scream. They instantly turned into mummified corpses, falling to the ground and turning into ashes.
The divine beast suddenly stood up, its expression filled with immense terror: "Impossible! How could this blood appear in the world? Could it be that the Winter of All Realms and the Twilight of the Gods are not far off!"
The appearance of this drop of blood signified something extraordinary, heralding unimaginable great terror that was about to sweep across all realms.
The blood bead contained an ineffable power, and its terrifying aura was suffocating.
Some low-level beings were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground.
The blood bead slowly dripped onto the ground, and the entire earth seemed to experience an earthquake of magnitude ten, shaking violently.
Mountains and rivers shattered, the earth cracked, and nearby mountain ranges collapsed en masse.
Then, this drop of blood transformed into countless blood threads and merged into the Nether Undying Vine.
The dying Nether Undying Vine actually let out "hissing" sounds. Not only did it fully recover, but it also underwent an unimaginable mutation.
Demonic smoke billowed, blood-red light permeated, and a dead, evil aura swept in all directions.
The Nether Undying Vine grew rapidly, its body several times larger than before, its vines reaching thousands of feet high, and its underground roots spreading for dozens of miles.
In an instant, vegetation withered, and insects, birds, and beasts died en masse. Within the range covered by the Nether Undying Vine's roots, all plants and animals had their life force drained.
This area turned into a dead land.
A single, pitch-black eye grew on the main root of the Nether Undying Vine, staring intently at Ji Mo.
The next second.
It launched a frantic attack.