I asked you to go down the mountain and get married, not to shock the world!

The cyan thread formed from the short blade was extremely fast and shot precisely at the flagpole joint of the Yin Sha Banner!

However, although Xue Lian was mostly focused on fighting against Ji Zhou, his spiritual senses, being in the late stage of Core Formation, remained sharp. He caught a glimpse of the azure light out of the corner of his eye, and a disdainful sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"A mere trick!" With a flick of his free left hand, a wisp of condensed Yin Fire struck the thin blue line precisely, arriving before it could strike him!

"Ding!"

With a crisp sound, Ye Chuhan's all-out attack was easily shattered by that wisp of Yin fire. The short blade let out a mournful cry, its spiritual light dimmed, and flew backward, embedding itself in the distant rock wall, trembling.

Ye Chuhan's face turned pale. Due to the backlash of spiritual energy, she felt a sweet taste in her throat and almost spat out blood.

"Is that all you've got?" Xue Lian sneered, looking at Ji Zhou, who was struggling to hold on, and Ye Chuhan, who was already exhausted, his eyes full of mockery. "Very well, saves me the trouble of doing anything else!"

Ji Zhou was anxious. The power of the wind drill was being rapidly depleted, while the Blood Refinement's defense remained solid. If this continued, they would surely be defeated!

Just then, a look of heartache and determination flashed in Ye Chuhan's eyes, and he suddenly pulled something out of his pocket!

It was a palm-sized, pure white jade shuttle carved with intricate cloud patterns. The surface of the jade shuttle shimmered with spiritual light and emitted a pure and powerful wind-elemental fluctuation. It was clear at a glance that it was no ordinary item!

"Jizhou! Catch!" Ye Chuhan roared, using his last bit of strength to throw the jade shuttle at Jizhou, "Use this to fuck him!"

This is one of his father, Sect Master Ye's most treasured possessions: the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle!

It is a precious magical artifact for flying and breaking restrictions, and its attack power is also considerable!

As soon as the jade shuttle appeared, the foul air in the cave was completely cleared away!

Blood Refiner's gaze was instantly drawn to the jade shuttle, and his eyes blazed with an unprecedented greed: "What a treasure! Hahaha! Heaven is on my side! Such a spiritual object should rightfully belong to me!"

Completely disregarding the wind drill that was fighting against Jizhou, he suddenly withdrew some of the power supporting the Yin Sha Banner, and his withered hand transformed into a huge Yin Fire Ghost Claw, which grabbed at the Cloud Piercing Shuttle in the air with lightning speed!

"Want to steal the treasure? Dream on!" This is the opportunity Jizhou has been waiting for!

When Blood Refinement is distracted in the treasure hunt, gaps will inevitably appear in the defense!

Without hesitation, he abandoned maintaining the wind drill, and his spiritual power circulated in an almost violent manner. His figure shot out like an arrow, not attacking the Blood Refining body, but rushing straight at the Yin Sha Banner, whose black energy had become chaotic again due to the withdrawal of power!

His goal remained clear: to destroy this evil artifact!

At the same time, he shouted to Ye Chuhan, "Help!"

Ye Chuhan understood immediately, and despite his discomfort, he rushed towards the terrified villagers in the corner.

As Xue Lian watched the ghost claw about to seize the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, a smug smile appeared on his face. But then he suddenly realized the movements of Jizhou and the crisis of the Yin Sha Banner!

His expression changed drastically, and he wanted to defend, but it was already a second too late!

Ji Zhou pointed his fingers like a sword, gathering his last bit of strength, and fiercely struck the core of the Yin Sha Banner!

That place is where countless vengeful spirits gather, and it is also the most vulnerable spot for magical artifacts!

However, Blood Refinement is, after all, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, and its reaction speed is astonishing!

Seeing that he couldn't completely stop Jizhou, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He completely gave up on grabbing the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle. The huge Yin Fire Ghost Claw changed direction and instead of attacking Jizhou, it suddenly grabbed at the group of villagers in the corner!

"All of you, come here!"

The Yin Fire Ghost Claw moved with incredible speed, instantly grabbing three or four villagers who couldn't dodge in time and lifting them up like chickens in front of Xue Lian!

"Stop!" Ji Zhou's finger was only inches away from the Yin Sha Banner, but he had no choice but to stop!

If he insists on destroying the banner, Xue Lian will definitely tear these innocent villagers to pieces without hesitation!

Ye Chuhan froze on the spot, watching helplessly as the villagers trembled in the ghostly claws, their faces filled with despair.

"Hahaha!"

Blood Refining laughed wildly, using the villagers' bodies as human shields to block him and the Yin Sha Banner. His cold gaze swept over Ji Zhou and Ye Chuhan, "Destroy it! Why don't you destroy it? I want to see whether your sense of justice is more important, or the lives of these ants!"

As he spoke, he slowly channeled his spiritual power to repair the damage to the Yin Sha Banner, while keeping a watchful eye on Ji Zhou and the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle suspended in mid-air.

The situation was reversed in an instant!

Ji Zhou and Ye Chuhan were caught in a dilemma, unable to act decisively, and found themselves in an extremely passive situation.

Bloodforge, by threatening the lives of innocent people, has firmly grasped their weaknesses.

Inside the cave, only Xue Lian's triumphant laughter, the faint wailing of the Yin Sha Banner, and the suppressed, desperate sobs of the villagers remained.

Blood Refiner's arrogant laughter echoed in the cave. His withered fingers tightened slightly, and the villagers caught in his Yin Fire Ghost Claws groaned in pain, their faces turning red from suffocation.

"Throw that jade shuttle and your storage bags over here!" Xue Lian commanded coldly, his eyes flashing with greed and vigilance. "Otherwise, I'll crush them right now!"

Jizhou's face was ashen, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.

He stared intently at the Blood Refining Technique, his mind racing.

We cannot engage in a direct confrontation; the other side has hostages in their hands, and we must be cautious in our actions.

Compromise is possible...

Giving away such a treasure as the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle and one's own possessions to evil cultivators is tantamount to aiding the enemy. Moreover, given the nature of evil cultivators, they may not let the villagers and others go after obtaining the items.

Ye Chuhan was also furious. He looked at Xue Lian's arrogant face, then at Ji Zhou, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He called out to Xue Lian, "Hey! You there! Xue Lian, right? How about we make a deal?"

Xue Lian snorted coldly, unmoved.

Ye Chuhan continued, "Look, this Cloud-Piercing Shuttle is a treasure of our sect, priceless! You're exchanging it for the lives of these few ordinary mortals, isn't that too much of a loss? How about this, you release them, I'll give you the shuttle, and we'll go our separate ways, as if we never met, how about that?"

As he spoke, he secretly gave Jizhou a wink.

Jizhou instantly understood Ye Chuhan's intention.

He was deliberately feigning weakness and negotiating to buy time and draw Xue Lian's attention more to the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle and himself.

Upon hearing this, Xue Lian sneered, "Hmph, juniors, trying to play tricks on me? Let them go? And then give you a chance to join forces and launch a counterattack? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child!"

Although he said that, his gaze unconsciously lingered on the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle for a moment, clearly showing his great interest in this treasure.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Ye Chuhan shrugged, looking helpless. "You want the things, but you won't release the people. You can't expect us to give them away for free, can you? How about... you release two of them first to show your sincerity?"