Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye You's face was full of disbelief, "It's impossible, brother... Why would he voluntarily return Ruo Xue to us?"
She couldn't figure this out.
If she were in the position of the Shadow Hall, Su Ruo Xue would be the most important hostage. As long as they held Su Ruo Xue, they could control the fate of her and her brother...
Whether it was to find that special key or to seize her sister's ultimate power, controlling Su Ruo Xue would give them absolute initiative.
But like just now, a few seventh or eighth-grade异士 kidnapping Su Ruo Xue to threaten Ye Ling, this was indeed like delivering heads.
The Shadow Hall had meticulously planned, even paying the price of an eighth-grade 异士 to abduct Su Ruo Xue, and now they were easily returning the hostage. Everything was filled with strangeness.
If this was really the work of someone hiding behind the scenes... Ye You couldn't fathom what benefit the Shadow Hall would gain from doing this?
Ye Ling smiled and said, "I said before, the person's initial goal was not the ultimate power within us, but to obtain the key hidden in Shu Mountain."
Ye You still didn't quite understand, "But we've already rescued Ruo Xue sister. The Shadow Hall no longer has a hostage, so we have no need to do as they expect. Why should we still search for that illusory key?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "What if the person who wants the key is not allied with the Shadow Hall?"
"Not allied?" Ye You was stunned, "But the guy from the Shadow Hall just mentioned the key. It's obvious they are also looking for the key infused with flesh and soul. If they aren't allied, this is too much..."
Ye Ling continued, "At first, I also thought that the person looking for the key was from the Shadow Hall, but later I realized that was just my preconceived notion."
"The Shadow Hall wants the ultimate power, and a third party wants to find the key in Shu Mountain. These two things do not conflict. They can be seen as two groups doing the same thing."
"The Shadow Hall wants to belong to extraterrestrial forces now, this is beyond doubt. I know from the Heavenly Dao that the only goal of extraterrestrial forces is to seize the power of the Creation God, which is me and you, Xiao You."
"Even if that key is peculiar, it's definitely not as good as the inheritance of the Creation God... I believe that if the key and the ultimate power were placed before the Shadow Hall, they would definitely choose the ultimate power."
"In that case, the Shadow Hall kidnapping Ruo Xue would have no need to disturb Shu Mountain; it would be an unnecessary step."
"Later, I met Chu, this little fox on my shoulder."
Ye Ling patted Chu's head, "It's an undefinable being born from the beginning of chaos. It doesn't belong to extraterrestrial powerhouses, meaning Chu and the Shadow Hall likely have no intersection."
"The Heavenly Dao wanted to eliminate Chu, but the Heavenly Dao was consequently erased of its consciousness by someone. Before, when the extraterrestrial forces held the sacrificial ritual, the Heavenly Dao contributed a lot in that battle. If the extraterrestrial forces could erase the Heavenly Dao's consciousness, they would have done it long ago and wouldn't have waited until I discovered Chu to act."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye You said with some hesitation, "According to your explanation, brother, in this chaos, besides us and the Shadow Hall, there is a third party..."
"But on this Earth, is there really a force that can erase the Heavenly Dao's consciousness?"
Ye Ling nodded, "I've met two people, one named Xuan Yu, and the other named Zhang Xiao Ling. The identities of these two are too mysterious, and I still haven't fully figured out their true identities."
"But I can be sure that both of them have the strength to attack the Heavenly Dao."
"Whether those two are friends or foes, this is enough to prove that besides the Shadow Hall, there are other forces on Earth worth our attention."
"And that third party is likely connected to the Shadow Hall. They acted against Shu Mountain before the Shadow Hall kidnapped Ruo Xue, with the purpose of using our strength to find the so-called key infused with soul and flesh."
Ye You said, "According to brother's explanation, Shan Bu, who placed the restriction on Xu Changsheng, should belong to the third party, not the Shadow Hall?"
Ye Ling nodded, "Yes, if we infer this way, Shan Bu belongs to the third party. In that case, the device invented by Li Xiaomei did not fall into the hands of the Shadow Hall. I also examined the brains of those Shadow Hall members earlier, and their brains were not modified. This confirms our guess."
"But even if there is a third party, even if they are not enemies, at best they are neutral, not our friends. Why would they return Ruo Xue sister to us?"
Ye You was still confused, "With a hostage, wouldn't we be more motivated to find the key?"
Ye Ling explained, "The Shadow Hall person just mentioned the key, meaning the Shadow Hall at least knows the purpose of the third party's actions this time. Combined with the performance of the Shadow Hall members, I guess the Shadow Hall also wants the key and had a falling out with the third party."
"In this way, if the third party continues to follow the Shadow Hall's steps, even if we find the key and hand it over to the Shadow Hall in exchange for Ruo Xue, the key will basically fall into the hands of the Shadow Hall. That's why they deliberately exposed Ruo Xue's location to kick the Shadow Hall out of the game."
"Otherwise, with the means of this villa to block divine souls, they could have simply moved Ruo Xue to another location and waited for the three-day deadline for the kidnapping agreement."
"I think the Shadow Hall must have made arrangements at Buzhou Mountain. Now that Buzhou Mountain is sealed, shifting the main stage of their plans to Shu Mountain and the Ancient Town of Monsters should also be the work of the third party."
Ye You: "In other words, it's our turn to settle the score with that third party now?"
"That's right." Ye Ling chuckled, "This game has changed from finding Ruo Xue to finding the key."
Ye You: "If that's the case, why are they so sure we'll find the key?"
"Even if the Shadow Hall kidnapped Ruo Xue sister, the third party is definitely involved in this matter. And even if Ruo Xue sister is taken out of the picture, the crimes they committed in Shu Mountain are unforgivable."
"If we just leave, their plan will be completely in vain!"
Hearing Ye You's words, Ye Ling smiled and shook his head, "Silly girl, I've explained it so clearly, why are you still confused?"
"Brother!!!" Ye You said coquettishly.
Ye Ling quickly said, "Alright, alright! I won't keep you in suspense!"
"Even if we leave this time, the third party won't give up searching for the key. And if they don't find it, they will likely team up with the Shadow Hall again to set a trap and cause trouble for us."
"Now that they've deliberately kicked the Shadow Hall out of the game and let us fight one-on-one, if we don't appreciate it, we'll end up facing a one-against-two situation next time."
"Although it's fine if the third party and the Shadow Hall come together, we can handle it."
"But by taking advantage of this opportunity, we can completely resolve the third party. Then only the Shadow Hall will be left. It's better to have only one force watching us in the dark than two, right?"