Volume One: The Game of the Controllers Chapter Sixty: The Hidden Forces

"You...!" The leader's voice trembled even more fiercely. He realized that even moving was becoming difficult for him. Years of experience told him this was due to the oppressive force emanating from the other, whose mere presence made it hard to move—a strength beyond anything he could have imagined.

"I've taken the token. If your so-called Holy Master blames you, just say it was taken away by Zong Jue!" The man who emerged with the jet-black war blade was indeed Zong Jue. With ease, he took the token and vanished in an instant; the leader and his subordinates dared not move a muscle.

"Super Divine Beast, Zong Jue, the Eighth-Level Demon Emperor—it was him!" The leader let out a long breath, feeling the defeat was not undeserved. At least he could give a proper explanation when he returned. Zong Jue was already one of the most formidable experts in the Immortal, Demon, and Monster Realms. Facing him, surviving to return home was luck in itself.

Zong Jue had set his sights on the token that had found its way to Tianfan Star long ago; he simply had no interest in competing with those Golden Immortals. Only at the last moment did he step forward and take it.

Among the four, Ao Wuming was the most relaxed. The token happened to land in the territory of the Dragon Clan. Even if others knew where it was, none dared venture into the domain of the dragons to compete.

Wu Long and Man Qian acquired their tokens just as easily. Unlike Zong Jue, who worked alone and had to seek out and seize the token himself, Wu Long and Man Qian were leaders of their respective factions, commanding vast numbers of subordinates. Securing their tokens posed no difficulty.

Three tokens entered the Dark Star Realm. After deliberation, its three sovereigns decided that Jin Xing Lord Wen Feng, Bai Xuan Lord Bai Ying, and a sixteen-star Interstellar Emperor from the Black Flame Sect would jointly vie for the spiritual treasure. Black Flame Lord remained to guard the realm; if the treasure was obtained, it would become the Dark Star Realm’s supreme artifact, managed collectively by the three clans.

Ten tokens in total—seven had already been allocated, leaving only three. Qin Shuang had just departed from Maple Moon Star. These seven individuals all had some connection, however slight, with his father. Qin Shuang was reluctant to steal their tokens and could only choose from the remaining three.

The newly appointed Peng Demon Emperor of the Avian Clan, Fang Lan, was troubled of late. A token had been his, but due to carelessness—thinking no one would dare act against him on his own turf—it was snatched away by a so-called Holy Master from the Immortal Realm. By the time Fang Lan pursued with his forces, those people had long vanished, leaving him full of regret.

The Immortal, Demon, and Monster Realms had changed greatly since Qin Yu’s ascension. The Monster Clan remained strong, with its three great races retaining their status. The main shift was between the Demon cultivators and the Immortal cultivators.

Demon cultivators were unified under Wu Long, reaching a peak of influence. The Immortal Realm, however, after the deaths of Emperor Yu and Xuan Emperor, and the ascensions of Azure Emperor and the new faction led by Flame Emperor Jun Luoyu, became fragmented. The new Azure Emperor’s foundations were shallow, clinging to his original power base, with no other outstanding experts stepping forward to rally the rest. For years, the Immortal Realm was scattered and chaotic. No one expected a hidden Holy Master to emerge from the shadows.

The Holy Master belonged to a secret faction within the Immortal Realm. Despite Fang Lan’s vast influence, his investigation yielded little. Frustrated, the Peng Demon Emperor marched with hundreds of thousands of avian soldiers into the Immortal Realm, turning it upside down in search of this Holy Master.

Fang Lan’s actions only intensified the chaos. His investigation proved fruitless, but his invasion instead unified the Immortal Realm, prompting them to rally behind the new Azure Emperor. Ultimately, Ao Wuming of the Dragon Clan, Man Qian of the Beast Clan, and Wu Long of the Demon Realm intervened to mediate. Fang Lan’s token, however, was nowhere to be found.

Huluo Star, an ordinary planet in the Immortal Realm, was home to only one sect: Huluo Sect. This sect was founded by the Hu and Luo families, two large clans who gave the planet its name. During Emperor Yu’s era, Huluo Sect had two Immortal Emperors serving under him.

When Emperor Yu pursued Qin Yu, he set up the Locking Origin Fire Array on Bibbo Star. Among the sixteen Immortal Emperors who laid the array, two were from Huluo Star. Later, the mutated Super Divine Beast Ao Wuxu broke out, killing the Huluo Star’s two Immortal Emperors in that battle, which brought Qin Yu fame.

After their deaths, Huluo Star’s status declined. Fortunately, both Hu and Luo families were ancient in the Immortal Realm, and with the ensuing chaos, no one targeted the small planet. Huluo Sect developed slowly—these were merely surface appearances.

Qin Shuang was now on Huluo Star. He had discovered what Fang Lan, the Peng Demon Emperor, had failed to find, for Qin Shuang possessed the highest soul cultivation in the Immortal Realm. Yet it was pure chance that led him here. No one could have guessed that a faction could remain hidden for so long in the Immortal Realm, nor that Huluo Star held more than just its two Immortal Emperors. At least twenty Immortal Emperors resided here, including two at the ninth level.

The Holy Master was not an individual, but a title for the leader of the faction—the chief elders of the two families on Huluo Star. Both had reached the ninth level of Immortal Emperor, and had been secretly plotting for countless years in the Immortal Realm. After Emperor Yu and Xuan Emperor died, they took over swathes of territory and recruited many experts. Even Wu Long of the Demon Realm was unaware of this; only the new Azure Emperor, with some hints from Chi Qing, knew that such a hidden faction existed.

Qin Shuang had followed a small clue to this place. What surprised him was that this was the faction’s headquarters, and the remaining three tokens from the Immortal, Demon, and Monster Realms had all been gathered here. Had Zong Jue not seized one, four of the ten tokens might already have been collected here.

The Huluo Hall was the main hall of the Huluo Sect, now filled with people. The sect master, Hu Qingfeng, sat at the center. Of course, Hu Qingfeng was only the public face—a ninth-level Golden Immortal. The true power of Huluo Star was held by the two chief elders in the shadows.

"Gentlemen, I believe everyone knows why we have gathered here today. Ever since Qin Yu slew Emperor Yu and Xuan Emperor, the Immortal Realm has been in chaos. Recently, the Peng Demon Emperor even led his army here. Now, Lord Azure Emperor has stepped forward, and the Immortal Realm’s passage has not forgotten our Huluo Sect. They hope we will declare our support for Lord Azure Emperor as the ruler of the Immortal Realm!"

Hu Qingfeng spoke with righteous fervor, delivering words arranged by the elders. Huluo Sect’s influence was always developed in secret, never openly displayed. The sect remained the domain of the two families, unaffected by whom they pledged allegiance to.

"Sect Master, we shall follow your instructions in all things..."

Most present were Golden Immortals, outwardly the core of Huluo Sect, but only the true core disciples of the two families knew the reality: these Golden Immortals were but outer disciples, unaware of the inner workings.

Above the Huluo Hall, Qin Shuang shook his head, uninterested in these impassioned declarations from those ignorant of the truth. His figure faded, reappearing at the center of Huluo Star, where the core disciples resided.

This grand hall, built in the planet’s heart and protected by dozens of arrays, was far more luxurious than the outer hall, but held far fewer people—only twenty-one were gathered to deliberate. They were discussing the allocation of the third token. Huluo Star had acquired three tokens, but only two ninth-level Immortal Emperors. The third token would go to one among these others.

"Gentlemen, Huluo Star has survived countless millennia without falling because of our forbearance. You are the core disciples of our families, unlike those we have quietly recruited from outside. Here, I can share the outcome of my discussions with Elder Luo!"

The Hu family’s chief elder, Hu Changfeng, appeared as a kindly middle-aged man. From his appearance alone, none would believe he was a ninth-level Immortal Emperor.

"This so-called descending spiritual treasure, after much discussion with Elder Luo, is absolutely no less than the Monster Clan’s inheritance treasures. With this treasure, we can abandon the ancestral mandate, allowing the Hu and Luo families to emerge openly in the Immortal Realm—even becoming its supreme rulers would be within reach!"

Luo Changqing, the Luo family’s chief elder, like Hu Changfeng, was a figure who had endured for the sake of both families. The rumored Holy Master was none other than Luo Changqing.

"Inheritance treasures!" The nineteen core disciples—nineteen Immortal Emperors—gasped.

The reason the Hu and Luo families, despite their immense strength, had long endured in hiding was well known. In the Immortal and Demon Realms, from antiquity, it had always been rise and fall—unlike the Monster Realm or Dark Star Realm.

The ancestors of the Hu and Luo families had studied this: the Monster and Dark Star Realms were stable because they possessed powerful inheritance treasures. Their leaders could die, their factions could be devastated, yet as long as the inheritance treasure remained, the faction would never vanish and would flourish anew.

To ensure prosperity for their families, they had to endure—or wait until they too obtained an inheritance treasure, using it for succession. Then, and only then, could they step forward openly.

Now, the Hu and Luo families had their chance. Luo Changqing’s words made even Qin Shuang, hidden in the shadows, admire their insight. This unknown spiritual treasure was indeed superior to those inheritance treasures.

But could two ninth-level Immortal Emperors obtain it? Qin Shuang smiled faintly, and his figure vanished.

(To be continued)