I Have A Dual World Seal

"Young Master Lu, this is the Court’s reward."

In the grand courtyard of Lu Residence, Huang Ruoxing sat in the guest seat, with Chu Jin, the Governor of Yizhou Anomaly Suppression Bureau, seated below, along with Lin Zhengfei, the Observatory’s Capital Envoy.

For providing highly confidential intelligence, the Court gravely wounded the Dark Sun Demon Venerable, turning a major crisis into a minor one. Lu Zheng’s contribution was indispensable. Hence, after considerable effort, dealing with the Demon Cave Secret Realm in Lianzhou Prefecture, the Spiritual Martial King and others deliberated rewards and punishments for those involved in the incident.

Lu Zheng’s reward was the hardest to determine.

Since Lu Zheng was not an official of the Court nor even a Scholar, but merely an Outer Disciple of the White Cloud Temple, he should, in principle, be rewarded with honors and tangible gifts.

The issue was that the Spiritual Martial King and others were aware that behind Lu Zheng stood Si Lingxi, and these vital pieces of information likely originated from her. She must have passed them to Lu Zheng to curry favor with the Great Jing Court.

Therefore, it’s essentially a token of appreciation to Si Lingxi.

The reward for Lu Zheng had to make Si Lingxi satisfied.

How should he be rewarded?

The Court’s key figures discussed for half a day and studied Lu Zheng’s character before deciding on a plan.

One hundred thousand strings of gold and silver, ten pairs of white jade discs, ten pots of pearls.

An estate to the southeast of Yizhou Prefecture, with a thousand acres of fertile land.

A plaque inscribed with "True Daoist Cultivator" by Emperor Jing himself.

Ten volumes of the Daoist Canon hand-copied by the Imperial Palace.

Ten bottles of top-grade immortal pills.

High-quality refining materials, including ten pieces of each type of gold and iron, ten of various kinds of jade, ten Spirit Wood trees, and ten bolts of assorted silk.

One Fire Reishi with five thousand years of medicinal potency.

This final Fire Reishi was clearly a gesture for Lu Zheng to present to Si Lingxi as a token of thanks.

While presenting the reward, Huang Ruoxing also included a Nasumi in a Mustard Seed wooden box as an additional gift.

"This reward is too generous; I am undeserving of it, as I put in no effort..." Lu Zheng clicked his tongue in surprise, not expecting a reward, let alone such a generous one.

"But if not for Young Master Lu’s information, allowing the demon to remain hidden, once it caused chaos, the entire Pingdong Dao would have suffered, a loss that far outweighs these rewards." Huang Ruoxing said.

Lu Zheng inquired, "I heard that Lianzhou Prefecture in Pingdong Dao is now uninhabitable?"

"The people within a two-hundred-mile radius have been evacuated." Huang Ruoxing replied, "Luckily, most of the demonic qi has been dispelled and sealed, and only a small portion remains on the ground, which won’t be a problem in the short term."

Lu Zheng nodded, "I once saw a Demon Cave Secret Realm at Jiming Temple, but it was just a small demon refining for decades to form the demon realm, and even that was hard to clear."

"Precisely, Dark Sun Demon Qi is extraordinary," Huang Ruoxing remarked.

Thus, Lu Zheng unceremoniously accepted the wooden box, "In that case, I’ll accept this with gratitude."

"It’s what Young Master Lu deserves," Huang Ruoxing smiled and said.

Then everyone chatted, and Huang Ruoxing recounted the events of the day to Lu Zheng, as he shouldn’t have known the specifics.

"Dark Sun Crossing Void True Emperor Demon Venerable," Lu Zheng nodded thoughtfully, "So that’s his title, it sounds quite imposing."

"Indeed," Huang Ruoxing nodded with a sigh, "Unfortunately, after the battle in Lianzhou, this demon disappeared along with his five Demon Gods subordinate, vanishing without a trace, hidden who knows where.

Now with the demon tribulation approaching, not only this Dark Sun Crossing Void True Emperor Demon Venerable but other Celestial Demons have descended as well. Not killing him this time leaves us unsure of what further troubles he’ll cause."

Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, pondered, and curiously asked, "That demon, called Dark Sun Demon Venerable?"

"Yes!" Huang Ruoxing nodded, thinking to himself, hadn’t he said it several times already?

"If that’s the case, then Lord Huang needn’t worry about him causing trouble in the future," Lu Zheng said earnestly.

"What do you mean?" Huang Ruoxing asked curiously.

"Because he’s already dead," Lu Zheng replied casually.

"What?" Huang Ruoxing was taken aback.

"Impossible!" Lin Zhengfei immediately interjected, "The Dark Sun Demon Venerable’s cultivation is profound, how could he be killed so easily?"

Lin Zhengfei had participated in the Lianzhou Prefecture battle, witnessing firsthand how the Dark Sun Demon Venerable dominated Li Muran and Tie Yi, escaping even when Ling Kunzi, Zen Master Qin Hui, and the Spiritual Martial King joined forces.

Without a group of top-grade experts setting a trap, the Dark Sun Demon Venerable was unbeatable; no one could kill him in the current era.

However, Huang Ruoxing, knowing Lu Zheng’s background, suspected in his heart that perhaps Si Lingxi took down the Dark Sun Demon Venerable again?

But the Dark Sun Demon Venerable was formidable; even after being struck by Ling Kunzi’s Yin Yang Sword, he wasn’t gravely injured. Even if he wasn’t as powerful as Si Lingxi, the gap shouldn’t have been too vast, so Si Lingxi presumably couldn’t kill him.

Surely Si Lingxi didn’t gather a team of Great Powers in the Southern Border to help her little lover besiege the Dark Sun Demon Venerable?

Huang Ruoxing’s gaze at Lu Zheng was filled with a strange mix of admiration and envy.

Lu Zheng nodded, "Indeed, killing him wasn’t easy, but what if the ones besieging him were five top Ghost Kings from the Netherworld?"

"Huh?"

Huang Ruoxing’s eyes flashed as he immediately thought of the ghostly entities that appeared during the battle in Lianzhou Prefecture.

"For the Profound Yin Treasure?"

"Yes, five top Ghost Kings ambushed the Dark Sun Demon Venerable in the Netherworld," Lu Zheng nodded, "Near the Yin-Yang Road close to Tonglin County in the Netherworld, the Ghost Kings blocked the passage connecting the Netherworld to the mortal world, causing quite a commotion.

Ultimately, the Dark Sun Demon Venerable was surrounded and killed in a small valley. If Lord Huang is interested, visiting the Netherworld might still reveal traces of the Dark Sun Demon Venerable’s presence."

Everyone: ???

Chu Jin was dumbfounded, Lin Zhengfei was speechless, and Huang Ruoxing said dryly with disbelief, "Dark Sun Demon Venerable... truly dead?"

"Truly dead!"

Chu Jin couldn’t help but say, "Recently, several City God Temples indeed reported a disruption in the Yin-Yang Road for a time."

Lu Zheng said matter-of-factly, "That was the five Ghost Kings chasing down the Dark Sun Demon Venerable."

"How do you know this?" Lin Zhengfei couldn’t help but ask.

Lu Zheng blinked, just about to answer when Huang Ruoxing raised a hand to interrupt Lin Zhengfei.

"Thank you, Young Master Lu, for sharing this," Huang Ruoxing cupped his hands, "It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this matter is too significant."

"Understood," Lu Zheng nodded and provided Huang Ruoxing with the location of that small valley.

...

And so Huang Ruoxing departed and found not only the traces of the Dark Sun Demon Qi in that small valley but also the presence of those five old ghosts, along with a searing aura of Divine Communication.

"Indeed!" Huang Ruoxing realized suddenly.