The White Jade Heart-Interrogation Platform

Carrying the jade plaque given by Zhang Zhiliang, the radiance of the Seven-Colored Immortal-Felling Formation merely swept over Li Fan without evoking any sense of threat. The Administration Hall and the Deliberation Hall were the two most prominent towering edifices in the core area of Wanxian Island. Following the road, Li Fan soon arrived outside the Administration Hall. A Qi Condensation cultivator dressed in a black-and-yellow Daoist robe stood right by the entrance. Seeing Li Fan approach, he swept a glance over him before asking with a measure of courtesy, "Has Fellow Daoist come to register for a position in the Formation Planning Hall?" Li Fan nodded. "Very well, follow me." Li Fan followed him deep inside the Administration Hall, eventually arriving at a small room tucked away in its farthest reaches. Only upon stepping inside did he discover a whole separate world. The guide took his leave, leaving Li Fan alone to observe the space. Countless rows of tall red wooden cabinets stood arranged across the floor in vast numbers. Boundless and endless, a sudden sweeping glance failed to spot where they terminated. A white-haired elder stood quietly before these red cabinets. Looking at him, Li Fan wondered if his senses were playing tricks on him. He felt as though the elder was not truly standing still, but rather seemed to have countless avatars busily bustling about before the red wooden cabinets. Li Fan looked up once more to examine the space carefully. All around was a blank expanse of white; aside from the red wooden cabinets and the white-haired elder, not a single ornament could be seen. It was eerie in its monotony. *Could this place, like the Heavenly Profound Mirror, be a shared space common to every garrison of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals?* Li Fan mused inwardly. Even so, he did not tarry and handed the jade plaque to the elder. The elder accepted the plaque and cast a glance at Li Fan. Clearing his throat, he said in an unhurried voice, "Though you come by way of Zhang Zhiliang's connection, if you wish to formally enter the service of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, the required procedures must still be observed." The elder pointed toward an empty space ahead, and instantly, a square platform rose from the ground. Carved entirely from white jade, it radiated a soft, lustrous sheen. "This is the Heart-Interrogation Platform. To prevent spies from the Five Elders Association from infiltrating our Alliance, one must pass the test of the Heart-Interrogation Platform before being inducted. Step upon it!" the elder instructed, giving Li Fan no room for refusal. Li Fan's heart tightened. Rousing his vigilance, he readied himself to trigger True Reversion and flee at the slightest sign that something was amiss. Leaping onto the white jade Heart-Interrogation Platform, miniature projections of Li Fan instantly materialized in the surrounding air, alongside some of his basic information registered within the Alliance. "Aside from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, have you ever joined any other cultivation organizations?" the white-haired elder asked after skimming Li Fan's information. "No," Li Fan replied without hesitation. The white jade platform remained completely calm, displaying no anomalies whatsoever. The white-haired elder nodded and continued, "Do you harbor any ties to the Five Elders Association?" "No." "Do you harbor ill intent toward the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals?" "No." "Do you still have living kin in this world?" "They were all mortals, and I have no remaining ties." ... Time slipped past in this measured exchange of questions and answers. Fortunately, they were all fundamental inquiries concerning allegiance, prying into neither his cultivation methods nor his divine abilities. Li Fan answered each with calm composure. "One final question," the elder said, clearing his throat lightly. "What is your purpose in joining the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals?" Li Fan paused briefly before answering in a measured voice, "Longevity." A subtle flicker stirred in the elder's eyes. The Heart-Interrogation Platform quietly vanished. "You have passed the heart-interrogation test. From this day forward, you are an official member of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals." The elder clapped his hands, and a miniature projection of Li Fan slowly materialized before him. Beside the figure ran lines of text, along with a visual recording of Li Fan's interrogation process. Then, like a phantom phasing effortlessly through dense barriers of wood, a red wooden cabinet drifted over from afar and came to a halt in front of the white-haired elder. One of the cabinet doors clicked open on its own. The elder pressed downward with both hands, compressing the visual and textual records into a glowing white slip of paper. He placed the slip gently inside the compartment. The door shut, and in the blink of an eye, the cabinet returned to its original place, vanishing from Li Fan's sight. "You may go now," the white-haired elder told Li Fan, promptly lapsing back into his previous motionless state. Li Fan offered a respectful bow and quietly withdrew. Emerging from that pale white space, Li Fan encountered the guide cultivator once more at the entrance of the Administration Hall. The man looked Li Fan over and cupped his hands. "Congratulations on your formal induction, Fellow Daoist!" "Oh? May I ask how Fellow Daoist could tell?" Li Fan returned the salute, inquiring politely. "Heh heh. Once someone steps onto the Heart-Interrogation Platform, the only possible outcomes are induction or death. There is no middle ground. Since you are still hale and hearty, the result is naturally self-evident," the guide cultivator answered with a smile. "I am enlightened. I am Li Fan." Saying this, Li Fan handed over a communication talisman. "I am Gao Yuan." Accepting the talisman, Gao Yuan's demeanor grew even warmer. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Fan finally returned to the Heavenly Profound Mirror. The moment he entered, prompt messages immediately surfaced: "Cultivator Li Fan, welcome to your formal induction into the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals." "Current Position: Congyun Sea Array Repairer." "Duties: Assist Zhang Zhiliang of the Wanxian Island Array Hall in repairing Island-Protecting Grand Formations throughout the Congyun Sea." "Fixed Remuneration: 1,500 contribution points per year. For each repair operation participated in, an additional 200 to 2,000 contribution points may be earned depending on your degree of participation." "Minimum Requirement: Participate in at least three grand array repairs every ten years." "Notice: Failing to meet the minimum requirement the first time will result in a warning. A second infraction will result in the mandatory forfeiture of your array repairer position, and you will not be permitted to rejoin within one hundred years." "Please take your duties seriously." "You may now raise your clearance level within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals by accumulating merits." "The higher your clearance, the more items and cultivation methods you will be permitted to view and redeem." "Current Clearance Level: Yan One." "Merits may be earned by completing merit missions." "Ranked from highest to lowest by magnitude, merits are divided into six grades: Heaven, Earth, Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding." "Each grade is further divided into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower." ... In addition to these newly appeared notices, Li Fan received several physical items. One was the standard black-and-yellow Daoist robe issued within the Alliance's establishment. The robe possessed basic defensive properties, capable of effectively warding off attacks from mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators. For Li Fan, this was naturally better than nothing. If it ever suffered damage and required replacement, one would have to spend contribution points to purchase a new one from the Heavenly Profound Mirror. Another item was the identity jade disc. This was where formal establishment status differed from simply working odd jobs for the Alliance. Without entering the official system, even if someone were murdered in the outside world, the Alliance would not bother to intervene. But if one possessed this identity jade disc and met an untimely demise, the Heavenly Secret Hall would undertake an investigation, subsequently deciding at its discretion whether to carry out a retaliatory strike based on the findings.