Chapter 181: White Jade Heart-asking Platform

Wearing the jade plaque given to him by Zhang Zhiliang, Li Fan passed through the light of the colorful Immortal Descent Array, which merely swept over him without posing any threat.

The Hall of Governance and the Hall of Deliberation were the two most prominent tall buildings in the core area of Wanxian Island. Li Fan followed the path and soon arrived outside the Hall of Governance. A Qi Refining cultivator, dressed in a black and yellow daoist robe, stood at the entrance. Seeing Li Fan approach, the cultivator glanced at him, then politely asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you come to register for a position in the Hall of Strategy and Arrays?"

Li Fan nodded.

"Alright, follow me."

Li Fan followed the man deeper into the Hall of Governance, reaching a small room. Upon entering, he discovered a whole new space. The guiding cultivator left, leaving Li Fan alone to observe the area.

Countless rows of tall, red wooden cabinets stood side by side on the floor. There was an immense number of cabinets. They stretched endlessly; a quick glance revealed no end in sight. A white-haired old man stood silently before these red wooden cabinets. Li Fan watched him, wondering if it was some kind of illusion. He felt that the old man did not seem to be completely still. Instead, it was as if he had countless avatars, busily working at the cabinets.

Li Fan then looked up, carefully examining the space. The surroundings were stark white; apart from the red wooden cabinets and the white-haired old man, there were no other decorations. It was eerily monotonous. "This place seems to be a shared space among all Wanxian Alliance outposts, just like the Tianxuan Mirror," Li Fan secretly speculated. Nevertheless, he didn't dally and handed the jade plaque to the old man.

The old man took the jade plaque and glanced at Li Fan. He cleared his throat lightly and said unhurriedly, "Although you've come through Zhang Zhiliang's connection, you still need to go through the proper procedures to officially join the Wanxian Alliance." The old man pointed towards a blank area ahead, and immediately a square white platform rose from the ground. It was entirely made of white jade, emitting a lustrous glow.

"This is the Heart-Seeking Platform. To prevent spies from the Council of Five Elders from infiltrating the Alliance, you must pass its test before officially joining."

"Step onto it!" the old man commanded, giving Li Fan no chance to refuse.

Li Fan's heart tightened. He immediately sharpened his senses, ready to flee if anything went wrong. After stepping onto the white jade Heart-Seeking Platform, miniature projections of Li Fan immediately appeared around him. These also included some basic information about him within the Wanxian Alliance.

"Aside from the Wanxian Alliance, have you ever joined any other cultivation organizations?" After glancing at Li Fan's information, the white-haired old man spoke, asking.

"No," Li Fan answered quickly. The white jade platform remained normal, showing no anomalies.

The white-haired old man nodded and then asked, "Are you involved with the Council of Five Elders?"

"No."

"Do you harbor ill intentions towards the Wanxian Alliance?"

"No."

"Do you still have any living relatives?"

"They are all mortals; I have no attachments."

Time passed with questions and answers. Fortunately, these were basic questions about his stance, not involving private matters like the cultivation methods or divine abilities he practiced. Li Fan answered each question calmly.

"One last question," the old man lightly coughed. "Why have you joined the Wanxian Alliance?"

Li Fan paused, then slowly replied, "Immortality."

The white-haired old man's eyes flickered slightly. The Heart-Seeking Platform quietly vanished.

"You have successfully passed the Heart-Seeking Test. From today onwards, you are an official member of the Wanxian Alliance." The old man clapped his hands, and a miniature image of Li Fan slowly appeared before him. Beside the image were various texts, as well as video footage of Li Fan's Heart-Seeking process.

Then, a red wooden cabinet from a distance flew like a phantom through numerous other cabinets, stopping before the white-haired old man. One of its doors opened on its own. The old man pressed his hands down as if on an invisible surface, compressing the holographic data before him into a glowing white sheet. He gently placed the sheet into the cabinet. The cabinet door then closed, and the cabinet instantly returned to its original position, vanishing from Li Fan's sight.

"You may go now!" the white-haired old man said to Li Fan, then resumed his previous motionless state. Li Fan bowed and quietly withdrew.

Leaving the stark white space, Li Fan encountered the guiding cultivator again at the entrance of the Hall of Governance. The cultivator glanced at Li Fan, cupped his hands, and said, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on your official induction!"

"Oh? May I ask how you could tell?" Li Fan returned the gesture, asking politely.

"Haha, because after stepping onto the Heart-Seeking Platform, there are only two outcomes: successful induction or death. There's no other possibility. Since you are alive and well, the result is self-evident," the guiding cultivator replied with a smile.

"Thank you for the enlightenment. My name is Li Fan," Li Fan said, handing over a communication talisman.

"My name is Gao Yuan." Upon receiving Li Fan's talisman, Gao Yuan became even more polite. Li Fan exchanged a few more pleasantries with him before returning to the Tianxuan Mirror.

As soon as he entered, he received a notification:

"Cultivator Li Fan, welcome to your official induction into the Wanxian Alliance.Your current position: Cloud Sea Array Repairman.Responsibilities: Assist Zhang Zhiliang of the Wanxian Island Array Hall in repairing the island-guarding grand array within the Cloud Sea region.Fixed remuneration: 1500 contribution points annually. For each repair participation, an additional 200 to 2000 contribution points can be earned, depending on your level of involvement.Minimum duty requirement: Participate in grand array repairs at least three times every ten years.Warning: Failure to meet the minimum duty requirement for the first time will result in a warning. A second failure will lead to mandatory stripping of your Array Repairman position, and you will not be allowed to re-enter for one hundred years.Please take your duties seriously.You can now increase your authority within the Wanxian Alliance by accumulating merit. The higher your authority, the more items and cultivation methods you can view and exchange for.Your current authority level: Yan Yi.Completing merit tasks will earn you merit. Merit is categorized from highest to lowest into six ranks: Heaven, Earth, Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. Each rank is further divided into High, Mid, and Low grades."

In addition to the new notifications, Li Fan also received several items. One of these was the standard black and yellow daoist robe used within the Wanxian Alliance system. The robe offered basic protective effects, capable of effectively withstanding attacks from cultivators at the Mid Foundation Establishment stage. For Li Fan, it was naturally better than nothing. If the robe was damaged and a new one was needed, he would have to spend contribution points to purchase it himself through the Tianxuan Mirror.

Another item was the identity jade slip. Unlike merely working for the Wanxian Alliance, if one had not formally joined the system, even if killed outside, the Wanxian Alliance would not intervene. However, with this identity jade slip, if one died unexpectedly, the Hall of Heavenly Secrets would be responsible for investigating. Then, based on the specific investigation results, they would decide whether to launch a retaliatory strike as deemed appropriate.