Reborn right after ascending to immortality?

Chapter 10 Proving the Dao and Questioning the Heart Through Hypnosis

The Ministry of Justice is located on the 600th floor of the Fengdu Building.

The celestial ladder door slowly opened, and a middle-aged man walked in.

This person appeared to be a highly skilled cultivator. He wore a blue plaid robe tucked into his belt, held a transparent jade bottle in his hand, and had a string of immortal keys rustling around his waist. His trousers contained a bulging Qiankun magic bag, and a tag hung from his collar.

This outfit makes him look incredibly imposing; he's at least at the Nascent Soul stage.

"Greetings, fellow torturers."

"I am Li, the supervising officer for this trial."

The torture inspector, leading the group of cultivators, first scanned them all, then solemnly said, "Please do one last check before entering the torture chamber—"

"Did you bring your copying permit?"

A warrant for torture—in ancient times, it was called an arrest warrant.

Only when the government approves an arrest warrant can the celestial officials and soldiers arrest a person; without an arrest warrant, they cannot act. In today's society governed by the rule of law, this has been upgraded to a warrant for arrest.

Today's society respects human rights and protects the rights of everyone, including prisoners.

Fengdu issued a torture permit, which allowed prisoners to be handcuffed. Without a torture permit, no one was allowed to torture anyone.

One ID card can be copied for one person. Real-name authentication and photo verification are required. Multiple copies and accidental copies are not allowed.

The introduction of the copying permit has eliminated the egregious practice of hiring a copyman to perform the copying in court.

Such incidents happen frequently. The most serious one occurred thirty years ago when a powerful young man hired a gunman who pulled out a gun in court and opened fire on the judge's bench and the public gallery, causing extremely serious casualties, with dozens of people injured.

From that time onwards, the permit for copying came into being.

“Every year during sentencing, there are torturers who forget to bring their torture permits.”

"I'll remind you one last time."

The torture inspector emphasized sternly, "Without a torture permit, you can't enter the torture chamber and will have to go back to the detention center and wait another year, wasting a whole year! By then, everyone else will have been in jail for a year, and you'll still be in the detention center, falling far behind them!"

"By then, it won't be of any use even if you beg and cry."

"There's still some time before the execution." The execution supervisor's tone softened. "If you don't have your execution permit, have your parents bring it over immediately, or you can ask the patrolling guards on the roadside for help."

As soon as the torture monitor finished speaking, a rustling sound came from inside the torture chamber as everyone checked their torture permits.

The torture supervisor's advice was not without reason. Soon, a young boy realized that he had forgotten his torture permit and left it at home.

He was so anxious he was almost in tears.

Such programs are commonplace and occur at every trial. The torture monitor was not surprised at all and said to the boy, "Quickly call your parents to bring it over."

"Oh right, I can ask my girlfriend to bring it over." The boy slapped his forehead. "I remember now, my girlfriend is keeping it for me."

"Isn't your girlfriend also in prison for further studies?" his companion asked, puzzled. "Why did you send her over?"

“She accidentally took someone else’s religious artifacts while she was out of the house a month ago, and she was recently released on bail,” the boy replied.

Released on bail
The boy's words sparked quite a discussion among the crowd.

Bail slots are very limited in each prison, and you need the warden's recommendation to get one. Those who get bail slots are the chosen ones, the cream of the crop.

They all cast complicated glances at the boy; with such a genius as a partner, the latter must be under a lot of pressure.

Perhaps his copying permit was taken by his girlfriend by accident.

"There are still thirty minutes before the official interrogation begins, so you can't enter the interrogation room yet." The interrogator waved his hand. "Remember your file number and the interrogation room. You can go to the waiting room to wait. You are free to move around now."

After leaving these words, he led the other jailers away temporarily.

Although it was supposed to be a free period of time, no one dared to attempt an escape, because this was the Fengdu Building.

"Did you bring my copying permit?"

An Sheng asked the Ox-Head and Horse-Face demons beside him, who nodded hurriedly. If he forgot to bring the Impermanent Demon's warrant, he wouldn't need to come to work tomorrow.

After handing the warrant to An Sheng, Ox-Head and Horse-Face breathed a sigh of relief; their work was done.

"Junior Brother An."

Lawyer Zhang coughed. As a scholar, she was familiar with the review subjects of previous years. "Instead of the issue of the permit to copy evidence, you should pay more attention to the upcoming court hearing. I have already received inside information."

She cautiously used her divine sense to transmit her voice, avoiding being overheard by others.

"The Fengdu Labor Reform Bureau—which is also the Education Bureau—has issued a new policy emphasizing the overall quality and moral character development of the students being interrogated. Therefore, this year's trial subjects have undergone a major overhaul compared to previous years."

Lawyer Zhang's expression was very serious. "In addition to the physical and intellectual tests of the past, this year we have specially added a new trial subject, which is called 'Testing the Heart of the Dao,' which only asks about your Daoist heart."

"This trial subject accounts for the largest proportion of the score and will directly affect which level of realm you will be assigned to."

The judge will examine all your choices in the Great Void World to determine what kind of person you are. Those with a pure and upright heart can remain in the first level, 'Fengdu'.

If you pass the test in the illusion perfectly, you will receive the maximum reduction in your sentence.

Even more remarkably, some will be favored by elders of major righteous sects and directly recruited as inner disciples after their release from prison. Two years ago, three candidates from the trial were admitted to the Dao Xuan Sect.

"Once you're registered as a Kunlun citizen, your life will change forever."

Why would a major sect of righteous sects recruit students from a prison?
An Sheng asked telepathically.

"Ah, you don't know the truth."

Lawyer Zhang revealed a profound smile, “Since ancient times, prisons have been the greatest talent pool. Famous immortals in history all had some experience of enlightenment in prison.”

It turned out to be the case.

An Sheng nodded.

"In conclusion, this subject of 'proving the truth and examining one's heart' is of utmost importance."

He had experienced this trial in his previous life.

It's a very traditional and classic cultivation project. An Sheng finally has the feeling of traditional cultivation.

However, he couldn't remember the specific details of the illusion. It wasn't that he had a bad memory, but rather that the Fengdu Judgment Division had erased all his memories of the illusion world to prevent the question bank from being leaked.

An Sheng only remembered that she achieved an outstanding score in the test of conscience in her previous life, which earned her the maximum possible reduction in her sentence.

It seems my Daoist heart isn't so bad after all.

An Sheng was certain once again that she was indeed a normal person.

"So you want me to be a good person in the Illusion of the Heart?" An Sheng asked thoughtfully, "to hold fast to my kind heart?"

"No, you don't need to."

Where did you get your innate kindness from?

Lawyer Zhang glanced at An Sheng, rolled his eyes, and took out a gleaming copper coin from his pocket, strung on a red string, and wrapped it around Zhang Yan's snow-white wrist.

She smiled confidently:
"What I mean is, we can use hypnosis!"

"I have a hypnotic artifact here, a priceless heirloom rented from the 'Hehuan Sect,' which can temporarily hypnotize you into a kind and normal person!"

She is so professional.

An Sheng's face darkened. "I don't need you to hypnotize me into a kind, normal person."

Whose protagonist needs hypnosis for their inner trial?!
"Of course not, how many years does kindness get you a reduced sentence?"

Lawyer Zhang smiled knowingly, “I will hypnotize you into having sixteen Dao hearts, each suffering from a mental illness, but with a kind nature.”

“One act of righteousness reduces the sentence by ten years.” Lawyer Zhang counted on his fingers, “Sixteen acts of righteousness reduce the sentence by one hundred and sixty years.”

"Don't worry, these effects are only temporary and will not harm your soul."

Has hypnosis evolved to this level now?

An Sheng was amazed; he now understood how he had achieved his success in his previous life.

"Don't blame your senior sister, she's doing this for your own good!"

Lawyer Zhang raised his ritual implement towards An Sheng and shook it from side to side. "Now look at this spirit coin. Your consciousness will move along with the spirit coin. Relax and wake up, and you will forget that you were hypnotized."

Even a steadfast Dao heart cultivated for centuries can be seduced and influenced by these spiritual coins. An Sheng, a mere Qi Refining cultivator whose mental age is not even that of an adult, how could he possibly resist this sacred object?

This trial is of paramount importance, as it concerns Zhang's future career development.

Moreover, she had rented the hypnotic artifact at a high price, and it was of extremely high quality.

In order to rent this spirit coin, Zhang Yan not only used a lot of connections, but also mortgaged half of his wealth as collateral.

Now that things have come to this, she can't give up.

“I disagree.” An Sheng took a step back and sighed. “I advise you not to do this.”

What kind of people do clubs hire for themselves?
“Junior Brother An, you’re still too young.” Lawyer Zhang sneered, uttering a truth that resonated with the world. “Have you ever seen a movie where a little boy agrees to be hypnotized?”

She scoffed, "Alright, enough with the idle talk. Whether you like it or not is no longer up to you!"

Lawyer Zhang used his divine sense to activate the spirit money, which attacked An Sheng's spiritual altar with unstoppable force.

But as soon as he entered, Zhang the lawyer was stunned when he saw An Sheng's Daoist heart.

"Dude, are you really mentally ill?"

(End of this chapter)