But An Zhengzheng clearly didn't care whether he liked it or not.

To An Zhengzheng, Zhou Xu was merely a passable opponent, and this opponent was likely to bring her troubles like Zhou Yu'er.

An Zhengzheng said, "This is the difference between you, who are devoid of feelings, and me, who am deeply rooted in love."

"What do you mean?" Zhou Xu asked, puzzled.

An Zhengzheng countered, "You were born without any feelings, and you have been raised by the Zhou family. Have you ever thought about repaying the Zhou family?"

Zhou Xu said calmly, "I am the most outstanding member of the Zhou family, and it is inevitable that I will become an immortal in the future."

Cultivation families need outstanding members to solidify their position. Zhou Xu's existence certainly brings honor to the Zhou family. If it weren't for An Zhengzheng's suppression, the Zhou family would definitely be unparalleled in prominence.

Moreover, Zhou Xu's ascension benefits the entire Zhou family, so the matter is considered settled.

An Zhengzheng smiled and said, "That's the difference between you and me."

“My love is so deep that it is destined that my path to becoming an immortal or a god will be different from yours. Since I was born and have witnessed the injustice and misfortune of the world, I am bound to do something.”

It's impossible to be like Zhou Xu, who disregards emotions and only values ​​morality.

She could not possibly see women suffering in the world, yet she remained unmoved.

If she could become an immortal or a god, that would be good, as she could protect all living beings. However, she would not be able to interfere with human affairs. If she wanted to do anything else, she would probably be restricted.

What if she can't?

Has she truly intended to dedicate her entire life to cultivating immortality, remaining indifferent to the suffering of humanity?

An Zhengzheng would rather suffer a little than not be able to do both.

Fortunately, cultivators can live up to a thousand years, giving her enough time to pursue both. Although it may be tough for her, she's not afraid.

An Zhengzheng is the person who is least afraid of hardship.

“Everyone’s path is different, Zhou Xu, I have my own path to walk.”

An Zhengzheng stubbornly refused to listen to Zhou Xu's advice.

Zhou Xu sneered, "You've cultivated immortality and attained enlightenment, yet you're distracted by worldly matters. Could it be that you've become arrogant and complacent after defeating me?"

Despite coming from families of cultivators and having no shortage of basic pills and cultivation techniques, An Zhengzheng was distracted by other things.

Zhou Xu was certain that she didn't take him seriously.

In his opinion, An Zhengzheng should be as devoted to the Dao as he was, and they should compete with each other to see who is better.

But An Zhengzheng wasn't afraid that Zhou Xu would surpass her at all, and wasn't nervous or eager to improve.

She clearly looked down on him!

“Cultivators from the mortal realm have no way back. They start from Qi Refining and endure more hardship, yet there are precedents of them becoming gods. I have a foundation in the cultivation world and am willing to endure hardship, so why can't I do something else? Is this considered arrogance?”

An Zhengzheng's face was cold. What gave Zhou Xu the right to think that she had to be like him? She clearly had her own life plans, so what right did he have to interfere?

Zhou Xu was speechless at her words, his eyes filled with displeasure.

After a long silence, he uttered a single sentence: "Whatever."

Zhou Xu flew away on his sword without even turning his head.

"That's ridiculous." An Zhengzheng ignored him.

An Yirou, who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, was still carefully observing An Zhengzheng's expression.

After all, the last time someone tried to interfere in my sister's life, it was those people in the clan. They didn't want my sister to take revenge on the ruthless path.

The result was useless.

Fortunately, An Zhengzheng was not affected by Zhou Xu.

She told An Yirou, "We need to develop multi-colored face powder so that girls can choose the right face powder for their skin."

Not only that, she also had to create momentum.

People's aesthetic sense can be changed, and their thoughts can be conveyed subtly.

One day, women may not even need these cosmetics.

An Zhengzheng murmured, "...I will wait, until the day the Hundred Women's Pavilion is burned down."

The following days were extremely busy.

An Zhengzheng buried herself in studying one martial arts manual after another, and would occasionally go to check on the situation at the Hundred Women's Pavilion.

The Hundred Women's Pavilion has launched multi-colored cosmetics and lip rouge, and will also hire female cultivators with high monthly rewards.

An Mao once questioned her, "It's one thing to have a teenage girl in this issue of the magazine, but why is there also a married woman?"

The woman was the same nun who had given birth to a daughter but was divorced. The article used a photo album to record her different appearances before and after makeup.

The appendix also included what appeared to be an autobiography—a story of a down-on-her-luck woman who was kicked out of her home raising her daughter single-handedly, displaying remarkable vitality.

It praised her independence, perseverance, and how she went from being a woman who could only grow and sell medicinal herbs to doing business with Bai Nu Ge.

An Mao didn't understand: "Why write all this?"

Multicolored face powder and multicolored lip rouge are selling very well, but praising a woman so highly is a bit of a misstep.

An Zhengzheng insisted, "Father, just do as you say."

After all, An Zhengzheng's initial thoughts went beyond just making money.

An Mao gritted his teeth and did it.

The magazine sold very well, after all, the clothing matching tips and makeup tutorials inside were novel things that had never been seen before in the world of cultivation.

Time flies, and the end of the year is fast approaching.

The annual assessment for the Siyue Gate has arrived.

The disciples of the Ruthless Path gathered at the foot of Master Wushang's mountain, and An Zhengzheng was no exception; she arrived on her sword.

"Greetings, fellow disciples." An Zhengzheng greeted them politely.

The other senior brothers nodded in agreement: "Hello, junior sister."

They are all practitioners of the path of ruthlessness, and it is common for them to sever all feelings and love, so they are not particularly intimate or polite with each other.

When An Zhengzheng looked up, she saw Zhou Xu, but Zhou Xu was not as friendly as before. The two looked at each other and then looked away.

The socially awkward Master Wushang still didn't show up; this time, it was Senior Brother Peijin who was hosting.

He looked at the disciples of the Ruthless Path; there were only six of them, including himself.

Fortunately, that crazy senior sister wasn't there!

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"The annual assessment of the Ruthless Path is different from other sects; there is no ranking, so everyone can do whatever they want."

Other sects require scoring for their various assessments to encourage their disciples, but the Ruthless Path's 100% ascension rate is unnecessary.

A magic circle flew out of Wushang Zhenren's cave and added, "Go in by yourselves. If you can come out alive, you've passed the test."

If they didn't come out alive, then they'll have to wait for Master Wushang to establish a new cultivation method to fix their deficiencies.

The disciples responded, "Yes."

Master Wushang listened to the commotion outside and continued wiping the sweat from his forehead. It was finally over.

Fortunately, the disciples outside were all very obedient.

Suddenly, a woman's voice, tinged with laughter, rang out: "What's this? Annual review, old man, aren't you waiting for me?"

These words were incredibly arrogant. Everyone inside and outside the cave was shocked; their hearts felt as if something had gripped them tightly.

We didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

The voice sounded young, yet it dared to call Master Wushang an old man!

An Zhengzheng and Zhou Xu both turned their heads to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Halfway up the mountain where Master Wushang lived, a woman dressed in a light purple fairy dress sat on a tree branch and glanced down.

In just a brief glance, strangely enough, An Zhengzheng was shaken for the first time in her life—a shake so profound that a single look was enough to send shivers down her spine.

She thought that having experienced both past and present lives, there was nothing left for her to fear.

But at this moment, I was so terrified that my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.