The group climbed the mountain against the snowflakes, and did encounter a blizzard along the way, but fortunately, they were all people with some level of spiritual cultivation, so it wasn't a big problem.

As they drew ever closer to the Tianshan Snow Lotus, the test of lust arrived.

An Zhengzheng spotted a silver fox hidden in the snow, its fox eyes fixed on the entire group.

“Senior brother!” An Zhengzheng gestured.

Everyone immediately became alert, and Senior Brother Peijin said, "It's a love fox."

Foxes are adept at bewitching people, especially men.

An Zhengzheng has no feelings for love, so she can't be seduced, but it's different for others.

Almost every senior brother's eyes flickered, and their gazes toward the Love Fox were somewhat dazed.

An Zhengzheng noticed the ropes binding her were moving, and her fellow disciples all headed towards the Love Fox.

They've been bewitched!

An Zhengzheng tossed the talisman into the air, but caught a glimpse of Senior Brother Pei Jin waking up out of the corner of her eye.

Fortunately! If everyone had been infected, she alone might not have been able to wake them up.

The next second, she shouted out the incantation, working with Pei Jin to wake the person up.

Soon, the other two senior brothers, with their strong willpower, regained their senses.

Only Zhou Xu's eyes remained unfocused.

Although he was a genius, he was still not on par with his senior brothers who were at the Golden Core or Foundation Establishment stages.

An Zhengzheng, who was closest to him, gripped the rope tightly and pulled him back: "Zhou Xu, wake up!"

Several senior brothers stood in front, having already untied the ropes, and were now focused on dealing with the Love Fox.

"Zhou Xu!" An Zhengzheng frowned and pulled him hard, then stuck the talisman on his forehead.

Zhou Xu instantly snapped out of his daze, his eyes filled with confusion: "...An Zhengzheng?"

An Zhengzheng said urgently, "The love foxes have made their move. They are very devoted to each other, and their partners should be nearby."

Zhou Xu felt An Zhengzheng gripping his arm, and he could also faintly smell the scent of herbs.

He swallowed hard, gazing at An Zhengzheng's stunning profile, his mind wandering.

Wait a minute!

He instantly realized something was wrong; he was being too influenced by the Love Fox!

The strange feeling in my heart was instantly extinguished.

"They're here." An Zhengzheng said seriously, staring intently at the other love fox lying in ambush not far away.

Its fox-like face was quite alluring, almost human-like, and its gaze towards An Zhengzheng was ambiguous, as if it were trying to seduce her.

Senior Brother Yu Tiao returned to guard his two junior sisters and brothers, An Zhengzheng and Zhou Xu.

An Zhengzheng carried her natal sword, and Zhou Xu also summoned the Crimson Flame Sword, both following in the footsteps of Senior Brother Yu Tiao.

"Bang—" Zhou Xu's hand trembled slightly, unable to withstand the snowflakes thrown by the running fox, and he took a step back.

He instinctively used the Crimson Flame Sword to support himself on the ground.

However, the fire attribute of the Crimson Flame Sword melted the snow, leaving a large scratch and triggering an avalanche.

The corner where Zhou Xu was standing rolled diagonally toward the ground.

An Zhengzheng saw the surprise and fear in Zhou Xu's eyes.

Out of a desire to help her fellow disciple, she grabbed Zhou Xu's rope, trying to pull him back.

"Junior Sister!"

Yu Tiao was unable to spare any attention, and her fellow disciples were about to subdue the first love fox. At this moment, it was not an appropriate time for anyone to come over.

"Just hold on for a while!" Yu Tiao was anxious. If it weren't for the spatial suppression, he wouldn't have had to wait so long to even get a love fox.

Unfortunately, Zhou Xu's mind had been manipulated, and he was somewhat confused and slow to react.

An Zhengzheng could only support herself, inserting the Xuan Tian Han Shi sword into the ice, while tightly pulling on the rope with her other hand.

At the other end of the rope was Zhou Xu, who had nearly fallen off the cliff.

"Boom boom boom—"

The Crimson Flame Sword was the Zhou family's top-tier magical artifact. An Zhengzheng underestimated its power and watched helplessly as the spot where it had just been slashed shattered.

"Holy crap, no way?!"

An Zhengzheng felt the sky collapse and the earth crack, and the Xuan Tian Han Shi Sword fell to the bottom of the mountain along with her.

"Junior sister..."

"Junior brother..."

Several senior brothers also panicked. They had been cultivating in the Ruthless Path for hundreds of years, and this was not their first time entering the assessment formation.

But it was the first time I had ever witnessed a snow mountain collapse.

Yu Tiao asked Pei Jin, "Senior Brother, are they alright? Could it be that thing...?"

The assessment formation was passed down through the ages by the Ruthless Path. It is said that the ancestor subdued the legendary Heaven-Seizing Horned Tiger to suppress the formation.

If we disturb this divine beast, it will be a big problem.

"It shouldn't be that easy to disturb them." Senior Brother Pei Jin had already subdued the first love fox and came to support Yu Tiao. "I've tested the magic array hundreds of times. It should just be a minor collapse."

He glanced at the marks left by the Crimson Flame Sword. That sword was truly formidable; it was indeed worthy of the Zhou family.

The aloof and icy Senior Brother Mo Hai and the others also arrived, and together they subdued the second Love Fox.

"It seems they've been eliminated."

"...At least they made it through the first hurdle, while we couldn't even get past the first hurdle back then."

They are all cultivators of the ruthless path, following the natural order, so they won't have much to regret. This is what happens when you lack strength; hopefully, they'll work harder when they go out.

Senior Brother Peijin, however, still showed some humanity by saying, "What a pity."

The four of them went to pick snow lotus from the Tianshan Mountains again.

...

When An Zhengzheng woke up, Zhou Xu's face was already pale from the cold.

He has a fire elemental root constitution, which means he is more likely to absorb heat. The snow that falls on him melts into water and sticks to his body, making him wet.

They're probably going to freeze to death!

An Zhengzheng used a fire-starting technique, but struggled to find anything that could continue burning in the snow.

"...There's really nothing good here." Just like the last exam, there are many things you can't bring to the assessment.

There were talismans, pills, herbal medicine, and his natal weapon, but nothing else.

An Zhengzheng could only feed Zhou Xu pills, and then used a fire-starting technique to heat the medicine before feeding it to him.

"Zhou Xu, can you wake up?" She patted his face.

Okay, he won't wake up.

An Zhengzheng had been injured by the dragon before, and with the spatial suppression, her available power was limited.

To prevent Zhou Xu from freezing to death, she went out to collect dry branches to build a fire. Fortunately, they were already close to the bottom of the mountain, and some dry branches were still there.

Zhou Xu opened his eyes and saw An Zhengzheng, who was still resting with her eyes closed.

His face was as pale as paper, and he coughed as he spoke: "How did we get here? Where are my senior brothers?"

An Zhengzheng told him the truth about the situation.

Zhou Xu forced himself to stand up: "No, I have to go get the Tianshan Snow Lotus."

“Go ahead.” An Zhengzheng didn’t stop him.

Zhou Xu quickly collapsed again. An Zhengzheng helped him up and asked, "You can't even stand up straight, are you still going?"

Zhou Xu fell silent.

He asked incredulously, "What happened...?"

How come that love fox is so powerful?

An Zhengzheng calmly said, "You and I have only cultivated for about ten years, while those senior brothers who have cultivated for hundreds of years cannot kill them immediately."

"Think about it, in this situation, if I get hit by the dragon and you get bewitched by the fox spirit, aren't we going to be in serious trouble?"

Zhou Xu forced himself to stay upright: "The trials of the Ruthless Path are so harsh."

There is no emphasis on gradual progress; new disciples and old disciples are treated equally.

No wonder it has a 100% ascension rate.