Chapter 71: Why Hasn’t She Released Her Alluring Scent Towards Me Yet?

The heavy snow had not stopped for the past two days, coating the entire world in white.

Nanhua Temple was built on the mountainside. With the heavy snow blocking the mountain paths these past few days, there were almost no visitors coming to burn incense and pray to Buddha.

Inside and outside the temple was completely quiet, with only the sound of wooden fish being struck and sutras being chanted.

Pei Yuanshao’s arrow wound was very serious. Since Liu Changning carried him into the temple two days ago, he had been in and out of consciousness.

Fortunately, the Rebirth Pill refined by Ningxin had the ability to bring people back from the brink of death.

Over these two days, his arrow wound that had exposed bone had stopped bleeding and new flesh had grown, but his vital energy was severely depleted.

The wound was infected, causing a persistent low fever.

Liu Changning stayed by his side, not leaving for even a moment.

A charcoal brazier burned in the meditation room, the firewood crackling.

Liu Changning held his hand, her eyes filled with sympathy and heartache.

She had awakened in her second life!

Liu Changning, the ancestor of the Immortal Spirit Realm, was born in a bamboo forest. When heavenly lightning struck the bamboo forest at the foot of Canglang Mountain, only she emerged unscathed. That’s why her master named her Liu Changning, with the courtesy name Cang Yun.

She thought the Immortal Spirit Realm was her first life.

But she never imagined… she was actually a visitor from another world… Her first life was in the Spirit Domain of the female-dominated cultivation world, not here!

On the day she reached the Golden Core Great Perfection stage, in order to successfully transform into a Nascent Soul, she entered the Peach Blossom Banner specially prepared by Qingyun Sect for disciples who reached Golden Core Great Perfection.

Inside the Peach Blossom Banner was a Soul-Searching Mirror that could show past lives. If one’s obsession was deep, the reflection in the pool would become increasingly clear.

And so, Liu Changning saw their past lives…

When the phoenix is reborn from the ashes, all past memories are forgotten. Only at the final moment when the soul is about to dissipate can one recall past lives.

After rebirth, he would not seek out the person named Liu Cangyun. Even if the two of them lived in the same world, being together would be difficult!

Because after exiting the Peach Blossom Banner, Liu Changning was still a wooden person without the seven emotions and six desires. If she had never fallen in love with him, she would never have the memories of her first life.

This was a vicious cycle!

So, for the possibility of one lifetime together.

Liu Changning, who briefly regained her memories inside the banner, used her natal immortal sword Cangming as the focal point. She laid out the Great Sumeru Zhengfan Nine Palace Immortal Formation, intertwining their fates, altering the star chart, and peering into heaven’s secrets.

The formation required something that contained both of their soul essences as the focal point. Luckily, Liu Changning had – the Cangming immortal sword.

Pei Ziyuan’s soul had resided in the sword for tens of thousands of years, so it contained his essence.

And Cangming was Liu Changning’s natal sword that she had refined, which traversed through time along with her soul.

Almost everyone in the Immortal Spirit Realm said that when the Heartless Dao Ancestor was struck by heavenly lightning during her Nascent Soul tribulation, her soul was injured. It was the Spirit Pill Ancestor’s pill that minimized the soul wound to just her eyes.

But this was not the truth…

It was because Cangming served as the focal point of the formation that she lost her natal immortal sword, causing her soul to suffer heavy damage. After exiting the Peach Blossom Banner, she coincidentally faced the Nascent Soul tribulation lightning.

Without her memories, Liu Changning could not see through the flaws in her soul wound, and only thought it was caused by the tribulation lightning.

Later, the reincarnated Pei Ziyuan appeared before her again, as the sword spirit of the divine sword Chitian.

Jing Huan tried to use him to prevent her from ascending.

He helped her block half of the tribulation lightning and sheltered her soul.

However, as the sword spirit of a divine weapon, her existence within the sword body consumed his immortal spirit power.

In her second life, she stayed with the divine weapon Chitian for 10 years. As time went on, his spiritual power became increasingly scarce. Until he used his last bit of power to send her out of the sword.

At the moment of his death and dissipation, he looked at her with eyes as black as if they could drip ink, and shouted at the sky: “When the phoenix is reborn from the ashes, why are these memories only returned to me at the moment of death? What did this master do wrong?”

Liu Changning remembered his eyes.

In her third life, she transmigrated into the novel as the Heartless Dao Ancestor Liu Changning, becoming the female lead in a female-dominated cultivation novel with no romance. She would later rise steadily in officialdom, enter the imperial court, and join the inner cabinet!

However, in this life, they still missed each other.

He was the former Imperial Consort who had retired from the court stage, while she was the up-and-coming talent Liu Cangyun in the imperial court – their lives had no intersection. Only on the day of his death did she gift him a red robe, fulfilling his last dignity.

He died, and she did not know!

It seems that for Pei Ziyuan’s final phoenix rebirth, at the last moment of his death and dissipation, he must have seen the grand formation she laid out, incorporating the Great Sumeru Zhengfan Nine Palace Immortal Formation into the star chart, reversing time.

Otherwise, this life could not have been… perfect!

…As for why her transmigration memories changed? Besides Jing Huan… who else in this world could alter her memories?

—

Liu Changning brought the medicinal soup delivered by the little nun to the bedside. When her gaze fell upon the man on the wooden bed, her expression softened even more.

The man with loose black hair had his eyes tightly shut, his eyelashes casting deep shadows on his eyelids. His nostrils flared slightly, and his sculptured lips curled up faintly, as if he was having a sweet dream.

These past two days, due to the fever, he had not been conscious for long. He would mumble a couple of words incoherently before falling asleep again. Yesterday his brows were tightly furrowed as his high fever persisted.

Today, the heat in his body seemed to have subsided somewhat.

Liu Changning picked up the bowl of soup from the table, took a mouthful of the liquid, and leaned down to part his lips. She skillfully transferred the medicine into his mouth, one mouthful at a time.

She had personally fed him the medicine these past two days, so when his jaw suddenly tensed, Liu Changning noticed immediately.

She raised her eyes to glance at his tightly shut eyelids. His long black eyelashes remained motionless, and his breathing showed no signs of irregularity.

He was pretending quite well.

If it weren’t for the reddish tinge on the exposed part of his earlobe amidst his hair, Liu Changning would have almost believed it to be true.

With the medicinal soup in her mouth, she paused briefly as she leaned down, hesitating for a moment. A hint of a smile spread in her eyes.

When her lips touched his again, desire arose.

Her tongue curled around the soup as she leaned down, touching those lips inch by inch. Her soul let out a joyful cry deep within.

The alluring scent in her body coursed through her blood. If she relaxed even slightly, this fragrance would burst out of her body.

This time it wasn’t because of any aphrodisiac.

It was because she desired him. They had known each other for countless years but could not be together. All three lifetimes were filled with sorrow.

She had never kissed him or taken him, holding him in her arms, when she had her memories.

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes. When her gaze fell upon his body wrapped like a mummy, a trace of struggle flashed in her eyes. She forced the alluring scent back into her blood.

Her lips pressed against his, hesitating for a moment before slowly parting his teeth.

She restrained herself as she fed the medicinal soup into his mouth. As she was about to withdraw, just as she reached the gap between his teeth, he lightly bit her.

Liu Changning looked up and met his eyes, brimming with allure.

The bewitchingly handsome man, even when ill, was still naturally seductive. Every frown and blank stare was utterly enchanting.

He reached out with his long arm, somehow finding the strength to grip her shoulders.

His eyes held a hint of reproach and… anticipation. Seeing no response from her, a low, muffled sound escaped from the corner of his lips, and his legs had already hooked around her waist.

Liu Changning was stunned for a moment, her brows furrowing slightly.

Her pride in her self-control nearly crumbled, and the alluring scent in her blood clamored to burst out of her body.

If she let down her guard, desire would rush out like a fierce beast, crashing through everything, crushing him against her body.

But she couldn’t… Liu Changning endured with great difficulty, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

She punished him by lightly biting the tender flesh inside his mouth. She had thought it was punishment, but unexpectedly, whether intentional or not, the man beneath her let out an explicit low moan: “Mmm…”

Liu Changning: …

If she didn’t act now, she felt she might not be able to call herself a woman.

They had gone through so many lifetimes, yet she had never taken his body when she had her memories. Each time their souls intertwined was a spiritual dance. In those five hundred years in the Spirit Realm long ago, this was her greatest regret.

Now…

He was so vivid before her eyes, not just a soul, full of charm. Those ink-black eyes were filled with obvious longing and anticipation.

Liu Changning felt the string of her rationality completely snap.

Her softness guided his, entwining, dancing together, comforting, then parting.

She allowed him to catch his breath before plunging in again. This time it was a fierce storm of possession, the greed she had been holding back in her heart!

The man beneath her was left only able to gasp for air after her kiss, his eyes shimmering with emotion.

His legs unconsciously tightened around her waist.

Liu Changning raised her hand to stroke his ink-black eyes, using all of her self-control to end the deep kiss. She said in a hoarse voice, “Next time… we’ll continue… Be good, Shao’er! Your wounds can’t withstand such exertion.”

The man on the bed had fine beads of sweat on his forehead as he gasped for air.

After catching his breath, he pouted. Although his lips were pale, his expression was deliberately aloof: “Hmph… you’re not me, how would you know what I can… withstand. It’s clearly you, Liu Cangyun, who can’t handle it…”

Liu Changning narrowed her eyes. This person was undoubtedly her Ziyuan – proud, sharp-tongued, and contrary.

She took out a silk handkerchief from her robes and carefully wiped away the medicine that had spilled from the corners of his mouth. After cleaning away the medicine, her slender fingers lingered on his lips, caressing them repeatedly until those sculpted lips took on a vibrant color before she finally stopped.

She looked at him with indulgence and said softly, “Mm, this subject is not capable. In the future, Your Highness can take charge!”

Pei Yuanshao slightly raised his chin. The expression of annoyance froze on his face as his ink-black eyes darted back and forth.

After a moment of delayed reaction, a faint blush spread across his chiseled profile.

Those eyes flickered with emotion as warmth surged in his heart. He secretly pondered the feasibility of him “taking charge”.

The two spent the entire morning cuddling in the room. Pei Yuanshao suddenly felt that something was off about Liu Cangyun. She was being exceptionally doting and patient with him, which was not how she usually treated him.

He looked at her suspiciously many times before finally raising his hand to touch her forehead and asked, “Wife… Official Liu, have you been possessed? We haven’t seen each other for two years, and you… the way you look at me, why has it suddenly become… so tender? It’s… it’s chilling.”

His voice grew quieter and quieter, and under the woman’s murderous glare, his strong survival instinct made him shut his mouth.

Liu Changning nearly choked on the breath caught in her throat.

She gave a complicated look at the man who was so weak he could barely keep his eyes open.

With a stern face, she covered his eyes with both hands and said, half-reproachfully, “Shut up! Go to sleep…”

“I…”

Liu Changning gave a light slap to his raised buttocks. Although the force wasn’t strong, the crisp “smack” sound made it particularly embarrassing.

Pei Yuanshao’s eyelashes fluttered, and the blush on his earlobes spread downwards, tinging his entire body with a hint of warmth.

From above her head came her devilish threatening voice: “If you speak again, I’ll hit you once for each word. Does Shao’er still think I’m tender as water? Go to sleep!”

Pei Yuanshao’s body stiffened, and he tremblingly closed his eyelids, the curve of his lips deepening.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt that she seemed to have developed some feelings for him…

However… she still couldn’t release her alluring scent towards him.

Before falling into a deep sleep, Pei Yuanshao dejectedly recalled the scent he had smelled years ago that he had been longing for.