Godslayer: Reincarnated with SSS Rank Cultivation System-Chapter 157: An Icy Visitor

Wen Ran was just about to close his eyes, his muscles finally beginning to relax, when a sudden wave of energy surged through him. It wasn't powerful or overwhelming — in fact, it felt faint, almost insignificant — yet the moment it touched his soul, he knew exactly what it was.

A sliver of his lost lifespan had returned.

That's it? Wen Ran clenched his fists, feeling the restored energy barely stirring within him. It wasn't much — a flicker, a scrap — like tossing a cup of water into a blazing inferno. He knew it wouldn't make a difference.

Look at the bright side... look at the bright side… He repeated the words in his mind, forcing himself to calm down, yet his frustration burned beneath the surface. Don't get mad over this... it's just ten years... barely even a breath to a cultivator…

But it stung — not because of the years themselves, but because of what it represented. The system had taken so much from him, and now it had the audacity to toss back a measly scrap as if that would make things right.

No... I can't let this keep happening...

Wen Ran exhaled slowly, forcing down his anger. His thoughts turned cold and calculated. There had to be a way — a method to restore what he'd lost. It would likely be difficult to obtain, but he refused to believe there wasn't a solution.

If there are pills that mend souls... then surely there's something that can restore lifespan...

His gaze drifted toward his master, sleeping soundly in the corner of the cave. Since he already knows I walk the demonic path… Wen Ran's mind turned. He's bound to know something — both traditional and heretic methods. There has to be a technique, a pill... something.

He wouldn't explain why he needed it, and he didn't care how forbidden or dangerous the method was. As far as Wen Ran was concerned, he had already strayed too far from the righteous path to concern himself with morality. Whatever wicked alchemy or twisted ritual it took, he would find it — and he would reclaim what was his.

I'm already walking the path of slaughter, Wen Ran thought bitterly. So what's a little more sin along the way?

His fingers curled tightly as his eyes closed. His mind drifted into uneasy rest, yet one thought remained firm — cold and unshakable.

I will not die before I achieve my goal.

Yet what exactly was Wen Ran's goal? In truth, even he himself might not have known the answer. Could anyone blame him? After all, he had drifted as a stranded soul for what felt like eons, flowing aimlessly through the void before being thrust into this unknown world. Now, he was expected to forge his own path alone — no guidance, no answers, only questions that circled endlessly in his mind.

Most would have given up, settled for a quiet life, and accepted death when it eventually came. After all, how could anyone find the strength to move forward after suffering through endless isolation and despair? But perhaps that was exactly why this mysterious system had chosen Wen Ran — because his iron will refused to break.

Time passed slowly. Wen Ran, exhausted from the taxing pill-crafting procedure, lay deep in slumber. His breathing was steady, his body still, too drained to sense the delicate shift in the air.

A figure emerged at the entrance of the cave — a woman clad in a crystal-like dress that shimmered with an unnatural brilliance. Her hair, woven from strands so pure they seemed carved from starlight itself, flowed behind her in mesmerizing waves. The void seemed to ripple around her presence, as if reality itself strained to accommodate her existence.

Her gaze drifted toward the old man resting in the corner. Something flickered behind her frozen expression — a glimmer of longing, fragile and painful, as if she were remembering something buried long ago.

"We meet again, brother Xiao Lingyun..." Her melodic voice flowed like a haunting melody, each word chilling the air. Frost crept along the walls of the cave, and the temperature plummeted to a biting cold.

Suddenly, the air stilled. Every breath, every whisper of wind vanished from Wen Ran's reach — as if the very concept of sound had been snuffed out. The woman's presence had sealed them in a world of absolute stillness, ensuring that Wen Ran would remain undisturbed.

"I'm old and barely clinging to life, yet you... you always remain the same," Xiao Lingyun chuckled weakly, his breath faint but his words sharp. "Forever young, forever as flawless as polished jade, sister Ling Shuangqian..." His lips curled into a faint smile — one that flickered for a heartbeat before vanishing, swallowed by indifference.

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He never looked at her. His tired gaze remained fixed on his disciple, Wen Ran, still sleeping soundly in the corner. Yet behind that gaze lay something else — fear. Not for himself, but for Wen Ran.

"You always know how to flatter a lady," Ling Shuangqian replied with a smile that should have been warm — soft and gentle like morning sunlight — yet her eyes betrayed her. Cold and sharp as a frozen dagger, they pierced through the air, revealing a chill that could freeze water with a single ripple.

"Drop the act. I know you didn't come here to reminisce about the good old days..." Xiao Lingyun scoffed, his voice dry yet laced with bitterness. Finally, his gaze lifted, meeting the woman's icy blue eyes.

For a moment, he faltered.

Even now, her beauty remained unparalleled — an ageless perfection that seemed untouchable by time itself. Yet behind his tired eyes lay something far heavier than admiration — pain. Something had broken between them long ago, something that once held them close now lay shattered in unforeseen circumstances.

Ling Shuangqian didn't answer. Instead, her gaze shifted past him, landing on Wen Ran's slumbering figure.

Xiao Lingyun's heart seized. No... she's here for him... Panic flared in his chest, sharp and sudden like a dagger twisting in his ribs. She must have discovered he's walking the demonic path... His mind spun with fear, convinced she had come to silence Wen Ran before his power could bloom.