Looking for a Long-Lived Cultivation Story, Not One Where the Protagonist Starts With a Five- or Four-Element Spiritual Root and Other Useless Setups 求本长生修仙，不是五灵根，四灵根这种废材开局的

1. 51 第 First Rate! 第一流！ Zhong Jiuling钟九陵Eastern Fantasy3.0M WordsCompleted [No female lead, no formulaic tropes, not a power fantasy. Excellent writing and a first-rate plot. If that’s not your thing, don’t read.] Year thirty-one of the New Era. Snow fell in the bitter cold of winter. Many things happened that year. The Divine Church gained a new Divine Son, the Buddhist faith saw thirty-six golden lotuses bloom, and a madman emerged from a crumbling Taoist temple. The North Sea churned, threatening to swallow heaven and earth. A tiny blade of grass grew in the De 39.7kReads8.5Score3.5kShelves

   Reader note

   No more fanfiction, no more AI-generated content, say goodbye to book droughts! Let's start with you and me. A groundbreaking masterpiece, a breath of fresh air unlike anything I've ever read before, an original masterpiece, a new genre, with delicate writing and a tight plot.

2. 52 我 I Hunt Down Transmigrators in Ancient China 我在古代抓捕穿越者 Evergreen Greens长青菜菜Eastern Fantasy1.3M WordsCompleted The protagonist, Long Chen, transmigrates into an ancient world. But it turns out that world is full of transmigrators. They belong to many different factions. Long Chen, himself a transmigrator, receives a mission: eliminate every other transmigrator. … 3.4kReads—Score172Shelves

   Reader note

   This book is very good.

3. 53 仙 The Immortal Inkstone 仙砚 Old Cat from Boshan Village博山村老猫Urban1.6M WordsCompleted Huang Xing, a biology professor, is suddenly sabotaged, and his academic career is left in ruins. When he returns home in despair, he unexpectedly awakens an ancient inheritance slumbering inside an ancestral inkstone. He thinks it is a generous gift from fate, but as he cultivates, he gradually discovers that it may all be a trap carefully laid by someone close to him. Betrayed by family and toyed with by fate, Huang Xing must choose between the path of cultivation and the bonds of blood. Each 57Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   Entering the immortal realm is like entering a deep sea; only today do I truly know who I am. Not mindless, not intellectually challenged, no system—a farming and cultivation novel with a traditional cultivation system but a unique story core. Over 500 chapters completed. Huang Xing thought it was a story of a mortal cultivating to immortality, but little did he know that every step was part of someone else's calculations. Should he submit to fate or break free from its constraints?

4. 54 长 Longevity: Infinite Devouring 长生：无限吞噬 Slay the Good戮善Eastern Fantasy418k WordsOngoing (No System, smart protagonist, deduction, traditional cultivation, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul. Ninety thousand chapters stockpiled, so you can read at your own pace.) Mu Ye wakes up one morning to find he has transmigrated. He has also obtained a World Seed, an immortal soul, and the ability to devour spiritual roots. He thinks he has already achieved immortality and that nothing can block his path to the Great Dao. But as he cultivates, he learns tha —Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   Traditional cultivation novel, no filler content, involves absorbing spiritual roots after initially lacking them, requires critical thinking to read, covers Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul stages, 900,000 words already written, read with confidence.

5. 55 凡 A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: From the Start, I Join an All-Female Sect 凡人修仙：开局拜入全女宗门 He Kou Che Gan禾口车干Eastern Fantasy129k WordsOngoing [Lighthearted Style + Ordinary Protagonist + Sect Life + No System] (Although the protagonist changes sex, he’s still a man. There may be some fan service.) Hao Long received an immortal’s blessing and was granted the True Essence of Qianyang. He was born into another world, only to discover that he was a girl. Later, in her female body, she joined a cultivation sect. Gather the Frostflame and burn the evil! Find a supreme treasure and forge a happy match! The immortal maiden Yang Baifeng will —Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   Traditional cultivation path, mortal protagonist, ice spirit root, no saintly qualities, has principles, no system, not overpowered, protagonist doesn't get married.

6. 56 道 Evergreen Dao Fruit: I Cultivate Immortality Through the Marks of Time 道果长青：我靠岁月印记修长生 Cruel DR Angel残酷DR天使Eastern Fantasy160k WordsCompleted [Transmigration]+ [Bare-Bones System]+ [Lighthearted Daily Life]+ [King of Keeping a Low Profile]+ [Longevity] Enter at your own risk. Lu Changqing, a former actuary, transmigrates into the world of immortal cultivation. The only thing that comes with him is a cold, silent blue panel. For every year he survives in peace and keeps a low profile, he earns one “Years Spirit Seal.” By spending these seals, he can add points and break through realms regardless of his aptitude, or refine anything and —Reads7.3Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   A former actuary transmigrates to the world of cultivation, turning the art of survival into a risk assessment! He never makes a move unless the odds of victory are at least 99%. He survives for a year, gaining a little more imprint, and painlessly breaks through realms by simply waiting for the right time—an extremely comfortable and divine work of immortality!

7. 57 缺 Short on Metal and Wood 缺金少木 Zi Xi梓翕Eastern Fantasy677k WordsOngoing Born into poverty, He Yun gets the chance to embark on the path of immortality and decisively enters the cultivation world. Follow this young upstart as he climbs step by step toward immortality... [1] A cultivation novel about Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul. A mortal's journey, with no System, and no transmigration, rebirth, reincarnation, or family-based cultivation. It features a golden finger and has either no female lead or a single female lead. —Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   It's neither five nor four, but it has three spiritual roots... It's a slow-paced, rambling fantasy, typical of the mortal genre. I'm just recommending one of my own books. It might not be the best, but it shouldn't be too bad either, right?

8. 58 开 From the Start: I Obtained the Treasure Scroll of the Underworld 开局：我获得了通幽宝卷 Don't Wake Me Up不要叫醒我啊Eastern Fantasy47k WordsOngoing [Dark] [Decisive and Ruthless] [Satisfying] [Nearly Invincible] [No Female Lead] [Revenge Before Nightfall] My name is Chen Mo. I seek only eternal life. To achieve it, does it matter whether I become an immortal or a demon? —Reads—Score—Shelves

   Reader note

   The protagonist is decisive and ruthless, which is commendable.

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