Long Wei, a cultivator who had walked the path for over five thousand years, sat alone beneath the twilight sky. Once, he had dreamed of soaring among immortals, yet now he was nothing but an old man at the edge of death.
Normally, those of his age would long have reached the Void Transformation Realm, but Long Wei was not so fortunate. Born with false spiritual roots, his qi-gathering speed had always been abysmal. Every step forward had been like climbing an endless mountain with no summit.
Even so, he had never given up.
He worked harder than anyone else, cultivating until his bones cracked and his meridians bled. Thirty-seven years it had taken him just to reach Qi Condensation, and fifty more to painstakingly form his own foundation without the help of pills or sect resources. By the time he reached Foundation Establishment, he had already used up most of his natural lifespan.
But Long Wei had been stubborn. Each time he reached the edge of death, he clawed his way into the next realm, extending his life by just enough years to continue walking forward.
Centuries passed. Opportunities came and went. He even found a Supreme-Grade Cultivation Manual after six hundred years of wandering the world, but by then, too much time had already been lost. His body was old, his life nearly spent.
That manual had a cruel requirement:
> [Supreme Heaven-Devouring Scripture]
Killing cultivators of the same realm increases cultivation speed by 1%.
It was an opportunity, but also a curse. Heavenly Deity experts were rare and deeply tied to powerful sects and clans. To kill them was to bring endless calamity. So Long Wei did the only thing he could: he cultivated endlessly, day and night, for nineteen hours a day, trying to force a breakthrough.
He reached the peak of Heavenly Deity Early Stage, but his sword dao never achieved enlightenment. Without that, the middle realm would forever remain out of reach.
And so, with only a single year left to live, Long Wei finally accepted defeat.
Lying on the cold ground, he muttered weakly, "Why… did I even start cultivating…?" His mind searched for an answer, but none came. Tears slipped down his wrinkled face as his breath grew shallow.
Finally, with a faint smile, he closed his eyes.
Long Wei died.
---
10,000,000 Years Later
The world was ending. Mountains collapsed, oceans dried, and even the heavens themselves shattered. The cycle of destruction devoured all things.
At the end of time, a man in black robes stood alone amidst the void. His voice was filled with frustration.
"I still don't have enough. I need twelve half-step immortals, but I am missing two. Without them, true immortality is impossible…"
He sighed, then clenched his fists.
"I can only rewind time once more—ten million years at most. This time, I'll change everything. Too many people never even had the chance to cultivate. If I make sure everyone has the possibility from the start… perhaps fate will be different."
His eyes glowed with determination. "I will bet everything on this one chance."
Time began to rewind.
Ten years… one hundred years… one thousand years… one million years… ten million years…
The broken world restored itself, and once again, the river of time flowed as if nothing had ever happened.
---
Present Time
Long Wei gasped as his eyes snapped open. He looked around in confusion. His body—young and full of vitality. His dantian—untouched. His lifespan—restored.
"This… isn't this the day I first started cultivating?" He muttered, stunned. "How… how am I still alive?"
For a long time, he sat in silence, his heart racing. Then slowly, his trembling hands clenched into fists.
"I don't know why… or how… but I've been given another chance."
His eyes shone with determination.
"This time, I will reach immortality—even if I must defy the heavens themselves!"