I, a centenarian, sweep through the gates of immortality.

"Lin Feng, I possess superior immortal bones, while you have mortal roots. Tonight, let's give this relationship an explanation."

"There is a difference between immortals and mortals."

More than eighty years have passed.

Now, Lin Feng is over a hundred years old. Life is like a flowing river, and many past events have vanished like smoke in the wind.

Only Liu Qingqing's decisiveness and ruthlessness stirred up a monstrous wave in Lin Feng's heart, rising and falling from his youth to his old age.

It seems this knot in my heart will be carried to my grave.

It's not that he doesn't want to let go, it's that he simply can't.

Perhaps due to good deeds in his previous life, Lin Feng was reborn into the wealthy Lin family, and was born with a jade pendant in his mouth. Everyone said that Lin Feng was extraordinary and would surely be of immeasurable nobility.

If his life had been predetermined, he should have lived a life of luxury and honor, and even if he didn't achieve great success, he should have enjoyed wealth and comfort.

But fate was unkind; by chance, he met Liu Qingqing, a beautiful farm girl.

The two fell in love at first sight and soon pledged their lives to each other.

In order to marry Liu Qingqing, he even broke off a prestigious marriage arranged by his father, which angered his family.

Lin Feng had thought this would be a beautiful love story that transcended the mundane.

Unexpectedly, during a random test conducted by the immortal sect, Liu Qingqing was found to possess a superior spiritual root.

Lin Feng's test results, however, were merely ordinary.

"There is a difference between immortals and mortals."

These were the last four words Liu Qingqing said to Lin Feng, and he remembered them for the rest of his life.

Yes.

One is a celestial being, the other a mortal.

How could I possibly hinder someone else's future?

Besides, they couldn't stop them anyway.

But what do all my efforts and lifelong dedication amount to?

Over a hundred years old, never married, with deceased parents and no children, is he really going to go to his coffin with this obsession?

"Ugh!"

Lin Feng let out a long sigh.

Just then, two whooshing sounds came from outside.

"Whoosh!"

The once quiet village suddenly became lively.

"The immortal masters of Chongyang Valley have arrived!"

"Everyone, quickly bring the children to the village entrance!"

Various cultivation sects need to recruit talents, so disciples from these sects often come to the village to look for children with the potential for cultivation.

Normally, those who come to their village are all from small sects in the surrounding area, but today it turns out to be a major sect from Zhongzhou, Chongyanggu.

No wonder the villagers were excited.

If you are selected, you will have leaped over the dragon gate.

Looking at the two immortal masters who arrived on their swords, the man had a cold and stern face, and the woman had a cool and aloof temperament; both of them looked like immortals untouched by the mortal world.

The two did not land; they hovered in mid-air on their swords, their celestial aura making the villagers feel suffocated.

A hint of sadness flashed in Lin Feng's old and cloudy eyes.

"Flying on a sword, an immortal..."

The male cultivator looked down at the villagers kneeling at the village entrance with indifferent eyes, as if he were looking down on a group of ants.

"All children aged three to sixteen, please step forward."

The children lined up in an orderly fashion.

With a flick of her sleeve, the female cultivator released a pale purple bead.

"This is a spirit-testing bead. Hold it in your hand and the result will be clear."

The first boy did as instructed and placed his hand on the cold bead, but the bead did not react.

"No spiritual root, next." The male cultivator's voice was indifferent.

Following the line, the second girl placed her hand on it, but the spirit-testing bead remained dim.

"No spiritual root, next."

The third one, the fourth one...

Until the last child withdrew his hand in disappointment, the Spirit Testing Bead remained as lifeless and dull as ever.

"That's not right!" The male cultivator's eyes clearly showed a hint of doubt.

"Junior sister, could it be that the Celestial Mirror is malfunctioning?"

The white-robed female cultivator glanced at the children again, a moment of hesitation appearing on her usually aloof face.

"The Observatory will not make mistakes."

"Can..."

"Go back first and report this matter."

Chongyang Valley, a top immortal sect in Zhongzhou, came to this small place with sparse spiritual energy because its treasured Guantian Mirror detected the birth of a primordial sword embryo here.

However, after they tested all the children in the village, they found nothing.

They dared not doubt the accuracy of the Observation Mirror, but assumed that something else had gone wrong, and were preparing to return to their sect quickly to report the matter.

Just as the two turned to leave.

hum!

A sudden and unexpected change has occurred!

Suddenly, the flying swords beneath their feet buzzed, broke free from their control, and shot off towards the northwest, towards the old pine tree where Lin Feng was.

"What's going on?!" The cold-faced male cultivator suddenly turned around, his pupils shrinking sharply.

The perpetual frost on the white-clad woman's face finally shattered. Unprecedented shock flashed in her eyes: "My sword!"

The two men's swords hovered around Lin Feng, their originally cold blades suddenly flashing with a blue light. A moment later, the two sword lights merged into one, transforming into a dazzling sword-colored beam that burst forth and soared into the sky!

The sky seemed to have been torn in two.

The villagers were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, trembling, and dared not even lift their heads.

"Sword light pierces the sky...tearing the heavens apart!" The male cultivator's voice trembled, his coldness vanishing completely, replaced by an almost crazed expression. "This is...an innate sword embryo!"

The white-robed female cultivator could no longer maintain her fairy-like image. She swiftly moved to Lin Feng's side, her clear eyes fixed on the sword light, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly:

"There's no mistake... Only a born sword embryo can activate the sword spirit!"

"Before even entering the Dao, he already possesses the power to tear the heavens apart!" The male cultivator gasped, staring intently at Lin Feng's deeply lined face, his eyes filled with fervor, resentment, and deep regret. "But...but his body..."

The female cultivator in white took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and her divine sense swept over Han Feng's limbs and bones like a tide.

The more she investigated, the deeper the regret in her eyes became.

"Deficiency of Qi and blood, atrophied and blocked meridians, depleted consciousness... lifespan... at most three months." Her voice was low, carrying an indescribable heaviness. "Heaven has truly played a cruel joke... to allow the innate sword embryo to awaken at such a young age..."

"At the age of one hundred, the sword embryo has awakened..." the male cultivator murmured to himself, the ecstasy on his face gradually fading, replaced by a sense of almost desperate frustration.

"If it had been discovered sixty years earlier, no, even thirty years earlier! With such talent, the Nascent Soul stage would have been easily attained with the full power of the sect! Perhaps... even contending for the Deity Transformation stage wouldn't be impossible!"

"But now..." The woman in white sighed, leaving the rest of her words unsaid, but her meaning was clear.

Just then, the soaring sword light seemed to have exhausted all its power, and its brilliance gradually diminished and dimmed.

Finally, the two swords fell to the ground with two crisp sounds.

Lin Feng slowly lowered his head, looked at the two long swords on the ground, and then slowly raised his withered, age-spotted hands.

Just a moment ago, he clearly felt an unimaginable surge of life force enter his body, almost bursting his withered body.

But for some reason, it was blocked by a force.

It looks like a jade pendant around the neck.

This is the jade pendant that accompanied him when he was reborn. It is the jade pendant that accompanied him that is protecting him.

He suddenly recalled the cold declaration made by the immortal master more than sixty years ago: "Without spiritual roots, you have no affinity with the path of immortality."

Now, he is a centenarian on the verge of death, with one foot already in his coffin, but he has been told that he possesses an innate sword embryo that drives the entire cultivation world crazy.

Good heavens, you really know how to joke.

The white-clad female cultivator picked up her sword, and as she looked up, her gaze met Lin Feng's.

Looking into Lin Feng's cloudy yet unusually calm eyes, there was no trace of the ecstasy and excitement he felt upon learning that he possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Instead, there was only the indifference that comes from having witnessed the vicissitudes of life, and a trace of weariness hidden very, very deep...

"Grandpa," she softened her tone, her voice even carrying a hint of pity she herself didn't realize, "do you... know what a congenital sword embryo represents?"

Lin Feng nodded, his voice hoarse and dry: "I've heard people talk about it... saying it's the best sword cultivator aptitude in the world."

"It's more than just the best." The male cultivator couldn't help but interject, his tone filled with barely suppressed excitement and regret. "As long as one steps into the path of cultivation, with sufficient resources, forming a Core Formation or Nascent Soul is just around the corner! You...you..."

Looking at Han Feng's frail and aged appearance, he sighed heavily, his regret evident in his expression.

The white-robed female cultivator remained silent for a long time, seemingly weighing something.

After a long while, she turned her gaze back to Lin Feng, her expression becoming serious:

"Old man, you possess an innate sword embryo, a rare and precious destiny. According to the rules, the sect should immediately welcome you back and nurture you with all its might."

She paused, her voice tinged with reluctance, but she still made her point clear.

"But as you know, you are already quite old, your life force is almost exhausted, your meridians are withered and blocked, and your lifespan is... very short. Even if I were to guide you onto the path of cultivation now, I'm afraid it would be difficult to achieve anything. Perhaps you will not be able to step into the threshold of the Qi Refining stage even if you spend the rest of your life."

She paused here, gazing into Han Feng's cloudy yet unusually clear eyes, and asked, word by word:

"Old man, you are already a hundred years old. Your spiritual roots have withered, your vital energy has declined, and your lifespan is coming to an end."

"This path to immortality... are you still willing to walk it?"