I've recently discovered I'm very interested in these kind of immortal cultivation stories, but a lot of them have the MC being a peerless genius that basically just does whatever it wants. What I'm looking for is one where the MC actually has to work towards cultivation and faces struggles, I don't find stories where the MC is overpowered that interesting. Thanks for helping if you recommend something!

Lord Xue Ying by IET (creator of Coiling Dragon and Stellar Transformations, both of which are completely translated) is a xianxia story that fits your description. The main character Xue Ying cannot be described as having an easy cultivation, he works very hard for it. In addition, he does not receive any OP cheats/objects that push his cultivation forward. Despite this he stilll makes it quite far...
This main character is interesting I promise you, its worth trying. His passion is also unique among the xianxia that I have read. I do have to warn you though that it is not completely translated and only has two regular updates a week. It does however progress far enough for you to see its version of 'immortality' so do not worry about it stopping before you get to see that point.

'The Void' pid='822568' dateline='1489979158' Wrote: Lord Xue Ying by IET (creator of Coiling Dragon and Stellar Transformations, both of which are completely translated) is a xianxia story that fits your description. The main character Xue Ying cannot be described as having an easy cultivation, he works very hard for it. In addition, he does not receive any OP cheats/objects that push his cultivation forward. Despite this he stilll makes it quite far...
This main character is interesting I promise you, its worth trying. His passion is also unique among the xianxia that I have read. I do have to warn you though that it is not completely translated and only has two regular updates a week. It does however progress far enough for you to see its version of 'immortality' so do not worry about it stopping before you get to see that point.

Thanks! I'll definitely check it out it looks good!