Nan Tianba’s greatest expertise lay in Earth-elemental magic, a discipline typically favoring defense over offense. As for Fire magic, while powerful offensively, Nan Tianba only knew a single spell: Fireball.

After reviewing the Nanshi Clan Genealogy, Ye Qin gained a clearer understanding of Nan Tianba’s true capabilities.

Ye Qin then flipped through the Wind Spirit Scripture. He discovered it was a cultivation manual specifically designed for the Qi Refining stage, tailored precisely for cultivators possessing a Wind Spirit Root, making it ideal for them to practice.

Since he was already studying the Zuo Wang Scripture, he naturally had no need to bother with another low-level cultivation manual like the Wind Spirit Scripture.

Ye Qin excitedly picked up the final volume: the Compendium of Five Elements Foundational Spells. Now, this was the real treasure he had been hoping for.

The book cataloged spells across eight elemental systems.

These included the five common systems—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—and the three variant systems—Wind, Ice, and Thunder. Within each system, the text meticulously detailed the incantations for numerous foundational spells, encompassing offensive, defensive, and auxiliary techniques.

The opening pages clearly laid out the fundamental relationship between Spirit Roots and magical disciplines.

In principle, any cultivator could attempt to practice spells from all eight systems, though the resulting proficiency would vary dramatically.

For instance, a cultivator with a pure Earth Spirit Root could practice every spell. However, their progress would be fastest when mastering Earth spells; they might achieve proficiency in foundational Earth magic within days or half a month. In contrast, learning a Fire "foundational" spell might require months, perhaps even years, to achieve comparable efficacy. If an Earth Root cultivator foolishly pursued Fire "beginner" spells, they might toil for decades, even a century, just to manifest a weak Fire "beginner" spell.

Metal Root excels in Metal magic. Wood Root in Wood magic. Water Root in Water magic, followed by Ice. Fire Root in Fire magic, followed by Wind. Earth Root in Earth magic.

Among the Five Great Spirit Roots, Earth and Water Roots were the most inherently unstable. This instability often led to the emergence of three specific variant roots.

The Wind Root, mutated from a Fire Root, excels in Wind magic, secondarily in Fire. The Ice Root, mutated from a Water Root, excels in Ice magic, secondarily in Water. The Thunder Root, formed by the integration of Fire and Water Roots, mutates to excel in Thunder magic, secondarily in Water and Fire.

Under normal circumstances, a cultivator possessing a specific type of primary Spirit Root would naturally focus on the corresponding elemental magic. Any non-foolish cultivator would never waste precious time attempting to master an elemental discipline that fundamentally countered their innate affinity.

By this logic, the more Spirit Roots a person possessed, the wider the variety of magic they could cultivate. One with all Five Spirit Roots held the greatest advantage, theoretically capable of learning all eight elemental disciplines without restriction.

However, in reality, cultivators with Five Spirit Roots rarely held an advantage. Given the severely limited lifespan of every cultivator and the time-consuming nature of spell practice, no one could truly master all eight elemental branches. Achieving high proficiency in just one system was considered an excellent feat; aspiring to master all eight was pure fantasy.

This was Ye Qin’s first time truly grasping the intricate relationship between Spirit Roots and magic disciplines. It finally explained why Nan Tianba possessed foundational and beginner Earth spells alongside basic Fire spells.

A wave of annoyance washed over him.

He himself possessed the Five Spirit Roots. According to the text, practicing multiple elemental paths simultaneously would severely slow his learning speed.

What truly infuriated him was that when Nan Tianba taught him those six or seven auxiliary spells, he had deliberately omitted this crucial knowledge. Instead, he had dumped basic auxiliary spells from Wood, Water, and Earth—several distinct systems—onto Ye Qin all at once, intentionally diluting his focus and sabotaging his cultivation. This tactic was utterly insidious.

Ye Qin quickly composed himself, pushing those thoughts aside. Since he intended to break ties with Nan Tianba anyway, he would settle this score along with all prior grievances. His immediate focus was mastering offensive magic and devising a way to eliminate Nan Tianba.

Currently, with only a handful of basic auxiliary spells mastered, he posed virtually no threat to Nan Tianba. To deal with him, Ye Qin needed to concentrate solely on the offensive spells documented in the Compendium of Five Elements Foundational Spells.

He immediately discarded the defensive and auxiliary sections, isolating and focusing only on the offensive spells cataloged within.

The Compendium contained relatively few offensive techniques, perhaps five or six in total: Fire's "Fireball," Water's "Water Orb," Earth's "Earth Spike," Wind's "Wind Blade," Ice's "Ice Cone," and Thunder's "Lightning Strike."

Ye Qin resolved to select one or two of these offensive spells to use against Nan Tianba.

During the journey, Ye Qin continuously pondered the intricacies of these spells, striving to grasp their underlying mysteries.

The small donkey cart rattled onward for seven or eight days over hundreds of miles of winding mountain paths. Nearing home brought a deep, inexpressible emotion, a form of homecoming anxiety that made tranquility impossible.

It had been five or six years since the great drought forced him and Da Niu to leave home seeking sustenance. Now, Da Niu was an apprentice blacksmith at the Yang Family Ironworks, and he himself had become a medicinal herb apprentice, accidentally stumbling into immortal arts. The years felt like a dream—both ephemeral and utterly real.

Da Niu, equally excited, cracked the whip: "Hiyah, Giddy up!" His fervor matched Ye Qin’s own.

The cart crested another hill, revealing a small valley nestled between ridges. Within the valley lay a tiny village—dozens of thatched and mud huts, home to perhaps twenty or thirty hunter and tenant farming families.

Near the great tree at the village entrance, some children dressed in homespun cloth were playing with pebbles. Seeing the small donkey cart swaying into the settlement, a few bolder youngsters stood on the earth mound by the entrance, watching curiously. Others, more timid, bolted home, shouting for the adults.

Two or three yellow dogs bounded out from the village, tails wagging excitedly, circling the cart and barking joyfully.

Soon, many men and women emerged from the village, carrying iron pitchforks and hoes, peering toward the entrance, worried that bandits had arrived. After all, in this sparsely populated, remote hollow, visitors were rare, and two strangers appearing at once was almost unheard of.

Da Niu, with sharp eyes, spotted several familiar faces among the villagers. He waved wildly from the cart and shouted with excitement, "Hey, isn't that Er Gouzi? And Xiao Liu Zi! That’s Uncle Shi, and Sister Zhang! It’s Da Niu, remember me?"

"Da Niu!"

"Brother Qin! They’re back!"

The villagers stared in disbelief. Some who had left the village years ago had returned. Although they had changed significantly upon growing up, the familiar outlines remained. Several were childhood playmates of Ye Qin and Da Niu, and their youthful features were faintly visible. The adults’ appearances had changed less, making them instantly recognizable.

The donkey cart, surrounded by the throng of villagers, entered the settlement, everyone eagerly babbling questions about their experiences over the past years.

Several village women noticed the baskets loaded onto the cart and gasped. "Da Niu, is this donkey cart yours?" "What’s in these big baskets? Coarse cloth? Come look, a whole load of fine coarse cloth!" "And fine pottery! Wonderful things, only people in the county town use this stuff." The villagers were astonished.

Da Niu laughed heartily, "Don't grab, don't grab, there’s enough for everyone! Da Niu and Brother Qin are back from the county town, and we brought a generous gift for every single household."

"Young Ye family boy, hurry home now. Go check on your father’s condition."

The kindly looking Elder Shi, his pipe dangling heavily, spoke to Ye Qin.

Ye Qin paused, murmured, "Mhm!" then quickly jumped off the cart. He instructed Da Niu to handle the load of dried goods. Slinging his own pack over his shoulder, he followed the faint memories of five or six years ago back into the village, arriving at his own small earthen courtyard. From a distance, he caught the strong, pungent scent of medicinal herbs. Having spent so many years at the Herb Gathering Hall, he knew the smell of countless herbs intimately. A single whiff told him it was a poultice used for severe bone injuries.