Ye Qin instantly understood that this old Daoist with a medicinal plaster stuck to his forehead was a cultivator who made a living by trading. People like this were often local power brokers in Xian Yuan City, buying and selling goods from newcomers. Ye Qin had seen plenty of these local snakes back in Zhu Qi County and wanted nothing to do with them, lest he be swindled without even realizing it.

He deliberately decided to make things difficult for the old Daoist, hoping to make him retreat, and said, "Are you truly omniscient? Do you know the current situations of the Nan family in Pingzhou, Wuguo, and the Feng family in Dingzhou, Wuguo?"

"The Nan clan of Pingzhou, Wuguo, and the Feng clan of Dingzhou, Wuguo? Wait a moment, this poor Daoist shall look it up."

To Ye Qin's surprise, the old Daoist, completely unhurried, pulled out a worn, small yellow booklet from his carrying basket. He licked his finger, shook his head, and mumbled, "Heh~, this Wuguo, let this poor Daoist find where Wuguo is... Wuguo seems to be located at..."

After rummaging for a good while, the old Daoist could not find Wuguo in his booklet, let alone the Nan and Feng families in Pingzhou.

Ye Qin watched the old Daoist with amusement and mocked, "Didn't you say you know everything? How can such a small question stump you?"

The old Daoist's eyes darted around. Knowing Ye Qin was deliberately setting a trap, he brazenly smiled with forced geniality, "This esteemed Daoist friend may not know, but this poor Daoist has dedicated his life's effort to recording the affairs of the world in this Book of All Knowledge Under Heaven. However, the affairs of the world are too vast; there is simply no room to record such minor matters. As for the Nan and Feng clans, do they have cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or higher?"

Ye Qin pondered for a moment. "Probably not." If they did, he should have known by now.

"Then that is correct. Families without such a foundation likely originated from rogue cultivators, merely having birthed a few children capable of cultivation. The clan lacks even a single Foundation Establishment cultivator, so calling them cultivation families is an overstatement; they do not yet qualify for this poor Daoist's Book of All Knowledge. A true cultivation family must have produced at least one cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage or above. Those who dare to call themselves Great Cultivation Families are even more remarkable, requiring at least one Core Formation cultivator. Esteemed Daoist friend, do you wish to inquire about any other news?"

The old Daoist seemed rather pleased with himself. He had completely deflected the reason why his Book of All Knowledge couldn't locate the Nan and Feng clans. The plaster on his forehead seemed to curl up with his delighted grin.

Ye Qin, however, was momentarily stunned. The Nan and Feng families were, apparently, not even considered true cultivation families, possessing only a slightly higher status than a rogue cultivator like himself.

Ye Qin could glean nothing useful from this plaster-wearing old Daoist and, having no other immediate questions, bid him farewell and turned to leave.

Seeing Ye Qin about to depart, the old Daoist quickly pulled out a transparent crystal ruler from his carrying basket and shouted, "Esteemed Daoist friend, please don't rush off! This poor Daoist has many more wonderful things here. They will be extremely helpful to your cultivation! Have you measured your potential? Do you know which cultivation technique suits you best?"

Ye Qin froze, stopping in his tracks. "Measure what potential?"

The old Daoist hurried to explain, "Your Spiritual Root potential, of course! What other potential could there be?"

Ye Qin grew more confused. "But what is Spiritual Root potential? Does it have something to do with the Spiritual Roots themselves?"

Upon hearing this, the old Daoist rolled his eyes so hard he nearly went cross-eyed. He finally realized that the person before him severely lacked certain basic cultivation common sense. But that was even better—it meant he could earn money more easily and offload the goods in his basket.

The old Daoist enthusiastically leaned in:

"Spiritual Roots are the innate ability cultivators possess to sense the Spiritual Qi, divided into eight types, determining the cultivation methods and magical affinities. Spiritual Root Potential, however, is the degree of excellence of the Spiritual Root itself, directly determining the speed of cultivation for techniques and spells. The lowest total floor for Spiritual Root Potential is one point, and the highest total ceiling is one hundred points. This 'Sky Measuring Ruler' in this poor Daoist's possession is specifically designed to measure Spiritual Root Potential. Each marking on it represents one point of Spiritual Root Potential. Measuring Spiritual Root Potential is the foremost priority for any cultivator embarking on the path of immortality—it cannot be treated carelessly! Only after knowing your potential can you seek out the most suitable cultivation technique. If you measure nothing and randomly pick a technique, the consequences are severe. At best, you waste your cultivation progress, leading to lifelong regret; at worst, you risk qi deviation or exploding and dying. Therefore, the first essential task in cultivation is to measure your Spiritual Root Potential. Measuring once costs only ten gold leaves—an absolute bargain."

The old Daoist's expression was utterly solemn, as if the sky would collapse if Ye Qin failed to measure his Spiritual Root Potential.

Ye Qin was momentarily unsure if the situation was truly that dire. If the Spiritual Root Potential was as crucial as the old Daoist claimed, then ten gold leaves, while a bit pricey, were worth the cost. It might offer some aid later when choosing techniques and spell systems.

"Fine, measure it for me."

The old Daoist was overjoyed. He quickly led Ye Qin to the side of a street in the city, enthusiastically shoving the Sky Measuring Ruler into Ye Qin's hand, instructing him to use a faint trace of magic power to activate it.

The Sky Measuring Ruler, made of some unknown crystal material, was transparent, sparkling, and quite mystical.

As soon as Ye Qin channeled a faint burst of spiritual power into it, the markings on the ruler began to light up one after another. First, a faint golden light appeared bit by bit, representing the Metal Spiritual Root.

The old Daoist counted meticulously, finger by finger.

"Metal Spiritual Root, one, two... twenty points of potential! Esteemed Daoist friend, your Metal Spiritual Root potential is quite good, reaching twenty points means you are at least at an average level! This poor Daoist suggests you study Metal-based techniques... Eh~, it hasn't stopped, the Wood potential is still rising!"

Before he could finish speaking, the old Daoist exclaimed in astonishment, "Wood Spiritual Root, twenty-two points of potential! Wow~! The Wood potential is two points higher than the Metal potential. It seems learning Wood-based techniques would be better for you."

But as soon as those words left his mouth, an even more astonishing event unfolded. Following the cyan light representing Wood, the ruler continued to display blue, red, and yellow lights, almost all exceeding twenty points. The Earth element was as high as twenty-four points.

The old Daoist's expression grew increasingly strange.

Amazement: Reaching over sixty points of potential was already an astonishing cultivation talent.

Horror: It was approaching one hundred points of potential... no, it had broken past one hundred points!

By the end, he was simply gaping, darting his eyes back and forth between the Sky Measuring Ruler and Ye Qin.

The old Daoist quickly used his fingers to calculate the sum of all five elemental Spiritual Root potentials and discovered the total reached over one hundred and ten points. He was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped wide enough to fit a large duck egg.

"This is impossible! One hundred points of Spiritual Root Potential is the absolute total limit; in billions of years, no cultivator has ever broken this record. Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Ye Qin remained silent. He somewhat understood what this Spiritual Root Potential was.

On his Purple Mansion's Natal Primordial Spirit Tablet, the inscription clearly read: "Metal twenty, Wood twenty, Water twenty, Fire twenty, Earth twenty." If his guess was correct, those were the Spiritual Root Potentials. It was just that the measurement from the Sky Measuring Ruler had some deviation, showing slightly more than the specific numbers inscribed on the Natal Primordial Spirit Tablet.

The old Daoist looked as if he had seen a ghost, sweat beading on his forehead as he frantically wiped his Sky Measuring Ruler with his sleeve. "This Sky Measuring Ruler hasn't been used in a while, there might be some deviation. In truth, the measurement of Spiritual Root Potential is most accurate before a cultivator has begun practicing any technique, without any error. But after reaching the Qi Refining stage, the influx of Yuan Qi causes the measured potential to usually be slightly higher. This poor Daoist estimates that your Spiritual Root Potential should be at least around ninety. Alas, you possess the Five Spiritual Roots, which dilutes the potential, making each root around twenty. If a Single Spiritual Root had a potential of ninety, you would be a rare genius in Xian Yuan City for a thousand years; in a hundred years, you would surely be the foremost figure in the city. What a pity! Little brother, though this result is disheartening, you must try to remain calm and not do anything foolish because of it! Life is long, the immortal path is ethereal, and many beautiful things still await you!"

"..."

Ye Qin was speechless.