11: To be honest, you've hit the jackpot!

Qin Zixuan felt slightly disappointed seeing this, but she quickly put on her clothes. She walked over and picked up a cultivation method, and was immediately shocked.

This was actually a Mid-grade Yellow Rank Cultivation Method, and it was the original manual.

As she flipped through a few pages, Qin Zixuan found it more and more incredible.

This was a genuine Yellow Rank Cultivation Method; there weren't many of these in the entire Huangxuan City.

However, she was also a bit puzzled as to why the name of this cultivation method had been torn off.

"Sister Zixuan, please transcribe these cultivation methods as soon as possible. I have an urgent use for them."

"Understood, Young Master."

With Qin Zixuan's help, it took half a day for these cultivation methods to be quickly transcribed.

Qin Dong took all the transcriptions with him. After handing the original cultivation method manuals to Qin Zixuan, he repeatedly instructed her.

"Sister Zixuan, these cultivation methods are the foundation of our Qin Family. You may use them for cultivation as you wish, but you must not let them spread outside."

"Remember this! Remember this!"

Qin Zixuan's delicate body trembled as she realized: "Thank you, Young Master, for bestowing these cultivation methods."

With so many Yellow Rank Cultivation Methods, our Qin Family is truly formidable.

After finishing this, Qin Dong walked out of Qin Zixuan's cultivation room. Instead of returning to his own, he headed straight for the streets of Songyan City.

At the entrance of a woodshed, someone was in a state of impotent rage.

Zhang Yizhi was extremely annoyed. 'Good for you, Qin Dong! To think you'd arrange such a room for me. Do I not have any dignity left?'

Faced with this situation, the Attendant nearby explained patiently.

"Honored guest, you may not know, but this is a special room of our establishment."

"It can temper a cultivator's state of mind. Many honored guests even specifically request to stay here."

"Because a cultivator once successfully comprehended an artistic conception here, causing a sensation at the time."

"Usually, this place is fully booked. It only happened to become available today for you to check in."

"To be honest, you've made a huge profit."

"A massive profit."

As he spoke, the Attendant even showed a pained expression, as if Zhang Yizhi had just swindled him out of millions of spirit stones.

Hearing the Attendant's words, Zhang Yizhi was slightly stunned, and then a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.

"So that's how it is."

I knew it. Brother Qin is upright and generous; how could he possibly arrange for me to stay in a woodshed?

So there was this underlying meaning. Put that way, he really had stumbled upon a small fortuitous encounter.

He then prepared to enter the woodshed with a look of joy. Just then, a sturdy man happened to brush past Zhang Yizhi.

"That outfit... it seems to be the clothes of Great Cultivator Tianyang from Black Blood Mountain City. How could he be wearing them?"

The sturdy man had walked quite a distance before he suddenly remembered something. He immediately ignited a message talisman.

The talisman burned, turning into a tiny stream of light that flew away. Before long, another tiny stream of light returned.

"What? Great Cultivator Tianyang of Black Blood Mountain City was killed? Blood Fiend Young Master is furious and has offered a bounty of five hundred spirit stones for information on the killer, Zhang Yizhi."

"Zhang Yizhi..."

This matter was of great importance. Although getting involved with Black Blood Mountain City wasn't a wise move, there was no helping it; those five hundred spirit stones were just too tempting.

The sturdy man pondered for a moment and then decided to stake out the area to confirm the situation.

On the streets of Songyan City, Qin Dong stopped.

After leaving Qin Zixuan's cultivation room, Qin Dong had not returned to his own, but had instead walked out of the premises.

The streets of Songyan City extended in all directions, with countless alleys and lanes among them.

Entering an alley devoid of any signs of life, Qin Dong put on the Crying Mask.

As he injected his True Qi, the mask on his face began to change rapidly.

Before long, a thin youth with an ordinary appearance appeared.

The youth's appearance was very ordinary, but it was exactly the same as Zhang Yizhi's, as if cast from the same mold.

After changing his clothes as well, no one would be able to tell he was Qin Dong.

Qin Dong walked out of the dead-end alley and onto the street. After randomly picking a passerby to ask for directions, he learned the location of the auction house.

An hour later, Qin Dong emerged from the auction house feeling quite pleased. He had already handed over the items to the auction staff and now only had to wait for the money.

When the sturdy man saw Qin Dong come out of the auction house, his eyes immediately lit up.

Wasn't this the kid who was wearing Great Cultivator Tianyang's clothes that day? He would recognize him even if he turned to ash. He immediately followed him.

Qin Dong felt someone following him. After a few random turns, he shook the guy off without a trace.

"Hmph, a mere thug at the mid-stage of the Qi Refining Realm dares to try and tail me."

The sturdy man lost his target, but he wasn't discouraged. Instead, he went to the auction house.

"That won't do. A guest's name is a serious matter and cannot be disclosed."

"I hope you'll behave. We have strict rules and high moral standards."

The receptionist refused sternly, but unfortunately, the other party offered far too much.

"Fine, but you can only take one look."

The sturdy man closed the register.

"Aha! It really should be him."

"Based on the timing, it's highly likely!"

The sturdy man's eyes lit up with greed. Although he didn't know why this Zhang Yizhi would use his real name to register, he knew he was about to strike it rich!

...In Black Blood Mountain City, Blood Fiend Young Master let out a cruel, sinister laugh after receiving the information. He pointed a finger at a Middle-aged Man.

"Kill everyone involved. This matter must never be leaked."

"As you command, Young Master."

With that, a powerful aura erupted from the Middle-aged Man's body as he quickly left Black Blood Mountain City and headed straight for Songyan City.

Seven days passed quietly. Inside the cultivation room.

Qin Dong opened his eyes. Feeling the spiritual energy within his body, he couldn't help but be speechless.

Even with the Thick Earth Spirit Body and the assistance of a Spirit Gathering Array, his cultivation had only improved by a tiny bit, and he was still unable to break through.

It seemed that until he resolved the issue with his heart law, he wouldn't be able to break through to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

However, it wasn't a total lack of progress. Qin Dong dropped the completely withered Earth Rank Sword Heart Flower in his hand, feeling a surging sword intent erupting within his body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Sword intent radiated from him, instantly carving tiny sword marks all over the cultivation room.

He wondered how Zhang Yizhi and Qin Zixuan were doing. With the help of the Spirit Gathering Array, they should have gained something.

Oh, right. Zhang Yizhi was staying in a woodshed, so cross that out.

Qin Dong pushed open the door of the cultivation room to find Qin Zixuan and Zhang Yizhi already waiting outside.

"Brother Qin."

"Young Master."

The young girl was now wearing a purple silk dress and had her hair in small braids, giving her a somewhat alluring look. Zhang Yizhi, on the other hand, was still wearing the same dark gold robe from a few days ago, looking quite wicked.

Qin Dong looked closely and saw that both of their cultivations had advanced. Although the former was still only at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, her cultivation was quite solid and not far from the fifth level.

Such speed was already unbelievable. For a normal Qi Refining cultivator, breaking through once every six months was no easy feat.

In the late-stage of the Qi Refining Realm, there were even many who took two or three years just to break through a minor realm.

In comparison, Zhang Yizhi was a complete freak, managing to break through to the fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm even while staying in a woodshed.

"It's the effect of that demon beast flesh."

As if noticing the surprise in Qin Dong's eyes, Qin Zixuan explained with a sweet smile.

Qin Dong realized that all the demon beast flesh this guy had eaten was actually useful and hadn't just turned straight into waste.

"But, Young Master, what about your cultivation?"

Being reminded by Qin Zixuan, Qin Dong remembered that his surface cultivation was still only at the first level of the Qi Refining Realm.

Give me a moment. There.

Qin Dong gathered his breath for a moment.

Puff.

A wave of air surged. On the surface, Qin Dong's aura rose steadily, breaking through two minor realms in a row to reach the third level of the Qi Refining Realm.

"Damn, Brother Qin, do you have to be so casual about it?"

In fact, Qin Zixuan and Zhang Yizhi weren't fools. After witnessing Qin Dong's battle, they knew he was definitely hiding something.

They didn't ask for details, because who doesn't have a few secrets and trump cards?

But one thing was certain: Qin Dong's talent seemed to far exceed theirs.

However, once they thought of this as the Qin Family's hidden card, everything seemed reasonable.

A trump card!

It must be a trump card!

"Let's go. Off to the auction house."

With a wave of his hand, Qin Dong led the two toward the auction house.

Tonight's Songyan City auction house was bustling with excitement. Stepping inside, one could see its grandeur.

The interior of this magnificent auction house had seven floors. Except for the general seating at the very bottom, the other six floors each had rows of small private booths.

At the very top was a row of luxury private suites, seemingly reserved for those Great Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Due to the high value of the items he had consigned, Qin Dong had also secured an entry ticket and arrived at a small booth on the third floor.

Although the booth wasn't very spacious, it had the advantage of being a private space.

Sitting in their chairs, the three waited quietly for the auction to begin.

Half an hour quickly passed. When Qin Dong opened his eyes again, there wasn't a single empty seat left.

Amidst the enthusiastic calls of the crowd, the auction began.

A sexy female cultivator walked onto the center of the auction stage with alluring steps.

She was dressed scantily, revealing a lot of fair skin with every move, making many of the men present lustful.

"This humble one is Qiu Ran. Greetings to everyone."

As she spoke, the female cultivator gave a slight bow. Her lovely little 'rabbits' bounced, causing the eyes of the male cultivators to bounce right along with them.

"Hmph, what a slutty vixen."

Qin Zixuan spat out indignantly. She looked at Zhang Yizhi, whose eyes were practically popping out, and then at Qin Dong, who remained as unmoved as a mountain.

She couldn't help but show a sweet smile, looking very pretty.

"My Young Master's state of mind is still the firmest. Unlike someone whose eyes are practically glued to her."

Hearing this, Zhang Yizhi could only rub his ear and awkwardly withdraw his gaze.

"Heehee, which Great Cultivator senior is using True Essence to peek at me? I've been seen through from top to bottom by you."

The female cultivator scanned the room and smiled charmingly, hurriedly covering her bursting chest.

"Ahem. That fellow Daoist, please behave yourself."

A cough dispersed the many prying True Essence fluctuations; it was the Great Cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Realm guarding the auction house who had stepped in.

Only then did Qin Dong reluctantly open his eyes, and the auction house brought out the first item amidst the strange laughter of the crowd.

It was an ancient secret manual.

The cover of this manual was engraved with some strange symbols and text, looking very mysterious.

"This secret manual was discovered by the seller in an ancient ruin. It is rumored to have been left behind by an Ancient Mighty One."

The charming female cultivator introduced it:

"Although we cannot determine the specific contents of this secret manual, judging by the aura it radiates, it is definitely a rare treasure."

"Starting price, five hundred spirit stones!"

After hearing the host's introduction, the crowd began to discuss it fervently.

Some believed this secret manual was extremely valuable and could greatly increase their strength.

While others thought it was just an ordinary manual and not worth spending so many spirit stones on.

In the end, this secret manual was snatched up by a mysterious guest in a luxury suite on the seventh floor for the high price of two thousand five hundred spirit stones... Countless trillions of voids away, Li Jinian looked at the secret manual through an Origin Projection. With a sweep of the heavenly dao origin, the contents of the manual were laid bare.

But after seeing the contents, his expression became a bit strange.

This is just an Ancient Cookbook.