```

In the sky, layers of dark clouds, moved by the wild wind, rotated like vast black millstones.

Gradually, the center of the swirling clouds revealed a vortex.

Deep within the vortex, electric arcs flitted about; countless arcs flowed together like streams, gradually converging as if a snake were flicking its tongue, with a crackling explosion...

In the depths of the mountain range, spirit beasts groaned lowly. It was as if they sensed something, emitting restless, mournful cries.

Even the flying beasts that usually hunted at night quietly lay low.

As Wang Xiaoqiang's incantation became more and more urgent, the dark clouds in the sky pressed lower and lower, as if the entire sky was about to collapse,

and the vortex within the cloud seemed to be aimed right at the mountaintop below, to be precise, at Wang Xiaoqiang, who was seated cross-legged on the mountaintop...

Suddenly...

The world suddenly brightened, and a massive bolt of lightning, like a silver ribbon, leaped down from the vortex in the clouds, splitting the air and striking down to the earth, landing on Wang Xiaoqiang's hands raised above his head.

The next moment...

Wang Xiaoqiang's hair stood on end, stiff as wire. At the same time, his eyes, tightly shut, burst open, bulging as if they were about to pop out, his robes inflating like sails before exploding into ashes.

Exhale… Inhale… Exhale… Inhale…

Wang Xiaoqiang steadied his mind and practiced the Breathing Technique according to the Heart Technique Incantation of the Thunderclap Annihilation Palm, not daring to be careless or sloppy.

As the electric arc entered, his muscles writhed as if countless worms had burrowed into them,

and the patterned beast on his back suddenly appeared vivid and lively, emitting a high-pitched, sharp scream while an aura filled with wild barbaric energy spread out…

Under the vast majesty of the heavens, myriad beasts wailed in unison, and the Yan Mountain Range was filled with a restless, uneasy atmosphere.

About a minute later, the world returned to darkness, and the mountain range to silence; Wang Xiaoqiang's violently writhing body also calmed down.

Wang Xiaoqiang lowered his hands, remaining seated, and took a long breath. There was a look of relief and ease on his face as if he had narrowly survived a catastrophe.

Just now, he used a secret spell to draw thunder and lightning into his body, feeling the overwhelming lightning almost bursting him open. Fortunately, by constantly practicing the Breathing Technique and guiding the lightning into the meridians all over his body, he managed to completely dissolve that vast heavenly might.

However, such strange arts were extremely dangerous; the slightest mistake would have caused his body to explode and die.

Wang Xiaoqiang licked his cracked lips, thinking to himself:

This Divine Art of cultivation for Innate Creatures is truly not something an ordinary cultivator can practice casually. If I had not reached the Sixth Layer of the Body Refining Realm and greatly improved the quality of my skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and blood, and if the patterned beast hadn't absorbed a considerable amount of lightning, I would probably have been blown to smithereens by that bolt!

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

...

At this moment, Wang Xiaoqiang felt his body full of fiery power, especially in his hands, where streams of electric-like energy roamed, giving him a desire to fight.

Standing up, he took a deep breath, concentrated all his power in his right hand, and struck out into thin air with his palm.

Crack!

A loud bang followed, and a meter-long lightning shot out from his palm, with impressive power.

This time, refining the lightning had doubled the power of the Thunderclap Annihilation Palm, if not more.

Suddenly, a pair of flying beasts screeched across the sky from afar. Wang Xiaoqiang looked up and saw a pair of Fire Luan. He immediately took out his Sun-Shooting Bow and aimed at the two Fire Luan, quickly releasing two arrows with a single draw.

The instant he fired the Gang Qi Arrows, Wang Xiaoqiang released 1,000,000 Spirit Springs from his body, disguising himself as a cultivator at the Second Stage of the True Immortal Realm.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two Gang Qi Arrows sped into the bodies of the Fire Luan.

Rushing to escape before the heavy rain, the two unsuspecting Fire Luan never thought they would be attacked at this time. Wounded by the arrows without any guard, their bodies shook, and they almost fell from the sky. In pain and anger, upon discovering that their attacker was a cultivator, and merely a lowly Second Stage of the True Immortal Realm at that, the Fire Luan were filled with fury.

Despite their significant arrow wounds, upon seeing such an insignificant cultivator daring to challenge them, they were not about to let it go easily.

They issued angry shrieks and swiftly turned in the sky, diving towards Wang Xiaoqiang.

Wang Xiaoqiang's face showed a playful smile. Before the Fire Luan could reach him, he drew his bow again and quickly fired two more arrows at the charging birds.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The whistling sound of the arrows filled the air, and the Gang Qi Arrows, brimming with ferocity, shot out—but this time the Fire Luan were on guard, so they dodged the arrows.

Seeing that a True Immortal Realm Second Stage nobody was not afraid of them and had attacked once more, the rage of the two Fire Luan swelled even more. With angry roars, they lunged down again, reaching a distance of only thirty meters from Wang Xiaoqiang. They opened their mouths and spat out two streams of flames.

Wang Xiaoqiang's willpower moved, and the patterned beast flew out from his back, roaring angrily, and spat out a blast of flame much thicker than before toward the Fire Luan.

The three solid-looking flames collided mid-air, booming dully like a volcano erupting, and the fiery blaze burst forth in a spectacular display, lighting up the mountaintop below a bright red.

Seeing that their opponent had a Pet Beast for protection, the Fire Luan paused briefly before continuing their charge without a second thought.

When the Fire Luan reached about ten meters from Wang Xiaoqiang, he withdrew all 1,000,000 Spirit Springs into his body, and suddenly...

Boom! Boom! Boom…

```

His spiritual power surged within him, and in an instant, he transformed from a cultivator at the second stage of the True Immortal Realm into a powerhouse at the ninth stage.

To tell the truth, a cultivator at the second stage of the True Immortal Realm was no match for two Fire Luans, but a powerhouse at the ninth stage of the True Immortal Realm would give the two Fire Luans pause,

If they had known that Wang Xiaoqiang was at the ninth stage of the True Immortal Realm while they were still in the sky, they would have certainly not rashly dived down,

But now, it was too late for regrets.

Wang Xiaoqiang took a deep breath, and with both palms thrust forward, he struck at the two Fire Luans that had swooped in close.

Crack! Crack!

From his palms shot two giant electric arcs, each a meter long, that thunderously struck the heads of the two Fire Luans.

"Aow! Aow!"

The two Fire Luans let out pained screams, their bodies turning nearly numb from the electric shock, and they clumsily fell onto the mountaintop.

Seizing the opportunity, the Patterned Beast pounced down on them.

As it leapt, it spewed a blast of flame.

Whoosh...

The flame, tangible as substance, quickly ignited the feathers of the two Fire Luans, causing the flames to burn fiercely and black smoke to rise as their agonized cries echoed...

Wang Xiaoqiang once again drew the Sun-Shooting Bow, still firing two arrows simultaneously, which, marked with electric arcs, soared towards the two Fire Luans writhing in the flames.

Whoosh whoosh!

The two Fire Luans, busy trying to extinguish the flames on their bodies, were caught off guard as the two Gang Qi arrows pierced their heads.

The arrows elicited two more cries of pain from the birds, each more piercing and fainter than the last...

By now, the Patterned Beast had pounced on them, biting one of the Fire Luan's necks... ending its life.

Before the other Fire Luan could rise, the Patterned Beast pounced and pinned it down as well, biting into its neck in the same manner.

Blood gushed out, staining the ground.

Seeing both Fire Luans were dead, Wang Xiaoqiang stowed the Sun-Shooting Bow, and with his will, instructed the Patterned Beast to quickly deal with both Fire Luans. The beast tore open their abdomens with its claws and teeth, devouring the two Fire Luans completely, leaving only two Spirit Marrows behind.

Wang Xiaoqiang waved his hand, releasing a stream of Water Element Spiritual Qi to clean the bloodied Spirit Marrows, then stored them in the Sumeru Ring. Only then did he recall the Patterned Beast and flew out of Yan Mountain.

Before entering Dragon City, Wang Xiaoqiang took out a robe from the Sumeru Ring and put it on.

No sooner had he donned the robe than a heavy rain began to fall from the sky. Wang Xiaoqiang raised a Gang Qi Barrier to shield himself from the downpour.

Back at the inn, his robe remained dry and untouched by raindrops.

The two Yans daughters were waiting in the inn's room for his return.

Wang Xiaoqiang entered the room, the two women stood to greet him, like two virtuous wives, tenderly taking Wang Xiaoqiang's arms, one on each side, and led him to the table,

The table was laden with delicious delicacies and aged wines.

"Why such a grand feast today?" Wang Xiaoqiang glanced at the table filled with fine food and drink, asking in surprise.

"Today is your birthday!" Yans Ruxue cast a charming glance at Wang Xiaoqiang and lightly chided, "What? Have you forgotten your own birthday?"

Speaking of birthdays, Wang Xiaoqiang did feel somewhat unfamiliar with the concept. He had never seriously celebrated his birthday before, so over time, he had forgotten his own. He was also curious as to how the two Yans daughters remembered his birthday.

So he asked, "How do you remember my birthday?"

"That was easy, just ask an astrologer and they'll know!" Yans Ruyu said with disdain.

"Uh, astrologer? Who is that??"

"Astrologers and physiognomists are the same profession, but astrologers are much more powerful. Physiognomists deal with mortals, astrologers deal with immortals..."

"Uh? So, astrologers can observe the heavens and examine the earth? Can they calculate the past lives of immortals and predict their future?" Wang Xiaoqiang asked curiously.

"Of course," Yans Ruxue said, "My father knows an astrologer named Old Xing, and he can not only see the past and present of an immortal but can also predict the fate of a nation..."

"Uh, that powerful?"

"Absolutely, let me tell you a shocking secret. Old Xing once divined the fate of the Yellow Dragon Empire and discovered that it would change rulers within two years..." Yans Ruxue whispered into Wang Xiaoqiang's ear.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang's mind stirred, and he cautiously said, "Whether this is true or not, it must not be spread, or it could lead to death..."

"Of course, I trust you, that's why I told you," Yans Ruxue glanced at Wang Xiaoqiang repbroachfully.

"Haha, let's not talk about those useless matters. Since today is my birthday, let's drink to our heart's content..."

"Come on, Little Qiang, we wish you a happy birthday!" The two Yans daughters each raised their glasses.

The three of them downed a glass.

"Now, allow me to propose a toast to you," Wang Xiaoqiang said while hugging Yans Ruxue around the neck with his left hand and Yans Ruyu around the waist with his right. After taking a big gulp of wine into his mouth, he leaned towards Yans Ruxue and fed half the mouthful to her. Then he turned to Yans Ruyu and passed the remaining half into her mouth.

The two women showed a hint of bashful blush, their cheeks growing redder, blooming like flowers... (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

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