She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar

During grand festivals, the happiest thing for independent cultivators—whether they already have a sect or aren’t in a hurry to join one—is browsing the marketplace.

Just as a woman’s wardrobe is always missing one more dress, an artificer’s treasury is forever short of one more material.

Perched in Yan Gan’s arms, Yan Luoyue happily let her two older brothers carry her as they swept through the market from one end to the other.

Silver-ringed soil? Buy. Twin-heart stones? Buy. Frost-drifting dew? Buy.

In short, the motto was: Buy, buy, buy!

Without hesitation, Yan Luoyue splurged on materials worth hundreds of spirit stones in one go.

A small incident occurred when she purchased the twin-heart stones.

After all, twin-heart stones were originally used for matrimonial vows between cultivation partners.

These stones were always sold in pairs.

For cultivators below the Golden Core stage, once bound, the two parties would become like inseparable lovebirds—if one died, the other would never live on alone.

But couples who could reach such devotion were far too rare.

Over time, these stones became more commonly used to seal cooperative pacts between allies. Once their shared goal was achieved, the bond would be dissolved.

So, when Yan Gan saw Yan Luoyue buying these stones, his first thought was…

"Little sister, do you have another big business deal in the works?"

Rubbing her temples, Yan Luoyue felt her image in Yan Gan’s mind was becoming increasingly outrageous. "I don’t."

Yan Gan nodded knowingly. "Understood—still in the planning stages."

Yan Luoyue protested innocently, "No, I really don’t!"

Just as she reached into her storage pouch to check how many spirit stones she had left, Yan Gan suddenly pointed at a roadside stall and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, that’s expensive."

Hm? What was it?

Following his gaze, Yan Luoyue’s face lit up with a smile when she saw the item on display.

"A small bundle of grass for a thousand spirit stones? That really is expensive."

But it was worth the price.

The stall owner sat stiffly with a stern expression, his wares consisting solely of a bundle of what looked like dried grass.

The "grass" had a dark, ink-like base but shimmered with frost-like speckles, creating a mesmerizing glow from afar.

In Yan Luoyue’s memory, this was a rare and precious incense.

It could serve as a calming agent in alchemy or be bundled into sachets, soothing the mind and perfuming the body. It even had a slight nourishing effect on the souls of Golden Core cultivators and above.

Though the item was rare, it had nothing to do with Yan Luoyue as an artificer.

Just as she patted Yan Gan’s arm, signaling they should move on, a sudden thought crossed her mind.

"Ah—wait, Brother, I’ll take this."

Despite his earlier complaint about the price, Yan Gan didn’t hesitate when Yan Luoyue decided to buy it, immediately reaching for his storage pouch.

"It’s pretty pricey—did you bring enough money?"

Hearing this, Sang Ji also started digging out his purse. "Don’t worry, if you’re short, I’ve got some here too."

Yan Luoyue stopped both generous gentlemen with a hand each.

"No need! You both know I just made a huge profit recently!"

After carefully stowing away the bundle of "Twenty-Eight Star Incense," the trio continued their market stroll.

Not far ahead, a bustling stall caught their attention.

A casual glance revealed a familiar face in the crowd—none other than "Brother Tang," the former tyrant of the Profit Class.

Sang Ji and Yan Gan also noticed their old rival.

They had once brawled with Brother Tang and his lackeys, resulting in hundreds of pages of punishment calligraphy.

Brother Tang, meanwhile, had been disciplined by Instructor Dong with ten firm lashes of the teaching rod, leaving him absent from class the next day.

After that defeat, his followers scattered like rats from a sinking ship, flocking to a new leader.

But Brother Tang himself remained unreconciled, often glaring at Yan Gan’s group with venomous resentment.

Spotting their adversary in the crowd, Sang Ji exchanged a glance with Yan Gan.

Curious, the three edged closer and found a formation master promoting his "One-Time Portable Teleportation Array."

The jade ball inscribed with the formation was no larger than a longan fruit.

Yet when the stall owner tossed it to the ground, the folded sphere instantly expanded into a three-foot-wide array.

Intricate, luminous lines formed the complex design, giving off an air of sophistication.

"Random teleportation within fifty li! I’ve sold these arrays for thirty years—never cheated a single customer."

"Look, these three gentlemen here are all previous buyers. Ask them about their experiences!"

Customer A passionately testified: "Last time I went out training, I stumbled upon two groups fighting over a seventh-rank demon beast. Heh, pardon my lack of modesty, but I snatched the beast’s core and activated the array to escape…"

The crowd gasped. "Ooooh!"

So *that’s* how you use a teleportation array—what an eye-opener!

Customer B thumped his chest. "My luck was just average. Once, I got randomly sent into some clan’s treasure vault. Good thing I bought extra arrays—I used another one to get out…"

Someone shouted from the crowd: "Bet your storage pouch was stuffed when you left!"

Customer B smirked. "Heh, let’s just say some things go without saying."

The third customer, Customer C, had a shifty, impatient look. He rubbed his hands before speaking.

"I must’ve had the worst luck. When I activated my array, I didn’t find any demon beasts or treasures—just splashing water and… well, soft, fragrant jade."

"I looked up, and guess what? I’d accidentally landed right in a young lady’s bathtub…"

Before he could finish, Yan Gan and Sang Ji moved like lightning, each covering one of Yan Luoyue’s ears.

Noticing Brother Tang’s face alight with envy as he waved spirit stones and shoved his way to the front, Sang Ji scoffed.

"Let’s go. Staying any longer would just dirty our little sister’s ears."

Once they squeezed out of the crowd, they released Yan Luoyue’s ears. Yan Gan adjusted her in his arms and looked into her eyes seriously.

"Don’t listen to their nonsense. None of that is honorable. You mustn’t learn from them, understand?"

Sang Ji chuckled lazily. "Our little sister’s too clever to fall for that."

"A seventh-rank demon beast is at least late-stage Foundation Building. If that first guy really snatched such a prize, I’ll eat my own head."

Yan Gan smoothed Yan Luoyue’s braid. "Even ordinary towns have wards against rogue teleportation arrays, let alone clan vaults. His tall tales can only fool idiots."

A mischievous grin crept onto Sang Ji’s face.

"As for that third scenario… Hmph, I’d *love* to see that guy try teleporting into *our* family’s bathing pool."

The bathing pool of the Black Kiss Crocodile clan was an all-natural mud pit. Rows of crocodiles half-submerged themselves in the warm, muddy water, with no fewer than twenty pairs of eyes lurking beneath the surface.

If a guest accidentally fell into the male demons' pool, they might still get a chance to explain themselves. But if they tumbled into the female demons' pool… well, no words were needed—just wait for the sisters and aunties to chomp down with a couple of loud crunches, chew a few times, and call it a day.

Earlier, at the teleportation array market, Yan Luoyue had witnessed the raw, unfiltered marketing tactics of the cultivation world. Now, her two brothers had treated her to a crash course on anti-scam strategies.

For a moment, Yan Luoyue felt her horizons broadening. It turned out that the cultivation world’s bag of tricks was no less extensive than the one from her past life.

It was only after this incident that Yan Gan and Sang Ji suddenly realized—despite Yan Luoyue’s sharp mind, she had never been exposed to such depths of human deceit. So, they took turns giving her a thorough education on the subject.

The two of them spoke freely, covering everything from fraud schemes to honey traps.

When discussing scams, Sang Ji even used their first meeting with Yan Luoyue as an example, elaborating on the "Eight Common Techniques of Fraud." Yan Luoyue couldn’t help but wonder more than once—Brother Ji, are you doing this on purpose?

In short, the protective instincts of these two brothers were practically palpable.

If the cultivation world had something like a National Anti-Fraud Center app, Yan Gan and Sang Ji would’ve undoubtedly installed it on Yan Luoyue’s device right then and there.

By the time they finished this crash course on worldly wisdom, Yan Gan smacked his lips, still feeling like he hadn’t covered everything.

"As for the rest… we’ll tell you when you come across it in the future."

Yan Luoyue let out a long sigh of relief.

Noticing that Sang Ji seemed about to add something, she quickly pointed at a nearby stall. "Brother, I want to see that!"

"Alright." Yan Gan leaned down and nuzzled her little cheek. "I’ll carry you over."

Originally, Yan Luoyue had just randomly pointed at the most crowded stall nearby. But upon closer inspection, she actually grew quite intrigued.

The stall was lined with uniformly sized white porcelain bottles, each containing medicinal pills. Common elixirs weren’t anything special, but what made this stall so popular and sought-after was its product—the Age-Reducing Pills.

The vendor cheerfully wiped sweat from his brow. "Only twenty bottles left, fairies! Buy now before they’re gone!"

It was at this moment that Yan Gan squeezed his way into the crowd of chattering women.

Though everyone was busy shopping, they couldn’t help but chuckle when they looked up and saw the handsome young man carrying his little sister.

One female cultivator covered her mouth with a hand and teased, "Young man, are you here to buy some Age-Reducing Pills for yourself?"

Yan Gan hastily waved his hands. "No, it's for my sister—"

The women turned to look and immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha, little sister, it’s way too early for you to take this medicine!"

"Why would you need to reduce your age? Look at that face—it’s so tender you could pinch water out of it!"

Some of the girls found Yan Luoyue irresistibly adorable, her round cheeks as fair as jade and pink as snow, and happily handed her a few pieces of candy.

Yan Luoyue absentmindedly accepted the treats with a thank-you, but her eyes remained fixed on a small blue-labeled bottle tucked away in the corner of the stall.

To everyone else, the tiny porcelain bottle seemed insignificant, but to Yan Luoyue, it might as well have been glowing.

The label bore three bold characters: Age-*Increasing* Pills.

Yan Luoyue: "!!!"

Wait a minute… does this mean…?

Yan Luoyue: To be honest, I’m currently entertaining a very bold idea…

The first thing Yan Luoyue did upon returning home was test out this "bold idea" of hers.

She uncorked the white porcelain bottle labeled "Age-Increasing Pills," and a rather unremarkable brown pill obediently rolled into her palm.

Leaning in for a sniff, she caught a faint medicinal fragrance.

Her knowledge of pills was nowhere near her expertise in artifact crafting, but she could at least tell that this one wouldn’t harm her.

Steeling herself, Yan Luoyue took a deep breath and swallowed the pill in one go.

The effects were immediate.

Almost as soon as the pill dissolved, her bones began crackling all over her body.

At the same time, her height increased inch by inch. Her once well-fitting clothes grew tight and constricting before finally splitting at the seams. Her line of sight steadily rose—from barely reaching the seat of the chair to easily clearing the windowsill.

The dressing mirror on the table reflected the graceful figure of a young girl. Now, Yan Luoyue looked like she was thirteen or fourteen years old.

According to the vendor, the effects of Age-Increasing Pills could be stacked.

Meaning, if Yan Luoyue swallowed two pills at once, she could temporarily appear as a woman in her early twenties.

But that wasn’t what caught her attention first.

Being able to see her future self was a rare opportunity. Yet, Yan Luoyue didn’t spare the mirror more than a glance. Instead, her hopeful gaze immediately shot upward—toward the HP bar floating above her head.

And then…

The sparkle in Yan Luoyue’s eyes dimmed with disappointment.

The HP bar hadn’t changed at all. It was still just as short as before…

Sulking, she flopped onto the bed and haphazardly wrapped herself in a blanket. Soon enough, she figured out the logic behind it.

The Age-Increasing Pill didn’t *actually* make her age by over a decade in an instant—it only made her *appear* older.

Of course, anything related to time or space involved high-level universal laws. How could something like that be casually sold at a market stall?

If Age-Increasing Pills could truly accelerate time, the profession of assassins would be obsolete.

"—Don’t like someone? Just slip an Age-Increasing Pill into their tea.

There isn’t a single problem in the world that one Age-Increasing Pill can’t solve. And if there is? Just throw in a second one."

Amused by her own imagination, Yan Luoyue patted her cheeks and adjusted her mindset.

Even if Age-Increasing Pills couldn’t extend her HP bar, they were still incredibly useful in her current state.

For example, after taking the pill, all Yan Luoyue needed was to throw on the concealing cloak she’d crafted earlier, and she could venture out alone without Yan Gan or Sang Ji.

Moreover, the pill had given her a new idea.

For instance…

Even if Age-Increasing Pills couldn’t make her *actually* grow older, what if she could synchronize an enemy’s HP percentage to decrease alongside hers? That would achieve the same end result!

Speaking of synchronized HP percentages…

Yan Luoyue’s eyes glinted, and her hands very honestly dug into her storage pouch.

Hadn’t she bought a few pairs of Heart-Linking Stones earlier?

Now, let her brainstorm how to refine this material—how to bypass the complicated binding ritual of the Heart-Linking Stones while also avoiding the "if one dies, the other follows" side effect.

Hmm, first, she needed to analyze the stone’s composition…

Early the next morning, as soon as Yan Luoyue arrived at the academy, she went straight to find Teacher Jiang.

Yan Luoyue knew that Jiang Tingbai had the habit of practicing swordplay at the martial arts training ground early in the morning, so she deliberately urged Yan Gan to leave the house early.

As soon as she dropped her schoolbag at her seat, she dashed out on her little feet, catching Jiang Tingbai right at the training ground.

Sensing Yan Luoyue’s approach with his spiritual awareness, Jiang Tingbai sheathed his sword in advance and flicked his sleeve, dispersing the sharp sword intent lingering in the air. By the time Yan Luoyue reached the entrance of the training ground, all she saw was Master Jiang watching her with leisurely composure.

"Master!"

Jiang Tingbai smiled gently. "Do you need my help with something again? Don’t rush—catch your breath first before speaking."

Yan Luoyue widened her eyes and gave him a mock-stern look. "Master is teasing me—when I come to see you, it can be for good things too!"

Jiang Tingbai hummed thoughtfully, drawing out an exaggerated "Ohhh." "Then it seems I’ve been inconsiderate. Thank you for enlightening me."

This was clearly a joke, and Yan Luoyue didn’t bother arguing.

She reached into the storage pouch at her waist, her small hands—like little biscuits—producing a box.

The box was quite large, completely obscuring her tiny bun hairstyle, and its size was somewhat unwieldy for her current stature. She had to use her cultivation strength to hold it steady.

Jiang Tingbai sounded surprised but took the box without hesitation. "For me?"

What required both of Yan Luoyue’s arms to carry, he held effortlessly with one hand.

When he opened the lid, a dazzling glow of treasures instantly illuminated Jiang Tingbai’s refined and handsome face.

Yan Luoyue watched him eagerly, only to see, for the first time, such a vividly torn expression between amusement and exasperation on this man’s face.

Jiang Tingbai shook his head with a helpless laugh. For a moment, he was utterly at a loss for words. "You… *sigh*, why are you giving me this?"

Inside the box were none other than five hundred neatly stacked lower-grade spirit stones.

At that moment, Jiang Tingbai was torn between laughter, the urge to return the box immediately, and the concern that it might be too heavy for her small frame—a truly sweet dilemma.

Yan Luoyue said earnestly, "Ever since I started school, Master has helped me countless times. I’ve always been under your care and wanted to repay you, but never had the chance."

"Those storage pouches I mentioned before have been sold, and these spirit stones are your payment—a token of appreciation."

The mention of "payment" only made Jiang Tingbai recall the words *"Canglang Sect, awoo~"* he had written for her, and he nearly laughed again.

"You’re my student. Did you think I’d refuse to write a few words for you? ‘Payment’ is unnecessary."

Jiang Tingbai lifted the hem of his robe, crouching down to Yan Luoyue’s level. He gently reminded her, "Hold tight," before carefully placing the box back into her arms.

His tone was kind but firm.

"You’re a good child, and I appreciate the sentiment. If you ever need calligraphy again, just ask—but don’t ever…"

He trailed off, shaking his head, unable to suppress another chuckle.

She really was a good kid.

But this was just too much.

Realizing Jiang Tingbai’s resolve, Yan Luoyue reluctantly took the box back.

She wasn’t too disappointed, though—given Jiang Tingbai’s character, she had already anticipated he might refuse the payment.

So, she had prepared a backup plan.

"Then, Master, at least accept this storage pouch."

Yan Luoyue rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a small, adorable storage pouch to hand to Jiang Tingbai.

The pouch was printed with a chibi wolf head and the words *"Canglang Sect, awoo~"*—identical to the ones sold to the Canglang Sect, except this one had been set aside for personal use.

A warmth flickered in Jiang Tingbai’s eyes, like ripples across a tranquil lake. His usual demeanor was as serene as a breeze and moonlight, but with this gentle smile, he radiated the softness of spring and the glow of a haloed moon.

"Alright."

His slender, pale fingers took the pouch, and he examined it with genuine appreciation, never dismissing her effort just because she was a child.

When his gaze landed on the printed calligraphy, he paused briefly in surprise.

*To think she could even replicate sword intent… I had assumed…*

Before Yan Luoyue could notice his momentary astonishment, Jiang Tingbai smiled again—this time with pride, admiration, and happiness for her.

"Your talent for artifact forging… exceeds my expectations."

Yan Luoyue blinked. "Huh? Master understands forging?"

Jiang Tingbai shook his head. "I don’t."

Yan Luoyue thought smugly, *Heh, I knew it.*

*If Master knew forging, he wouldn’t be this poor.*

Unaware of her inner teasing, Jiang Tingbai patted her head gently.

"I don’t know forging, and you don’t know sword intent—but together, we’ve created something quite remarkable. I’ll accept your gift. It’s almost time for class, so hurry back now."

*No problem, as long as he took it.*

Yan Luoyue nodded cheerfully and dashed off like a nimble little deer.

Jiang Tingbai remained crouched in place, watching her leave before standing again.

Curious, he channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the pouch—only to find something else inside.

It was a woven craft, ordinary yet extraordinary at the same time.

Extraordinary because of its material: it was made from *"Twenty-Eight Star Fragrance."* Though the piece itself was only the size of a coin, the amount used would easily fetch a thousand spirit stones on the market.

Ordinary because Yan Luoyue hadn’t shaped it into anything elaborate.

She had simply woven a lifelike little turtle—her own likeness—and nothing more.

Originally, considering Jiang Tingbai was a swordsman, she had debated crafting a tiny sword.

But on second thought, a sword-shaped tassel on a sword seemed a bit redundant, didn’t it?

So, after some deliberation, she decided to weave… herself!

As an artifact forger, Yan Luoyue’s craftsmanship was naturally excellent, and her choice of subject was purely coincidental.

Thus, she couldn’t have predicted Jiang Tingbai’s thoughtful reaction to her gift.

A few seconds later, Jiang Tingbai retrieved a third item from his storage pouch—a half-finished, four-legged, questionably-shaped woven piece, still missing its final touches.

Holding the two crafts side by side, he muttered dejectedly under his breath:

"Even a child weaves better than me…"

Not long after, Yan Luoyue received word from the Canglang Sect, informing her that the Yijian Sect had taken the initiative to seek her out for collaboration.

Given her skills, it was inevitable that her business would grow.

With orders now coming to her doorstep, she naturally had no reason to refuse.

After connecting with the Yijian Sect via communication stone, Yan Luoyue learned that they, too, wanted to place an order—for a thousand storage pouches.

Unlike the Canglang Sect, the affluent Yijian Sect made no request to reduce the storage capacity of the spatial pouches.

In other words, they defaulted to the standard specifications.

The standard size was ideal—each pouch could fetch at least twenty spirit stones.

If this deal went through, it would easily net a profit of nearly twenty thousand.

Yan Luoyue was so delighted that her brush swerved mid-stroke, leaving a small loop on the paper. "Excellent. Do you have any special requests?"

For some reason, the reply from the other side carried a hint of nervousness:

"Our spatial pouches must also bear inscriptions. The content doesn’t matter, but the calligraphy must be done by the same hand as the ones you made for the Canglang Sect."

Yan Luoyue’s smile gradually faded.

This request sounded rather peculiar.

"...What do you mean?"

"Just that—it’s the only requirement."

The breathing on the other end of the communication stone grew slightly heavier as the Yijian Sect representative suddenly considered another possibility.

"Wait… Is the master’s calligraphy difficult to obtain? If so, could you at least tell us who wrote the inscriptions on the previous batch of pouches?"

Yan Luoyue: "..."

Connecting the dots and recalling Jiang Tingbai’s remark—*"I know nothing of artifact refinement, just as you know nothing of sword intent"*—she suddenly understood everything.

Well, now she knew the real reason behind this lucrative order.

Since it involved Jiang Tingbai, she couldn’t agree to it without his explicit approval.

And also...

After exchanging a few polite words, Yan Luoyue ended the communication and covered her face with one hand, slightly embarrassed.

*Ahhh, I really did underpay him for his calligraphy last time!*