She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar

Not only Yan Luoyue was paralyzed.

Yan Gan, who was also under the gaze of the small snake, felt a sudden stiffness and sluggishness wash over his body.

The stiffness lasted only half a second before Yan Gan snapped out of it.

Without hesitation, he turned slightly, shielding Yan Luoyue in his arms.

The lively and cheerful boy, who had been all smiles and chatter since their meeting, now wore a stern expression for the first time.

"Uncle, you should have warned me about how dangerous this snake is! It’s one thing if it affects me, but my sister is fragile. What if something happens to her…"

Looking down at Yan Luoyue in his arms, Yan Gan’s face twisted with worry:

"It took so much effort to bring some color back to her cheeks, and now she’s gone pale again."

He pulled one of Yan Luoyue’s hands out from the swaddle and held it up to the light, his breath hitching at what he saw:

"Just one glance from that snake, and she’s almost translucent!"

The demon guest stepped closer, waving his hands apologetically:

"My apologies, my apologies! I assumed all children of the Turtle Clan were naturally strong and healthy. I didn’t realize… Ah, young man, you have no idea how troublesome this demon snake is!"

The demon guest seemed to have a mountain of grievances to unload about the snake.

After all, the snake was tiny, no longer than a palm, and shrouded in a thick layer of demonic energy.

It had hidden itself within the dense demonic mist, blending seamlessly with the miasma seeping from the seal. No one had noticed the little creature at first.

But soon, the group realized something was wrong.

—Because their movements had become stuttered and jerky.

The effect was like watching puppets on a stage, their joints creaking from lack of oil.

One step, then a pause. Lifting a foot, then another pause. Turning to speak to a teammate, yet another pause.

To an outsider, it might have looked like their bodies were breaking down, ready to be scrapped.

Yan Gan listened intently, then chimed in: "How strange. Was it because the snake was watching you?"

"Exactly," the guest grumbled, grinding his teeth. "We were all cursing, 'Damn it, screw your grandmother!' If we’d known who was behind this, I’d have ripped their head off and shoved it up their—"

He flung out three wind talismans, temporarily dispersing the thick demonic mist ahead.

With the surroundings cleared, the small snake, still wreathed in demonic energy, stood out starkly.

The guest rubbed his jaw as if nursing a toothache. "This little thing… it was completely unexpected."

Yan Gan prompted, "What do you mean?"

The guest’s eyes widened like a bull’s. "When it came face-to-face with the ten of us, it didn’t run. Instead, it spoke to us!"

Yan Gan couldn’t help but show a flicker of surprise.

Low-level demons were usually cowardly, avoiding danger at all costs.

Typically, a lone demon would bolt at the sight of a large group, not stop to chat.

Yan Gan asked eagerly, "What did it say?"

The demon guest slapped his thigh emphatically:

"It said, 'Damn it, screw your grandmother… I’ll rip your head off and shove it up your—'! The tone was so arrogant! If it had hands, it would’ve crossed them and glared at me!"

"…"

Even Yan Luoyue was momentarily speechless, thinking that the snake had truly mastered the art of provocation.

Needless to say, the conversation didn’t go well. The group surrounded the snake, and after a chaotic, clanging battle, they finally captured it.

The snake was so small that even the tiniest cage had gaps wider than its body.

With some spare demon-sealing nails on hand, they drove them into the snake.

Yan Gan thought for a moment and said honestly, "Actually, it might not have been intentionally provoking you."

After all, the snake had merely repeated the words the demon guest had used earlier.

Given its size, the snake was likely just a juvenile, unaware of the meaning behind its words, simply mimicking what it heard.

The guest understood Yan Gan’s point but replied indifferently, "Perhaps, but demons must be eradicated completely."

Their conversation was so engrossing that they had long since shifted their attention away from the cage.

No one noticed that the small snake, pinned straight and nearly drained of blood, was straining its body toward one direction.

With all its strength, it managed to nudge a wooden hairpin that had fallen into the cage’s gaps.

Even the snake itself didn’t understand the source of this desperate determination.

It only felt an inexplicable closeness to the object.

As soon as its battered little head touched the hairpin, the demonic energy surrounding the snake visibly dissipated.

At the same time, a subtle, almost imperceptible "energy" flowed from the hairpin into the snake’s broken body, infusing it with new vitality.

Its muscles twitched, and the three demon-sealing nails were forcibly expelled from its body.

The snake’s forked tongue flicked silently, and the scent from the hairpin was captured perfectly by its vomeronasal organ.

Strangely, none of this drew any attention from the onlookers.

Unnoticed, the small green snake slipped through the cage’s gaps.

Before disappearing into a patch of withered grass, the snake’s neck twisted oddly, as if it wanted to glance back but restrained itself.

In the span of a single breath, the snake coiled up, tore off a loose scale from its tail, and left it on the ground before vanishing without a trace.

The tip of the translucent scale pointed directly toward Yan Gan’s arms, exactly where the snake had wanted to look but forced itself not to.

…………

By the time the group realized the snake had escaped, a quarter of an hour had passed.

The guests cursed as they searched the courtyard, tearing open a few demon-tracking talismans and desperately following any traces of blood.

However, the earlier battle with the sludge demon had left the yard in complete disarray.

The place was awash with demonic energy and bloodstains, making it impossible to track the tiny snake’s escape route.

"Well, it was badly injured. It probably won’t survive long," the demon guest muttered.

He warned Yan Gan, "After we leave, you Turtle Clan folks should stay alert. Don’t let that snake bite anyone."

Yan Gan recalled the snake’s appearance and figured it was closer to a snake jerky than a living creature. It would likely die quietly in some corner.

Just as he was about to leave the courtyard, Yan Luoyue in his arms grew anxious.

She let out a series of "ah-ah" sounds, patting Yan Gan’s arm like a kitten pawing at its owner.

Yan Gan, utterly charmed, asked, "What’s wrong, little sister?"

Yan Luoyue stared at him with wide eyes: her hairpin was still in the cage, and she hadn’t retrieved it yet!

That hairpin was Xiao Ming’s reservoir, Yan Luoyue’s only life-saving equipment, a divine artifact that multiplied her health by twenty!

Prompted by her, Yan Gan located the hairpin.

Concerned that the infant might be exposed to something unclean, Yan Gan didn’t hand the hairpin directly to Yan Luoyue. Instead, he tucked it into his own robe, planning to clean it before returning it.

And then… as expected, Yan Gan’s nose started bleeding again on the way back.

Yan Luoyue: "…"

Truly a bold turtle. Even Xiao Ming’s reservoir probably didn’t expect someone to dare carry it a second time.

Staring at the fresh red on his fingers, Yan Gan muttered in confusion, "Am I running too hot lately?"

This explanation might have made sense if he were human.

But his true form was a turtle, and turtles are cold-blooded creatures!

Yan Luoyue turned her face away, gazing at the sky, the ground, and the horizon, pretending she wasn’t feeling guilty at all.

After much ado, Xiao Ming’s reservoir was finally back in Yan Luoyue’s hands.

The moment the wooden hairpin touched her palm, her expression shifted.

As a skilled artificer, Yan Luoyue could instantly detect changes in a familiar magical tool.

She realized at once: the hairpin’s "quenching" had been altered.

In the process of crafting magical tools, quenching is the final and most crucial step.

For example: If refining artifacts is compared to taking photos without filters, then quenching is like using beauty filters to edit the photos afterward.

A well-executed quenching can significantly enhance the power of a magical artifact, and may even grant it additional abilities.

However, quenching requires specific tools and environments.

Yan Luoyue had only been separated from her wooden hairpin for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick. How could someone have altered the "quenching" of the artifact right under her nose?

Wait a minute... actually, there is one possibility.

The water reservoir belonging to Xiao Ming was an artifact Yan Luoyue had brought out from the game "Myriad Realms Unification."

In the lore of "Myriad Realms Unification," aside from the refining done by artifact smiths, "fortuitous encounters" could also alter the state of equipment—or even characters.

This kind of thing had happened many times before.

For instance, there was once a male player who, due to his overly bold courage (and peculiar tastes), ended up in a romantic relationship with a female seahorse NPC.

After the relationship ended, the player discovered that his character status now bore a label: "Pregnant."

The customer service's response was: "That's correct, dear. After all, seahorse dads are the ones who carry the babies. Don't worry, you'll also receive a limited-time pouch for the next 20 days, dear."

The male player: "..."

Another example involved a goofy player who, while battling a dungeon boss—Emperor Qin—used his exceptional movement skills to lead the boss in circles around a pillar 36,000 times, until he literally ran the boss to death.

After the dungeon ended, the player found that his boots had gained a new attribute: "Love's Magic Spinning Circles."

From then on, whenever he wore those boots, the player would perpetually move in a spiral.

Today, Yan Luoyue's only fortuitous encounter was running into that little snake.

Holding up the wooden hairpin, Yan Luoyue turned it slowly under the light, examining it closely.

An ordinary artifact smith might not even notice any difference in the hairpin before and after.

But even without a shred of cultivation, Yan Luoyue could still accurately discern with her naked eye that the hairpin's offensive capabilities had been enhanced.

As for exactly what had been added...

Yan Luoyue calmly opened the equipment interface.

—Surprise! This hairpin is a game item, so she has the right to check its real-time attributes!

In truth, given Yan Luoyue's expertise in artifact refining, even without directly checking the real-time status, she had several methods to inspect the hairpin.

However, limited by her physical condition, she couldn't be bothered to go through the trouble.

[Equipment Name: Xiao Ming's Water Reservoir

Attribute 1: Health +20

Attribute 2: Every 15 minutes, the wearer loses 10% of their total health.]

In the interface, the two basic attributes remained unchanged.

This was as Yan Luoyue had expected.

Beneath them, however, the hairpin now had a new status.

[Attribute 3: When using this equipment to attack, Attribute 2's timer will randomly shorten to between 3 to 5 minutes. After disengaging from combat, Attribute 2 returns to normal.]

In "Myriad Realms Unification," the criteria for disengaging from combat are either the death of the target or the wearer not being attacked for ten consecutive minutes.

Yan Luoyue patiently deciphered this new attribute.

In other words, if she stabbed Yan Gan with the hairpin and held onto it, the hairpin would deduct 10% of her health in as little as three minutes or as long as five.

But if she stabbed Yan Gan with the hairpin and then handed it to him, the wearer would become Yan Gan.

Previously, when Yan Gan held the hairpin, it took fifteen minutes for him to start bleeding from the nose. Now, it would only take three to five minutes.

From this perspective, the new attribute was quite inconvenient.

If Yan Luoyue accidentally stabbed someone with the hairpin, she would enter a rapid health-draining state.

But this state could easily be avoided: she could simply set the hairpin aside and wait for ten minutes until she disengaged from combat.

However, if she thought about it from another angle...

Pinching her round little chin, Yan Luoyue raised the hairpin and fell into deep thought.

As the saying goes, don't shear the same sheep over and over, and don't keep making turtle jelly from the same turtle.

Let her take a broader view and shift her focus away from herself and Yan Gan—

Imagine if one day she encountered someone she deeply despised. Couldn't she stab herself with the hairpin first and then give it to her enemy?

If luck was on her side, half an hour would be enough to turn her opponent into a stiff corpse.

Looking at it this way...

This new attribute was clearly designed for scamming, wasn't it?

At this thought, Yan Luoyue's gaze toward the hairpin grew increasingly complicated.

Given that the additional attributes gained from "fortuitous encounters" were often closely related to the events themselves,

Yan Luoyue had every reason to suspect that this new attribute appeared because, without her noticing, she had already been scammed by that particularly beautiful little snake once!