She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar

In the blink of an eye, the harsh winter had passed, and the warmth of spring was on its way. Under the midday sun, the snow and ice gradually melted, revealing patches of damp, brownish soil beneath.

When Yan Gan stepped over the threshold of the incubation room, he still carried a hint of winter's chill on him, along with the fresh scent of early spring sunshine. He greeted Yan Yu with familiarity and took over her watch duty with a sense of responsibility. Once Yan Yu left, he immediately turned his attention to the center of the heated kang bed.

With a cheerful grin, Yan Gan placed his hands under Yan Luoyue's armpits and lifted her up, shaking her gently like a doll.

"Hehe, big brother's here! What does Luoyue want to eat today?"

Yan Luoyue spoke slowly, her words still carrying the adorable lisp of a child. "Fruit."

"Okay, okay, fruit it is," Yan Gan agreed readily, pulling a large apple from his pocket as if by magic.

"You’ll have to eat some worm paste too, right? I’ve noticed that just eating snow worm powder isn’t enough for you anymore. How about I mix you half a bowl of green worm paste today?"

Yan Luoyue: "..."

At these words, Yan Luoyue closed her eyes, tilted her head, and immediately went limp in Yan Gan's hands, resembling a lifeless turtle pancake.

Yan Gan burst into laughter at her utterly defeated expression.

"Alright, alright, no worm paste today. Big brother will mash some little yellow fish for you instead—seriously, though, how come you’ve never liked worms since you were little?"

Yan Luoyue shook her head mournfully, refusing to comment on the traditional diet of the Turtle Clan.

After placing Yan Luoyue back on the kang bed, Yan Gan held the apple up to the sunlight and sighed softly.

"This winter’s been too long. Look, even the apple’s all shriveled."

But still, even this long winter was finally coming to an end.

Yan Gan, as chatty as ever, continued to chatter away while mashing the apple for Yan Luoyue and the other little turtles.

"Bet you little ones are curious, huh? Why is it only big brother here? Where did your mother and Sister Yan Yu go?"

On the kang bed, the little turtles were busy with their own activities. Some were butting heads, others were climbing on each other’s shells—clearly, they weren’t the least bit interested in the topic.

But Yan Gan nodded solemnly, as if he had received an affirmative answer.

"Of course you’re curious. Our hibernation period is almost over, and the clan members are starting to wake up. The semi-seclusion period is coming to an end too. Right now, the ones who are awake are all out helping everyone else."

At this, Yan Gan wrinkled his nose. "You know, it’s only because big brother is so kind that I volunteered to take care of you little ones—hehe, when you grow up, you’d better thank me!"

Yan Luoyue could fulfill this small wish of his right away.

"Thank you, big brother!"

Hearing this, Yan Gan’s smile widened so much that his eyes nearly disappeared, and his arm mashing the apple turned into a windmill.

He puffed out his chest proudly. "Luoyue’s pronunciation is so clear! I really do have a talent for teaching, don’t I?"

On the kang bed, Yan Luoyue sat cross-legged, propping her chin on her hand with a resigned expression.

The growth patterns of the demon race were clearly different from what Yan Luoyue had experienced in her past life.

Compared to humans, the demon race had a shorter infancy under the care of their elders, but a relatively longer growth period.

There was a folk saying among humans: "Sit at seven months, crawl at eight." It meant that human babies were born with soft bones and had to wait until they were seven months old to sit on their own and eight months old to start crawling.

These milestones weren’t necessarily indicators of intelligence but rather reflected a natural growth pattern.

However, in her current Turtle Clan body, this pattern clearly didn’t apply.

From the day Yan Luoyue hatched to now, less than four months had passed.

Yet, Yan Luoyue could already transform into her turtle form at will, communicate in simple sentences, and even sit, crawl, and toddle around on her own without support, just like a human baby.

If this were the human world, her growth speed would be downright alarming.

But in the Turtle Clan, no one found Yan Luoyue’s development unusual. At most, they thought she was a quick learner—a little prodigy turtle.

Coincidentally, among this year’s batch of hatchlings, there were many "not quite as prodigious, but still prodigious" little turtles.

In the past, Turtle Clan hatchlings took at least six months to transform into human form after hatching.

But this year, perhaps inspired by Yan Luoyue’s example, the hatchlings who grew up alongside her had started experimenting with transformation much earlier.

Today, a green-shelled turtle would stare at Yan Luoyue with beady eyes, then suddenly transform one of its limbs into a human hand.

Tomorrow, a speckled-shelled turtle would tilt its head, paw at Yan Luoyue’s foot, and thoughtfully transform a heel.

The women in the incubation room were overjoyed.

"See? Bringing Luoyue here was the right move. Look at how these little ones are imitating her and starting to transform so early!"

"Exactly! I bet when they grow up, they’ll owe Luoyue a thank-you gift for teaching them."

Yan Luoyue: "..."

No, she didn’t need any thank-you gifts. As long as these little turtles didn’t mention her name when their bizarre transformations scared others, Yan Luoyue would be grateful.

It was no wonder Yan Luoyue felt pessimistic—the little turtles’ transformation skills were truly a sight to behold.

For the demon race, transformation was an instinct buried deep within their bloodline.

But how well or neatly they transformed depended on their observational skills and imagination.

Ever since the little turtles started transforming, the kang bed had been filled with strange sights: hands with three fingers, arms without elbows, and heads with only half a face.

Once, Yan Luoyue woke up from a nap to find herself staring at a face that was nothing but the back of a head—on both sides! It scared her so much that her heart nearly skipped a beat.

The kicker? Upon investigation, it turned out that the double-backed head wasn’t even transformed from the turtle’s own head.

—It was the speckled turtle’s tail!

Yan Luoyue: "..." Oh, you’ve got a tail, so you’re showing off, huh?

Among all the little turtles who had mastered partial transformation, the tail remained the biggest challenge.

In their one-to-one copying: the front two claws became arms, the back two claws became legs, and the shell turned into a fleshy torso… but what about the tail? What should they do with the tail?

For turtles less than four months old, understanding subtraction and realizing that the tail should disappear along with the shell was simply too difficult.

So, Yan Luoyue watched as the little turtles unleashed their creativity, coming up with all sorts of imaginative solutions for the tail problem.

A hand dragging behind the butt, or a foot with six toes sticking out from the shell, were considered normal.

The most outrageous transformation Yan Luoyue had seen came from a black-shelled turtle.

Its upper body remained a turtle shell, claws, and head, while its lower body successfully transformed into a round little butt and two sturdy little legs.

If that were all, Yan Luoyue could have accepted it.

But where the turtle’s tail should have been, the black-shelled turtle had creatively transformed a new little… appendage.

…To be fair, considering the shape, proportion, and size, this little turtle’s logic was impeccable.

Yan Luoyue: "..."

In her opinion, the title of "prodigy turtle" should be handed over to this guy.

…………

Yan Gan first divided the mashed fruit among the little turtles crawling all over the kang bed, then brought over a basin-sized iron feeding trough and filled it with a colorful assortment of thawed worms.

As the little turtles swarmed over to eat, Yan Gan dusted off his hands and turned to attend to another high-maintenance little one.

"Here’s your mashed little yellow fish."

Yan Gan leaned over the edge of the kang bed and poked Yan Luoyue’s soft, chubby cheek.

He was careful with his strength, repeatedly pressing little dimples into her fair, rosy skin.

"You're the pickiest one, yet you won't even eat bugs—aren’t bugs delicious?"

Yan Luoyue didn’t respond, only blinked her eyes.

Yan Gan, while feeding Yan Luoyue, deliberately waved the spoon in circles near her nose.

Soon, his antics earned him a silent, pointed stare from Yan Luoyue.

Their eyes met, and Yan Gan awkwardly rubbed his nose, feeling as though he’d just been judged by his four-month-old sister.

As the bowl of fish puree was nearly empty, the door to the incubation room suddenly swung open.

A Turtle Clan man, whom Yan Luoyue had never seen before, stood at the entrance, carrying the chill of the outside world with him.

The man glanced around the room. "Ah, it’s Yan Gan. Where’s your sister, Yan Yu?"

Yan Gan replied, "She went to help Auntie and the others. Do you need her for something, Uncle Bao?"

"Mm, no need to call her then. You can help me instead."

The man waved urgently. "The semi-seclusion period just ended, and today we’ve already had three groups of unfamiliar guests asking for lodging. We’re swamped over there. Come and lend a hand."

Yan Gan glanced at the heated kang bed, then back at the man, his tone hesitant.

"But the clan’s children…"

"Are these this year’s hatchlings?"

The man stepped inside and looked down at the kang bed, chuckling. "Oh my, this year’s little ones have grown so fast—the baby turtles are already this big. They don’t need anyone watching over them anymore. Come on, help me out for a bit, and I’ll let you come back once we’re done."

As he spoke, the man grabbed Yan Gan, who was still reluctant, and strode briskly toward the front courtyards.

Yan Gan cried out, "The door! The door! It’s still slightly open!"

"Don’t worry, don’t worry. There’s a hall in between; the little ones won’t get cold. I’ll let you come back in no time. Besides, the cotton door curtain is so thick, what are you afraid of?"

Yan Gan, still a young boy, couldn’t match the strength of his clan uncle. After stumbling a few steps, he had no choice but to follow.

The Turtle Clan’s territory was strategically located at a crucial crossroads.

From this junction, the left path led to the demon realm’s seal, while the right path went straight to Pingning Mountain, teeming with wild beasts.

As a result, throughout the year, the steady flow of merchants traveling north and south, as well as low-level cultivators stopping to rest and sell medicinal supplies, was enough to sustain the entire clan.

The Turtle Clan, with their long lifespans, had the patience for such service-oriented tasks. Their reputation had remained impeccable for centuries, gradually gaining fame among cultivators.

Today, just as the semi-seclusion period had ended and not all of the hibernating clan members had awakened, three new groups had arrived to stay.

As Yan Gan worked, his thoughts kept drifting back to the baby turtles in the incubation room.

This concern peaked when he was helping a group of human cultivators transport a cage.

"Honored guest," Yan Gan gestured to the width of the cage bars, "I’m afraid this iron cage won’t hold this group of curly-haired weasels."

The cultivator glanced over and saw the cage filled with nearly twenty small, yellow-and-black-furred weasel-like beasts.

Weasels, scientifically known as *Mustela sibirica*, were commonly called yellow weasels.

With their similar fur colors and natural camouflage, the weasels moved in such a flurry that it was hard to count how many there were.

The cultivator chuckled casually. "You might be right; the bars do seem a bit wide. I recall there were nineteen weasels in the cage. Could you help me count them, young man?"

Yan Gan carefully counted three times. "There are only eighteen…"

Realizing the implications, Yan Gan’s brow furrowed, and his face gradually paled.

"Perhaps one escaped?" The cultivator waved it off. "Ah well, just one weasel. It’s no big deal. Huh? Young man, where are you going?"

Yan Gan didn’t have time to exchange pleasantries with the careless guest. He turned and sprinted away, his voice trailing in the cold wind.

"Our clan still has hatchlings—and weasels eat turtles!!!"

He distinctly remembered that when his clan uncle had dragged him away earlier, the door to the incubation room hadn’t been properly closed.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the clan’s territory, Yan Luoyue clutched a wooden hairpin tightly, rapidly sorting through the knowledge flooding her mind.

Perhaps because of her Turtle Clan heritage, many turtle-related facts seemed to surface in her thoughts at just the right moments.

Turtles in their infancy had many natural predators.

As eggs, they were often pecked open and eaten by wild birds. Shortly after hatching, when their shells were still soft, many feline creatures would prey on them.

As they grew a bit older, creatures like baboons and eagles would crack their shells against rocks to feast on the meat inside.

Clearly, the Turtle Clan’s strategy of centralized incubation and care had significantly improved the survival rate of their young.

So, why had Yan Luoyue suddenly thought about predators?

Well, it was because behind the cotton door curtain of the incubation room, a round-eared, pointy-snouted weasel with a wound on its back was peeking inside!

Yan Luoyue’s eyes widened as she mentally raised her alert level to maximum.

Her instincts screamed at her—weasels eat turtles!

So, could someone please explain why there was a weasel in the clan’s territory?

Watching as the weasel sniffed around and slyly squeezed halfway into the room, Yan Luoyue’s lips twitched.

If the weasel had gone after chickens, that would’ve been one thing.

But it was barely past the Lunar New Year—what kind of weasel had the audacity to come and pay a belated New Year’s visit to baby turtles?

The weasel stretched its neck, took one look inside, and a shiny trail of drool dripped from its mouth.

"…"

Glancing around, Yan Luoyue had to admit, this weasel had good taste.

From its perspective, the sight of all these lively baby turtles must have looked like an all-you-can-eat buffet laid out on the kang bed!