Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

The situation was critical. Tang Mo felt like she was using every ounce of her strength to try and control her body, but the effect was minimal.

‘No, this isn’t working.’

Tang Mo mobilized all the energy she had just integrated, but it still wasn’t enough. She had been given far too little time.

Inside her sea of consciousness, the few Attribute Pearls that had been maintaining order sensed their master had finally returned and was struggling. They immediately drew out a bit of energy to help Tang Mo.

Soon, thanks to Tang Mo’s persistence, her finger twitched slightly.

The movement was minuscule, but it was the most Tang Mo could manage.

The Sect Leader’s attention was completely focused on the next step of the procedure, so he didn’t notice the small movement.

But Qin Ling saw it.

Their energies had already merged into one stream and were about to enter Tang Mo’s sea of consciousness. But just then, Qin Ling noticed Tang Mo’s little finger twitch ever so slightly.

Qin Ling’s pupils constricted in an instant. He was sure he hadn’t seen wrong.

‘There’s no wind in the tent. That was Momo moving on her own!’

“Stop!”

Qin Ling called out to the Sect Leader and then retracted the energy he had just sent out from his body.

“What is it?” Forewarned by Qin Ling, the Sect Leader was prepared. His spiritual power partially escorted Qin Ling’s Agility Pearl back, and the two of them returned to their initial state.

“I felt Momo move.”

Qin Ling stared intently at Tang Mo, trying to spot another sign.

“That’s impossible. Are you hallucinating? The Ancestor’s entire sea of consciousness is shattered. Her consciousness is adrift outside her body; there’s no way it could have returned.”

The Sect Leader wiped the sweat from his brow.

The task itself wasn’t actually that demanding, but it was incredibly nerve-wracking. There was no room for even the slightest error.

“I wasn’t mistaken.”

Qin Ling’s eyes remained fixed on Tang Mo’s fingers.

The Sect Leader followed Qin Ling’s gaze and also stared at Tang Mo’s hand.

Although he knew such a thing should be impossible, the Sect Leader still harbored a sliver of hope.

‘What if? What if it’s real?’

‘If the Ancestor’s consciousness truly returned to her body on its own, then the energy of that consciousness must be extraordinary. Perhaps there’s another way to repair her sea of consciousness after all.’

The current method was not only immensely costly, but its success rate wasn’t one hundred percent either. In fact, as the energy rampaging inside Tang Mo’s body grew, the chances of success were only decreasing.

If there was a better way, neither of them would want to stake everything on this one desperate gamble.

Meanwhile, Tang Mo could hear them talking, even though she couldn’t respond in any way.

‘I have to give them another sign.’ Tang Mo knew that Qin Ling and the Sect Leader, who were watching over her, were waiting for her to move again.

Having done it once, she now knew how. Although the second attempt consumed even more energy, Tang Mo’s finger soon twitched again.

“It moved! It really moved! The Ancestor’s consciousness has returned!”

Under the watchful gaze of two pairs of eyes, Tang Mo’s effort was seen this time.

the Sect Leader said excitedly. Only when the consciousness returns can the body be controlled again.

This meant that the Ancestor had very likely accumulated enough energy, though its source was a mystery.

Theoretically, a consciousness adrift outside its body is just that—a consciousness. It can see and hear, but nothing in the outside world can affect it.

But in a situation like this, who cared about theories?

If she could move once, she could move twice. And if she could move twice, she might wake up soon!

Qin Ling remained silent, his lips pressed together, but the expression on his face betrayed his inner tension.

Both pairs of eyes widened, waiting for Tang Mo to make another move, to wake up.

But Tang Mo was now facing an energy crisis. She knew she should try to give them another sign.

But she couldn’t.

Her shattered sea of consciousness couldn’t contain energy. The only reason her body had held up for so long was due to the support of the Attribute Pearls.

But just now, the Attribute Pearls had diverted some of their energy to help her control her body, and the delicate balance of energy within her sea of consciousness was thrown into disarray.

If this continued, the energies would run rampant. So, Tang Mo quickly redirected the Attribute Pearls’ energy back to its most crucial task.

But without the help of the Attribute Pearls’ energy, trying to control her body again with only her current pink energy would be extremely difficult.

And right now, what was more important to her wasn’t regaining immediate control of her body, but repairing her shattered sea of consciousness first.

Tang Mo had already decided what to use for the repairs: this pink light of hers.

Meanwhile, in the tent, Qin Ling and the Sect Leader waited anxiously for Tang Mo’s next reaction, for her to wake up.

Time ticked by, but Tang Mo showed no signs of waking.

She didn’t even make another movement. She just lay there with her eyes closed, as quiet as she had been on all the previous days, as if what they had just seen was nothing but a hallucination.

But they both knew it wasn’t a hallucination. So why had Tang Mo stopped reacting?

Had she run out of stored energy? If so, would there be enough left to repair her sea of consciousness?

If it wasn’t repaired today, would there be another chance?

These were all questions, but no one had the right answers.

The Sect Leader subconsciously shifted his gaze to Qin Ling.

Everything now depended on the man before him to provide an answer.

Qin Ling, of course, knew the Sect Leader was waiting for him to say something—whether to proceed or to stop.

“Go and check on the state of Momo’s sea of consciousness again.”

“Alright.”

The Sect Leader nodded and sent out his spiritual power once more, intending to observe the situation in Tang Mo’s sea of consciousness as he had before.

But after a long moment, the Sect Leader retracted his spiritual power and shook his head.

“Her sea of consciousness is now completely surrounded by energy. I can’t see what’s happening inside. I can only sense that the energy is beginning to spiral out of control.”

Because Tang Mo’s energy balance had temporarily failed, the leaking energy had completely obscured her sea of consciousness, making it impossible to see inside.

As for recklessly sending one’s spiritual power inside under these circumstances, that was not a rational choice. So, after probing from the outside for a while and finding he couldn’t see anything, the Sect Leader retreated.

It wasn’t a total loss, though. He had brought back some bad news.

“Judging by the extent of this energy leak, if the Ancestor’s sea of consciousness isn’t repaired immediately, she’ll probably…”

The Sect Leader didn’t dare to say the rest.

“Probably what?” Qin Ling pressed.

“She probably won’t make it through the day.”