Death… And Me

Chapter 4470: Backlash

’Life Style, Instant Recovery!’

Rean once again used his healing skill on the little fox, although the process was much faster this time. His healing worked like that. The more he used the skill on a particular type of body, the more he learned about its structure and how to treat its injuries efficiently. After healing the fox last time, he had gained a much better understanding of her unusual bloodline.

He also learned how to prevent her bloodline from absorbing part of his energy. That included her strange eyes, which had previously drawn in some of the Light Element before it could reach the injured areas. Now that Rean understood how her body reacted to external energy, he could carefully direct the healing effect while avoiding those unnecessary losses.

This time, only a minute was necessary before the fox was completely healed and lively again inside one of the airplane’s rooms.

*Rawr! Rawr!*

Rean petted her head with a smile. "You sure are a brazen one. Didn’t you think about fleeing even once in that situation? You were surrounded by dozens of Godly Spawns, and more of them kept coming. Yet, you continued fighting until you couldn’t even stand anymore."

The little girl puffed out her chest proudly.

*Rawr!*

It was obvious that her answer was no. Apparently, fleeing had never crossed her mind, even after she began to lose the battle.

*Raw—Krrr...*

But then, suddenly, the fox’s body trembled, and she fell sideways. Her legs twitched uncontrollably as painful spasms spread through her body. She began to foam at the mouth, even though there wasn’t anyone attacking her or causing her injuries. Everything was happening on its own.

"And there you have it," Rean shrugged, not looking the least bit surprised.

"That’s to be expected," Celis commented. He watched the fox roll slightly across the floor as another spasm ran through her body. "She consumed an absurd amount of Godly Energy in a very short time. It would be strange if she didn’t suffer some kind of backlash."

The fox continued having several spasms, but neither Rean nor Celis did anything to stop them. They simply kept an eye on her condition in case her life became endangered, which didn’t seem to be the case. Her body was suffering, but her bloodline was still stable enough to endure the excess energy.

"How long will it last?" Celis asked Rean curiously.

Rean sent his Light Element and Godly Sense into the fox’s body, carefully analyzing the entire situation. The Godly Energy she had absorbed was still circulating through her bloodline, while a considerable portion continued converging toward her mismatched eyes.

"Probably until tomorrow at the very least," Rean answered. "And that’s only until the pain begins to become bearable. The pain itself should continue for several days, while her body will probably remain weak for the following weeks. She needs time to digest all that energy and slowly incorporate it into her cultivation."

Celis nodded. "Just that? She truly has quite an impressive bloodline. Or perhaps her eyes are helping her carry part of the burden. Who knows? In any case, she is having it easy."

What the fox was experiencing was the backlash caused by absorbing too much energy in too short a time. Not only had she eaten a Godly Predator Crystal, but she had also consumed a Godly Beast Crystal and the crystals of more than forty Godly Spawns. Regardless of how incredible her bloodline and eyes were, she was still at the very beginning of her cultivation life.

Taking in so much Godly Energy placed an enormous burden on her body and bloodline. At first, she had managed to absorb everything without showing any obvious problems. However, the accumulated energy eventually exceeded what her body could handle. Her bloodline could no longer process it properly, and the backlash was the result.

"Next time, think twice before eating a Godly Predator Crystal," Rean commented. "The Godly Beast and Godly Spawn Crystals wouldn’t have caused such a severe problem by themselves. However, you ate them after already consuming a Godly Predator Crystal. When all that energy was added together, the burden on your body became much greater."

Too bad the fox was foaming at the mouth and didn’t seem capable of paying attention. One would even wonder whether she was still conscious.

"Well, let’s go back to Besgol," Rean said, completely ignoring the fox rolling around on the floor.

Celis didn’t pay much attention to her anymore either. Since they were still outside the Besgol Region, he simply took advantage of the opportunity to cultivate normally until they reached the Sacred Relic’s Influence again. After entering its range, the Godly Pressure surrounding them would disappear.

—

The airplane arrived back in Jufafner Country the next day. Celis went directly to their residence while Rean paid a visit to the mission hall to report the completion of their mission. After delivering all the materials collected from the Godly Beast Fish, he received several Godly Spawn Crystals as payment, which concluded the entire arrangement.

Finally, after returning home, Rean placed the fox on the ground before joining Roan and the others.

"So, cultivation again?" Rean asked.

Roan nodded. "That’s why we went out last time, wasn’t it? We gathered enough Godly Crystals, so let’s use everything to reach the Late Stage."

"That’s music to my ears!" Celis was immediately happy to hear it. The amount of Godly Energy they had gathered during the exploration was enough to significantly improve their cultivation, and he had been looking forward to using it.

"That’s a nightmare to me, though," Kentucky complained. Unlike the others, he didn’t enjoy remaining still and cultivating for long periods. "Why can’t we take a few days to relax first? We spent months outside, fought countless Godly Creatures, and almost got eaten several times. Doesn’t anyone think we deserve a break?"

"No," Roan answered without opening his eyes.

Kentucky’s mouth twitched. "Of course you would say that."

They began cultivating again, using the Godly Crystals they had gathered during the Elite Exploration. The enormous amount of energy inside those crystals slowly entered their bodies, increasing their cultivation as they refined it.

However, Rean stopped a few hours later. Celis and the others continued cultivating, but Rean had something else to check first.

He stood up and walked toward the fox, who had remained lying on the ground during all that time. She finally opened her eyes again, although it was obvious that she was still suffering considerably. Her body occasionally trembled, and even moving her paws seemed difficult.

A smile appeared on Rean’s face as he took out a Godly Predator Crystal and placed it directly in front of her mouth.

"So, wanna eat another one?"

The poor little girl immediately moved her head away. She stared at the crystal with fear, as if it were the most terrifying thing she had ever seen.

"Hahaha!" Rean laughed before putting the crystal away. "You really are smart. You can tell that overconsuming Godly Energy was what caused your current situation. Good! At least you learned something from all that pain."

The fox continued watching Rean cautiously, making sure that he wouldn’t suddenly bring the crystal close to her again.

"Now, take your time and rest," Rean continued. "You shouldn’t eat any Godly Crystals of any type for at least the next three weeks. Your body needs time to digest all the energy you absorbed and properly incorporate it into your cultivation."

*Ra... Rawr...*

The fox still looked somewhat disappointed after hearing that. Apparently, she understood that she wouldn’t be receiving any more Godly Crystals for a long time.

Rean didn’t mind. He gently stroked her soft fur while speaking. "Don’t worry. I’ll take you outside Besgol from time to time so you can hunt your own Godly Crystals. However, that will only happen after your body recovers. For now, use this chance to digest all the Godly Energy you obtained during the past few days and make it part of your own strength."

He looked directly into her mismatched eyes. "If you were already struggling against those locusts, you obviously need to improve. You can’t keep throwing yourself at stronger enemies and expecting your bloodline to save you every time. Understood?"

*Raw...r!*

The fox weakly nodded.

"Good girl!" Rean then took a piece of meat from his Spatial Ring and placed it beside her. "Now, normal meat is completely fine. We can’t possibly let you go hungry, right? Make sure to eat it. Even if it isn’t a Godly Crystal, it should still taste good."

The fox sniffed the meat before slowly opening her mouth. She was still weak, but her appetite remained healthy. She immediately began eating, showing much more enthusiasm than she had when Rean warned her about avoiding Godly Crystals.

Roan, who had heard the entire conversation while cultivating, asked Rean directly, "How long do you plan to keep that thing? Are you going to become her babysitter from now on?"

Rean stopped for a moment and looked at the fox.

"Hm... It is a problem indeed," he admitted. "But then again, she isn’t simple. We still have no idea what race she belongs to or why the Sacred Relic considers her a powerful Godly Creature. Aren’t you curious to find out more about her, her bloodline, and those strange eyes?"

"Not at all," Roan answered bluntly.

Rean’s mouth twitched. "Sorry. I was an idiot for asking you that."

He looked at the fox again. The little girl was already focused entirely on her meal and didn’t seem concerned about the discussion at all.

"I’ll make sure she doesn’t get in the way of our own objectives," Rean added. "For now, she is harmless, and we might discover something important about her in the future. Besides, she is already following us around. It would be strange to throw her away now."

"I highly doubt that she won’t become a problem," Roan said. "But we’ll see."

Roan didn’t insist anymore and returned his full attention to cultivation. Rean also sat down after making sure the fox was comfortable. Soon, the group once again focused on refining the Godly Energy contained inside their crystals.

Their next destination was clear.

The Late Stage of the Aura God Realm!