Chapter Forty-Four: Renewal and Experimentation

The moment Ji Yu extended his tendrils of consciousness into the pitch-black part of the sika deer's mind, that chilling darkness surged along his awareness, racing to infect his own consciousness. In that split second, before Ji Yu could even react, a prompt flashed through his mind, and a blinding, searing light scattered the encroaching blackness in an instant.

What was more, the powerful light followed Ji Yu's mental filaments, surging directly into the sika deer's consciousness. In a heartbeat, the darkness that had so unsettled Ji Yu seemed to evaporate like curling wisps of smoke.

Ji Yu was momentarily surprised by the scene before him. But only for a moment—after all, with the game’s firewall system now active, he doubted anything would be able to resist. The game's power was evident: it had granted him an avatar and allowed that avatar to rapidly grow. There was no need to overthink its mysteries or might.

Thus, Ji Yu was fully confident in the game’s innate functions. Feeling the sika deer’s consciousness completely restored, he relaxed.

With the sika deer’s mind now whole once more, Ji Yu probed its thoughts and mental activity. Fear, anxiety, curiosity... A multitude of emotions flooded the sika deer’s mind.

Compared to before, when half its consciousness had been tainted, the sika deer’s awareness now seemed more than twice as lively. This did not surprise Ji Yu. The sika deer had advanced to a secondary lifeform; if its intelligence remained no greater than that of an ordinary animal, it would be difficult to accept. Reflecting on the oak’s evolution, even though the oak failed to gain self-awareness, it was, after all, a plant—consciousness does not arise easily in a brainless organism.

But the sika deer was different: it was an animal, possessing a brain. Even if its basic awareness fell short of true intelligence, it was still a form of consciousness. And with consciousness, every leap in life’s grade should bring a corresponding increase in intellect.

So Ji Yu found it only natural that the sika deer’s emotions now flared so vividly. However, while intelligence had grown, the sika deer, lacking systematic learning like a human, struggled to express itself and felt a blend of astonishment and curiosity at its own newfound self-awareness.

At the same time, unable to control its body, bereft of sound and sensation, the sika deer was filled with a terror of the unknown.

That was why the sika deer now felt such a storm of emotions.

Having granted the sika deer new life, Ji Yu did not attempt to communicate with it through transmitted thoughts. As a former ordinary creature, the sika deer had no concept of such dialogue, and even if Ji Yu tried, it might not understand, let alone respond.

Instead, faced with this newborn consciousness, Ji Yu recalled a method the game had once mentioned: to impart knowledge of the human world, piece by piece, day by day, in fragmented thoughts—much like teaching a human infant. Whether the deer could comprehend or how long it would take was a matter for fate.

With this in mind, Ji Yu began transmitting basic knowledge immediately. For instance, the idea that Ji Yu was its father; that whenever the sika deer felt unable to move its body and sensed itself enveloped in white light, it meant Ji Yu was present. In this manner, he sent ten such fragments of knowledge to the sika deer.

Afterward, the sika deer’s consciousness became wholly absorbed by curiosity. Ji Yu smiled, then withdrew his awareness back to the real world.

Upon returning, he immediately began studying how to deal with the vast reserves of imprisoned Violet Moon energy still within the sika deer’s body.

Carefully sensing how life energy suppressed the Violet Moon’s power, Ji Yu decided to attempt something bold. Standing in the stream, he gathered a cluster of life force and ceased suppressing one particular mass of Violet Moon energy.

Then, he allowed the life energy to coil around the Violet Moon energy, entwining with it. As fine as silk, as diffuse as mist—no matter how the Violet Moon energy flowed within the body, the life energy stayed close around it.

In that instant, Ji Yu actively manipulated the Violet Moon’s power. As if it were a part of his own body, the energy emerged along the sika deer’s foreleg, so that in the water, the deer’s massive limb—over two meters long—was immediately shrouded in a ring of black mist.

The black mist did not disperse; it clung as though it were an inseparable part of the deer, wrapping only its foreleg, tainting just the portion of the stream that touched Ji Yu’s own foot.

As small fish swam past in the water, they were instantly devoured by the black mist. Ji Yu clearly sensed that, at the moment of death, a thin wisp of black energy rose from each fish, merging with the mist.

Moreover, in the darkness of night, as the black mist seeped into the air, faint traces of an unknown energy from all around were slowly drawn in. Ji Yu could feel these energies distinctly; they did not originate in the air, but were remnants left in the world by the polluted purple radiance of the Violet Moon.

As for the energy produced by the dying fish, Ji Yu could only guess. Perhaps it was deathly miasma, or something akin to negative energy.

The thought of deathly miasma and negative energy reminded Ji Yu of the old woman he had seen more than half a month ago.

With that, the nature of the world’s threat from the Violet Moon became instantly clearer. The Violet Moon’s energy was certainly no blessing, yet Ji Yu could not deny that it was also facilitating the sika deer’s bodily transformation.

Though this effect was far from reassuring, Ji Yu could clearly sense the deer’s flesh growing ever stronger, its transformation both uncanny and brimming with power under the influence of the Violet Moon.

Perhaps this was precisely why the sika deer had become impossible to look at directly for long.

Ji Yu regarded this with a dialectical mind—it was, in its way, a promising change. After all, with the restraint of life energy, the Violet Moon’s power could no longer invade his own or the deer’s will.

Of course, this required that the total amount of Violet Moon energy never exceed what life energy could contain.

Thus, Ji Yu now had a clearer plan: absorb as much life energy as possible, bringing the sika deer to its peak state. At the same time, when the Violet Moon next appeared, it would be necessary to absorb some of its power as well.

With these two approaches, what changes would the sika deer undergo? Ji Yu was filled with anticipation.