Reason For Sentience

Lin Mu carefully listened to Elder Pear's words and was intrigued by it all. After all, he was getting to listen to the history of the Rust Sky world, which had been witnessed first hand.

"A large amount of Qi? Did you absorb that?" Lin Mu asked. 'If it is behind it, wouldn't it be possible to replicate it?' he wondered.

"I did." Elder Pear admitted, raising Lin Mu's hopes. "But that wasn't what allowed me to become sentient. Rather it was a sliver of energy that was hidden within all that Qi." He said, dousing Lin Mu's hopes.

"What kind of energy?" Lin Mu questioned.

"All my life, I've been searching for that too. But I still haven't been able to figure it out." The Tree said, lowering Lin Mu's hopes even more. "It was very unique though… like a tiny boat floating in a stormy ocean. Within all that Qi it managed to stand out. In fact, I was simply lucky that I happened to be near it. Other creatures could have very easily absorbed it." He revealed.