Chapter 81: Even This Thing Can Become Sentient?

Passing through the dense forest, the view suddenly opened up.

An ancient plaza built of black stone stretched before the three of them.

The plaza was extremely wide, the flagstones bearing mottled traces of age and erosion.

Xiao Yueluo had just broken through to a new realm and was feeling an inexhaustible surge of strength—she carried a delusional confidence that she could “punch three Bai Yues to death with one fist.”

She swung her longsword, charging ahead with great fanfare, eagerly searching for some unlucky demon beast to practice on.

“Where are the demon beasts?

Hiding where?

Come out and face me one-on-one!”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Bai Yue watched from the side with her arms crossed, grinning.

“Want me to find you a fifth-rank demon beast so you can experience what ‘reality check’ really means?”

“Pfft, I’m terrifyingly strong now, alright!”

Xiao Yueluo puffed out her chest—though her clothes were still in tatters, her expression of “I’m second only to heaven itself” was spot on.

But the moment she charged into the plaza, her feet slammed to a halt.

“Oh wow, what the heck is that?”

Su Qingyan followed into the clearing.

When she took in the sight before her, she too couldn’t help but pause in surprise.

Stretching across the center of the plaza was a massive immortal boat—the same type of vessel that had carried them here before.

Only, this immortal boat was vastly different from the ones that normally sailed through the seas of clouds.

This ship bore no sails, and its bare deck had not a single mast.

Instead, the entire hull was covered in complex inscriptions that emitted a faint blue luminescence.

Those inscriptions pulsed rhythmically, like the veins of some living creature.

Even more astonishing—the deck was completely empty, giving off an eerie “unmanned” vibe.

Bai Yue raised an eyebrow and let out a light, appreciative whistle.

“Whoa, a big catch.”

Xiao Yueluo swallowed hard and nudged Bai Yue with her elbow: “Bai Yue, is this thing really that advanced?

A fully automatic unmanned immortal boat?!”

Before she could finish—

“Leave this place.

This is not where you belong!”

A dignified, cold female voice suddenly rang out from within the cabin, echoing across the empty plaza.

“If you dare take another step forward, I shall destroy you and bury you here!”

Accompanying this murderous warning, the cabin doors on both sides of the immortal boat clicked open.

Then—shwip, shwip, shwip—the sound of piercing air filled the area.

Countless bird-and-beast-shaped puppets, forged from fine steel with glowing joints, flew out of the ship in a steady stream.

They quickly dispersed in midair, forming a tight circular formation, circling above the three of them.

Their scarlet mechanical eyes locked onto Bai Yue and the others, clearly on high alert.

Su Qingyan’s gaze sharpened.

She instantly raised her crossbow, switching it to rapid-fire mode, and aimed unflinchingly at the puppet swarm above.

Xiao Yueluo yelped in surprise and ducked behind Su Qingyan, poking out half her head: “Holy crap!

The ship’s become sentient?!

And it’s female?!”

Bai Yue, however, remained completely unfazed.

She gave the inscription-covered immortal boat an appraising once-over, then stepped forward and shot back with equal authority: “This territory belongs to my Du Xian Sect.

The one who should leave is you, the boat spirit.”

The steel bird-beast puppets in the air seemed to pause momentarily at those words.

Bai Yue crossed her arms, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her mouth: “I just didn’t expect that the techniques and technology of your ‘Heavenly Craftsmanship Creation Sect’ had advanced to such a degree—enough that even our Du Xian Sect elders failed to notice anything amiss and let you sneak into the trial grounds.”

Xiao Yueluo was thoroughly confused.

She tugged at Bai Yue’s sleeve: “What Creation Sect?

You know this hunk of iron?”

“Among the countless immortal sects of the Nine Provinces, half of them are eccentric oddballs.”

Bai Yue explained without turning around.

“The Heavenly Craftsmanship Creation Sect specializes in ingenious contraptions and skillful tricks.

Their cultivation techniques are only second-rate, and their combat ability is a dismal third-rate at best.

But when it comes to animating lifeless objects and creating life itself, even the first-rate immortal sects of the Nine Provinces would have to call them their ancestors.”

“That impressive?”

Xiao Yueluo sucked in a sharp breath.

“Very impressive.

Their specialty is ‘awakening’—granting intelligence to inanimate objects, even allowing them to take human form.”

Bai Yue looked at the immortal boat, her tone carrying a hint of mockery. “But heaven’s way is fair.

While demon beasts that awaken intelligence can easily crush human cultivators of the same level with their monstrous physiques, these things created by the Heavenly Craftsmanship Creation Sect have fatal limitations.”

“What limitations?”

Su Qingyan asked, keeping her eyes on the sky while voicing her confusion.

“Because they’re inanimate objects given sentience, their underlying logic is forcibly implanted.”

Bai Yue pointed at her own head.

“In other words, they’re missing a chunk of brain—their thinking is all single-threaded, one-track-minded.

The moment they encounter a logical paradox they can’t comprehend or a situation outside their cognitive framework, these sentient hunks of metal fall into an endless logic loop and freeze on the spot—colloquially known as ‘burning their CPU.'”

“Nonsense!”

The dignified female voice from within the immortal boat rang out again, though this time it carried a noticeable hint of agitation.

The boat spirit began defending herself without a trace of panic: “I followed the proper trial procedures.

I possess divine sense, I possess intelligence, and I even have a jade token personally issued by the Du Xian Sect!

By the rules, I am a legitimate ‘disciple’ of this assembly!

Even if I were to encounter a Du Xian Sect elder, I have ample justification to stand here!”

This perfectly logical argument left Xiao Yueluo utterly stunned.

She looked the immortal boat up and down, her jaw practically dropping to the floor: “My goodness!

This world has gone completely crazy?!

A broken ship that people usually step on and use as transportation can now talk, and even wants to participate in a sect trial?!

Can you turn into a human form?

Can you?!”

These crude remarks clearly offended the proud boat spirit.

“Crude human.”

The boat spirit snorted, yet her tone carried an undeniable note of pride and showing off.

“I am no different from you—a living being that has awakened intelligence.

Of course I can take human form!

I simply choose to remain in this steel body because it effectively deters those with ill intentions, saving me from unnecessary trouble.”

Xiao Yueluo curled her lip: “Hah, easy to say.

Probably too ugly to show your face.”

“Ignorant!”

This immortal boat spirit seemed exceptionally susceptible to competitive provocation, and was more than happy to flaunt her superiority.

“What you humans call cultivation is nothing but relying on luck to grasp a scrap of heaven’s way!

As for me—I was born a perfect creation!”

The inscriptions on the immortal boat suddenly blazed with blinding blue light.

“Once we awaken our intelligence and gain the right to cultivate, even the finest heavenly spirit roots among humans, or those rare special physiques that appear once in a century, cannot compare to us.

And I was specially created by my own kind—defeating opponents above my level is second nature to me!

In my eyes, your bodies are full of flaws, redundancies, and fragility.

I was born for immortality.

I was born to be part of the Dao itself!”

This resounding, boastful declaration plunged the entire plaza into a brief, stunned silence.

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