"Now both experimental bases are in place. All that remains is to wait."
Beneath Broad Cloud Peak, in the Inner Valley of the Spirit Peak, Li Chen sat in a hovering mechanical Flying Chair, resting his chin on his hand in thought.
The Insect Race followed the path of Flesh Puppets, seeking to pluck the Dao Fruit of flesh and blood.
The Mechanical Race, however, followed the more classical path of gold-iron puppets, piecing together constructs through Hundred-Craft Mechanisms.
Looking past appearances to the essence, the greatest difference between the two lay in how they used energy and matter.
Li Chen's aim was to test two entirely different directions of development and explore the possibility of combining their strengths. Now, it seemed the first signs of progress had already emerged.
"Natural-born creatures are founded on flesh and blood for a reason."
"The matter and primordial energy that make up flesh and blood are far more active than substances such as gold-iron, and comparatively easier to obtain from nature."
"From the scientific perspective of my previous life, carbon-based organisms possessed uniquely favorable advantages. That was why they could give rise to sentient intelligence and develop civilization."
"But with supernatural forces at work in this world, never mind carbon-based or silicon-based life-even something founded on gold-iron could awaken to spirituality and take form."
"Still, they have inherent weaknesses, such as lower activity and complex structures. They likely won't truly surpass Flesh Puppets until the later stages, when their use of matter becomes more thorough..."
Very few creatures could naturally grow claws and fangs as strong as gold-iron, but by refining mineral materials, they could manufacture all manner of weapons and armor. Civilization began from this.
It could be said that knowing how to use objects beyond one's own body-how to use tools-was