That vault and reward was not just given to cultivators. It was something handed out to everything and anything that successfully survived a tribulation. This meant pills and awakened artifacts and treasures received the same treatment, albeit for them, there was a slight difference in the way it worked.
Because they were not usually fully sentient at the time, their reward was handed out passively to them, like feeding a child and helping it grow. The reward nurtured their understanding and strengthened their spirit. And as is often the case with children, when being fed, they do not always feed cleanly; more often than not, some food spills outside their mouths.
That was what the Dao Light of Emergence was. It was the undigested truths fed to the artifact or pill during its birth or evolution.
