The Mystery of the Artifact Spirit

"Have you been inside the Ten Thousand Beast Tower all this time? You've known every move I've made?"

Shen Long asked in a questioning tone, for he had never once detected the presence of an artifact spirit.

"Not quite. I was only born when you advanced to the Void Refining stage, but I hadn't shown myself yet. I learned a great deal while you were teaching the spirit beasts, and once I had learned enough, I revealed myself."

The blue-skirted young girl explained.

"A congenital artifact spirit! Just as I expected, the grade of this treasure is extremely high."

Chu Buyu praised.

Shen Long was completely baffled, as this strayed entirely outside the boundaries of his knowledge.

"Artifact spirits are divided into congenital and acquired types. Under normal circumstances, the essence soul of a living creature is refined into a treasure to act as its artifact spirit, creating an acquired artifact spirit. The grade of an acquired artifact spirit is fixed; for instance, if you refine the essence soul of an early-sixth-rank great strength ape into a treasure, the artifact spirit's strength will only be at the early sixth rank and cannot be increased further. A congenital artifact spirit is different. After tens of thousands of years of evolution, the treasure develops spirituality and naturally gives birth to an artifact spirit. The strength of the artifact spirit will increase alongside the grade of the treasure."

Chu Buyu slowly explained.

"Do you know your own grade?"

Shen Long asked the blue-skirted young girl.

"I don't. I only know that I am the artifact spirit and my destiny is bound to yours. If your body perishes and your Dao disappears, I will be destroyed as well, including the spirit beasts in the Ten Thousand Beast Tower and your dual cultivation partner, even