Zhang Yu took the "Perceptive True Spirit." Only after it landed in his hand did he realize that though it was merely palm-sized, it was solid and heavy. He weighed it casually; it was roughly a thousand jin.
Though it felt hard and smooth in his palm, it was not cold. Instead, it carried a faint warmth, and he had the strange sensation that an unlit furnace lay hidden within it.
He looked at Tao Dingfu and asked, "Is this considered a dead thing or a living thing?"
Tao Dingfu thought for a moment. "Somewhere between the two. At present, this can be called a 'spirit vessel.' Once it undergoes 'enlightenment' and develops intelligence of its own, only then can it truly be called a living being."
Hearing this, Zhang Yu did not put it into the Purple-Gold Pouch, but continued holding it in his hand. "How does what Senior Brother forged differ from ordinary Perceptive True Spirits?"
Tao Dingfu's spirits lifted at the question. "That, I can explain to Junior Brother in detail. In the past, there were generally two kinds of Perceptive True Spirits. One school held that, to better assist their master, a Perceptive True Spirit must not possess any human temperament, emotion, or desire.
"Such True Spirits were indeed extremely useful and rarely made mistakes. This was also the choice of most cultivators.
"But they had certain flaws as well. First, they were stiff and dull. Second, all their knowledge and experience came from their master. If the master lacked experience, then the role such a Perceptive True Spirit could play would be greatly limited.
"As for the other kind, the True Spirit possessed a temperament of its own. Only a small number of cultivators used this kind, because once a Perceptive True Spirit had too