The Withered Leaf Tea, also known as the Withered Glory Tea, was a well-known specialty of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance's Hongxu Marsh.
The tea grew in the marsh, and in a single year, there was only a single month that it would be alive. At any other time, it would be no different from a withered tree.
Dead branches growing leaves, one withered while the other glorified, life and death intertwined together in such a mystical manner; this was where the origin of the name of the tea came from.
Upon preparation, this tea could grant one the refreshing sensation of the four seasons, thus making it one of the most well-known tea throughout the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance.
However, Hongxu Marsh was extremely dangerous. There were Transcendent Mortal experts who were devoured by the marsh, never to be seen on the face of this world every again. On top of that, there's only a month of harvest for the tea leaves and the production amount was extremely low. As such, very few people had a chance to taste it.
"Indeed, that place is known for the production of Withered Leaf Tea! But there's also an animal which lingers around the tea leaves... the Withered Leaf Snake!" Zhang Xuan said.
"Un!"
The crowd nodded in agreement.
The Withered Leaf Snake was a spirit beast which lived off the Withered Leaf Tea. It was a highly venomous spirit beast, and even a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert would die easily if bitten by it.
"Could it be that the venom on the Withered Leaf Tea... comes from the Withered Leaf Snake? But that can't be! Even though the Withered Tea Snake's poison is lethal, it has a unique smell to it. On top of it, its saliva also leaves a mark, making it extremely conspicuous to the eye. However, there's no visible damage apparent on this Verdant Bamboo, and it looks as good as new..."
The elder couldn't help but remark.
The Withered Leaf Snake was an extremely fearsome adversary that even Transcendent Mortals had to be careful of, thus contributing to its great reputation. If the Withered Leaf Snake had left behind its saliva on the Verdant Bamboo, he would surely be able to tell so.
"It's not the saliva of the snake, but that... this Verdant Bamboo was the nest for the Withered Leaf Snake. In other words, this smooth-looking bamboo has had a Withered Leaf Snake slithering over it every single day," Zhang Xuan said with a grim expression.
"Ah..."
Hearing the words, the face of the attendant holding the records immediately paled, and he nearly stumbled over.
He was in charge of taking care of the bamboo, and he had been wiping it frequently in the past few days. The thought that it used to be the nest of a snake left him flustered and disgusted.
"As such, the excretions of the Withered Leaf Snake would stick onto the Verdant Bamboo, and over time, they would be absorbed and accumulate within the depths of the veins of the leaves!"
Ignoring the crowd's discomfort, Zhang Xuan continued, "As it's hidden very deeply within, it's impossible to notice it under normal circumstances and it won't have any adverse effects on individuals coming into contact with the bamboo either. However, as soon as the Verdant Bamboo comes into contact with intense heat, the poison will seep out, and all those who touches the poison will suffer greatly!
"If this Verdant Bamboo is only used as a formation core or a weapon, there wouldn't be much of a problem with it. However, it'll be disastrous if one were to use it to forge pills. Even a Transcendent Mortal 3-dan expert would die instantaneously if he were to accidentally consume it! That's also the reason why I said that if you're intending to use it to forge Verdant Crystalline Pills, the Verdant Bamboo you're buying would be a fake!" Zhang Xuan explained.
"So that's the case!"
Upon coming to a realization, the crowd turned to look at the young man in admiration.
To be able to notice the poison hidden deeply within the Verdant Bamboo just by looking at it, how deep must his understanding of the properties of plants, their habitats, and origins be!
"Incredible!"
The elder clenched his fists tightly together.
Putting all other things aside, just the other party's eye of discernment was already far superior to his own.
"Gongzi is indeed formidable, you've truly taught me a valuable lesson today. Since you're interested in the [Spirit Calming Grass], allow me to gift it to you as a token of my gratitude!" the elder gestured grandly and said.
"Teacher..."
Liu Chang was stunned.
Just a moment ago, when that fellow said that he was offering five hundred gold coins to purchase the Spirit Calming Grass, he thought that there was something wrong with the other party's head. But thinking back on it now, the other party had probably already expected this sight then.
But still, the Spirit Calming Grass was something worth five hundred spirit stones! To give it away just like that... wasn't his teacher being a little too generous?
Even though the other party had helped him by pointing out that there was venom within the Verdant Bamboo, there was no need for such a generous token of gratitude.
"Could it be that... But how is that possible! How could he have predicted this too?"
Suddenly, Liu Chang recalled something and his entire body stiffened. Then, he began to tremble violently.
He suddenly understood why his teacher was being so generous.
An appraiser could only make three appraising mistakes in his entire life. Exceed that amount and one's qualifications would be revoked.
His teacher had appraised countless treasures, and he had already reached the limit of three mistakes. If he were to make another single error, he would be revoked of his license as an appraiser!
In other words, if the other party hadn't interfered and his teacher were to have this Verdant Bamboo forged into a pill, even if no one were to die from this incident, his teacher would still lose his appraiser qualifications.
Being in a high position for many years, it was unavoidable that he would offend many people and have many enemies. If he lost the protection of his identity, his enemies could potentially come straight for him. In other words... the other party had saved his teacher's life. Putting aside the Spirit Calming Grass, even if it was something even more valuable than that, his teacher would probably give it to him willingly.
But... the matter regarding his teacher reaching the limit of three appraising errors was only known among his teacher's close friends and kin. How did this fellow find out about it? And if he didn't know about it, how could he be so sure that his teacher would give the Spirit Calming Grass to him out of gratitude?
Recalling the encounter a moment ago on the first floor...
Could this young fellow be actually an incomparable expert appraiser?
As such a thought flashed across Liu Chang's mind, the hurriedly turned to look at the young man in an attempt to confirm his evaluation, only to see the young man reply with a righteous look, "How can I accept such a valuable present as a gift? Sun Qiang, pass this senior five hundred gold coins. We have to pay the sum that we agreed on so that this elder doesn't make a loss!"
Pu!
It was just a moment ago that Liu Chang thought that the other party was an expert, but upon hearing those words, Liu Chang's body swayed violently and he nearly spurted a mouthful of blood.
The heck!
To speak such shameless words so brazenly, where is your dignity?
What was the difference between five hundred gold coins and not paying at all?
Was this how an expert should behave?
Hurriedly turning to look at his teacher, he saw his teacher wobbling unstably on his feet, and it seemed as though blood was welling up in his chest. His entire face steeled in frustration, "Gongzi, this is my heartfelt gratitude. There's really no need... for money!"
"Elder, there's no need to be so courteous with me!" The young man insisted. "Five hundred gold coins... is still within my means!"
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"..." Liu Chang.
Any trash that you pick up from a battlefield would be worth that much money, of course it is within your means...
Knowing that he would definitely die of frustration if they were to continue quarreling on this matter, the elder chose to accept the gold coins. "I see that gongzi seems to be well-versed in appraising as well. May I know... who is your teacher? Could he be an appraiser as well?"
Liu Chang immediately became more attentive.
Given how the other party was able to discover a problem, which even his teacher couldn't notice, his mastery in appraising had reached an incredible level.
Such a capable young individual must have a peerless expert behind him. He was curious to know which grandmaster Zhang Xuan's teacher was.
"Our young master is Master Teacher Zhang Xuan, and his teacher is Master Teacher Yang Xuan." Sun Qiang stepped forward and introduced proudly.
"Master teacher?"
The elder froze for a moment before coming to realization. His respect for the other party deepened.
On the other hand, Liu Chang leaped back in shock.
If only he knew that the other party had this kind of identity, he wouldn't have dared to stand against him from the start.
Even though an appraiser was one of the most lucrative occupations, it still couldn't match up to master teachers.
It was just like a government official and a noveau riche; no matter how wealthy one was, the level of influence and prestige the two wielded were worlds apart.
On top of that, this appraising capability of this master teacher wasn't inferior to even that of his teacher.
"I see, that explains your acute eye of discernment. Please do pardon me for my previous rudeness!"
After recovering from his momentary shock, the elder clasped his fist and said, "I am Sai Xiaoyu. I am unbefitting of the address 'elder' so feel free to call me Brother Sai instead!"
The other party's appraising capability wasn't beneath him, and on top of that, he was a master teacher as well. The elder immediately thought of befriending the other party.
"Sai Xiaoyu? Could you be... Hall Master Sai of the Appraiser Hall?"
Upon hearing that name, Zhao Feiwu couldn't help but agitatedly ask.
As the princess of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance and an avid reader, she knew quite a bit about the experts at the peaks the various occupations within the alliance.
It was said that the head of the Appraiser Hall was a man by the name of Sai Xiaoyu, and he was a 4-star pinnacle appraiser. He had appraised countless treasures throughout his life, and it was said that the Alliance Head Residence had hosted him as one of their esteemed guests before.
She thought that it would be nigh impossible to meet such experts, and never in her dreams did she expect to find one being taught a lesson and scammed of a Spirit Calming Grass right before her...
"The position of a hall master is just a result of my old buddies' flattery, it's not worth mentioning!" Upon being recognized, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head with a smile.
"I see, so it's Hall Master Sai. This is great, I just happen to have something that I require your help on."
Upon learning of the other party's identity, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up and he asked, "I heard that... a Soulless Metal Humanoid has been found in Honghai City. May I know if the news is true, and if so, where it is?"
This was the main reason why he came to Honghai City.
Since this person was the head of the Appraiser Hall, if the news was real, he would definitely be aware of it.
"Soulless Metal Humanoid? I see, Brother Zhang is here for that!"
Hall Master Sai chuckled upon coming to a realization. "The rumors are true, and it is currently in the Appraiser Hall right now. The auction would be carried out tonight."
"Tonight?"
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly together, and a troubled look slowly crept onto his face.
It was already afternoon by the time the group arrived at Honghai City, and they spent quite a bit of time strolling around the Appraiser Hall as well. Judging from the current time, wasn't the auction about to start already?
Yet... he didn't even have a single spirit stone on him at the moment.
Without any money on him, he would probably be expelled right at the door, lest to say, participate in the auction.
One must know that it was a common procedure for larger auctions to demand an entrance fee so as to sieve out true buyers from the troublemakers. Otherwise, if everyone could enter freely, it might cause chaos in the auctioning.
"Indeed, it'll be conducted two hours later. If Brother Zhang is interested in the auction, I can reserve a suite for you!" Sai Xiaoyu said.
"I'll be thanking Brother Sai in advance then!"
Nodding his head in agitation, Zhang Xuan continued, "May I know how many spirit stones will it require to win the Soulless Metal Humanoid?"
Only with sufficient information could he make thorough preparations.
"The Soulless Metal Humanoid is something left behind by the soul oracles so it's rather difficult to estimate its price. Our primary evaluation has priced it at 1500 spirit stones, but considering the atmosphere in the auction, its final price will definitely be jacked up to at least three thousand spirit stones!"
Sai Xiaoyu explained before turning to look at Zhang Xuan with a smile, "Why? Is Brother Zhang interested in the matter?"
"I am. It's just that... I'm a little short on funds..."
Zhang Xuan scratched his head awkwardly.
"Short on funds?" Sai Xiaoyu chuckled. "There's no need for worry about that. I have some savings of my own so I can lend some of it to you to make up for the amount you are lacking. May I know how much money are you short of?"
"You're willing to lend some money to me? Great!"
Zhang Xuan gazed at Sai Xiaoyu in gratitude, "I am still lacking three thousand spirit stones, can you... lend the money to me?"
"..." Sai Xiaoyu.
"..." Liu Chang.
"..." Everyone.