Count Daisi's treasure vault was large, but this was only one of his vaults.
"These are all the Count's Whale Rubber."
The butler led Tie Li to a separate corner of the vault, where dozens of pieces of Whale Rubber were stored. Even the worst of them were eight hundred years old.
The butler carefully took out the five-thousand-year Whale Rubber, placed it in a box, and handed it to Tie Li.
"What's wrong with those pieces of Whale Rubber?"
Tie Li pointed at several pieces in the corner. Their color was poor, and they lacked the faint fragrance of normal Whale Rubber.
"Perhaps they were forgotten during the last cleanup. These pieces weren't stored properly and show signs of drying out, so their effects will be much weaker." As he spoke, the butler prepared to dispose of the poor-quality Whale Rubber.
"Wait, can you give them to me? I can pay for them," Tie Li said hurriedly.
Naturally, Tie Li did not intend to use this Whale Rubber himself. He wanted to bring the dried-out Whale Rubber back to the gathering place of the lightning-attribute plant Soul Beasts and use it as nourishment for them.
Ever since he had developed an affinity with them, a special connection had formed between them.
Just as they helped him temper his lightning attribute, Tie Li also wanted to lend them a hand.
"These weren't worth much to begin with. If you want them, just take them," the butler said dismissively with a wave of his hand.
"Thank you," Tie Li said.
As he looked at the dried-out Whale Rubber, a thought flashed through Tie Li's mind.
Even Count Daisi's treasure vault had Whale Rubber that had dried out. Similar problems must have occurred at merchant associations and markets outside as well. They