Old village chief Liu Ji couldn’t be called a powerhouse; if you told him to stall a Tenth Tier powerhouse, he definitely wouldn’t agree.

"Kid, you’re asking me to provoke a Tenth Tier powerhouse, isn’t that taking my old life? How would I have the ability to stroke a Tenth Tier powerhouse’s tiger whiskers?" the old village chief complained, his voice full of helplessness.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen’s eyebrows lifted slightly; the other party’s reaction was exactly within his expectations.

"I have the Manipulation Mantra for Absolute Defense!" Zhang Chen looked at Liu Ji with a beaming smile.

The other man might have already been recognized as master by Ten Directions Defense, but he was still ten thousand miles away from actually Refining Ten Directions Defense and fully mastering it. Zhang Chen believed that the condition he提出, the other simply couldn’t refuse.

Nowadays all the cultivators in the world who grasp Mysterious methods do so by relying on their lives, forming a parasitic relationship with Mysterious treasures. Between the two it is a relationship of parasite and host: mortals use their own lifespan as the price to drive the treasures they’ve obtained, while the Mysterious treasures take in the lifespan of living beings as "interest," and in return provide them with inconceivable power.

Note: you need to pay Life Force as the price!

Whether it’s the three great Mysterious town-securing artifacts of Great Victory up above, or ordinary Mysterious items, they all require paying with life.

And a mantra is the key to correctly driving a Secret Treasure. As long as you master the mantra, you can avoid the backlash brought by the treasure and be exempt from any price.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Liu Ji’s Pupil constricted rapidly, and a trace of disbelief flashed in his eyes: "What did you say?"

"I said I have the mantra to control Absolute Defense!" Zhang Chen said with a smiling face: "As long as you’re willing to lure out the Shen Family’s Tenth Tier Divine Spirit for me and pin him down for a quarter of an hour, I’ll pass the mantra for Absolute Defense to you. I can even teach you part of the mantra beforehand as a deposit, that’s not out of the question!"

Given Zhang Chen’s current relationship with Liu Ji, he couldn’t bring himself to go and forcibly take away Liu Ji’s Ten Directions Defense; it was better to directly use the mantra to trade for benefits.

Whoever holds the mantra holds the authority to control the treasure; Zhang Chen teaching the mantra to Liu Ji did not mean Zhang Chen would lose his own authority over the treasure.

With both sides holding the mantra, Zhang Chen commanded Innate Power, something that was a great tonic to the treasure—could he really be outcompeted by Liu Ji?

Especially now that he used the Heaven-Reaching Jianmu as the vessel for his Primordial Spirit, Innate Qi was gathered within his Primordial Spirit, which was an indescribable temptation to ordinary treasures.

So Zhang Chen was confident that even if in the future he and Liu Ji fell out because they stood on different sides, he would still have a way to take back Liu Ji’s protective treasure.

"You truly have the Manipulation Mantra for Ten Directions Defense? How did you obtain it?" Liu Ji fixed his eyes on Zhang Chen, his gaze full of disbelief.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled faintly and answered with a question: "Are you taking this deal or not?"

"Since you already know that I’ve mastered Absolute Defense, you should also know I basically can’t refuse." Liu Ji gave a bitter smile.

Ten Directions Defense was his trump card, and only he himself knew it. He didn’t ask how Zhang Chen had discovered he carried Ten Directions Defense on him; since the other party already had the Manipulation Mantra for Ten Directions Defense, detecting the Secret Treasure he’d hidden wasn’t exactly difficult.

"How are we going to trade?" Liu Ji asked.

"I can first teach you part of the mantra. Once you’ve done what I need, I’ll then pass the complete Manipulation Mantra on to you," Zhang Chen said.

Hearing this, a bitter smile tugged at the corner of Liu Ji’s mouth: "You really are trying to take my old life, having me go against a Tenth Tier powerhouse."

"You have Ten Directions Defense; even a Tenth Tier powerhouse can’t do anything to you, so why the long face?" Zhang Chen said with a laugh. "If anything, you should be delighted, you should be happy. After you have the Manipulation Mantra for Ten Directions Defense, the treasure will no longer drain your lifespan—you’ll have solved your greatest hidden worry. Isn’t that something to be happy about?"

Liu Ji gave Zhang Chen a look; he just couldn’t feel happy.

"Teach me part of the mantra first, so I can verify whether it’s real or fake," Liu Ji said.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen didn’t waste words. He directly taught Liu Ji a portion of the mantra for Ten Directions Defense, and then watched Liu Ji immerse himself in the mantra. Only after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea did Liu Ji let out a long breath: "What an exquisite mantra."

Then he lifted his head to look at Zhang Chen: "Three days from now, I’ll make my move and lure away the Shen Family’s Tenth Tier Divine Spirit. You’ll have to seize the opportunity yourself."

With that, their deal was settled. Liu Ji looked at Zhang Chen, a trace of curiosity in his eyes: "How exactly are you planning to yank the Shen Family’s tiger whiskers? Do you have some grudge with the Shen Family?"

Zhang Chen shook his head at that: "I have no grudge with the Shen Family. I just want to take back what belongs to me, that’s all."

"Just be more careful yourself. The Shen Family is anything but simple, don’t end up overturning the cart by accident!" Liu Ji said solemnly. "Yellow Heaven Dao intends to make a move against the Shen Family; the waiting won’t be that long. If you really want to do something, why not wait until Yellow Heaven Dao attacks Jinling City and then take advantage of the chaos?"

It had to be said that Liu Ji was genuinely good to Zhang Chen. The two of them had come from the same village, and in ancient times, the bond of fellow villagers was one of the strongest ties there was.

For instance, in the imperial examinations, those from the same hometown, the same year, were all natural allies.

"Of course I’ve thought about the opportunity you mentioned, but once Yellow Heaven Dao experts strike at the Shen Family, I’m afraid the Shen Family will fall, and I’ll lose my chance to act," Zhang Chen said.

How could he not know to take advantage of Yellow Heaven Dao and the other major forces stirring up Jinling City to make his move?

But when the Yellow Heaven Dao experts break into Jinling City and into the Shen Family, will he still have the chance to make a move?

So he had to get ahead of all the major powers and take what belonged to him from the Shen Family first.

Zhang Chen was a smart man; smart people tended to think everything through in advance.

The Yellow Heaven Dao was a major power, and the Shen Family was also a major power. Once the two sides started slaughtering each other, who knew how much chaos it would stir up, how many experts would charge into the Shen Family. If he wanted to fish in troubled waters, it wouldn’t be that easy.

Seeing that Zhang Chen had made up his mind and refused to change it, Liu Bang could only pull a long face and disappear into the vast sea of people.

Watching Liu Bang’s departing back, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but shake his head. For Liu Ji, even with Ten Directions Defense on him, holding out against a Tenth Tier Divine Spirit wouldn’t be easy.

"If you want to gain, you have to pay. How can you get anything without paying the price?" With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Zhang Chen turned back toward the Shen Family. His goal this time could be considered accomplished.

"I wonder what treasure Mother left me? This treasure must certainly be connected to all sorts of matters within my family." Zhang Chen muttered inwardly.

Zhang Chen headed straight back to the Shen Family. Just as he reached the gate, he saw his eldest cousin Zhang Gaoqiu standing at the entrance, waving at him. "Zhang Chen, over here!"

Zhang Chen froze for a moment when he saw Zhang Gaoqiu, then walked over and asked, "Big Cousin, what do you need me for?"

"Nothing much, just asking you out for a drink." Zhang Gaoqiu walked up with a beaming smile, slung an arm around Zhang Chen’s shoulders, a faint eagerness in his expression.

If he wanted to ambush Zhang Chen without leaving any trace, he first had to cozy up to him; only then would his move leave no mark.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen gave a shy smile, his eyes fixed on Zhang Gaoqiu, showing a rather troubled look.

"What’s wrong? Little Brother, could it be you’ve run into some difficulty?" Zhang Gaoqiu looked at Zhang Chen in surprise.

Zhang Chen lowered his head and sighed. "I’ve spent all my money. Right now I badly need a large sum to buy herbs and train in martial arts. How could I be in the mood to drink?"

At his words, Zhang Gaoqiu’s face twitched. He’d given this kid ten thousand taels of silver before, and that huge sum had already been spent? It had only been a few days!

"What did you do with that much money?" Zhang Gaoqiu asked.

"I lost it!" Zhang Chen stared at Zhang Gaoqiu with pleading eyes. "When I went out just now, I don’t know where I dropped it."

Hearing this, Zhang Gaoqiu gave Zhang Chen a once-over, cursing inwardly: "Useless trash!"

But it was only ten thousand taels of silver. For Zhang Gaoqiu, it wasn’t a small amount, but definitely not a big one either. So he very grandly pulled out silver notes worth ten thousand taels from his travel bag and handed them over. "A mere ten thousand taels in silver notes—lost is lost. Take these ten thousand taels of silver notes and use them."

Zhang Gaoqiu put on a very generous act. Seeing this, Zhang Chen accepted the silver notes with a smile, then asked, "Big Brother, where do you plan to take me for a drink?"

"I got hold of a jar of fine wine the other day. Let’s go to my place and drink our fill. I know there’s a misunderstanding between you and Cousin Sister, so I’ve invited her as well. I’ll act as the middleman and clear everything up." Zhang Gaoqiu’s voice was full of sincerity. "Don’t worry, we’re brothers. I would never do something as vile as ruining a good match and acting worse than a beast."

Zhang Chen acted as if he didn’t know what calculations the other had in mind and followed Zhang Gaoqiu to his guest room. By then a servant had already prepared the dishes—an exquisite spread of six dishes and one soup laid out on the low table.

Zhang Chen went to the table and sat down. Zhang Gaoqiu opened a jar of fine wine aged several hundred years. As the seal was broken, rich fragrance wafted out. Zhang Chen took a sniff; it really was a rare vintage.

"Good Brother, try my wine." Zhang Gaoqiu said.

Zhang Chen picked up his cup, about to have a taste, when a servant announced from outside the door, "Master, the Young Miss is here."

"Quick, invite her in." Upon hearing this, Zhang Gaoqiu hurriedly spoke.

A moment later, Shen Ling walked into the hall in a red dress, like a ball of flame. When she caught sight of Zhang Chen, she gave a cold snort. "Zhang Gaoqiu, what’s the meaning of this? Are you trying to humiliate me?"

After speaking, Shen Ling turned with anger written on her face and was about to leave.

Zhang Chen glanced at Shen Ling. Her anger was fake; her disgust for him was real.

Hearing her, Zhang Gaoqiu hurriedly called out, "Cousin Sister, wait, I have something to say to you."

Shen Ling halted, pointed at Zhang Chen, and said, "If he’s here, I’m not. If I’m here, he’s not! I never sit at the same table as a toad."

There was no anger on Zhang Chen’s face. Instead, a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he quietly watched Shen Ling put on her act.

Seeing Zhang Chen’s smile, Shen Ling grew even angrier. "So you’re not only a toad, you’re a shameless, thick-skinned toad."

PS: Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader ’Bamboo Leaf Zi Su’, the fourth update.