Chapter 119: The Jade Cicada Artifact

With this in mind, Wei Cheng knew exactly how to choose. He first channeled his Mountain-Moving internal energy, and sure enough, he noticed a faint glimmer coming from the first small bag.

Then, when he cycled through his Spirit Swallow cultivation technique, the second small bag flickered with light. Finally, he switched to his Green Wood internal energy, and as expected, only the third bag responded.

Good grief, it really was three professions corresponding to three magical artifacts.

After a moment of thought, Wei Cheng chose the third bag—the one compatible with the Green Wood profession.

The reason was simple. First, he already possessed the small wine cup for the Mountain-Moving profession. Although he did not yet know its quality, it was a fact that he could not yet perfectly unleash its maximum power. To take on another artifact for the Mountain-Moving path would be more than he could handle or afford. Failing to concentrate every bit of his combat strength into the sharpest blade was not only a massive waste but a crime against himself.

Secondly, for the Spirit Swallow profession, he didn't currently need an artifact; he had his wild short sword, which was far sharper than the knives held by Xu Shan or Chen Ce. Moreover, since Spirit Swallow was not his primary focus, it really wasn't suitable. Rather than trying to figure out how to leverage a new artifact, he was better off focusing his heart on mastering the Spirit Swallow technique itself.

Finally, the Green Wood profession was his weakest. As a secondary path, it was unlikely to see much progress for a long time, so choosing a Green Wood artifact to compensate for its shortcomings was, in fact, a very cost-effective decision.

When Wei Cheng picked up the third bag, it felt light and soft, as if it weighed nothing at all. Even more miraculously, the cyan bag automatically unraveled into thin cyan threads, like spider silk, and flew back into Du Tianbai’s sleeve. Was the man a Spider-Man, after all?

As the cyan threads vanished, what remained in Wei Cheng’s hand was an exquisite jade cicada, the size of a thumb. It was crystal clear with a faint, pulsing green hue. The object even gave the impression that it might come to life at any moment. Sensing it carefully with his spiritual perception, he could even hear faint chirps, which was truly wondrous.

Just as Wei Cheng was about to ask how to use the artifact, the City Lord’s aide, Du Tianbai, had already finished passing by everyone with his jade tray. In the blink of an eye, everyone had received their reward for the bounty—neither more nor less. Then, the man offered a slight bow and left with graceful composure. Until the side door creaked shut, everyone, including Wei Cheng, felt as if they were waking from a trance.

When they tried to recall the man—Du, what was his name again?—his face dissolved from their memories as if it had never been there, leaving no trace behind. It was only at this moment that Wei Cheng and the others realized that this so-called "aide to the City Lord’s mansion" was clearly a cultivator, perhaps even an immortal.

No one dared to discuss it; they simply bowed toward the City Lord’s mansion before retreating.

"Say, Boss, what’s the use of this squad leader’s token? There aren't any soldiers in this city for us to command," Yu Liang asked casually, fiddling with the medallion.

"Maybe you should try pressing it, or injecting some Mountain-Moving internal energy to see if you can summon ten soldiers," Chen Ce joked.

Unexpectedly, Yu Liang actually did it. As he injected a strand of Mountain-Moving energy, the token instantly lit up, creating a translucent shield. Within the light, various runes shifted and combined, eventually manifesting as an Immovable Golden Bell. Judging by its aura and quality, it was almost the ultimate form of the technique.

At that moment, everyone was stunned. The squad leader’s token was not just a symbol of status and authority; it was a passive defensive artifact in itself. Even Wei Cheng couldn't help but inject some energy, and he found himself truly amazed.

Yes, the token had the ultimate form of the Immovable Golden Bell built into it. It could be released instantly, and once exhausted, it could be replenished by injecting more Mountain-Moving internal energy. This was equivalent to having an extra life-saving ultimate move.

Beyond that, the token granted a daily salary of fifty Copper Dragon coins. Furthermore, it allowed the user to register a list of subordinates. This surprised Wei Cheng, as it meant that even ordinary people could be recorded on the token and enter the trial levels together as trial-takers, appearing in the same district without needing to rely on falling asleep in their beds.

This thing was far more precious than he had imagined. At this thought, Wei Cheng immediately remembered the commander of the P5 Legion, who had obtained a City Patrol Lieutenant’s token back in the sixth level. He truly felt that this person was terrifyingly formidable.

"Everyone, time is tight. I suggest we go into seclusion immediately and put everything else aside. Nothing is more important than improving our strength," Wei Cheng said solemnly. Perhaps Cangwu City still hid many secrets, and perhaps there were many side quests waiting for them, but none of it mattered. Those who couldn't keep up would simply be eliminated.

After saying this, Wei Cheng turned and left. Everyone had been gifted a property for killing the fire demon—even Tang Yuanshan, who had joined halfway through—so there was no need to worry about other matters. The others agreed, and upon checking their deeds, they found that all eight of their homes were on the same street, located right next to each other, which was very convenient.

"Old Mei, did you see that kid Cheng An earlier?" Yu Liang asked quietly while lagging behind to talk to Mei Renli. They hadn't seen Cheng An on the way back, so he must have ended up in the poison circle. It was a pity; with thousands of people everywhere, the odds of running into him were slim.

"Oh, Little Yu!" The old man chuckled and patted Yu Liang’s shoulder without saying anything, then headed straight to his own house. This silly boy still didn't understand what Wei Cheng meant by "time is tight." Everyone was racing to improve themselves, yet he wanted to go find a straggler like Cheng An. Could Cheng An even keep up with their pace now?

Moreover, with Bai Han and Tang Yuanshan in the group—both of whom were Nine-Cycle Mountain-Movers capable of easily releasing the ultimate Immovable Golden Bell—they were the qualified ones. With them around, didn't it make the two of them feel awkward and redundant?

He wanted to keep coasting, but he would only end up coasting himself into oblivion. If you don't strive for improvement, even a god can't help you.

***

This was an inconspicuous alley in the north of the city. It was less than five hundred meters long and certainly wasn't a wealthy district; in fact, it was only slightly better than the slums.

But it had one advantage: it was quiet. Every house kept its doors shut tight, and no figures could be seen on the street, though one could hear the sounds of children playing in the neighbors' courtyards. If he hadn't been certain that this was their base camp and perfectly safe, Wei Cheng would have suspected the place was haunted.

His small courtyard was no more than twenty square meters, yet it managed to host two tiny vegetable gardens. The house was a half-timbered structure; it looked shabby but was actually quite good—sturdy, draft-free, and showing signs of having been cleaned not long ago. The room contained a stove, a rice jar, firewood, and a somewhat worn but clean quilt that still held the scent of the sun. It felt as if the owners had only just left.

Thinking of this, Wei Cheng felt a weight in his heart, even if all of this was just a repetition of the past.

Stepping out of the house, he sat on the stone steps of the courtyard, looking at the two patches of vegetables. He didn't recognize any of them, but they were well-tended and lush. It seemed they had been watered that morning; the soil at the edge of the patch was still damp, imprinted with a few messy, playful handprints.

They must have belonged to a child of seven or eight, who had been forced to embark on a journey of refuge.

Wei Cheng watched in silence, his heart gradually calming. He wondered if the trial immortals, when creating these martial professions, had thought of turning the tide, which was why they chose the name "Mountain-Moving."

To move mountains and drain seas, to prop up a collapsing building, to salvage a crumbling world.

Was there enough time? Perhaps it no longer mattered. Perhaps, who could say for sure what the future would hold?

"Just keep your feet on the ground and walk one step at a time."

Wei Cheng withdrew his thoughts, his mind as clear as a mirror, reflecting all that he possessed. The path ahead became clear at a glance.

The Mountain-Moving profession, or rather, the Earth Spirit Root, was his top priority, and he had to be the best at it. A Three-Cycle Earth Spirit Root—that was Wei Cheng's goal. Therefore, he had to invest the most energy and resources into this.

"First, I must complete the fine-tuning of the ninth innate meridian and advance the deep-level refinement of the Mountain-Moving Visualization Chart to 100%. Only then can I study the 'Iron Prison Law' external technique."

"As for my secondary Spirit Swallow technique..." Wei Cheng pondered for a long time and decided to put it on hold. The reason was that the team now included Chen Ce, and with Xu Shan, both could significantly increase their strength, which invisibly reduced the chance that he would need to switch to the Spirit Swallow profession to save the day. Therefore, the Spirit Swallow profession would likely only be used if he were forced into a lone-wolf situation or in the event of an emergency. In team battles, it would rarely be used.

"And the Green Wood profession..." Wei Cheng opened his palm, a strange expression crossing his face. Since he had taken the jade cicada artifact, he had been holding it in his hand. Throughout the time the City Lord’s aide had turned back, the artifact had vanished. But it wasn't truly gone; as Wei Cheng switched to his Green Wood technique and channeled his Green Wood energy, the object appeared silently in his hand. It was truly miraculous.

Unfortunately, for the time being, he couldn't spare much time to study it, nor did he have much time to cultivate the Green Wood technique.

"Huh?"

Wei Cheng was suddenly startled. He saw an incredibly thin cyan thread, finer than a spider’s web, falling onto the jade cicada. He followed the direction of the thread and saw that in the nearby vegetable garden, a patch of unknown greens was wilting, even though it had been thriving just minutes before.

"This—"

A thought flashed through Wei Cheng’s mind. Could this be the function of the jade cicada—to assist in the cultivation of the Green Wood technique?