Heavenly Dao Heart Zen Art

"This is forbidden ground of Great Qian. Have you gathered here to cause trouble? Disperse at once." Zhang Zhuo, a lieutenant of the Imperial Guard Army, rested his right hand on the saber hilt at his waist, his gaze icy.

Several yards away, a large crowd of people from the Martial World stood in scattered groups. At his words, they all retreated a few steps.

An old man in hemp robes sat lazily on a green stone. He tipped two mouthfuls of wine from his gourd into his mouth, bared his large yellow teeth, and said with a grin, "General, you shouldn't make wild accusations. We're all law-abiding subjects of Great Qian. How would we dare cause trouble? We're merely taking a short rest here. This isn't forbidden ground. The Imperial Court has never said people aren't allowed into the Guiyun Mountain Range, has it?"

"Exactly, General, don't make wild accusations. That's something we could lose our heads over. How would we dare? We're just resting here. Our Great Qian Kingdom governs by law and persuades through reason. Why don't you tell us which law of the Great Qian Kingdom we've broken?"

"That's right. Why don't you explain it to us, General? We've never heard that even the Guiyun Mountain Range is off-limits."

Voices clamored as everyone spoke up.

Zhang Zhuo's face darkened. He raised his hand and barked, "Raise your bows! If you haven't retreated by the count of three, don't blame us for showing no mercy."

The dozen or so soldiers accompanying him took the powerful bows off their backs and nocked their arrows.

The people from the Martial World shouted, "Does the Imperial Court still listen to reason? Even the Imperial Guard Army can't be this overbearing!"

"Three!"

The bows were drawn.

"Exactly! We haven't broken any laws. I don't believe he'd actually dare kill us."

"Two!"

The arrows were aimed. Joining the Imperial Guard required at least the origin warrior seventh level and the potential to reach True Martial. The Divine Eagle Guard's armor-piercing bows were made from special materials and were immensely powerful, capable of easily piercing ordinary protective true qi.

At the sight, the people from the Martial World changed expression. They dared not gamble on whether the Imperial Guard Army would really attack. Fear showed on their faces as they backed away.

A young man standing at the very front suppressed a trace of fear and said, "Fellow martial artists, I, Zhang Yuanfeng, will make this clear right now. If they dare attack, I'll dare go to the royal capital and beat the grievance drum to lodge a... hey, why are you all running? Wait for me!" When he turned around, almost everyone behind him had vanished. His expression changed at once. Not daring to say another word, he scrambled away, stumbling and crawling.

Within moments, the gathered crowd scattered like birds and beasts. Not a single person remained.

Zhang Zhuo lowered his hand.

The soldiers behind him lowered their bows as well.

Someone said, "And here I thought they really weren't afraid to die."

An Imperial Guard beside him laughed loudly. "People from the Martial World are mostly cowards who cling to life and fear death. How would they dare face us Imperial Guards head-on?"

"Nothing but a rabble."

Zhang Zhuo turned calmly and headed toward the camp.

"General." Zhang Zhuo bowed.

"Have you dealt with those people from the Martial World?"

"They've all dispersed, but they won't leave. They've only gone a little farther away. Most are only at the early True Martial stage, and many are still origin scholars. I don't know what they're thinking. Even if there really is a Secret Sword in this mountain, do they actually hope to obtain it with their cultivation?"

Yuan Yingsong, Deputy Commander of Divine Eagle Guard, snorted softly. "These people from the Martial World spend their days doing nothing, never thinking of serving their country with loyalty. All their cultivation has gone to waste. Rumor in the Martial World has it that a Grandmaster might appear this time. Those coming now are merely joining the spectacle, so they'll have something to talk about once they return home."

Zhang Zhuo grumbled, "Who knows how long this will go on? These past few days, the men under me have been patrolling all around North Spring Mountain all day, with hardly any time left to cultivate. Who on earth spread this news until everyone in Great Qian knew about it? If you ask me, looking deeper into conduct like that would surely uncover sinister intentions."

"Today, I received a message from the commander. Everyone in the Eight Treasures Merchant Guild has been arrested and imprisoned by the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Apparently, it was by His Majesty's personal order. I imagine it's connected to this matter."

"The Eight Treasures Merchant Guild? How would a mere merchant guild dare do such a thing? Someone must be directing them from behind the scenes, right?"

"What's hidden behind it remains unknown for now." Yuan Yingsong's expression darkened as well. First, the Divine Eagle Guard had encountered the Demon Realm Seal and an attack by remnants of the Crimson Dragon Cult. They had barely enjoyed a few peaceful days before he took charge here and ran into another incident like this. If a Grandmaster truly appeared, there was no telling what would happen.

"General, has that Young Master Gu on North Spring Mountain actually obtained the North Spring Sword Sect's Secret Sword? This subordinate believes there must be a cause behind all this. Surely the wind didn't rise from an empty cave."

Yuan Yingsong glanced at Zhang Zhuo and said coolly, "Enough. Whatever lies behind this isn't something we should concern ourselves with. Since His Majesty is watching this matter, he will make his own sovereign judgment. As Imperial Guards, we need only do our duty."

On Hongyan Mountain, six men stood beneath the trees beside the waterfall, looking toward North Spring Mountain across from them.

"Big Brother, look, someone's standing over there. Could that be Gu Yuanqing? Should we go up and take a look first? If we wait a few more days and all the experts arrive, there'll be nothing left for our Dragon Gallbladder Mountain. The Imperial Guards below the mountain are at most at the True Martial Seventh Layer. As long as we don't get surrounded by a military formation, the six of us brothers can come and go as we please."

"What's the rush? Can you be certain this isn't a trap laid by the Imperial Court, just waiting for us to go up so they can catch us all in one net?

"Besides, a year ago, the grandson of a Lingxu Sect Elder had his arm cut off on this very mountain. How do you know there isn't a Grandmaster on North Spring Mountain? Let someone else test the path first.

"I heard that Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong, ranked fourth on the black list, and Ghost Hand Void Form, ranked seventh, have both appeared near the royal capital. Given their temperaments, I doubt either has much patience."

Various factions lay hidden in the mountains surrounding North Spring Mountain. Like the men from Dragon Gallbladder Mountain, they were all waiting for someone else to test the path first.

The appearance of a Secret Sword on North Spring Mountain concerned a realm beyond Grandmaster, making it a major event for the Martial World. Even those whose strength fell short hoped that luck might descend upon them.

Even if they had no chance of obtaining it, seeing a Grandmaster fight and learning a move or two, or glimpsing a path to breaking through to Grandmaster, would be an immense gain.

Standing in the Scenery Pavilion, Gu Yuanqing vaguely sensed that someone was watching him. Following that feeling with his gaze, he spotted several men standing above the waterfall.

He only glanced at them twice and paid them little mind. More and more people like them were appearing around North Spring Mountain.

This was forbidden ground of Great Qian, after all. Few were willing to be the first bird to poke its head out. Everyone was watching and waiting.

Gu Yuanqing had waited expectantly for several days. There had been no shortage of bold souls, but before they could even climb the mountain, the Imperial Guard discovered them, and they turned tail and fled. Gu Yuanqing never even got a chance to act.

Still, the sheer number of arrivals had genuinely exceeded Gu Yuanqing's expectations. He dared not completely relax for even a moment. Even while cultivating, he had to spare a portion of his attention for Mountain Observation to guard against danger.

After wandering around the mountain and playing with the increasingly intelligent goshawk and wild fox, he returned to the courtyard.

"Aunt Feng, if you notice anything happening outside over the next few days, hide. Whatever you do, don't come out."

Gu Yuanqing warned the middle-aged woman. As for the old man he suspected had come from the North Spring Sword Sect, there was no need to worry about him. With his high-stage True Martial cultivation and his ability to find a way onto North Spring Mountain, he was surely an old fox himself.

That night, Gu Yuanqing sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in his room. Heaven and earth spiritual qi flowed ceaselessly from his Sea of Consciousness and was converted into his own true qi. More than five hundred acupoints across his body flickered with faint light.

By now, circulating his Cultivation Technique no longer required his complete attention. It operated whether he walked, sat, or lay down. Aside from focusing on Swordsmanship, he had also begun further developing his Cultivation Technique.

At the profound martial ninth layer, he was already close to the Grandmaster Realm. He needed to continue developing his Cultivation Technique toward higher realms, thereby creating the inner cultivation method best suited to him.

He named the art he had created the Heavenly Dao Heart Zen Art. He retained the words "Heart Zen" partly because it had been the original foundation for his art, and partly to remember Li Miaoxuan's kindness.

As for the words "Heavenly Dao," he firmly believed that if immortals truly existed in this world, he would surely stand above them. The name therefore needed a touch of grandeur, lest he have to change it later.

Time slipped by, and before long, it was the third watch. A figure silently slipped through the successive Imperial Guard defenses on the Front Mountain like a nimble cat and vanished into the woods. Even the concealed sentries were deftly avoided, as though he knew where they were in advance...