The enemy could have simply laid in wait, letting Li Changāan deliver himself to their doorstep.
But instead, they insisted on this decapitation strike, treating the Fusang Tribe like one of those minor tribes they could crush at will. They were trying to annihilate Fusang as quickly as possible and with minimal casualties.
That was purely wishful thinking.
In the decades since Li Changāan began training the Divine Hidden Guards, the Fusang Tribeās elite fighting force had already grown incredibly strong.
The only reason they had never been revealed was that the identity of the Divine Hidden Guards was highly sensitive. If they acted rashly and were discovered, it could trigger unforeseeable consequences.
And now, the enemy had delivered themselves right to their doorstep.
For Li Changāan and the others, it was like a gift from heaven.
Li Changāan sliced off Slaviās enormous head with his saber. He handed it to Man Yu, telling her to take it to the front lines and parade it for all to see.
The death of a Guardian God was a devastating blow to morale.
He was confident that it wouldnāt be long before the enemyās relentless assault crumbled in the face of their Guardian Godās death.
After taking care of everything, Li Changāan was about to return to the Fusang Tribe. But at that moment, he suddenly looked up to find that, at some point, an eye had formed in the sky.
That eye was immense, like the physical manifestation of a true Divine Spirit descending upon the world. A single glance was enough to send a chill down oneās spine.
A flicker of anxiety sparked in Li Changāanās heart.
At this moment, he didnāt know who or what it was, but he could feel the undisguised Malice in its gaze.
[Ding, you have succeeded in Defying Fate!]
[At 1,600 years old, you defeated the Guardian God of the Nine-Tower Mountain Tribe, successfully helping your Fusang Tribe take another step forward.]
[Rebirth evaluation has increased. You have received an additional 30,000 Rebirth Points!]
Information from the Rebirth Mark appeared in his vision, but with the mysterious and majestic giant eye fixed on him, Li Changāan had no time to spare for such things.
The giant eye stared at Li Changāan for a moment, then slowly shifted its gaze to the Divine Shadow Guard within the Fusang Tribe.
Its eye contained no color.
But the immense pressure, like the very sky collapsing, made all the members of the Divine Shadow Guard tremble involuntarily.
Thankfully, the enormous eye didnāt linger on them for long before slowly vanishing.
The instant the eye vanished completely, every human on the ground breathed a collective sigh of relief. Li Changāan, however, remained grim.
Although he didnāt know exactly what it was, he could make a rough guess.
Besides the legendary so-called Immortals of the Celestial Realm, there was likely no one else who could peer down from such a great distance in the sky.
āBut that raises a question.ā
āHow did I suddenly attract the Celestial Realmās attention?ā
āWas it because I killed the Guardian God of the Nine-Tower Mountain Tribe?ā
āNo, it was just a wild wolf at the Shell-Breaking Realm, not even an Incense Fire God. In the eyes of the Celestial Realm, it was probably no different from an ant.ā
āUnless those so-called Immortals in the Celestial Realm are bored out of their minds, they shouldnāt be hung up on the existence of a mere ant.ā
āBut regardless, the fact was now laid bare.ā
āThe Celestial Realm has already discovered our existence, and I have no idea whatās going to happen next.ā
Li Changāan had originally planned to continue hiding, developing his strength in secret.
But now it seemed he had been too naive and had greatly underestimated the Celestial Realmās degree of control over the Mortal Realm.
Strictly speaking, this was the Divine Shadow Guardās first real mission.
They had already acted so secretively.
And yet, they were still detected in an instant. Li Changāan felt as if he were being monitored at all times, and he couldnāt help the goosebumps that rose on his skin.
...
After the battlefield was cleared, Man Yu dispatched a team to the front lines to announce the news of Slaviās death.
She, however, walked over to Li Changāan. Also looking up at the sky where the great eye had vanished, she frowned. "Lord Guardian God," she began, "that eye just now... it seemed to be a Celestial Patrol Envoyās. Itās possible that when that damn Werewolf mentioned the word āHell,ā the Envoy picked up on our location..."
She paused, her voice filled with worry. "Regardless, now that the Patrol Envoy has detected our anomaly, the Celestial Realm will soon learn of the Hidden Guardsā existence. We might have to face an attack from the Divine Realmāa strike from a higher dimension against the Mortal Realm... With our current strength, we would likely be annihilated in an instant!"
Li Changāan was, of course, also aware of the danger and severity of the situation.
This world ran on Incense, and all living beings cultivated the Incense and Candle Divine Dao.
And for this particular path of cultivation, a rather dubious one at that, there was no doubt the ultimate beneficiaries were the Divine Spirits of the Celestial Realm.
But now, Li Changāan had introduced the Martial Dao to the Fusang Tribe and successfully created a group of warriors.
Humans who cultivated the Martial Dao and possessed Extraordinary Power would no longer need to rely on the protection of any Divine Spirit.
This was tantamount to severing the very roots of the Celestial Realmās Divine Spirits.
Once the Celestial Realm noticed, their retaliation would undoubtedly be as swift and devastating as a thunderbolt.
Given the Fusang Tribeās current, pitifully weak state, they couldnāt withstand a single blow.
He paced in thought for a moment before finally speaking. "Immediately gather every available member of the Divine Shadow Guard. Teach them all of the Cultivation Methods I organized for you. Then, have them lead a contingent of the tribe away from Santi Town and into the Hundred Thousand Mountains."