The Queen Mother of the West was not only an old fox—she was a ruthless player as well. She had already begun thinking about how to toy with the Nine Provinces War in the palm of her hand. Seeing me silently stare at her, the Queen Mother of the West assumed I did not understand and continued in detail, "Daoist Friends Xia and Zhao, including my disciple—you may all feel that this old woman's actions are despicable, but I truly have no other choice. I have read the ancient texts thoroughly and know how chaotic the Nine Provinces War will be. The carnage will be like humans devouring humans and demons slaughtering one another, with no rules whatsoever. Otherwise, it would not be called the Nine Provinces War. The condensation of a godhood can slightly strengthen one's cohesive force—in other words, the number of people one can shelter. Judging by my conjectures and the color manifested by Daoist Friend Zhao's godhood right now, I believe the people you can shelter will number no more than a few dozen. Daoist Friend Xia, do you think that relying on a few dozen guardians will allow you to protect Daoist Friend Zhao against the countless cultivators of the Nine Provinces?"
A hint of panic flashed through Zhao Qian's beautiful eyes, and she immediately looked at me. My heart was surging with immense waves as well. A few dozen people? Only a few dozen had actually ascended with us? Was this a joke?
If that was all we had, then with so many of my friends and the generals commanding millions of soldiers, we would have to remove several zeroes from the total before we were left with only a few dozen! What about everyone else? Would they all be wiped out? How cruel