No strange things are allowed to evolve!

Besides him, there were several other people like him in the garrison, so they all looked emaciated now, obviously the desertification had squeezed out their last bit of strength.

Although they didn't go down, just by looking at them, Huang Helou could imagine how fierce the battle that had taken place must have been.

His feelings were somewhat complicated.

Unlike Jiang Shu, he felt some empathy for these people. Even though he had suffered at the hands of the Falcon, they were all people who had paid a huge price for their ideals and responsibilities. Regardless of the circumstances, he still admired these guards.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Huang Helou nodded to the falcon, then took Xue Wang and Wang Tiezhu from their hands, and together with several other guards, carefully placed them on the ground and took good care of them.

During this time, he noticed that many guards were looking at him with strange expressions.

Upon seeing him look over, the others asked, "Um... can you also...?"

As they spoke, they pointed at Jiang Shu.

"If you're asking if I can grow that big too," Huang Helou shook his head with a wry smile and said honestly, "I can't, otherwise I wouldn't be stuck on the periphery."

They thought everyone would be disappointed, but to their surprise, the guards breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"That's good." One of them laughed. "It seems to be just an exception. If everyone could do that, wouldn't all our efforts have been a joke?"

Huang Helou was taken aback, then nodded in empathy.

In fact, he is the one with the most authority to speak. As evolved beings, it is normal for them to be able to do things that ordinary guards cannot do. However, it is somewhat abnormal that Jiang Shu, also an evolved being, can do things that they cannot do, and in such an exaggerated way.

Even now, Huanghelou still doesn't understand the difference.

After a long period of hard work, I finally managed to decompose or crystallize at will like Jiang Shu, but he immediately came up with the Flying Sand God and the Clone Technique. Before I could even figure out the principles and mysteries behind them, he developed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

What else is there to say? You win!

Therefore, in terms of frustration, the Yellow Crane Tower's feelings are even more profound than those of the guards.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously looked up at Jiang Shu, and then he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Why, after so much time has passed, has Jiang Shu done nothing other than release everyone?

"Are you alright?" Huang Helou asked loudly.

There has been no response...

......

"Stop making futile resistance."

Jiang Shu crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking down at all living beings as if he were a god, the supreme creator.

Beneath it, White Cloud City, though barely pieced back together by the Sand Demon, was already in ruins.

It's like a pile of cardboard that's been haphazardly compressed and packed away elsewhere. It's already damaged, and even if you unfold it again, it can never be restored to its original state.

In order to restore Baiyun City to its approximate appearance, the Sand Demon had already suffered heavy losses and was clearly no longer able to cause any trouble in Jiang Shu's home turf.

Shifting his gaze from Jiang Shu to the side, the Sand Demon saw the pink sky and the lightning and thunder above the pink dome.

This feeling was exactly the same as when I was enveloped by Jiang Shu before, only it was more direct and I could feel the deep-seated threat more acutely.

That was the hidden, thunderous rage of the Great Wilderness Heart.

Although Jiang Shu might not think there's anything wrong with it, the fact that the Great Wilderness Heart, a calamity-level weapon, cannot crush a curse that is also a calamity-level weapon is not something he finds unforgivable.

However, the Heart of the Great Wilderness cannot tolerate such a thing happening.

Even after trying eighty-one times, the Great Wilderness Heart finally found a way to break the curse, but it still seemed to feel that this was an insult to it, an indelible stain on its career.

Therefore, the Great Wilderness Heart harbors immense resentment towards the Sand Demon and White Cloud City. If Jiang Shu hadn't been suppressing it, the Sand Demon would probably have already begun its tribulation.

Look down again.

The Sand Demon saw strange creatures of all shapes and sizes surging towards White Cloud City from all directions.

Those things, which are far more sinister and terrifying than the sand golems, will go berserk and pounce on anything they see once they step into the territory of White Cloud City, and then begin to devour it.

Whether it's white silk threads or flesh and blood stained with black substances, after they crawl over it, they leave behind a trail of wounds and what is more or less a curse.

These monsters are far more brutal than sand golems. If sand golems merely follow their instincts to annihilate all living beings within their sight, these monsters go beyond that, leaving something behind to corrupt everything they have set foot in.

Sure enough, the places they devoured soon began to fester and die, from which other equally wicked and bizarre creatures were born, joining the rampaging army.

But the Sand Demon could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything about it.

It cannot be resisted, stopped, or repaired.

"What is all this..." The Sand Demon was already somewhat numb.

"They were just minor illnesses to begin with," Jiang Shu said casually. "As for why they're so strong, well, it's just from a few hardships."

But actually, Jiang Shu was also somewhat surprised at this moment.

These were ordinary terminal illnesses, but Jiang Shu didn't really care about them after she contracted them; she just left them there, figuring they weren't contagious anyway.

Unexpectedly, with the continuous addition of new members over the years, the complexity has increased year by year. In addition, the battle of wits between them and the immune system has made it necessary to be strong in order to survive in Jiang Shu's body.

Through natural selection, the more vulnerable strains are the first to be inactivated by the immune system, followed by those with weak reproductive capacity, then those with low infectivity, and finally even those with slow mutation rates that cannot keep up with the speed of the immune recognition system's updates are doomed to die.

Now, those that can still live in Jiang Shu's body are not only able to hold their own against other infectious diseases, but also able to escape the constant pursuit of the immune system. They are all potent poisons that can bring peace and stability to the country.

And these deadly poisons, it seems, were all recruited by the Heart of the Great Wilderness at some unknown time.

Whether they like it or not, they have now become Jiang Shu's best help in conquering the world.

The current situation is similar to the campaign of the eighteen warlords against Dong Zhuo. The difference is that Jiang Shu is not Yuan Shao. He is both the leader of the alliance and the emperor. He cannot possibly lose this battle.

Moreover, even if these deadly poisons fail, the Great Wilderness Heart has already laid a net of heaven and earth, determined to destroy the White Cloud City that has brought shame upon it. It is only waiting for Jiang Shu's order that thousands of thunderbolts can shatter the White Cloud City into dust.

Here, Jiang Shu is everything!

"I lost." The Sand Demon sighed, finally realizing that he had no chance of turning the tide.

He just didn't understand why Jiang Shu was so determined to target him.

Even though he had been betrayed by humans, he never intended to do anything serious. He was simply fed up with the guards who kept going to the desert to carry out massacres and kidnappings, so he thought he might as well find a way to assimilate all of humanity.

Even so, and even though he just said he would massacre those oases that are human settlements, that was just an angry outburst. He would never actually do it. He always hoped that all humans could evolve.

When everyone is on the same page, there will naturally be no conflict, and the world will be at peace.

Why did Jiang Shu have to kill himself? Even if humanity doesn't want to evolve, we can sit down and discuss it. Betrayal is ancient history, something that happened a hundred years ago. Humanity has undergone several blood transfusions and generations have passed. What can't we communicate about?

Do I have to die?

Thinking this way, he asked the same question.

Jiang Shu initially struggled to understand this problem as well.

His reason was always that the Sand Demon wanted to persecute humans, so he could not be spared.

But as the saying goes, the person who wronged you knows better than you how wronged you are.

Jiang Shu actually knew that the Sand Demon's intentions were not directed at humans. If he had any doubts at first, he was certain after seeing the Sand Demon's actual abilities.

If we really put our minds to it, humanity, while not necessarily facing immediate extinction, would certainly have already begun its unstoppable decline long ago.

Where else would it be like now, with overpopulation and insufficient resources, that people come out to find new settlements for development?

What exactly has the Sand Demon been busy with all these years, and why must he die?

When the Heart of the Great Wilderness failed for the first time, and when Jiang Shu saw White Cloud City turn into a city of flesh and blood, he finally understood the reason.

“I’ll tell you the truth,” Jiang Shu replied, “because you have something I want on you—that black sand. Where did you get it?”

The Sand Demon was taken aback, then suddenly realized.

"So that's what it was for..."

"You want all things to be sand..."

Jiang Shu nodded: "Yes, tell me how you obtained it, and I can resolve this crisis."

"Resolve this crisis?"

Upon learning Jiang Shu's purpose, the Sand Demon suddenly felt that the god-like, awe-inspiring figure before him had become insignificant, and thus sneered:

"You mean, spare my life? No, then forget it. If you can kill me, then kill me. I will not tell you the origin of the Sands of All Things. It is the lifeblood of all newborns. Do you think I would betray everyone just to survive? If you have the ability, then go and explore it yourself."

He had thought that Jiang Shu's so-called crisis was just a high-sounding excuse, but to his surprise, Jiang Shu shook his head and said, "You misunderstand. You have to die. It's my duty, and I have no other choice."

"Why should I?" The Sand Demon laughed in anger.

That's even worse.

If you won't even give me a way out, why should I listen to you?

It's not as good as being grand and respectable.

“I can solve the crisis, I mean…” Jiang Shu said seriously, “The desertification of this world.”

"Desertification...crisis, ha." The Sand Demon sneered, "You still don't understand. Desertification is not a crisis at all, but an opportunity, a chance to change everything and allow all of humanity to evolve."

"If it truly is an opportunity, then why can't humans and sand golems coexist harmoniously? Why has evolution failed, resulting in the mutants you speak of, and..."

Jiang Shu pointed to the ferocious beasts below, who were burning, killing, and looting in the city:

"Do you think that your White Cloud City gradually becoming their breeding ground could be considered a kind of evolutionary opportunity?"

"These are completely different things!" The Sand Demon felt this was sophistry.

But Jiang Shu didn't think so: "That's the same thing."

Before the Sand Demon could continue to refute, he explained: "In my opinion, any positive change should be something that the person seeking change can decide for themselves whether or not to carry it out."

Let's take your previous example. Aquatic creatures decided to move onto land, and thus reptiles came into being. But the aquatic creatures still existed and did not go extinct. Apes came ashore and humans came into being, but apes did not go extinct either.

Those organisms that sought change and evolution achieved a better life, but those that remained conservative also had the right to survive.

Desertification is different. It is caused by changes in the environment, which force organisms to adapt to the new environment. Although it is also a form of evolution, it cannot be said to be benign, and it certainly cannot be called an opportunity.

Survival of the fittest, the survival of the fittest, and death if you don't change—isn't that just like a strong alkali?

Will you give it to me or not? Giving it to me will allow me to live, but I will lose something in return. Not giving it to me means I will die right now. This is just sex, there is no love.

Upon hearing this, the Sand Demon was stunned for a long time before speaking: "Although the words are rough but the reasoning is sound, you've gone way too far with your approach."

"and."

Jiang Shu didn't take it to heart and continued:

"What you call bloodline is actually a curse, and you don't need to doubt that. At this point, I have no reason to lie to you."

If you think about it carefully, you'll understand. Evolution is the accumulation of generations over many years. How can evolution be changed in an instant?

The guards, created from sand imbued with strange power, have children who remain ordinary people. Do you think non-heritable traits can be considered evolution?

The Sand Demon was somewhat persuaded.

He suddenly realized that what Jiang Shu said seemed to make some sense...

But the theory of desert evolution is, after all, a truth he has held as gospel for so long, and it is still somewhat unacceptable to reverse it all at once.

"Even so, isn't calling it a curse a bit...?"

Seeing that the Sand Demon was still hesitant, even though Jiang Shu was already quite impatient, he still sighed and patiently asked, in order to get to the bottom of the Boundless Sand, or rather, the Sand of All Things:

"Do you think I don't know whether it's a curse or not? Let's not talk about anything else, just look at me."

Don't you find it strange? I'm just an ordinary, handsome, and dashing young man, neither a sand puppet nor a sand demon. What makes me think I have the strength to fight you?

"You have a cheat?" As he spoke, the Sand Demon looked up at the faintly visible lightning in the pink mist.

"Okay, I don't deny that."

Jiang Shu waved his hand and said seriously:

"But the most important point I really want to make is that humans have limits, but you don't necessarily have to stop being human to gain power."

Normally, there is a threshold for guards who obtain the power of the desert. If they exceed this threshold, they will turn into monsters like mutants. For a long time, everyone thought that this was the limit of whether they could withstand the power of the desert, but in reality, it was the limit of whether they could withstand the curse that came with it.

Do you think that becoming this inhuman, ghostly creature is the necessary price to pay for gaining this power?

Wrong! Utterly wrong!

If it weren't for the curse, you wouldn't be like this now.

It is precisely because I take the essence and discard the dross that I have the strength I have now, while still being able to maintain my human form.

So even so, do you still think this is evolution?