No strange things are allowed to evolve!

Our first instinct was to run, but this was a problem we couldn't handle at all. We couldn't even move our legs; somehow, the white wisps had blocked our escape route.

It was a true apex predator, and as we ventured deeper into its trap, we fell into its snare, unable to escape. Soon, we were all swept up in it.

Jiang Shu listened, feeling a sense of déjà vu about this scene: "Is this the same method you used on me before? The one where you wrapped me up in a cocoon?"

“Hmm.” The Sand Demon was somewhat embarrassed. “The difference is that you are unaffected, but we have no way to escape.”

"and then?"

"When I opened my eyes again, I didn't know how much time had passed. I, who was bound and unable to break free before, could now easily tear the silk into pieces."

The Sand Demon replied:

"When I crawled out of the cocoon, I was still in that hole, but the white silk fibers that were everywhere had turned into a sandy yellow color, completely lifeless, and no matter how I touched them, they didn't react at all."

The egg was broken, leaving only fragments on the ground, and its contents were nowhere to be found.

Besides me, I also saw my teammates.

Of the team of more than ten people, only I survived. They all became mutants without their own consciousness and are now wandering in the cave.

At that time, I was completely bewildered and had no idea what was happening. I was terrified, especially when I saw my former companions, who had now become walking corpses.

I tried to climb out of the cave based on my memory, but I found that the entrance was gone, or rather, the entrance was still there, but the pit we had dug had been filled back in with sand that had accumulated over the years.

I was desperate; I thought I would end up like my companions.

So I dug frantically, but the moment I touched the sand, I suddenly had a strange feeling, as if it could be a part of my body.

When I came to my senses, I had already passed through layers of obstacles and returned to the ground.

Then I discovered that global desertification had already begun, and I had missed a lot of things.

The Sand Demon seemed somewhat regretful:

"It took me a long time to figure out what had happened over the years and what had happened to me."

That period was extremely difficult. Humans were afraid of me because I was no longer the same kind of life as them. Mutants and newborns also avoided me because, although I was powerful, I still retained some human characteristics and had not completely become a monster like them. Therefore, I was always alone.

And most importantly, I can no longer find meaning in living.

Clearing my name is no longer important, because by then no one remembers me anymore. My relatives and friends either died in the initial upheaval or simply lost contact with me. There isn't a single person in the entire world who still knows my name.

After wandering around for a while, I returned to the cave. I thought that although those team members had become mutants, they were still people I knew. Being there, I could at least feel that I was still alive.

And it was during that trip back that I obtained the fragment of the Sands of All Things—this is it.

As he spoke, the Sand Demon pointed to the black crystal on his forehead:

"When I first woke up, I didn't study the eggshells. All I could think about was escaping that place. But when I went back, I had learned about the ecology of life in the desert and was no longer afraid of things that I used to think were strange."

When I went to examine the eggshells out of curiosity, I discovered a black crystal attached to the inside.

I took it out, and then I saw this image—

The Sand Demon squinted:

"I saw a grain of sand, which at first was just an ordinary grain of sand, but in the end, it turned into a storm that swept across the land, and the land it touched eventually became a desert."

There was also a strangely shaped stone figure that spoke to me.

"What did he say?" Jiang Shu asked subconsciously.

“It said we were thieves, and that it would wait for us and make sure to get back everything I stole.”

The Sand Demon shook his head:

"I don't remember if it was the exact wording, but that's roughly the gist of it."

Immediately afterwards, I figured out what the black sand was and how to use it without even being taught.

I embedded it in my forehead and then gained the power of the Sands of All Things. Although incomplete, it was enough to give me the power to transform the entire White Cloud City.

Since then, I have found the meaning of life. I want to find the other fragments and obtain the complete sand of all things. In this way, I can change the whole world. Then everyone will love and respect me, no one will wrong me, and no one will be afraid of me.

Unfortunately, to this day, I haven't found the remaining fragments, or even a single clue about them.

After he finished speaking, Jiang Shu remained silent for a long time.

When the Sand Demon looked at Jiang Shu, he realized that Jiang Shu's expression was very strange.

"What's wrong?" the Sand Demon asked, puzzled.

Jiang Shu's brows were furrowed at this moment.

Because the scene that the Sand Demon just mentioned seems to have been seen at the Yellow Crane Tower as well.

Right after he was possessed, he told Jiang Shu that he had a dream, the content of which was exactly the same as the scene that the Sand Demon was describing at this moment.

This cannot be a coincidence.

So Jiang Shu asked curiously, "Did you finally see that stone man you mentioned?"

"No... If you hadn't asked about it today, I would have almost forgotten about it." The Sand Demon shook his head.

"Forgot?" Jiang Shu keenly noticed the suspicious point: "Impossible, right? Didn't you also try to find clues about the stone man by having your subordinates possess him and spread the word everywhere?"

"Possession?" The Sand Demon's face showed confusion, which did not seem to be feigned.

"Still pretending?" Jiang Shu reminded him, "Wasn't the escape of your subordinates who were imprisoned by the guards on the train orchestrated by someone you arranged through possession?"

"They..." the Sand Demon said in surprise, "Didn't they escape on their own? And how could they possess someone? My men are all tough guys among tough guys who can fight head-on."

"hiss..."

Jiang Shu suddenly sensed a conspiracy.

isn't it?

Could it be that the sand puppet that possessed the Yellow Crane Tower and was slapped to death by itself wasn't from the same group as the sand puppets it released as raw materials?

what's the situation?

Jiang Shu suddenly thought of something: "I mean, there are a lot of Sand Demons, right?"

"Yes and no."

The Sand Demon explained:

"It is true that there are many sand demons in the eyes of humans. They appear and disappear unpredictably and are impossible to deal with, but in fact, there has only been one me from beginning to end."

It's just that no one has ever actually seen me.

Furthermore, it's possible they mistook someone stronger than other newcomers for me; in any case, to them, anyone with an overwhelming advantage is called a Sand Demon.

"..." Jiang Shu felt that the situation was getting increasingly wrong.

Which side does that guy belong to?

Before it died, it said that the mission was completed, which suggests that there are other entities behind it.

If it's not the Sand Demon, then who is it?

The most important point is that the mission objective is to kill a sand demon, not to kill the sand demon itself.

Doesn't this mean there's more than one Sand Demon?

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Shu asked, "Is it possible that someone else besides you obtained the Sand of All Things?"

"this..."

Even the Sand Demon was somewhat uncertain about this:

"I'm really not sure, after all, when I woke up, the thing inside the egg had disappeared, and I've been looking for it but haven't found it."

"What about the numbers?" Jiang Shu asked. "When you woke up, did the number of your expedition team members match? Were all of them present?"

"They were all there, but one person was already dead when they were found... their bones were torn to shreds by the white silk threads."

At this moment, seeing Jiang Shu's serious and earnest expression, the Sand Demon realized something and said incredulously:

"No way..."

Chapter 172 Entrusting the Orphan in Baiyun City

But the Sand Demon quickly shook his head again: "No, that can't be. The pile of bones was very close to the egg, but everyone else, including me, ran a distance before being trapped by the white silk. So I can confirm that those bones belonged to the first companion who was swallowed. I watched him become a mutant before he was completely enveloped."

“But you didn’t see him die with your own eyes,” Jiang Shu replied. “Unless you saw it with your own eyes, I think you should still be skeptical. Zhongli could fake his death, so why couldn’t your companion do the same?”

Who is Zhongli?

"Sigh, you don't even know Zhongli, no wonder your life is such a failure."

"..." The Sand Demon found it strange: "Why are you so insistent that someone inside is still alive?"

So Jiang Shu told him about Huang Helou being possessed and about having a dream that was exactly the same as what the Sand Demon had seen.

As the Sand Demon fell into deep thought, Jiang Shu said again, "The stone man you mentioned, I estimate, is the embodiment of the Sand of All Things or something like that. It calls you thieves, not just you alone, but all of you. This means that besides you, someone else has obtained something from it, probably the Sand of All Things, and obtained it in some despicable way, which is why it calls it stealing."

"So you mean that besides me, someone else must have obtained the Sand of All Things, and the most suspicious person is my companion?"

“That’s right.” Jiang Shu nodded, and said seriously, “Of course, it’s also possible that someone came while you were trapped and asleep, and then for some reason, Wanwusha didn’t attack him, and he left before you woke up, but I think that possibility is very small.”

"why?"

"Logically, you are the only people in the world who know the location of that egg, but you were trapped inside before you could bring the information back. By the time you woke up, the entrance you dug had already been sealed off."

Jiang Shu pondered and said:

"In other words, after you were trapped, the Sand of All Things continued to work, turning seawater into sand and continuously transporting it to the surface, gradually filling the pit you dug. This will definitely take a long time."

Therefore, it can be determined that if an outsider enters, the time must be after that, because he will immediately begin to deal with the Sand of All Things. This process cannot take too long, otherwise those white silk threads will start targeting him. So he must have used some method to quickly stop the Sand of All Things from working.

If that were the case, then there should have been traces of him going in, but you say there were none, which doesn't make sense.

"Is it possible that he erased all traces after he left?"

The Sand Demon subconsciously raised an objection, but before Jiang Shu could say anything, he denied the guess himself.

Because it is not necessary.

First of all, this place is deserted and there's nothing to guard against, so it's unclear who they're trying to impress by doing this.

Secondly, it's completely unnecessary. Anyone who obtains the Sand of All Things can directly "I don't eat beef." The Sand Demon only obtained a fragment, yet he was able to refine White Cloud City into a part of his body. Not to mention that the mysterious person of unknown identity may have obtained even more.

If you're invincible, who are you going to be wary of?

So, is it possible that they are newborns?

"But if it's a newborn, they actually have the ability to move stealthily in the desert without leaving a trace."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu thought about it carefully for a moment, then shook his head: "It's possible, but unlikely."

"What do you mean?" the Sand Demon asked, puzzled.

Let me give you an example.

Jiang Shu explained it in a very vivid way:

"If there is a god who created everything in the world, do you think he could create something so heavy that he himself cannot lift it?"

“Uh…” Sand Demon thought for a moment: “It shouldn’t work, right? The things he can create can’t possibly exceed his own limits.”

"Right?" Jiang Shu shrugged. "Whether they are mutants or newborns, they are all products of the influence of the Sands of All Things. How could they possibly defy the Heavenly Gang? On the contrary, ordinary people who seem weaker than them may find another way because they do not have the power of the desert and can be unrestrained. As for what specific methods they used, we don't know."

"Hmm...that makes sense." The Sand Demon nodded.

Seeing that there was no more information, Jiang Shu decided to end everything: "Tell me the location of that hole, I'm going to take a look now."

“This…” The Sand Demon hesitated.

"What?" Jiang Shu smiled. "Afraid I'll discard you after you've served your purpose? You can rest assured about that."

Upon hearing this, the Sand Demon asked in surprise, "You won't kill me?"

“No,” Jiang Shu explained, “I mean, I will end all of this myself after you die.”

"..."

Although he knew that there were other sand demons who possessed the power of all sand, Jiang Shu would not abandon his immediate target to go and search for other elusive sand demons.

Whether we can win or not is one thing, but whether we can even find them is another matter entirely.

Moreover, without killing the sand demon in front of us, we cannot complete the first objective of the mission, and we don't even know what to do next.

Although the Sand Demon did not expect that after chatting for so long, Jiang Shu would still remain true to his original intentions, he was actually prepared for it.

That wasn't the reason he hesitated.