This place lay more than a million li deep in the Boundless Demon Domain, not far from the Lan Clan's territory.
The demon kings, including Cang Yue, sensed that Shi Lan was in danger and immediately rushed to her aid.
"We came too late. We beg Your Excellency's forgiveness."
Cang Yue lowered his head, unable to shake a lingering fear. Shi Lan's condition was dire. If they had arrived even a moment later, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
As time passed, the bloodline ties among the Lan Clan grew ever closer.
That was no bad thing, but the Lan Clan was still too young. Aside from Shi Lan, there was no "second generation" capable of sustaining the clan's bloodline.
Shi Lan was the Lan Clan's central bond, the source of their shared bloodline. If she fell, the source would be severed, and the Lan Clan, now steadily growing, would immediately fall apart.
Though the consequences would not be as severe as for an original race—whose bloodline might be stripped away, wiping out the entire clan—they would still range from shaken foundations that made further progress impossible to the complete loss of cultivation, sending them right back to square one.
Shi Lan glanced at the demon kings surrounding her. The resonance of their shared bloodline brought her an unprecedented sense of security.
Her nerves, taut for so long, finally relaxed. Shi Lan could no longer hold on. Her vision went black, and she fell unconscious.
After Cang Yue had two demon kings open a spatial passage and escort Shi Lan back to the Lan Clan's territory, he turned his gaze toward the rigid old man nearby.
A transformed demon king looked the old man up and down, then asked, "What should we do with him?"
"Just kill him!"
The demon