Gao Xian was meeting Yuan Tianying for the first time, but he knew of her.
Yuan Tianying, an eighth-rank powerhouse and sect master of the Heavenly Demon Sect, resided year-round in the Western Sea.
The Heavenly Demon Sect cultivators of the human realm all belonged to Yuan Tianying's lineage. Qingli and Yuan Wuxian, for instance, were both from the Heavenly Demon Sect lineage.
The Heavenly Demon Sect originated from cultivators' imitation of heavenly demons. Its foundation was the Heavenly Demon Codex, and the founder it worshipped was the Lord of Heavenly Demons.
The Heavenly Demon Sect's arts resembled those of heavenly demons as well, mostly methods that beguiled the heart and specialized in attacking the divine soul. Their transformations were gloomy, secretive, and impossible to predict.
Even with the Great Might Heavenly Dragon, Gao Xian could not see through Yuan Tianying's true face. It was as if she had been born looking exactly like Zhou Yuling, without the slightest trace of alteration.
The human realm was vast, and the number of humans beyond counting. It would be perfectly normal for someone to look exactly like Zhou Yuling. Finding seven or eight such identical people would not even be strange.
But Yuan Tianying was the Heavenly Demon Sect Master, an eighth-rank powerhouse. Her taking Zhou Yuling's appearance could not possibly be a coincidence.
Heavenly demons excelled at working from the smallest details, steadily corroding the human heart until they finally seized a cultivator's divine soul and turned the cultivator into their puppet.
Yuan Tianying had clearly assumed Zhou Yuling's appearance with exactly that intention.
Gao Xian revealed nothing on his face, but anger stirred within him. Zhou Yuling held a special place in his heart. In his eyes, Yuan Tianying's transformation was laden with provocation.
There were far too many cultivators