Dustin’s words — “You are demons, not immortals” — cracked like thunder through the decadent and eerie halls of the so-called Immortal Palace of Penglai. The moment the words left his lips, the grand hall’s temperature seemed to plunge to freezing. Even the spiritual mist rising from the wine pools froze in mid-air for an instant. The men and women who had been indulging in pleasure stiffened as if their throats had been clamped shut. Terror seized them; they shrank back, not daring to breathe too loudly. The delicate man’s fingers froze upon the strings of his zither. The enchanting smile on the peerless woman’s face hardened into an icy mask. Even Ao Kun, ever languid and detached, finally let a clear flicker of anger cross his deep eyes. The struggle of an ant could be amusing to watch — but an ant daring to mock and deny the heavens? That was an affront to divine authority. “Insolent fool!” The robed man was the first to erupt. He hurled his jade wine cup to the ground, shattering ...