Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong challenged Six-Eared Macaque to have their identities exposed before Hun Xiu, but Hun Xiu’s test did not settle the dispute. Both monkeys stood up, leaving Sun Wukong stunned by Six-Eared Macaque’s refusal to admit he was fake.

• Kunpeng defeated Sun Wukong and spared him, and Sun Wukong then demanded that Six-Eared Macaque accompany him to the High Cloud Palace.
• Hun Xiu forced Sun Wukong to kneel with his imperial aura, and Six-Eared Macaque respectfully greeted him.
• Sun Wukong asked Hun Xiu to use the Monster-Revealing Mirror, but Hun Xiu said both claimants were monkeys.
• Sun Wukong accused Six-Eared Macaque of being his fanboy, while Six-Eared Macaque insisted Sun Wukong was the impostor.
• Hun Xiu declared that the real Wukong could stand and leave while the fake must remain kneeling, but both monkeys stood up.

Hun Xiu spared Six-Eared Macaque and sent him to warn Tathagata not to interfere with the Journey to the West. Sun Wukong returned to protect Tang Xuanzang, while Tathagata learned that his plan to replace him had failed.

• Hun Xiu subdued Six-Eared Macaque with his Emperor's Aura and let Sun Wukong leave to continue protecting Tang Xuanzang.
• Six-Eared Macaque begged for his life in the High Cloud Palace, and Hun Xiu ordered him to return to the Buddhist Sect and warn Tathagata to behave himself.
• Two Vajras saw only one monkey leave the South Heaven Gate, and one went to Spirit Mountain to report the unexpected change.
• Buddha Tathagata realized that Sun Wukong had returned and Six-Eared Macaque had been detained, ruining his replacement plan.
• Hun Xiu spared Six-Eared Macaque, who eagerly accepted the task and fled the High Cloud Palace.

After Six-Eared Macaque returned from the Heavenly Court, he delivered Hun Xiu’s warning to Tathagata, who let him live because he suspected the two had reached an agreement. The Journey to the West continued without incident as the Three Realms’ great powers sensed that a devastating storm was near.

• Six-Eared Macaque returned to Spirit Mountain and admitted to Tathagata that his plan to replace Sun Wukong had failed.
• Six-Eared Macaque conveyed Hun Xiu’s warning that the Buddhist Sect must stop playing tricks if it wanted the eastward passage to proceed.
• Tathagata suspected Six-Eared Macaque had an understanding with Hun Xiu and let him leave to continue cultivating.
• After leaving Spirit Mountain, Six-Eared Macaque realized he had escaped death by hiding his fear from Tathagata and resolved to use his remaining time to grow stronger.
• The Buddhist Sect, the Saints, and Heavenly Dao Hongjun refrained from provoking Hun Xiu as the Journey to the West continued according to plan.
• The great powers of the Three Realms sensed that the unnatural calm would soon give way to an explosive crisis.

After the Journey to the West Tribulation ended, Hun Xiu seized all the merit meant for the Buddhist Sect and the participating immortals, then proclaimed himself ruler of the Three Realms. Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin swallowed their anger, while Tathagata refused to let the matter end there.

• The Three Realms’ major powers awaited the merit descending after the Journey to the West Tribulation was completed.
• Hun Xiu appeared beneath the golden clouds and drew all the merit to himself, leaving none for the Buddhas or the Host of Immortals.
• Hun Xiu declared himself the Supreme Sovereign and ruler of the Three Realms, claiming all merit belonged to him.
• Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin raged over losing the merit but decided not to challenge Hun Xiu because he was too powerful.
• Tathagata resolved not to let Hun Xiu’s theft of the Buddhist Sect’s merit go unanswered.

Hun Xiu refused to return the merit he had taken from the Buddhist Sect, and Tathagata led the sect in confronting him. Guanyin stopped Tathagata, declared herself Cihang and a Daoist, then revealed strength that matched his as their fight began.

• Tathagata demanded that Hun Xiu return the merit, and the Buddhist Sect backed him, but Hun Xiu refused and mocked their threat of battle.
• Tathagata attacked Hun Xiu, but Guanyin caught his fist and transformed into a Daoist nun, identifying herself as Cihang.
• Tathagata accused Cihang of betraying the Buddhist Sect, but she insisted she had always belonged to the Daoist Sects.
• Cihang told Tathagata he would have to defeat her before attacking Hun Xiu, and she blocked his Tathagata Divine Palm.
• Tathagata realized Cihang was at the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm, and Cihang mocked his palm technique.

Duobao appeared and fought Tathagata, but Hun Xiu intervened and severely wounded him. As Duobao prepared to kill Tathagata for betraying Jiejiao, Tathagata recalled that the Saints had forced his path and was asked for his last words.

• Cihang attacked Tathagata, but Duobao appeared and claimed that Tathagata was his to defeat.
• Duobao and Tathagata fought evenly while Hun Xiu watched, and Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin hoped Tathagata might survive.
• Hun Xiu grew impatient, struck Tathagata with a storm of power, and left him grievously injured and unable to fight.
• Duobao questioned Tathagata about abandoning Jiejiao, and Tathagata said the Saints had taken him prisoner and forced him to establish and lead the Buddhist Sect.
• Duobao rejected Tathagata’s explanation as no excuse for betraying Jiejiao and asked him for his last words before killing him.

Duobao killed Tathagata, but Hun Xiu seized Tathagata’s True Spirit and absorbed it into the Investiture of the Gods List. Hun Xiu then trapped the Three Realms beneath its power, preventing even Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the Saints from intervening, as powerful figures gathered to stop him.

• Duobao killed Tathagata after Tathagata refused to leave last words, and Tathagata’s True Spirit emerged from his fading body.
• Hun Xiu snatched Tathagata’s True Spirit from Duobao and absorbed it into the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Hun Xiu’s smile and words prompted those who tried to flee to explode into blood mist, and their True Spirits flew into the list.
• Hun Xiu released the Investiture of the Gods List, plunging the Three Realms into darkness and blocking Dao Ancestor Hongjun, Daoist Zhunti, and Daoist Jieyin from entering or acting against it.
• Duobao, Cihang, Manjusri Guangfa Heavenly Venerate, Randeng, Ancestral Dragon, Eastern Sovereign Taiyi, and other powerful figures allied to stop Hun Xiu.

Hun Xiu annihilated Ancestral Dragon with his overwhelming pressure, then revealed that he had only sent him back to his own time period. The revelation exposed Hun Xiu as the mysterious expert who had brought beings from the past into the present, leaving the assembled powers shaken and Eastern Sovereign Taiyi respectfully addressing him as “my lord.”

• Hun Xiu crushed Ancestral Dragon’s Five-Clawed Golden Dragon phantom with his pressure, leaving Ancestral Dragon to vanish without a trace.
• The Dragon Clan mourned Ancestral Dragon and waited in vain for his True Spirit to appear.
• Eastern Sovereign Taiyi asked Hun Xiu where Ancestral Dragon’s True Spirit had gone, and Hun Xiu’s gaze overwhelmed him with terror.
• Hun Xiu explained that Ancestral Dragon belonged to another time period and that he had sent him back there.
• Eastern Sovereign Taiyi and the other beings from the past realized Hun Xiu was the mysterious expert who had brought them into the present, and Taiyi addressed him respectfully as “my lord.”
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun understood that Hun Xiu had pulled the past figures from the river of time and wondered whether he could do the same to Pangu.

Hun Xiu annihilated Mahavairocana Tathagata and used the Investiture of the Gods List to claim the True Spirits of the Buddhist Sect, Demon Tribe, and Dragon Clan. He then confronted Dao Ancestor Hongjun in Chaos and challenged the gathered Saints, summoning four figures from another Investiture of the Gods List as the Five Saints attacked.

• Hun Xiu sent Eastern Sovereign Taiyi and the others back to their own time, prompting Mahavairocana Tathagata to transform into a Three-legged Golden Crow and charge at him.
• Hun Xiu extinguished Mahavairocana Tathagata’s flames and killed him, then the Investiture of the Gods List drew in the True Spirits of the Three-legged Golden Crow and powerful members of the Buddhist Sect, Demon Tribe, and Dragon Clan.
• Hun Xiu took the Investiture of the Gods List to Purple Cloud Palace and challenged Dao Ancestor Hongjun to enter it.
• Hun Xiu destroyed Purple Cloud Palace to draw the Saints to him, then challenged Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the gathered Saints to attack together.
• The Three Pure Ones and Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti charged Hun Xiu while Nuwa stayed back, and Hun Xiu opened another Investiture of the Gods List to summon four figures who were sent flying by his attack.

Hun Xiu summoned four Saints from the Investiture of the Gods List, prompting them to mistake Dao Ancestor Hongjun for their master and beg for release. Their arrival sparked a battle between two identical sets of Saints, which Hun Xiu eventually stopped by forcing the summoned four to their knees.

• Hun Xiu summoned four Saints from the Investiture of the Gods List, shocking Dao Ancestor Hongjun and the original Saints with their identical appearances and auras.
• The summoned Four Saints recognized Dao Ancestor Hongjun as their master, knelt, and begged him to free them from the Investiture of the Gods List.
• The original Grand Supreme Saint and the other Saints confronted their duplicates, and a Saint War erupted in Chaos while Nuwa and Sect Master Tongtian watched.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun watched the battle and considered benefiting from the Saints weakening each other, while Hun Xiu observed without intervening.
• Hun Xiu entered the battle and ordered the eight Saints to stop, then used his overwhelming aura to make the summoned four spit blood and kneel before him.

Hun Xiu sent the Grand Supreme Saint and three other saints back into the Investiture of the Gods List, then unleashed its Black Iron Chains against Hongjun and the remaining saints. Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin were bound and weakened, but Hongjun freed them, leaving their fate uncertain.

• Hun Xiu forced the Grand Supreme Saint and the other three saints to call him Master and sealed them inside the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Hun Xiu summoned Black Iron Chains from another Investiture of the Gods List and sent them to bind Hongjun and the other saints.
• Daoist Zhunti was pierced and bound by the chains, then called on Daoist Jieyin to rescue him.
• Daoist Jieyin failed to break the chains, was pierced and bound himself, and called to Hongjun for help.
• Hongjun struck down the chains binding Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin, freeing them but leaving them extremely weak.

Hongjun rescued the weakened Saints, then revealed that he intended to devour them and consumed all Six Saints while Hun Xiu refused to interfere. Hongjun emerged much stronger and challenged Hun Xiu, but Hun Xiu remained his equal and called him weak.

• Hongjun hesitated to devour Daoist Zhunti and Daoist Jieyin, but the Black Iron Chains pierced the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa and drained their mana.
• Hongjun destroyed the chains and freed All Saints, then summoned a black hole that began devouring them.
• Hongjun revealed that All Saints were his targets, while Grand Supreme Saint and the others pleaded with Hun Xiu for help.
• Hun Xiu refused to intervene, and Hongjun devoured the Six Saints to increase his strength.
• Hongjun boasted that he could suppress Hun Xiu, but Hun Xiu matched his aura and dismissed his power as weak.

Hun Xiu overwhelmed Hongjun in an illusion, exposing Hongjun’s defeat and driving him to madness. When the illusion ended, the Six Saints confronted Hongjun, who attacked them and devoured Daoist Zhunti before Daoist Jieyin self-destructed and badly injured him.

• Hun Xiu defeated Hongjun with ease in an illusion, crushing his strongest attack and leaving him convinced he was no longer the strongest.
• Hongjun’s breakdown ended when he and the Six Saints awoke from the illusion, though they doubted whether it had truly been unreal.
• The Six Saints surrounded Hongjun and attacked after deciding to take precautions against him.
• Hongjun struck Daoist Zhunti down and devoured him, revealing that he intended to consume the Six Saints.
• Daoist Jieyin self-destructed while charging Hongjun, sending the other Saints flying and leaving Hongjun badly injured.

Hongjun battled Grand Supreme Saint, Sect Master Tongtian, Primeval Lord of Heaven, and Nuwa, who fought back despite his immense power. After the Three Pure Ones self-destructed one by one, Hongjun stopped Nuwa from doing the same and seized control of her.

• Hongjun wounded the four Saints, and Sect Master Tongtian self-destructed to strike him.
• Hongjun conjured a devouring void to trap Grand Supreme Saint, Nuwa, and Primeval Lord of Heaven, but Grand Supreme Saint self-destructed and disrupted it.
• Grieving his brothers, Primeval Lord of Heaven attacked Hongjun and self-destructed as well.
• Nuwa resolved to self-destruct rather than become Hongjun's nourishment, but Hongjun reached her and stopped her from controlling her body.

Hun Xiu captured Hongjun, the Six Saints, the Heavenly Dao, Chaos, and the Three Realms in the Investiture of the Gods List, then renamed it Journey to the West. He appeared in a ruined temple, where a scholar faced a dying woman whose heart was missing.

• Hongjun devoured Nuwa and recovered much of his strength, but Hun Xiu bound him with a Black Iron Chain and pulled him into the Investiture of the Gods List.
• Hun Xiu gathered the True Spirits of the Six Saints and sent them into the list.
• The Heavenly Dao refused Hun Xiu's demand to enter the list, so Hun Xiu captured him and drew Chaos and the Three Realms inside as well.
• Hun Xiu renamed the Investiture of the Gods List Journey to the West and vanished with it.
• Hun Xiu arrived at a ruined temple, where a scholar looked at a heartless, unconscious woman and finally made a decision.

Hun Xiu rescued Yao Ji after the Three-Headed Flood Dragon crushed her heart, taking her away before Yang Tianyou could save her. When Yao Ji awoke, Hun Xiu claimed the heart beating in her chest was his and placed her hand over his own heart.

• Hun Xiu appeared in the ruined temple, stopped Yang Tianyou from giving his heart to Yao Ji, and carried her away.
• Hun Xiu brought Yao Ji to Guanjiang Estuary and restored her heart, allowing her to awaken the next day.
• Yao Ji wondered whether the scholar had saved her, then became captivated when Hun Xiu entered her room.
• Hun Xiu told Yao Ji he had replaced her shattered heart with his own.
• Yao Ji doubted him because his heart was still beating, so Hun Xiu placed her hand on his chest and asked her to feel it.

After Hun Xiu saved Yao Ji, she developed desires and fell in love with him, and they married and raised three children in Guanjiang Estuary. The Jade Emperor learned of their family and sent Great Golden Crow, Tianpeng, and one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to capture Yao Ji and execute Hun Xiu and the children.

• Hun Xiu told Yao Ji that his heart had grown back and said he had saved her from an abandoned temple, while Yao Ji wondered what had happened to the scholar.
• Yao Ji stayed with Hun Xiu and discovered that she had developed desires and fallen in love with him.
• Yao Ji confessed her feelings, Hun Xiu accepted her, and the two settled in Guanjiang Estuary, where Hun Xiu became a physician and they founded Soul Manor.
• Yao Ji and Hun Xiu had three children: Hun Jiao, Hun Jian, and Hun Chan.
• The Jade Emperor learned that Yao Ji had married a mortal and borne children, then sent Great Golden Crow and Tianpeng with one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to capture her and execute her family.

Dark clouds gathered over Guanjiang Estuary as Yao Ji feared the Jade Emperor had discovered her marriage to Hun Xiu. Hun Xiu reassured her and told their children about their mother's identity, leaving them to face the truth that she had violated the Heavenly Laws.

• Hun Xiu saw immortal-aura clouds gathering over Guanjiang Estuary, and Yao Ji feared her brother, the Jade Emperor, had learned of her mortal marriage.
• Hun Xiu comforted Yao Ji and promised to protect her and their family.
• Hun Xiu called Hun Jiao, Hun Jian, and Hun Chan home, and Yao Ji revealed that she was the Jade Emperor's younger sister.
• Yao Ji demonstrated her magic, convincing the children that she was a goddess and that they were Second Generation Immortals.
• Yao Ji explained that she governed the Realm of Desire and was forbidden to desire, marry, or have children, so she had violated the Heavenly Laws.

Yao Ji revealed that the Jade Emperor had ordered her family killed, and Great Golden Crow arrived at Soul Manor to enforce the command. After he refused to spare Hun Xiu and the children, Hun Xiu stepped forward to confront him.

• Yao Ji told Hun Jian, Hun Jiao, and Hun Chan that the Jade Emperor would send Heavenly Soldiers to arrest her and kill them, and she said they had to run.
• Great Golden Crow and Tianpeng arrived at Guanjiang Estuary with a hundred Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, then entered Soul Manor.
• Yao Ji offered to return to the Heavenly Court and accept punishment if Great Golden Crow spared Hun Xiu and her children, but he refused and declared they all had to die.
• Hun Xiu stepped around Yao Ji and asked Great Golden Crow whether there was any room for discussion.
• Great Golden Crow stared at Hun Xiu and was struck by how handsome he was.

Hun Xiu first bluffed the Great Golden Crow into retreating, but the Queen Mother persuaded the Jade Emperor to send them back to arrest Yao Ji. When the Great Golden Crow attacked Hun Xiu, Hun Xiu revealed overwhelming power and sent him crashing to the ground.

• Hun Xiu confidently claimed to be Yao Ji’s husband and frightened the Great Golden Crow into withdrawing with Tianpeng and the soldiers.
• Hun Chan praised Hun Xiu, while Yao Ji questioned whether her husband was truly mortal; Hun Xiu reassured her and promised to protect the family.
• The Great Golden Crow and Tianpeng reported their retreat to the Jade Emperor, and the Queen Mother argued that Hun Xiu was probably no expert.
• The Jade Emperor ordered the Great Golden Crow and Tianpeng to arrest Yao Ji despite the uncertainty about Hun Xiu’s strength.
• After several days, the Great Golden Crow and Tianpeng returned to Guanjiang Estuary with soldiers, and Hun Xiu taunted the Great Golden Crow.
• Hun Xiu dispelled the Great Golden Crow’s aura, overwhelmed him with his own power, and sent him flying to the ground, where he spat blood.