Chapter Summaries

Shakyamuni sent the Six-Eared Macaque to challenge Sun Wukong again, hoping to replace the Intelligent Stone Monkey. When Shakyamuni secretly tipped the evenly matched fight in the Macaque’s favor, Hun Jian and his siblings rushed to the Lower Realm to help Sun Wukong.

• Shakyamuni warned the Six-Eared Macaque that he had to defeat Sun Wukong or face death, then sent him to Chang'an.
• The Six-Eared Macaque and Sun Wukong fought above Chang'an while Tang Xuanzang watched, unable to intervene without his recovered magical power.
• Hun Xiu explained to Hun Jian and his siblings that the opponent was the Six-Eared Macaque, who was backed by Shakyamuni and meant to replace Sun Wukong.
• Shakyamuni secretly empowered the Six-Eared Macaque, who struck Sun Wukong out of the sky and sent him crashing into a street in Chang'an.
• Hun Jian, Hun Jiao, and Hun Chan rushed to the Lower Realm after learning that Sun Wukong had been knocked down, while Hun Xiu assured Yao Ji that Shakyamuni would not dare attack them.

Hun Jian and his siblings saved Sun Wukong from Six-Eared Macaque, who was defeated and abandoned by Buddha Shakyamuni. Hun Jian spared Six-Eared Macaque, but when he returned to Spirit Mountain, Shakyamuni killed him, and the Heavenly Dao sent down merit as Journey to the West ended.

• Hun Jian and his siblings stopped Six-Eared Macaque from killing Sun Wukong, and Hun Chan healed Sun Wukong with the Lotus Lantern.
• Hun Jian defeated Six-Eared Macaque, exposed his identity, and gave him time to call for Shakyamuni, who ignored his plea.
• Six-Eared Macaque realized Shakyamuni had abandoned him, but Hun Jian spared him because he had committed no evil; Six-Eared Macaque thanked Hun Jian and left.
• Hun Jian explained Six-Eared Macaque's story to Sun Wukong, who accepted why his Senior Disciple Brother had let him go.
• Six-Eared Macaque returned to Spirit Mountain and apologized to Shakyamuni, who killed him with a palm strike.
• The Heavenly Dao trembled, vast merit power descended, and Journey to the West came to an end.

After the Journey to the West merit descended, Hun Jian, Hun Jiao, and Hun Chan received the largest share and went into seclusion to refine it. Shakyamuni learned Hun Xiu had redirected the Buddhist Sect’s merit, while Nuwa discovered Hun Xiu had severed her connection to the Lotus Lantern and was summoned to Soul Manor.

• Hun Xiu explained that Hun Jian, Hun Jiao, and Hun Chan had not yet refined their merit and would grow powerful once they did.
• Shakyamuni asked Haotian why the Buddhist Sect had received no merit, and Haotian revealed Hun Xiu had infused it into the Scripture Pilgrims.
• Shakyamuni accepted that he could not challenge Hun Xiu, then recruited Sun Wukong into the Buddhist Sect as the Victorious Fighting Buddha while Tang Xuanzang became the Chandana Merit Buddha.
• Hun Xiu erased Nuwa’s imprint from the Lotus Lantern and had Hun Chan take it into seclusion to refine it.
• Nuwa traced the severed connection to Soul Manor, realized Hun Xiu had taken control of the Lotus Lantern, and went to leave before Hun Xiu invited her down.
• Nuwa met Hun Xiu at Soul Manor and claimed she had only been passing through.

Hun Xiu left the Lotus Lantern world to test whether Hun Jian and the others could stand on their own, then arrived in the Journey to the West Sequel world and offered to help Wutian unify the Three Realms. Wutian, unable to judge Hun Xiu's strength, prepared to test him.

• Hun Xiu told Nuwa he would compensate her for the Lotus Lantern, then treated her to tea that strengthened her Nascent Soul and offered her some to take away.
• After seeing Nuwa off, Hun Xiu vanished from the Three Realms, and Haotian sensed his aura had disappeared but remained unsure whether he had truly left.
• Hun Xiu departed the Lotus Lantern world because he wanted to see if Hun Jian and the others could stand on their own after emerging from seclusion.
• Hun Xiu arrived in the Journey to the West Sequel world, where Wutian was still in the Netherworld, and appeared in Wutian's hall.
• Hun Xiu offered to help Wutian unify the Three Realms, and Wutian questioned whether he could overcome Tathagata Buddha before deciding to test him.

Hun Xiu faced Wutian in the Netherworld's grand hall and proved far stronger than Wutian expected. After Hun Xiu destroyed the World-Destroying Black Lotus, Wutian realized his confidence had come from his overwhelming strength.

• Wutian tested Hun Xiu with black mist, but Hun Xiu dissipated it effortlessly and taunted him into using his real power.
• Wutian summoned the World-Destroying Black Lotus, which restrained Hun Xiu and locked his Nascent Soul.
• Wutian mocked Hun Xiu and sent black flames from the lotus to burn him, but Hun Xiu broke free unharmed.
• Hun Xiu crushed the World-Destroying Black Lotus, and the backlash made Wutian spit blood.
• Wutian stared at Hun Xiu in shock and realized he had mistaken genuine strength for a bluff.

Hun Xiu tested Wutian’s strength and agreed to become his ally, then investigated the powers of the Three Realms and suspected Wutian’s rise was part of a larger conspiracy. Wutian learned that Tathagata did not know Hun Xiu, while Tathagata remained committed to a plan he believed had a ninety percent chance of success.

• Hun Xiu and Wutian clashed in the Netherworld Hall, and Hun Xiu defeated Wutian’s disciples and forced Wutian to his knees before Wutian accepted him as an ally.
• Hun Xiu told Wutian to call his name at a critical moment, then left the Netherworld as Wutian ordered Black Lotus Emissary to investigate him.
• Hun Xiu visited Tathagata, Haotian, and Zhenyuanzi, concluded that Wutian’s brief rule over the Three Realms was part of a conspiracy, and found that many powers stood at the world’s summit.
• Black Lotus Emissary reported that no one named Hun Xiu existed in the Three Realms, so Wutian went to Spirit Mountain and asked Tathagata about him.
• Tathagata said he did not know Hun Xiu, and Wutian left after reminding him of their game.
• Randeng Ancient Buddha questioned Tathagata about the plan, but Tathagata refused to abandon it and claimed it had a ninety percent chance of success.

Hun Xiu learned that Wutian’s takeover of the Three Realms was part of a contest with Tathagata and offered Wutian a way to secure permanent rule, but Wutian refused to kill the Gods and Buddhas. After Wutian’s plan unfolded and the Gods and Buddhas were imprisoned in the Ashura Realm, Hun Xiu attacked Haotian, who revealed his power by vanishing before the strike landed.

• Hun Xiu overheard Tathagata, Wutian, and Randeng discussing the coming contest and realized Wutian was expected to lose without his intervention.
• Wutian conquered the Three Realms, imprisoned the Gods and Buddhas in the Ashura Realm, and used Demons disguised as Gods to maintain order while beginning the search for the Reincarnated Demonic Eye and seventeen Sarira.
• Hun Xiu urged Wutian to kill the Gods and Buddhas so Tathagata could not reclaim the Three Realms, but Wutian refused and questioned Hun Xiu’s loyalties.
• Hun Xiu overwhelmed Wutian with his aura, said he supported him because he preferred him to Tathagata, and promised to help if Wutian called his true name.
• Hun Xiu entered the Ashura Realm and struck at Haotian with a powerful palm, prompting Haotian to vanish before the blow hit.

Hun Xiu exposed Haotian’s secret alliance with the Buddhist Sect and sealed his Nascent Soul, prompting Haotian to send Nezha to warn Qiao Ling’er. After Qiao Ling’er became Tathagata again, Tathagata killed Haotian and claimed the throne of the Three Realms for himself.

• Haotian revealed his magical power when Hun Xiu attacked, and Hun Xiu exposed his staged calamity with the Buddhist Sect.
• Hun Xiu sealed Haotian’s Nascent Soul, leaving him powerless, and Wutian worried that Hun Xiu might be stronger than he was.
• Haotian asked Nezha to escape the Ashura Realm and warn Tathagata’s reincarnation that Wutian had broken their arrangement.
• Nezha escaped and told Qiao Ling’er the warning, prompting Qiao Ling’er to become Tathagata again and send Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Nezha to find Zhenyuanzi and the seventeen Sarira.
• Tathagata visited the Ashura Realm, confirmed Haotian was powerless, and killed him by snapping his neck and crushing his Nascent Soul.

Tathagata killed Haotian, forced the Heavenly Court immortals to submit, and tried to blame Wutian for the murder. As Tathagata pursued the seventeen Sarira, Hun Xiu urged Wutian to abandon their rules and seize the Sarira Sun Wukong had found, and Wutian resolved to show no mercy.

• Tathagata killed Haotian and demanded that the sealed Heavenly Court immortals either submit or die, and they all submitted under pressure.
• Haotian's death brought bloody rain and lightning across the Three Realms, and Zhenyuanzi told Sun Wukong, Nezha, and Zhu Bajie that the Jade Emperor had fallen.
• Nezha left to attend to other matters while Zhenyuanzi, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie set out to search for the remaining Sarira.
• Tathagata altered the memories of the Buddhas and immortals, then accused Wutian of killing Haotian when Wutian confronted him in the Ashura Realm.
• Wutian returned to Spirit Mountain and asked Hun Xiu whether he could defeat Tathagata after the Sarira were fused; Hun Xiu told him to seize the Sarira Sun Wukong had found.
• Wutian accepted Hun Xiu's advice and declared that, since Tathagata had shown no mercy, he would be ruthless in return.

Wutian came to Five Villages Temple and demanded Zhenyuanzi hand over the Sarira, triggering a battle that destroyed the temple and Mount Wanshou. With the two powerful figures locked in a stalemate, Zhenyuanzi called upon the Ginseng Fruit Tree.

• Wutian appeared at Five Villages Temple and demanded that Zhenyuanzi give him the Sarira.
• Zhenyuanzi refused, and he and Wutian unleashed their powers against each other.
• Wutian joined with his Black Lotus and pressed his attack, while Zhenyuanzi summoned the Book of Earth and struck back.
• Their collision flattened Five Villages Temple and Mount Wanshou, while the Ginseng Fruit Tree shielded itself and Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie escaped.
• Zhenyuanzi saw the surviving Ginseng Fruit Tree and shouted, "Tree, come!"

Zhenyuanzi used the Book of Earth and Ginseng Fruit Tree to break Wutian’s Black Lotus barrier, but the Black Lotus Guardian ambushed him and Wutian seized the Book of Earth. Wutian offered to return it in exchange for Zhenyuanzi’s three Sariras, leaving Zhenyuanzi to consider the bargain.

• Zhenyuanzi summoned the Ginseng Fruit Tree, whose roots battered the Black Lotus barrier until it shattered.
• Zhenyuanzi struck the exposed Wutian and taunted him after Wutian spat blood.
• The Black Lotus Guardian, disguised as Zhu Bajie, pierced Zhenyuanzi’s heart with the Nine-Toothed Rake, and Wutian took the Book of Earth.
• Zhenyuanzi struck the Black Lotus Guardian and drove him back, while Sun Wukong reached Zhenyuanzi too late to prevent the theft.
• Wutian suppressed the Book of Earth and offered to return it if Zhenyuanzi gave him the three Sariras, leaving Zhenyuanzi hesitant.

Wutian traded three Sarira to Zhenyuanzi but deceived him and kept the Book of Earth. Back at Spirit Mountain, Hun Xiu offered to turn the Sarira into Demonic Beads using Wutian’s Black Lotus, and Wutian trusted him with it.

• Zhenyuanzi gave Wutian three Sarira in exchange for the Book of Earth, but Wutian refused to return the book and escaped with the wounded Black Lotus Guardian.
• Wutian healed the Black Lotus Guardian at the Great Hero Hall, then coughed up blood when the Sarira proved impossible for him to control.
• Hun Xiu explained that Wutian could not use the Sarira because he was incomplete and proposed refining them into Demonic Beads.
• Wutian lent Hun Xiu the Black Lotus, and Hun Xiu placed the three Sarira inside it.

Hun Xiu turned three Buddhist relics into Demonic Beads that strengthened Wutian, then erased Zhenyuanzi's Soul Imprint from the Book of Earth. Zhenyuanzi sensed the severed connection and hurried to search for the remaining relics with Sun Wukong, while the Book of Earth ended up back with Wutian.

• Hun Xiu used the Black Lotus to transform three relics into Demonic Beads and gave them to Wutian.
• Wutian absorbed the Demonic Beads, grew stronger, and considered refining all the relics for himself.
• Hun Xiu took the sealed Book of Earth, erased its seal and Zhenyuanzi's Soul Imprint, then tossed it back to Wutian.
• Zhenyuanzi sensed that his connection to the Book of Earth had vanished and feared that the Three Realms' calamity had changed.
• Zhenyuanzi told Sun Wukong they had to hurry and search for the remaining relics.

Hun Xiu gave Wutian the Book of Earth, strengthening him for his inevitable battle with Tathagata. The gods and Buddhas defeated Wutian’s demons and confronted him at Spirit Mountain, where Wutian refused to surrender.

• Hun Xiu told Wutian that Zhenyuanzi’s Soul Imprint had been erased from the Book of Earth, and Wutian claimed it with his own demonic blood.
• Hun Xiu explained that he helped Wutian because he favored him and wanted to see him rule the Three Realms.
• Wutian summoned the demons of the Three Realms to Spirit Mountain and prepared for his final battle with Tathagata.
• Tathagata arrived at Spirit Mountain with the gods and Buddhas, who routed Wutian’s demons and captured his loyal subordinates.
• Tathagata demanded that Wutian surrender, but Wutian refused and challenged him to prove his strength.

Tathagata and Wutian began their battle, but Wutian’s strength had grown so much that he easily repelled Tathagata and Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong failed to break Wutian’s barrier, and Wutian challenged them to prove they could withstand his power.

• Tathagata attacked Wutian with the Tathagata Divine Palm, but Wutian’s purple barrier repelled the strike and left Tathagata’s palm bleeding.
• Wutian admitted he had grown stronger over the tens of thousands of years, while Tathagata realized his plan to seize the seventeen Sariras had gone awry.
• Tathagata healed his injured palm and argued that he and the assembled Gods and Buddhas could defeat Wutian through their numbers.
• Sun Wukong, who had fused with thirteen Sariras and was the Bone-Less Sarira, struck Wutian’s barrier with his Golden Cudgel but was blasted backward.
• Sun Wukong asked Wutian to put away his barrier and fight fairly, but Wutian mocked him and dared him to endure even a little of his strength.

Tathagata led the immortals and Buddhas in breaking Wutian’s barrier, but Wutian survived their combined attack with the Black Lotus and Book of Earth. After the other fighters were knocked out of the battle, Wutian challenged Tathagata to a duel.

• Tathagata ordered the immortals and Buddhas to attack Wutian’s barrier, and their combined mana shattered it.
• Wutian blocked the attack with the Black Lotus and Book of Earth, though its shockwaves destroyed the Great Hero Hall and Spirit Mountain.
• Zhenyuanzi questioned Tathagata about the Book of Earth, and Tathagata promised to return it after Wutian was suppressed.
• Wutian’s mana sent the immortals and Buddhas flying, leaving only Tathagata, Zhenyuanzi, and Sun Wukong able to fight.
• Wutian called on Tathagata to face him alone, confident that he could defeat him and avenge his past humiliations.

Wutian challenged Tathagata, Zhenyuanzi, and Sun Wukong, but Tathagata refused to fight him one-on-one and the three joined forces instead. Their strongest attacks collided with Wutian’s power in a massive explosion that blasted them all away.

• Wutian taunted Tathagata and proposed a duel, but Tathagata refused, claiming Wutian wanted to defeat them one by one.
• Tathagata, Zhenyuanzi, and Sun Wukong prepared to fight Wutian together, while Wutian challenged all three at once.
• Tathagata unleashed the Tathagata Divine Palm, Zhenyuanzi merged with the tree, and Sun Wukong powered up the Golden Cudgel with the fourteen relics.
• Wutian wielded the Black Lotus and Book of Earth and pushed his three Demonic Beads to their limits as he launched his strongest attack.
• The four forces collided and exploded, blasting Wutian, Tathagata, Zhenyuanzi, and Sun Wukong backward until they crashed to the ground.

Wutian and the three strongest opponents were left injured after their battle, but an unseen intervention made the Black Lotus absorb the gods’ and Buddhas’ attacks to heal and empower him. With his enemies weakened and the demons freed, Wutian claimed he would rule the Three Realms forever, while Tathagata refused to accept defeat.

• Wutian, Tathagata, Zhenyuanzi, and Sun Wukong were injured after their battle destroyed Spirit Mountain.
• Tathagata ordered the gods and Buddhas to attack Wutian’s Black Lotus while he, Zhenyuanzi, and Sun Wukong recovered.
• The Black Lotus absorbed the gods’ and Buddhas’ power, healing Wutian and leaving them too weak to fight.
• Wutian recognized Hun Xiu as the one who had secretly caused the Black Lotus to absorb the attacks.
• Wutian freed the demons and declared he would rule the Three Realms forever, while Tathagata insisted he would not get the chance.

Wutian began merging with Tathagata, and Zhenyuanzi revealed that they were two halves of the same person. With Wutian gaining control, Zhenyuanzi urged Sun Wukong to use the fourteen Sarira within him to help Tathagata suppress Wutian, and Sun Wukong accepted the task.

• Tathagata told Wutian that evil was destined to lose, but Wutian declared that victory made him righteous and prepared to merge with Tathagata.
• Wutian swallowed Tathagata and began merging with him as the Black Lotus protected him, causing his appearance to shift between the two forms.
• Sun Wukong asked Zhenyuanzi what was happening, and Zhenyuanzi explained that Wutian and Tathagata were the good and evil halves of one person.
• Zhenyuanzi warned Sun Wukong that Wutian's complete victory would plunge the Three Realms into darkness and urged him to help Tathagata regain control.
• Zhenyuanzi told Sun Wukong to merge the fourteen Sarira within him into Tathagata, and Sun Wukong agreed, saying, "If I do not enter hell, who will?"

Sun Wukong sacrificed himself as the Bone-Less Sarira, helping Tathagata suppress Wutian and take control of their shared body. Tathagata then destroyed the Demons, rewarded the Buddhas, and moved to choose a new Jade Emperor, naming Sun Wukong as his candidate.

• Sun Wukong transformed into the Bone-Less Sarira, and the fourteen Sariras entered Wutian's body, giving Tathagata strength to resist him.
• Hun Xiu urged Wutian to yield control, and Wutian chose to trust him; Tathagata seized the chance and sealed Wutian within their shared body.
• Tathagata took control of the Black Lotus, the Book of Earth, and the three Demonic Beads, then erased the fleeing Demons with a wave of his hand.
• Tathagata restored the immortals' and Buddhas' magical power, rewarded the Buddhas, and proposed appointing a new Jade Emperor for the leaderless Heavenly Court.
• Tathagata told the immortals that Sun Wukong, whose merit and sacrifice had ended the calamity, was his choice for the ruler of the Three Realms.