Chapter Summaries

Hun Xiu searched Silk Web Cave for the Golden Cudgel and Moonlight Box, hoping to help Joker become Sun Wukong, but found neither. He concluded that Guanyin had them, while Joker continued fleeing Demon King with Guanyin secretly protecting him.

• Joker fled Demon King, who pursued him cautiously because he feared Joker might have regained his powers.
• Hun Xiu left Five Peaks Mountain with Spring Thirteenth Mother and White Crystal and took them to Silk Web Cave.
• Guanyin overheard Hun Xiu mention someone powerful helping Joker and realized he had discovered her presence.
• Hun Xiu searched Silk Web Cave with his divine sense but found neither the Moonlight Box nor the Golden Cudgel.
• Hun Xiu told Spring Thirteenth Mother and White Crystal that Silk Web Cave had once been Water Curtain Cave, Sun Wukong's former cave abode.
• Spring Thirteenth Mother asked whether Hun Xiu had found the Golden Cudgel, and he said it was not in Silk Web Cave.

Joker reached Silk Web Cave after Guanyin secretly arranged for him to be led there, where he reunited with Hun Xiu and the others. Hun Xiu exposed Guanyin and demanded the Tightening Hoop, the Golden Cudgel, and the Moonlight Box, leaving her immobilized and asking whether she had made up her mind.

• Spring Thirteenth Mother and White Crystal learned from Hun Xiu that the Golden Cudgel was not in Silk Web Cave, and White Crystal worried about Joker being hunted.
• Joker fled into Silk Web Cave, unaware that Guanyin had arranged for him to go there.
• Joker reunited with Hun Xiu, Spring Thirteenth Mother, and White Crystal, and Hun Xiu revealed that someone had directed Joker to the cave.
• Hun Xiu called out Guanyin, who revealed herself and asked whether he intended to interfere in the Buddhist Sect's affairs.
• Hun Xiu demanded that Guanyin hand over the Tightening Hoop, the Golden Cudgel, and the Moonlight Box.
• Guanyin refused, and Hun Xiu's unseen power left her unable to move or circulate her magical power as he asked whether she had made up her mind.

Hun Xiu forced Guanyin to hand over the Tightening Hoop, Golden Cudgel, and Moonlight Box, then offered to help Joker become Sun Wukong. Joker discovered he could wield the Golden Cudgel, and Hun Xiu explained that Joker was already Sun Wukong; Joker asked how he would transform.

• Hun Xiu threatened Guanyin until she agreed to give him the Tightening Hoop, Golden Cudgel, and Moonlight Box.
• Guanyin handed over the treasures and fled after warning Hun Xiu against making an enemy of the Buddhist Sect.
• Hun Xiu asked Joker if he wanted to become Sun Wukong, and Joker eagerly agreed.
• Joker lifted and played with the Golden Cudgel, finding it light in his hands despite its supposed weight of thirteen thousand five hundred jin.
• Hun Xiu told Joker that he was Sun Wukong and that the Golden Cudgel felt right because it was his own treasure.
• Joker asked Hun Xiu how he would become Sun Wukong.

Joker weighed whether to become Sun Wukong by wearing the Golden Fillet, while Hun Xiu left Silk Web Cave and used the Moonlight Box to travel to the past. Demon King then arrived at the cave, forcing Joker to take up the Golden Cudgel and face him.

• Hun Xiu explained that the Golden Fillet could give Joker Sun Wukong’s power and memories, but would make him serve the Buddhist Sect and suffer unbearable pain if he felt love.
• Hun Xiu reassured the heavily pregnant Spring Thirteenth Mother, secretly left a safeguard for her, and departed from Silk Web Cave.
• Hun Xiu activated the Moonlight Box, and Tathagata realized an unforeseen person had traveled five hundred years into the past; he ordered Guanyin to keep leading Demon King to Silk Web Cave.
• Demon King learned Sun Wukong had not regained his power and headed to Silk Web Cave seeking revenge.
• When Demon King called out from the cave entrance, Joker learned there was no back exit and agreed to confront him with the Golden Cudgel.
• White Crystal stopped Joker just as he was about to leave the cave.

Joker tried to fool Demon King into thinking he was Sun Wukong, but Demon King saw through the act and beat him down. As Demon King turned on Spring Thirteenth Mother, Joker prepared to put on the Golden Fillet and become Sun Wukong.

• Joker swaggered out with the Golden Cudgel and convinced Demon King, at first, that Sun Wukong had returned.
• Demon King invited Joker to a banquet at Mount Jilei, then challenged him to spar and struck him down with his trident.
• Demon King realized Joker was not Sun Wukong and taunted him while keeping him alive for his own purposes.
• Spring Thirteenth Mother and White Crystal attacked Demon King, but he repelled them and injured them.
• Demon King mistook Spring Thirteenth Mother’s pregnancy as proof she was Joker’s woman and moved to attack her.
• Joker reached for the Golden Fillet, preparing to transform into Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.

The Demon King twice tried to seize Spring Thirteenth Mother, but an unseen force blasted him away, leaving everyone to suspect she had hidden power. Spring Thirteenth Mother denied causing it, while Joker sought her protection and Guanyin wondered whether she was secretly stronger than the Demon King.

• Joker prepared to put on the Golden Fillet and transform into Sun Wukong, but an unseen force sent the Demon King crashing into a rock wall before he could reach Spring Thirteenth Mother.
• The Demon King recovered, realized the force had come from Spring Thirteenth Mother’s direction, and charged her again, only to be blasted farther away and spit blood.
• White Crystal asked Spring Thirteenth Mother when she had become so powerful, but Spring Thirteenth Mother said she had nothing to do with the Demon King being sent flying.
• Joker limped toward Spring Thirteenth Mother to seek her protection, while Guanyin wondered if Spring Thirteenth Mother was hiding her strength and playing weak.

Spring Thirteenth Mother’s hidden strength frightened Demon King into retreating, though she admitted afterward that she had only been pretending to be powerful. White Crystal helped her back into Silk Web Cave, where Spring Thirteenth Mother revealed her legs had gone weak.

• Demon King tried to attack White Crystal, but she hid behind Spring Thirteenth Mother.
• Demon King searched for Joker to use him as a hostage, but Joker appeared behind Spring Thirteenth Mother and taunted him.
• Wary of Spring Thirteenth Mother, Demon King put away his trident and left.
• Spring Thirteenth Mother asked White Crystal to support her and admitted her legs were weak.
• White Crystal helped Spring Thirteenth Mother into Silk Web Cave, where Spring Thirteenth Mother confessed she had nearly stopped keeping up her act.

Spring Thirteenth Mother insisted she was only a weak demon, while White Crystal became convinced she was a hidden expert. Guanyin tested her in secret and was struck back, and Spring Thirteenth Mother realized another woman was nearby.

• Spring Thirteenth Mother told White Crystal she had feared Demon King, but White Crystal took her words as more proof that she was hiding her strength.
• Guanyin, watching from the shadows, wondered whether Hun Xiu had secretly forced Demon King to retreat and decided to test Spring Thirteenth Mother.
• Guanyin attacked Spring Thirteenth Mother, but the attack turned intangible and a force from Spring Thirteenth Mother struck Guanyin, sending her flying.
• Spring Thirteenth Mother heard a woman's cry and muffled groan, then told White Crystal that a third woman was present.
• White Crystal looked around, found no other woman, and wondered whether Spring Thirteenth Mother had heard someone having sex.

Guanyin was injured after confronting Spring Thirteenth Mother, while Hun Xiu arrived in the past at Water Curtain Cave and met Fairy Zixia. He accepted her challenge to draw the Violet-Green Sword, which would make the sword and Fairy Zixia his if he succeeded or make him her slave if he failed.

• White Crystal and Joker convinced Spring Thirteenth Mother that she had imagined hearing a woman's voice.
• Guanyin was blasted outside the cave and spat blood, realizing she could not afford to provoke Spring Thirteenth Mother.
• Hun Xiu traveled five hundred years into the past and encountered Fairy Zixia at Water Curtain Cave.
• Fairy Zixia offered Hun Xiu the Violet-Green Sword and herself if he could draw it, or made him her slave if he could not.
• Hun Xiu accepted the challenge, caught the sword, and sensed the aura of the Heavenly Dao upon it.

Hun Xiu drew the Violet-Green Sword by overpowering the Heavenly Dao, making Fairy Zixia recognize him as her destined man. He carried her toward Water Curtain Cave, while Tathagata realized the future had changed and set out to investigate.

• Hun Xiu drew the Violet-Green Sword despite its Heavenly Dao restriction, and his shout dispersed the storm that followed.
• Fairy Zixia accepted that Hun Xiu was her destined man, and Hun Xiu asked when she would be his.
• Hun Xiu picked up Fairy Zixia and headed toward Water Curtain Cave before she could respond.
• Tathagata sensed that someone other than Joker had drawn the Violet-Green Sword and taken Fairy Zixia, but he could not identify the person.
• Tathagata vanished from the Great Hero Hall to investigate the disruption, while other Great Powers in the Buddhist Sect also sensed it.

Hun Xiu confronted Tathagata after intercepting Fairy Zixia, and Tathagata’s attempt to suppress him failed. The chapter left Tathagata’s Six Zhang Golden Body shattered along with his Tathagata Divine Palm.

• Hun Xiu left the battle-scarred Water Curtain Cave after Fairy Zixia was intercepted and met Tathagata above the cave.
• Tathagata sensed Hun Xiu’s overwhelming aura and tried to defuse the confrontation by calling it a misunderstanding.
• Hun Xiu challenged Tathagata to use the Tathagata Divine Palm, and Tathagata launched the technique with his Six Zhang Golden Body.
• Hun Xiu said “Break,” shattering the Tathagata Divine Palm and Tathagata’s Six Zhang Golden Body.

Hun Xiu effortlessly defeated Tathagata, shattering his Dao Heart before returning to Water Curtain Cave. At Spirit Mountain, Tathagata warned the Buddhist Sect to avoid Hun Xiu, whose strength he believed might rival or surpass the Dao.

• Hun Xiu broke Tathagata's Divine Palm and Six Zhang Golden Body with a word, leaving him injured and terrified.
• Hun Xiu warned Tathagata that the Buddhist Sect could challenge him but should not expect mercy, then sent Tathagata away and returned to Water Curtain Cave.
• Tathagata appeared at Spirit Mountain in a wretched state, and Randeng Ancient Buddha and the other Buddhas questioned him.
• Tathagata told the Buddhas that Hun Xiu had severely wounded him without lifting a hand and might be on par with or beyond the Dao.
• The Buddhas healed Tathagata, but his Dao Heart remained shattered, and he ordered the Buddhist Sect to avoid Hun Xiu.

Tathagata warned the Buddhist leaders that Hun Xiu was overwhelmingly powerful, revealed that his Dao Heart had shattered, and entrusted the sect to Randeng and Maitreya while he entered seclusion. Meanwhile, Sun Wukong returned to Water Curtain Cave, found Hun Xiu and Fairy Zixia living there, and discovered that Hun Xiu could repel his attack effortlessly.

• Tathagata told the Buddhas that Hun Xiu was the most terrifying being he had ever encountered and ordered them not to provoke him.
• Tathagata revealed to Randeng and Maitreya that his Dao Heart had shattered and entrusted them with the Buddhist Sect while he entered seclusion.
• Sun Wukong agreed to marry Niu Xiangxiang in exchange for giving Tang Xuanzang to Demon King, then fled from Guanyin back to Water Curtain Cave.
• Sun Wukong found Hun Xiu and Fairy Zixia in his cave, where Fairy Zixia had renamed it Silk Web Cave.
• Sun Wukong attacked Hun Xiu with his Golden Cudgel, but an invisible force sent both the cudgel and Sun Wukong flying.

Hun Xiu confronted Sun Wukong in Water Curtain Cave and warned him that Guanyin was closing in. Sun Wukong tried to leave, but Hun Xiu sealed his magical power, and Guanyin arrived at Silk Web Cave.

• Sun Wukong demanded that Hun Xiu and Fairy Zixia leave his abode, while Fairy Zixia urged Hun Xiu to avoid a fight.
• Hun Xiu refused to leave and warned Sun Wukong that Guanyin was hunting him.
• Sun Wukong sensed Guanyin approaching and prepared to flee, but Hun Xiu grabbed his shoulder and sealed his magical power.
• Sun Wukong realized Guanyin had reached Water Curtain Cave and lamented that he could no longer escape.
• Guanyin followed Sun Wukong's aura to Silk Web Cave and paused outside, studying the characters above its entrance.

Guanyin entered Silk Web Cave and found Sun Wukong restrained by Hun Xiu, whose identity she did not know. Sun Wukong tried to provoke a fight so he could escape, while Guanyin rebuked him and sought to take charge of him.

• Guanyin wondered whether Fairy Zixia and the two Sun Wukongs had already crossed paths before entering Silk Web Cave.
• Guanyin saw Hun Xiu and questioned who he was, struck by his appearance and unable to discern his strength.
• Sun Wukong begged Guanyin to rescue him and claimed Hun Xiu had taken him hostage, hoping they would fight and leave him an escape route.
• Guanyin recognized that Hun Xiu had easily restrained Sun Wukong and respectfully asked him to hand Sun Wukong over.
• Sun Wukong urged Guanyin to attack Hun Xiu, but Guanyin rebuked him for speaking carelessly.

Hun Xiu refused to hand Sun Wukong over to Guanyin and effortlessly defeated her without moving. He called himself Joker from five hundred years in the future, but Guanyin rejected the claim, suspecting that the future had changed.

• Hun Xiu told Sun Wukong he had seen through his plan to use Guanyin as a distraction, then refused Guanyin's request to take Sun Wukong.
• Guanyin threatened Hun Xiu with the Buddhist Sect and attacked him, but an invisible force hurled her back and left her bleeding.
• Sun Wukong realized Hun Xiu was far stronger than Guanyin, while Guanyin recovered and demanded to know who Hun Xiu was.
• Hun Xiu introduced himself as Joker from five hundred years in the future and showed Guanyin the Moonlight Box.
• Guanyin denied that Hun Xiu was Joker and suspected changes in the future; Sun Wukong asked who she thought he was, but Guanyin said she did not know.

Hun Xiu defeated Guanyin, kept Sun Wukong captive, and told Guanyin to report his challenge to Tathagata Buddha. Guanyin returned to Spirit Mountain and warned Buddha Randeng and Buddha Maitreya that Hun Xiu was an unknown expert from five hundred years in the future, leaving them to consider the threat he posed.

• Hun Xiu teased Guanyin at close range until she blushed and became smitten, then ordered her to tell Tathagata Buddha that he had captured Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong called Hun Xiu his big brother and pleaded to be released, but Hun Xiu shrank him and took him into his hand.
• Hun Xiu told Fairy Zixia that they could play without interruption and began a game with her without waiting for her consent.
• Guanyin returned to Spirit Mountain and learned that Tathagata Buddha was in seclusion, so Buddha Randeng and Buddha Maitreya were handling Buddhist affairs.
• Guanyin told Randeng and Maitreya that an unknown expert had taken Sun Wukong, defeated her, and claimed to come from five hundred years in the future with the Moonlight Box.

Guanyin learned that Hun Xiu had severely injured Tathagata and realized she could not oppose him. At Silk Web Cave, Qingxia awakened in their shared body, confronted Hun Xiu over Zixia’s whereabouts, and attacked him after he provoked her, but he vanished.

• Randeng and Maitreya recognized Hun Xiu from Guanyin’s description and revealed that he had severely injured Tathagata.
• Guanyin learned Tathagata had warned his followers not to provoke Hun Xiu, so she accepted that she could do nothing about her encounter with him.
• Qingxia took control of her and Zixia’s shared body at night and woke with aches she could not explain.
• Hun Xiu showed Qingxia the Violet-Green Sword, which he could draw, and Qingxia demanded to know where Zixia was.
• Hun Xiu stared at Qingxia’s chest, prompting her to call him a pervert and attack him with her sword.
• Qingxia’s blade passed through Hun Xiu, who vanished without a trace.

Hun Xiu subdued Qingxia and revealed that she and Zixia shared one body, with Qingxia appearing at night and Zixia by day. Qingxia realized Hun Xiu had been intimate with her while Zixia was in control; the next day, Zixia woke beside Hun Xiu and relaxed when she found they were still together.

• Hun Xiu used his speed to appear behind Qingxia and subdue her, then dismissed her threat to summon Tathagata.
• Hun Xiu told Qingxia that Zixia was inside her body and explained that they shared one body, with Qingxia appearing at night and Zixia during the day.
• Qingxia realized that Hun Xiu had been intimate with her while Zixia was in control and grumbled about the pair.
• Hun Xiu carried Qingxia away to spend the night with her, and she fell asleep in his arms.
• The next day, Zixia woke beside Hun Xiu, felt relieved she had not been moved elsewhere, and stared at him affectionately.
• Hun Xiu asked Zixia what was wrong after she checked that no one else was nearby.

Hun Xiu reassured Zixia that Qingxia was safe, then released Sun Wukong and ordered him to capture Tang Xuanzang and arrange a marriage proposal to Niu Xiangxiang. Sun Wukong agreed, but asked whether Hun Xiu’s sister-in-law knew he planned to take a concubine.

• Zixia asked Hun Xiu whether Qingxia had harmed him, and he said he had taught Qingxia a small lesson and warned her to leave Zixia alone.
• Hun Xiu settled Zixia in Silk Web Cave, then released Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong chose not to flee and flattered Hun Xiu, who praised his obedient attitude.
• Hun Xiu questioned Sun Wukong about rumors that he planned to use Tang Xuanzang as a betrothal gift to marry Niu Xiangxiang; Sun Wukong denied the plan.
• Hun Xiu ordered Sun Wukong to capture Tang Xuanzang and propose marriage to Niu Xiangxiang at Mount Jilei.
• Sun Wukong agreed to carry out Hun Xiu’s order, then asked whether his sister-in-law knew Hun Xiu wanted to take a concubine.