Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong used his fear of death to prompt a Long-Armed Ape to tell him where to seek immortality, then prepared to leave Flower-Fruit Mountain. He set off on a raft across the ocean, inwardly asking the wind to carry him to the Spirit Platform.

• Sun Wukong spoke of death and the Underworld, convincing the monkeys that they would eventually suffer and die.
• A Long-Armed Ape told Sun Wukong that Buddhas, immortals, and divine sages escaped Reincarnation and could be found in Jambudvipa World.
• Sun Wukong announced that he would leave the mountain to seek immortality and divine abilities, and the monkeys agreed to hold him a farewell feast.
• After drinking with the monkeys, Sun Wukong left on a makeshift raft and began crossing the ocean.
• Sun Wukong put away his pole, ate fruit, lay down on the raft, and silently asked the wind to carry him to the Spirit Platform.

Sun Wukong drifted across the sea while Five Directions Ksitigarbha and the other hidden guardians secretly protected his raft and steered him toward his destination. After arriving in the Western Continent of He, he found a lofty mountain and rejoiced that he had finally reached his master.

• Five Directions Ksitigarbha and the other guardians calmed a storm and strengthened Sun Wukong’s raft while he pretended to sleep.
• Sun Wukong rowed aimlessly, rested often, and let the hidden guardians secretly steer his raft at night.
• The guardians carried Sun Wukong to the Southern Continent of Jambudvipa, where he wandered before continuing his journey.
• The guardians sent Sun Wukong to the Western Continent of He, where he traveled until he found a lofty mountain and declared that he had finally arrived.

Wu Tian secretly brought Sun Wukong to the Origin Realm and created another Mount Lingtai Fangcun to keep him from being taken by another master. Sun Wukong reached the Daoist temple and was greeted by Yun Zhongzi, who led him inside.

• The Five Directions Ksitigarbha realized Sun Wukong had vanished and left the mountain, assuming he had already found a master.
• The old Daoist at Mount Lingtai Fangcun searched for Sun Wukong, suspected Wu Tian had intervened, and worried the monkey might become Wu Tian’s disciple.
• Wu Tian revealed that he had shifted Sun Wukong into the Origin Realm and planned to become Patriarch Bodhi, with Yun Zhongzi and Jade Cauldron as attendants.
• Wu Tian transformed his location into another Mount Lingtai Fangcun and created the Daoist temple Sun Wukong remembered.
• Sun Wukong reached the temple, met Yun Zhongzi at the gate, and was invited inside.

Sun Wukong returned to Mount Fangcun and met Wu Tian, overwhelmed by emotion but hiding the truth of his rebirth. After Wu Tian accepted his account and agreed to take him as a disciple, Sun Wukong made sure to keep the name Sun Wukong for himself.

• Sun Wukong entered Mount Fangcun with Yun Zhongzi and broke down in tears when he saw Wu Tian, calling him Master.
• Sun Wukong chose not to tell Wu Tian about his rebirth or his plans for revenge against Tathagata.
• Wu Tian doubted Sun Wukong's story about traveling from Flower-Fruit Mountain, but Sun Wukong explained his journey until Yun Zhongzi questioned how quickly he had crossed the oceans.
• Wu Tian stopped Yun Zhongzi from challenging Sun Wukong and accepted him as a prospective disciple.
• When Wu Tian suggested naming him Stone, Sun Wukong proposed the surname Sun and the name Sun Wukong instead.

Sun Wukong settled into life on Mount Fangcun, where Bo Huang encouraged him to strengthen his body and arranged for Great Witch Jiufeng to train him. Jiufeng’s punishing lessons left him recovering with renewed vigor each day, and he realized his senior brothers had sent him into brutal training.

• Wu Tian named the stone-born monkey Sun Wukong and had Yun Zhongzi and the other disciples teach him etiquette and daily duties.
• Sun Wukong befriended Yun Zhongzi and met his senior brothers, including Bo Huang, while studying and working around Mount Fangcun.
• Bo Huang urged Sun Wukong to focus on strength and suggested physical training, so a senior brother summoned Jiufeng.
• Jiufeng began training Sun Wukong by beating him near the boundary of life and death, then taught him to circulate energy and recover his strength.
• Sun Wukong woke renewed after each session and complained that his senior brothers had set him up.

After years of training with Jiu Feng, Sun Wukong attended Wu Tian’s sermon and rejected the methods he offered, hoping to receive the hidden teachings he remembered from his former life. He visited Wu Tian at night and asked to learn a method that would give him strength and freedom, rather than immortality alone.

• Sun Wukong endured Jiu Feng’s harsh training for several more years as his magical power recovered.
• Wu Tian preached as Patriarch Bodhi, and Sun Wukong became so absorbed in the sermon that he danced with excitement.
• Wu Tian offered Sun Wukong various methods, but Sun Wukong rejected them and was left confused when Wu Tian departed without giving the expected signal.
• Sun Wukong went to Wu Tian’s room at night, waited until the third watch, and explained that he wanted strength to protect himself and live freely.
• Sun Wukong bowed and begged Wu Tian to teach him.

Wu Tian taught Sun Wukong the Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Technique, the Seventy-Two Transformations, and the Somersault Cloud, then gave him a drop of blood essence that helped him grow stronger through years of training with Jiu Feng. After twenty or thirty years on Mount Fangcun, Sun Wukong asked Wu Tian to let him return to Flower-Fruit Mountain, unaware that the disciples found his promise not to implicate Mount Fangcun amusing.

• Wu Tian taught Sun Wukong the Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Technique and passed on the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Somersault Cloud.
• Wu Tian gave Sun Wukong a drop of his blood essence, which began strengthening him as he trained with Jiu Feng.
• Sun Wukong regularly sparred with Jiu Feng, gradually improving until he could trade blows with her.
• After years on Mount Fangcun, Sun Wukong stepped forward after Wu Tian's lecture and asked to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Sun Wukong promised not to reveal Mount Fangcun's secrets or implicate it in any disaster, while Bo Huang and the other disciples laughed at his concern.

Sun Wukong left Mount Fangcun reassured by Wu Tian and his senior brothers, who promised to support him and gave him protective monkey hairs. He returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain and learned that the Chaos Demon King had attacked the monkeys, so he vowed to take revenge.

• Wu Tian told Sun Wukong that Mount Fangcun would always be his home and promised to bear any disaster he could not handle.
• Bo Huang and the other senior brothers gave Sun Wukong ten golden monkey hairs, and Jiu Feng added a gray one and offered to punish anyone who bullied him.
• Sun Wukong said farewell to everyone and descended Mount Fangcun, which disappeared from view after he reached its foot.
• Sun Wukong flew to Flower-Fruit Mountain, where the monkeys welcomed him and told him the Chaos Demon King had killed many of them and nearly seized Water Curtain Cave.
• Sun Wukong promised the monkeys he would avenge them.

Sun Wukong defeated the Chaos Demon King, rescued the monkeys on Flower-Fruit Mountain, and returned to the East Sea Dragon Palace to obtain the Ruyi Golden Cudgel and thousands of sets of weapons and armor. He left Ao Guang with a warning not to complain to the Heavenly Court after giving him the equipment.

• Sun Wukong tricked the demons at Water Stink Cave into announcing him as the Chaos Demon King's grandfather, then killed the Chaos Demon King in a swift fight.
• Sun Wukong sent monkey clones into Water Stink Cave to kill the remaining demons and rescue the imprisoned monkeys, then burned the cave to ash with Great Sun True Fire.
• Sun Wukong returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain, celebrated with the monkeys, and decided to train and organize his descendants.
• Sun Wukong went to the East Sea Dragon Palace, took the Divine Needle That Calms the Seas and armor from Ao Guang, then pressured the Dragon King into giving him several thousand sets of weapons and armor.
• Sun Wukong turned back before leaving and asked Ao Guang whether he intended to complain to the Heavenly Court.

Sun Wukong took the Sea-Calming Needle and other weapons from the Four Seas Dragon Clan, while Ao Guang concealed his resentment and decided not to complain. Shen Gongbao then revealed that the needle’s removal let the Dragon Clan swim upstream and pursue its opportunity, leaving the Dragon Kings facing the prospect of thanking Sun Wukong.

• Sun Wukong warned the Four Dragon Kings not to complain about the weapons and Sea-Calming Needle, then promised Ao Guang that he would repay the Dragon Clan’s kindness.
• After Sun Wukong left, Ao Guang persuaded the other Dragon Kings not to complain, citing the clan’s weakness and Sun Wukong’s apparent connections in Heaven.
• Ao Guang privately suspected that Sun Wukong might have ties to the Witch Clan but kept the thought to himself.
• Shen Gongbao visited the Dragon Kings and learned that Sun Wukong had taken the Sea-Calming Needle.
• Shen Gongbao explained that the needle had blocked the Dragon Clan from swimming upstream, so its removal allowed them to pursue Human Dao merit and providence.
• Shen Gongbao told the confused Dragon Kings to thank the Martial Ancestor and Sun Wukong, and they realized the monkey’s theft might benefit their clan.

Sun Wukong returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain with treasures from the East Sea, trained his monkeys, and welcomed six demon kings who proposed becoming sworn brothers. He insisted they swear a binding oath before Empress Pingxin, so the demon kings postponed the ceremony and quietly abandoned the idea.

• Sun Wukong returned to Water Curtain Cave in his new armor and accepted the title of Handsome Monkey King from the little monkeys.
• Sun Wukong distributed weapons and armor, appointed promising monkey descendants to lead training, and resolved to strengthen Flower-Fruit Mountain before the Heavenly Court attacked.
• Sun Wukong trained the monkeys and avoided seeking out companions, but the Bull Demon King and five other demon kings arrived to befriend him.
• The Bull Demon King proposed that the seven demon kings become sworn brothers, and Sun Wukong agreed while demanding they swear a binding oath before Empress Pingxin.
• The Bull Demon King persuaded the others to delay the oath until they were prepared, and the six demon kings dropped the idea while the banquet continued.

After drinking with the Six Demon Kings, Sun Wukong was soul-reaped and stormed Fengdu City, where the Ten Yama Kings let him alter the Book of Life and Death. He toured the Six Paths of Reincarnation but fled when he felt its pressure; after waking and recounting his adventure, he watched the Demon Kings bid him farewell.

• Sun Wukong drank with the Six Demon Kings, passed out, and was taken by soul-reaping envoys to Fengdu City.
• Sun Wukong fought his way into the Hall of Yama, where King Yama and the Ten Yama Kings cheerfully received him.
• Sun Wukong erased his name and the other monkey names from the Book of Life and Death with the Reincarnation Brush.
• Sun Wukong asked the Ten Yama Kings to show him the Six Paths of Reincarnation, then fled when he felt the overwhelming pressure there.
• Sun Wukong woke among the Six Demon Kings and told them what had happened; they exchanged glances, cupped their hands, and said farewell.

After learning why the Six Demon Kings feared his actions in the Underworld, Sun Wukong prepared to reject the Heavenly Court’s recruitment rather than become Bimawen. Taibai Jinxing arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain with an imperial decree, where Sun Wukong ordered his monkeys to seize him and demanded to know what position the Jade Emperor planned to offer.

• Sun Wukong let the Six Demon Kings leave and resolved not to accept the Bimawen position at the Heavenly Court.
• The Six Demon Kings met at Green Cloud Mountain, where Bull Demon King explained that the Underworld’s rulers were manifestations whose true bodies might later seek revenge.
• Haotian learned of Sun Wukong’s actions at the East Sea Dragon Palace and in the Underworld, then accepted Taibai Jinxing’s proposal to recruit him.
• Taibai Jinxing arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain with Haotian’s decree, and the monkeys surrounded him.
• Sun Wukong called Taibai Jinxing a bad person and ordered the monkeys to seize him, then asked what official position the Jade Emperor would grant.

Sun Wukong welcomed Taibai Jinxing after humiliating him, then offered him monkey wine and asked whether he could become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Taibai Jinxing urged him to accept a Heavenly Court post, but Sun Wukong declared the title for himself and sent Taibai Jinxing back to report to Haotian.

• Sun Wukong released Taibai Jinxing, apologized for his rough treatment, and invited him to drink monkey wine.
• Sun Wukong gave Taibai Jinxing six jars of aged monkey wine, and Taibai Jinxing promised to negotiate a good Heavenly Court post for him.
• Sun Wukong asked Taibai Jinxing whether he could become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, but Taibai Jinxing said the Heavenly Court had no such rank.
• Sun Wukong declared himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and the monkeys raised a banner bearing the title on Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Sun Wukong told Taibai Jinxing to report his declaration to Haotian and invite the Heavenly Court to test his strength if it refused to accept it.

Haotian sent Li Jing and an army of one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to attack Flower-Fruit Mountain, with Nezha accompanying them on his own terms. Sun Wukong defeated Juling Shen and began fighting Nezha, who recognized a familiar aura and asked if Sun Wukong practiced the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique.

• Haotian appointed Li Jing to lead an army against Sun Wukong, and Nezha agreed only to accompany the troops without taking orders from Li Jing.
• Li Jing's forces arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain, where they saw Sun Wukong's growing assembly of demons.
• Juling Shen challenged Sun Wukong, who knocked him unconscious with his Golden Cudgel and ordered the demons to tie him up.
• Sun Wukong teased Nezha about helping him attack Li Jing, prompting Nezha to strike at him with his Fire-Tipped Spear.
• Nezha's True Sun Fire failed to harm Sun Wukong, and the two fought for hundreds of exchanges.
• Nezha sensed a familiar aura from Sun Wukong and asked whether he cultivated the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique, while Sun Wukong wondered what he meant.

Nezha recognized that Sun Wukong had ties to his teacher and carried Wu Tian's blood essence, then deliberately yielded after testing his strength. Li Jing's forces failed to capture Sun Wukong, and Nezha decided to bring Second Brother to meet the new junior brother.

• Nezha intensified his attacks, and the pressure stirred the dormant Wu Tian blood essence in Sun Wukong, causing his Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Technique to surge and send Nezha flying.
• Nezha realized Sun Wukong practiced the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique and carried his teacher's blood essence, then attacked again with renewed force.
• Nezha pretended to be overwhelmed and fled after Sun Wukong struck him, leaving the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals puzzled by his sudden retreat.
• Li Jing attacked Sun Wukong with the Golden Pagoda, but Sun Wukong smashed it back and scattered the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, forcing Li Jing to withdraw and seek reinforcements.
• Nezha watched Li Jing's defeat from afar, then changed his plan and headed to Guangjiang River Mouth to find Second Brother.

After the Heavenly Court’s first defeat at Flower-Fruit Mountain, the Six Demon Kings chose grand titles for themselves while Haotian sent Yang Jian to confront Sun Wukong. Yang Jian deliberately let Sun Wukong escape, leaving the Heavenly Court baffled and considering how to handle his junior martial brother.

• The Six Demon Kings named themselves Great Sages Equal to Heaven and announced titles modeled on Sun Wukong’s.
• Li Jing accused Nezha of throwing the match, but Haotian refused to punish Nezha and welcomed Yang Jian’s offer to fight Sun Wukong.
• Yang Jian and Howling Celestial Dog battled Sun Wukong, suppressing him while Yang Jian secretly tested his junior martial brother.
• The Six Demon Kings put away their banners when Yang Jian appeared, fearing the Heavenly Court would turn on them after defeating Sun Wukong.
• Yang Jian broke off the fight and claimed he could not capture Sun Wukong, leaving the Heavenly Court astonished that he had thrown the match too.

Yang Jian and Nezha withdrew from their battle with Sun Wukong, who returned to cultivating and grew stronger after the fight. Back in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Zhao Gongming learned that Sun Wukong was their junior brother and offered to help with his wish to become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, while Taibai Jinxing prepared to present a memorial.

• Yang Jian ordered the Heavenly Court forces to withdraw, and Nezha followed him while Li Jing reluctantly chased after them.
• Sun Wukong returned to the Water Curtain Cave and cultivated the Nine Revolutions Primordial Technique, which grew more powerful after his battle with Yang Jian.
• Haotian watched the battle through the Haotian Mirror and began to suspect there was a secret behind Yang Jian's conduct.
• Zhao Gongming silenced immortals who criticized Yang Jian and learned through a secret transmission that Sun Wukong was their junior brother.
• Yang Jian told Zhao Gongming that Sun Wukong wanted to become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and Zhao Gongming signaled that he would handle the matter.
• Taibai Jinxing bowed to Haotian and announced that he had a memorial to present.

Taibai Jinxing persuaded Haotian to grant Sun Wukong the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven without authority, and Sun Wukong accepted the decree and headed for the Heavenly Court. After word spread, Bull Demon King and the others considered claiming titles of their own.

• Taibai Jinxing proposed granting Sun Wukong an empty title, and Haotian approved the plan after Yang Jian and Nezha's test was cited as proof of his worth.
• Zhao Gongming told Yang Jian and Nezha that Taibai Jinxing's reward had been approved by their uncle and urged them to keep Sun Wukong's identity secret.
• Taibai Jinxing delivered the decree to Sun Wukong, who believed Taibai had secured the title through his advocacy and offered him more monkey wine.
• Sun Wukong left Water Curtain Cave with Taibai Jinxing and traveled toward the South Heaven Gate to receive his Immortal Talisman.
• Bull Demon King and the others discussed whether they should also raise their banners and claim titles.

Sun Wukong accepted the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven and settled into the Heavenly Court, where he sparred with Zhao Gongming, Yang Jian, and Nezha. When Haotian learned that the Bull Demon King and other demon kings were calling themselves Great Sages, Taibai Jinxing proposed testing the Bull Demon King's mettle.

• Haotian appointed Sun Wukong Great Sage Equal to Heaven and bestowed heavenly fortune on him.
• The Heavenly Court built Sun Wukong a mansion beside the Peach Garden and created the Tranquility and Calm Spirit departments.
• Zhao Gongming sparred with Sun Wukong and defeated him, after which Sun Wukong challenged Yang Jian and grew closer to the three Immortals.
• Haotian learned that the Six Great Sages of Green Cloud Mountain were copying Sun Wukong's title and worried about the Heavenly Court's prestige.
• Taibai Jinxing advised Haotian to have the True Lord of Pure Origin and the Third Prince test the Bull Demon King's mettle.