Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong fought Nezha but was overwhelmed by the gap in their cultivation, despite gaining strength from Nezha’s demonic qi. After proclaiming himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, he was struck down by Nezha and Yang Jian, leaving him broken and expecting death.

• Nezha sent the other fighters away and challenged Sun Wukong, who refused to surrender and attacked him.
• As Sun Wukong fought Nezha, the demonic qi entering his wounds strengthened his battle, but he still suffered severe injuries.
• Sun Wukong proclaimed himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and Nezha unleashed his full strength and shot him with three Cosmos Arrows.
• Nezha’s attacks left Sun Wukong badly burned and unable to stand, while Ao Guang explained that the arrows would sever the connection between his soul and body.
• Yang Jian struck Sun Wukong’s shoulder with his saber, knocking him to his knees as Sun Wukong lamented that he had disgraced his master.

After the Heavenly Court forces left Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong mourned the dead Monkey Descendants and urged the survivors to flee before he died. Ox-Head and Horse-Face pulled his Primordial Spirit True Spirit from his body, while the White Crane Boy's Natal Feather began to shine.

• Yang Jian spared Sun Wukong, telling him his injuries would soon kill him and the Netherworld would judge his Primordial Spirit True Spirit.
• Ao Run and Ao Shun taunted Sun Wukong, while Ao Guang, Wen Zhong, and the others departed Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Sun Wukong found hundreds of Monkey Descendants dead, buried them, and carved the words "Monkey Tomb" on a stone.
• Sun Wukong told the surviving Monkey Descendants to leave Flower-Fruit Mountain after his death, but they refused to abandon him.
• Ox-Head and Horse-Face used their Soul-Locking Hooks to draw Sun Wukong's Primordial Spirit True Spirit from his body, and the Ruyi Jingu Bang followed him.
• The White Crane Boy's Natal Feather manifested behind Sun Wukong's head and gave off a faint white radiance.

At the East Sea Dragon Palace, Ling Xiao discussed Sun Wukong’s coming trials and teased Yang Jian for suggesting that Wukong raid the Heavenly Court for treasures. Ling Xiao then revealed that Ancestor Kunpeng was about to attain the Primordial Golden Immortal of Grand Dao realm, with Zhuangzi’s Dao involved in the opportunity.

• Yang Jian, Nezha, and the others visited Ling Xiao, Azure Dragon, and Patriarch Bodhi at the East Sea Dragon Palace to discuss Sun Wukong’s tribulations.
• Patriarch Bodhi said he regretted the hardships imposed on Sun Wukong but believed Wukong would overcome them and eventually challenge the Heavenly Court.
• Ling Xiao told Yang Jian that Sun Wukong’s potential could let him match Yang Jian, prompting Yang Jian to look forward to their future fight and suggest Wukong raid the Heavenly Court for cultivation treasures.
• Ling Xiao, Azure Dragon, and Nezha teased Yang Jian for his suggestion, while Nezha joked that he would steal pills to help Yang Jian after the Jade Emperor and Lord Lao punished him.
• Ling Xiao invited the group to the North Sea to witness Ancestor Kunpeng’s coming breakthrough and explained that Zhuangzi and Kunpeng would use each other’s Dao to advance.

Sect Master Tongtian struggled with his diminished cultivation and the danger awaiting him and Jin Ling in the Journey to the West Tribulation. Jin Ling comforted him in Biyou Palace, while both concealed their conflicting feelings about their master-disciple bond.

• Sect Master Tongtian raged over Ancestor Kunpeng's rise and his own loss of power until Jin Ling arrived to comfort him.
• Jin Ling urged Tongtian to cultivate and restore his strength, and he told her that reaching the Primordial Golden Immortal of Grand Dao would be difficult.
• Tongtian worried that the tribulation and Jin Ling's failing seal would endanger her, and Jin Ling asked him to play the zither for her.
• Jin Ling leaned against Tongtian and privately resolved to become his dao companion, while Tongtian recognized her affection but feared changing their bond.
• Tongtian played the zither as Jin Ling felt his pain, touched his chest, and cried.

Patriarch Bodhi defended Sun Wukong’s brutal trials as necessary for his growth, while Tian Boxun and the assembled immortals schemed to deepen the suffering and humiliation surrounding him. Nuwa proposed using the Matchmaker God to bind Tongtian and Our Lady of Golden Spirit together, and Zhunti enthusiastically agreed.

• Zhen Yuanzi and the others watched Sun Wukong endure punishment throughout the Eighteen Levels of Hell, unable to summon his powers or resist.
• Patriarch Bodhi insisted that Sun Wukong had to suffer to awaken his rebellious nature and gain the fortune needed to fulfill his destiny.
• Ancestor Kunpeng told Tian Boxun to have Evil Dragon Ao Yuan throw the monkeys into Hell so Sun Wukong would have reason to fight later.
• Tian Boxun revealed that Dingguang Immortal had influenced Our Lady of Golden Spirit’s dreams and that she and Tongtian were growing closer.
• Yuanshi Tianzun feigned sorrow over Tongtian’s situation while secretly enjoying the prospect of his suffering.
• Nuwa proposed that the Matchmaker God use Heavenly Dao power to bind Tongtian and Our Lady of Golden Spirit together, and Zhunti approved the idea.

In the Eighteen Levels of Hell, Ao Yuan and a Hell Guard tormented Sun Wukong and his Monkey Descendants to provoke him into fighting. As an old ape urged him to rise, Sun Wukong began to show signs of awakening.

• Ao Yuan ordered a Hell Guard to punish the Monkey Descendants beside Sun Wukong and force him to watch.
• The Hell Guard dragged the Monkey Descendants into Blazing Hell, hooked open Sun Wukong's eyelids with Soul-Hooking Chains, and fed him a Soul Essence Pill.
• An old ape pleaded with Sun Wukong to summon his Ruyi Jingu Bang and fight back.
• The old ape's pleas stirred Sun Wukong, and golden light flickered in his right ear as his Divine Eyes of Piercing Delusion brightened.

Sun Wukong broke free in Blazing Hell and fought Evil Dragon Ao Yuan after the Hell Guards imprisoned the Monkey Descendants. As the battle continued, the great beings watching discussed Sun Wukong’s growing power and his future as the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

• Sun Wukong destroyed his restraints, declared war on the Heavenly Court, and killed the Hell Guard who had tortured the old ape.
• Ao Yuan blocked Sun Wukong while the Hell Guards chained the Monkey Descendants and locked them in a prison for evil departed souls.
• Ao Yuan introduced himself and attacked Sun Wukong, who fought back with the Ruyi Jingu Bang despite being suppressed.
• Sage Zhunti said Sun Wukong’s suffering counted as arduous cultivation and revealed that he had chosen the Buddhist title Victorious Fighting Buddha for him.
• Yuanshi Tianzun said Sun Wukong’s recovered body was heading to the Netherworld and that he might reach the peak of the Golden Immortal of Grand Dao realm once body and spirit reunited.
• Patriarch Bodhi said Sun Wukong’s hardship was mild compared with the tribulations awaiting Bian Zhuang and the Curtain-Lifting General.

Ao Yuan captured Sun Wukong and brought him before King Yama, where he endured punishment while waiting for his physical body to arrive. Once his body reunited with his spirit, Sun Wukong reached Peak Golden Immortal of Grand Dao and turned the tables, but King Yama and the judge warned him not to harm the Hell Guards because the Monkey Descendants were hostages.

• Ao Yuan exploited Sun Wukong's spirit-only form, took the Ruyi Jingu Bang, bound him, and ordered Hell Guards to escort him to the Hall of Yama.
• King Yama ordered Sun Wukong beaten, then had the Monkey Descendants brought in to witness his punishment.
• Sun Wukong's physical body arrived, reunited with his Primordial Spirit True Spirit, and helped him reach Peak Golden Immortal of Grand Dao.
• Sun Wukong struck Ao Yuan through the Hall of Yama, but King Yama warned him that the Monkey Descendants would suffer if he killed any Hell Guards.
• The judge pleaded with Sun Wukong to calm down and consider the Monkey Descendants' safety.

Sun Wukong destroyed King Yama’s hall and threatened the Netherworld until Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva intervened and secured favorable reincarnations for the Monkey Descendants. After agreeing to watch them enter the Six Paths, Sun Wukong left for Flower-Fruit Mountain and encountered Venus Tai Bai above the East Sea.

• Sun Wukong smashed King Yama’s desk and Hall of Yama, then threatened to slaughter Hell Guards unless King Yama gave him a satisfactory answer.
• Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva arrived and persuaded Sun Wukong to release King Yama, promising compensation for the Monkey Descendants.
• King Yama arranged for the Monkey Descendants to be reborn into the Celestial God Path, Human Path, and Asura Path with added fortune and merit.
• Sun Wukong accepted the arrangement but insisted on watching the Monkey Descendants enter reincarnation.
• Sun Wukong departed toward Flower-Fruit Mountain and met Venus Tai Bai above the East Sea.

Venus Tai Bai recruited Sun Wukong into the Heavenly Court, where he received the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven and took charge of the Heavenly Horses. Sun Wukong settled into his new position while Haotian and Yaochi anticipated the coming Havoc in Heaven and its planned sacrifices.

• Venus Tai Bai offered Sun Wukong the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven, an immortal residence, and command of the Heavenly Horses, and Sun Wukong accepted on the condition that Heavenly Soldiers and Generals reassure his Monkey Descendants at Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Venus Tai Bai led Sun Wukong to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven Residence in Grand Dao Heaven and left him to settle in.
• Sun Wukong raced tens of thousands of Heavenly Horses beside the Heavenly River, alarming Heavenly Court Deities and immortal officials and provoking their impeachments.
• Haotian anticipated that the grand show of Havoc in Heaven would soon begin, while Yaochi warned that her Peach Garden and Lord Lao's Tushita Palace would likely suffer.

Demon Ancestor Luohu prepared to seize control of the Journey to the West Tribulation, while Ling Xiao and the Heavenly Court recognized that the Demonic Sect was likely to force a direct war. The chapter ended with Ling Xiao calling for the major factions to gather and plan their response.

• Demon Ancestor Luohu told Chonglou, Wutian, and Gusu that he would wait for the tribulation to erupt before attacking the other continents and claiming control of it.
• Chonglou asked whether the Demonic Sect should reveal its hidden move on Mount Cangwu, where Jin Ling and Tongtian were close to joining with the Dao, and Luohu left the matter to them.
• Demon Ancestor Luohu granted Wutian and Gusu demonic Dao runes to help them reach the Peak Quasi-Sage realm, while Chonglou planned to deal with Tongtian after their breakthrough.
• Haotian noted that Sun Wukong had spent nearly a hundred years quietly tending horses and socializing, while Ling Xiao said it was time for Ao Lie to appear.
• Tai Xuan warned that the Demonic Sect had deployed troops along the continent borders and could turn the planned eighty-one tribulations into a direct confrontation.
• Ling Xiao ordered the Western Sect, Elucidation Sect, Sect of Interception, Human Clan, Demon Clan, Witch Clan, and Heavenly Court to gather and prepare the Hundred Schools of Thought to subdue demons.

After Ao Lie provoked Sun Wukong by destroying his residence’s plaque and insulting him, Sun Wukong fought back and wreaked havoc across the Heavenly Court. He left off at the Heavenly Court’s treasure vault, where his strike unexpectedly shattered its protective restrictions.

• Sun Wukong’s deputy reported that Ao Lie had barged into the Great Sage Equal to Heaven Residence and threatened him.
• Ao Lie trampled and shattered the residence’s plaque, then mocked Sun Wukong and called him a clown in the Heavenly Court.
• Sun Wukong attacked Ao Lie with the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and Ao Lie fled while leading him through the Heavenly Court’s buildings.
• Sun Wukong struck Ao Lie across the void, injuring him as their fight reached the Heavenly Court’s treasure vault.
• Sun Wukong declared that the treasure vault belonged to him and struck near it, causing its protective restrictions to collapse.

Sun Wukong devoured the Heavenly Court Treasury and the Peach Garden, rapidly strengthening his cultivation before heading for Lord Lao's Tushita Palace. As the Heavenly Court searched for him, Nezha suggested that Sun Wukong might one day outrank Yang Jian in seniority, leaving Yang Jian troubled.

• Ao Lie provoked Sun Wukong into announcing that he would raid the Peach Garden and Tushita Palace, then retreated with the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.
• Sun Wukong devoured every treasure in the Heavenly Court Treasury, using the energy to strengthen his Mana and body.
• Sun Wukong feasted on the Peach Garden's peaches, struck the Earth God unconscious, and sent thousands of clones to eat until the trees were bare.
• Sun Wukong advanced to the middle stage of the Golden Immortal of Grand Dao realm and brought the Eight Nine Arcane Art to major completion before flying toward Tushita Palace.
• Nezha and Yang Jian searched for Sun Wukong with the remaining Heavenly Court forces, and Nezha suggested they might have to call him Martial Uncle if Patriarch Bodhi became a Sage.

Sun Wukong rampaged through Tushita Palace and swallowed all of Lord Lao’s immortal pills before Li Jing and Nezha confronted him. As Nezha battered him, Sun Wukong’s Law of Battle began to emerge, leaving the fight still underway.

• In Lingxiao Palace, Haotian and the others watched Sun Wukong break into Tushita Palace and joked about Lord Lao’s coming fury.
• Sun Wukong knocked out Golden Horn and Silver Horn, fed them healing pills, and swallowed every immortal pill in Tushita Palace.
• Li Jing confronted Sun Wukong over the destruction and the stolen pills, but Sun Wukong mocked him and challenged him to fight without his pagoda.
• Li Jing sent Nezha to battle Sun Wukong, who endured Nezha’s attacks by using the vast energy within his body to heal.
• As Nezha intensified his assault, the Law of Battle emerged around Sun Wukong and his understanding of it deepened.

Sun Wukong endured Nezha and Yang Jian’s attacks until the Chaos Demon Ape’s will awakened within him, letting him break the Golden Hoop and reach the peak of Golden Immortal of Grand Dao. He ended the battle eager to test his new strength against Yang Jian, while hinting that he knew he had been used as a pawn.

• Nezha trapped Sun Wukong with the Golden Hoop and stabbed him through the heart with the Fire-Tipped Spear.
• Sun Wukong used Law, Heaven, and Earth to fight the Golden Hoop’s restraints, while Yang Jian joined in and wounded his right arm.
• Sun Wukong’s rage awakened the Chaos Demon Ape’s remnant will, and he glimpsed its last battle against Great God Pangu during the World-Opening Tribulation.
• Sun Wukong unleashed the Law of Battle, broke free of the Golden Hoop, and reached the peak of Golden Immortal of Grand Dao as his Eight Nine Arcane Art reached perfection.
• Yang Jian admitted that Sun Wukong’s strength was so monstrous that even at his peak he would have to avoid him.
• Sun Wukong challenged Yang Jian to fight and reflected that, despite being used as a pawn, he still wanted the Heavenly Court’s Peaches, pills, and treasures.

Yang Jian and Sun Wukong fought at full strength, and Yang Jian provoked Sun Wukong by revealing that he knew the secret of the Eight Nine Arcane Art and Patriarch Bodhi. Yang Jian unleashed Law, Heaven, and Earth and gained the upper hand, ending with the Mountain-Splitting Axe pressing down as the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade aimed at Sun Wukong’s chest.

• Yang Jian and Sun Wukong began a fierce fight with their treasures and divine abilities, while Nezha expected Yang Jian to avenge his earlier defeat.
• Yang Jian recognized Sun Wukong’s Eight Nine Arcane Art and taunted him by naming Mount Lingtai Fangcun and the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars.
• Sun Wukong denied knowing those places and threatened Yang Jian, who switched to the Mountain-Splitting Axe and reminded him of his ties to Senior Yuding.
• Yang Jian transformed with Law, Heaven, and Earth and struck at Sun Wukong, who transformed as well and blocked with the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
• Yang Jian pressed his advantage with the Mountain-Splitting Axe while the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade aimed at Sun Wukong’s chest.

Yang Jian defeated Sun Wukong with a sneak attack and arranged to have him used as the main ingredient for Nine-Revolution Golden Elixirs, while Nezha bound him. In Lingxiao Palace, Patriarch Bodhi was left mortified as the assembled great beings laughed at Sun Wukong’s panicked pleas.

• Yang Jian wounded Sun Wukong with the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade and Mountain-Splitting Axe, disrupting his cultivation and dispelling his Law, Heaven, and Earth.
• Yang Jian suggested refining Sun Wukong into Nine-Revolution Golden Elixirs, and Wen Zhong agreed that he would make suitable ingredients.
• Yang Jian ordered Nezha to bind Sun Wukong with the Universe Ring and Heavenly Silk and prepare to imprison him in the Li Fire Divine Furnace.
• Sun Wukong panicked and pleaded with Yang Jian, who had secretly recorded his humiliation with the Heavenly Eye.
• Patriarch Bodhi defended himself before the great beings in Lingxiao Palace, but Haotian’s remarks prompted the gathering to laugh at him.

Lord Lao prepared to refine Sun Wukong in the Qiankun Cauldron as punishment for consuming Tushita Palace’s immortal pills. Sun Wukong accepted his fate and entered the cauldron, while Wen Zhong observed that he alone among the tribulation’s destined figures remained unaware that he was a pawn.

• Lord Lao summoned the Qiankun Cauldron and announced that he would refine Sun Wukong into Nine-Revolution Golden Elixirs.
• Nezha removed Sun Wukong’s restraints, but Yang Jian warned him that he could not escape a Saint.
• Sun Wukong ate the nearly thousand Peaches of Immortality he had hidden, healing his injuries, and gave his treasures to Yang Jian for his Monkey Descendants.
• Sun Wukong entered the Qiankun Cauldron and mourned his lost chance to live freely with Patriarch Bodhi and his companions.
• Wen Zhong remarked that Sun Wukong did not know about the Journey to the West Tribulation, unlike the other figures destined to undergo it.

Sun Wukong learned that his tribulations had been arranged by the Heavenly Court and Patriarch Bodhi, and that Lord Lao intended to refine him and his Divine Eyes of Piercing Delusion into a Nine-Revolution Golden Elixir. Trapped in the Qiankun Cauldron, he fought to escape and called on his eyes to undergo ultimate sublimation.

• Lord Lao told Sun Wukong that his tribulations had been a game arranged by the Heavenly Court and Patriarch Bodhi, and threatened to refine his eyes into a Nine-Revolution Golden Elixir.
• Sun Wukong was shaken by the revelation but refused to believe Patriarch Bodhi had abandoned him and resolved to ask his master what had happened.
• Sun Wukong unleashed the Law of Battle, summoned the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and tried to break out of the Qiankun Cauldron.
• Sun Wukong's transforming eyes devoured the cauldron's flames, creation aura, and chains of order as he resisted Lord Lao's power.
• Sun Wukong recalled his birth and time with Patriarch Bodhi, then demanded that his Divine Eyes of Piercing Delusion undergo ultimate sublimation.

Sun Wukong perfected his Divine Eye of Piercing Delusion and agreed to travel west to repay his karmic debts, though he resented those who had used him. Ling Xiao and the others prepared for a direct clash between the Scripture Seekers and the Demonic Sect as the chapter ended with the Haotian Mirror showing Mount Cangwu.

• Sun Wukong emerged from the Qiankun Cauldron with his Divine Eye of Piercing Delusion perfected and saw through the role he had been made to play.
• Lord Lao told Sun Wukong to find the other Scripture Seekers in Great Qin and repay his karmic debts, and Sun Wukong agreed to go west.
• Sun Wukong challenged Yang Jian to a future fair fight, then left for Flower-Fruit Mountain to settle matters with the Monkey Descendants before heading to Great Qin.
• Nezha protested that Sun Wukong had ignored him, and Lord Lao sent Nezha, Li Jing, Yang Jian, and Wen Zhong to help handle the aftermath.
• Ling Xiao said the Journey to the West Tribulation would likely become a direct battle with the Demonic Sect, while Xuanwu praised Chiyou for sending Witch Clan disciples to study under Kong Qiu.
• The Haotian Mirror shifted its view to Mount Cangwu.