Chapter Summaries

Cheng Tian killed the Goldfish Spirit and watched Guanyin Bodhisattva collect its corpse without confronting him. He then returned with a thousand summoned allies as the wounded Sea Urchin King and Great Water Monster fought to the death.

• Cheng Tian received a reputation penalty with Guanyin Bodhisattva and Mount Putuo-related factions for killing the Goldfish Spirit.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva used an unfinished bamboo basket to take the Goldfish Spirit's corpse, then departed without acknowledging Cheng Tian.
• Cheng Tian took the Goldfish Spirit's treasure chest and headed back to Eileen and the others while its surviving demons continued fighting.
• The Great Water Monster thrashed against the Sea Urchin King's spines as the Sea Urchin King healed and curled up, and Smart Head stopped using Loyal Guardian.
• Cheng Tian returned with nearly a thousand heavenly soldiers and Grass Head Gods, whose forces advanced on the battling demons.

Cheng Tian killed the Goldfish Spirit, ruining the Main Quest for other Players and forcing the Goldfish Spirit’s faction into an evacuation. As Old Turtle reclaimed the water palace, Cheng Tian harvested the Sea Urchin King’s roe under the Heavenly Court’s Three-Eyed God’s gaze.

• Cheng Tian killed the Goldfish Spirit and its followers, causing other human and demon Players to fail the Main Quest.
• The human Players considered seeking a new quest in Chechi Kingdom, where they could face Great Immortal Huli, Deer Power Immortal, or Sheep Power Immortal.
• The Goldfish Spirit’s former Players had to evacuate before their time limit expired because their mutated bloodlines left them unwelcome among human forces.
• Old Turtle seized the water palace after the Goldfish Spirit died, using hidden measures and meeting little resistance.
• Cheng Tian pried open the Sea Urchin King with his weapons, scooped out its roe, and took a bite while the Three-Eyed God watched.

Cheng Tian and his companions collected drops from the Goldfish Spirit, Great Water Monster, and Sea Urchin King. He received a skill that sparked ideas for strengthening his beasts and vehicles, while the Goldfish Spirit’s chest yielded a powerful pair of legendary hammers.

• Cheng Tian decided to save the Goddess of Springs’ chest-upgrade chance because water-related combat rewards were more valuable than naval warfare gear.
• The Sea Urchin King dropped a round shield that could deploy poisonous, bleeding sea urchin spines, and Bazett seemed more suited to use it than Smart Head.
• The Great Water Monster dropped the Devour skill, prompting the Scarlet Tyrannosaurus Rex and the mammoth to show interest in it.
• Cheng Tian considered teaching Devour to the mammoth so it might consume mechanical parts or vehicles, and wondered whether the Great Beast God’s fusion function could enhance his Tyrannosaurus Rex.
• The Goldfish Spirit’s chest certified Cheng Tian’s Nine-Petal Crimson Copper Hammers as usable equipment and revealed their combat effects and requirements.

Cheng Tian considered how to use or refine the Buddhist hammers and planned to head toward the Chechi Kingdom. Old Turtle thanked him for defeating the Goldfish Spirit and offered to show his gratitude, and Cheng Tian asked for magical artifacts.

• Cheng Tian judged that the Buddhist hammers clashed with his identity and considered seeking someone in the Chechi Kingdom who could refine them.
• Cheng Tian used Erlang Shen's heavenly eye to scan the area and watched players heading toward Chen Family Village.
• Old Turtle hurried over and thanked Cheng Tian for killing the Goldfish Spirit and restoring the Water Palace.
• Old Turtle offered Cheng Tian a reward, and Cheng Tian requested magical artifacts.

After defeating the Goldfish Spirit, Cheng Tian collected magical treasures from Old Turtle and received an A-rank instance settlement. He led his group toward Chechi Kingdom to improve the final rating and arrived in a drought-stricken wasteland where hungry demons and vultures eyed them as prey.

• Old Turtle gave Cheng Tian the magical treasures he had taken over from the Goldfish Spirit, and Cheng Tian gained Five Elements collection progress and resistance.
• Old Turtle used Goldfish Spirit scales to settle matters with the Chen Family Tycoon, triggering the instance settlement with an A rating.
• Cheng Tian reviewed the settlement and decided to travel to Chechi Kingdom to raise the final rating to S.
• Cheng Tian's group rode east to Chechi Kingdom and found a barren landscape littered with wrecked carriages and human skeletons.
• Hungry little demons and circling vultures watched Cheng Tian's well-fed group as potential food.

Cheng Tian learned from a surviving little monster that the Three Great Immortals ruled Chechi Kingdom through Taoism and rain, and decided to seek friendly relations with them. At the city gates, his Heavenly Eye revealed the kingdom’s prosperity and the persecution of monks, alerting the Three Great Immortals to his presence.

• Cheng Tian’s group slaughtered the monsters and vultures, then questioned a little monster that begged Smart Head for mercy.
• The little monster explained that Chechi Kingdom was ruled by the Three Great Immortals, who favored Taoists and made monks perform forced labor.
• Cheng Tian chose to try diplomacy with the Three Great Immortals rather than fight them, and spared the little monster.
• Cheng Tian’s group reached Chechi Kingdom’s western gate and saw its lush surroundings and prosperous streets.
• Cheng Tian used his Heavenly Eye to survey the city, spotting Sanqing Temple and Taoists driving battered monks through the streets.
• The Three Great Immortals sensed Cheng Tian’s probing and rose from meditation, preparing to learn whether he was friend or foe.

Cheng Tian and his group entered Chechi Kingdom, where Taoism ruled and challengers could face the Three Great Immortals in magical contests. After learning about the kingdom’s challenge and the enslaved monks, Cheng Tian tore down the notice and was escorted to the Taoist temple, where the first group of Player challengers awaited them.

• Cheng Tian persuaded the city guards to let his group enter Chechi Kingdom by saying they had come to pay homage to the Three Pure Ones.
• The Space Prompt explained that the Three Great Immortals and the king ruled the area, warned of hostility toward Buddhism, and described the challenge route and Zhiyuan Temple’s enslaved monks.
• Cheng Tian chose the magical contest route because he wanted a better quest evaluation, then tore down the challenge notice.
• The crowd revealed that another group had already challenged the National Preceptors that day, and the guards escorted Cheng Tian’s group to the Three Pure Ones Taoist temple.
• The first group of Players, who had been waiting inside the temple after tearing down a notice, saw Cheng Tian’s group arrive.

Cheng Tian’s group reached Chechi Kingdom and waited to challenge the Three Great Immortals after discovering the kingdom’s magical duels could improve their quest evaluation. As another trio began its contest, the Three Great Immortals asked what challenge they wanted.

• Cheng Tian told the gate guard that he did not know the three earlier challengers and agreed to wait according to Chechi Kingdom’s rules.
• Cheng Tian and Eileen examined the luxurious Taoist temple and found that its peaches and pastries were recovery items.
• A guide led both groups to the magical duel plaza, where Cheng Tian saw the king and Queen Zhao among the spectators.
• The Three Great Immortals arrived at the altar, and Great Immortal Huli asked the three challengers what contest they wanted.

Cheng Tian watched three players challenge the Three Immortals with magic, then confronted the Immortals himself. He challenged all three at once in Five Elements Sorcery, leaving the king and Immortals stunned.

• Young Phoenix used Fire Attack Sorcery against Sheep Power Immortal, while Number One Expert of Hulao Pass faced Deer Power Immortal with energy Flying Swords.
• Green Snake overwhelmed Great Immortal Huli with a varied range of spells, and the Three Immortals rewarded the trio and invited them to study magic.
• The trio realized their contest had triggered a new main storyline and stayed nearby, wary that Cheng Tian might attack the Immortals.
• Sheep Power Immortal asked Cheng Tian how he wished to compete, and Cheng Tian chose Five Elements Sorcery.
• Cheng Tian declared that he would take on all three Immortals by himself.

Cheng Tian challenged the Three Immortals and defeated Sheep Power Immortal’s Five Thunders Technique with a simulated Lightning Halberd. The duel continued as Sheep Power Immortal, excited by the weapon’s power, prepared to attack again.

• Cheng Tian challenged all three of Chechi Kingdom’s national preceptors, surprising the king and amusing the Three Immortals.
• Sheep Power Immortal accepted Cheng Tian’s challenge and drew his Treasure Sword to cast the Orthodox Five Thunders Technique.
• Cheng Tian summoned his Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Halberd and countered the descending thunder with a concentrated lightning bolt.
• Cheng Tian’s attack shattered Sheep Power Immortal’s Five Thunders Technique, and Sheep Power Immortal recognized the weapon as a Lightning Halberd.
• Sheep Power Immortal became more excited and gathered the Five Thunders Technique on his Treasure Sword for another attack.

Cheng Tian defeated Sheep Power in a duel that revealed his skill as a close-combat instructor, leading the Three Immortals to believe he might help them ascend to immortality. Deer Power stepped forward to challenge him with Flying Swords, only to see Cheng Tian summon a seemingly countless swarm of swords.

• Cheng Tian evaded Sheep Power’s attacks and lightly struck his vital points, exposing flaws in his swordsmanship without seriously hurting him.
• Sheep Power conceded defeat and praised Cheng Tian’s power, telling Tiger Power and Deer Power that Cheng Tian had been testing him and might offer them hope of ascending to immortality.
• Tiger Power and Deer Power eagerly accepted Sheep Power’s assessment, while Green Snake wondered whether Cheng Tian was trying to recruit the Three Immortals.
• Deer Power stepped onto the altar and began revealing his Flying Sword technique, but Cheng Tian summoned countless swords above his head with Sword Sweeps Mountains and Rivers.

Cheng Tian defeated Deer Power Immortal, Great Immortal Huli, and Sheep Power with his overwhelming magical abilities. Afterward, the Three Immortals eagerly accepted his offer to become Grass Head Gods.

• Cheng Tian overwhelmed Deer Power Immortal with a swarm of Flying Swords, and Deer Power immediately conceded.
• Great Immortal Huli challenged Cheng Tian, but Cheng Tian absorbed his summoned demonic wind into a Yin-Yang tornado and defeated him.
• After Cheng Tian defeated all three immortals, Deer Power and Sheep Power returned to the altar with Great Immortal Huli.
• Cheng Tian asked whether the Three Immortals were willing to become Grass Head Gods, and they knelt before him in acceptance.

After Huli, Deer Power, and Sheep Power submitted to Cheng Tian and became Grass Head Gods, he faced a choice about the Pilgrimage Team’s tribulations in Chechi Kingdom. He chose to interfere with the Buddhist Sect’s plans and become a tribulation himself, with the Pilgrimage Team due to arrive in twelve shichen.

• Cheng Tian’s recruitment of Huli, Deer Power, and Sheep Power passed review, making them Grass Head Gods under his command.
• The instance froze, and Cheng Tian received a choice between letting the Pilgrimage Team follow its usual route or preventing one of three Chechi tribulations.
• Eileen and Smart Head joined Cheng Tian, and they recognized from his expression that he had decided to oppose the Buddhist Sect.
• Cheng Tian chose to trigger the new team mission, I Am the Tribulation, and his teammates made the same choice.
• The Pilgrimage Team was scheduled to arrive in Chechi Kingdom in twelve shichen.

After taking control of the Three Immortals, Cheng Tian used his influence to issue new decrees across Chechi Kingdom while preserving their public status. At the quarry, Taoists offered the surviving monks freedom from hard labor if they renounced Buddhism and worshipped Taoism.

• Cheng Tian’s contest victory and the Three Immortals’ submission spread throughout Chechi Kingdom without diminishing their standing.
• The king issued orders through the kingdom’s Taoist and military systems, with the Three Immortals’ authority and Cheng Tian’s influence keeping the decrees in force.
• The five hundred surviving monks at Zhiyuan Temple continued to suffer forced labor in the quarry, where dangerous stones and dust threatened their lives.
• Taoists arrived at the quarry and offered the monks an end to hard labor if they changed into Taoist robes and worshipped the Three Pure Ones.
• The monks erupted with emotion after the Taoists revealed a handcart piled with Taoist robes.

Cheng Tian ordered the Three Immortals to offer the quarry monks a way to convert from Buddhism to Taoism, while making the remaining Buddhist monks shoulder the converts’ labor quotas. As the monks split over survival and faith, Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived at Chechi Kingdom’s gate.

• Cheng Tian used the Three Immortals’ authority to order the quarry monks to convert, and the king left the matter entirely to the immortals.
• Young and elderly monks began converting, and a middle-aged monk joined them after weighing the chance to escape forced labor.
• Around one hundred and fifty monks converted, while others resisted or silently continued their work; 365 monks remained openly at Zhiyuan Temple.
• A Taoist announced that the remaining monks would take on the converts’ work quotas, turning former fellow sufferers into overseers and laborers.
• The Taoist required the converts to worship the Three Pure Ones, and Erlang Shen recognized the order as an attack on Buddhist faith.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived at Chechi Kingdom’s city gate.

The Pilgrimage Team reached Chechi Kingdom and encountered hostility toward monks, then found Zhiyuan Temple abandoned. Sun Dasheng met monks who had either converted to Taoism or refused to do so, while Cheng Tian learned that the main party had arrived.

• Sun Dasheng noticed the guards and citizens of Chechi Kingdom avoiding the Pilgrimage Team, and he heard that monks were feared and disliked.
• After merchants refused to serve them, an old vegetable seller told Sun Dasheng where to find the kingdom's only temple and advised the monks to leave.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached Zhiyuan Temple and found it overgrown and uninhabited.
• Sun Dasheng encountered two groups of monks outside the temple: former Buddhists who had converted to Taoism and monks who had refused to convert.
• Cheng Tian opened his eyes inside Sanqing Temple and told the new players that the main party had arrived.

Cheng Tian drew the arriving players into the Scorching Sun Legion and strengthened the Three Immortals while using his influence to change the Chechi Kingdom’s treatment of monks. When Sun Dasheng heard that the Grand National Preceptor carried a Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Halberd, he realized someone was impersonating the Jade Emperor’s nephew.

• Cheng Tian posted a notice recruiting players into the Scorching Sun Legion and offering access to a new main questline, and the arriving players joined as reservists.
• Cheng Tian guided Yang Li in the Five Thunders Technique, Lu Li in Flying Sword, and Hu Li in Summoning Gale.
• Cheng Tian used his influence as national preceptor to grant the five hundred monks a holiday as the Pilgrimage Team arrived in Chechi Kingdom.
• The monks told Sun Dasheng and Tang Sanzang about their forced labor, their inability to flee, and the new laws that had offered them relief.
• A converted bald Taoist praised the Grand National Preceptor, and Sun Dasheng recognized from the description of his Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Halberd that someone was impersonating the Jade Emperor’s nephew.

Sun Dasheng suspected the Grand National Preceptor of Chechi Kingdom was connected to Erlang Shen and decided to meet him, while Zhu Bajie hoped to ask an old acquaintance for food. At Sanqing Temple, Sun Dasheng recognized Cheng Tian as an incarnation of Erlang Shen, and Cheng Tian’s template gained new unlocks after he met Sun Goku.

• Sun Dasheng suspected the Grand National Preceptor might be Erlang Shen’s attendant or divine pet, then decided to investigate Sanqing Temple.
• Zhu Bajie suggested that the pilgrims visit the Grand National Preceptor and ask him for food, while Tang Sanzang asked Sun Dasheng to help the exhausted monks.
• Sun Dasheng led the Pilgrimage Team to Sanqing Temple, where they were offered fruit and pastries.
• Cheng Tian met Sun Dasheng at the temple entrance, and Sun Dasheng recognized him as an incarnation of Erlang Shen.
• Cheng Tian’s Erlang Shen template unlocked Demon Slaying Sword, Divine Weapon Freedom, and Golden Light Divine Mantra after he met Sun Goku.

Cheng Tian, using an incarnation of Erlang Shen, welcomed Son Goku and the Pilgrimage Team at Sanqing Temple and agreed to their requests for supplies and help freeing Zhiyuan Temple's laboring monks. He then challenged Son Goku to a contest of magic, giving the Monkey King a chance to revisit their old rivalry without Taishang Laojun's interference.

• Cheng Tian recognized Son Goku and greeted him, then addressed Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Tang Sanzang.
• Son Goku asked Cheng Tian for a Passage Certificate stamp, food, travel funds, and the release of Zhiyuan Temple's monks.
• Cheng Tian agreed to the requests and secretly told Son Goku he had revoked the monks' warrants within the city, advising them to wait before fleeing from outlying areas.
• Cheng Tian proposed an Altar Contest of Magic between the Pilgrimage Team and his group.
• Son Goku worried Taishang Laojun might ambush him again, but Cheng Tian promised that no one else would interfere and offered to be his opponent.
• Son Goku eagerly accepted the contest and left its time and place to Cheng Tian.

Cheng Tian prepared the Altar Contest of Magic, assigning Green Snake and Sekete to face Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie while he saved Sun Goku for the finale. After the first contests ended, Cheng Tian and Sun Goku stepped onto the altar for their long-awaited showdown.

• Cheng Tian gave up the contest slots against Bajie and Sha Wujing, and the team members competed for them because winning could complete their main quest.
• Cheng Tian warned the Three Immortals not to wager the people’s need for rain, so Tiger Power performed the rain-praying ritual and the Four Gods sent a storm over Chechi Kingdom.
• Eileen’s Brute Tigrex learned the field spell Pray for Rain while watching the ritual.
• Green Snake defeated Sha Wujing, while Sekete lost to Zhu Bajie.
• Cheng Tian and Sun Goku stepped onto the altar as the eagerly anticipated final contest began.